With a torch and some food in hand, I looked back one last time at the only man who had bothered to come see me off. As I noticed his trembling eyes starting to moisten up, I shot him a confident smirk and cut his pained choke off with a playful chuckle.
"I'll be just fine. You should worry more about yourself, Old Man. Take care." I turned my back to him and leapt over the makeshift fence marking the outskirts of the Moon city, jumping into the quiet, all consuming darkness on the other side.
Just as my feet were about to hit the ground, the light from my torch flickered for a moment. In that flash of darkness, a shiver instantly ran up my spine; I felt several eyes over me, staring at my figure from all directions.
The primordial fear of darkness in my mind intensified heavily, almost making me buckle my knees on the spot as my mind went completely blank. Eventually, the flames from my torch regained their brilliance and illuminated my surroundings once more, pulling me out of my daze.
I had always understood the implications of leaving the Moon City. Everyone who ventured into the darkness before me never made it back to tell their tale, and the ones who stayed turned into monsters.
No one knew what truly happened to those who left, some assumed that they had quietly met their demise to the monsters lurking in the darkness, others that they took their own lives; but despite our lack of knowledge about what laid in the dark, we all understood one thing. It was terrifying.
I had to leave, I couldn't have just ignored the signs of madness emerging from within me, or pretended not to notice my growing irascibility, everyday turning me less and less like myself.
I had to leave, I didn't want to hurt anyone, I didn't want Old Man to see me like this, and more than anything… I didn't want to turn into a monster.
Suddenly, a ragged voice arose from behind me, putting an abrupt end to my thoughts, "You passed."
Recognising the familiar sound, I turned back around to face Old Man once more. Now donning a crystal monocle over his right eye, his expression was visibly more relaxed than earlier which made a wave of calm wash over me.
Hopeful and curious, I asked him "I passed? What do you mean? Passed what?"
The corners of his lips perked upwards as he exclaimed, "You passed the holy trial Caylus! I'm so glad that you're still pure!"
"The holy trial…? What are you talking about Old Man?" I didn't try to mask the sense of confusion and anticipation in my voice.
Nodding calmly, he nudged his monocle upwards before answering in a devout tone, "God has not abandoned you yet Caylus! There is still a chance for redemption, but we don't have much time left just take this and follow me."
He pushed a crystal monocle to my chest, lifted up his torch and treaded straight into the darkness, seemingly expecting me to follow. After a moment of hesitation, I pocketed the monocle and followed in his trail.
During the entire long journey, he remained completely mute making me hesitant to ask the several questions swirling within my head.
Had God really not abandoned us afterall? Where were we heading? Where did he get these monocles? What was the holy trial? I pressed my lips tightly together and decided to curb my doubts for the time being and keep walking.
Eventually, a source of light besides our torches emerged within our visions in the dense darkness. My heart skipped a beat, eyes widening in shock as my legs came to an abrupt halt. It was a lantern hanging from a tall stick, an actual street lamp! And it wasn't just one either, there was an entire row of them following besides a stone paved road.
Noticing my ceasing footstep, Old Man turned to face my trembling figure with a wide smile. He piously spread his arms up in the air into a praying gesture and declared "Welcome to the Holy Cathedral."
Lightning struck in the distance, partially illuminating the area up ahead. There stood a tall, imposing building with a flag hanging down from its roof. Its dimly lit stained glass windows gave the building a reverent aura, similar to the church of God in the Moon City.
I resisted the urge to collapse on the floor, physically holding myself back from screaming out loud. It felt as if the entire world had come crashing down on itself.
How was this possible? There existed civilisations outside of the Moon City? Were the holy scriptures false? I had never seen this flag before, which deity was this church affiliated to? Most important of all, how did Old Man know about any of this?
Before I could calm myself down enough to speak out about any of this, he had already reached the cathedral's doors, pushed them open and went inside.
"Wait!-" I shouted desperately, stumbling to follow him inside the cathedral.
My hands clumsily pushed open its large wooden doors, revealing a brightly lit hall filled to the brim with rows of people sitting on pews facing the raised altar.
At the sudden noise, all of them slowly turned their heads over to look at the door where I was standing with a torch in hand, their movement abnormally unified.
For the third time today, my heart almost stopped. The diverse group of people inside the cathedral featured some faces I remembered, and some all of Moon City's residents recognised.
They were all people who had ventured off into the darkness in the past!
Some of them were wearing blood stained armour with buff physiques, some had pure white robes on with a frail build, rubbing golden beads across their palms in prayer and some even featured a similar attire to the I was currently in, but despite their varied builds and distinct clothing, they all shared one common trait.
A crystal monocle resting over their right eye!
[End of Chapter 1: The Holy Trial]