Whispering Verse

"Could it be."

"When I think about it, I can't always remember it, and I always forget to mention it to others. It took half a year for even the Speaker to remember to ask me what kind of sect the Golden Dawn was originally. Wait, the name of the sect is What's on the side of your mouth?"

The beautiful witch made a thoughtful expression. She clearly thought of something but couldn't express her anxiety. Shade understood it very well:

"Is it the [Order of the Forgotten]?"

He asked tentatively, and Miss Benenice showed an expression of sudden realization:

"Yes, the Forgotten Order! When I first met Sirius, the young girl called herself 'The Forgotten'. Thinking about it, I really miss her. Shade, you actually know about this order?"

"Not only do I know that they believe in the old god [Old Forgotten]?"

"Yes, are you familiar with this sect? Did you experience it in the past?"

"No, it's the experience of the current time. I want to ask you a question, is there a [Church of the Forgotten] locally?"

"The rumors do exist, but due to the interruption of the order's inheritance, the whereabouts of the Golden Dawn church were lost hundreds of years ago. Siris's father has been working hard to find it, but he was unable to achieve his goal until he disappeared."

Having said this, the witch lowered her head and looked at the photo:

"Stone statue. You don't want to say that."

"Yes, the place where this statue was found is the [Church of the Forgotten]."

He took out the mithril cube and repeated the rumor of "the invisible church" softly. Dense information about the church appeared on the mithril:

"In the story of Randall's Valley, the first thing I encountered was the 'Invisible Church'. In fact, my ability to travel between Tobesk and Randall's Valley is also related to that church; in the Emerald Dream, The relics of Thomas Granger, who possessed the power of my earth, were also found under that church. That’s pretty much it.”

The witch was slightly surprised:

"Have you found that church? Sorry, I don't believe you, but can you let me see what that church looks like?"

"no problem."

Shade reached to the right and took out a book from the translucent bookshelf that reflected the color of the starry sky. When Miss Benenice opened the book, there were pictures of the interior and exterior of the church. The stone sculpture of the man sitting in the front seat is clearly visible in the color picture.

"Such a thing really does happen."

She stood up at once, stretched out her hand to pull Shade up, and her tone was very serious:

"There are indeed several believers of the old god [Forgotten Old Man] in the Golden Dawn now, but don't tell them about this first. Now, take me to that church, yes, right now."

"Don't you have to tell Miss Lassers first?"

"Let me make sure first what that statue is. Shade, you have also seen the petrified corpse of the out-of-control earth, so you must understand what I think, and you also understand the meaning of that statue to Siris."

Shade nodded slightly. That statue was most likely the body of Ms. Sirius Lassers' father. This result was indeed a bit too cruel for her.

It doesn’t take too long to get to Cherry Leaf Street from the Wilde Opera House. There weren’t many people on the street at night. Shade and Miss Bernanice, who got off the carriage, came to the street between Nos. 11 and 12. Block the wall in front. Put your fingers together and pray softly while looking from between your fingers to the wall.

There is obviously no trace of spatial change, but the church courtyard, which covers a large area, is "squeezed" out from between the bricks.

Even though she had heard Shade say it once, Miss Benenice was still shocked:

"It's actually hidden in the city."

The two entered the courtyard through the fence gate, and the witch even looked back to make sure that the scenery outside was still Cherry Leaf Street.

There was nothing interesting to see in the deserted courtyard. They walked up the steps along the central sermon, pushed open the door and entered the interior of the church against the crack of the door.

The moonlight shone down from the hole in the roof, almost forming a slanted moonlight beam in the center of the abandoned church nave. Miss Benanis pinched Shade's sleeve and stared at the scene in front of her with wide eyes:

"The appearance of the old temple is even more amazing than I thought."

"The stone statue is at the front."

Shade reminded, and the witch nodded slowly, still looking around in surprise:

"Shad, you don't understand the significance of this church to Siris and the Golden Dawn. It's incredible. The old gods have been gone for an era, but the church itself still has its own great power. The power of the gods is so Great and incredible.”

As he spoke, he and Shade walked side by side along the aisle between the bench seats, and soon came to the front:

"This is it. My fortune teller friend, Miss Luvia Anat, tried to divine it, but she could only confirm that it was a real stone."

"If it is petrified due to the curse of the earth, it is true that the secret cannot be revealed just by divination. Let me come, the witch's secret technique can be used at this time."

Although she was a little reluctant, she still bent down and put her hands on the shoulders of the sitting stone statue. A faint aura floated in the witch's palm and spread to the stone statue itself.

After a while, she let go of her hand, straightened up and looked at the statue:

"I tried to find where these stones once slept on the earth, but the result I got was the 'earth' itself. These are stones without a hometown, and there is no memory of them engraved in the earth. I think it should be right, this stone statue was originally A living person.”

She did not directly say that this was the body of Miss Lassers' father.

Shade sighed slightly and looked at it with the witch. Neither of them spoke. The moonlight shone slantly in front of them. Behind the stone statue, the moonlight shone on the snow, as if the snow also emitted quiet moonlight.

It took a while for Xia De to confirm:

"It can't be restored to normal, right? Not even [the omnipotent earth elixir] can do it."

The witch nodded:

"The soul is completely separated from the body. The difficulty of turning this stone statue into a living person is the same as the difficulty of re-creating a life. It is completely meaningless to discuss whether it can be restored. He is already dead. Even if the soul is recovered, it will not Possible resurrection.”

Shade pursed his lips, and then a long sigh sounded in the empty church.

"Go ahead and say it."

She said crisply.

"I'm going to do it. No, I shouldn't do this kind of thing. You are more familiar with Miss Lassers, so you go ahead and tell her."

Shade immediately refused. He never liked doing this kind of thing of announcing someone else's funeral. Although he took care of funerals for his friends before he came into this world, Jenkin had no relatives.

"I can't go. I won't be able to bear seeing her crying."

The witch shook her head and stretched out her finger to Shade:

"I'll give you 20 pounds and entrust you to do this. Aren't you a famous detective? This is my entrustment to you."

"This is not a matter of entrustment, Miss Bernanise, and I don't have the heart to tell her this fact."

Shade still refused, and turned around to see the blonde witch looking at him, with tears shining in her red-gold eyes:

"I really can't tell her. Help me, Shade, help me."

Even though he knew that this plea might be a trick of the witch, he still hesitated, pursed his lips and nodded:

"Okay, then I'll go. Give me the invitation, and I'll go find her at the banquet now. However, you owe me a favor."

"No problem. Counted into the promise I owe you, you can make any request, yes, any request."

After saying that, both of them fell silent and avoided looking at each other. Shade believed that Vanessa Benenice, like him, thought of the night a week ago, when they also hugged each other in a deserted church because of the potion.

In short, the question of the church stone statue was unexpectedly solved, but new questions followed. For example, why Miss Lacers' father died in the church without leaving any message to anyone.

Miss Benenice waited for the two of them to arrive alone in the Church of the Forgotten, while Shade, holding the invitation, soon rode a carriage to Earl Johnson's manor where a banquet was being held.

The manor, which covers an exaggerated area, is located outside the city of Randall Valley, in the pleasant valley and creek. Because it is adjacent to the main road, it is not deserted. Behind the manor are rolling hills, and next to the manor are the working sites of beekeepers and flower farmers, which look great even in winter.

The light in the manor even illuminated the dark night sky. When the carriage came in a hurry, Shade looked at the manor from the window and could feel the lively atmosphere.

After showing the invitation at the door, he hurriedly entered the manor courtyard, and then entered the house under the leadership of the servant.

Miss Rathus attended the banquet on behalf of Miss Benanis, accompanied by two ring warlocks from the Golden Dawn. She didn't come here to socialize, but to trade some sensitive contraband with an agreed-upon out-of-town businessman.

It was already half past eight in the evening, the banquet had started for a full hour and a half, and the transaction had probably ended, so Shade was not sure where Miss Lassers was at the ball now.

He decided to ask Margaret first. Tonight, Her Royal Highness the Princess was wearing a golden dress and chatting with a gray-haired old gentleman in a conspicuous place in the banquet hall. That was Earl Johnson. Shade did not see Prince William of Anjou. He was probably still a little frightened after experiencing the assassination incident at the banquet last week.

Margaret didn't see Shade at first. It wasn't until Shade walked by her with a cup that she suddenly noticed Shade's arrival.

So ten minutes later, the two met in the lounge prepared for distinguished guests. Margaret gave Shade a very passionate kiss, even though she heard that he came to see Miss Lassers, she didn't care:

"I saw that lady five minutes ago. She seemed to be taking someone to the garden behind."