I Became The Pope, Now What?

Realizing that Miraj was also likely going through the same tormenting experience and probably seeing the memories of his old caretaker lady leaving him repeatedly, Sylvester wanted to get out of the magical visions and help his furry friend.

Ignoring whatever he witnessed through his senses, he focused entirely on isolating his mind from any outside solarium influence. As if creating a protective barrier around himself, he tried to negate the outer magical forces with his own, attempting to form an equilibrium.

'Elder God may be powerful, but if this is a trial, then he won't use his absolute strength.' Sylvester firmly believed it. 'This trick should work… I just need a small moment of isolation.'

With that, he began sending impulsive bursts of solarium outward from his body, especially his mind. In doing so, a short resistance was perceived when the magical particles from him and the surroundings collided. This was precisely the window of time Sylvester aimed to extend.

He pushed his magic further, striving to extend the duration. Slowly, as he blasted the magic from his body in pulses, he gauged the duration it took for the solarium outside to overpower him.

It felt like heartbeats, and he eventually pushed back. Amidst this struggle, just for a split second, he felt the connection break, and his attempt succeeded. Taking the chance, he blasted through whatever controlled his mind and freed himself.

"Hah!" With a gasp, he woke up, and his eyes snapped open. Glancing around, he realized he was still on the rooftop of the strange world. Beside him, Saint Scepter was still unconscious, and so was Miraj.

"Chonky!" Sylvester rushed for his little friend first and used the same technique. He shrouded Miraj's body with his solarium, severing the Elder God's control. However, not wanting to wake him up in the middle of a nightmare, he decided to make the furry friend happy first.

Sylvester induced a different dream in Miraj's mind, one in which he was eating with him and Xavia, getting spoiled, and playing around. The peak of his happiness, just what he wanted in his life—nothing grand, just some love and laughter.

Soon, he began to wake Miraj from his slumber, poking the chubby face to wake him up. "Chonky, get up, boy. Don't you want to return home and eat some nice banana pudding from Mum?"

"Nyahahaha… Just a little longer…" Miraj murmured in his sleep, enjoying the dream.

Sylvester chuckled and picked Miraj up by his underarms, "Good lord, where did these four hundred ka-jillion billion bananas come from?"

Woosh!

Miraj's little pebble eyes jolted open and darted around to look, "Where?"

"Haha!" Sylvester laughed. This was one of the reasons he liked Miraj so much since the boy was his forever depression therapist. "Do you even know how much a ka-jillion is?"

"Ka… Ka…" Miraj had no idea what that word was. "No…"

"Me neither," Sylvester said, placing Miraj back into the snug space between his chest and the plate armor. "Let's wake up Saint Scepter. I wonder what he's seeing right now."

"Can we peepee?" Miraj inquired excitedly.

Sylvester took a moment to understand what Miraj's slippery tongue was actually saying. "You mean peep into his mind?"

"Aye, aye."

Sylvester felt the sin of temptation weighing heavily on his mind. He wanted to see what the man was seeing. What sort of secrets was he hiding all this time? What kind of man he was. Sylvester knew that looking at Saint Scepter's most heartbreaking memories would give him insight into the man's true character.

He went closer to Saint Scepter and did the same thing as before. By creating a field of solarium around his body, he severed the Elder God's control and established his connection to Saint Scepter's mind. Of course, being a Supreme Wizard, there were protections in the man's mind, and he was trained enough to protect himself even when asleep. So Sylvester only tried to see the memories on a surface level, like fleeting fragments.

As Sylvester delved into the memories, he noticed some voices. The language was something akin to Latin, but he couldn't grasp it quickly enough. The scene rapidly changed, but somehow, there was a common thing in all of them.

There was a man, sometimes young, other times in his youth, and occasionally older—In all the scenes, the man was crying, sometimes alone, and on occasions, with a dead body in his arms—often children, but on one occasion, a beautiful woman. The tears seemed genuine, and the voice wavered with raw emotion.

Quickly, Sylvester withdrew from those memories, respecting his privacy. It all seemed like the sorrow of losing someone loved, something he was incredibly familiar with. So, he just called out to the man in his head.

"Saint Scepter, wake up… What you're experiencing is but a memory, not reality. Follow my voice and open your eyes." He instructed him.

Eventually, Saint Scepter opened his eyes with a sudden jolt and looked around himself. His eyes clouded with confusion and a tinge of pain. The scent of sadness oozed out of him, and Sylvester noted it, as this was the first time since he met the man.

"I know—it's confusing whether to feel sorrow or smile upon waking up here," Sylvester commented and helped him up to his feet. "We're truly under the Elder God's grasp. He knows what we fear."

Saint Scepter nodded appreciatively and stood up, "You broke through the curse of nightmares. Now I understand why never with me, but with you appeared these strange trials and affairs. I'm unworthy, ill-prepared, and perhaps mentally weak to gain recognition. This was never a competition but a mere audition."

"And yet we live through the same curse, just another victim in a mysterious universe," Sylvester said and looked around, wondering what trial was to come next. In his heart, the more trials that came his way, the more suspicious he felt about the reward.

"Maxy… I smell fish!" Miraj suddenly exclaimed, his little nose twitching vigorously.

Sylvester trusted Miraj's senses and quickly made himself a Light Tile to stand on. He waited, already anticipating what the next trial might be. Trial by will, heart, and mind had passed, so he wondered if the upcoming one would be a test of wit or physique.

"Trial by survival—Begins!"

Going against his expectations, the trial sounded much more sinister. In the blink of an eye, the entire space before their eyes flickered black, but in the next moment, the light reappeared. Sylvester and Saint Scepter heard strong winds and waves, the scent of the salty sea shrouding everything.

"We're…" Sylvester exclaimed after looking around himself. "We're on an ocean… But, the water is black."

Saint Scepter drew out his sword and formed a large ring of fire around his feet, surrounding Sylvester as well, "We're surrounded—They're watching us from underneath the water."

Sylvester trusted the Supreme Wizard's senses and prepared for battle as well, "It's a trial by survival. I don't think our opponents will be simple to deal with."

"No… they will be impossible." Saint Scepter replied and stood in preparation.

Not even curses could leave Sylvester's mouth. As they expected the arrival of their enemies, he already felt a massive spike in the scents related to hatred and death. The realm they had found themselves in didn't seem that welcoming either. The ocean was black, the sky was full of gray clouds, and the sunlight that filtered through was deep red.

'The sun in this system seems to be nearing its end—A red giant then. Since the gravity seems out of proportion, the waves are too huge.' Sylvester assessed his environment and concluded that the species he was going to fight would likely be either very tall and thin or massive and heavy.

Woosh!

BAM!

Saint Scepter flickered from his spot and appeared before Sylvester, blocking what seemed like a black trident. It came with such speed and force that even Saint Scepter's arm was pushed back.

'I-I didn't see it coming!' Sylvester felt shaken. 'Trial by survival… But how long do we have to survive?'

Boom!

Instantly, a multitude of tridents and spears came out of the ocean surface. Sylvester and Saint Scepter narrowly evaded them. However, Sylvester was having a hard time, as it became hard for him to perceive the attacks. He could only follow Saint Scepter and adjusted himself to his movement.

"Maxy! Duck! Quick!" Miraj shouted.

Sylvester ducked by instinct. And just then, a massive, three-meter-long trident flew past above his head.

"You can see it?" Sylvester exclaimed.

Miraj bobbed his head vigorously. "Of course, Maxy! My eyes are very sharp."

"Then tell me where to move."

Miraj took his job seriously and quickly caught two locks of Sylvester's blonde hair, one paw each. Whenever he wanted Sylvester to go left, he tugged on the left locks, and did the same to the right one. To make him duck, he pulled all the hair down, and for the up, he just shouted.

Sylvester noticed Miraj was happy just because he could participate in the battle. Heck, his eyes were sharp enough to help Saint Scepter, who struggled amidst the chaos. However, they knew that if they were struggling with the projectiles alone, they wouldn't be able to maintain themselves when the attackers came out of the water.

"What's the plan?" Sylvester asked Saint Scepter, as he had no winning tricks up his sleeve.

Saint Scepter kept dodging around, "Survive."

"..."

Which basically meant do anything you can and don't die. Of course, none of them were planning to succumb to that fate just yet.

"They're coming." Saint Scepter warned him.

Sylvester fixed his gaze on the water's surface while letting Miraj guide his movements. It was impossible to anticipate anything since the water was black, and no shadows could be seen in it. He only relied on the scent of death and hatred to discern the arrival.

'Are they on par with Saint Scepter? But why is he struggling to dodge then?' Sylvester wondered and hoped he was wrong.

Woosh!

Some bulges appeared in the water, evidently the heads of the creatures beneath. Slowly, they raised their heads out, only showing their eyes. From just a glance, it was clear they were something akin to Merkins of Beastaria, but the difference was their bodies. There were scales of fish, but their forms were akin to lions, bulls, dogs, or elephants. Eventually, half of their bodies rose from the surface, and sure enough, they were similar to Merkins with the upper bodies of various animals. Their sizes were consistent with one another, however—almost human.

No words were exchanged as the creatures attacked. Being the rulers of the water, they began using it to attack Sylvester and Saint Scepter. The waves transformed into colossal blades and spears. Meanwhile, the creatures attacked in groups to ensure there was nowhere to escape.

They were swift, even more than lightning. Even Miraj couldn't look in every direction, so Sylvester finally started to feel the pain whenever the tridents or spears grazed past his skin. Blood finally splattered the dark ocean.

With one arm missing, Sylvester had no hope or illusion of winning. He could only use his mind to understand what the trial meant.

Clash!

Saint Scepter's sword broke, leaving him defenseless. Even he appeared powerless before the sea creatures. There were hundreds of them, having surrounded the two from all sides. In the end, the two men stood back to back to plan what to do. Dodging wasn't working anymore.

"At this rate, we won't last long," Sylvester said. "What if you use your Supreme Void?"

"They broke through it already."

"..."

They were in the endgame now. Sylvester looked around helplessly. He could try going all out with Elder Magic, but he had no idea how efficient it would be nor any confidence. Even the language the creatures spoke was new to him, so there was no point in being diplomatic.

"Haraka maji hono ki… HAAKI HAAKI!"

Sylvester had no idea what they were saying, but he could guess. He wondered if his light magic and halo could help, so he decided to try it.

"O' heathens of the black sea, hea—"

Bam!

A spear came hurtling through the air and impaled Sylvester's leg. The halo which appeared behind his head for a few seconds seemed to incite the creatures' anger.

'Alright—Looks like Emperor Raz would have been worshiped in this world.' Sylvester mumbled and tried to take out the spear from his leg. Thankfully, their healing factor wasn't restricted in this world, which meant he could heal himself quickly with extra solarium.

"Maxy, don't worry!" Miraj suddenly exclaimed and leaped out of his place in Sylvester's chestplate. He flew above Sylvester's head and roared ferociously, "This pussy shall devour everything! Wraaa…"

"..."

'He's too excited about this fight to remember the lessons…' Sylvester sighed at Miraj's choice of words.

"Chonky, don't play around," Sylvester ordered sternly, worried for his life. "Get back here."

"No, today, I will help!" Miraj retorted and opened his jaws wide, activating his otherworldly powers of the infinite belly. "Wait and watch!"

Fuwaaaaa…!

Miraj began to drain the entire ocean as if it were a pot of banana shakes. The speed at which the water started to disappear kept increasing, and eventually, even the enemies started to get sucked in. The creatures frantically tried to escape the invisible void, their faces showing fear for the first time.

"Meowahaha…"

In the air, the demonic, fearsome laughter echoed, scaring the creatures even more. The entire planet consisted of water, and at the speed Miraj drained it, mountains gradually began to emerge, which had long ago been swallowed by the rising sea levels.

Pure horror gripped the creatures. They helplessly watched as their planet vanished before their eyes.

"Meowahahaha…"

Miraj rejoiced in his moment of triumph. But he failed to realize that it wasn't just the world around him that was shrinking. His own size was also increasing.

While he continuously gloated, the world slowly reverted to its previous state, with landmass appearing around the planet. The creatures who had evolved to live in the sea found themselves bewildered and troubled by the sudden change.

"Look at this, Maxy… I ate the whole plane…" Miraj abruptly stopped shouting as he noticed something strange. The little odd creatures had somehow grown smaller than ants, but then he realized that he was the one that grew bigger. "Maxy? Where are you?"

Panic suddenly surged, and a haunting idea spilled into his mind. He looked around himself, his huge whiskers twitching with each motion. Yet Sylvester was nowhere in sight.

His heart sank, nearly bringing his eyes to tears. "MAXYYY… D-did… Did I… No, no, no… This can't be… I ATE MAXY!"

…

"Ugh… I can't move." Saint Scepter groaned, his voice muffled as he felt his body pressured from all sides. "Did your little friend devour us?"

Not far from him, Sylvester was in the same awkward position, lost in thought about what he had just witnessed. Miraj's increasing size was a new thing, though he knew exactly what had happened to them.

"No… I believe we're just… stuck."

"Where?" Saint Scepter questioned.

"Under his massive butt."

"..."

[A/N: Sorry for the ill-timed chapters. My brother is hospitalized, and I'm staying with him. Writing whenever I get time.]

Thank you for reading. Gifts and GT votes are highly appreciated.