The Cathedral was ablaze as the common people filled out the seats, wishing to see the fate of the child King and catch a glimpse of the Pope. The nobles who were local to the capital or returned when the Pope had entered the Kingdom waited eagerly for the results that would shape the fate of the Kingdom. Next to them at the front was the clergy who were anxious to know if they would continue to suffer in the Kingdom or if would it all end today.
A mixture of emotions was in the air. Some were excited, some were scared and others were disappointed at the event. Isra sat on the front row with her veil on as she watched the child king stand in handcuffs at the head of the Cathedral, inquisitors flanking both his sides. Her eyes were sad as she expected the final result to end in his head falling
There was no fear on his face but the small beads of sweat on his forehead and the twitching of his eyes showed his nervousness. He didn't know what Order 18 was and if it was something he couldn't bluff his way out of then he knew it was over, everything he had done being pointless.
The Pope walked in through the side door with Constance behind him holding a white crystal with an otherworldly glow. Placing the crystal on the table at the side Constance took a step back giving centre stage to Samuel.
Clearing his throat and raising his hands he quited the bustling crowd. To reinforce this, the inquisitors slammed their shields to the ground, quickly silencing the people.
"For too long the world has been corrupted and led astray by the Followers of Khors. The Khorish question is one that has prevailed for many decades and despite the grace our lord Sol showed to his son, and it may be wrong of me to question his will, the Khors are a snake that plunges their fangs into the pure society of this world and trample over The Lords and his daughter's warmth."
"Their heathen teachings masquerade as the true liberators of this world who wish to end Sol's tyranny but I tell you this; their very existence creates war and debauchery. It is only due to the Grace of our lord Sol that we show grace to them and don't wipe them from existence, instead wishing for us to try and lead them back into his light, in hopes of being reunited with his beloved creations."
His voice roared around the Cathedral. The blood of those listening boiled as Isra sunk herself. There was madness in how he spoke about the followers of Khors bred from a religious fever that transcended the common man. His words created a new meaning to the title 'Pious' given to him.
Turning towards Alfred he pointed. His voice calmed down as he spoke, not wishing to condemn someone who still may be innocent. "The boy is someone who claims to have met our lord in death and returned, yet he plans to marry a heathen. I must wonder how the lord allows this and although I do not wish to question his Lord's will, Khors is a sly snake who tricked the pinnacle of humanity."
"We will begin the testing of the moon crystal. If he is someone who is truly blessed by Sol then the white glow of the crystal will be replaced by a golden glow resembling our lord's very own." Uncuffing Alfred, he placed the boy in front of the crystal. "Now it is time to see if the boy is truly a miracle or the purple-haired demon in disguise."
Alfred looked down at the crystal. He had always based his new life off of logic yet what was being ordered of him was outside the realms of it. He knew this world wasn't entirely like his own when he was able to revive from the dead, but this felt like magic. The legends of the world spoke of humans of the past being able to wield magic in an attempt to mimic the Gods yet Alfred had always thought it was just legend.
Looking at the crystal he could see that maybe this wasn't entirely true. His mind raced. Not from the fear of death and failing but from trying to understand something that couldn't be understood.
"oh well." Alfred quietly said as he looked down at the crowd below. His hand reached and grasped the crystal ball. He had already come back from death once, maybe he would get lucky again.
Samuel expected nothing to happen. Order 18 was a farce of a test done on those who were suspected of practising witchcraft or making blasphemous claims. Some of the few scriptures that existed from the Lost Era claimed that those blessed by Sol did exist at one point, but with the spread of the Followers of Khors, this blessing slowly withered away.
Samuel read all this with doubt. The Lost Era had too much mysticism around it. The claims of magic and the blessed ones existing were all lies brought about by warped history. Only the ruins of an age that was gone and a few books and writings remained
That was why when Samuel saw Alfred's hand grasp the crystal and the white glow slowly disappear, his mouth nearly fell off. The golden light soon spread. It was faint but obvious. Alfred felt his vision go black as he collapsed to the ground quickly being caught by an inquisitor.
Having seen something that shouldn't exist Samuel froze. He looked at the crystal that reignited its white glow. Picking it up no change occurred. Passing it to Constance the same thing happened. The two looked at one another with wide eyes before slowly turning towards the sleeping King.
Alfred found himself in the dark space once more. He smiled as he looked towards his right. A young boy stood there, his body translucent. "You are a lucky man you know. It was a gamble but it worked." The boy materialised a seat before summoning a drink that Alfred recognised from his original world.
"What happened?" Alfred waited for the boy to summon a chair for him, which he did. Taking a seat he looked at the boy with worry.
"When your hand touched that thing, this place began to shake. Like something was forcefully trying to enter. As you know I can see everything that goes on out there and knew that it was due to the ball. I also knew that if the ball didn't change it was over for us. It was risky but I let whatever it was in and took its place. Why it glowed gold, maybe because our hair is a similar colour to it."
Alfred looked down at the floor, hands clasped together. He tried to find a logical explanation but nothing could come to mind. It was simply a matter beyond human understanding. He looked at his surroundings and realised that even his own mind didn't make sense. When had anything made sense when he was transported to this world?
Not bothering about trying to find the logic in a world that has lacked it since his arrival he asked worried, "What about you? You're a little... see-through." The boy looked down at his body.
"It should be fine after a couple of days. Maybe I just need to regain my energy after leaving this place. Who knows? But you should be ready to deal with the aftermath that's going to happen out there."
Alfred nodded as he closed his eyes. He didn't know what was happening out there but he needed to get a story together if he wanted to make his life easier. The young boy looked at the old man and decided to just leave him, summoning the large bookshelf again and reading a story from the foreign world.