Chapter 1420: The Pope’s Power
Ning looked into the blue eyes of the somewhat young-looking man who stood before him.
“How do you know that I do not have any treasures?” Ning asked. “How will you check the powers that I have?”
The pope pointed to the hat that he wore, with a golden band around it with gems studded into it. “This is a treasure sensing and disarming every treasure in a large area. I could tell since the moment you arrived in this place that the young lady and the young man behind there owned treasures.”
“Even though the young man hasn’t brought it here today, I can sense its aura on him through this hat, and I know that the young lady currently owns a treasure on herself as well.”
“But if you attempt to use it right now, you will find yourself unable to do so. That is the power of my hat. All treasures in my vicinity become inert and nothing more than decoration.”
Jasmine touched her ring softly and felt surprised at the Pope’s words.
‘The Crown of Emptiness,” Tim said softly, remembering the name of the item that he had read just a few days ago in the Cardinal’s library.
Ning heard his words and perhaps him alone. He looked at the Pope’s hat for a moment and then looked down toward the Pope himself. “I understand,” he said. “Then how will you be checking the powers that I do have?”
“That is simple as well,” the Pope said and reached out for Ning.
Ning remained still, unsure what was going to happen, and let the man touch his forehead.
The Pope closed his eyes for a second, seemingly thinking about something. Halfway through, his face turned into a frown, making the three Cardinals ready into action.
The Cardinal of Coins wasn’t much of a fighter, but the Cardinal of Justice and the Cardinal of Life were true fighters themselves. They had known death and hardships before coming into the life of a Cardinal. They were more than ready to beat Ning if the necessity called for it.
The pope removed his arm from Ning and looked at him. “Strange, I do not sense any power from you at all,” he said.
Ning gave a soft smile. ‘Strange,’ he thought. ‘And you aren’t Zurinus either.’
The first of his 3 suspects had turned out short. The Pope in the end was just a man that was more fanatic than anything perhaps.
“At the same time,” the pope continued. “I do sense some strangeness in you.”
Ning looked up. “What strangeness?” he asked.
“You lack… a level of…” the Pope paused, trying to find words. “You lack vitality. That is perhaps the wrong choice of words on my part, but that is the only way I can explain what I am feeling.”
Ning frowned slightly, and the rest of the Cardinals got curious as well.
“You see,” the Pope continued. “I have two powers with me. One is what I was born with over a hundred years ago, and the other one is what I was given when I became the pope. It is a power passed down from pope to pope.”
Ning gave a surprised look. “Are you allowed to tell me this?” he asked.
“I make the rules, young man,” the Pope said with some amusement to his words. “I choose what I can and cannot do. I choose to tell you because your body has amused me today.”
“I see,” Ning said. “Pardon my words. Please continue.”
The Pope nodded. “I won’t tell you what one of my powers is, but the one that I was given when I became the pope is the power to recognize a person with power.”
“You see, a human has a certain… rhythm to their soul, a certain… flicker of life that tells me that they are human. However, just that means that these people are regular humans.”
“However, once in a while, I will sense a man or woman with irregular rhythm to their soul, a different flicker to their life. That is when I can tell you that they are in fact beings with power.”
“That is how we find people with power,” the Pope said and then frowned a little. “However, in your case, I could not find that. I couldn’t even find the regular rhythm.”
“There is certainly something very faint in there, but it is not the regular rhythm of a regular person’s soul or the irregular rhythm of someone with power.”
“You… you are a different human that I have never seen before,” the Pope said. “Do you really have a power?”
The Pope’s eyes took on an innocent look of curiosity that made Ning not want to lie to him. He had understood by this point just what was happening here.
Because Ning didn’t have a true soul and only an imitation of it, the pope’s power was becoming incapable of sensing through it. So, now there was nothing he could do except maybe fake the rhythm to make the pope believe he had power.
But Ning decided not to do that.
“I do have a power,” Ning said. “But I will be honest, I have never used it before. I have tried too many times before but have come up short.”
He looked at the 3 Cardinals behind him. “My powers, as I know it, require a certain condition. That condition is something I have been failing to meet ever since I started on this journey a few months ago.”
Ning looked back at the Pope. “You touched me just now, and in that touch, I was able to tell. You are not the one I’m looking for either,” he said. He gave a slight bow toward the pope. “My apologies for all the problems and tensions I must have brought to you and your people by insisting that I meet you.”
“That is alright,” the Pope said. “I was able to meet someone so fascinating like you, and my men tell me that your presence has been rather helpful in different places,”
The Pope looked toward the Cardinals who nodded back.
Ning gave a slight grin. “You jest, Your Holiness,” he said. “I fear there is nothing else I can do for you now that I everything is done.”
“If that is how it is, then that is how Zurinus meant it to be,” the Pope said. “Don’t be saddened that you did not reach your destination today, child. Be happy that your journey continues.”
“Keep on this path and you will find that which you are searching for. Zurinus wills it so,” the Pope said.
Ning barely hid the snicker from the pope. The irony in those words was something only he knew and he nearly let it show.
Ning looked back toward Tim and Jasmine. “Your Holiness, would you please give your blessings to these two friends of mine as well?” he asked.
“If you request it so,” the Pope said and turned toward the other two. “Children, come here.”
Tim and Jasmine arrived.
Jasmine bowed before the pope first and let him place a hand on her head, as he spoke something deep under his breath.
Ning could hear the chant, a chant that called for Zurinus to bless his mortals with luck and miracles. Ning kept watch for a miracle.
Who knew, Zurnius might just show up to do something in this place.
Jasmine walked away and Tim moved forward. The Pope put his hand on top of him too and started chanting the prayer once again.
The Pope was only halfway through the chant when he stopped and looked at the young man before him.
“Child, look at me,” he said.
Tim paused and looked up toward the pope. “Did I do something wrong, Your Holiness?” he asked.
“Speak not right now,” the Pope said and touched Tim’s forehead as he closed his eyes.
Immediately, Tim moved back, away from the pope. At the same time, the Cardinals moved into action, a knife from the Cardinal Marcus’s sleeve sticking next to Tim’s throat, ready to dig in.
“Stop it!” the Pope ordered immediately when he saw what his Cardinals were doing.
Cardinal Farsas let go of the sword handle he was holding to and was ready to pull. Cardinal Marcus pulled away the knife and placed it into his sleeve once again.
The pope stepped down from where he had been and walked straight toward Tim.
“Child, what is your name?” he asked.
“T-Tim,” Tim said timidly.
“Tim, do you know that you have powers as well?” the Emperor asked.
Jasmine showed looks of shock and so did the Cardinals. Ning gave a look of understanding as if made sense why Tim had reacted the way he had.
“I—” Tim looked around, asking for help. His eyes fell on Ning, and Ning gave a simple nod. The action reassured Tim more than whatever its meaning could have been.
“Yes,” Tim said with a solemn voice.
“And what is this power?” the Pope asked.
“I… I can use any Zur— Divine treasure, regardless of whether it has an owner or not,” Tim said.
The Pope’s eyes widened at the usefulness of the power. “Fascinating,” he said. “Have you experimented with your powers yet?”
“A… a little,” Tim said. “There aren’t many treasures that I get to train with.”
“I see,” the Pope said. “Then, what if I could provide you with a large amount of treasure to practice with? Would you agree to join the church and become the next in line to become the pope?”
The sudden question of that magnitude sent Tim’s mind spiraling into confusion and despair.
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