Lord of Glory

"AHHH! Hahh, hahh."

Paladin, who had once again awoken on the floor of the church’s loft, noticed the familiarity of his surroundings. So, he let out a sigh of relief. That terrible nightmare was over for now. However, Paladin was not a fool. He knew that after every fusion with light magic elements, he’d enter that dream. And unlike normal dreams, which he usually had no recollection of, this particular dream felt as real as if he were there.

The most important thing to take note of inside the dream was the little baby and the huge inverted tree. The only time he saw the inverted tree was in the space where the Ripley Scroll was sealed, drawn in the huge stone slab that emerged from the ground. At first, Paladin thought it was merely his imagination that made him have such dreams. However, the consecutive and non-repetitive dreams made Paladin realize that there was a deeper meaning that was hard to swallow inside. It was difficult to say, but this dream seemed to be greatly connected with the Philosopher's Stone, particularly the inverted tree.

Thinking about it, Paladin immediately jumped up, opened the mountain of bookshelves, and began to read through a variety of strange and bizarre alchemical books one after another. He believed that since the Philosopher's Stone was an alchemical product, then the inverted tree should also be related to alchemy. There should be relevant descriptions in the classics.

Unfortunately, even after reading many books such as "Popular Science of Alchemy Encyclopedia", "The Origin of Alchemy of Various Schools", "Proof of the Origin of Alchemy", and even "Excerpts of Dark Alchemy", there was still no information found about the inverted tree. Just when Paladin was about to give up, the last book in his hand, titled "Heretics and Gods", which was a miscellaneous book, lit up the light in Paladin’s eyes.

This said book recorded nothing more than about the five main gods believed by all races on the Olosen Continent, which were: the representative of hope and justice, the god of light Enos; the representative of sin and despair, the god of darkness Belial; the god of storms, thunder, and the sea, Nasius; the representative of plants and earth, the god of nature Jaconot. The book also wrote about the "Furnace and War", where major divine sects accuse each other of heresy. To them, the gods of their own side were the true gods. However, Paladin naturally didn’t care about these things.

He focused on the contents of the book, on a page about a mysterious sect called the Illuminati. This sect was the most dangerous and terrifying anti-God group. Every member didn’t acknowledge the true heresy of any god. The core idea of this sect was depicted in an illustration, which was the exact inverted tree Paladin was looking for.

A scribble on it told Paladin that this illustration was called the Kabbalah Inverted Tree. It was said that the gods drove the first humans created out of the supreme paradise of heaven because they feared these creatures would surpass them one day. So, they put every creature in chains. This Kabbalah tree was the chains that God put on mankind.

"Chains?" Paladin frowned and thought carefully. But he still couldn’t understand why this inverted tree was meant to be chains. How could something without a keyhole be a lock? However, reality did not give Paladin any more time to think, as there was a knocking sound coming from the door downstairs.

"Hahh,” softly sighing, Paladin closed his book and walked downstairs. He found Abeleigh, who was stuck on the ceiling. Abeleigh stretched out his tongue and looked at Paladin eagerly. The latter immediately shook his head. Who was he kidding, asking for food in broad daylight? Paladin didn’t want to create a mess anymore.

"Which believer, ah? This morning's prayer has not yet begun!" Paladin said as he put on his divine robe. He wore the cross, picked up the shoddy scepter, and then slammed the door open.

"Oh, reverend priest, here is a letter for you."

When the door was opened, a young man with a rimmed hat very politely handed Paladin a red-painted envelope from his backpack. Paladin immediately took the envelope suspiciously and looked around, he could not help but ask, "Are you sure this is for me?"

"Yes, I’m sure." The messenger was a little uncomfortable with Paladin's question. It was an insult to his job, but the other man was a priest. So, he answered politely, "The priest’s name is Paladin Flamel, right?"

"Mhm," Paladin hesitantly agreed.

The messenger then said, "You see, this is sent to you. Look at the writings on the cover."

When Paladin looked at it, he saw a sentence written in a very beautiful script that almost sent Paladin's soul into a spin.

To my son, Paladin Flamel. Your most loving mother Aaron Flamel.

For a moment, Paladin's expression changed dramatically. However, it quickly returned to normal before showing a warm look of nostalgia.

"Father, it's your letter, right?"

"Yes, thank you. I don't have much money, so take these." Paladin smiled calmly, took out three gold coins from his pocket. and handed them to the messenger. Such a sudden reward made the messenger a bit overwhelmed, "Father, this is too much!"

Who knew that Paladin would suddenly wave his hand, take out a paper and pencil from the side table, and write a letter. Then he sealed the envelope with red wax and handed it to the messenger.

"This letter, please give it to Bishop Andrew of Edley."

"Yes, yes. Thank you, Father!" The messenger breathed a sigh of relief, he still got the money. He then joyfully said goodbye to Paladin before climbing the chestnut horse tethered at the door and going away with a whoosh.

When the messenger was already far away, Paladin's originally bland face instantly darkened. He took out the letter and opened it, only to see that there were two or three short sentences written on it.

My son Paladin,

You have been away from home for two months, but did not send a letter back home. It’s making me and your sister worry all day long. When you have time, come back to see us. Your father's health is getting worse and worse. Your elder brother went out to join the army, and we don't know whether he is alive or dead. If you still refuse to send a letter to us, we will set off to find you!

Love, your mother.

Aaron, Flamel

The moment he finished reading the letter, only two words appeared in Paladin's mind, which was ‘Shut up!’ Crumpling the fragile paper with his hand, Paladin's face became more and more gloomy.

"I absolutely can’t let them come here. Once they found out I’m not the original Paladin, but an impostor, not only will months of my effort be in vain, but I will also become wanted by the Duchy of Kasmi. I will have to change my face and start all over again!" Paladin muttered viciously. He immediately considered a plan to eradicate them. He vaguely remembered that the Paladin Family lived in Fenrir Parish. Although it was a small noble family, it was much more noticeable than the average family. Going back and forth on a horse would take at least a day. But he still didn’t take into account the time spent in eliminating them. Time was running out. Keeping this family alive was always a potential hazard. Thus, he must wipe them out with lightning speed!