Lumian opened the door and quickly stepped inside. The room was dark, only lit by the pale moonlight streaming through the open window on the left. In front of him were three chairs and a desk. On one of the chairs sat a man with long white hair, quietly reading a book. He wore a black hat and a dark trench coat.
Raising his head slowly with a smile he said. "Oh, it seems you're the last one. Come, sit down."
Lumian flashed a polite smile and quickly took a seat beside the table. "Good evening, sir. My name is Lumian Ward."
The man set his book aside and looked at Lumian with a soft grin. "Lumian... what a good name — light in a world of darkness." He chuckled softly and extended his hand. "My name is Zayn Hartley. I'm the captain of the Crimson Choir faculty. Tell me, how are you enjoying your stay so far."
"Well, I've not been here long, but from what I've seen so far, I already love it." Lumian said with a small laugh, as he shook his hand.
"That's good, that's good," Zayn said in a calm tone.
Lumian wanted to ask about the change in faculty, but considering his position, he hesitated for a moment. Then finally, he asked, "Captain—or, how should I address you?"
"Zayn is fine."
Lumian nodded with a smile, and leaned forward slightly. "Zayn, are there other churches apart from the Skywalker?"
...
Hearing Lumain's question, Zayn was taken aback, a flicker of surprise crossed his face. He smiled and thought to himself. "I didn't expect this lad to be so direct."
For a moment, silence reigned, until he finally spoke, his voice calm and steady.
"As the sky shines upon you like water, and the darkness washes your sin away, I declare you find compassion."
He paused and looked at Lumian. "Do you know where that saying comes from?"
Lumain shook his head in the positive. "Of course—it's from the text of St. Mary."
Luckily, St. Mary text has been taught to the members, leaving no room for blunders.
"If you've read it, then you must know the creation myth."
Lumian chuckled awkwardly. "Not to much, Captain."
Zayn chuckled. "Alright then. According to the text passed down by St. Mary—and what we, the faithful, believe—in the beginning, the world was filled with utter darkness, only lit by a crimson sun. Until the creator awoke and fused with the earth. 'its' eyes became the sun and the moon, bringing light to the world. 'Its' blood became the rivers. To put it simply, all Creation is part of the creator.
Lumain listened tentatively, but now had more questions. "But, Mr. Zayn... how could there be a crimson sun before the yellow one? Does that mean there are two suns—or they switch?"
Zayn rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "According to what we believe, the crimson sun appears once every century, replacing the yellow in the process." He chuckled softly. "I suppose that makes us the lucky ones."
"Hmm, things are getting complicated.But then how are gods and curses even formed? And how do humans like us gain their powers—and become sorcerers?"
With those thoughts, Lumian spoke up again. "Mr. Zayn, then... how are curses and gods formed? Were they also created by the Creator? He paused for a while before adding, "And how do humans gain their powers."
Zayn Inwardly praised Lumian's curiosity, before answering.
"According to the myth, the Creator's mind and thoughts gave birth to what we now call 'curses.' And for the gods..." He paused, as he rubbed his nose, as if recalling old memories. "In the Age of beginnings—after the fusion with the earth—the Creator still had fragments of 'its' essence. Those fragments became the God of Beginnings, who birthed humankind, and the God of Wisdom, who granted us the knowledge of good and evil. So yes, even the gods are part of the Creator.
He leaned back on his chair with a smile. "Which brings us back to your first question about churches. As long as they are other gods like the Skywalker, the Pale Goddess, The Mystic King and so on, there will be other churches."
Lumian found the whole myth both fascinating and bizzare—it even reminded him of the Pangu myth from old legends. Could St. Mary have been Chinese?" He wondered, jokingly.
He quickly brushed the thought aside and asked, "Mr. Zayn, what about how humans gain their powers? You haven't answered that one yet?"
Zayn chuckled, as he rubbed his temples playfully. "Ah, I almost forgot. The powers also comes from the Creator—this time, from 'its' hair, which runs through the world like invisible veins. Think of it like a great tree, extending to all life forms... though it depends on whether the sun is active."
The sun's activity... does that mean there's a connection between 'it' and the Creator. Perhaps it's because the crimson sun existed before the fusion!—
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Before Lumian could ask more, hurried footsteps echoed outside, indicating "Something" was wrong.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Three sharp knocks were made on the door. Zayn looked towards the door as he stood up.
Opening the door, a man with jet black hair stood there, wearing a brown shirt and trousers.
"Captain," He said, "something serious has happened. "
...
Zayn looked at the man before him in bewilderment. "What's the matter? Could it be so serious that you barge into my office like that?"
The man took three quick breaths, trying to calm himself, before speaking. "Captain we recently got a call from someone who passed by the Hench cathedral.. They said they saw a very strange sight."
Zayn's usual calm and smiling face immediately became serious. "Hench Cathedral? Hasn't that place been abandoned ever since?"
The man adjusted his glasses. "Yes, captain, it was... but according to the report, I don't think so..."
Without another word, Zayn stepped out of the room, passing by Mira. Lumian followed close behind. Mira quickly grabbed Lumian's shoulder, clearly looking worried. "Lumian did something go wrong?"
Lumian flashed a reassuring smile. "Everything's fine. You can return to your shift now."
She still looked skeptical but quietly nodded and went down the stairs.
After that, Zayn turned to the man. "Call the new recruit."
"Which one, captain."
"Ugh... I don't really remember his name. You know, that one who feels like he's gay." Zayn said as he scratched his head.
"Seriously...?" Lumain muttered inwardly.
The man chuckled awkwardly. "You mean Vincent Brent, Captain."
"Yeah, whatever," Zayn said as he started down the stairs. Turning to Lumain he said. "You should come too."
Lumian let out a small laugh. "Captain i'd love to, but I've not taken my first potion yet. I might just end up becoming a burden."
Zayn smiled and shook his head, as he descended down a step. "Ah, no problem with that. We're only checking things out—I doubt anything serious would happen."
"..." Lumain didn't say anything for a while, eventually he gave a small nod and followed after him. "Alright then, Captain."
...
Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!
The sound of the engine purred as a car made it's movement on the rainy road. The pale moon above casting long shadows of the car, while raindrops fell silently, on the half-busy road.
Inside were Lumain and his companions.
Zayn looked at Lumian through the rearview mirror, his hands steady at ten and two. "Hmm, Lumian, you still look tense," He said with a calm smile.
Lumian, sitting in the back beside Vincent, gave a small laugh. "Ah, not at all, Captain."
"Looks like someone's a scardey-cat." Vincent teased.
Lumian chuckled awkwardly and tucked his pistol beneath his black coat. "With you, Vincent and even Whiteley here, I've got nothing to fear."
"Good." Zayn replied with a smile.
In that moment, silence filled the car. Only the sound of the rain pattering against the window could be heard. Vincent, ever charming with that smile of his, simply gazed at the window, his green eyes following the droplets trailing down the glass.
Soon enough, he noticed a crimson silloute moving across the rooftops. At first, he dismissed it as his mind playing tricks on him as a result of his "Visionary" order. But then, an oppressive wave of killing intent washed over him.
His face immediately became serious as he turned to Zayn. "Captain, watch out!"
And to be expected, a beam of crimson was shot towards the car. Zayn quickly turned the wheel left.
Boom!
They luckily avoided the strike, leaving a smouldering crater.
"Vincent, go check it out." Zayn said in a serious tone.
Without another word, Vincent blurred into the storm, leaving Lumian somewhat worried. After all, he was only at phase 8 in the Visionary order, which was not well suited for combat. He could only silently hope for the best.
...
On the rooftop, the hooded figure darted between chimneys, it's black cloak wet by the rain. Beneath it's hood, a crimson glow shone.
Just as it was about to leap to the next roof, Vincent immediately blurred into view in front of it, making it stumble backwards a few steps.
Straightening it's posture, it brought out it's finger close to it's lips, and with a peaceful expression it pointed the finger towards him.
Bang!
A bolt of crimson energy was shot towards him. Vincent adeptly dodged to the left.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three more shots were fired, but Vincent blurred out of the way, hence averting the attack in the process.
Looking at the hooded figure with it's finger raised, Vincent immediately appeared in front of it, closing the distance.
He attacked with a clenched fist, but the hooded figure, shape immediately shattered like a mirror, appearing beside him with a punch of its own.
Vincent was not able to dodge on time, he could only use his left arm to block the strike.
In that moment, he immediately recited a spell, his voice low but resonant:
"By the black of the night, it is decreed:
Let darkness claim what light has freed,
Let darkness reign in a world of light."
...
Suddenly, the air swirled, and everything turned pitch black. Feathers of blue spiritual light spiraled into existence, spinning like spikes, before launching forward and impaling the hooded figure.
Twack!
First, blood splattered on the roof, followed by a single white eye, and lastly by an intensine which fell like a ribbon.
Phew... Vincent let out a sigh of relief, having taken care of the situation.
But before relief could fully settle, a smooth honeyed voice whispered behind him:
"Bang."
Another crimson beam was shot towards him, but he didn't linger, he quickly blurred away, reappearing on a neighboring roof.
The person killed by the spell was an illusion! It was all fake!
At that moment, the crimson beam began to dissipate into a faint mist.
Vincent immediately felt a warm liquid flowing from his nose, as he stood up. He quickly rubbed it, only to notice that it was blood.
The hooded figure had only just let out a small amount of it's mist and it has already affected a phase 8 sorcerer, making him weak. Surely it must be at least phase 7 or above!
Whoosh!
The hooded figure quickly flashed forward, but before it could close the distance—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three bullets were fired by Zayn. Still with the gun raised, he quickly recited a spell, his voice calm and steady:
"The world is full of good and evil cry!
One thing is certain: that good shall reign in fleeting fate!"
It seems the hooded figure was already affected by the spell. It's movement began to slow down, with a peaceful expression.
Lumian slowly raised his pistol up, ignoring the numbness and dizziness in his eyes as a result of the spell.
Taking advantage of the distraction, he quickly took aim and fired.
Bang!
His shot struck through—straight into the figure fore head.
Pa! Pa!
To their horror, instead of falling, it's body burst into white flowers, moving around like paper in the wind.
...
Vincent swiftly appeared beside them, blood still streaming down his eyes and nose. He flashed a smile as he sipped his hands into his pocket, bringing out a white handkerchief, to wipe them off.
Zayn holstered his gun and said in a low and serious voice. "That thing seems to be coming from the direction of Hench cathedral, turning to Whiteley he continued, "Do you think the 'report' was made by this mysterious figure?"
Whiteley hesitated, before chuckling dryly. "Captain, I can't say for sure."
Zayn walked towards the car and gestured to the trio. "Alright. Let's check it out."
...
Soon enough, the car came to a stop before the Hench Cathedral, the rays of light dispelling the darkness. The group stepped out—the wind brushing against their coats.
Lumian surveyed the area, as the hairs on his body stood up. "Why does this place feel so... terrifying."
He suddenly turned back, feeling a presence. As he did, he saw three figures all covered by a white viel. Surely they were none other than his companions!
He quickly faced forward, with a nervous smile—earning a quiet chuckle from Vincent.
The cathedral stood before them, it's rainbow windows glimmering under the moonlight.
Lumain sighed as he stepped forward, only to bump into something hard.
"Ouch!" He said as he rubbed his forehead. "What the f**k is that?"
He brought out his phone from his pocket and quickly turned on the flashlight.
Lo and behold, there hanging upside down on a wooden crucifix, was Mr. Richard. His golden hair and beard stained with blood. And his eyes... were still open.