Gospel of Blood

Charlotte finished reading the diary of the Crimson Queen Rowena.

Holding the old notebook, Charlotte’s mind was like a stormy sea, unable to calm down for a long time.

Especially those two sentences left by “Lilith” through Rowena’s hand on the notebook…

“History has never changed? But… history can be created?”

Charlotte murmured to herself, lost in thought.

She felt like she had grasped something, but she couldn’t quite say what it was.

However, the question that had puzzled her since her first time travel had now been answered.

“So… my second time travel was really a time travel. Moreover, the creator of the Gospel of Blood, the ‘real’ True Ancestor of Blood, Lilith, also knew about the ‘time travel’ that happened to me.”

“In a sense, my ‘time travel’… might have been designed by her.”

“But… what does ‘never changed’ and ‘can be created’ mean?”

Charlotte frowned, feeling that the mysteries surrounding Lilith were increasing.

This ‘True Ancestor of Blood’ who she had taken as an apprentice after traveling through history, and who was forgotten by the bloodbornes, was becoming more mysterious and harder to understand.

“If she could have left more oracles, it would have been better. Just two cryptic sentences… the information is still too little.”

Charlotte shook her head.

Her time travel relied on the power of the Gospel of Blood.

Combining multiple tests with the information from Rowena’s diary, Charlotte could almost confirm this conclusion.

In a sense, if Lilith, the creator of the Gospel of Blood, truly intended for Charlotte to travel through time to influence the world’s timeline, then perhaps… the creation of the Gospel of Blood was not as much of a “failure” as Rowena thought.

On the contrary, it could be considered a success.

However, what puzzled Charlotte was, if Lilith really wanted her to travel through time, what exactly did she want her to do?

And why was she the chosen one?

If history cannot be changed, why was she able to leave a mark in real history as the “Savior”?

She even successfully left an “I was here” note on the high tower of the Royal Library of the Crescent Kingdom!

Did she… really not “change” history?

If… if it wasn’t her changing history, if the “I was here” had existed from the beginning, if her “time travel” was always an “inevitable part of history”…

Then what is the meaning of her “time travel”?

And Rowena’s diary.

So many parts of Rowena’s diary were blurred, not simply erased, but “covered” in a way even Charlotte couldn’t understand.

Why cover it?

Who covered it?

Did Rowena herself know about this “covering”?

Did Lilith know?

Wait…

“Covering”?

Seemingly realizing something, Charlotte’s eyes suddenly sharpened.

As if struck by a sudden realization, Charlotte understood a detail she had previously overlooked.

“Wait a minute…”

“From the beginning, I seem to have been fixated on whether I have changed history.”

“But… what if it’s not about ‘changing’?”

“In the information I know, the bloodbornes have forgotten Lilith, and not just Lilith, they even have a blurry memory of the Mythic Era.”

“In Rowena’s diary, most records about the Mythic Era are also blurred.”

“It’s not just Rowena’s diary, in all the bloodborne texts I’ve found, there’s very little detailed information about that ancient past. In a sense, the reason I want to understand what happened in that era is because of a lack of ‘historical records’.” R̃₳ＮǒΒΕš

“But… what if this lack of ‘historical records’ is an inevitability? What if… the bloodbornes’ ‘forgotten’ memories are an inevitability?”

“If… and this is just a hypothesis…”

“If the problem lies not with the bloodbornes, nor with the texts, but with ‘history’ itself?”

“‘History’ cannot be changed, but ‘history’ can be created… ‘History’ cannot be changed, but ‘history’ can be created!”

“The bloodbornes ‘forgot’ that history, the texts ‘forgot’ that history, even Rowena’s diary… also ‘forgot’ that history.”

“‘Forgetting’ means that the record of history has ‘gaps’.”

“Is there a problem with ‘history’?”

“Has ‘history’ been distorted? Altered? Has history… developed ‘gaps’?”

“Could it be that the meaning of those two sentences in Rowena’s diary is for me to ‘go back to the past’ and fill in the ‘gaps’ in history?”

Thinking this, Charlotte felt like the questions in her mind were clearing up like the parting clouds.

“Not ‘changing’ history, but… ‘creating’ history?”

“I think I might understand the true meaning of those two sentences.”

Exhaling lightly, Charlotte looked at Rowena’s diary again.@@novelbin@@

She opened the notebook, looking at the blurred parts, her gaze becoming distant.

“Perhaps… the bloodbornes’ forgetting, the lack of texts, and the blurring in this diary are all an inevitable part of the present!”

“‘Existence’ can be ‘forgotten’. If ‘existence’ is forgotten, the history related to that ‘existence’ will naturally develop corresponding gaps.”

“I used to subconsciously believe that the history of a forgotten ‘existence’ would be rewritten to a state where the ‘forgotten existence’ never appeared.”

“But now, this understanding might not be accurate.”

“‘Existence’ can be forgotten, and so… ‘history’ can also be forgotten, or rather… ‘erased’!”

“History cannot be changed, meaning what has already happened cannot be changed. But ‘what hasn’t happened’… is not included!”

“If… if a piece of history is ‘erased’, then… could it also be considered that the history ‘never happened’?”

“Perhaps… my ‘time travel’ is to fill in that ‘erased’ history, and this… is the so-called ‘creating history’!”

Charlotte’s thoughts flew, feeling like she had finally grasped the truth.

Of course, beneath this truth lay even bigger questions.

For example, if there really are “gaps” in history, who is the entity that caused all of this? Who “altered” history?

And who is the being mentioned in Rowena’s diary that is “not Her Majesty”?

Could they be the same “being”?

“Whoever it is, it must be an incredibly terrifying entity. After all, it can even influence ‘history.’ Perhaps that’s the true ‘terrifying enemy’ that Rowena, the bloodbornes, and Lilith once faced.”

Charlotte murmured to herself.

She had a vague feeling that this mysterious “being” might be related to Rowena’s madness, the disappearance of the Stargazer Casey, and those two eerie stone doors deep in her consciousness.

Thinking of this, Charlotte looked at her own hands again.

Although the massive release of divine power had consumed a lot of energy this time, the mythical power she gained had elevated her divine power to a new level.

Not only that, but the degree of completion of the Gospel of Blood, her understanding of mythological laws, and the divine flame in her chest all had been strengthened and improved to varying extents.

She had a feeling that she could trigger another “time travel” at any time if she wanted to.

“Creating history, filling in the gaps… these are still just my hypotheses for now. Perhaps, when I truly travel through time again, I can further verify them.”

“Of course, before that, I need to be fully prepared. Judging by the time intervals of my previous time travels, I might sleep for an even longer period next time.”

“This time, I may still be far from becoming a ‘true God’, but the power of my true form should reach a higher level.”

Charlotte murmured to herself.

She also needed to find a safe place to slumber, and she had to deal with everything around her before going into hibernation.

This wasn’t urgent for now.

She still had many things to handle: the complete subjugation of the Harcos Clan, the reclamation of faith from the Free Tribe Alliance, the struggle with the Starfall nobles, and the formal alliance with the Northern Grand Duchy…

Whether it was consolidating the existing bloodborne forces, expanding her faith, or deterring the Crescent Kingdom, which was eyeing her covetously, all required some arrangements.

“There are many things to be done. Let’s deal with them one by one before I go into slumber.”

Charlotte murmured.

…

After recovering Rowena’s diary, Charlotte continued to oversee Harcos’ Sanctuary for the next few days.

Although the Prophet Margo had officially submitted to her, she still felt a bit uneasy without seeing the entire Harcos Clan’s complete submission.

However, the subsequent developments proved she was overthinking it.

Perhaps, as God’s favored one, when it came to matters involving the Crimson Queen Rowena, the Prophet Margo might have acted impulsively and made mistakes for the sake of her worshipped God.

But after calming down, as a Legendary Bloodborne who had managed the Harcos Clan for nearly a thousand years, she finally displayed her true abilities.

The last oracle of the Crimson Queen Rowena was announced to be delivered “three days later.”

But within those three days, news of the “True Ancestor’s return”, “True Ancestor regaining sanity”, “True Ancestor saving the Harcos Clan”, and “the Queen’s Palace preparing to re-submit to the True Ancestor” had already spread throughout the Sanctuary.

This was, of course, the handiwork of the Prophet Margo.

Unlike other clans, Harcos had retreated from the Myria continent early on and was not as strongly repelled and feared the True Ancestor as other clans were.

Although these “rumors” caused a sensation and uproar within the Sanctuary, overall, they remained under control.

And three days later, when the Prophet Margo ascended the platform and announced Rowena’s “final oracle of submission” to the clan, the Harcos bloodbornes, who had been mentally prepared, all knelt before Charlotte.

Everything went smoothly, so much so that even Charlotte was surprised.

Of course, after some reflection, she understood why things went so smoothly.

Firstly, the Prophet Margo’s groundwork indeed alleviated the psychological pressure on the Harcos bloodbornes.

Secondly, Charlotte’s intervention had indeed saved the entire Harcos Clan.

Thirdly, bloodbornes are ultimately a race that values hierarchy. For a clan that had lost its mythological protection, there was no reason to refuse to submit to the True Ancestor who had regained “sanity.”

Naturally, submission is one thing, but turning the Harcos bloodbornes into her true believers would take more time.

But that’s a matter for the future. With the Prophet Margo, the head of the Queen’s Palace, having pledged loyalty to Charlotte, and since the Queen’s Palace is the “theocratic” institution of Harcos, the conversion of faith was just a matter of time.

Just like with the Nez Clan, none of the Harcos bloodbornes, except for the Prophet Margo, knew Charlotte’s true identity.

She still accepted the submission of the bloodbornes in her adult form.

As for the “True Ancestor’s return”, it was also written into the blood oath of the Harcos Clan as a secret vow.

No need to keep it a secret forever.

At least… buying some more time for growth is always good.

Having completely subdued the Harcos Clan, Charlotte no longer had any reason to stay.

The day after Harcos Clan’s official submission, she left their Sanctuary.

“Your Majesty the True Ancestor, here is the tribute prepared by the clan according to your needs, including one billion gold tana in cash and extraordinary materials worth one and a half billion gold tana…”

At the exit of the Sanctuary, the Prophet Margo respectfully presented a finely crafted storage ring.

Charlotte nodded slightly and took the ring.

She kept a calm face, but her heart was cheering, and her hand holding the ring trembled slightly.

2.5 billion!

That’s 2.5 billion!

No matter where you are, this is a huge sum that can shake a nation!

“Your Majesty the True Ancestor, is this enough? If not, we can get more…”

Seeing Charlotte’s silence, the Prophet Margo asked nervously.

“No need, this is already enough.”

Charlotte shook her head.

It was indeed enough.

After all, she was going to use this money to operate the church and develop her territory.

Since the Harcos Clan had submitted to her, it was now part of her domain. It wouldn’t be appropriate to leech Harcos to subsidize her other subordinate forces.

Of course, the most important thing is that such a huge sum of money was really enough. Even if used as the startup capital for the Starfall Kingdom’s Magic Alchemy Joint Company to generate more money, it would be more than sufficient.

After thinking for a moment, Charlotte added.

“Consider this fund as Harcos’ investment in the Starfall Kingdom. In the future, the Harcos Clan will hold a share in the joint company.”

“Joint… company?”

The Prophet was confused.

Charlotte smiled.

“It’s a company I’m setting up in the Starfall Kingdom that focuses on magic technology and alchemy industries. In Myria, magic technology and alchemy industries are the future. It’s also beneficial for the Harcos Clan. You’ll understand in the future.”

With that, she patted the Prophet Margo’s shoulder.

“Lead the clan to recuperate in the Sanctuary. For Harcos, restoring strength is the most important. With the Divinity Descent Day approaching, I need you to become stronger.”

“I hope… to see Harcos’ descendants truly become my believers as soon as possible.”

“I won’t be stingy with rewards for those who are truly devout.”

“If needed, I will summon you again.”

Upon hearing Charlotte’s words, the Prophet respectfully bowed.

“Everything… will follow your divine oracle!”

…

With the Prophet Margo’s respectful farewell, Charlotte left the Great Northern Forest, where Harcos’ Sanctuary was located.

However, she didn’t return to the Starfall Kingdom immediately. Instead, she headed towards the Free Tribe Alliance.

The restriction covering the Northern Grand Duchy had disappeared. In her perception, Sebastian had already reached the temple worshiped by the Free Tribe Alliance.

The faith network of the Free Tribe Alliance… could be reclaimed at any time!

___________________

T/N: Some mumbo jumbo theory. Recap for dummies.

Basically, Charlotte had an assumption that if an existence was erased, history would correct itself by changing every aspect related to the erased existence to the point of making the existence like they/it never existed in the first place. But the law in this world is, that if someone was erased, their past trace would also be removed, thus leaving a ‘gap’ in history itself. Charlotte’s hypothesis is her time travel purpose is to fill these gaps to influence the ‘future’.

But, history never changed. She can’t change anything that already happened, which is everything recorded in history till the present time. Like, let’s say you got digestion because of your bread breakfast. Your mad scientist dad decided to erase the bread from existence. Your past would still experience digestion, but you can’t tell what you eat for breakfast to make you suffer digestion. And for some miraculous reason, there’s rice travels back in time to fill the gap created by the bread erasure. In the end, you recognize the ‘rice’ breakfast as the cause of your digestion.