Chapter 189
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Chapter 189: The Test of the Holy Light
"So, have you been to Alterac City?" Jesse asked.
"Of course." The priest replied, "After the war, I often traveled to the city with other priests, wanting to use our abilities to help the residents here. But every time we went, it became more and more ruined. Obviously, with only passionate believers, you cannot save a kingdom. If a house is left uninhabited for a long time, even without deliberate destruction, it will slowly deteriorate, collapse bit by bit, and eventually become a ruin. A city is no different, and more apparent; the impact of such changes is far more poignant than that of a house. A kingdom, even more so."
"I admire your dedication, priest," Jesse said softly. "I believe that no matter the outcome, the residents of Alterac City will not forget your help."
The priest smiled and said, "Forgive my bluntness, are you a mage?"
"Sort of, I’m still an apprentice," replied Jesse.
"I feel a strange energy around you. I wonder if you are aware of it," the priest said. "If you allow me, I can help you check if there are any hidden dangers inside you."
"How can you see it?" Jesse asked, alert.
"The Holy Light can reveal many things, sir," the priest said.
Hearing this, Greed turned his head, looking curiously in this direction.
Jesse said, "I was injured before in Dalaran, hurt by black dragon fire, and by a Death Knight… My shoulder was pierced by a Death Knight. Will it be very painful if my body still bears the effects of these dark entities?"
The priest said, "As long as you believe in the Holy Light."
Isn’t that all?
Jesse looked around the hole at the priests. Some were already asleep, some were reading books. Only a few were still talking here.
If he planned to stay in the human world, the Holy Light was unavoidable. Jesse knew this well. It might be better to check what kind of person he truly was here.
"Thank you, priest," he said.
The priest shook his head, placed his hand on Jesse’s right shoulder, and slowly closed his eyes.
Then, he began softly reciting a prayer, "Holy Light, you who watch from above, this young scholar is awaiting your presence, seeking your guidance amidst chaos and darkness."
"Please help him see the invisible chains binding him, bless him with a steadfast mind, unwavering determination, noble courage to resist all chaos and evil… by all that is holy, may your power manifest in my thoughts and soul, may my mind be aligned with your guidance, enabling me to rescue this young man from anxiety, pain, confusion, and anger in your name. May the Holy Light protect us all on our journey forward."
Greed stood nearby, listening with his mouth slightly agape, his eye fixed and unblinking, deeply absorbed in thought.
Jesse, while listening to the priest, found himself unable to think at all in that moment.
Even as Teron Gorefiend swung his warhammer in front of him, pinned against the wall, Jesse was contemplating how he could survive a blow and fight back.
But as the priest prayed serenely, Jesse’s mind went blank.
Only then did he notice the gentle glow emanating from the priest’s palm, and the nearby priests opening their eyes and softly chanting, as if joining in prayer with the priest before him.
Suddenly, Jesse felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He glanced at the priest who was still closing his eyes, as if he didn’t feel anything.
After the sharp pain came a familiar burning sensation spreading from his shoulder to his heart. He didn’t want the priest to notice anything strange about him, so he had to endure it.
This pain wasn’t as intense as when he received treatment in Stormwind, but it was getting close to making Jesse want to cry out.
The snow in Alterac was much fiercer at night than during the day.
Outside the cave, it screamed and roared, as if urgently reminding the fragile beings resting inside that it was the master here.
Fortunately, just before he couldn’t bear it anymore, the priest stopped touching him and pulled back his hand.
Jesse tried to relax his mouth, took two deep breaths of the cold air as calmly as possible, to ease the burning sensation in his chest.
"Strange," the priest said. "The Holy Light didn’t tell me that you had any issues…"
Jesse knew that he was undoubtedly a shadow caster, with some power and darkness taken from the black dragon within him. He had even undergone a previous "shadow transformation," and the priest didn’t feel anything during that discomfort… How could that be possible?
"What will Holy Light tell you if you have a problem?" he asked.
"It will reveal the contamination and diseases affecting you," the priest said. "But even if you claim to have been harmed by dark forces, I haven’t noticed the expected reaction from Holy Light. Perhaps you have already recovered, and I only detect some insignificant remnants, or maybe my understanding of Holy Light is not deep enough."
"Not deep enough?" Greed asked in surprise.
"We have been continuously learning about everything regarding Holy Light," the priest said.
Jesse wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead, feeling a chilling sensation that tightened his scalp, calming him down gradually from the intense burning pain he felt earlier.
Looking at the priest, he asked a question that had always intrigued him.
"Priest, do you know that Dalaran has been invaded by undead?"
"I am aware of the corpses resurrected by Death Knights."
"Is the power of Holy Light very effective against these undead?"
"Of course," the priest said. "Warriors who believe in the power of the Holy Light usually despise the undead, and the Holy Light naturally responds to their call by burning the flesh of these undead and purifying the evil driving them. Jesse swallowed hard and asked, ‘So, what if there was an undead with free will, and if he cherished the Holy Light… like if he was a devoted church priest before he died and did not betray his faith even after death, would the Holy Light descend again?’"
"If he truly sticks to it, why not?" the priest replied.
Jesse was surprised that the priest did not question why an undead would believe in the Holy Light.
"So, when the Holy Light descends, won’t these undead followers of the Holy Light be burned by it?"
"I think they will," the priest said. "But the Holy Light will also respond to their prayers. I guess that’s the challenge for such undead believers, sir. They will need stronger willpower and bodies than us to uphold their faith, and the Holy Light will only respond more fervently to them. I believe that in the end, they will gain a more profound redemption through pain and rebirth than the living."
"Of course, this is just my speculation based on my understanding of the Holy Light. I find it hard to imagine what a Holy Light-believing undead would be like. Actually, at this point, I am even envious of the beings you are envisioning."
Jesse thought to himself, "This priest sure is tough."
If his guesses were correct, those undead priests in the future would be quite formidable.
However, discussing with the priest also eased Jesse’s slight doubt about the encounter he had with the Holy Light earlier. In Jesse’s understanding, when the priest examined the so-called darkness in his body, it must have been the dark part of his own shadow that got burned.
But this was just the nature of Holy Light causing harm to him, Holy Light didn’t react violently triggered by real hostility, but collided with incompatible energies during its existence.
To some extent, the process of a undead priest contacting Holy Light was somewhat similar.
Or maybe this wasn’t the "will" of the so-called Holy Light, but the priest had no hostility towards Jesse, so the power of Holy Light he summoned had no intense aggressiveness.
Jesse is still hesitant to say he understands Holy Light at the moment, he can only guess what might happen based on his own understanding and the priest’s answers.
Either way, he breathed a sigh of relief.
At least, even if a priest attempts to use Holy Light to heal his injuries in the future, there is no need to worry about being burned to ashes by Holy Light.