I Became a Pope With a System Window

"Your spiritual signature is impossible."

Archmage Seraphina Voidheart materialized from shadows that shouldn't exist in the well-lit cathedral. Her violet eyes cataloged every detail while magical energy crackled around her like visible thought. Silver hair caught light that seemed to bend around her presence.

The royal invitation still crinkled in my hand. Duke Aldwin's words echoed: *"His Majesty is eager to renew old acquaintances."* Old acquaintances with someone who might be wearing a dead man's memories.

Now this. An 8th Circle mage probing for truths I didn't understand myself.

"Archmage Seraphina." I kept my voice steady. "Welcome to the cathedral."

"Spare me pleasantries." She stepped closer, magical aura pressing against my skin like static electricity. "The Mage Council requires verification of your... authenticity."

Her examination began without permission. Arcane energy flowed around me in patterns visible only to magical sight. The sensation felt like being studied under a microscope.

**[System Alert: Magical Detection Risk High]**

**[Activate Magical Camouflage ability?]**

**[Warning: Advanced practitioners may penetrate basic concealment]**

I activated the camouflage. Blue energy wrapped around the System interface, hiding it from arcane scrutiny.

"Interesting." Seraphina's eyes narrowed. "Your magical resonance shows multiple overlapping patterns. Divine energy, yes, but something else underneath."

She gestured, and complex spell matrices formed in the air. Geometric patterns that hurt to look at directly. Each one probed different aspects of magical presence.

"The Scythe of Judgement responds to you appropriately. Divine artifact recognizes legitimate authority." She paused, studying readouts only she could see. "But your personal energy signature defies classification."

The Scythe leaned against the altar. Its presence felt heavier under magical examination. Like it was protecting secrets.

"What do you mean?"

"Temporal displacement. Spiritual fragmentation. Energy patterns that suggest..." She hesitated, academic precision warring with disbelief. "Death and resurrection through unknown means."

My blood went cold. Death and resurrection. Sister Evangeline's words: *"You were clinically dead when they brought you into the cathedral."*

"The Church recognizes divine miracles—"

"This isn't divine intervention." Seraphina stepped closer, violet eyes burning with scholarly hunger. "Divine resurrection leaves specific energy traces. Sacred harmonics. Celestial resonance. You show none of those patterns."

More spell matrices formed. These ones deeper, more invasive. Probing layers of existence I didn't know I possessed.

"Your soul structure shows temporal displacement. Not healing. Not divine transformation. Replacement."

The word hit like a physical blow. Replacement.

"What does that mean?"

"It means whatever consciousness currently inhabits that body isn't the original occupant." Her academic excitement overrode diplomatic courtesy. "Fascinating. Your spiritual essence bears death signatures, yet functions with perfect integration."

**[System Alert: Magical Camouflage holding]**

**[Advanced countermeasures developing in real-time]**

**[Warning: Prolonged examination risks detection]**

The System adapted while we spoke. New defenses formed, concealing its presence from magical detection. But Seraphina's expertise threatened to expose advantages I didn't understand.

"The Mage Council sent you to prove I'm illegitimate?"

"The Council seeks truth. Political implications are secondary to magical accuracy." She gestured, and energy readings filled the air around her. "Your case presents unprecedented phenomena requiring careful study."

Academic ethics conflicted with political pressure. Seraphina valued knowledge over authority. That made her dangerous in different ways than Duke Aldwin or General Marcus.

"What have your tests revealed?"

"Anomalies that shouldn't exist. Your divine connection is genuine but recently established. The papal crown recognizes your authority, yet your spiritual foundation shows no prior religious training."

She moved around me in a slow circle, magical examination continuing.

"Most intriguing is the Scythe's response. Legendary artifacts choose their wielders through complex spiritual alignment. But your alignment patterns suggest recent formation rather than lifelong development."

"Recent formation?"

"Within days. Possibly hours." Her violet eyes studied my face. "As if your current spiritual configuration assembled itself around divine calling rather than growing toward it."

The examination intensified. Deeper probes, more invasive analysis. I felt exposed, vulnerable, like standing naked in arctic wind.

"Your magical signature also shows traces of non-divine power systems. Ancient ones. Predating current religious orders by millennia."

Ancient power systems. The System interface hidden behind magical camouflage. Did she detect its presence despite countermeasures?

"What kind of ancient systems?"

"Pre-Convergence magical frameworks. From before the current divine pantheon established dominance." Her academic excitement grew. "Such systems were thought extinct. Wiped out during the Great Purification."

**[System Alert: Historical references detected]**

**[Accessing archived data: Great Purification]**

**[Warning: Information classified above current access level]**

The System tried to provide context but hit restrictions. Whatever the Great Purification was, my clearance wasn't high enough to learn about it.

"Your energy patterns suggest connection to those lost systems. Impossible, but measurable." Seraphina paused her examination. "Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless your resurrection involved forces older than current divine authority."

The cathedral seemed to darken around us. Stained glass windows cast colored shadows that moved wrong. The Scythe's presence pressed against my awareness.

"That's speculation."

"Scientific hypothesis based on empirical data." She gestured, and final spell matrices formed. "One last test. This will determine the source of your temporal displacement."

The magic felt different this time. Deeper. More fundamental. Like she was examining the basic structure of existence itself.

Pain shot through me. Not physical—spiritual. Like someone was pulling my soul apart to see how it worked.

**[System Alert: Deep scan detected]**

**[Magical Camouflage compromised]**

**[Initiating emergency protocols]**

The System's defenses activated fully. Energy flowed around me, hiding its presence through layers of concealment I didn't know existed.

But something went wrong.

The magical examination hit a barrier it couldn't penetrate. Seraphina's spell matrices shattered against an invisible wall.

She staggered backward, violet eyes wide with shock.

"What was that?"

"I don't know." The answer was honest. I felt the System's defenses activate, but couldn't see what they did.

"Your soul is protected by something that predates recorded magical theory." Her academic excitement mixed with fear. "Protective matrices of impossible complexity. Self-adapting countermeasures."

She stared at me like I was a puzzle with pieces that didn't fit any known pattern.

"The temporal displacement readings are definitive. You died. Truly died. But something brought you back using methods that shouldn't exist."

"Divine miracle—"

"Not divine. The energy signatures are wrong. This is something else. Something older." Her violet eyes narrowed with academic hunger. "Something that predates current divine authority."

The cathedral felt too small suddenly. Political pressure from Duke Aldwin. Military suspicion from General Marcus. Medical evidence from Sister Evangeline. Now magical proof from Archmage Seraphina.

All pointing to the same impossible conclusion.

I died. Came back. Using power that predated gods.

"What do you plan to do with this information?"

"Study it. Document it. Understand it." Her scientific objectivity was absolute. "This represents the greatest magical discovery in centuries."

"And politically?"

"Politics are irrelevant to scientific truth." She began gathering her spell components. "Though the implications are... significant."

"What implications?"

"If your resurrection involved pre-Convergence power systems, it suggests those systems still exist. Still function. Still influence current reality." Her academic excitement overrode caution. "The theological implications alone could reshape religious understanding across the continent."

**[System Alert: Threat assessment updated]**

**[Archmage Seraphina: EXTREME PRIORITY MONITORING]**

**[Recommendation: Neutralize or recruit immediately]**

Neutralize. The System suggested eliminating a threat I couldn't handle. But recruiting an 8th Circle mage seemed equally impossible.

"Archmage, I hope scholarly discretion—"

"Science requires peer review and verification." Her violet eyes held absolute certainty. "I'll need to conduct additional tests. Bring other researchers. Document everything properly."

More tests. More exposure. More chances for the System's concealment to fail.

"When?"

"Soon. This discovery requires comprehensive study." She stepped toward the cathedral doors, then paused. "Your case presents unique challenges to accepted magical theory."

"Challenges?"

"Death is supposed to be permanent. Souls aren't supposed to transfer between bodies. Pre-Convergence power systems aren't supposed to exist."

She turned back to face me fully.

"Yet here you stand. Definitive proof that everything we thought we knew about death, resurrection, and magical history is incomplete."

The afternoon light streaming through stained glass caught her silver hair as she delivered her final assessment.

"Fascinating. Your soul bears the signature of true death, yet here you stand. The question is whether your resurrection serves divine will... or something else entirely."

Her eyes narrowed with academic hunger that suggested she wouldn't rest until she understood my true nature.