The capital of the Papal State of Terro, the First Inquisition, the underground prison.

"Mr. Terrence, I brought the ale you wanted. The old jailer in a gray robe, looking at the emaciated old man in the damp and dilapidated cell, trembled and handed over a paper bag through the gap in the wooden bar.

This old professor, who used to be the Royal Academy of the Papal States, has been arrested and imprisoned for several months because of the "Scourge of Truth". He stood in front of the wall, carefully carving something out of a stone. His silver whiskers dragged from his chin to the floor, his back had bent into an arched bridge, and the crannal grinding of stones and his coughing could be heard from time to time in the small room.

Seeing that the prisoner didn't respond, the old jailer couldn't help but raise his voice a little: "Mr. Terrence, while the wine is not bad, can you take two sips first?"

Terrence turned, and there was a brief loss of consciousness on his blood-stained and filthy face: "Ah...... Ale...... By the way, I want ale. ”

Terrence, who reached out to take the paper bag, sat down cross-legged, looked back at the wall, and said to the old jailer, "Someone told me something very interesting the other day. Suppose there is a force under the ground that holds us firmly, and they call it gravity......"

The old jailer seemed to have long been accustomed to these words like a book from heaven spoken by the other party, and there was some helplessness in his eyes, but more of a lamentation.

"Mr. Terrence, don't you remember what day it is?"

Terrence, who was interrupted by the old jailer, was stunned for a moment and asked, "Today?"

"Yes, today. ”

"Could it be...... Is it today?"

"That's right, it's ...... today"

As if he had been drained of all his strength, Terrence leaned his back against the wall, looked at the ale in his hand, and laughed self-deprecatingly: "How much time do I have?"

The old jailer glanced at the "Water Sand Clock" at the end of the corridor and whispered, "Two hours......"

The old man uncorked the ale, took a sip, and raised the bottle to greet the outside of the prison: "Old man, thank you for everything you have done for me, I can ...... Well, there's nothing I can give you ......"

The old jailer shook his head: "Someone told me to take care of you." ”

Before Terrence could ask who it was, there was a heavy footstep at the end of the hallway.

A moment later, four black-robed Inquisition deacons stood at the door of the cell, and one of them said, "Terrence, come with us." ”

The old jailer stood up tremblingly, and retorted in a low voice, "But it's not time yet. ”

The deacon rudely pushed the old jailer away, opened the door, and reached out to grab Terrence's arm.

The old man broke free with all his strength and yelled, "Let go!"

After drinking these church people, Terrence grabbed the wine bottle, tilted his neck and poured the whole bottle of ale into his throat, threw the wine bottle to the ground, wiped the wine stains from his beard, straightened his messy robe, and said calmly to everyone: "My students, they have long since died in the battlefield of truth, and now, it is my turn to be a teacher!

The deacons looked at each other, and no one touched the stubborn old man again.

With Terrence in front and the four in the Inquisition behind, the group walked out of the underground prison, through the large corridor, and finally stopped in a hidden side hall.

Terrence looked at the surroundings and frowned and said to others, "Is this the torture table, what kind of place is this?"

No one answered his question, and the black-robed deacons exited the hall one after another. After a while, an old man in a cardinal's robe stepped out of the shadows of the side hall.

"Abraurough......" Terrence's eyes widened, "How could it be you?"

Cardinal Arrbrough walked up to Terrence and looked at him with a smile.

Two old men, one white and one red, one represents the camp of truth and the other comes from the core of the church.

Terrence stared at the golden piercing cross on the other party's clothes, and his words gradually cooled: "What are you doing?!"

"Come and meet my old friend......" Arrborough found a clean stone platform and sat down.

Terrence tugged his hand into his sleeve and said angrily, "Thirty years ago, when we parted ways, I never recognized you as my friend again!"

Arrbrough laughed.

"Damn, what are you laughing at?!" Terrence stared at the other and said, "I'm busy, I'll be burned at the stake later, I hope you can find a good spot to watch!"

Arborough stopped smiling and sighed: "I think back then, the four of us, who didn't know the height of the sky and the height of the earth, didn't know the dangers of the world, when we were still young people, we relied on enthusiasm and impulse to travel to many kingdoms on the continent. Do you remember the Monastery of San Sidro, where we built a laboratory in the catacombs and wrote many books......"

"What's the point of bringing up the past again?!" Terrence clenched his fists: "The four of us have different ideas and goals in the end. I pursued the ultimate in truth, Theodore was obsessed with xenoresearch, Eliad went to the mysterious darkness, and you ...... You chose the church!"

"There are some things you don't understand. Aarröb glanced at the sun outside and said to Terrence, "I never thought that the four of us had chosen different paths. Continue along our respective paths, and sooner or later you will find that we are stuck at the same end. ”

Terrence, who couldn't listen anymore, raised his arms and looked angry: "What nonsense! Theodore and Eliade, their two are in a special situation, and I can understand it. But you, my best friend, the old seeker of truth, betrayed your convictions, blinded by power, and entered the church!"

Arrborough sighed, stood up, and whispered, "Perhaps, maybe you will understand my painstaking efforts later." ”

With that, Arrbrough turned his head behind him and said, "Come out." ”

Tristan walked out of the side hall with two black-robed deacons.

Seeing these people walking towards him 'with bad intentions', Terrence took two steps back and shouted, "What are you going to do?!"

"Mr. Terrence, it might hurt a little. Tristan put on a harmless appearance.

A moment later, a dull sound of falling to the ground came from the side hall.

——————————————

"Today's execution was a bit boring. ”

Pope Alexander, dressed in a white robe, sat in his seat, looked at the fire that was getting bigger and bigger in the distance, smelled the smell of choking, and said unhappily.

Sitting beside him, a cardinal with a face that looked a little like a falcon echoed: "When I burned those students before, there were all kinds of scolding, begging for mercy, and crying, and it was indeed much more exciting than today. What do you think, Bishop Aarrour?"

Yarborough glanced at the other party's malicious smile, and said indifferently: "Bishop Jacob, a man of his age, has lived in a cell for a few months, and half his life has long been gone. When being burned at the stake, nature is different from that of young people. ”

When Aarrham said this, he turned his head to Alexandria and said, "Your Majesty, I have heard that before the execution, many kingdoms sent missions, and even the kings or crown princes of some countries personally interceded with you to pardon Terrence for his crimes?"

The Pope touched his chin and said with a headache: "When Terrence was in the academy, he taught the royal family members of too many countries, whether it was nobles or royalty, to obey this guy. But that's one reason why I stick to burning at the stake. ”

Yarborough nodded as he listened, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tristan quietly appear in the crowd, and gestured at him that everything was okay, and a big stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.