The library door languidly creaked open. Luke and Salvia turned to greet their new visitor. The man walked inside listlessly.
Salvia was the first to say something, "Wait, that garb… You're someone from the town are you not? How were you permitted to enter here?"
The man cast a glance at Salvia, he hardly had the strength to stand, as if his spirit had been sucked out, "I… I am…"
Before he could finish however, his gaze fell upon Luke who was sitting in front of Salvia, "Huh… you are still here… I have had enough of one delusion for a day, show me something new…"
Luke tilted his head to the side, "What do you mean? Do you know me?"
"Is that how we are playing here? Fine I guess, nothing matters anyway, if it is all a delusion, I might as well play along…"
Salvia turned to face him, "Delusion? You mean to say you saw some delusion?"
"That is right, though I don't expect you to believe me… I had been too disturbed after the announcement from that goddess, it might have been my guilt that birthed that angel…"
Luke perked up, "Announcement from the goddess?"
"The goddess came down from the heavens and proclaimed that the devils in the town needed to be eliminated… Did you not see it? It was so hard to miss, everyone was left awestruck when it happened…"
"I did not."
"So that was a delusion too then…"
"No, wait, you might be onto something here."
"What do you mean?"
"You said everyone was able to see that goddess, did the goddess appear in the skies?"
"Yes…"
"I did not see her myself, but I did notice everyone stopping in their tracks and staring at the sky dumbfounded. Which means, that was no delusion, everyone saw it."
"Is that true? Then why were you not able to see her Luke?"
"Y-you know my name?"
"Hah… Let us just say I have my sources, my name is Jack Lysanias Eustache, eldest son and head of the Eustache family."
Salvia chimed in, "Ahh, so you're him, that's why you were able to enter the library. I am Salvia Lavendula and I am the librarian here."
Jack nodded.
Salvia put a hand to her chin, "Now, as for why some people are unable to see the goddess, I do have an answer for that, it might also answer why you have to deal with these 'delusions'."
Luke turned to Salvia, "You know about it?"
"There's few things I don't know young man. But this information is a little critical so I'm not sure I should be revealing it to you all."
"You can't just back out of it now, come on."
"I know, I will tell you everything I know, but it's still only bits and pieces, I'll need to hear what this goddess has announced in more detail first."
Jack nodded and proceeded to explain the contents of the goddess's speech as well as he could.
Luke scratched at his head, "That explains why the townsfolk suddenly became so aggressive, but to think that they would chase me around for something so unfounded. There was no reason to believe that I was a thief, just because I'm an outsider…"
Jack looked up, "You were assaulted by them?"
"I was, just after that 'announcement' and they kept calling me a devil too."
"..."
Salvia turned to Jack, "You claim that this angel and goddess were a delusion, can you tell me why you think so?"
"The angel actually tried to kill me, saying that I was a harbinger of destruction and needed to be dispatched, and yet just when I had steeled myself and decided I needed to die honorably for the people, the angel disappeared…"
"That clears it up then. I know for sure what's behind everything."
"Let us hear it then."
"The angel disappeared back then precisely because you had resolved to die."
"What?"
"These delusions are ones which are only shown to people who have no purpose in life, no meaning of their own… In your last moments, you had found meaning in your death and so the delusion had to show it's true colors, that is, none at all."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I had always wondered you know, the golden chalice, an artefact of great power, why was it needed for rituals in the town? It was not originally from the town, nor did it have any history tying itself with the town, any chalice should have sufficed for the job. It's power, you see, is to rob people of their memories and rid them of any meaning they might hold."
Luke cocked his head, "The golden chalice can do something like that?"
"Indeed, but that's not where it ends, think of it like this, if we liken a person to a container, then filling the container with anything will require it to have some empty space inside, a container that is already filled will hardly accept anything else we try to fill it with, that's where the chalice comes in, it empties a person of their contents, then that emptiness can in turn be filled by anything, in this case that thing happens to be meaning."
"The goddess's words that everyone hears in their heads!"
"That's right, a collective delusion that every person in the town experiences, there is someone in this town who is capable of showing people these delusions, but the rules they followed had never been clear to me, I mean, look at me, I have never experienced any of them. Now though, I think I have a pretty good grasp on things."
Jack's fingers trembled, "You mean, these delusions were not the result of my weakness?"
"They were not. The delusions are only shown to these empty vessels, or people with no purpose, meaning, the delusions define or remove a person's purpose. When the townsfolk had lost all meaning, all of a sudden some goddess started talking to them and gave them something to live for. People like me who are already filled to the brim with purpose are not affected by these delusions, so the chalice is needed to empty out such people. The vessels filled with the purpose granted by this goddess, would in turn be absolutely obedient to the goddess, it's a form of mass mind control."
"Then what about Luke, why does he remain unaffected by the delusions?"
"This might be a bit presumptuous but, I imagine that means Luke has some purpose, maybe he sees worth in all the travels he partakes in."
Luke shook his head, "I hardly do, these travels have been forced upon me, they are all I own and they are all I wish to be rid of."
"I see… Then let me ask you, do you believe a purpose is something you can find for yourself?"
"Of course, there's much to this world I don't know, there has got to be something out there that makes me feel the worth of living."
"Then that is what differentiates you from the others."
"..."
"To put it simply, the people here, whether they have a purpose or not, don't believe they can find value on their own, they think it is unachievable by oneself so they need some god to hand it to them, on the contrary, you think you can find it yourself, which is why the delusion of some god wouldn't work on you."
Salvia turned to Jack and continued, noticing the expectant look on his face, "Right, then getting back to you. You had already given up on ever finding any purpose so the delusions worked on you, but the moment you found some worth, the delusion came undone, that's the reason why that angel had disappeared back then."
Jack's shoulders droop, "So I can shed this burden then…"
Salvia nodded, "None of those deluded people should be able to come here, I have a contract formed with the church, the town needs my knowledge and so I am allowed to live separated from them so long as I do not directly intervene with any of their affairs. This library is officially outside the town's jurisdiction."
Luke sighed, "I was lucky to have been told that beforehand, else I would have never thought of hiding it out here. But whatever the case, we can't afford to be stuck here forever, is there no way to identify this manipulator."
"Unfortunately for you, this is where my knowledge ends, I do not know or have a way to deal with this situation."
"It comes to that then…"
Jack shook his head, "None of it matters, I would much rather sit here and do nothing…"
Luke heaved a sigh, "I don't know what has happened in your past, it couldn't have been pretty considering you have that huge hole in your heart, but know this, it is never too late to give life a shot."
Jack shook his head, "A vessel is useless when empty, thus I am doomed to inaction. Your pretty words will not convince me."
Luke stood up in a flash, "That's it!"
Jack looked up listlessly, "What happened?"
Luke turned back to Jack with renewed confidence, "My words might not convince you, but perhaps my actions will."
--- --- ---
Trouble had been brewing for quite some time, it had been evident to the hero of Merkington, and he had to do something to uproot it before it sprouted. The museum was filled to buzzing with people, today was a special day apparently, a grand exhibition was to take place, people carried stuff from one place to the other, visitors lined up with designated guides, and sweepers swept the floors clean, it was bustling to say the least.
As one such sweeper walked past the picture of the chalice, he couldn't help but stare at it, perhaps he found it majestic, perhaps he longed to see it placed in the museum, perhaps he longed to hold it himself. He probably gazed at that majestic work of art everyday, each time getting filled with a passion for life and respect for the goddess that had saved him, today however was different, the chalice had been stolen, it couldn't be helped if feelings of anger and hatred welled up at it's sight, no, it was a righteous indignation. The chalice was the symbol of Merkington, the culture and history embodied in physical form, not only was this a defilement of the church, which was the religious center of the town, but also the very museum he served in, for it was a violation of their culture too.
Getting back to his work, the sweeper noticed that another gentleman had been standing beside him staring at the portrait, "Quite a shame don't you think?"
The sweeper nodded, looking up to check who had approached him, he found scraggly beard covering the man's face, thick eyebrows and a sort of handlebar moustache, he wore a black fedora and from his clothes he could be surmised to be quite rich.
"It was such a valuable grail, or perhaps I should say it was invaluable, it could not be bought for any amount of money, that was how valuable it was, all I can hope is that the thief is found…"
No matter the class, all people in the town seemed to share in that sentiment, their love for their God came before anything else.
The man scratched at his head before turning to face the sweeper, "Listen, it's a little shameful, but I seem to have lost my way, could you lead me back to the reception area?"
The sweeper nodded in assent and motioned for the man to follow him.
The museum gave off a liveliness it seldom did, and yet it never crossed over into hectic, whoever had planned out the exhibition had done a fine job, everything was organized properly and people moved in assigned groups, never standing around with nothing to do, the organizer must have accounted for every situation on this big day, the sweeper and the man were probably the only exception to the rule.
The man looked on in awe, "Quite the arrangement, I say."
The sweeper nodded as he trod along.
"I almost feel bad for ruining it, I'm sorry you have to deal with me right now, you must be quite busy with work."
In response the sweeper only shook his head.
"Everyone takes their job seriously, everyone has their identity here after all, none more or less important than the other. No one has to feel like they are just a cog in the machine, every person is irreplaceable here, everyone here has an identity, that is the culture the Merks pride themselves over, for that culture is precisely what identifies them. Thus their culture stands above everything else for them."
The sweeper nodded emphatically, outsider though he was, the man seemed to understand Merkington's culture better than most others.
"A fine city it is, just as rich culturally as it is architecturally."
Before the sweeper could nod for the umpteenth time however, a shriek reverberated throughout the hallways, originating from the reception area, the very place they were headed to. The both of them immediately put up their guard and peeked around the corner, a group of burly men had forced everyone to lie flat on the ground, they carried sharpened knives and threatened anyone who tried to resist.
One of the men shouted orders to the others, "Be quick boys, the boss wouldn't want us to waste time on these small fries, get anything valuable you see loaded into the carts out back."
A trickle of sweat slid off the rich man's forehead, "This looks bad, these people don't seem to be very amicable."
The sweeper maintained his silence, unsure of what to do.
"Say, you know any safe emergency exit routes? I doubt we should be staying here any longer, we should get out and inform that hero of your town."
The sweeper nodded hesitantly and set off in the other direction. The both of them took winding paths within the museum till they finally arrived at a backdoor.
The man wiped the sweat on his brows, "Nobody else seems to have reached here yet, however they are bound to sooner or later, there's no way to break through to the outside from the reception area. I must thank you for showing me the way to a safe exit."
The sweeper turned inserted a key into the door and turned the knob, but before he could open the door, the man took him by the arm and with and ominous smile on his face, "Now all I need to do is seal it shut."
A knife stabbed down at the sweeper's belly, as a result he fell to the floor and curled up into a ball, writhing in pain. The man beside him only continued to stare with pity, "Thanks to your efforts, no one is escaping this place, the hero will only come to know of this, once everything is over…"
The assailant proceeded to exit the backdoor and lock it behind him, dooming everyone inside to a grim fate.
He walked into an alley which ended behind a building, it was a big area, and was filled with lots of carts for transporting goods, and a few men who were looking after the carts. Seeing the man approach, one of them greeted him in a cheerful voice, "Oh boss, you're finally here! Which must mean…"
"That's right, the path is clear, no one's going to inform the hero of the happenings in the museum. What of the strike team?"
"They haven't arrived yet, there's a lot of valuable stuff in there, so I guess it wouldn't be a surprise if they turned up late."
"Alright then, let's wait for them."
The boss of the raiders could now rest easy, he had made sure the one flaw in his plan was covered for. The museum was too big, so the workers were of course spread out, and each one had a key to the backdoor. Since the strike team could only raid through the reception area, that would allow any of the workers who were further inside to escape to and unlock the backdoor, such a thing could not be allowed for obvious reasons, so he had opted to personally eliminate any stragglers. Fortunately for him, there had been only one worker removed from the rest, so he hadn't had much trouble dealing with him. Seemed like most of them were busy around the reception area, which they would of course be, since all the guests were to arrive there first.
The boss sat down on one of the carts and stretched out his arms, the plan had worked out perfectly, there was still a chance of the hero realizing what was going on inside, but that was something he had already accounted for, there were distractions in the form of muggings occurring all around the town at the moment, he couldn't possibly abandon people that were in need of help, that would rob him of his identity as the hero. He couldn't help but relax, all he had to do at the moment was wait, and so he descended into a satisfied slumber.
"Boss! Boss! Wake up!"
The boss was jerked awake by one of his men and he stared groggily at his surroundings, "W-what is it?"
"It's no time to sleep boss, something feels off."
"What do you mean?"
"It's been a good thirty minutes and the strike team is still yet to arrive. No matter how you think about it, this is overkill."
"It's been that long!?"
The goon nodded in response, "What should we do about this boss?"
The boss put a hand to his chin, contemplating what he should do, and then, "I will go there, you all remain on standby."
"But boss-"
"It's fine, there's a good chance it's nothing serious, it would be foolish to leave the carts unattended in that case, their destruction would mean that the plan is foiled for good."
"Understood boss, but be careful, we shall await your return here."
As the boss neared the front door, the quietness of it all struck him as strange. His boys should have been barking orders and making a ruckus inside, right about then. As he opened the door to the reception area, what greeted him inside was his own subordinates strewn across the floor like confetti. No civilian was in sight. He tried to shake his men awake, but they had been knocked out cold.
Cautiously he crept up every corner, with his knives at the ready. It made no sense however, the hero should have been kept distracted, it could not possibly have been him who did that to his men, but then who could do such a thing? He could hardly find an answer through contemplation alone, he had to check and deal with it himself.
He stood before the unlocked backdoor with disbelief in his eyes, that must have meant that the other workers had managed to make their way here, the sweeper from before was also missing. He could only assume that the strike team had messed up and let one of the other workers escape, that would explain what had happened there. The worker who had escaped, must have informed the hero of what had happened, then he had swept in to save the day. If that was the case, he needed to escape immediately.
Running out the backdoor, he ran into the alley from before, making his way to the place where the rest of his men were on standby, he needed to escape before the hero found them.
The scene here seemed eerily familiar however, the carts had been smashed up and broken into pieces, and in their remains lay his men, once again, knocked unconscious. In the little time he had taken to check up on the museum, someone had come and laid waste to his men once again.
This made little sense to him, the hero was definitely one to be cautious about, but he was more of a simpleton when it came to justice, he would save the first person in front of him and hardly think twice about the implications. There was little chance for him to have discovered their standby team.
"I've been waiting for you."
The boss spun around and shot a knife in the direction of the voice, it swooshed beside the speaker's head, and yet they did not move a muscle. The knife had completely missed it's target.
"Y-you are!"
A smile crept up on the sweeper's face, as the sliced cap on his head came undone.
"The Hero!"
The mask beneath the cap revealed his identity to the boss, he scratched at his head in response to the boss's dumbfounded expression, "I have been underestimated quite a bit, haven't I?"
"Don't tell me, you knew of my plan from the start!?"
"It's not that hard to know when your goons keep talking about it."
"But how are you alive, I don't even see a wound on you!"
"Oh this.", the hero produced a knife, presumably the one he had been stabbed with, however it seemed free of blood, then he pressed it against his arm the blade got squeezed and pressed like sponge against his skin, but was unable to penetrate him, "This couldn't harm me, you see knives don't work on me."
"W-what…"
"If that clears all your doubts...", this time a sword was produced from out of nowhere, "then let's get it over with."
--- --- ---
The hero stood on the roof of the museum with the villain tied up behind him, The panicking crowds of people that had been running away until then, noticed him and burst out in cheers, they gather around the museum in large numbers, waiting for the hero to open his mouth.
The hero stood in silent contemplation. Spurred on by the overjoyed cries of the crowd, he raised a hand and almost immediately everyone fell silent, "My dear citizens, today was a big day, it was a day dedicated to celebrating our culture, the culture that has been nurtured and adored since time immemorial, the culture that defines us, that is our very identity as Merks."
The people listened, with honor swelling in their hearts, they listened, some straightened their backs subconsciously out of respect, the crowd could hardly contain their passionate feelings of nationalism.
"And yet we were very close to losing that culture on such an auspicious day."
The people in the crowd nodded gravely, a slight commotion rising among them.
"But because I arrived at the right time, the villain's ploys were thwarted!"
The crowd once again, burst into an uproarious cheer.
"To people that believe justice always arrives late, I hereby assert, have this moment engraved in your hearts, but not because I said so, but because it is irrefutable proof of the immortality of our rich culture!"
The crowds applauded and cheered their hero, they could hardly be controlled now that they had found an outlet for their emotions, and yet gradually but surely all of them slowed down, the cries dissipated in volume, until there was absolute silence. Their eyes, full of confusion and apprehension were fixed on another pair of figures standing on the same rooftop.
Another pair of hero and villain stood there with the villain tied behind the new hero in a very similar fashion. The new hero had his jaw hanging down as he stared at the one who had given the speech, "W-who the hell are you!? How dare you impersonate me!"
In response the other hero only shrugged, "Hey hey, are you sure you should be talking to the hero like that? The one who saved the day and captured the villain?"
"Stop spouting that nonsense will you! I am the one who captured him! Yours is a fake!"
"You've captured someone?"
"Of course I have! I-"
The sound of snapping ropes tore through his tantrum as the new villain stood up, now unrestrained.
The flustered hero spun around in surprise, "What the-", regaining his composure immediately, he drove his sword at the freed villain, but it was struck out of his hands before the sword could reach it's intended target. The villain stood motionless having unarmed the hero without any trouble.
Sweat formed at the hero's temples, "You… so you being captured… it was all an act!"
The man made no response and quietly removed the fedora on his head.
The hero fell back a few paces, "Y-you!"
The other hero, who had been taking in the scene until then spoke up, "That's right, the villain you 'captured' was not the real one, I have the real one tied up behind me right here."
"..."
"However, I shall admit that you are the real hero of Merkington, or at least you were."
Saying that, he tossed aside the mask and stood triumphantly in front of the crowd, his face proved to the crowd that he certainly was not the real 'hero of Merkington' but still no solace came from that fact, for it was a face they had wished not to see in such a circumstance.
Luke untied the cape hanging from his back and threw it aside, "Because right now, I am the hero of Merkington."
"No… way…"
"Hero is not a title that you own, anyone who saves the day can inherit it."
"N-no! You are lying, the goddess herself assigned me with this identity. Our omniscient creator knows well who is destined for what."
"She definitely did, but what of it? As you can clearly see, I have captured the one guy who you had always been unable to capture, and I have saved Merkington's culture from being defiled, I have literally become the hero of Merkington, have I not?"
"No NO NO! You cannot just take away my position as a hero, no one in Merkington is replaceable, that is our culture, are you yourself not defiling our culture by saying those very words!?"
"A culture that is detached from reality is one in need of reform. Your culture is indeed rich, and one to be proud of, but it means little if you use it to escape from reality. As you can see, I have surpassed you and become the next hero, despite the goddess's saying that you alone were the hero of Merkington."
"Th-that… no…"
The disheartened hero slumped down and fell to his knees, "But that means…"
"That means your goddess's words never amounted to much, and that's not just concerning you alone."
Luke turned to address the crowd, "Dear people of Merkington, that concerns every single one of you. The goddess's shelter is something you all must abandon, for reality will not wait for you to catch up. You all are replaceable, whatever you deem your purpose to be is not what defines you. You all have long believed in the absoluteness of identity, but I must inform you now, that is but a fallacy."
The crowd watched silently as something they had never imagined to be possible had happened right before their eyes, it made little sense to them, but it's implications were starting to hit them.
"I implore you however, do not be disheartened, having no concrete identity does not mean you cannot find a purpose for yourself, being a human qualifies you to have endless potential, you have the ability to transform that potential into a reason to live. That reason may not be an absolute, and may be snatched away from you many times, but each time you have the potential to pursue it again, and even if you end up losing it entirely, you have the potential to find a new purpose. That is what it means to be human, finding purpose in a world without one."
The crowd stared in shock, it was a reaction that had been expected, their very identity had suddenly been jeopardized, Luke felt it to be something that was necessary however, they needed to face the reality of their situation.
"If identity was your culture and your culture, your identity, then it is time you rose above both!"
--- --- ---
Jack followed behind Luke as he made his way to the church, the crowds around them ignored them now, not attacking Luke like they had done previously. The people seemed to be a little out of it, the events from before must have weighed heavily on them, although Luke considered it to be something of necessity.
Jack raised his voice and enquired Luke, "Was that really the best course of action?"
Luke peeked behind his back, "Well, what do you think? I am not really sure, but it seems to have worked. You did well by distracting the hero with the villain act. The plan went off without a hitch. The people losing their faith in their goddess would lead them to questioning the delusions, they won't be swayed as easily, and as a result they won't try to attack us, knowing that we saved their culture, and that the goddess's words are not irrefutable truths."
"That is correct, but…"
"It's something that they would have to face someday my friend. Me being able to destroy the identity system of the town proves that others can too, they are not exempt from the harshness of reality and so they need to face it. Besides…"
"Besides?"
"Besides I had another thought, it's like Salvia said, they don't seem to believe that they can find a purpose of their own, they don't have that faith in themselves, so I broke them out of their little bubble of comfort that was the goddess's delusions, now they will be forced to find something to live for on their own. No delusion would be able to touch them then."
"..."
"Which is something I hope for you too, this should have been enough proof that the Goddess not giving you a purpose means nothing, she knows nothing about what a person is going to live for. You no longer need to think that you can never have a purpose, or that you don't deserve one."
Jack gave a light chuckle, "That is quite the hefty piece of evidence you dropped on me."
"Isn't it? You better believe my words now."
Jack seemed genuinely happy for once, it was like some deepseated fear of his had been put to rest and he could finally breathe freely, "Then I will try to live on my own terms."
Luke nodded, his plan seemed to have worked out on multiple levels.
With their little chat drawing to a close, they finally arrived at the church.
Despite all the chaos outside, the church's serenity was unchanging. The inside of the church was the same, one lone girl sat in front of the altar with her hands joined in prayer, her form was beautiful and exuded elegance, and yet it felt a tad melancholic somehow.
Noticing the two men at the entrance, Pansy got up, walked up to them with a wobbly gait and bowed, "Welcome to the Merkington church, my name is Pansy Arcadia, how may I help you?"
Jack, "It is a pleasure to meet you, I am Ja-"
Luke thrust an elbow into Jack's stomach, who in turn recoiled in pain, "W-what is it?"
Luke whispered into Jack's ear, "I told you her circumstances right? There's no need to agitate her with the introductions."
"Ah, sorry about that."
Luke turned to Pansy with a stern expression, "We are here to help find the chalice. Could you take us to the place where it was last seen."
"Ah… Is that so… I am really sorry, even though you are going out of your way, but I'll have to decline."
"What's the matter?"
"I-it's all my fault… I'm sorry… The reason the chalice was lost was because of me…"
"Why do you say that? Tell us what happened."
"If that's fine with you two…"
--- --- ---
After their first reunion, when Luke left, Pansy went about her day cleaning the church, and seeing to her daily chores and duties, that was when the doors of the church once again greeted another visitor. Pansy looked up to find it was not any visitor but the master of the house himself.
With a smile on her face, she bowed to him, "Welcome back father."
"You have done well today my child, you may go and take rest now, I will take over for the day."
"But father-"
"It is all right, you have done enough for a day's worth, a hard worker such as yourself deserves the rest."
Pansy flashed a grin, "Yes."
"Ah, also take this."
Ernst handed her a letter, "This is important, so I will give it to you in writing. Read this when you wake up."
She then happily made her way back to her quarters, holding the letter.
The father usually wouldn't let her rest till the day's work was over, but today seemed different, she was really happy to have received his acknowledgement. Had she done something that warranted the praise? She couldn't think of anything, but that was probably because she lacked the experience to understand what he thought, she intended to learn however, she needed to try her best to understand where the father's beliefs lay, where his wisdom led, only then could she become worthy of the position she held.
These thoughts swirled in her mind till they no longer could, they were drowned out by the waters of unconsciousness as she slipped into a slumber, all her memories of the events prior were lost to the depths, becoming but vague caricatures of what they once were.
…
A rude awakening, was what she would've considered it, had it not been the father who was shaking her awake. Her delirious eyes, adjusted to see his form, he was telling her something, but she could hardly register them. Jumbled words came out her mouth, "W-at's wrong father?"
"Wake up Pansy, it is no time to be sleeping!"
The urgency of the situation got to her despite her delirium, she slapped herself awake and turned to the father with as serious a face she could muster at the moment, "I'm awake. What happened?"
"The chalice got stolen while you were asleep."
"W-w-what…"
"This is not the time to be surprised, get up, we need to find it."
"Y-yes!"
"Before that however, why were you sleeping here? Were you not supposed to be taking care of the church while I was away."
"I-I… I'm sorry, I can't seem to remember. I wonder why I decided to sleep. That's no excuse however, I understand that, because of me something irreparable has-"
"No, it is alright, I do not blame you for what happened, so you should not too."
"..."
"Wait, what is that you are holding there?"
Pansy looked at her hand, and indeed she was holding something, some sort of paper?
"What? I wonder when it…"
She opened the crumpled piece of paper, and skimmed through whatever was written on it. Her eyes widened in shock as the piece of paper slipped off her hands.
Ernst grabbed it, "What does it say?"
He opened it up and read it aloud, "The chalice is in my hands now. Thanks to you telling me that you identify the head priest from his clothes, it was not very difficult to deceive you, all I needed to do was butter you up with some sweet words. I wonder how the head priest leaves it in your care, knowing how unreliable you can be, whatever the case, now you can rest assured that the chalice was never lost, it lies in safe hands - a humble traveler."
"How could that be…"
"This is a dire situation, we need to find that traveler, only one person seems to come to mind."
--- --- ---
As Pansy finished her story, she added a few more words, "I wonder why I decided to open up to that traveler about how I identified the father, it's something I can't easily tell other people."
Luke put the pieces together in his head, just as he had impersonated the hero impersonating a sweeper, someone had impersonated him impersonating the head priest, all in order to frame him. Anxiety swelled in his heart, he wondered how far the real culprit was going to go. He seemed to be quite cunning if he was able to put together all of that. Whatever the case, at the moment he needed more information about the crime scene.
Luke tried his shot at persuading her, "Isn't there some way you could take us to the place the chalice was originally kept?"
"But-"
"Please? All we intend to do is find the culprit, there's hardly anything else we could do there."
"... Very well, I suppose the least I can do to help the situation is this. Follow me then."
They made their way inside the church, passing hallways and crossing several doors until they were inside a small storage room, it had several articles stacked away in shelves. Mostly candles, cups, bowls, chalices, and the like.
The other chalices looked much dingier and cheap compared to the famed golden chalice. One of them was so dirty and old, Luke had to doubt that the invaluable artifact was kept in the same room. At the far end of the room was a small pedestal which was - not to anyone's surprise - empty.
Pansy gestured towards the pedestal, "This was where the golden chalice was being stored."
Luke nodded towards Jack, who returned the nod, they started inspecting the pedestal and the various items around it, pacing about the room expecting to find some clue about the culprit.
With nothing in his hands after a rigorous search, Luke dusted his hands off, "Whoever it was, they must be awfully cautious, not the slightest trace of any evidence."
Jack responded with an exasperated sigh, "You can say that again."
Their brief moment of respite was disturbed by the sound footsteps coming from outside the room. It was not just a single pair of footsteps though, far from it, it sounded more like an entire regiment had walked into the church.
Luke shot an inquisitive glance at Pansy, "What's with all the commotion?"
Pansy, "I wonder. There is the weekly church gathering today, but I've never seen anyone arrive so early."
Jack opened the door cautiously, "Let us see for ourselves then."
They arrived at the main hall only to find that no one was there, but footsteps could still be heard from above. They wondered if those people were climbing the stairs.
Jack looked up in confusion, "What are they doing there?"
Luke scratched at his head, "I can hardly imagine."
Their thoughts trailed off, trying to reason with the situation, was there something of value up there? They could hardly come up with-
Thud!
A loud sound from the outside snapped them out of their contemplative trance.
Luke looked towards Jack, and with their nods shared, all of them inched closer to the church door. Luke flung it open, ready for anything… but was he really?
All he saw when he opened the door was a man lying on the ground in front of the building across the street, had he lost consciousness? Had he lost his balance? Had he been hit by something? Such optimistic notions ran through their heads, granting them comfort and blinding them to reality.
However the true explanation would quite literally rain down on them.
Splat!
Something fell near Luke's feet, he looked down in confusion, what was it? Tomatoes? The colour and texture sure reminded him of them.
Splat!
Another?
Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!Splat!
It was as if an angry audience was throwing tomatoes onto a stage… that was, if the entire town was the stage, for all the streets were now littered with the 'tomatoes'.
The tomatoes smashed against the stage, tainting it red with their splatter, that was, if the red splatter was blood…
The audience stood on the rooftops, throwing down the 'tomatoes'…
…
That was… if the tomatoes and the audience were one and the same…
The truth was finally starting to dawn on Luke, was it right for him to fully understand it? Was ignorance not bliss? Would it then, not be boorish to put it into words.
But it was too late, a corner of his mind crept upto his heart and whispered the god forsaken words, "Everyone is killing themselves because of you."
'Everyone' was hardly an understatement, people jumped from the rooftops in huge numbers, the roads were splattered with so much blood and gore that they appeared completely red now.
Disregarding what Luke and the others felt they fell, they fell to their deaths… Such was the fate of those that had lost all meaning, such was the fate of the Merks…
The Goddess was truly a paragon of generosity, a wish-granter. Just as she had given the people a reason to live when they needed it, she had granted them a reason to die too.
There was no reasonable way Luke could wriggle his way out of this, he knew he was the cause of their rash decision, and each life lost weighed heavily upon him, until the burden was too much for him to take. He fell to his knees, unable to support himself.
Pansy had her mouth covered with her hands but that hardly did much to hide the whimpering sounds.
Jack looked on in shock, unsure of what to do, he was wasting his energy thinking, there was nothing anyone could do. It was already too late.
When all of it was over, Luke got up on his feet and walked aimlessly into the church, swaying clumsily, unable to carry his own weight.
He wished dearly for the burden of his sins to be removed from his shoulders, he wished dearly to ask for forgiveness, he knew it was unforgivable and no person, no matter how saintly, would ever forgive him, and yet he still wished to beg someone, anyone, for forgiveness… but there was no one left to grant even that simple wish of hearing him out, he had already arranged for them to die.
Was he going to carry that weight of his sins forever? Would there never be a way for him to ease his heart? Was no one going to forgive him?
"There is one, who can grant you forgiveness."
A rusty old voice cried out from behind him.
Luke snapped back to reality, in front of him stood the statue of the goddess. Then the voice behind him was…
The head priest added somberly, "The goddess is, after all, a paragon of generosity."