31. The Soul Tree

What Sylvester saw left him amazed and confused amidst the intense smell of roses and sweat. He was not aroused, however. Being merely eight years of age, his little snakes were yet to activate. So, after eyeing the 'exercises' for a few minutes, he silently left.

'These women will probably be burnt alive if the Church finds out.'

He picked Miraj and climbed the stairs. "Since when have you known about this, Chonky?"

"I forgot, but I watch them every week at dinner… long before I adopted you," Miraj answered proudly.

'It's crazy how even the Great Mother is into this… isn't she supposed to be a hero from the great war? I hope this cult isn't too widespread, or else if Xavia is into this, then it'd be a looming danger to my life too.'

To him, his own safety was the most important. He had a soft spot for Xavia, but if she knowingly threatened their lives, he'd have to go away from her. But first, he needed to verify if she was into this or was he worrying for nothing.

"I'm home, mum."

He could hear the sound of Xavia cooking from the cooking area. The aroma of marinated meat cooking in the pan was mouth-watering. This was one of the things he cherished while living with Xavia. Whenever he was with her, it truly felt like home.

"Come here and help me cook. I will add some honey to the dish, and you watch the bread." She called him quickly.

Being a man who knew how to live alone for years, he tried to help Xavia cook and even suggested ways to enhance some dishes. In the end, he found himself helping her every day. Also, in the name of helping, he got to feed Miraj secretly.

"Mum, who is my father?" He asked abruptly and kept a close eye on her expressions.

Xavia's body language revealed that she became tense instantly and avoided looking at him. Finally, she forced herself to smile. "Dear, you've asked me this so many times. I do not want to talk about it… it brings back some extremely unpleasant memories. That's a chapter of my life better forgotten."

'Hmm, she's not lying.'

"Do you not feel like finding a new friend?" He asked innocently, not directly calling it a lover.

Xavia chuckled. "Why would I do that? You're my life, and I don't need anyone else. I'm also wholly devoted to Solis now."

'Okay, that last part was a lie.'

"Don't worry. I will take care of you, mum. Ah… add more honey, please." He pointed at the pan quickly.

Xavia laughed heartily and did as her son wished. He was her world, her will to live. She had many secrets, but she hoped they would never come to haunt them so they could live in peace.

But life was going to be anything but ordinary. Sylvester knew this as he slowly came face to face with the political nature of the Church and how his own status of God's Favored was not welcomed by all.

Bishop Norman was just the beginning. There will be many more people who will want him dead or gone. And to overcome such people, he needed to grow stronger.

"Mum, teach me healing after eating?" He asked nicely. He was trying to build his second set of skills that could help him in an emergency. For example, he kept his other elements a secret, but the problem was that it was hard to train. He knew about Wind and Fire, but Water and Earth were hard to learn.

"Sure, dear. Anything for my little Max. Now help me set the dinner table."

The mother and son… and the cat enjoyed the fine dinner merrily. For now, Sylvester had a feeling that his mother had nothing to do with what he saw downstairs.

'Maybe one day I can use what I saw against the Great Mother.'

For a spy, one's downfall was another man's good luck. All his life, he had learned to use the intel at the best moment.

So now he just had to wait for the right moment.

…

As usual, the classes went normal for Sylvester. His friendship with Felix and Markus increased day by day, and he even made new friends. One of them was Gabriel Maxwell, a boy Sylvester felt highly sympathetic to due to the former's past as a slave.

Gabriel was homeless and had no parents. So he sold himself to feed his younger two siblings, but thankfully the local monastery found out about him, and they discovered his great talents of minor light and extreme earth magic. Even his talents were Master Wizard and Diamond Knight, which were excellent.

Gabriel only wished to become a clergyman and return home to live with his family and do his holy duties. So he was always serious about studying, to the point that he helped Sylvester, Felix, and Markus focus better.

"Nobody is allowed to see the Soul Tree without the permission of Sanctum Council. We are the luckiest beings in all of the world." Gabriel chirped in worship as he walked beside his three friends.

Today, the whole class was heading to a unique secure location in the Holy Land. It was situated in a different peninsula of the Holy Land, called Soul Site. It had a giant tree that one could see miles away on land or sea.

The trip was organized by the Mentor of Religious Studies, Archbishop Noah. The aim was to learn about Solis in-depth because the tree was associated with Solis.

The journey was short, done by a sailing ship from Pope's peninsula. This was the first time Sylvester had seen and traveled on board a vessel since his rebirth. It was his habit to speculate on the world's technology.

The ships seemed ordinary to him, the only new thing being black canons with rune engravings on them. They were supposed to be magic cannons that shot concentrated bombardment. These were used against ships of pirates and Eastern heathens.

Then when they docked at the small port, they all saw the tree from up close. Sylvester's jaw fell as he had never seen something this majestic before. The tree was above three hundred meters, and its trunk appeared like an enormous skyscraper.

Its various branches were full of lush green giant leaves, each leaf as big as a man. It also had watermelon-sized flowers, and some of its branches were covered in golden mist and fireflies.

"This is breathtaking," Sylvester muttered in awe of the beauty. The air surrounding the tree felt much fresher as well. Miraj also jumped off and ran to the tree to play on it. He was excited since he was getting to see the world again.

"Indeed, Deacon Sylvester." Archbishop Noah commented as he, too, looked at the tree with worship. "Follow me. We shall finish today's class in the lap of the Soul Tree."

The peninsula was empty for the most part, as only the Holy Knights were staffing the location. Other than that, some priests were present to do the daily prayers.

They crossed the fortification walls and arrived at the roots. They were massive and dug into the dirt as if giant claws. There was no manmade structure near the tree, however.

"Sit on the soft grass and listen to me carefully about this beautiful, magical tree." Archbishop Noah instructed them in a soft voice. "Look at the tree and bask in its warmth, for it is one of the only two such trees in the world. The other one is in the middle of War Island."

Markus raised his head and asked quickly. "Mentor, why is that place called War Island?"

The old man's face fell with sadness appearing. "That… is an unfortunate case, young Deacon. The Soul tree is, unfortunately, also the reason behind the name. There are four kingdoms on War Island, and all of them have equally divided the island into four parts except the middle. The middle part is under Church occupation by majority consensus.

"But the four kingdoms are greedy and wish for the Soul Tree to bless only their lands. For this, they are ready to make war—which they do. From the time of recorded history, they have been at war."

Sylvester raised his hand and asked a question. "Mentor, why did the Thousand-year war start?"

There was only mention of this war, and how bad the East was in all the books Sylvester read in the past few years. He reckoned the reason was unpleasant, which was why the higher-ups kept it a secret. But now, as he was supposed to be a Clergyman, he felt he was eligible to know.

"That too has a tragic story behind it, Deacon Sylvester. But, to respect the life of Pope Jarl Desmond, the Saint, we do not talk about it a lot and only keep what happened to him in our hearts.

"In the year of Solis 3944, the Thousand-year war, sometimes called War of Two Worlds, began with the assassination of the Pope in the heathen continent while he was on missionary work to promote religion. It was the turning point in our history, as the Church also had to take up the martial role."

Sylvester didn't feel any strange emotions from the man that showed he was lying. But he found it hard to believe that someone removed the name from history out of respect.

Archbishop Noah continued teaching the main topic next. "Young favored ones, this tree's lap is where the first Pope found internal peace. This is where he started his journey to travel the world and find answers about the reason for his existence.

"That eventually led to the formation of the Church of Solis, right here around the Soul Tree. It is believed that Soul Trees grow in a land where the intensity of Solarium is at most, and the rays from the Solis fall the highest.

"This is the most blessed land in the Holy Land. As God's Favored, I want all of you to meditate under this warmth and try to ask questions in mind. Who knows, one of you might have the same mysterious experience that the first Pope, Luther Vas Hermington, had. Remember, meditate sincerely, for this may be the first and last time you get to be this close to the Soul Tree.

"May the warmth of Soul Tree help you understand your destiny."

Archbishop Noah also sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to meditate. He seemed dead, however, as the old wrinkled face didn't help.

Sylvester wholeheartedly glanced at the glowing branches of the trees and etched its beautiful image in mind. Then he closed his eyes to meditate—to ask questions. All he had to do was clear his mind of all thoughts and take long, refreshing breaths.

It was easy to do, but once his mind emptied and went into a trance-like state, a face surfaced in his mind. It was blurry but appeared to belong to a little newborn child. Some voices were there, too, but they were muffled to the point they were not understandable.

Slowly, the face became clear, as if he was waking up from sleep.

'Who are you?' he wondered, remembering the day he was born to Xavia. It was only him, the midwife, and Xavia, so this was not his memory. While in this scene, there were too many people and voices, and everything was brightly lit.

Sylvester felt he could touch the child if he willed, so he instinctively tried to raise his hand. But no change appeared in the scene except the baby's face becoming clear.

Pat!—He touched it finally. However, the next instant, his heart fired up as the child's red eyes shot open, looking directly at him. The gaze was piercing enough that Sylvester felt goosebumps on his body.

Creeped out by it, he hastily stopped meditation and opened his eyes, only to realize his body was drenched in sweat, his breathing was fast, the Soul tree was shining too bright in gold, he was alone, and—it was already dusk!

"Cough!—A vision, I presume, Deacon Sylvester?"

[A/N: Check the para comment for the tree.]