Wings represent divinity!
Divinity, a very peculiar term. In European mythology, all gods possess divinity - like the divinity that controls lightning, the divinity that rules the seas. Gods without divinity are trash; only those with divinity are true gods.
But in this world, divinity doesn't carry these meanings - it merely represents a god's status.
More like a title.
In these paintings, the wings depicted behind figures symbolize divinity. Those with wings are gods.
This creates a very strange point in these images.
That is, only God and Kuba have wings. Meanwhile, the figures of Divine Cause and Jonah beside them lack wings, which is very wrong.
Divine Cause, the Supreme God of All Things, and Jonah, the Primordial Death God of Hell - why would these two great deities lack divinity?
Why does Kuba, whom God loved least, possess half a pair of wings?
Cardinal Adam frowned deeply, his gaze fixed on the patterns as he pondered endlessly."Strange, isn't it?" His Holiness the Pope's slightly narrowed eyes seemed to sweep over the adjacent paintings, his words startling Bishop Adam from his immersion in the murals.
"Yes, Your Holiness. The details in these murals seem somewhat problematic." Bishop Adam continued pushing His Holiness the Pope deeper inside.
The narrow rocky passage gradually widened, and slowly, faint points of light appeared ahead - clearly indicating possible human presence further in.
Hearing Bishop Adam's words, His Holiness the Pope seemed to answer somewhat irrelevantly.
"What kind of creature do you think vampires are, Adam?"
"Perfect beings, Your Holiness. Ageless and deathless, forever in peak condition, capable of endless survival even without consuming blood - the perfect perpetual beings." A flash of greed appeared in Cardinal Adam's eyes.
"Yes, Adam. Vampires are practically perfect beings, perfect beyond perfection. God created Eden and all things, yet only the vampire species achieved ultimate perfection.
So why would God dislike such perfect creatures?"
Cardinal Adam fell silent.
Why would God dislike them? After all, Kuba hadn't killed God before actually killing Him. Unless God was omniscient and knew Kuba would eventually kill Him, there's no explanation why God loved all other species yet despised only vampires.
But clearly God wasn't omniscient, otherwise He wouldn't have died by Kuba's hand.
Thus, Cardinal Adam hesitated: "I think... perhaps precisely because vampires were too perfect."
So perfect that even God felt fear.
Cardinal Adam didn't voice the latter part, but his meaning was clear without words.
His Holiness the Pope sighed softly: "Yes, Adam, vampires were too perfect. Whether it's Divine Cause born from God mating with woman, or Jonah produced from mating with man, or even the various monsters created through mating with other animals - they all share a common characteristic: the interweaving of God's divinity with created vitality gives them mortal nature.
Divinity is eternal and unchanging, while living creatures constantly change, so living beings can never bear divinity.
Among all God's creations, only vampires - the species produced through mating with the dead - could carry God's divinity."
This could actually be explained genetically.
How could genes fuse with a corpse? A corpse's genes lack vitality.
The production of other species could be seen as new species, new life created through gene fusion between God and other species. (One could view God as the primordial life form, His genes encompassing all species' genes, thus enabling mating with all species. Of course, I'm not a professional biologist, so there might be errors - just understand the general idea.)
Only vampires more closely resembled God's genes, nurtured through corpses, giving birth to life forms possessing complete God's genes.
Genetically speaking, vampires were completely identical to God - little Gods.
"Vampires are too much like God, Adam. Or rather, they're completely God's duplicates. If you were the supreme God and created species identical to yourself yet possessing independent will, what attitude would you hold toward them?"
His Holiness the Pope's aged, lifeless face actually showed a rare expression of awe.
Even though he had long known these facts, even though he had pondered them countless times, even now mentioning this matter still filled him with awe.
Hearing the Pope's words, Cardinal Adam responded without hesitation: "I would exterminate them!"
No god would enjoy creating beings identical to themselves. This isn't bloodline inheritance - this is creating formidable enemies for Himself!
"This is why God disliked vampires, Adam."
His Holiness the Pope sighed deeply.
"This is also why the vampire progenitor Kuba possesses the symbol of divinity in these murals. Because vampires themselves can be seen as replications of God.
Naturally, they can also possess divinity."
Cardinal Adam was deeply shaken by the Pope's explanation!
Now you suddenly tell me that the vampires we've been targeting and slaughtering are actually God's true sons, even essentially identical to God? What does this mean?
Doesn't this mean we've been slaughtering little Gods all along?
And if reality truly matches His Holiness the Pope's account, wouldn't that mean God actually exists?
Cardinal Adam felt his mouth dry and throat parched. He opened his mouth to speak, but his voice came out too hoarse to form words.
Fortunately, as someone in high position with enormous ambition, Cardinal Adam almost instantly regained his composure. Still with an incredulous tone, he asked: "Your Holiness, if what you say is true... does that mean God actually exists?"
"Of course, Adam. He is right before you."
As His Holiness the Pope spoke.
The cavern through which they advanced instantly transformed from pitch black to bright as daylight.
Passing through the narrow cave entrance, a massive mountain hollow revealed itself before Cardinal Adam.
This enormous cavern seemed to hollow out the entire mountain, within which stood row upon row of Holy Knights - hundreds, perhaps.
These Holy Knights appeared similar to the two at the cave entrance, remaining in long-dormant states, their armor covered thick with dust.
Rumors said the five hundred Holy Knights of the Holy Inquisition Tribunal were His Holiness the Pope's true foundation, but judging by what he saw now, the number of dormant Holy Knights here couldn't be fewer than five hundred.
But the most striking feature wasn't the Holy Knights in the cavern - it was the center.
A religious-style platform seemingly constructed from pure jade, ten meters long and wide, stood at the cavern's center.
This structure, called a platform, more resembled a catchment basin with a circular hollow carved at its center.
Upon this jade platform, a cross seemingly made of white bone held crucified a pale humanoid corpse over two meters tall, with slender build and perfect form.
Though maintaining human proportions, the corpse's perfect form and elongated body created a distinctly discordant, inhuman weirdness.
Coupled with the exposed pale yet delicate skin, even with exquisitely perfect features, prolonged observation evoked a spine-chilling sense of horror.
"G... God??!!!"
Cardinal Adam nearly lost his voice.