I Became The Pope, Now What?

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?Putting the laughing matters to the side, he silently began to read the entire journal. It was the life of Diana, after all, and it contained the history of two thousand years and revelations of tens of thousands of years.

[I was born a month earlier than natural, but healthier than normal children. I was named Xikami by my father, then Emperor of only the Redscape continent. Confused, pained, and devastated by the memories of you, my childhood went by in the luxury of the Palace.

At a very early stage, I realized what kind of world I was born in, and when my talents were tested and proven, I chose to grow in might. It took almost a century to go from a weak baby to a world-renowned warrior.

But that was when things started to change. When I began my campaign to unite the entire world under one banner, I came across ruins, temples, ancient artifacts, and tomes about historical events. I came across species still living in seclusion and passing down history from word of mouth.

It was bloody, but nothing compared to the life you were cursed to live. I was made aware of it after I was crowned as the Empress Mother of my entire world. A century after my birth, I saw a dream so vivid that it couldn't have been a dream.

In a world with human-like people, I saw the birth of a child. Born with light oozing from his very being, his intelligent eyes felt so familiar to me. But soon thrown into turmoil, almost killed, saved, and shoved into a battle of fanatic faith. I saw the rise of a man who was merely stuck in a child's body—a tale so familiar to mine.

I woke up when he cast his first spell, but I never forgot that dream. Time passed, and the dream returned, seemingly attached to the same person. Now a grown youngster, going to his first task outside.

The more I watched, the more I realized it had to be more than just a dream. I read books, spoke to wise sages, and eventually found out about the Faith of Solis in a distant world. Curious, I tried to make contact and send my people, but failure was all I gained.

More time passed, and the boy became a man; a warrior who faced the trials of blood and sorrow. What a pitiful life, I used to feel, what a repulsive world. But then… I saw him draw a face on a piece of paper one night, and that changed everything.

It took me so long to realize that it was you, John.

From there, I never stopped trying to reach out to you. Yet, all my attempts failed, and all my hopes slowly turned into sorrow. A thousand years passed when I finally received a hint.

It was a heavenly connection, a message from the Gods, from the Void. I was grateful and blessed, but when I learned that my dreams were mere visions of the future, I was devastated. But I could not afford to stop. I had to continue to grow and make my world better. In doing so, I had a purpose to divert my attention.

But all that changed with the revelation of 'them' and the past beyond ten thousand years. The fateful clash of our two civilizations was inevitable, and I wanted to stop that. The Void helped me, and I journeyed my world, exploring secrets and ancient tombs in search of a clue. As time went on, and I found myself nearing the end phase of my life, the picture began to look whole and clear.

John, they can't be defeated. They are made to be the overlords of all reality by nature. They were born as they are now; they do not know how to grow or struggle. I nearly lost myself to insanity in my attempt to glimpse into their realm.

Aveda and Ashraska are brothers, and yet opposite in nature. I could only look inside for a split second, and I felt contrasting sensations, and yet canceling each other out like equals. One was filled with kindness, life, and warmth, while the other was all about death, hatred, and chaos.

They are the last of the two remaining supreme beings, and I don't know what purpose it serves them to play with our two worlds. But to defeat them, you will have to grow stronger, further than any mortal has ever done. Understanding spatial magic will help you achieve that goal—the rest of this journal holds a thousand years' worth of my understanding of this magic. Please use it… Please be victorious… Please take care of yourself… Please don't be upset…]

"Yes, it was my Diana." Sylvester sighed and sat down after a quick read of the facts. He wanted to take the book in his hands and read the entire thing slowly, but he couldn't touch it with his burning form. "As always, the meticulous one. For two thousand years, you lived for the sake of others, toiled to save our two worlds, even after knowing we could never meet face to face."

What else could he do other than admire her? But nonetheless, he thought about her words. "Thank you for this help. I may have a gist of why our two worlds are so different. Why mine holds chaos, and yours prosperity? But still, I don't know who brought us two into these worlds; it's certainly no longer mere coincidence anymore, but a thought-out plan."

Chonky continued to flip the pages, "Maxy, what are these pictures?"

Sylvester looked at the pages and noticed some physics equations, as well as runic symbols. "A mix of real-world physics and magic? Interesting…"

It was hard to make sense of anything other than normal physics as he didn't know much about the Demon World's magic. But he could still read the remaining pages to get a sense of it. Real-world physics seemed to be all about helping one make precise calculations regarding coordinates related to jumping in space. (f)reeweb(n)ovel.com

"Finished!" Miraj finally turned the last page.

Sylvester noticed three big words written there with a little heart at the end: 'Love you, Diana.' It brought a smile to his non-existent face and left him feeling strange. There was loss, yet warmth. There was sadness, yet loving smiles.

"Love you too."

"Hehe, I love you too, Maxy."

"..."

Some misunderstandings were not worth clearing, even less so when Miraj said it from his heart. He simply stopped reading and stood back up to look around at the massive open area. Other than the walls and ceiling, he couldn't see anything there. However, there was bound to be something that was exerting so much pressure on his physical body.

"Put that book carefully in your belly, Chonky. We're leaving this place," he decided instead of trying to explore further. "Whatever magic was used here, it's beyond our comprehension and certainly above my level."

"Aye, aye!"

After that, he started retreating carefully. This time, the metal gate opened on its own and shut behind them. He watched it close down and seemingly hallucinated seeing Diana's face inside, standing there and waving goodbye at him.

'Solis, you better show yourself soon and explain all this meddling.'

He continued to walk back towards the tunnel's exit while continuously trying to recreate his body. He could feel the pressure decrease too, and slowly, some pieces of flesh started to form.

'Was this supposed to be a test of my strength?' he wondered, since that could be the only reason his humanoid flesh was rejected. 'I reckon she only expected one human to ever visit this place.'

"You're back!"

Sylvester was able to create most of his body and brown loose robes on himself by the time he reached the larger cavern where Dalgan and Zenith were sitting. They came rushing towards him when they saw him.

He nodded but never stopped walking. "Our work here is done, you two. Empress Xikami's words have been received. Let's return and start preparing. I must learn spatial magic to prepare for the next steps."

"What was in there?" Zenith walked closely behind him.

"A book by her. It was akin to her life's biography, and some words were left for me. You wouldn't understand it even if you received it." He didn't hide it from her since he could feel that she was close to Diana. "She wrote about you also."

"Really?" Zenith got excited. "What did it say?"

"To smack you if you let down the realm."

"..."

"Hah, classic sister Xikami." Zenith giggled fondly and silently reminisced about the past. "Did you get any clues about 'them'?"

"I did, and yet so much is yet to be explored. 'They' are like nature, and to go against it… One does not simply go against nature. The battle ahead is going to be hard, Empress," he explained without saying the names of the beings directly.

"Stop!" Dalgan suddenly shouted from a few steps ahead of them.

Sylvester and Zenith focused ahead. They had arrived at the exit of the tunnel that Sylvester had made, and from the darkness ahead, it seemed it was night already.

But quickly, his brows rose in confusion, and his arms captured Miraj tightly. "Can the two of you sense anything?"

The three tried to look outside the tunnel, but there was nothing other than darkness. Even when they looked up, there didn't appear to be any moon. Furthermore, the darkness was constantly black everywhere, and even when Sylvester shined some light outside, it didn't illuminate anything.

Zenith knelt down and tried to extend her hand out. "It feels as if… there is nothing. Like it's—"

"An empty void," Sylvester finished her words.

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