A lump formed in my throat.

It kept me rooted on the spot.

"...I,it's you isn't it?"

His murky eyes flickered, gaining a certain clarity that made every hair on my body rise. His presence was undeniable.

Although he looked old, he felt extremely powerful.

'Who is he...?'

No, I could guess who he was.

But... Why? Why was he here?

It was then that I recalled the first few words he spoke, and my expression tightened.

'I knew I'd see you... My g-god.'

I took a step back.

Impossible!

How did he know? It makes no-

"My L,lord...?"

Standing up, the man smiled. His hands continued to shake as he approached me. I wanted to move away and run away from this place, but I found myself stuck once more. I couldn't move my body at all.

He eventually appeared before me, and his entire body shook.

"Yes, yes, it's you..."

Drip! Drip..!

Tears traced down his cheeks as he looked at me.

"Oh, Seer. It's y-ou. Y-you've graced this one with your presence."

His aged hands touched my cheeks.

My stomach churned and my toes curled, however, I kept my composure.

'Right, this isn't the time for me to panic.'

The fact that he knew my identity was quite shocking, however, seeing the craze in his eyes, I knew that I couldn't act out of line. I first needed to get more information from him.

And to do that...

I needed to acknowledge my identity.

That of Oracleus.

"Back off."

Finally opening my mouth, my voice came out rather detached.

Immediatly, the Pope snapped out of it.

"A-ah, how could I?"

His expression turned into one of shock and his body trembled as he took a few steps back.

"What have I..."

"What is your identity?"

I didn't let him wander into his own mind and directly asked him a question. His body immediately froze.

"W,who I am...? My Lord do you..."

"I do not."

"Ah."

His face immediately deflated while he started to mumble, 'How could it be? I'm...' Looking around the room, I secretly swallowed my saliva before heading for the chair where he previously sat. Seeing that he didn't move at all, I sighed in relief and sat down.

It was only then that I spoke again.

"Are you the current Pope?"

The Pope's head flicked up.

"Yes, I am!"

He immediately looked rejuvenated.

"I am indeed the current Pope. So you do know..."

Tears welled up in his eyes once more.

Honestly, I had no idea how he was so convinced that I was Oracleus. But the fact that someone of his strength didn't restrain me, despite the clear gap in power, made it clear he was almost certain.

That was what made me curious. Just what made him so certain?

"It's not hard to figure out given your clothing."

"Ah."

The Pope's face deflated once more.

It was weird. Seeing someone so old acting like this. Then again, he was meeting his so-called 'god'. One could say this was to be the expected reaction.

"Tell me... How did you know?"

I placed my desk on the armrest next to me and propped my chin on my fist.

"How did you know about my identity."

"...How?"

The Pope's clouded white eyes flickered briefly. Then, regaining his composure, he raised a hand, revealing an old, weathered book.

"With the Old Testament, of course "

He flicked the book open, flipping through the worn-out pages and turning towards a certain page which he immediately showed me.

His excitement grew as he pointed at the image displayed in the book.

"See? This is you!"

"This..."

My expression almost faltered.

In spite of my best attempts, my mouth couldn't help but tremble at the sight that greeted

me. But how could I remain composed?

After all, the image displayed in the text differed from what I had expected.

Not Emmet, but Julien.

'How is this possible?'

How could...

'Wait, could it be?'

A thought suddenly crossed my mind and I paused. Raising my head, I stared directly at the

text beneath the image displayed and everything started to click.

[The second face of Oracleus - Depicted by the Ancient of Eryndor.

-The Ancients who claim to have met the god himself.]

'So that's how it is.'

Rather than being shocked or surprised, all I felt was relief. That was because I understood

what had brought upon this situation.

It was me and the third leaf.

This wasn't a mystery that I needed to solve. A veil wasn't covering my eyes.

"I see."

It all made sense to me.

"....That is indeed me."

"A-ah."

My confirmation seemed to be a sort of revelation for the Pope who trembled on the spot. His

murky white eyes regained some clarity while the wrinkles on his face shifted.

"I knew it... I knew it was you... From the moment that I saw your image, I knew that..."

"Stop."

He tried to reach for me once more, but I raised my hand and stopped him. There were still a few things that I wanted to understand. Drumming my finger over the armrest of the chair, I thought for a moment before speaking,

"Who else is aware of this book?"

"Who else...?"

The Pope blinked in confusion. Then, as if understanding, he quickly shook his head.

"Nobody, nobody. This testament is a well-kept secret by the Popes of each generation."

"... By each Pope?"

"Yes, each one."

"Are your predecessors still alive?"

"No, no, no. Of course not. A Pope will only come into position when the other one dies. Only

one person will ever know about the testament at a time."

"I see."

It was relieving to hear, but it also made sense. Considering how nobody else acted the same

way he did, it meant that only he knew.

This was good. 'Who knows what would've happened if the image had spread to the world.'

But still, there was something else that I wanted to figure out. Narrowing my eyes and staring at the illustration printed on the paper, I pursed my lips. It

was well-drawn but it wasn't entirely perfect. After all, it was merely a drawing. Some areas

were different.

Pointing at the image, I turned to look at the Pope and asked, "How were you so sure that this

was me?"

While there weren't many people that looked like Julien, there were a few that bore some resemblances. In particular, Aldric; Julien's father.

How did they not mistake him for Oracleus?

"My Lord?"

I thought the Pope would have an answer, but instead, he acted all confused.

The sight made me frown.

However, just as I was about to speak again, he raised his hand.

"Isn't it obvious?"

He asked, his tone light.

"....We share the same blood."

"The-"

A chill swept over me as I felt it-an all-too-familiar tremble that had crawled under my skin

the moment I stepped into the room. Slowly, I lifted my head, and there they were: a pair of

murky white eyes staring right back at me.

Taking a step in my direction, the Pope smiled.

"You can feel it too, don't you... my Lord? The resonance that we share through your blood.

There's no mistaking the feeling. From the image to the blood resonance. You..."

Holding his trembling hands forward, the Pope knelt.

"....Are Oracleus. My one and only Lord."

I tightened my grip on the armrest.

Taking a few deep breaths, I remained cool-headed while all sorts of thoughts ran down my

mind.

'So that's what the feeling was. This is news to me, but most importantly. He has my blood? How did he manage to get it? And is he the only one that has it? There's no way there should be that much blood around. It would make sense if it was Mortum who is immortal, but I died a long time ago. How

could he have my blood?'

It was a confusing situation.

One that only brought more questions to my mind. In particular the question about my blood.

If I had really died... How was it possible for there to be so much blood around? Was it just

unique to him, or...?

A harsh, hacking sound suddenly broke through my thoughts.

"Cough! Cough—!"

Startled, I looked over, only for my shock to deepen at the sight before me.

With his hand pressed against his mouth, the Pope hunched forward, blood seeping through

the gaps of his fingers.

"Cough...!"

His face paled while he staggered back.

"What's going on?"

"...Cough! It's..."

Holding his hand forward, the Pope stopped me from approaching. No, it wasn't just a gesture

to stop me from approaching-it felt like he had sealed the space around me.

I was suddenly stuck in place, unable to move.

"Cough!"

His rough coughing echoed for several minutes before it finally subsided, leaving him slightly

hunched over.

"Haa... Haa..."

His breath was rough and when I looked at him again, he looked to have aged a few years. The

sight threw me off.

'Is he sick or something...?'

"Are you "

I was just about to ask him when he laughed.

"H-he, he... It looks like I don't have much time left."

My brow raised.

"...M-my Lord."

The Pope raised his head, his eyes even murkier than before. Seeing the look on his face, I held

the words that I was about to say back.

"M,my lord... D-do you know the other reason why I'm so sure you're Oracleus?"

Forcing a smile, the Pope took a few deep breaths before saying,

"Because the blood isn't killing you."

"?"

"T-to us mortals, the blood is like a poison."

The Pope lowered his head, eyes fixed on his blood-stained hands, and coughed a few more

times, each cough sounding more haggard than the last.

"...D-do you know the average lifespan of a Pope?"

He didn't wait for me to answer before speaking.

"It's five years. F-five years. T-that's how long we have of our life right after your blood is

transfused into us. But look at you."

Holding his hand up once more, the Pope's entire body trembled.

"I can feel the blood in you. And yet... Y-you look unharmed. W, when I t-took it, my eyes

turned like this. Wrinkles formed everywhere, and... Cough!"

Blood splattered onto the floor as the Pope struggled to stay upright, barely managing to

keep himself from collapsing face-first. My heart sank at the sight of him.

Not because I felt sorry for him, but because I could tell what was going to happen next.

"Kh."

Weakly moving his hand forward, the Pope's face trembled.

He looked straight at me with his mouth open. It seemed like he had more to say but his body

refused to listen to him.

Resignation flashed across his face after realizing that he didn't have much time left. I then watched as his murky white eyes cleared up all of a sudden and he stood up. When I looked at him, he looked completely different from before.

His eyes were clear, the wrinkles on his face were fading, and his hair was turning black.

What in the...

The sight shocked me, but before I could understand what was happening, he moved closer to

me and slit his wrist.

Spurt!

Blood splurted all over me and a powerful burning sensation flooded my mind.

"Urkh!"

Tzzz! Tzzz!

Steam rose from my skin the moment the blood touched it, hissing softly as it sizzled on

contact. I tried to move but as though I was rooted in place, all I could do was watch as the blood continued to drip onto me. The Pope's voice responded in my ear shortly after.

Unlike before, it was clear and devoid of any weakness.

"Each generation passes down the blood-Your blood-through this method. Before each

Pope is about to die, we carry on this ceremony. I may be dying, but there's nothing more

fulfilling than returning what belongs to you, My Lord."

As the burning sensation grew, a strange sensation washed over my mind. Power coursed

through my body and a powerful glow manifested over the four clover leaf.

I wished I could concentrate more on it but the pain was preventing me from doing so. It was a

pain reminiscent of the first time I came into this world.

When I appeared in that unfamiliar room...

It was overwhelming.

Thump!

What truly brought me out of it all was a large 'thumping' sound.

Struggling to keep my eyes open, I looked down at the Pope's body. He appeared gaunt,

almost skeletal, as though every drop of life had been drained from him.

It was a sight that drew the air out of my body.

"....Ah."

And the surroundings turned quiet.

The only sound that entered my mind was the sound of a notification and a few words I had

once heard.

No, spoke...

'..Didn't do it. He did...'

I pressed my lips together, letting the silence envelop me entirely.

"Fuck."