In truth, she had been falling asleep each night with anxiety coiled in her chest.
What if I’m wrong? What if the wilderness isn’t the true Holy City? What if it’s all just my delusion?
Yet she couldn’t stop. Somehow, she felt certain that she knew the truth, and that she’d just been searching for evidence.
And now, Veronica stood before irrefutable proof, her suspicions vindicated at last.
Dragged to the Pope’s private chambers, she stared wide-eyed at the ancient map inscribed on the first page of the tome he had placed in her hands.
Her fingertip trembled as it pointed to the words “Sancta Civitas (Holy City)” written above the wilderness on the map. When she turned the fragile parchment page, elegant, curving script revealed itself. Veronica devoured the sacred text with hungry eyes.
In ages long past, the Almighty Lord cherished one people above all others and established them as the crown of His creation upon this mortal realm.
“Let every beast of the fields, every plant of the soil, and all living, breathing creatures bow their heads in reverence before the chosen servants of the Divine.”
And lo, the world transformed according to the Lord’s sacred decree. Animals, plants, and all manner of living things bent their will before the chosen people, acknowledging their divine sovereignty.
Yet humanity remained plagued by doubt. They could not trust in the Lord’s boundless love that remained invisible to mortal eyes.
“Father of All, Divine Father, I beseech thee for a sign. Grant unto me such authority that no other tribe of this earthly domain may dare stand proud before thy chosen vessels.”
The Lord sorrowed at their faithlessness, yet His love remained steadfast and immeasurable. Thus, He extracted the very essence of life from His paradise and bestowed this sacred gift upon His children.
“I shall grant thee the hallowed power to both bestow life and command death. But because thou hast doubted My covenant, neither thee nor thy children’s children unto the thousandth generation shall dwell within paradise. That blessed realm, in its profound grief from having its lifeforce forcibly taken, shall forever reject thy presence. It shall serve as a sanctuary only for those people not marked by My favor.”
After absorbing these revelations, Veronica slowly closed the ancient tome.
The weathered cover bore the title The History of Karta, a notorious forbidden text whose reputation had reached even her ears.
The reason for its prohibition was now painfully clear. This sacred manuscript explicitly stated that the chosen people of God could never enter paradise, implying with unmistakable clarity that the true paradise was the wilderness itself. Veronica recalled with newfound understanding how Leon had particularly suffered in the wilderness.
How many truths had been contained in those parchments burned every year? How many people had died trying to correct the historical distortions perpetuated by nobles and royalty?
“Is showing me this forbidden knowledge an act of mercy before my execution?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “Or perhaps a bargain—offering me the truth I’ve sought in exchange for a quiet death?”
Genesis had been confiscated, and two hulking executioners flanked her. The Pope maintained his customary benevolent expression.
“My child, you must harbor such resentment toward me,” he said, sighing.
The Pope’s eyes were small and pitch-black like mysterious seeds. To Veronica, they resembled bottomless abysses where unknown horrors might germinate and bloom at any moment.
“I, too, once shared your youthful idealism,” he continued. “I believed all the world’s hidden truths should be dragged into the light of day. Those passionate days of my youth were consumed by such noble yet ultimately futile convictions. Yes, in my innocence, I truly believed it then. But the weight of years has taught me the bitter lesson that truth does not always birth goodness and light. Listen to me, child—when established authority crumbles, the very foundations of social order collapse, and the common folk are cast adrift in a sea of chaos. They feel betrayed and direct their rage toward the church and nobility alike. Some even begin to question the divine hierarchy of our blessed social order.”
His voice flowed smooth as honey, dripping with the practiced tenderness that one used to soothe a willful child. Veronica clenched her teeth until her jaw ached.
“What self-serving lies.”
People will fall into confusion if the established authority collapses? What does that matter when the entire world stands on the precipice of annihilation?
It was all just excuses. The Pope was simply afraid of being exposed. He didn’t want to be stoned to death like the princess, so he was concealing the truth and using the people as shields.
“You’re just terrified,” she accused, her voice gathering strength. “Because you and other privileged people like you will be denied entry to that sacred paradise! Only you will remain trapped in Karta’s doomed embrace!”
As if she had thrust a blade into his most vulnerable spot, the old man’s carefully maintained façade of gentle wisdom twisted into something ugly and raw.
“You understand nothing, foolish girl,” the Pope hissed. “Even if they did manage to flee to the wilderness, what could a headless beast possibly accomplish?”
Veronica let out a disbelieving laugh. The fact that he was describing a society without nobility, clergy, and self-proclaimed intellectuals as a “headless beast”…
That’s… isn’t that exactly like a Bahamut?
“Even if they survive,” the Pope continued, “it would be a wretched existence! The sun of civilization would set forever, leaving those ignorant creatures to merely survive like animals! Like beasts! Can such a primitive state truly be called human life?”
“You truly excel at elegant sophistry, Your Holiness,” Veronica countered, her voice vibrating with fury. “Even a miserable existence might be preferable to no existence at all! No human being—not even you—possesses the right to decide another’s fate. Even the Divine Creator Himself entrusted the choice between life and death to human hands!”
Veronica was nearly screaming now, her voice raw with emotion. Any pretense of deference had long since been abandoned. Nothing about this situation made sense to her.
Why haven’t they executed me after everything I’ve done? Why reveal these terrible, forbidden truths while continuing this bizarre conversation?
Just as she was about to unleash another volley of accusations, the fortress cannons roared to life, their thunderous voices shaking the very foundations of the papal chambers.
Veronica’s eyes widened in alarm as she whirled toward the window. Ominous plumes of smoke were rising from the direction where Leon had been stationed.