Sabona recognized the person holding Sun Scripture. This was the pope of the Sun's Faith, which was currently the most popular religion since the Church of the Dome was dissolved.
—Vincent.
As upper-cla.s.s folk in the Central District, Sabona's parents naturally had interacted with Vincent. At that time, Sabona wasn't too keen to partic.i.p.ate in such activities because the Sun's Faith was a religion that claimed to serve the common people under the banner of equality and fairness.
Unlike the Church of the Dome that colluded with n.o.bles in the past, the extreme purity exuded by the Sun's Faith's zealous followers made her extremely uncomfortable, as if all her inner desires and darkness would be exposed in the sunlight.
But in the end, she still went with her parents because the Sun's Faith's scope of influence was widening, and most of the n.o.bles' industries were affected, so they had to communicate with the Sun's Faith.
"Mr. Vincent, my parents... th-they've gone mad... They've been possessed by Ji Zhixiu. She's a demon! She's a demon! You have to cleanse her!" With no options left, Sabona shouted between uncontrollable sobs, pointing behind herself.
But now, she had no choice.
Vincent smiled at her, causing Sabona to instantly shrink back. She had come to fear smiles, and just seeing one was traumatizing for her.
However, Vincent wasn't like Ji Zhixiu. He reached out and patted Sabona's head, saying, "Don't be afraid, child. The day of judgment has come, and those good or evil will receive their respective consequences.
"Our Lord is about to descend, and the current chaos is the birth pangs before the transformation. Follow me and let us begin the baptism for a more equal, freer, and brighter future... If you are a kind person, then you will be one of us and receive the Lord's blessings and protection."
Sabona swallowed hard, her mind buzzing incessantly. Everything that was happening before the very eyes of this n.o.ble girl was earth-shattering.
Vincent's powerful tone made her understand that she didn't have a choice.
Thus, she could only follow behind Vincent and merge into the crowd.
But now the sounds of gunfire and the chaotic sights on the streets filled her vision.
Sabona was uncertain if she could make it to the Central District Police Unit. She glanced behind Vincent and saw several disciples following behind him, each holding books that made her feel dizzy just by looking at them.
And behind these disciples were several hundreds of poor folk wielding all manner of tools?!
A hint of disgust immediately showed on Sabona's face. Being born into the n.o.bility meant that the cla.s.s difference had practically been ingrained in her since her childhood. Therefore, her disdain toward the poor was practically instinctive.
Those dirty, smelly, and lowly poor people were just so repulsive to her!
However, Vincent noticed and looked at her subtly before saying softly, "Do you loathe them, child?"
"Of course! They are the vermin of Norzin, lowly ants. How are they fit to live in the same area as me?"
Sabona was midway through her harsh reply when she suddenly came to her senses and quickly corrected herself, "No, that's not what I meant. I didn't mean it. I must have been controlled by Ji Zhixiu just now. She's a real demon, please save me!"
Sabona anxiously explained herself, eyes full of panic. She could be considered the smartest of n.o.ble young ladies, who were all flower vases, and quickly surmised the situation around her.
These were the poor people revolting against the n.o.bles. She would surely be beaten to death if she expressed disgust toward them. These poor folk were looking for a means to vent their anger.
But as long as she followed them to the Central District Police Unit, where the chiefs were all from her family clan, the armed police would surely clean up all these vermin. At the thought of this, Sabona breathed a sigh of relief.
"Alright. Go stand together with them, good child," said Vincent with a smile.
Sabona looked at Vincent, nodded, then hid behind the last disciple, drawing a sun with her finger as all of them were, before crossing her hands in front of her chest.
She could smell the sour stench coming from the poor folk which made her gag, but she could only hold back and curse in silence.
Vincent walked in the middle of the Central District street, holding the book t.i.tled Sun Scripture. As he walked, he chanted loudly—
"I lend you my eyes, so you at least briefly see the light..."
Joining the poor folk made Sabona realize that all for the poor folk in the Central District had come due to Vincent's beckons. Those vermin who were usually rebuked as polluting the air if they approached within ten meters of a n.o.ble had a blazing glow in their eyes like sun flares.
Sabona gulped, trembling as she followed the ma.s.ses reciting after Vincent's lines from Sun Scripture.
"...We are born, we walk, eat, love… Everything comes from the sun, and we praise the sun."
"The moon's light comes from the sun, the stars' light comes from the sun, the color of all things comes from the sun..."
"In this world, all who walk under the sun are equal."
Under Vincent's leadership, the poor sang victorious songs, and the workers who had lost their jobs in the Lower District were incited by Ji Zhixiu, trampling through the Central District.
The entire Central District was filled with smoke and chaos as if the end of the world had arrived. The former prosperity and order of Norzin were now replaced by the cruelty of today.
My home... destroyed by all these poor folk... Sabona thought through gritted teeth.
They arrived at the Central District Police Station, and all the police officers had been ordered not to interfere.
Sabona howled inwardly. The chief was her father, but he was being controlled by someone else, so the person giving the orders wasn't the chief...
She wanted to stand up and speak the truth, but fear and terror overcame her.
It wasn't just her father, but almost all the aristocrats in the Central District were controlled by Ji Zhixiu. These poorly armed peasants were like a law unto themselves, and even if anyone dared try to put a stop would be killed by them.
Thugs! They are all thugs!
Rage and fear filled Sabona's heart. These beasts with no civilized manners were not worthy of being called human beings. They were all lowly peasants!
Suddenly, the procession stopped, and Sabona looked to the front. They had managed to reach the Central District Park without any obstacles. With gritted teeth, Sabona once more felt a glimmer of hope.
That was because the Central District Park was the most n.o.ble place in the entire Central District, and it had Norzin's most powerful weapon.
Sabona wiped away her tears. She felt like a drowning person who had found a log to hold on and was overjoyed. The big shots in the Central District's central administration would definitely stop all of this and return everything to normal.
Then, she would send all these lowly people to the arena to become fodder for the beasts as entertainment!
Vincent turned around indifferently and eyed the procession before saying, "Those who can come to my side and listen to the grace have been illuminated by the holy light. Unfortunately, however, I have discovered something. There is a girl who is a despicable n.o.ble. Her mind is full of filthy thoughts. Her once pure and flawless heart has been contaminated by the cla.s.s consciousness of the n.o.bility. Therefore, she is no longer a child... but an enemy.
"Before we charge into the Central District Park, we shall use her blood as an offering to the sun and justice..."
Vincent's voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the crowd heard it, including Sabona.
Sabona suddenly realized that all those around had moved away, forming a circle around her.
Vincent was looking at her expressionlessly.
"No... no... I didn't... I'm innocent, I followed you guys. Don't come near me. My father is the chief of the Central District Police Unit. You will die a miserable death if you dare touch me!"
But it was no use. The poor surrounded her, staring at her with their wild, frenzied eyes.
She stumbled back and cried out hysterically, "Don't come near me, you d.a.m.ned poor! Why haven't you died yet! You pigs, all of you should just die! Filthy things like you shouldn't exist in Norzin!"
Sabona's face twisted in fury as she picked up a crude weapon that had been dropped on the ground and tried charging toward the crowd.
But at that moment, a holy flame fell from the sky, engulfing her in raging fire. The flames licked at her skin and instantly burned her to a crisp. Excruciating pain made her cry out in agony, and her carefully maintained skin became completely charred.
Her face was twisted with flames, and her flesh turned to ashes. Her body became like a writhing worm, struggling in pain, but she could no longer make a sound.
Vincent watched her coldly and recited a silent prayer.
"Her soul will return to its most pure, primitive state and return to the embrace of our Lord. This way, she will be eternally pure."
——
Central District, central administration, adjudication bureau beneath the Inverse Tree.
Barr, the oldest in the adjudication bureau, frowned as he watched his worried compatriots. Even before Norzin was established, he had pledged his loyalty to the witch, gaining near immortality and living till this day.
As the oldest among them, Barr didn't have any bit of selfishness. He sat beneath the Inverse Tree all day, and even his family didn't exist. Almost everyone else viewed him as part of the Inverse Tree itself.
"It's definitely the bookstore owner's scheme!" the combative Agathare exclaimed with clenched fists.
"It's Ji Zhixiu," Asmodeus said hoa.r.s.ely. "We underestimated Ji Zhixiu. She got control of most of the n.o.bles at the auction, but we had been none the wiser."
The bunch of old folk in the adjudication bureau started arguing nonstop which gave Barr a headache.
"Silence! Whether it's Ji Zhixiu or Vincent of the Sun's Faith, they are both lackeys of Lin Jie." Barr supported himself with a cane and hollered angrily, which made everyone calm down.
"We have to awaken the witch," Barr said softly.
"But the Wall of Fog..."
"There's no 'but.' If the Central District central administration is gone, maintaining the Wall of Fog would be useless," Barr muttered, a hint of killing intent glinting in his murky eyes.
Blythe, the youngest among them, who was still often referred to as a child by Barr, scoffed silently when he heard this. He slowly got up from his chair, having been sitting in the corner without anyone noticing his actions.
He walked toward the fruit under the inverted tree and looked at the slumbering Witch of Trees through the slit on the fruit.
The green-haired maiden seemed as if she was having a beautiful dream.
Blythe sighed. "Did you hear that, Fraxinus? You thought you were guarding the tree that protected the Azir continent, but in their eyes, you are merely a tool for these so-called leaders."
Fraxinus' fair eyelids twitched slightly when she heard the somewhat familiar voice.