The ascent to the peak of the Church of Luminus was not a simple journey; it was a transition through layers of increasing spiritual gravity. Scarlet led Aris through a labyrinthine series of corridors that defied the simple circular logic of the lower floors. They moved through narrow, rib-vaulted hallways where the air grew colder and the scent of frankincense was replaced by a sharp, metallic tang—the smell of ancient, concentrated power.
Scarlett starts leading Aris through the maze that is the church they are in, taking lefts and rights, ascending with elevators through the floors, till they reach the 7th, highest floor. Each elevator was a marvel of engineering and magic, lined with obsidian and etched with silver sigils that glowed with a faint, pulsing blue light as they rose. Aris felt the pressure in his ears change with every floor, a physical reminder of the sheer height they were reaching. The walls of the higher corridors were no longer just stone; they were inlaid with intricate tapestries and murals depicting the history of Prithibi.
As soon as they ascend to the highest floor, they are met with a gigantic long hallway. The scale of it was impossible. The ceiling was so high it was lost in a permanent, artificial mist of holy vapor, and the floor was a single, seamless sheet of white marble so polished it reflected Aris's face like a mirror. At the end of the hallway is a massive gate. One Aris is greeted with this sight he is shocked. The gates were not made of wood or iron, but of a shimmering, translucent white stone that seemed to breathe with a slow, rhythmic light. It looked like the ribcage of a slumbering god, guarding the most sacred secret of the world.
Scarlett notices this shock and giggles. The sound was strangely human in such a cold, divine place. "Shocked are you? I know this place has magnificent architecture yes?"
Aris responds, his voice sounding small and fragile against the vastness of the hall. "yes... this place is flabbergasting. I have never seen such beautiful architecture before." It felt like the building itself was alive, watching him, judging his every step.
Scarlett starts walking while Aris follows her. The click of her boots on the marble was the only sound in the oppressive silence. "Scarlett, may I ask who are we meeting?" Aris whispered, the weight of the silence making him afraid to speak at a normal volume.
Scarlett talks while walking with him, her eyes fixed on the distant gates. "Who you are going to meet are extraordinary, please greet them with respect. They are the pillars of our order, the ones who hold the darkness at bay."
"Them?" Aris asked, his heart skipping a beat.
"Yes, you are meeting multiple people."
Aris speaks once again, his anxiety blooming into full-blown dread. "You still haven't answered my first question, who are we meeting exactly?"
Scarlett tells him, her voice dropping to a serious, reverent tone, "we are meeting the higher ups of the Church of Luminara. The Archbishop and the bishops."
Aris stops dead in his tracks. The names alone carried enough weight to crush him. These were the rulers of the known world, the ultimate authorities on Sin and Spirit. "Huh? Why? Why are they so interested in me?"
Scarlet stopped and turned to him, her expression a mix of pity and warning. "They will simply ask you questions about your Awakening that's all. Now hurry up we are taking forever to reach there."
They continue walking for a while, the long hallway stretching out as if it were testing Aris's resolve. Every step felt heavier than the last. Finally, they reach the base of the gigantic gate. The sheer size of it made Aris feel like an ant standing before a mountain. Scarlett stops before turning to Aris. Her face was grave, all traces of her earlier giggles gone.
"Aris you are going in there yourself, I cannot accompany you in this meeting with the Archbishop and his bishops. Be respectful and don't be uncouth. Their eyes see more than just your skin; they see the soul beneath."
Aris nods, his throat too tight to speak. He stepped forward, and before he could even reach out to touch the stone, the gates start opening themselves, as if they sensed his intentions of pushing the gates. They moved silently, a feat of impossible engineering, revealing a room bathed in a blinding, golden light.
As soon as the gates open, he is greeted with a magnificent tribunal. It was a vast, circular amphitheater. At the middle sits a tall throne of blackened silver, and flanked by the sides are dozens of thrones, arranged in a terrifying semi-circle. All being sat upon by figures draped in heavy, ceremonial robes of crimson and white.
The previous hustle and bustle that was happening before Aris entered instantly quieted down. The silence that followed was deafening. Every head turned in unison. All the figures' eyes landed on him.
Aris instantly felt as if his body as a whole was being scrutinized. It wasn't just a look; it was a physical weight, a spiritual dissection. It felt as if every minuscule detail—the tremor in his hands, the rhythm of his heart—was being swallowed by those figures on those thrones. They weren't just looking at him; they were reading his history.
The feeling instantly goes away as soon as the figure in the central throne talked. "Ahh, we finally meet. Tell us your name." Rumbled out the figure in the central throne while staring at Aris.
The speaker was a man of terrifying presence. His skin was like weathered stone, and his eyes were two burning coals of intense, ancient intelligence. This was Ashraf, the Cinderborne. As he spoke, Aris feels as if a weight has been placed on his entire body, locking him in place. It was a mental shackle, a command that his muscles could not disobey.
"I-I... my name is Aris your Excellency..." he stammered, his voice trembling.
"Aris? A beautiful name indeed. My name is Ashraf, the Cinderborne. I am the Archbishop of the Church of Luminara. These figures you see next to me are my bishops." Ashraf leaned forward, the light from the stained glass windows behind him casting a long, flickering shadow that seemed to stretch toward Aris like a claw.
"Aris, explain to me what you saw in your dream. Do not leave even a singular detail out."
Aris gets drenched in fear. The Archbishop's gaze was like a physical heat. Aris felt an irresistible compulsion to speak, as if in front of this individual he cannot say a singular lie. His mind felt like it was being pried open.
'Aris! Hold on for a second!'
The voice of Nyx exploded in his mind, cool and sharp.
'He is placing down mental pressure on you, influencing you with his mind so you cannot lie in front of him! Thankfully I can take mental energy in your place, act as if you are stricken in fear.'
As soon as Aris hears those words spoken by Nyx in his mind he instantly calms down. The burning pressure in his skull vanished. The fear and pressure that had threatened to crush him evaporated into thin air.
Aris speaks in his mind, careful to keep his external expression one of terrified submission. 'Nyx! Thank God you are here, that was incredibly horrifying. I felt like I was in that dream again... scratch that, anything that this world has to offer in terms of fear does not compare to that dream.'
Nyx speaks once again, 'just act scared and comply with him.'
'Okay.'
"Are you going to keep standing there?" The now identified as Ashraf tells Aris, assuming he is petrified under his mental assault. Lowering it just so he can speak, he tells himself. 'Hm, I thought this kid's mental fortitude was strong. Or maybe I applied too much pressure for a kid his level.'
The bishops beside Ashraf speaks in hushes, their voices like the rustling of dry leaves, discussing the same conundrum he is facing.
Aris starts speaking. "A-ah yes, I will speak... In that dream, the world was colored red. Corpses littered the land... Be a man, woman, or child. I was drowned in an ocean of blood. The Moon was hued with red..."
The bishops and Ashraf were completely silent.
"Rot affected everything, it smelled absolutely disgusting... Carrion from unknown creatures adorned the lands..."
Aris took a shuddering breath, his eyes clouding as he forced himself to project the memory. "It was the most horrifying sight I have ever seen in my life, as short as it may be. I think it will never be surpassed. I felt an unknown presence in that dream, it felt ethereal... watching me from the cracks in the world."
A few seconds of silence passes by. Then, the entire place erupts into chaos.
"Demon! Demon!" Yells out a bishop from the left, his face contorted in a mask of religious fury. "He is undoubtedly a spawn of the devil! He needs to be eliminated!"
"What absolute visions of destruction!" Speaks up a bishop from the right, his voice shaking. "If this child is allowed to grow up, he shall be the end of the entire known world!"
"SILENCE!" Bellows out Ashraf.
The word was a physical blow. The place returns into the calm it was before.
Ashraf thinks in his mind, his burning eyes fixed on the boy. 'This kid... those visions... could it be the prophecy...?'
Meanwhile Aris is shaked-up from the sayings from those bishops. 'Demon?! Devil!? What the hell are they talking about?!' He yells out in his mind.
'Worry not Aris, these bishops are merely ignorant and don't know what they are talking about,' Nyx speaks up in his mind.
Though Aris still feels a bit uneasy. 'But what if the Archbishop sides with them? What will happen to me?'
'Well that falls upon the Archbishop.'
The silence was loud, a heavy, pressing thing. Finally, the Archbishop Ashraf speaks. "Aside from that, is there any more that happened in your dream?"
"Uhh... that's basically it your Excellency..."
"Hm, alright. Can you release your Sin Source for us?"
"Sin Source?" Aris asked.
"Oh right, you are newly awakened. It is basically your aura. Try to feel your energy and push it outwards."
Aris listens to his command. He closed his eyes and searched inward. He didn't want to just be a puppet anymore; he wanted to show them the weight of what he carried. He didn't just push; he yanked on the energy Nyx was offering.
'Let me help you out abit.' Speaks up Nyx.
Suddenly, Aris felt a surge of cold, absolute power. Instead of just letting it leak, Aris gripped the energy, his knuckles turning white as he forced the manifestation to obey his will. He didn't just let it out; he threw it.
An unfathomable aura starts leaking out of his body. It wasn't a passive mist; it was an aggressive, suffocating tide. Dark, void-like, mephistophelian energy pours out. Like the weight of nothingness pouring down upon reality. It didn't just surround Aris; it lashed out, causing the marble floor to crack and the temperature in the room to plummet. The light from the gold-leafed walls seemed to be sucked into the black shroud around him. Aris stood tall within the darkness, his eyes flashing with a reflected void.
As soon as he does this the tribunal once again erupts into chaos.
"How in the ever-living flying-FUCK are you going to convince me this is NOT a demon from hell!" Yells out a boisterous bishop from the left.
"Language!" Ashraf yells out, though his own eyes were wide.
"This thing needs its entire bloodline eradicated!" Another bishop screams out.
Aris didn't shrink back. He felt the darkness responding to his anger, the void around him growing sharper, more jagged. He looked directly at the bishops, his presence now a physical threat that made the closest ones pull their robes tighter.
Suddenly, in an unexpected turn of events, a bishop rose from his thrown before erupting in unfathomable speeds, straight towards the Aris. Who didnt saw the man coming.
Aris froze. His mind swirling, his dark aura swirling into a defensive vortex. The bishop a mask of righteous murder, appearing inches away from his own.
Just when an inch is left between him and Aris is left, the bishop's hand formed into a killing blade of light...