The next day, after spending a horrible night imagining every possible scenario where the Emperor killed him, Marc met up with Jin and Nathanaël and explained what had happened.
"Damn. I hope he doesn't show up today."
"I hope so too."
"I'm ready. Whenever you're ready, boys."
Elie hurried down the stairs. Suddenly, Marc remembered the Emperor's warnings.
"Don't be late."
He hurried to his room.
"Why are you running, Master?"
"He said we shouldn't be late."
Nathanaël and Jin looked at each other before they too started running towards their room.
They arrived at the church at eight fifty. Elie was already there. Out of breath, Marc arrived before the other two.
"We're here. We're here."
He looked at Elie, who wasn't moving.
"What is it, Elie?"
Marc looked up in the direction of Elie's view and stopped too. Out of breath, the other two arrived as well.
"What is it, master?"
Jin and Nathanaël both looked up and stopped dead in their tracks. The Emperor was there, sipping tea without even looking at them.
"Well. You're right on time."
Marc wondered why all the important people in his life were beautiful. At last, he could see the silhouette of hir face. His blond hair, turning transparent white, seemed to be made of crystal. The shape of his face was perfect. His emerald eyes did the rest, shining in the sunlight. His pale complexion was perfect. As if it weren't enough just to be Emperor, he was handsome. He sighed.
"You don't have to pose all day. Today I'm just your guide."
"Our guide?"
"That's right. I liked your story. Now it's my turn to tell you mine."
The Emperor Turcan set down his cup of tea, which was taken away directly by a soldier. His every gesture exuded poise.
"As you may know, I've only been Emperor for 7 years. My reign was limited to the formalities of keeping the Zvenne Empire to stable standards. So I haven't done anything exceptional."
The four friends cleared their throats, knowing the ruler's exploits.
"But there's one thing that's taken me from a mere emperor of Zvenne to the one I am now. It's these ruined churches. The five churches from Lavoisi's time have been emitting a different aura for the last month or two. At first I couldn't see them, but the more time I spent studying them, the more my vision of things changed. Today, I'm clearly able to see these monstrous auras. "
Marc looked at the church behind the Emperor. Her aura was indeed very sinister.
"I've visited these churches hundreds of times before, but I don't know what's wrong. My soldiers can't see the auras in them and not long ago, one of my men died in the church at Zvenne. Since I've learned that you can see the auras of these things, I've decided to accompany you on your visit. Perhaps you could help me find something."
Marc was relieved and worried at the same time. He didn't mind the idea of the Emperor of Zvenne joining their exploration, but the slightest mistake could get them killed.
"Do you accept, or not?"
For them, there was no hesitation. It was either let themselves go, or leave themselves a dangerous chance. It was better to act. Marc spoke on behalf of the group.
"We accept."
"Good. From now on, I'm your guide. But if you manage to show me something interesting, I might reconsider our relationship."
Nathanaël smiled as he had never smiled before. Now was the time to give everything he had to impress the most feared man in the world.
"Go get ready. I've put some equipment at your disposal."
"Yes, sir."
The four friends rushed forward. The Emperor watched them go with compassion.
"What do you think of them Exorian?"
"They're young."
"Yes. Like when I came to the throne. If their story is true, then the Empire I've long built may be in danger of collapse. The end of the world."
"That won't happen while you're here, Majesty."
The Emperor huffed.
"You all put a nameless fear and faith in your Emperor, while I'm only one man. I try to be the perfect example every day, and it seems to be working for me. You don't see this aura, Exorian. You can't understand it. But you're right. Whatever happens, the Zvenne Empire won't crumble as long as I'm around."
"We'll help you too, Your Majesty."
"I certainly hope so. Here they come. Let's get ready."
Marc returned with his friends. They had taken the equipment offered by the Emperor. Jin had on thin, black-and-white armor that seemed to suit his fighting style.
"Incredible."
Nathanaël seemed to glow even brighter in his.
"Can you stop that, please?"
Elie also had a beautiful suit of armor with a flower-shaped crest over the heart.
"Beautiful."
But the most surprising was Marc. His dark black armor made him even more mysterious. His black gloves even hid his hands. He looked like a cursed soldier. A terrifying final boss whose aura filled the entire boss room.
"Why black?"
"I think it went well with your aura."
He had a point. Everyone was forced to see how well it suited him. Even without seeing his aura, the soldiers mistook him for a troop general.
"Really?"
"If everyone's ready, we'll be going."
"Yes, sir."
The group of Jin, Nathanaël, Elie, Marc, Sub-Emperor Exorian and L'Empereur Turcan set off in the direction of a mystery too big for them.
The interior of the church was immense. The walls had stood the test of time and only sunlight could penetrate. The rays all pointed towards the center of the platform on which a statue stood.
"Is...is... ?"
"Do you know this person?"
"To tell the truth, I'm not certain, but it could be famous..."
"Zodric."
The statue showed a standing man. His clothes were marked with nobility. His gaze pointed skyward. Two rays of sunlight came in the direction of his eyes, giving the illusion that the light was coming from his eyes.
The Emperor pointed his light towards the corners of the church, which were not illuminated. Statues of others sat in prayer positions. They all seemed to be moving towards the central statue. Though not as large, they all depicted nobles whose eyes were pierced and who seemed to be crying out in agony. Their aura, weaker than the central one, seemed to be screaming. Nathanaël stopped looking at them.
"Keep watching them. You're here to find out their secret, aren't you? But before we go to the center, take three steps forward, turn around and look over the door."
They all carried out the Emperor's orders and saw a fifth statue. This one represented a woman with an instrument that seemed to be made for music. She too was noble, but still had her eyes, and her gaze seemed empty with a slight expression of anger. She was beautiful but seemed unhappy.
"She's the only one who looks halfway normal. Marc?"
Marc froze in front of the statue. It was her. The lady on the door. The one whose portraits were on every wall of the blood throne room in the ruins. She wasn't represented any differently. He couldn't be mistaken.
"Who did you recognize, young man?"
"The lady of the throne."
"Then it's her."
The Emperor looked at her too.
"I didn't notice it the first few times either. No rays of sunlight usually reach here and she's really in the shade. It's only at this hour, ten o'clock, that you can get it for at least half an hour."
The Emperor's gaze intensified.
"Even though her aura is the most soothing, it's the only one we don't show. As if we're trying to hide her."
Elie swallowed. If this church had really wanted to hide the one statue that seemed soothing, then Zordic had no good intentions.
"I guess the five statues correspond to the five churches and their objective was really the descent of this man."
They all turned to see the statue in the center. It was large and imposing. Jin thought that if this man were alive, he'd surely be more terrifying than the Emperor. No one wanted to advance in his direction.
"Unfortunately, we have to go in that direction."
The Emperor led the way, followed by Exorian. Nathanaël and Jin followed close behind. Elie started walking when she realized that Marc was still staring at the statue of the lady.
"Marc?"
Marc's eyes were riveted on her. He couldn't help wondering where he'd seen her before.
"Coming."
Finally, he joined the group heading for the stage.
"Try not to lose sight of me. You can't really see anything from here."
They passed by the statue. Nathanaël's shivers began again. Elie looked at his eyes and stiffened.
"They've moved."
"What?"
Everyone looked at the statue's eyes. They were still perfectly in place.
"What are you talking about, Elie?"
Elie was pale. Very pale. She pressed herself against Marc.
"Don't let go of her again."
"Okay."
The Emperor's order was very simple, but his emerald eyes indicated urgency. As he'd said, behind the statue there was no light. Darkness seemed to eat the light of the Emperor's lamp. The place seemed to be closing in. They entered a corridor leading to a staircase. Each held the one closest to him, except for the Emperor and Exorian, who advanced serenely. As they descended the stairs, Marc felt Elie's breath quicken. His own was accelerating too.
In the church basement, the Emperor opened a massive black door. The room they entered contained a huge mechanism. A gaping hole reigned in the room, at the edge of which were rings engraved with ever-smaller orées. The walls showed little more than indecipherable writing, surely from the other world. At the bottom of the hole, though almost indescribable, they could all see...
"Blood".
The smell was stinking up the room. Marc covered his nose, but the sensation of blood entering his mouth made him want to vomit. A faint black tip protruded from the blood well.
"Do you know what that is?"
"No. Can you imagine diving in there yourself?"
"No."
"Well, neither can I."
The aura in this room was abominable. Worse than that of the entrance, Nathanaël had to get out to calm his headaches.
"This place is horrible."
"I can confirm that. After my research, I'll understand why Lavoisi could have massacred them all."
Exorian contemplated the hole.
"There are engravings in this one too. By the way, the whole room is engraved with an indescribable language."
"Have you tried translating them?"
"Many times. But we have no basis for translating these cursed texts."
Marc looked back at the walls. He turned his head in all directions to observe the walls. Suddenly, he froze on one word.
"What did you notice, young man?"
Marc raised his arm and pointed to the word in front of him.
"Aregis. I don't know why, but it means Aregis."
"How do you know..."
The room suddenly began to shake. The blood at the bottom of the hole began to rise violently. When it reached the group, it materialized and began to take the form of the menacing-looking man. The man in the statue. It was a frightening sight, and the aura it emitted swept the room with great power. The materialized man with the black eyes looked at the group, then focused on Marc. Then he opened his mouth.
"You? What are you doing here?"
Marc had a moment's absence. He wasn't even aware of what was happening. He couldn't see the ama of blood. His eyes turned red and began to glow as he still pointed at the word on the wall.
"You..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the blood ama dissipated and the blood fell back into the engraved well. Marc's eyes turned black again and everything returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
"Marc?"
Nathanaël looked at his friend in terror. He didn't understand what he'd just done. The scene from his point of view had been shocking.
"What happened?"
"That's for you to tell us."
The Emperor drew his sword and put it under Marc's neck, nicking it slightly. Elie was ready to pounce but Jin held her back.
"Who are you? And where do you come from? If I don't like your story I'll kill you."
Exorian looked at his Emperor. Nathanael could do nothing from his position. It was up to Marc to sort it out.
"I've already told you who I am and where I'm from. I'm not going to tell you the story a second time."
"Then how come that man, the man in the statue knew you. Are you from that other world? Are you our ally or our enemy?"
"Marc isn't with them."
"That's for me to decide."
Marc felt the gash beneath his neck slowly widen. He was sweating profusely and one of them finally trickled down the sword.
"I don't know who this man was or what he wanted from me. But I can guarantee that I'm on your side and that I'm from this world. I propose this: if, after visiting the five churches, you find me suspicious, you can kill me."
"No."
"Don't say that, Master."
"Stop, Marc."
The Emperor looked at Marc. Elie felt guilty. Guilty of not having put an end to his urge to end his life since that day. Since the day he'd killed millions. But the Emperor withdrew his sword. Exorian sighed.
"Let's finish visiting. I'll decide your fate after this."
"Thank you."
Elie threw herself at Marc.
"Don't ever say that again."
"Say what?"
"That you're going to die."
Marc tried to console her as best he could. He really couldn't understand why she cared so much about him. After all, he was just a murderer trying to make amends. But he said to Elie anyway:
"Don't worry. I'm not going to die."
He hugged her.
"We're going back up. There's nothing else to see here. If your parents agree, we're on our way to Erazel."
The Emperor led the way again. He walked quickly ahead of his group. Exorian joined him.
"You rarely leave threats alive. Why this choice?"
The Emperor walked on for a long time without answering.
"Exorian. I have two revelations to make to you."
"You can tell me anything, Majesty."
"The first is that I want to see if this boy is really worth fighting for because he looks really important. I want to see what will become of him. And the second is..."
The Emperor took some time to answer.
"I probably wouldn't have won against him if he'd decided to fight with his aura following him around unconsciously."
Exorian was shocked to learn that his Emperor was afraid of losing.
"He's a bit scary."
Elie had noticed that he looked menacing and that the statue itself gave off a sinister aura. Jin looked around the church. The pews were lined up normally. All situated to the left and right of a path on which lay a black carpet.
"Isn't it usually red?"
Nathanaël looked at the engravings and paintings. The portrait of the man in the statue was almost everywhere. In the form of a fresco, a drawing, a painting, a statuette. This man haunted this church. But he wasn't the only one.
"Look at the four corners of the church, don't move forward yet."