The Holy City, Chenxi Hall.
The towering dome was painted with stars and Holy Emblems. Multicolored stained-glass windows filtered the morning light into a dappled tapestry of color, spilling across the mirror-smooth white marble floor.
The air was thick with the scent of incense and wax.
In the depths of the hall, beneath a massive Crescent Embracing Stars Holy Emblem, three elderly men sat upon high-backed chairs inlaid with ivory and Moonlight Stone. They were dressed in Bright Red Cardinal's Robes.
Their expressions were varied—one severe, one indifferent, one compassionate—but their gazes felt tangible as they swept over the seven girls standing silently below.
Today was the final, most crucial round of the Saint selection.
To face an interrogation of faith from the College of Cardinals and attempt to gain the recognition of the Morning Star Bell.
The seven girls, all between the ages of fourteen and sixteen, were dressed in identical, simple white gowns.
