Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near...
Prepare the way for the Lord...
Make straight paths for him...
An older man wearing clean white robes stood in front of an altar that sat in front of a pool of water within the choir stage, the room in which he stood was fully silent, as if preparing for the man to begin speaking. The man stared at the Genesian Chronicles in front of him, his motions still...patient.
The people who sat within the congregation of the church waited quietly, a few people making soft whispers to ask what the man at the altar was waiting for. One guy let out a soft groan and stood up from his seat, the legs of the chair scraping against the ground and echoing around the room.
"Listen old man, we don't have time for the silent lessons. If you haven't seen the news in recent days, the Daemons and Mourning have increased in numbers! The longer we sit around and wait, the more lives we lose out there!" The man protested, pointing his finger at the older man at the altar.
The older man opened his eyes, the color becoming mana blue as if a Holy Spirit was to speak through him. He looked at the man with a caring, yet stern expression. He adjusted his camel's hair tunic and the leather belt around his waist, a few cross shaped amulets jingling upon his belt.
"Go out there unprepared and without the full armor of God, and you too will become a Daemon, Mourning, or even worse...a Lament itself. It takes more than physical strength to defeat a Daemon, and it takes more than being spiritually awakened to face against a Lament," The older man began, glancing back at the pool of water behind him, noticing the water beginning to sparkle.
"It appears He has arrived...The Savior that shall become greater than me has arrived. Congregation of the V.J.I Church, my time as your Guide, Mediator, and Councilor has come to an end," He said, listening to the dejected cries of his people.
"What do you mean? What is happening, Mr. John?" A woman asked, rising to her feet with watery eyes.
"Yeah, you've been our Baptist for years, going on three decades now! You've been teaching our parents, what's with the sudden change?" Another man protested, his tone filled with hurting outrage.
John looked at his people with a gentle smile, understanding their outrage and confusion, yet never let it hurt his Spirit. "I understand your outrage, and while it saddens me to have to become lesser and step down, a new Guide has come to take my place. The Messiah."
Suddenly, the tones of confusion and saddness had been replaced with curiosity and wonder. John noticed the shift in energy within the room once he mentioned The Messiah, a knowing smile forming upon his lips.
The Baptist looked down at his Chronicles, nodding his head and letting out a soft breath. "It is written that I must step down to allow the Messiah, Ascea, to become greater. But, before you all can meet The Messiah, you must follow me to the wilderness."
"We must prepare the way for the true coming of Ascea. You must be baptized with the waters of repentance for after my calling is finished, the one after me, whose shoes I can not bear, will baptize you with Holy Spirit and Fire," John said, closing his Chronicles and looking out to everyone in the congregation.
There were still some confused in the church, some still unaware of what was to come in the near future. However, those who did complete believe in John the Evangelist, were prepared for their final baptism by John before following in a higher power.
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"Unbelievable... So you really are the Prince of Exzodia. It should've been obvious, but still...in today's time anyone can masquerade as anyone," Peter sighed, leaning back in his chair with the front legs lifted off the floor.
"I literally told you who I was and it took your entire group for it to finally click in... Literally sacrificed one of my butterflies for this," I said, letting out a soft sigh as I held my Admiral Cacoon in my hands.
Leonidas chuckled softly at the two of us, watching our group from his desk before taking his glasses off and standing up to make his way to the front of the classroom. "As you've seen, my Trials had great purpose. I've shown to you all the Messiah, and Nox, I've shown to you Blessed Humans. Two of which who follow a certain Evangelist."
Luciel's eyes sparked up at the title, her gaze lifting to meet Leonidas's eyes. "Evangelist? You mean the type of people who are extremely attuned to Yuvah, Genesis, and Ragnarok?"
"Yep. There are three Evangelist Types: The Truth, the Evangelist who speaks for Yuvah and acts in accordance to the Holy Spirit. The Induction, those who baptize other with holy water to cleanse them of their sins and create them anew. Finally, The Judge, the Evangelist that follows a Dark Lord and acts in accordance to God's Wrath," Leonidas explained, writing the information upon the white board.
Fleur leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms, raising a curious brow. "And who is this Evangelist and are they stronger than a Warden?"
Leonidas chuckled softly at Fleur's question and turned around to face our group once again. "A Warden doesn't even come close to what an Evangelist is. Warden is the starting class of an Evangelist."
The revelation of what an Evangelist was and how powerful they truly were stunned both Fleur and Luciel, but the rest of us were not surprised since you could only learn of an Evangelist within specific locations. The information about an Evangelist is often looked over taken they are only talked about in the Book of Lily.
"As for the name of this Evangelist, his name is John aka Yochanan the Evangelist. He is the best professor and religious leader we have in all of the Four Districts of Exzodia, however his time for teaching us has come to an end," Leonidas continued, lowering his head with reverence and let out a solemn sigh.
"Why?" Ava asked, tilting her head curiously.
"Because the Messiah has arrived. The Messiah that will fix everything August couldn't, and bring the world back to God. Or better yet, bring the Realm of Origin to the Human Realm," Leonidas answered, looking up and shifting his gaze toward me.
Everyone's eyes turned toward me, who stood against the wall with my gaze focused upon the cacoon in the palms of my hand. Fleur, Effie, and Luciel noticed my mind was elsewhere, as if occupied solely on the Admiral Cacoon.
"Where is John?" I asked, my gaze never leaving the cacoon in my hands.
"Preparing the way for you. You have to pass one last trial before your prophecy is fulfilled. You must traverse to St. Goken east of St. Meishi then you have to reach the River of Fideline to be baptized by John," Leonidas answered, setting his marker down and walked back toward his desk.
"However, you must go when you are ready. Only you can go, and once you are baptized, you must return here immediately after if you wish to avoid The Black Wave," Leonidas finished, sitting down at his desk and putting on his glasses.
I looked up from my cacoon at Leonidas and met his serious gaze, knowing this final trial was the most serious. Only I could go into the wilderness alone to find Yochanan, but I knew with a renewed Spirit within me now, I could do anything with God strengthening me.
I left the classroom with a heavy mind, the girls each getting up quickly to follow me out of the classroom. I made my way down the halls with my mind filled with questions that I wanted answered desperately, but knew the answers I needed was only going to come from the journey to St. Goken.
"Nox, wait up!" Luciel called out to me, her steps quick as she reached me and grabbed my arm gently. She turned me around so I could face her, her eyes meeting mine with slight concern. "Do you think you're ready for this..?"
I met Luciel's eyes and let out a soft exhale, my gaze averting to the window beside us. "I don't know. Everything is happening pretty fast. I mean, three days ago I was out of it, done with life basically...but now...I feel like a new being..."
"Truthfully, I'm not ready for the final trial. I'm not ready to go out there alone...After all, Leonidas did say I should only go when I'm ready," I added, my gaze returning back to Luciel's.
"If you're feeling unprepared, you should join us on our journey for the time being! I can even lead the way for all of you to learn the most you can while you're here!" Effie offered, hopping forward and giggled brightly with Looni in her arms.
"Plus, I only have one teacher! My Grandpapa!" Effie beamed, her bright smile lighting up the room a bit more.
Fleur let out a soft groan from Effie's blinding smile, using her hands to shield her eyes from the intense light. "We get it, we get it..."
I chuckled softly at Effie and let out a soft exhale, reaching to her to gently rub her hair. I gently pulled her closer then held her shoulders, bringing my hands to her cheeks and caressed her skin with my thumbs. "Then I shall have you become our Shepard for now. Guide us along our journey around Virgin's Justice Institution."
Effie blushed at my gentle touch, her gaze never breaking from mine with reverence. She nodded slowly, taking in the moment to just be close to me. "Uh-huh...~"
'Oh Em Gee!!! He's touching me! I'm close enough to kiss him! Calm down, calm down Effie!!' Effie squealed mentally, her Spirit doing backflips of joy within her body.
"Honestly, we should report back to Gallet and tell him we will be joining V.J.I for a while. I honestly see no reason why we shouldn't join," Fleur said, taking her phone out of her pocket to give Gallet the news.
As Fleur stepped aside to call Gallet, Effie and Luciel stcuk beside me to talk amongst ourselves. Effie took out her phone to show us the full layout of the campus on her phone, the map of the institution projecting from the screen as a blue hologram.
V.J.I had four main buildings, the Head Department— the building we were standing in, the Virgo Department— the western area of the campus, the Libra Department— the northern area of the campus, and finally the Sagittarius Department— the eastern area of the campus.
Each Department taught a different Book or Sets of Books: Virgo Department taught the Books of Lily and Imogen including the Gospels, Libra Department taught the Books of Nina and Harmony including the Laws of Yuvah, and the Sagittarius Department taught the Books of Artemis and Mehira including the Betrayal of August.
After a moment of looking through the map and what each area of the campus taught, Fleur made her way back to us with good news. "Alright, I'm back and Gallet told me that it was best we joined the institution. The Holy Resistance works more frequently through the four Academies."
"Great, we have a strong starting point...we can now get into getting ourselves truly prepared for what the world has in store for us," I said, looking between the three girls with a determined smile.
The girls each nodded, all three of them prepared to take on their crosses and walk along side me in our new journey. The four of us decided to get deserved rest for the day, each of us heading back out to the parking lot to go home.
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Yochanan stood within the River of Fideline, taking in each of his students one by one, dipping each one into the sparkling water. As the baptism continued, the sun began dipping below the horizon, casting a warm orangish red hue in the sky.
In the distance, a woman with flowing red hair watched with a smile upon her face, sitting upon the edge of the river with her feet dipped in the water. Beside her was the figure cloaked in white robes, white clouds gently flowing around their body.
"Is it true? Has the Nexus truly arrived upon the Earth?" The woman with red hair asked, glancing up at the cloaked figure.
"He has. It is only a matter of time before He arrives here to meet with Yochanan. Once everything is set, we will all have to be weary. Everything will change...the veil will be broken and Terminus will do anything to stop Ascea from arriving," The cloaked figure said, the dove upon their shoulder nodding with agreement.
The red haired woman giggled softly as their serious tone, her gaze shifting back to Yochanan and his students. "Miss Orochi, you're too serious sometimes. But, I do agree...The Black Waves are upon us. The Book of Sennie and my book say so...St. Goken will be plunged into a month of silence.."
"Are you ready to be silenced again, Fideline..?" Orochi asked, glancing down at the Cancer Zodiac Deity.
Fideline let out a deep sigh, looking up at the sky again and watched the birds fly by to their nests as the night began to rise. "I don't know...I do know it's all a part of Genesis's plans. I just don't want to be without Her again.."
Orochi watched as Yochanan baptized his final student, her cloak flowing with the gentle breeze around them. "Don't worry...Those days will be short. Just keep your ultimate faith and trust in Yuvah and His Extensions. You, Althea, and Imara don't have to worry as much. Ascea will wash away those waves soon."
Fideline smiled at Orochi's assuring tone then used her magic to make herself a mermaid, pushing herself into the river. "Thank you, Orochi. Will you be here tomorrow?"
"I'm always making my rounds across Exzodia, so I'll be sure to stop by here again," Orochi said, looking down at Fideline with a smile behind her hood.
Fideline nodded with excitement, diving down into the waters and swam deep to rest for the night. Orochi watched as her shadow disappeared into the waters, her gaze shifting back up to Yochanan and noticed him lying next to his fluffy gray Coatyl, the mother of Looni.
Yochanan stared up at the night sky as he lied next to his Coatyl, whistling an old hymn he used to sing when he was once in a grand choir. As he relaxed, he could feel a presence watching him, his eyes closing as he stopped whistling.
"You can stop hiding now. We are alone," He said, turning his head to face the emptiness within the woods.
Stepping from behind a tree, Orochi appeared before Yochanan, surprising both him and his fluffy dragon. They both sat up straight in the presence of her graceful figure, the crosses upon Yochanan's leather belt glowing brightly.
"Yochanan the Evangelist, the Black Waves will soon arrive after you baptize The Messiah. Prophecy does not have you dying with the Old Goken, but as a herald of Ascea. Do not die here with the rest," Orochi warned, sending her dove toward Yochanan to perch upon his shoulder.
"Wait, you're the Ophi—"
Before Yochanan could finish his sentence, a bright light flashed, blinding both Yochanan and his Coatyl, the figure of Orochi vanishing into thin air. Both he and his dragon glanced around, the only piece of Orochi remaining being her Dove.
Yochanan stood up in his spot and looked at the dove upon his shoulder, watching as it flew off his shoulder and onto a branch. The dove sounded a warning cry, alerting Yochanan of dangers ahead, even his gray Coatyl, Sait, let out warning cries for her master.
Yochanan looked ahead, noticing a man with silver hair standing in front of him in the distance with his double bladed katana in hand. He heard two motorcycles arriving upon the scene, two more men appearing, one with light orange hair in a low ponytail, and the other with a buzz cut.
"Well, well, you're getting sloppy at hiding your old feathered lizard's shedding fur, old man! We found you finally...after months of you hiding your presence!" The man in the center said, pointing his sword at Yochanan.
Yochanan looked the silver haired man up and down, analyzing his appearance to see if he knew who he was. He locked eyes with the man, the realization finally clicking to him. "You're the leader of Squad VII, Merin Tsu! Why are you here?"
"To prepare the way for the true Messiah, me. You will baptize me in this river, that way not only can I find the Zodiac Cores, but claim that power for myself! With that power...the 13th Temple will be built and I will reign as God!" Merin exposed, letting out a crazed laugh as his body became a deep red silhouette and warped in front of Yochanan.
Yochanan scoffed at Merin, manifesting one of his wings and covering himself to block Merin's attack. He pushed Merin back then took hold of one of his crosses, the cross becoming a golden sword of light and emitting powerful Holy Energy.
Pushing Merin back with his wing, he lunged toward Merin at light speeds with a heavy slash, forcing Merin to block the attack. Merin grunted heavily as he was pushed back by Yochanan's immense strength, taken by surprise of his own will.
"By the Power of God, I call upon Your Strength! Olympas 4:13, I can do all things through Him who gives me Strength! Sword of Olympas, awaken!" Yochanan bellowed, the golden sword in his hand gleaming brightly and awakening its true might.
"My, my...what a light show. This will certainly be a lot more interesting than I had thought. Cyrus, Jericho, make quick work of him," Merin commanded, stepping back and using his black clouds to form an arena around the area.
Cyrus chuckled softly and moved strands of his orange hair from his face, unholstering an electrified baton from behind him. "It's just a super religious old man with a few relics. How much stronger could he be?!"
Cyrus charged in first at lightning speeds with a wild swing of his baton, but Yochanan sidestepped his attack then landed a knee strike upon his stomach, causing him to stumble backwards. Yochanan's body became a blur of light, allowing him to land consecutive light speed barrages upon Cyrus.
Yochanan appeared in front of Cyrus then sent him flying backwards with a strong slice, Cyrus groaning as he crashed through multiple trees. Jericho glanced back at his partner in shock, unable to believe the strength Yochanan possessed despite being an Evangelist.
"Thinking of reconsidering?" Yochanan asked, readying his sword once again, not a beat of sweat anywhere upon his body.
Merin chuckled lightly at Yochanan's performance, shrugging his shoulder then readied his sword. "Looks like this is a job for me..."