[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing":3,"chapter-the-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing-the-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing-chapter-104":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Holy Church Begins with Bestowal of Blessings",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1688777,2156,"Chapter 104 : Source, Foundation, Present World","the-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing-chapter-104",104,"\u003Cp>Chapter 104: Source, Foundation, Present World\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"All power has a source.\" Oscar said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He cleared the space inside the Church and poured mercury from the bottle in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mercury was a high-quality magical conductor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just like a magician’s power comes from magic.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A knight’s power comes from within themselves.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The power of relics comes from the gods.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A scholar’s ritual power comes from ancient history.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And the Church’s power comes from that ‘Lord’ whose existence remains uncertain.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mercury, as if guided, formed three circular magic arrays on the ground—one large and two smaller ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"However, I find magic to be the most miraculous. It is one of the foundational forces constructing this world.\" Oscar said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Over the many years I’ve studied magic, though I still haven’t found its end, I believe it can be called the power of the soul.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At the very least, the soul is also a conduit for magic.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nyx sat nearby, watching Oscar’s actions. When he heard Oscar express his understanding of magic, his expression subtly changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The closer you get to the foundation of the world, the more dangerous it becomes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Especially magic—its dangers have already been proven.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke to Oscar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s only proven to be dangerous, not fully understood. That remains unknown. And aren’t scholars supposed to explore the unknown?\" Oscar replied indifferently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, to explore the unknown, but not to stubbornly pursue a power that we clearly aren’t meant to touch.\" Nyx said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In the end, our exploration is for the future, not to satisfy curiosity.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused, then spoke with a weight in his voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Have you already been tainted by the magician’s curse?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Only magicians are so obsessed with these sources.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oscar didn’t turn back. He only said, \"The noble’s curse, the knight’s curse, the scholar’s curse, the magician’s curse—must they truly be curses?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The noble’s obsession with bloodlines, the knight’s obsession with loyalty, the scholar’s obsession with exploration, the magician’s obsession with mystery.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I think, rather than calling them curses, it’s more accurate to call them a form of self-liberation after becoming their respective roles.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If the noble’s bloodline is no longer pure, can they still be called a noble?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If a knight is no longer loyal, would they still be conferred knighthood by the nobles?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If a scholar loses the spirit of exploration, can new scholars still be born?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If a magician no longer clings to mystery, where would their power come from?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In the end, this too is the greed within people’s hearts.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As a Priest, you should be able to understand this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is original sin.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he finished, Oscar laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But now isn’t the time to discuss these so-called curses.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ve already constructed the ritual of Source, Foundation, and Present World. It’s time to see whether through the ritual, I can steal the power of that ‘Lord’.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Oscar turned to look at Nyx and pointed to the cross on the Lord’s Throne.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you don’t mind, let me use that as the source.\" he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That would be blasphemy.\" Nyx shook his head. \"Use this instead.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took off the cross hanging around his neck and tossed it to Oscar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s just ordinary wood.\" Oscar said after catching it and feeling its material.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That too is ordinary wood.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fine. As long as it’s related, it’ll do.\" Oscar didn’t question further and placed the small cross inside the largest magic array.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, he had intended to use the cross on the Lord’s Throne.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As for the foundation, I’ll use this Divine Word Manuscript.\" Oscar placed the Divine Word Manuscript in one of the smaller magic arrays.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You should have a copy, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course I do.\" Nyx replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good.\" Oscar said, placing the raw materials Nyx had prepared into the last small magic array.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Everything is ready.\" Oscar stood up and even walked to the side of the large array so Nyx could see it clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lastly, I’ll use magic to simulate the connection between these three elements.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Though I don’t know what the Church calls this power, I believe I can start with magic...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nyx did not respond. He only watched the ritual arrays.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oscar didn’t mind and began channeling magic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mercury arrays glowed faintly. The Divine Word Manuscript simulating the foundation flipped rapidly, finally stopping on the page to be recited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The foundation has successfully activated.\" A smile appeared on Oscar’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Magic truly is the most mysterious power.\" he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It can even simulate the Church’s unknown power.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Next, I just need to link the activated foundation with the ‘Lord’ serving as the source.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, several thread-like lines extended from the small array containing the Divine Word Manuscript, weaving toward the large array.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hahaha, it worked...\" Oscar laughed aloud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, his body fell straight backward. His eyes closed, but a smile remained on his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that instant, Nyx felt as though he heard the sound of a horn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound seemed to carry power, leaving him dazed. When he regained clarity, he felt an abnormal fatigue in his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…Oscar, perhaps you should stop. I feel like…\" Before he finished, he saw Oscar had fallen into a slumber, still smiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nyx fell silent, his hands trembling slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had certainly seen the Mystery that Knight Wolf brought back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And during the previous Lord’s reign, he had conversed with scholars serving Baron Sacker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he knew this Mystery was related to sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, he knew that Knight Wolf had taken that Mystery to the Great Church.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He believed that even if the Bishop of the Great Church couldn’t tame the Mystery, he would at least prevent its continued spread and contamination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, seeing Oscar now, this was no mere taming of a Mystery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet it had only been two days since Knight Wolf visited the Bishop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nyx felt that, even as a Priest, he had still underestimated the power of the ‘Lord’ of the Church of the Sanctuary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Church of the Sanctuary, Great Church, in the kitchen where the Church distributed the Sacrament.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was already the third day since Knight Wolf’s visit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corleon had a visitor early that morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Sacrament you provided tastes truly excellent.\" Administrator Piero said with a warm smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally it was good—some meat from the Birdcage had been added to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is the Lord’s Mercy.\" Corleon said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Indeed, I can feel the Lord’s Mercy.\" Administrator Piero nodded in full agreement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Would you like to enter the Church to offer a prayer?\" Corleon asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Please forgive me. My duties are quite pressing today, so I’m unable to enter the Church for prayer.\" Piero bowed deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course he didn’t dare go in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who knew what was inside the Church?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until he found out, he would only dare remain outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In fact, I came today to discuss a few matters with you.\" he said.\u003C\u002Fp>",1145,"2026-06-06T13:52:13.932Z",1,"novelbin.me","a0101e6480762d443e5a02441016750fb62d3be2a15b8365ea680a99e5e36709","the-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing-chapter-105","the-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing-chapter-103",373,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-holy-church-begins-with-bestowal-of-blessing-cover.jpg"]