***
"You're aware that information is highly classified, do you?" Head Priestess asked as she slumped into a large, padded chair which looked more like a couch than a chair.
'At her age, I would also like something more comfortable.' Alex thought as he was slowly ruminating over her words.
Ultimately, he chose to stay silent, letting the woman continue. He wasn't aware what information was classified and what remained 'public', and he wasn't sure it was a good idea to flaunt his ignorance like this, even to a Priestess of the Sky Goddess.
"Alright, alright. I will stop with the useless questions then." She said, getting up from her chair, making sure to send an irritated look towards Alex. How could a youngster make an elderly woman like herself get up from her chair? Doesn't he know her bones and joints hurt?
Suppressing a hmph, the Head Priestess rummaged through a bunch of letters, documents and other pieces of paper on a nearby shelf, rubbing her lower back with the back of her hand.
Returning with a small stack of papers, she placed them on a coffee table between her chair and Alex's. Taking a look at Ezek, she could only smile.
The boy looked so out of his comfort zone that it was funny.
Ezek was thinking something along those lines himself, shocked by how Alex could just go in and meet a person of such high standing as a Head Priestess and not grow weak in the knees. Then again, this boy did live seven years as the heir of a colossal family such as the Nozim, so it wasn't that much of a stretch to think these meetings weren't as big of a deal to him.
Alex thanked the priestess and started rummaging through the yellowing paper.
"The attack on the empire was a complete surprise to all, as you probably have heard by now." She said as Alex slowly nodded his head.
The Head Priestess suddenly inclined forward, leaning her weight on her elbows as she pierced Alex with her gaze. "Though, I have a feeling you want this information not because of your love for the Sky Temple..."
Leaning back into his chair, Alex let a sigh leave his lips. "You're right." He nodded, waving the stack of paper in his hand before placing it back on the table. "I'm looking for insider information about what happened there."
The elderly priestess nodded faintly, not surprised by this. Although the documents relating to the 'attack' were helpful to Alex, she had an inkling the boy was looking for something a bit deeper than that.
"Figured as much."
Straightening, she motioned for Alex to continue. "So? What do you want to know?"
Alex was taken by surprise by her question. He didn't expect this priestess to have knowledge about this. He hoped he would be pointed to someone else, but this came as a pleasant surprise.
"Do you know who orchestrated the assault on the Nozims?"
Raising an eyebrow, the priestess answered with another question of her own. "What's it to you?"
"Do you know or not?" He continued, unfazed.
Cursing her vows in her heart, she sighed before answering.
"I don't know."
Alex was a bit disappointed but not surprised.
"Tell me what you know about Nozim's assault."
"All I know is that there were multiple Noble Families that joined the alliance against Nozim. Some were tricked into it, while others gladly gave up important things to them just to join this alliance."
Immediately, Alex picked up on several confusing questions. 'Alliance? Tricked into joining? What's going on?'
The existence of an alliance created to bring down the Nozims wasn't a shocking revelation, as it was quite common for these joint efforts to form. But what was confusing is that families have been tricked into joining.
That, and some nobles even "gave up important things..." to join. This latter piece of information was even more confusing. It almost sounded as though these Noble Families had to pass a sort of trial to be eligible to join.
It almost sounded like a cult, which isn't all that hard to grasp, considering the attack on the entire Empire was staged by such a cult, but that still left a question unanswered.
Why would a cult attack a single Noble Family?
It didn't make any sense, no matter how you looked. Cults usually worked with the masses and pertained to higher beings of existence. Gods, for example.
No matter how old and powerful a family might be, it couldn't approach the level of influence of a God.
The priestess saw the thoughtful look on Alex's face and smiled.
"You probably think this alliance was formed by a cult, right? And you would be right in thinking so."
Stirred awake from his thoughts, Alex turned his full attention to the Goddess' follower. The only way you can deal with a cult is by using another one.
"Good. It seems we're on the same page." She said, sighing slightly. "That is all my knowledge on this topic, which only leaves us with questions."
Alex opened his mouth to speak but was stopped as the priestess raised a palm. "Before you say anything, no, I don't know why Psierys' followers attacked the Nozim Family, nor do I know their motives or even their goals. We're trying to look for their goals ourselves but haven't made any real progress as of yet."
Alex stayed silent for a long time, questions flying through his mind, all vying for his attention. He wanted to ask more about this, but another question came to mind. A much more important one.
"Why have you decided to tell me all of this?"
The Head Priestess burst into a fit of giggles while even Ezek looked at Alex as though he was stupid.
"Because you asked me to, young man."
Alex rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. I am not that ignorant as to think you shared this much information because of the goodness of your heart. There is something you want from me, so please let me know what."
"Yes, that is right. I know you two young men are Recen Trainees, and I also know you like frequenting this place, especially at night..." The Head Priestess let her words trail off, watching the two young men with a glint of amusement in her eyes.
Ezek's eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets before he felt his face heating up and sweat pooling at his temples. He coughed and looked away, trying his best not to look into the Priestess' eyes.
Alex wasn't any better but managed to somewhat preserve his dignity. It wasn't appropriate to expose the things that happened under the sheets, but then again, it wasn't appropriate to sneak into the Temple's sleeping quarters at night to do those things, either.
Which is why Alex opted to stay silent on the matter. The deed was done, so he might just weather the consequences as well.
"...But that is beside the point. I know the Recens have an extensive history of moving from place to place, so I would like to have access to that information in exchange for what I have shared with you."
'An exchange, huh? Should've guessed.' Alex nodded to himself as a question came up to his mind.
"Will you try to find information on the Psierys' followers in our archives?"
The woman nodded. "As I said before, the Sky Temple is trying to find as much information about this cult, so yes, I would like to see if Recens' records hold any knowledge about this."
"Fair enough," Alex said, standing up to his feet, followed by Ezek, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere else than this chamber. "But I will have to ask Headmaster Geralt about this. I hope it is alright?"
***
'Why do I remember this?'
Alex stared blankly at the stone ceiling, memories of the conversation with the priestess of the Sky Temple replaying in his mind.
He couldn't feel his body, and it was as though his mind wasn't connected to the rest of his body anymore. He felt like he was floating through a sea of memories, some important and some not so much.
Despite what could very well be his last moments alive, his brain chose to show him the least meaningful memories of them all.
Alex almost felt like laughing if not for this world-shaking dizziness crawling throughout his body.
His consciousness retreated somewhere deep, pushing away the outside reality, almost as if running away from something.
Something shook his body. To Alex, it felt as though the sea he was floating on wobbled from side to side twice, then calmed down. He wasn't sure whether someone shook him or if that were his lungs coughing.
Hopefully the latter, he mused, moving his attention elsewhere.
Another piece of memory came into focus, this one newer but much blurrier. Or was it a memory in the first place?
'Is this how dying feels?' Alex thought for a moment before completely focusing on the current memory.
Two people stood above him, both clad in dark clothing, looking down at him and talking to each other. He couldn't understand them, but something held his gaze glued on them.
The image shifted, bringing into view more people. Only this time, they were laying their backs on what looked like wooden beds or tables.
Many were unmoving, and some had thin sticks sticking out of their bodies, looking like hedgehogs.
They also looked like they were peeing themselves. Alex almost laughed.
The image was too blurry to see well, but that must've been pee. What else comes out of people if not pee?
Alex didn't know why that made him laugh. Something about that was funny. It was that simple.
"...will he?"
Some noise made the image shift back to the two people above him.
"...old him!" One of them shouted, making the second one lean over Alex.
'Hold me?'
The previous amusement vanished, replaced by confusion. 'I won't run...'
A sudden cough shook his body, a warm liquid covering his face, making the images even blurrier than before.
The first person took something thin in his hands and plunged it somewhere outside Alex's field of view.
A few moments later, he could feel clarity returning to his mind, bringing with it bodily sensations.
Groaning slightly, the first thing that hit him was dizziness... then pain... then nausea... then coldness.
Coughing twice, Alex moved his head to the side, barfing on the table. Blood mixed with gastric acid left a bitter taste in his mouth, making him gag once again.
"Good."
A sigh came from one of the men, but Alex didn't know which. He could feel his body shaking, not as much from the cold, as from his nausea and dizziness.
"It'll pass soon. Calm down." The same voice was heard again.
Alex blinked, clearing his vision and saw Geralt and another Recen standing above him. Both were wearing grave but relieved expressions.
He could easily tell that.
Although the Recens were trying to smile, it looked more like they were showing their teeth at him.
"What happened?"
"You passed," Geralt responded before turning to the Recen next to him. "Hold him for a bit longer."
"Huh?" Alex couldn't properly comprehend the Headmaster's words before an intense wave of pain overtook every other sensation he was feeling.
For a moment, Alex felt all the veins in his right arm were pulled out, roots and all.
Looking down, he could see the Headmaster holding a thin tube in his hand, a good ten inches of it smeared in blood.
"That was in my arm?" Alex said, cold sweat pooling all over his body.
Geralt didn't say anything and moved to Alex's left side, where he pulled out another of those tubes.
Grunting, Alex prayed for the pain to stop. But it didn't.
The Headmaster moved to his legs, pulling out two more of those hellish tubes of his.
"All set, young man." The second Recen tapped Alex's bare chest, but the latter didn't even register it.
Geralt motioned for the Recen and took out a small vial from his pocket.
"Take him from here."
Enveloped by a warm bubble of mana, Alex was hoisted up from the table.
Turning to Alex, Geralt popped the vial's cork using his thumb before shoving it into Alex's mouth. "Drink, and don't barf."
Feeling the slimy texture and raw bitterness of whatever liquid was inside that glass, it was hard for Alex to follow the Headmaster's instructions.
The next instant, he started floating away, and sleepiness crawled into his mind.
He saw the other Trainees as he moved from his table to the door. Chest cavities blown open from the inside, with sunken or missing eyes.
Some were missing arms or legs, and their flesh and skin turned to a reddish slime that was slowly flowing over the edges of the tables in a steady stream onto the stone floor.
Some Trainees didn't even resemble humans anymore, looking more like deformed mana beasts.
Sleepiness finally took over his mind, cutting every connection to the outside world as well as to his own mind, plunging Alex into a warm nothingness.