Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 692 Confession (7k2 today!)
—Finlake is awake!

When he heard Monigne say this, Luo Xiu's expression turned serious.

At that time, Finlaek, who had been illuminated by the sun four times by the seven luminaries of revelation, was not dead because of Accipile's share of the light, but he was in a state of "near death".

He woke up earlier than he had expected... Luo Xiu thought to himself. Originally, Luo Xiu had thought that Finlake would not wake up until this time tomorrow at the earliest, but now it seemed that as the "First Cardinal," Finlake's spiritual recovery speed was much faster than he had thought.

When Frania and Bishop Donovan heard Monigne announce that "Fenlake has awakened," their expressions changed.

Frania's expression turned serious, while Bishop Donovan's face showed a complex expression. He should be happy for his brother's awakening, but he also felt heartache and anger. Bishop Donovan didn't know how to face his brother now.

"Is there any problem, teacher?"

Franya looked at Monine and asked her softly.

She was referring to the possibility that Monigne's failure to supervise Finlake after he woke up might have led to some danger—but Monigne shook her head and said:
"I sealed him away again."

“He was conscious, but he couldn’t do anything, not even speak. His spirituality was still limited to the lowest threshold, which prevented him from dying from spiritual exhaustion, but that was all.”

"..."

“Okay.” Franya nodded.

"Let's go see him."

"Rosh, Bishop Donovan, you should go too. If you have any questions or want to know anything, you can ask him directly."

"Afterwards, Teacher Monigne and I will bring Cardinal Finlake back to the Holy See. According to the precepts set by the original Pope 'Saint Leron' of the Holy See, Cardinal Finlake will be sealed away forever. This is the judgment he deserves, and the price he must pay. And you... should never see him again."

"..."

"I'll go see him."

Luo Xiu nodded slightly in response to Franya.

He had nothing to ask Finlake; he was simply echoing Flanya's words and going to see Cardinal Finlake one last time.

Opposite Luo Xiu, Bishop Donovan's eyes quickly dimmed, and he nodded somewhat hesitantly, saying:

"……I am coming too."

“Okay.” Monigne nodded.

“Then, follow me. Finlake is just ahead, and I will break the seal when you see him.”

……

The Church of Agnes, Center.

This is the very heart of the fierce battle between Luo Xiu, Franya, Achilles, and Finlayk the night before—

A huge crater, like a meteorite crater, remains in the center of the church, and Cardinal Finlake is buried in the rock that has been re-solidified at its edge.

When Rosh followed Monigne back to the battlefield, he saw that there was indeed more light around Cardinal Finlayk—

A dozen or so beams of light, blazing with brilliant golden flames, locked Finlake inside like a cage.

On Finlake's body—his upper body, which was not buried by the rocks—several rings, like chains, bound him around his neck, arms, and chest, suppressing his spirituality and holding it at an extremely low threshold.

Monine, the "Supreme Sword," wields considerable authority related to "sealing." What Luo Xiu saw were one Level III authority and one Level IV authority. For Finlake in his current state, these two authorities were sufficient to suppress him.

Meanwhile, Monigne, Frania, and Bishops Rosh and Donovan had arrived before Finlake.

Monine's expression had become cautious and serious. In her hands, she gripped the divinely forged holy sword tightly and pressed it heavily into the earth. From the blade and from Monine's body, bright and dazzling holy flames blazed up simultaneously.

"Unlock the chains that bind sinners—"

"..."

Monigne spoke in a deep voice, offering a very brief prayer. As the prayer ended, the golden pillar that had been imprisoning Finlake like a cage burst into flames, emitting a series of sizzling sounds. It then shattered and transformed into golden spiritual threads, returning to the holy sword in Monigne's hand.

She has broken the first seal that was suppressing Cardinal Finlayk, but the second seal—the Holy Ring Lock that imprisoned Cardinal Finlayk—will not be broken; it is a guarantee that Finlayk can never break free from.

As the first seal was broken, Cardinal Finlayk slowly raised his head and opened his eyes, all under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

"who I am?"

That was Finlake's first words after he woke up.

Luo Xiu stared at him, and at the same time, he saw that Franya and Monigne remained silent, so he also remained silent, only turning his gaze to Bishop Donovan.

In Luo Xiu's eyes, he saw that Bishop Donovan's face seemed to show a moment of emotion when he saw Finlake.

Bishop Donovan's facial muscles trembled, his face suddenly contorted with a complex expression—a mixture of relief, sorrow, bewilderment, and anger. He stared at Finlake for a long time before finally speaking, his voice trembling slightly.

“You are… Finlake Saint-Lerran. You are the current head of the Saint-Lerran family, the first cardinal of the ‘Holy Court,’ and… my elder brother.”

"You returned to Agus City half a month ago, telling me you wanted to break through your own bottleneck, which is why you came to me, hoping I would help you and protect you... Don't you remember, brother?"

"..."

“It’s…me…Finlake…”

Finlake's eyes were still somewhat unfocused.

He murmured, repeatedly murmuring "Fenlake," his own name, until his unfocused gaze gradually returned to his eyes, and he seemed to finally remember something.

"Yes... I am... Finlake."

“I am Finlake Saint-Lerran… I have come here to make my [Radiance] purer, so that I may break through that… misty bottleneck and reach a higher… higher… higher that I can already see…”

"But... why am I here? Why am I in so much pain? What have I been through? What have I done? I can't remember..."

"..."

As Finlake murmured these words, Luo Xiu saw a blank and painful expression appear on his face.

The pain welling up from the depths of his heart was real—before, he had been controlled by the "Primal Demon" Accipile, perhaps truly unaware of what he had done. Just as the "Divine Revelation" stated, Finlek was originally a "most devout" saint. Now, without Accipile's deception and manipulation, Finlek will gradually rediscover his true self—

But this is not a reason for him to be exonerated. Even if he committed the sins in his daze, they are still his sins, and no one can absolve him.

"This is the Church of Argus, Cardinal Finlake."

It was Franya's voice. "You came here to prepare a blasphemous ritual to sacrifice the entire church and the entire city of Argus. To achieve your goal, you murdered three 'Sixfold Destiny' saints of the church, and many more... thousands of clergy."

“You have conspired with the devil, your heart and soul are utterly defiled, Cardinal Finlake…”

"..."

"Ah...it's you, Your Highness."

Finlake's gaze gradually turned to Franya, and a look of respect and piety appeared on his face as he greeted her in a low voice.

However, a look of confusion quickly appeared on his face, and he murmured:

"I don't know... what you mean by all this..."

"Demon...what demon?"

He said the same thing that Luo Xiu had said when they first met.

He seemed genuinely unaware of the "Primal Demon" Accipiles.

So Luo Xiu said:

"What do you think 'Achilles' is?"

"..."

“...Ah, Him.”

Finlake's face showed a thoughtful expression. He thought for a moment and said in a low voice:
"We are the archangels of Saint Leron, passed down through generations..."

"He guides us and shelters us, and we worship Him. You know that, don't you, brother? Accipiles..."

“But ‘Acpilus’ is a demon.” Franya shook her head.

“Don’t you know, Cardinal Finlake? For so long, you have been worshipping a demon—He has brought calamity and destruction to the Church of Agnes. It all started with Him, including you—”

"..."

“Acpilus… how could He be a demon?”

Finlake interrupted Franya, a puzzled look on his face, as if he had heard something incomprehensible. He looked at Franya blankly for a moment before speaking again:

“I know… I know Accipiles, perhaps He has strayed from His path. He… the long wear and tear has caused Him to show signs of decline, I know that, I know…”

"Why did you become involved with [nothingness]?" Luo Xiu asked him.

A hint of shame seemed to appear on Finlake's face. He looked at Luo Xiu and sighed.

"You've already... discovered it? The scent of nothingness emanates from me..."

“I know, this is my sin. I shouldn’t have tainted myself because of it, hiding the gradually worsening aura on Accipreus… I know He is already a ‘fallen angel.’ He is so greedy, always wanting to pursue forbidden, alien powers. I tried to dissuade Him… Oh, I really did try to dissuade Him.”

“But…can you understand me, young saint? I cannot let others, especially the other saints of the Saint Lelong family, know that the archangel we have worshipped for generations has become a fallen angel…”

"I tainted myself, treading upon the [Void], all for... for these reasons. And I've also been careful; I've never used the power of the [Void] to do anything that would desecrate the [Radiance], I have never..."

"..."

"You used the power of [Void] to cover up the filth emanating from Achilles, whom you consider a 'fallen angel,' which is already a desecration of [Radiance]."

Monigne sighed and shook his head.

"And this power is not something you can control; you have been controlled by it. Now, look, Finlake, look at the disastrous consequences you have caused—"

Boom! Boom!
The earth began to tremble. As Monigne finished speaking, she poured her fervent, surging spirituality into the holy sword she held, and that spirituality then burst forth from the blade, flowing into the earth—

The next moment, an overwhelming force lifted Finlake from the earth, pulled him out of the deep crack, and then slammed him to the ground.

Finlake stumbled and fell to the ground. But he only sat there somewhat dazed for a moment before he stood up unsteadily and limped outside.

Franja, Monigne, Rosh, and Bishop Donovan followed Finlake silently, watching him.

But in Finlake's eyes...

He saw ruins, even after they had been cleared, still in a state of disarray; he saw the obvious signs of destruction and melting caused by the desecrated battle.

I saw rows and rows of martyred clergymen in the distance, covered with holy shrouds; I saw wounded clergymen still alive, but only alive, lying on the ground, emitting heart-wrenching cries of pain…

"..."

"Did I...do all of this?"

The blank expression on Finlake's face gradually froze, and then gradually turned into pain.

As he gazed at all that he saw, his pupils trembled. He seemed to subconsciously want to avoid seeing it, but he could not close his eyes or turn his head away. Something still existed in his heart, forcing him to look directly at it.

He seemed to finally, gradually, remember something from his mind.

"These are all... things I made..."

Finlake murmured, his face contorting with increasing pain, on the verge of collapse. Finally, he could no longer support himself and collapsed to his knees with a thud.

"I did it..."

"..."

……

(End of this chapter)