Gospel of Blood

Charlotte didn’t know how much time had passed.

She felt as if she had once again entered that boundless darkness, unable to sense the passage of time or her own existence.

However, having experienced the first “time travel”, Charlotte was not anxious.

She waited quietly, waiting…

Until a familiar crimson radiance appeared, and once again, she saw the familiar Gospel of Blood.

Just like after waking from the first time travel, it lay in the depths of the darkness, emitting a dazzling light that illuminated the endless dark, like a beacon guiding Charlotte back.

The familiar feeling of rejection came from all directions, and Charlotte felt a strong sense of weightlessness again.

Her consciousness gradually became clear, and the sense of control over her body quickly returned.

Charlotte felt like a soul returning to its body, once again sensing the real world.

The mental connection with the Gospel of Blood reappeared, and even the Roman Sword, which had lost contact during the time travel, was sensed again.

Gradually, all of Charlotte’s contracts emerged: The Final Oath with her servant Nice, the blood servant contract with Albrecht, Sebastian and Yurst, and the submission vow with the black dragon, Eudoxia…

After all these contracts, Charlotte saw a brilliant starry sea.

Stars twinkled, dreamy and vivid, each having a mysterious connection with her.

Whispered prayers rose around her, growing more numerous and louder, and Charlotte quickly realized these were her followers.

However, when she saw the scale of the starlight, she was instantly shocked.

The stars were numerous, densely packed, numbering in the tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands…

When Charlotte wanted to count them, an exaggerated number naturally appeared in her mind.

475,349…

Four hundred seventy-five thousand…

She had “slept” and upon waking, had gained nearly 500,000 followers!

Hell, how long had she been asleep?!

Could it be several years?!

Considering she had previously taken two years to gain only 3,000 followers, and the entire Castell territory had only a population of five million!

Charlotte was instantly wide awake.

In an instant, she awoke from her “slumber” and sat up abruptly.

Then…

Bang, her forehead hit something and knocked her back down.

Without using magic or divine power, that bang was quite painful.

Charlotte winced as she opened her eyes.

In her view was the familiar coffin lid, the culprit of her

forehead’s pain, custom-made by Sebastian, difficult to break even for a Legendary.

The coffin lid was luxurious and grand, shining under the magic lamps adorned with night pearls and gems.

Charlotte took a deep breath and pushed the lid open.

Controlling her somewhat sluggish body, she sat up in the coffin, stretched her stiff neck, and looked around.

The chamber looked the same as before she fell asleep.

All the magic arrays she had set up before sleeping were functioning, even the automatic cleaning spells were still active, and the magic crystal providing power in the center of the array was still crystal clear.

Charlotte sighed in relief.

These magic crystals, though top-quality products of Castel’s alchemy workshop, couldn’t last indefinitely.

Charlotte had set up the magic arrays based on the duration of her first sleep, with some extensions, but they could only last three years at most.

Now, with the magic crystals still sparkling, it was clear they were still full of power.

The chamber showed no signs of anyone entering, and the magic crystals hadn’t been replaced.

Evidently, this time, Charlotte hadn’t been “asleep” for long, certainly not several years.

That was strange. If it was just a few months, how did Sebastian and the others manage to increase her follower count to nearly 500,000?

It’s not like they could openly preach!

That’s nearly a tenth of Castell’s population!

So… how long had she actually slept?

Charlotte felt increasingly curious.

“Right… the magic clock!”

Remembering her pre-sleep preparations, Charlotte slapped her forehead and looked at the magic clock prepared beside the coffin.

It was a special magic clock, not only keeping time but also recording days, months, and years. Charlotte had prepared it to determine her sleep duration immediately upon waking.

The luxurious coffin’s side still had the ticking magic clock, and its calendar showed it was January 10, 1447.

“January 10… I fell asleep on September 10, 1446, so this time I slept for four months?”

“Four months… and Sebastian and the others managed to gain so many followers?”

Charlotte’s expression was fascinating.

She grew more curious about how Sebastian and the others achieved this.

But apart from the followers, Charlotte quickly noticed another point…

“Wait, I remember the first time I slept for three months.”

“This time… it’s four months.”

“I spent twenty days in the Mythic Era this time, and last time it was a month…”

She frowned and muttered to herself.

This awakening was somewhat abrupt, not even something she actively sought out, but more like the “power” ran out and the time came, causing her to be automatically ejected.

Charlotte still couldn’t figure out the pattern of her “time travel”, but having experienced it twice, she had some initial theories.

“The time spent ‘traveling’ was one-third less the second time than the first, but the ‘sleeping’ time was one-third longer the second time than the first…”

“Could it be that my future time travel will get shorter and shorter, while my sleeping time will get longer and longer?”

Frowning in thought for a moment, Charlotte shook her head.

“No… with only two samples, it’s too early to make a judgment. Even for a preliminary conclusion, there should be at least one more sample.”

“However, the cause of my time travel should be more or less certain, likely related to the power of the Gospel of Blood. Otherwise, there’s no way to explain why it always guides me upon waking…”

“The Gospel of Blood… is more mysterious than I imagined. It’s not just the supreme artifact of the bloodborne.”

“And… what exactly is the ‘Origin’ that those Old Gods mentioned?”

“The God of Abomination and Deformity said I wielded the power of the ‘Origin’, viewing the ‘devouring’ attribute of my blood divine power and the ability to counter divine rituals as the ‘Origin’s’ gift. But I know well that my God-like power originally came from the Gospel of Blood, and the divine counter is also an inherent ability of the Gospel.”

“Could it be that the ‘Origin’s’ power is actually the power of the Gospel of Blood?”

“The Gospel of Blood’s power… comes from the ‘Origin’?”

Charlotte’s mind stirred with some speculation.

The end of this time travel was too abrupt.

She hadn’t had time to interrogate Alador and pry out the secrets of ancient mythology before being directly sent back to the “future.”

Still, it wasn’t without gains. At least, she further clarified the history and solidified her identity as the ancestor of the bloodbornes.

If she was indeed writing history, then clearly, the True Ancestor of Blood and the ancestor of the bloodbornes should be two people, merely confused by later generations of humans and bloodbornes.

As for whether she was really writing history, Charlotte had a way to verify. During her time in the central tower, she had secretly carved the Chinese characters for “was here” at the top of the tower.

It was a very hidden place. If her time travel were real, then in this era, the top of the royal library tower in the Crescent Kingdom would also have these characters.

Charlotte planned to check it out soon. Even if she couldn’t go herself, she would have to send someone to investigate.

“It’s best if I confirm it myself, but… it’s been four months. The Nez Clan should have taken control of Starfall, and the Roman Duchy might already be my territory. I’ll likely be quite busy…”

“If I’m too busy in the coming period, I’ll send Albrecht to investigate. That guy is elusive and strong enough for the task.”

Charlotte murmured to herself.

Shaking her head, Charlotte temporarily set aside her thoughts.

She looked down and saw, just like her first awakening, she was still stark naked this time.

Fortunately, there was no one else around.

Even the intelligent artifact, the Roman Sword, which recognized her as its master, had been given to Nice before her slumber to protect Castell and respond to her followers, so it wasn’t by her side now.

She could only sense its presence through their contract.

Charlotte stood up, tiptoed out of the luxurious coffin, and then picked up the dress she had prepared before sleeping, skillfully putting it on.

It was a bit cold, given that January was winter, but a slight circulation of magic countered it.

Dressed, Charlotte contacted the black cat Nice through their contract.

“Nice, I’ve awakened. Come to the chamber to see me.”

This time, Nice wasn’t out of contact like last time.

According to the plan, he should still be active in the North as “Charlotte”, so Charlotte ordered him to come to the chamber for an identity handover.

After sending the summons, Charlotte focused her attention on the luxurious coffin.

She fumbled for a moment and took a recording crystal from the lid.

This crystal recorded the events inside the coffin after she fell asleep.

Charlotte was curious about what she looked like during her sleep.

Injecting magic power, the recording crystal emitted a soft glow, projecting a magical image.

Charlotte saw herself lying in the luxurious coffin, closing her eyes and falling asleep.

Crimson radiance gradually spread over her body, quickly filling the entire coffin. After the light faded, her body disappeared.

In her place was a thick book.

Seeing the book, Charlotte was slightly stunned.

“The Gospel… of Blood?”

The Gospel of Blood!

Inside the luxurious coffin was the Gospel of Blood, which had lost contact during her time travel!

No wonder she couldn’t establish a clear connection with the Gospel during the time travel, it remained in this timeline!

The Bloodborne’s artifact that only existed in her consciousness manifested in reality during her time travel!

“So… I most likely did ‘time travel’, and the Gospel of Blood might indeed be the cause.”

Charlotte pondered.

The magical projection stopped there. The recording crystal had limited time, so it didn’t show her awakening.

However, she could guess it was probably the reverse: crimson radiance appeared, the Gospel of Blood vanished, and she reappeared.

Putting away the recording crystal, Charlotte waited briefly before the chamber door was knocked.

Muttering an incantation, Charlotte lifted the chamber’s seal, and another “Charlotte” rushed in.

Seeing a face identical to hers, but feeling awkward, Charlotte was slightly uncomfortable.

On the other side, “Charlotte” turned into a black cat with a “meow” and leaped into Charlotte’s arms, face full of excitement.

“Meow! Lady Charlotte! You’re finally awake! If you hadn’t awakened, I would have had to decide the fate of the Starfall Kingdom for you!”

Seeing the black cat pouncing towards her, Charlotte instinctively dodged, causing the cat to slam into the coffin lid with a painful “ouch.”

His limbs spread out, flopped into the coffin with a splat, and the rebound force closed the lid on it.

Nice: …

“Get off, you soiled my bed.”

Charlotte disdainfully opened the coffin lid, picked the black cat up by the scruff, and tossed him aside, then incinerated the silk mattress inside with a burst of dark fire.

“This mattress is ruined.”

Nice: ???