Chapter 364
'A system without mercy.'
In the year Myra Astrielle turned twenty-two, an unexpected anomaly pierced the carefully ordered reality of her world.
A young man, twenty-six years old, appeared before her.
His very presence was already a paradox, for he claimed to have come from beyond the universe in which Myra lived—a statement that, to most people, would have sounded like nonsense or madness.
Yet there was something in his manner that made Myra, with her sharp observational instincts, consider the possibility seriously.
The man carried with him a palpable aura of desperation and an urgent plea.
Before the calm Myra, he asked for help.
The request was not an ordinary one.
He asked Myra to help him avoid something.
And that "something" was one of the most fundamental and most terrifying institutions in Myra's society, an inescapable rite for every man who reached the age of twenty-six.
The Process of Inverted Crucifixion.
In Myra's world, this ritual was neither myth nor empty threat, but a universally accepted social law, a standard procedure believed to be the only way to save men from a far more tragic fate in the future.
The belief was so deeply rooted that almost no one questioned it.
The Inverted Crucifixion ritual was exactly as its name suggested.
A crucifixion, but with the body positioned upside down, head below and feet above.
What distinguished it from ancient capital punishment was that its purpose was not execution, but sacrifice.
The men were mounted upon inverted crosses in a solemn ceremony, left hanging for a prescribed duration as offerings to an unknown power or as wards against a collective curse.
Most astonishingly, according to official records and regulations, most of the men survived the ritual.
They endured, descending from the cross with bodies perhaps wounded and souls undoubtedly shaken, but alive.
Alive to continue their lives, bearing both the stigma and the so-called "protection" they had acquired.
'Loving something beyond its limits, is it?'
At first, Alaric Syah tried to adapt.
Thrown into this foreign and rigid universe, he chose to accept and tolerate the strange system imposed upon him.
It was a stance of survival, perhaps in hope of finding a way back or avoiding direct confrontation.
He observed, studied, and attempted to understand the logic behind the sacred Inverted Crucifixion ritual.
Yet that tolerance began to crack and eventually shattered when two bitter truths surfaced.
First, hidden reports emerged about men who had reached twenty-six and did not survive the process.
They died, not as failed sacrifices, but perhaps as necessary ones.
Second, and most shattering of all, the horrifying truth behind the ritual's mask was unveiled.
The rumor about preventing calamity was merely a façade, an alibi constructed by the ruling elders of that world.
The true purpose was far more direct and terrifying.
To obtain fresh blood from those twenty-six-year-old men.
That blood, according to the doctrine they spread, was required to "feed" the essence of the earth and the universe, keeping it stable and preventing it from "rampaging" again—a cosmic threat that might well have been of their own making.
The selection criteria were not random.
The elders sought men with specific characteristics.
Those who "loved something beyond its limits."
An obsessive and profound love that, in their view, made a man's blood more "nutritious" or more "potent" for consumption by the cosmic entity they claimed to serve.
Alaric Syah himself had been listed as a target because of a sincere devotion.
He admired his mentor, who had taught him how to control super dark cosmic energy, with deep and boundless reverence and affection.
It was precisely his love for his teacher and knowledge that marked him as the perfect target.
This discovery shattered the remnants of Alaric's patience.
All pretense of tolerance dissolved.
Without further pleasantries, without attempting diplomacy with what he now regarded as a hypocritical killing machine, Alaric Syah took the boldest and most provocative step.
Standing in the central square, his speech broadcast through mass media, he addressed the public with burning words.
His voice, filled with conviction from another world and fury over the deception he had uncovered, condemned the laws of that world as insane, deranged, and inhumane.
More than mere condemnation, he transformed himself from a prospective victim into a focal point of resistance.
In his speech, he openly invited—more accurately, urged—families who had lost members after the Inverted Crucifixion ritual not to hesitate to report to him.
He positioned himself as a collector of evidence, a voice for the voiceless, and a challenger to the ruling system.
'Do not act recklessly, or the lives of those you love will vanish.'
As the flame of Alaric Syah's resistance began to blaze, igniting both hope and fear within a society long dormant, Myra Astrielle chose to stand at his side.
Her decision was not impulsive, but the result of careful observation and calm yet firm moral judgment.
She saw the truth behind the lies, saw the unnecessary suffering, and saw the courage of a foreigner willing to challenge the great machine of injustice.
Within her customary silence, that resolve crystallized.
She prepared to use her influence, her analytical skills, or perhaps the underground networks few knew she possessed, to support the movement aimed at toppling the tyrannical ritual.
Yet power rooted for centuries does not fall through speeches and good intentions alone.
The religious leaders, who were both guardians and primary beneficiaries of the Inverted Crucifixion system, moved swiftly.
They did not attack Alaric directly at first, for open aggression against him might spark greater sympathy.
Instead, they chose to strike at the weakest point they identified among his potential supporters—Myra Astrielle.
Their strategy was cunning and cruel.
They took her loved ones hostage.
All were seized—her aging parents, a sibling she had protected, even the one friend who understood her silence.
With their authority and networks, the religious leaders easily captured and transported Myra's loved ones to an undisclosed location.
Then an ultimatum was delivered to her, perhaps through a faceless message or a messenger with a thin, piercing smile.
Its content was simple and brutal.
Stop supporting Alaric Syah.
Do not attempt anything reckless.
Forget everything you have learned and return to your role as a neutral observer.
An order, not a request, was issued.
That order was to neutralize Alaric Syah.
Using the trust that had begun to form between them, or perhaps exploiting her unsuspected access, Myra was commanded to make Alaric Syah fall into slumber.
'She had no other choice but to hand Alaric over.'
In short, burdened by a weight that crushed her principles, Myra Astrielle made a decision that felt like slitting her own soul.
She did not wish to lose any of those closest to her.
With steps that felt like walking upon shards of glass, she invited Alaric Syah to meet.
To be continued…