" Can you please tilt your head forward?" ordered the kind but armed priest even though he framed it like a question.
He spoke those words slowly to Amy as he took the time out to study her with his eyes.
Amy quickly did what the man wanted as she controlled her body to bend forward.
He brought out a bright and yellow charm which he dangled in front of her forehead.
Amy was sure that if the man moved any closer to her, he would be able to hear the loud thumping of her heart.
The glowing charm dangled in front of her as everyone around, including her, stared at it wondering what it would do to her.
At first, the charm remained the same and there was no reaction from it but as minutes went by it gradually started to darken but that wasn't what terrified her.
What frightened her the most was the look on the priest's face when he saw the charm's brightness suddenly go dim, as small tiny black dots appeared on the charm.
Also, Amy could have sworn that she saw his left hand, the hand he wasn't using to hold the charm, gradually move closer to the dagger on his waist as a slight frown appeared on his face.
The manacing one at the back didn't even try to hide how dangerous he was. The moment the charm was placed in front of her, Amy saw him draw his two daggers out of their sheath.
By now, droplets of sweat had appeared on Amy's face and she felt too nervous to wipe it off.
"I pray to all the higher powers listening in the universal realm that if any of you can get me out of this predicament, I will do any one thing you ask of me," Amy silently prayed as she was scared that if the armed priests didn't get the results they wanted. They would unapologetically kill her and send her to the land of the dead before telling the parents how she was only an evil spirit they had to purge.
" Where is a masked man when you need one, " moaned Amy in her head.
The charm continued to dangle In front of her and it continued to grow dimmer as more tiny black spots appeared on it. By now the Priest was no longer smiling and his left hand was already gripping his dagger.
Frightened, Amy closed her eyes and decided to accept her fate as more spots kept appearing on it.
With her eyes tightly closed, knowing fully well that her head might soon be detached from her body, Amy hoped that after she died she would go back to being the assistant that she was and possibly discover that everything that had been happening including the monsters she had seen was merely a dream she was having because she decided not to go to work that day.
After a minute or so of waiting for the inevitable, Amy suddenly heard someone gasp in shock not far away from her and a second later, she felt someone wrap their arms around her.
By then, Amy had already opened her eyes wondering what was happening when she saw the charm beaming with a strong white light different from the yellow it had, with not a single dark spot on it.
"She is indeed your daughter, we apologize for the intrusion," said the black-haired priest that had performed the so-called spirit ritual as he bowed his head low as an apology before gradually faded away.
With the memories of Mayami in her head, she already knew about the magic that humans used in the empire and how there were all kinds of mystical creatures in the land she was in so she was not completely shocked to see the man disappear.
Taking one look behind her mother and father who were crying and hugging her, she discovered that the other stoic priest was also nowhere to be found.
"Come down," she heard her mother say as she quickly felt both her parents help her down from the pyre she had been sitting on.
" It's simply a miracle that you're alive. Before we go home, we have to go to the church to thank the goddess first, or what do you think Mayami?" Her mother asked as tears of joy continued to slide down her mother's face.
Amy couldn't help but feel sad as she recalled all the happy memories their daughter had of them. She was the only one who knew that their daughter was truly dead.
"Of course Mother," wiping off the happy tears on her mother's face.
"Anything to make you happy," said Mayami before giving her new parents a tight hug, and even when the hug ended, she continued holding both their hands as they all headed for the entrance of the crematorium since all the funeral guests had also disappeared.
**************************************
The day was still clearly in the early hours of the morning even though big clouds filled the sky and it seemed like a heavy rain was imminent.
The streets were crowded as carriages passed back and forth on the streets and a lot of people were seen walking on the sidewalks as they went about their daily lives.
However, in the "Green Goddess Cathedral", Two priests suddenly flashed and appeared inside the big building directly in front of an office with the " Abess" name tag written boldly on it in black.
"So, Paden what do you think about the darkness that the charm first spotted on the girl. It's quite strange that the girl suddenly came back to life, I still think she wasn't really dead and it's more likely that her spirit hadn't crossed over yet," said Makin looking over at his partner with a questioning look on his face, as he wondered what he was thinking.
He was aware that his partner rarely liked speaking and even when he did, he usually said only a few words.
At first, Paden looked like he had no intention to speak but then he turned his face towards Makin and simply said a few words.
" I also think that it's strange," he said without saying any other thing afterward.
Makin was about to open his mouth and talk when both he and his partner heard a loud booming female voice from inside the office they were standing in front of,
"Why are the two of you chatting outside my office, if you have something to report, enter and say it," yelled a hoarse female voice.
"So who's going to tell her about the girl that came back to life?" asked Makin, not wanting to be the one to have to talk to the Abyss.
"Of course it's you," said Paden, stepping up to the door, turning the handle to open it.
"He's surprisingly chatty today," thought Makin as he followed his partner into the office before closing the door slowly behind him, wanting nothing more than to leave the office, even though he was just entering.