An absolute, suffocating silence instantly crashed over the basement. Yuna choked on her next sob, her jaw dropping as she stared at the holy robes in utter shock.
The priest took a deep, jagged breath, smoothing down his midnight-starlight robes as he tried to regain his majestic, calm composure.
When the room was finally, completely quiet, he closed his eyes once more, delivering the rest of his grand line with a cold, tragic weight.
"He is a child of the stars—a distant heir to the covenant of Aethelgard and Elysia[1]. The blood that courses through his veins is mortal, but the light within him is pure."[2]
Yuna moved back slightly, her breath catching in her throat, but the pure anger bubbling inside her chest didn't dim for a second.
"For the path that awaits him lies not in the Abyss,"[3] the priest continued to chant, his majestic voice rising once more as he looked toward the ceiling, completely blind to the couple's shifting expressions, "But in the eternal realm of Aeterna."
Seeing his wife trembling with rage, Ayato sighed quietly and tried to gently place his palm back onto her shoulder. "Honey, please... just calm down for a sec—"
Before the sentence could even fully cross his lips, Yuna violently brushed his hand off her shoulder with a sharp, angry Slap. She snapped her head around, staring straight into his eyes with a look of pure, raw fury.
Ayato's brow twitched, a heavy wave of irritation instantly rising inside him as he glared back. "What on earth was I even supposed to do?" he whispered harshly under his breath.
His voice laced with absolute annoyance as he leaned in close to her ear. "I only tried to stop you so you wouldn't face the priest's wrath! He is completely mad, Yuna!"
But Yuna didn't care about his worldly logic at all. She glared at him through her wet eyes, her jaw tight as she delivered a sharp, furious whisper right back into his face.
"Don't talk to me..." she snapped angrily, completely cutting him off. "Just... don't even look at me right now."
Ayato let out a heavy, irritated sigh and moved away from her in complete annoyance. He crossed his arms tightly over his chest, his eyes rolling toward the ceiling as he badmouthed the holy man in the privacy of his own mind.
'What on earth is this crazy old man even speaking about? Does he think he's in a Shakespeare play? Just get on with it already.'
The priest, completely unaware of the sudden internal war breaking out in the shadows, took a deep, dramatic breath and raised his hands once more.
"And should the day come when he must depart, grieve not as those who lose a son..."
Hearing those poetic words, Yuna's eyes instantly widened in complete shock. Her breath caught sharply in her throat, a wave of protective fury washing over her. "What the—"
Deep within the glowing circle, little Kento blinked rapidly, trying to clear the hot tears blurring his vision. He watched his mother's hands clench into tight, trembling fists, her jaw locking as a dangerous fire sparked in her eyes.
His tiny heart hammered wildly against his ribs, completely forgetting about the glowing lines beneath his feet. 'Please, mister priest... just run away fast.' Kento thought, his hands squeezing the hem of his shirt in pure terror as he stared at his mother's furious face. 'Mommy looks like she's gonna eat you alive...'
"...But rejoice, for the child you raise was never truly yours—"[4]
"Excuse me, what did you just say?!" Yuna rudely interrupted, her voice cutting through the poetic atmosphere like a razor blade.
The priest froze mid-sentence, his face twitching violently. Without even opening his eyes, he blindly waved his hand back and forth in the air, gesturing for her to stop speaking so he could finish his grand moment.
But Yuna was a proud lawyer, and she was absolutely not going to be dismissed by a hand wave. She stepped forward angrily, her voice echoing through the damp basement. "What do you mean by those words?! Explain yourself!"
The priest stopped his chant completely and flickered his eyes open, his forehead twisting into a furious frown. Seeing the danger zone, Ayato quickly rushed back to his wife's side, grabbing her arm in a panic. "Yuna, stop! Calm down and control your anger for a second!" he whispered hurriedly.
"INSOLENCE!" the priest suddenly shouted, glaring at Ayato with absolute, indignant rage.
"Out of all the seven ancestral households I have visited during this sacred cycle, this particular household is by far the most disrespectful and impertinent! You have no respect for the heavens!"
Hearing that insult, Yuna completely snapped. "Why you—!"
Before she could launch herself at the holy robes, Ayato quicky wrapped a strong arm around her waist, catching her from behind and physically lifting her back to stop her from moving. He glared angrily at the priest, his own patience completely hitting zero as his protective instincts flared up.
"Please be easy on us!" Ayato shouted back, his voice dropping into a defensive tone. "Just because my Mother is no longer in this world to hold the tradition does not mean you can come into my house and speak so rudely and rashly to my family! Watch your mouth!"
"I am not being rude!" the priest defended himself indignantly, adjusting his midnight robes with a sharp huff. "It is simply that this family is entirely MADl! In all my years, I have never seen a child cry like this one!"
He pointed a shaking, accusing finger toward the center of the ring, where little Kento was still silently sniffing and wiping his wet eyes. "He is far too soft for a vessel of the light! And as for her—"
The priest sharply turned his finger, pointing it directly at Yuna's face. "I have never in my life encountered such a disrespectful, loud-mouthed woman! You talk far too rudely to a servant of the cosmos!"
"Oh, really?!" Yuna snapped right back, her face turning red with pure rage as she struggled violently against her husband's grip. "Let me remind you that you are just a general Priest hired for a ritual! You are not my Father-in-Law, so stop acting like you own this house!"
"Yuna, stop!" Ayato panicked, instantly putting his large hand over her mouth to cut off her dangerous words. "Just shut up for one second!" he whispered harshly against her ear.
Yuna grunted angrily, her green eyes flashing with fury as she tried to resist his grip. She twisted her head, biting at his palm and thrashing her arms to make him let go.
"Mmmph! N-Ngh... Let go!" she screamed through his fingers, her voice coming out completely muffled and frantic. "Mmmph... I won't let anything happen to my child! Let me go!"
The priest let out a long, dramatic sigh, rubbing his temples in utter exhaustion. "Her wild behavior is scaring the child far more than the ritual itself." he muttered dryly, looking over at little Kento, who was staring at his fighting parents in absolute, wide-eyed confusion.
The holy man then turned his hollow eyes back to Ayato, shaking his head with a look of tragic pity. "Your late Mother made a grave, terrible mistake by letting you marry this woman."
That was the absolute final statement. Ayato's brow twitched violently, a wave of pure irritation washing over him. He completely let go of Yuna, throwing his hands up in the air as he glared at the holy man.
"Alright, that's enough! Just do the main work! Stop talking and finish the ritual!"
"I am trying to!" the priest snapped back loudly, his face twisting in a frown. He shot one last dirty look at Yuna, gesturing toward her as he complained to Ayato. "Ask her why she cannot simply remain silent!"
Yuna let out a loud, annoyed "Hmph!" she sharply turned her face away, crossing her arms tightly over her chest and tapping her foot in pure defiance.
Seeing that they were finally, temporarily quiet, the priest took a deep, stabilizing breath to regain his majestic composure. He closed his eyes, cleared his throat, and forced his voice back into that deep, tragic tone to repeat his ruined lines.
"And should the day come when he must depart, grieve not as those who lose a son..." He paused, letting the heavy words echo off the stone walls before delivering the final punch. "He belongs to the Light."[5]
Standing in the shadows, Ayato watched the old man's dramatic performance with a completely blank expression.
A dry, ironic thought slowly drifted through his mind. 'I always used to think that English was the toughest, most complicated language in the entire world... but looking at this guy, I think I seriously need to change my opinion.'
"Step away, children of the Abyss." the priest commanded, his hollow eyes fixing on the parents as he raised the heavy, ancient book.
"The promised hour has come. Release your hold upon the vessel, for he belongs not to mortal comfort, but to the light that called him before birth. [6]Let the Rite of the Veil[7] begin."
----
🖋️ AUTHOR'S NOTE 🌙
You know...
When I first planned this scene, it was supposed to feel ancient, mysterious, and deeply sacred.
Then the priest met Yuna.
(￣▽￣;)
At some point, I stopped writing a ritual and started writing a public argument that just happened to take place inside a ritual circle.
Poor Kento was trying not to cry.
Poor Ayato was trying not to lose his sanity.
And the priest was trying not to commit several unholy acts.
(≧▽≦)
Honestly, I am still not entirely sure whether this chapter was a family drama, a comedy, or a verbal battlefield.
Perhaps it was all three.
(•▽•;)🌙
----
✦ 🔮 A GLIMPSE INTO THE NEXT CHAPTER 🔮 ✦
"What awaits beyond this page...?" 🌙
(灬･◡･灬)♡
"I'm coming! I'll come out to you!"
"Kento, stay right there! Do not move an inch!"
----
🌙 PAGES FROM FORGOTTEN RECORDS
History remembers great priests.
History remembers sacred ceremonies.
History rarely remembers the exhausted person trying to finish a speech while being interrupted every thirty seconds.
(￣▽￣;)
----
🌙 The stars may fade, and memories may sleep...
But the Spiral continues to turn.
Until we meet again beneath the same forgotten sky.
(•▽•;)
— SakuraShinomiya
[1] Think of Aethelgard and Elysia as Aeterna's version of Adam and Eve. Just as Adam and Eve are considered the first ancestors of humanity in our world, Aethelgard and Elysia are remembered as the first ancestors of the people of Aeterna.According to legend, they were the only two humans whose hearts remained pure when the old Abyss fell into hatred and corruption. Because of this, they were saved and brought to Aeterna, where a new lineage began. ┐(‘～`;)┌
[2] His body is human, but the soul and hope he carries are sacred and untouched. ヽ༼⁰o⁰；༽ノ
[3] His destiny does not lie in the ordinary human world, but somewhere beyond it. (✿☉｡☉)
[4] "You may have raised him and loved him, but his destiny was never meant to belong only to you." .·´¯`(>▂<)´¯`·.
[5] According to the priest, Kento's true purpose and destiny are tied to the sacred power and ancient legacy of Aeterna.He believes that Kento was not born to live an ordinary life, but to serve something higher and purer. ಥ╭╮ಥ
[6] Let him go, because his destiny was chosen long before he was born, and his purpose lies beyond an ordinary life. (●__●)
[7] The Rite of the Veil is a ceremony meant to guide someone across the boundary between the mortal world and a higher destiny (｡ŏ﹏ŏ)