Gospel of Blood

The Submission of the Nez Clan

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In a gloomy and solemn castle hall.

Around the hall, black stone walls are carved with mythical legends, shadowy and indistinct. Four demon statues with bat wings and tridents sit in the hall, guarding the solitary coffin in the center.

The lid of the coffin has been opened at some point, and it is empty inside.

On the other side of the hall, by a small iron window layered with magical seals, stands a female bloodborne in a black dress. Her profile is dignified and beautiful, and her crimson eyes seem to hold starlight.

Chains lock the female bloodborne, connecting her to the coffin in the center of the hall, seemingly binding her forever in this heavily sealed room.

However, the female bloodborne appears accustomed to it.

She stands there quietly, gazing at the sky through the iron bars, looking at the hazy silver moon.

A cold wind blows, lifting her long hair, a mix of brown and silver.

She gently brushes her hair aside, her scarlet eyes watching the moon, which now seems tinged with blood, and her expression changes slightly.

“The wind… is rising.”

She murmurs.

Creaking sounds come from behind her as the castle hall’s tightly closed door is lit by a series of magical lights.

The chains and blood vines entwined around it rapidly retreat, and the heavy door slowly opens.

Light pours in, accompanied by a series of low footsteps. The female bloodborne does not turn around.

She withdraws her gaze from the moonlight, sighing softly.

“Lord Robin, have you… made a decision?”

The low footsteps pause slightly.

The shadows recede, and the dim light reveals the identity of the newcomer—it is none other than Duke Robin, the Elder of the Nez Clan.

Seeing Duke Robin, the demon statues around the coffin immediately bow.

“Lord Robin.”

Duke Robin nods, then looks at the female bloodborne standing by the iron window with a complex expression.

“Eugenia, you… already know why I am here?”

The woman named Eugenia turns around, looking at the solemn Elder of the Nez Clan with a sigh.

“For a Seer, foreseeing the visitor’s intentions is a basic skill.”

“Lord Robin, it seems you too have long since suffered the backlash of betrayal and lost some of your power.”

Elder Robin’s expression is unreadable.

“So… you already know that the True Ancestor has returned?”

Eugenia nods.

“Although I am confined here, I am neither deaf nor blind. That familiar and terrifying aura, in this world… only that great Lord possesses it.”

She looks at Duke Robin again.

“Lord Robin, since you have chosen to come here, may I assume you have finally recognized reality and realized that we can no longer obtain Lord Casey’s protection?”

Hearing Eugenia’s words, elder Robin falls silent.

After a long time, he looks at the female bloodborne with a complicated expression and says heavily.

“Eugenia, we still remember Lord Casey. You were once Lord Casey’s favored. More than anyone, you should know that as long as a God is not forgotten, there is no true death. As long as we remember Him, he still has a chance to return.”

“Perhaps Lord Casey has truly fallen, but as long as we remember Him, he still has a day to return.”

Eugenia nods.

“What you say is true. However, I must remind you that the same applies to our great progenitor.”

“Otherwise, we wouldn’t be meeting today after seventy-five years.”

She pauses, then continues.

“Moreover, I must emphasize again, I was never Lord Casey’s favored. I serve only the art of divination. I am the Saintess of Divination, the Witch of Prophecy. This was the mission bestowed upon me by the True Ancestor before She succumbed to madness. If I belong to anyone, it is to the True Ancestor.”

Elder Robin paused slightly.

“The past…?”

Eugenia glanced at him.

“And now, if… She is willing to accept a sinner who once betrayed Her.”

Duke Robin’s gaze shifts slightly.

“Have you… performed a divination?”

Eugenia stepped forward.

Moonlight illuminates her, revealing the other side of her face.

It is a half-aged face, deeply wrinkled, with the wrinkles creeping towards the other youthful side.

More silver threads weave through her brown hair, and even the other side of her body is rapidly aging and decaying.

Seeing Eugenia’s appearance, Elder Robin’s expression changes, and his face becomes stern.

“This is… the backlash of fate? You forcibly performed a divine vision with insufficient anchors?!”

“Why didn’t you wait for us to lift the seal and provide you with faith anchors for the divination? Using divine power with a mortal body, are you courting death?”

Eugenia, however, is indifferent to her body’s changes.

She merely smiled slightly and said,

“After all, I am a member of the Nez Clan. In times of crisis for the clan, in times of crucial decisions for the clan, I should contribute my strength.”

“Lord Casey has fallen, and I am not qualified to become a God. You were right, no matter how hard I try, I will never obtain my own anchor.”

“Of course, this also applies to you all. We cannot obtain anchors, and I… will never borrow Lord Casey’s anchor.”

“Therefore, the moment I sensed the descent of great power, I used my own strength to perform the divination.”

Elder Robin frowned.

“Did you not consider the cost?”

Eugenia shook her head.

“The cost? At most, it’s just another long slumber, losing some more memories. It’s something I’m used to.”

“After all, I am a second-generation bloodborne and did not directly peek into the secrets of the Gods. This level of backlash will not kill me.”

Elder Robin remains silent.

He looked at the woman before him with a complex expression and asked.

“Can you… tell me the result of your divination?”

Eugenia smiled.

“Lord Robin, since you came here, I think… you already have an answer in your heart regarding the result of my divination, don’t you?”

Without waiting for Duke Robin’s response, she continued.

“Ever since our Nez Clan betrayed our Lord, we have been in decline. We have been oppressed by the Holy Court, faced internal divisions, and our strength has stagnated…”

“This is the price of betrayal.”

“Even though our betrayal was out of rationality, betrayal is still betrayal.”

“Not to mention, our memories of that time are hazy. Who knows if the choice we made back then was right or wrong.”

“And now, it is time to get back on the right track…”

“My power is too weak, and I cannot see through the mist surrounding the True Ancestor, but one thing I am very sure of—”

“When I divined the future of our clan, I saw light, the light of the True Ancestor.”

“The returning True Ancestor is our future…”

Once again, Duke Robin fell silent.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, there was a look of determination in his crimson eyes.

He looked at Eugenia again and sighed.

“Eugenia… Perhaps we had different stances in the past, but no matter what, I must admit, you are indeed a qualified saintess and a respected elder among us, including myself.”

Eugenia smiled slightly.

“Thank you for your praise. Seeing you choose the right path, my efforts were not in vain. It’s just a pity that I cannot meet the True Ancestor. Who knows when I will wake up again next time.”

Duke Robin paused and said,

“We will inform the True Ancestor of your situation.”

Eugenia, however, shook her head.

“Seek help from the True Ancestor to restore my power? No, no need. This divination was not a whim, falling into a slumber is my own choice.”

“I think you should remember I once said, I have a special sensitivity to divination and a unique perception of the world.”

“Every time I divine, the future of the world changes, and recently, I have noticed an increase in these changes.”

“Somewhere, a stronger and more mysterious force seems to be intervening…”

“Lord Robin, while I have seen the future of the Nez Clan, the future of the entire world is filled with uncertainty, and this uncertainty has extended from ‘future’ to ‘present.'”

“I cannot determine why, it may be related to my chaotic and incomplete memories, but one thing I am very sure of is that now… may not be the time for me to formally meet the True Ancestor.”

Upon hearing Eugenia’s words, Duke Robin’s expression also grew serious.

“I understand.”

“Besides…”

Eugenia’s tone shifted.

“Before I fall into another slumber, I have a few words to convey to you and… our returning True Ancestor.”

Duke Robin was stunned for a moment and then became solemn.

“Go ahead, I will remember and convey them to the True Ancestor.”

Eugenia’s expression turned serious, and she spoke with more gravity.

“Lord Robin, just as the returning True Ancestor is not the same as the one in our memories, the returning Lord Casey may not be the same as the one in our memories.”

“Lord Casey has fallen. Please give up any plans to revive him.”

Hearing this, Duke Robin was slightly stunned, and his expression changed.

“What do you mean? Did you divine something?”

Eugenia smiled bitterly and shook her head.

“Sorry, Lord Robin, this time… I truly cannot say more. If I do, I might fall into true ‘eternal slumber’. I cannot afford ‘eternal slumber’, at least not now.”

Once again, Duke Robin fell silent.

He sighed deeply and nodded.

“I understand. Then… what is the message you wish to convey to the True Ancestor?”

Eugenia’s expression became solemn, and she said,

“When I divined, I saw some fragments of past memories. It seems to be a mental suggestion left deep in my memory, and I think… it might come from the past True Ancestor.”

“It is a piece of advice from the past True Ancestor to the resurrected True Ancestor—”

“Do not try to change the history that’s unfolding, what needs to be changed… is the future.”

…

The conversation between Charlotte and Bardock lasted for quite some time.

After repeatedly confirming that he could not help her clarify the ‘history’ due to his extensive memory loss, Charlotte eventually gave up.

She could not learn what happened later from Bardock or why he had forgotten Lilith and Harald.

However, she did not lose heart.

If she couldn’t figure it out in this era, perhaps she would have a chance to understand when she next returned to the Mythic Era.

She still had feelings for Lilith and Harald. Bardock’s ‘forgetting’ was like a thorn, and Charlotte had to find out what had happened.

This was not only for the disappeared Lilith and the uncertain Harald, but also for herself.

Of course, these things need to be done step by step.

The urgent matter now is to take advantage of Bardock’s prestige to integrate the forces of the Starfall Kingdom and the Nez Clan as soon as possible.

Thinking of this, Charlotte looked at Bardock again.

“Bardock, how confident are you in persuading the Nez Clan to pledge loyalty to me? How much time would it take?”

Bardock hesitated and said,

“If it’s just to make them submit, it might be easier, but to make them pledge loyalty, it will take a lot of time… You know, many of the bloodbornes are extremely afraid of you. Fear can bring submission, but loyalty… is difficult and takes time.”

Charlotte sighed.

“I understand. Take it slow, it’s better than being hostile.”

She was mentally prepared for the difficulty of making the Nez Clan genuinely submit to her.

Time reveals a person’s heart. She believed that as time passed, she would gradually win over these bloodbornes.

Of course, she also had her methods.

Unlike the ‘True Ancestor’ of the past, she planned to spread the faith, and faith… is a tool that facilitates submission and rule.

“Let’s go outside and see. The Nez bloodbornes… are probably already anxious.”

With that, Charlotte stood up from the throne and walked toward the castle’s exterior.

Bardock nodded and followed her respectfully.

They left the castle.

The bloodbornes of the Nez Clan were still gathered in the square in front of the castle.

As soon as Charlotte appeared, thousands of eyes instantly focused on her.

Charlotte glanced at Bardock, indicating for him to say a few words to ease the atmosphere.

However, before Bardock could act, the Nez bloodbornes in the square moved first.

In the astonished eyes of Charlotte and the dumbfounded Bardock, thousands of Nez bloodbornes suddenly knelt down to Charlotte in unison, led by several Blood Dukes.

They knelt on one knee, placing their hands in front of them, performing the ancient bloodborne’s ritual of submission and allegiance. The orderly voices instantly echoed above the Nez stronghold.

“The Nez Clan welcomes the return of the Eternal Night Monarch, the Immortal Incarnation, the Master of Darkness, the Supreme Ancestor of the Blood Descendants, and our great True Ancestor of Blood!”