"Besides death, time is something that inevitably comes to all of us," I said, smiling and leaning toward the old man.
"Although I am not proud, I have heard part of the conversation you had with my friend Reinhard. You are an old soul in the body of a wise young man. You should be proud. In these times, where most your age aspire to the recognition that a simple metal plaque gives to their lives, for someone like you to stand out among them is genuinely hopeful."
"I do not deserve your words, but I accept them in good faith. I suppose you and Mr. van Astrea have things to talk about. I'm in no rush, so just take your time, and, as you said, I'll wait."
The old man gave me no further response; instead, he bowed with a small smile and turned around.
"It was a pleasure, traveler. I hope that when we meet again, you have already made progress in your search. If you need help or guidance in the Kingdom of Lugnica, do not hesitate to go to the Guard Headquarters and ask for me; I will help you."
That way, they both withdrew from the room, and I was left sighing with relief.
Now I knew that I was in a kingdom, and that made me happier than being in a city or a metropolis.
While thinking about how amazing my new role is playing, I made my way to the center sofas and took a seat on one of them. Just as I sat down, I heard two footsteps behind me. Gradually and without turning around, I understood that someone was approaching me from behind.
When the person appeared, I thought I was seeing an angel.
Her hair gleamed like gold in the glow of a radiant sun. Her eyes were blue, and her long, curved lashes stood out from her delicate eyelids. Her skin was white, but she looked pale, as if she were sick. She wore the same tunic as the men circling around us, but she revealed her face under the hood.
My jaw dropped as I watched her move her lips.
"Sir, do you hear me?"
When I came to my senses, I startled and leaned forward a bit as if listening to her.
"As I said before, I am a novice of the Church of Our Divine Emperor. The Archbishop sent me to assist you."
Her voice was fine and affectionate; I felt like I could listen to her talk for hours and never get tired of feeling the echo of her whispers in the depths of my senses.
"Oh, yeah! Um, I'm here looking for lodging... People told me that this place received missionaries and travelers."
When I finished speaking, she smiled at me even more eagerly.
"So you're an applicant," I arched an eyebrow at her nickname. "Applicants are men and women who search for the Divine Emperor in their hearts."
I really had no idea what she was talking about. I was only here for the free food and not freezing to death in the street.
"You are right. But I would like to know a little more about the place. Also, I know very little about the Divine Emperor… but if you are here, how about you take me to see the place while you tell me about him?"
Damn, it felt like my new character had bestowed me with flirting powers, as those words effortlessly escaped my lips without my heart pounding. Perhaps my power had something to do with women, and maybe I had a knack for making them fall in love.
"Of course, nothing makes me happier than talking about him!" The young woman almost seemed to jump with excitement. It was apparent that the religion of this god was somewhat sick and disturbed, but as long as there were no human sacrifices, I didn't care.
In this way, we began to walk through the cathedral while she spoke, and I found myself delighted with her voice. I must admit, I couldn't fully concentrate on whatever she was talking about, as being under the roof of a god, I got lost in her face mid-conversation. This woman had something about her that went beyond physical attractiveness; she truly was beautiful in every way.
Surprisingly, the cathedral was a massive structure, with corridors, open ceilings, domes, and marble floors. I even caught sight of a gold chandelier hanging in the prayer room. It seemed that the Church of the Divine Emperor had inexhaustible funds, but I kept wondering who funded all these luxuries.
If we were to theorize, it could be financial aid from the crown of Lugnica. It wouldn't be strange if the king or queen of this place was a believer in the Divine Emperor, and naturally favored any religious institution related to the Emperor.
However, based on what I had seen, there were more humans than demihumans. This raised questions for me - if the leader of this country sided with a marginalized social group while ignoring the vast majority of human citizens, it would be highly counterproductive. What human leader would allow his own race to hate him?
On the other hand, we couldn't say that the leader of this kingdom was a demihuman either. What reason would there be for human overpopulation instead of demihuman overpopulation?
The Kingdom of Lugnica could also be a dictatorship, but if that were the case, why bother to admit other religions?
I couldn't quite understand the background of the Church of the Divine Emperor, but I already had an idea that something was wrong with them.
"What are you thinking, traveler?" The novice and I had formed a less casual relationship because she interpreted my admiration for her beauty as admiration for her words about the Divine Emperor, or so I thought.
Regardless of the reason, I couldn't be happier to know that she was talking to me.
"Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about how amazing the mind of the person who designed this whole place must have been. I trust we haven't seen the tip of the iceberg yet, right?"
"Iceberg? What's that?" asked the novice, tilting her head tenderly.
"It doesn't matter. Changing the subject, I think I don't need to dig any further into my decision. Looking at how passionately you speak of the Divine Emperor, I think your devotion makes it clear to me how good it does a person to serve his life on his behalf."
The novice looked up from my eyes and gazed at the statue of the man in front of us.
"It is as you say, traveler. The Emperor is what gives us hope and opportunity. Without it, the souls of thousands would still be searching for a purpose to live. It all starts when you decide it's time to change. There is no end to the wonders the Emperor can do to the soul and mind of a living being."
So it really is more of a semi-extremist cult than a pacifist religion.
"So where do I sign?"
According to the novice's words, to join the Divine Emperor, one only needed to have their spirit free of regrets. Regardless of the sins of that applicant, as they told them, as long as you believed in him in a spiritual way, you could already consider yourself a member of his entourage. However, like any religion, there were institutional privileges in society that benefited the believers of any religion. For example, if you wore the formal attire of the Emperor's believers, you could freely enter and exit any city gate in Lugnica, which was crowded day and night with foreign refugees escaping the Kingdom of Lugbica's growing war with the Holy Empire of Vollachia. You could also get free rides on trade carriages and even discounts at shops.
For these and other reasons, one had to go through a more personal and private ritual, where in addition to your formal introduction to the cathedral and other institutions of the Emperor, you also obtained a series of certificates and what interested me most, a plaque of identification with the hallowed name that was given to you during the ritual and that was conceived by the Emperor.
For that reason, I was currently in a chamber illuminated by a circle of candles. Beyond the candles, there was only darkness, but my instincts told me that I was not alone.
The novice, who was forbidden to say her name as a rule of female servants to the Emperor, told me that I could choose a guide during the process. Naturally, my finger pointed at her. However, instead of experiencing that feeling of being alone and together, the atmosphere where I felt eyes everywhere was ruining my moment.
"It really won't be anything very sophisticated since the Archbishop is aware of what you are going to do, and he was the one who also gave me permission to be your guide. To begin, you must kneel."
I didn't object and just got down on my knees. The floor was not marble like the whole place outside; it was a poorly polished stone, so it had uncomfortable reliefs.
Suddenly, the novice walked behind me and put a white blindfold over her eyes.
"Have you ever done this before?" The tone of my voice betrayed the anxiety I felt.
I didn't get an answer, just pure silence.
"Novice, are you still there?"
A few minutes had passed, and no one answered me. I still felt that I was not alone, but it was the same feeling that there was someone on the other side of the candles. I also did not want to remove the blindfold because I believed that this silence was part of the initiation ritual.
But as I drowned in discomfort and doubt, a growing thought washed over me.
Why hadn't she just explained the process to me in advance if we were to get to a point where there would be silence? I mean, she could have saved both of us time by telling me that at some point, we were going to fall out and just wait. However, not a single explanation was given before entering.
Then, I felt a burning sensation in my neck. I couldn't speak, and the sound that came out of my lips was a miserable moan.
Having lost the sense of reason, I took off the blindfold and saw how the ground near my knees had a red puddle that wet my knees.
With my right hand, I tried to find the reason behind the burning in my throat. But when my fingers touched my neck, I could feel something sticky and liquid; there was also a hole going down.
I didn't understand why I wasn't just touching the skin on my neck until I realized that what I was touching was my larynx, and the hole was down my trachea.
It had half of my neck, and the other part had been ripped off, skin, meat, and all.
My neck had been torn to pieces.
"Do you think I wouldn't notice the depravity in your eyes when you saw me? It is inadmissible that an insect like you could join our ranks. Die, sinner."
As I fell facedown, and my face hit the ground, I felt no pain, I did not agonize in suffering, but instead drowned in terror that coursed through my veins.
The novice I had fallen in love with stood in front of me and looked down at me with pure disdain. That smile, those eyes, those features that made her so fragile and beautiful had been nothing more than an act of a woman who had been playing with her prey from beginning to end.
It seemed like my performance hadn't been up to par, and because of it, I died.
