Exorcist in America

The changes in the expressions of the two were fully captured in the holographic display—from anger to grief and sorrow, encompassing a spectrum of emotions. York did not turn around as he looked outside.

He could understand the feelings of the two.

After all, the founding journey of the USA was built upon the bodies of their ancestors.

Centuries ago, British and other European immigrants arrived here, displacing the indigenous Native American populations to establish the largest British colony in North America.

These immigrants later declared independence, eventually founding the free nation of the USA.

The history of the USA was indeed written in the blood of the Native Americans.

This included deceit among many other abhorrent tactics. For instance, when the USA was first established, it recognized the sovereign governments of Native tribes, but later implemented policies of racial extermination, dismantling the Native governance systems and seizing their lands.

To this day, on this land, where once lived tens of millions of Native Americans, only about two hundred thousand remain.

For someone of the age of Sister Gillian, she is like a history book in flesh.

According to her, the people of the small town of Lost are descendants of these Native Americans.

United, they established Lost Town through various legitimate means, driven by their veneration for the great Lady Alyssa.

Alyssa... York had seen her before—she was the girl who had embraced him with a radiant smile as she was obliterated by his divine power.

York couldn't help but recall the drawings Sharon had made in her sleepwalking state.

The Lady Alyssa mentioned by Sister Gillian was the deity worshipped by the natives.

She was also the soul of the sacred ground of Silent Hill, the source of its mysterious powers.

Indeed, this world's Silent Hill is entirely different from the film.

As he had mentioned earlier, in the movie, Alyssa, driven by hatred, spawned Dark Alyssa.

Since the remaining people took refuge in the church, where she could not enter, she separated her good side, Sharon, and sent her out.

Using Sharon's illness and Rose's maternal love, she lured them into Silent Hill, then with Rose's help, managed to enter the church and enact her revenge.

That was the plot of the movie.

But in this world, the storyline of Silent Hill is different. The characters may be the same, but the main plot is entirely new.

From Sharon's drawings, Silent Hill was originally a religious sacred site for the Native Americans, referred to as the resting place of the Quiet Spirits. This refers not only to the spirits of their ancestors but also to those dwelling in plants, rocks, and rivers—essentially, Alyssa.

After the outsiders settled here, they initially cooperated with the natives under a façade of benevolence, only to later discover and covet the mystical powers of Silent Hill, leading to a brutal massacre of its Native inhabitants and the occupation of their sacred land.

Those who covertly controlled Silent Hill spent years researching until Silent Hill was divided into two parts.

New Silent Hill was transformed into a resort and sanatorium, thriving commercially due to nearby coal industries, self-sufficient with schools, shopping centers, churches, sanatoriums, hospitals, other stores, and tourist attractions.

Old Silent Hill, however, was primarily residential with numerous apartments and a commercial district, flourishing until the true natives remained the most marginalized.

Once Silent Hill reached such a scale, the descendants of those who controlled its economic lifelines finally devised methods to infuse a pregnant native descendant with Silent Hill's mystical powers.

After some catastrophe, the power split into two.

The purest force entered the unfortunate mother, while the residual dark and tainted forces, under the control of that will, separated.

Yes, the will was the original Alyssa, the deity worshipped by the Native Americans, always lurking, waiting for an opportunity.

Finally, the chance came, and at the last moment before being utterly corrupted, it entered the mother and merged with the baby inside her, ultimately being born through this mother as Alyssa Airel.

In the end, she fulfilled the wishes of the natives who worshipped her—that was revenge!

A great fire destroyed the prosperous Silent Hill and killed those who deserved their fate.

The fire spread to the deep coal mines, causing a chain reaction. The air's composition changed, toxic gases spread, and the innocent residents of Silent Hill were forced to relocate, leaving the town.

This was the true story of the fire, not as portrayed in the movie trial, making it virtually a new story.

York looked up at the sun obscured by the clouds, his fingers tapping lightly behind his back.

There was one aspect he rather admired—that Alyssa did not harm the innocent, showing that she was not as cruel as one might assume.

If things had ended there, it might have been perfect.

But obviously, a core group of people retaliated against Alyssa in their final moments.

By sacrificing themselves, along with offering their bodies and souls,

 they also summoned another Dark Alyssa.

This other Dark Alyssa, unlike the Alyssa born from a human body, was the manifestation of the larger portion of dark and tainted forces separated earlier.

So, the real Alyssa was thus trapped within Silent Hill, surrounded day and night by dark forces, eroding her existence.

Because for Dark Alyssa, only by consuming the original could she become the sole entity.

However, Alyssa was not without power to fight back. She transformed all her power into an outer world, enveloping the inner world and trapping Dark Alyssa created within.

Fearing her death and subsequent consumption by Dark Alyssa, which would also harm the infant she inhabited, she courageously decided to separate her essence from her physical form and sent away the true human infant.

And this infant was Sharon, the true daughter born of that unfortunate mother.

This is the true story of Silent Hill in this world, having nothing to do with the past movies.

In this world's Silent Hill, the outermost world is a manifestation of Alyssa's power, aimed at imprisoning Dark Alyssa.

The inner world is a manifestation of Dark Alyssa's dark powers, aimed at imprisoning and eroding the original Alyssa, to eventually merge and become a complete entity.

The true purpose of Lost Town was merely to protect Silent Hill's Alyssa, the descendants of the natives guarding her for centuries, eventually evolving into a real town.

"Movies are movies, and reality is ultimately reality; the two should not be conflated," York realized.

"Fortunately, it's not too late. At least now I know who the enemy is and who the good guys are."

Thinking this, York turned to look at the two still engulfed in sorrow.

These two truly had genuine beliefs; otherwise, they wouldn't be like this. No matter what their faith was, as long as they were good people, that was enough.

Like the Montreux Monastery itself, which housed dozens of orphans, sending a few away each year without forcing them to stay.

Supporting so many orphans wasn't too great a pressure, which might explain why Sister Gillian's divine power hadn't diminished and why she had lived so long despite following another deity.

"So, Thomas' ancestor was the one who delivered the child?" York said calmly.

Having expended so much energy, Sister Gillian was somewhat feeble, and Father Clifton, enduring his grief, nodded.

"Yes, Bishop York. His great-grandfather was Father Braden, who also rescued Lady Alyssa from that great fire."

Hearing this, York realized the source of Thomas's stigmata; it originated from his great-grandfather and had been passed down through generations.

Glancing at the unmoved young bishop, Father Clifton bit his lip and suddenly knelt, but before he could complete the gesture, he felt a force holding him up, preventing him from kneeling, leaving him only able to plead.

"Bishop York, the events of that time were too sudden. Father Braden, for Lady Alyssa, chose to conceal the truth of the fire from the church and crafted another lie to cover it up.

Please forgive us, we did not mean to deceive the church."

York was silent for a while, now knowing all the details, but he was somewhat surprised that Sharon had remained asleep for so many years, only waking nine years ago.

Of course, he could understand Father Braden's actions; the church hundreds of years ago was probably much harsher than today, lacking in humanity.

For Alyssa, for Sharon, concealing this was indeed the best choice.

It would prevent the church from launching a crusade to annihilate all heretics and evil, wiping out everything here.

"I understand."

Looking at two older people before him with pleading faces, York sighed internally and thought of Alyssa in a black dress, who had embraced him with a radiant smile, and spoke calmly.

"I will enter Silent Hill. If your deity, Alyssa, has not been corrupted by darkness, I will intervene to save her."

Sister Gillian and Father Clifton exchanged a look, their faces filled with joy, but when they heard the young bishop's next words, their hearts tightened.

"But if she has been corrupted, then I will have to destroy the evil in the name of God."

Sister Gillian and Father Clifton relaxed, drained by the conversation, feeling weak.

But both respectfully bowed to the young bishop and gratefully said:

"Yes, Bishop York. We, on behalf of the Native American community, thank you for your help. From now on, if you command, we will go through fire and water…"

These words, however, were no longer in York's ears, even though he was about to gain a significant ally in the Native Americans. York merely raised an eyebrow, his gaze slightly unusual.

As he spoke to the two, a mechanical voice unexpectedly announced a random quest in his ear.

[...]

[Conditions met: Random quest triggered, The Native American Deity]

[Quest requirements: Eliminate the contaminated source]

[Quest reward: +20 attribute points]

[Accept/Reject]

[...]

Seeing the virtual window pop up with the mechanical voice, York habitually narrowed his eyes.

"What a surprise, I thought I was just learning how to create worlds and incidentally treating Sharon's illness, but I've also triggered a random quest."

York glanced at the quest reward; the twenty points also surprised him.

It had been a long while since he had triggered such a high-reward random quest.

Such a reward was only available when he was closing and destroying world rifts.

"Twenty points, that's quite a lot." York thought idly, silently accepting the quest.

"This can be added to my constitution, increasing my tolerance for particle pressure."

Since the quest's requirements coincided with what he was already planning to do, there was no reason for him to refuse.

[Quest accepted successfully]

[...]

Assured by the mechanical sound confirming the quest's acceptance, York looked at Sister Gillian and Father Clifton and spoke calmly.

"That aside, I have a task for you now."

"Please speak, Bishop York," Sister Gillian responded.

"The directive from the West Virginia Cathedral, you've received it, right? Right now, they're probably coordinating with the authorities to disperse the crowds, and you need to do the same for the residents of Lost Town."

As he said this, watching the changing expressions of the two, York turned and looked in the direction of Silent Hill, as if he could see the whole of Silent Hill.

"Regardless, the opponent is a powerful being capable of altering the environment, and I really can't guarantee the safety of all of you,

To be frank, all of you are a burden. This time, to ensure successful entry into Silent Hill, I'll only take Sharon with me."

His blunt words made Sister Gillian and Father Clifton pause, then they both responded with a resigned smile.

"Yes, Bishop York, we will disperse the residents of Lost Town, fortunately, they are our people."

Considering the young bishop's astonishing track record, they were indeed too weak.

"Hmm." York responded neutrally.

But even so, he did not miss the slight changes in their expressions.

"Don't worry," York smiled confidently.

"I will ensure Sharon's safety. No matter how powerful that Dark Alyssa is, I can protect myself; I stake my life as York John on it."

With this assurance, Sister Gillian and Father Clifton finally felt at ease.

"Then that's settled." York turned and walked past them.

"Lead me to the entrance to Silent Hill."

Sister Gillian and Father Clifton nodded in affirmation.

"Yes..."

___________________

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