In early winter, Taylor City was shrouded in dark clouds. There was no trace of sunshine on the gloomy streets. The feeling of walking on the road was only a kind of coldness that soaked into the bones.
A huge wooden platform was erected in the center of the main square of the Holy See. The bottom of the wooden platform was filled with firewood and firewood, and a cross stood above it.
At eight o'clock in the morning, people from different places in the city and from different walks of life gathered in the square with the same purpose - to watch the burning of a church deacon.
In the huge square, people excitedly discussed the details of the punishment. Vendors shuttled among them, and all kinds of voices blended together, showing all kinds of things.
A butcher, still wearing a singlet in the cold wind, stood on the stacked wooden boxes and said with a smile to his friend: "I have seen the church send many people to the stake, but a church deacon...
This is the first time I’ve heard of it.”
Several scantily clad prostitutes gathered together, laughing and chatting about the identity of the victim. One woman pretended to be mysterious and said: "Do you know? I have seen the deacon of the Holy See. He is handsome and has a natural temperament."
Sexy voice!”
When her companions heard this, they burst into laughter and laughed at her eagerness for love.
A farmer couple rushed to the city early in the morning. They found the servant who was responsible for sweeping up the corpse, gave him a small bag of copper stars, and whispered: "Our child is seriously ill. A witch doctor told us that only those who serve God can die."
Only ashes can cure children's diseases."
The servant took the money bag, weighed it, took the wooden bottle handed by the farmer and his wife, hid it in his sleeves, and nodded lightly.
The waiting crowd in the square stood in the cold wind for almost two hours. Just when everyone was restless and talking among themselves, a line of people walked out of the main door of the Holy See.
Two inquisitors of the Inquisition, one on the left and one on the right, carried a vaguely humanoid creature on their shoulders and walked towards the high platform of the torture rack.
What surprised the visitors was that the person in charge of reading out the crimes today was actually Cardinal Jacob.
It has never happened before that such a high-ranking official came to read out the crime of a sinner.
Jacob, who was a holy man, stood on the reading platform and read loudly: "Tristan Inge Bradford, who was originally the chief deacon under Cardinal Yarborough of the Vatican, was serving God.
On the way, he was tempted by the devil and became an accomplice of evil pagans. His crimes include blaspheming the Holy Spirit, betraying the Holy See, and studying witchcraft..."
Under the astonished gaze of the people, Jacob read out the crime for five minutes, and even the executioner beside the pyre yawned sleepily.
Just when Jacob was about to speak at length, a church staff member ran to him and whispered to him: "The Pope ordered not to talk about these things anymore. This is not a glorious thing..."
Jacob opened his mouth and waved his hands dejectedly: "Then let's execute him."
When passing by the executioner, Jacob whispered again: "Don't burn the fire too much, let me roast this guy slowly!"
Watching the executioner take the order and leave, Jacob nodded with satisfaction.
Amid people's cheers and applause, the pyre was quickly lit.
The blazing flames burned the tortured man, and the crackling sound of burning wood could be heard as far as a hundred meters away.
Tristan, who had been mutilated to the point of losing his human form, slowly opened his only remaining eye. The rotting wounds all over his body gave him a slight sense of consciousness due to the high temperature.
He looked at the sea of people under the burning platform and suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs: "You are living a lie! Do you feel happy?!"
People were stunned by Tristan's cry, and the noise in the crowd gradually calmed down. Everyone wanted to hear what this dying guy was going to say.
"Do you feel happy being treated like a sacrifice, giving away your hair, flesh and blood and freedom?!"
Jacob, who had just stepped onto the viewing platform, turned around in surprise when he heard Tristan's shout.
"I have been living my whole life in a state of confusion, without even having the courage to move forward! Do you feel happy like this?!"
Enduring the high temperature burning from his lower limbs, Tristan raised his neck and said loudly: "You have placed all your hopes on a cold statue, giving up your dignity and dreams, just to live in an illusion.
In the bubble, enjoy this meaningless happiness!"
A church member hurried to Jacob's side and said anxiously: "The Pope has given an order! Let that bastard on the stake shut up immediately!"
Jacob, who had just woken up from a dream, jumped down from the auditorium and ran towards the torture rack in the center of the square. As he ran, he shouted: "Intensify the fire! Burn him to death! Burn him to death immediately!"
Knowing that his life had come to an end, Tristan used the last strength in his chest to roar at the people in the square: "If the sky is dark, then live in the dark; if making noise is dangerous, then
Remain silent; if you feel unable to shine, then crouch down
In the corner. But! Don't defend the darkness just because you are used to it; don't be complacent because of your own sloppiness; don't ridicule those who are braver and more passionate than yourself! Human beings may be as humble as dust in front of the so-called gods, but they are absolutely
Can’t be twisted like a maggot!”
The fire that reached the sky engulfed the entire wooden platform, and the body was no longer visible, but those voices echoed in people's ears forever.
There was no more noise in the square. Everyone looked at the dancing flames in their eyes and fell silent for a moment.
Suddenly, a rider held a battle report and ran through the crowded streets towards the center of the Holy See.
"The coalition forces were defeated! The coalition forces were defeated! Only nine members of the Holy See army survived!"
Along with the piercing shouts, snowflakes all over the sky fell from high in the sky, and the first snow of early winter flew quietly into every corner of the city.
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Seven days later, at dusk in Xicheng, the Alien Affairs Administration Department.
Rachel looked through the sample book of the xenogeneic library, compared it with the xenogeneic population register, and carefully wrote down a series of numbers.
There was a knock at the door of the room.
Rachel put down the pen in her hand, rubbed her sore eyes, and said, "Come in."
A young woman wearing tight-fitting leather armor opened the door and slowly walked in. She looked at Rachel and hesitated to speak.
The latter looked up, with a smile on his sleepy face: "Karin."
Karin Forman lowered her head and looked at the ground.
Rachel said: "Karin, regarding the Holy Acropolis, you led the association to find the tunnel and captured the spy. You did a good job... What kind of reward do you want?"
"Sister Rachel..." Karin said: "News came from the capital of Tyro. Mr. Tristan... was burned at the stake a week ago."
Rachel's eyes widened for a moment, but soon she regained her composure and whispered: "Really?"
Karin took a careful look at the other person's expression and said softly: "We tried our best, but the other person didn't want to leave."
Rachel pushed the chair away, stood up straight, and said with a smile: "I know, I don't blame you for this matter."
Watching Rachel open the door, Karin asked: "Sister Rachel, where are you going?"
"I owe someone a favor and I must pay it back now."
After saying this, Rachel left the room directly.
After notifying the guards of the application, Rachel came to the door of the king's audience room and knocked on the door gently.
After getting permission, she walked into the room and said straight to the point to Todd at the table: "I hope you can do me a favor."
Todd looked at the woman in confusion and asked, "Help?"
"I hope you can help open the soul space and find Deirdre."
Todd looked at Rachel's serious expression and only thought for a few seconds before agreeing to the other party's request.
Arriving at the research institute in the soul space, Rachel said to Deirdre who had just walked in: "My sister, I need your help."
Deirdre first glanced at Todd strangely, and found that the latter also had a baffled look on his face, so she said to Rachel: "What do I need to do?"
Rachel recalled the image of Tristan from her memory and said to Deirdre: "This man is called Tristan Inge Bradford. He was burned at the stake a week ago..."
"Tristan is dead?"
Hearing Rachel's words, Todd frowned and asked urgently.
The former looked at the latter and nodded solemnly.
Todd sighed deeply, sat on the office chair, lowered his head, and waved his hand to signal Rachel to leave him alone.
Rachel then said to Deirdre: "I hope you will use your psychic powers to bring Tristan's soul here."
Watching Deirdre follow her instructions and begin to summon Tristan's soul, Todd raised his head and asked Rachel: "What do you want to do?"
The latter looked at the light blue particles in the air and said sadly: "There are some things that I didn't tell Tristan, causing him to spend his life in confusion and depression. This is my fault."
Todd was about to ask again when Tristan's light blue soul appeared in the room.
Rachel looked at the slightly tired Deirdre and asked worriedly: "If I hope to summon another person's soul, can you sustain it with your current body?"
Taking a deep breath, Deirdre nodded with firm eyes.
Rachel glanced at Tristan's soul and said to Deirdre: "The second summoned soul is named Mia Avandrin."
Deirdre said to Rachel: "The name is not enough, I must know her face."
Rachel stretched out her hand and pointed at herself: "Mia Avandlin, she is exactly the same as me in appearance and physical characteristics."