Chapter 250

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Teresa’s Biography

The Royal Academy Library appeared somewhat Byzantine from the outside. Tall spires stood at each corner, crowned with massive domes. The interior was filled with arches, flying buttresses, and small domes, with various reading rooms arranged in a maze-like fashion that could easily lead one astray if not careful.

However, it was also the place with the most books in the royal city. Rare treasures and out-of-print documents could often be found here, making it the pinnacle of academic resources in Isenbel.

Unfortunately, even in such a place, records about the abyss were scarce. I understood that this had nothing to do with the library itself but rather the human understanding of such unknown entities, which was virtually non-existent. I had learned this during my previous visit. Thus, today, I wasn’t here to investigate the abyss.

I came to learn about Teresa.

I still remembered the fragmented scenes from those nights of dreams. Those winged creatures fighting in the sky… let’s call them Winged Horns for now. The blazing red flames and radiant gold light, the red-haired woman whose face was indistinct on the mountaintop.

In a moment of reverie, I returned to that dilapidated alleyway, burning with the fires of karma, where I saw those who had passed away in my dreams. I faced Teresa, engaging in conversations similar to my memories yet vastly different in their answers.

Most of the answers about Teresa had been lost in the fragments of my dreams, forgotten. But there was one sentence I remembered clearly.

In the dream, Teresa told me: If one day, you become like me back then—thinking everything went according to your wishes, only to realize later that they were deceiving you…

I couldn’t recall anything beyond that.

Although it was just a dream.

Now, I know the special nature of my “personality”… or perhaps “subconscious.” Perhaps due to the abyss, I’m not sure if this counts as “swallowing memories” or something else, but I wouldn’t take my dreams lightly.

So, what happened to the original Teresa?

I don’t know.

Teresa is dead. I can no longer seek answers from the deceased. But maybe, I can find some clues in certain records.

Just as I was taking a break from classes… ahem, I decided to come to the library to look around.

It really is vast. After circling for a long time, I finally found a book about her on a shelf labeled ‘Biographies of Notables’ on the second floor.

I tiptoed, stretched, and retrieved the not-so-thick book, then hurriedly carried it to a nearby round wooden table and sat down, placing the book on the table and opening it.

The title of the book was *A History of the Church’s Great Figures*. It detailed many figures within the church, with the longest section dedicated to Pope Angelus. However, I wasn’t interested in him right now. Quickly flipping to the part about Teresa, the first page read:

[Pious faith, firm belief. The young Sister Teresa vowed to dedicate her life to the great deity, refraining from desires and personal attachments, serving the people all her life.]

“Hmph…”

Unable to hold back, I chuckled coldly and turned to the next page.

[Sister Teresa was born in 1154 in a poor village in Eastland Apolista. Her father was a local fisherman, and her mother passed away due to illness shortly after giving birth to her. Living with her father, she was obedient and sensible from a young age. Every morning, she would go to the seaside with her father to catch fish and then sell them at the market, living a very frugal life and witnessing much of the world’s suffering…]

Ah! This is exactly what I wanted to read—the biography…

So, I calmed down and started reading carefully.

[In 1173, influenced by her aunt, the 19-year-old Teresa had the good fortune to become an apprentice nun in the Holy Church… From 1173 to 1175, favored by the deity, Sister Teresa, with her unwavering faith, received the blessings of the Fertile Mother Goddess, the Goddess of Sin, and the God of Healing. She became an extremely rare individual capable of accepting miracles related to healing, punishment, and nature…]

[And she exhibited astonishing talent in the use of miracles, and was later promoted by the Pope to become one of the eighty-ninth generation candidates for Holy Maiden of the Sacred Church…]

[In the summer of 1176, Sister Teresa accompanied Cardinal Nero across the Ipsos Sea, arriving at the Kingdom of Iseumbel. Between the winter of 1176 and the winter of 1178, she made multiple trips to the war-torn northern regions, using great miracles to save countless lives of the kingdom’s warriors, and ordered the rebels causing the chaos to cease their actions. This ultimately prevented the outbreak of the Second Rose War. Sister Teresa was thus bestowed the Peace Medal by His Majesty the King. The people of Iseumbel, who had long suffered from war, affectionately called her the ‘Feather of Purity,’ meaning the feather of an angel, a symbol of sanctity…]

[In March 1179, at just 25 years old, Sister Teresa was appointed head of the Maleenus Diocese…]

[In June 1179, a plague ravaged the north of Iseumbel, claiming millions of lives, with corpses piling up… Despite the danger to herself, Sister Teresa resolutely went to the disaster area and once again used great miracles to save countless people who had lost hope…]

[On June 10, 1182, Sister Teresa was directly appointed by the Pope as the chief administrator of the Order City Diocese and was also appointed as a diplomatic envoy by Order City…]

[On September 1, 1182, Sister Teresa was officially designated as the eighty-ninth generation Holy Maiden of the Sacred Church, with a vote count far higher than any other candidate…]

[On September 9, 1182, just the day before the grand ceremony for the appointment of the Holy Maiden, on that night when the whole of Iseumbel was celebrating, the Sacred Church suddenly announced externally that they would abandon Teresa’s qualification as the successor to the eighty-ninth generation Holy Maiden. This unexpected change caused a huge uproar at the time; the people raised flags in protest, shouting Teresa’s name loudly… Three days later, Teresa issued a statement clarifying that she claimed: Perhaps I have finally clarified my mission; whether or not I am a Holy Maiden will not affect my future actions. The heavy responsibility given to me by the divine will continue.]

From here on, Teresa continued to diligently fulfill her duties as an excellent clergy member. She provided relief to the people, took charge of the administration of the Catauloma convent, and carefully cared for those pitiful orphans. Teresa had no lover; she devoted her best years to humanity and was a great woman deeply loved by us.

As for why she suddenly lost her qualification as the successor to the Holy Maiden, looking back now, it might no longer be important.

The content about Teresa ends here.

Based on the description in this book, she was indeed a great woman, just as she appeared to the world.

But…

I frowned, flipping through the last few pages several times, then closed the book and took a deep breath.

I am sure that the problem lies within the period around the grand ceremony for the appointment of the Holy Maiden.

Thinking I had achieved my wish, only to find out it was all a lie…

“I have finally clarified my mission,” I whispered the sentence aloud.

When Teresa said this, there must have been a deeper meaning… Damn it, what did she discover…

After a long silence, I stood up, put the book back in its place, and continued wandering around the library, trying to find the book she wrote, “The Sorrow of Love.” I felt that perhaps I could find more clues from that book.

I remember seeing that book on one of the shelves during my last visit. But what puzzled me was that after searching for a long time, almost memorizing the layout of the library, I couldn’t find it.

There was no choice but to ask the librarian.

“Miss, if you are looking for the book ‘The Sorrow of Love,’ it has already been taken away by the priest.”

The young woman with freckles apologized to me.

“It’s because of Sister Teresa… In these past few days, many students wanted to borrow books to commemorate the great hero… The library originally had many copies, but all were reclaimed by the church on the third day after the city was hit by disaster.”