Mary Magdalene
Just hearing the name made me shiver. I never would have imagined she would be here, exactly when I emerged. She was never supposed to leave the Holy Capital until her sanctification as a saint, which was still at least half a decade away. So the question remained:
Why in God's name is she here?
People were conversing around me, the lively atmosphere only highlighting my disorientation. I was confident in my acting skills if need be, but the appearance of something outside of my expectations terrified me the most.
Had I caused a ripple effect? A butterfly effect? My mind raced for answers. I needed everything to go as planned if I wanted my life to run smoothly, and she was threatening that. Not to mention, of all the hundreds of named characters I remembered, she was by far the most terrifying.
I need to calm down.
Focusing, the last thing I wanted was to lose my composure, especially in front of that freak of a human.
But, what am I supposed to—
"Boy, is that really true?"
Suddenly, my attention snapped back to the conversation I was supposed to be involved in. A towering man was looking at me with a shocked expression. His gaze softened slightly after noticing my blank stare.
"Well, it seems your friend still has a bit of shell shock from Mary, Arthur. I don't blame him, but you might need to catch him up."
From the corner of my eye, I saw Arthur, his signature pleasant expression on his face, though even I could detect the slight annoyance in his features.
"Damian, we were just talking about your participation today. I informed the Regent of your arcane potential that we discovered exactly a year ago."
"Ah, sorry for my exclusion, sir. Yes, it is as he says. It seems I have some potential in that regard. I hope to have a successful awakening ceremony today to cement my position with the nobility."
After hearing my confirmation, the Regent's face lit up with a big smile and pride in his eyes. He ruffled my hair in a friendly manner, laughing as he did so.
"Emperor's Throne! A peasant? With arcane potential? I tell you, Arthur, this city breeds talents like no other. I wonder what color of mana you'll produce, though it'd be complicated if it was the same color as your hair."
He gave me a weary and slightly pitying look, which was well warranted.
Yeah, that's not going to happen.
A smart man always has tricks up his sleeve, but with the bias of this country's anti-heretical views, I had no choice but to change it unless I wanted the Imperial inquisition on my heels at every step.
Which I could not afford at any cost, as grabbing the attention of such a powerful force in the empire meant nothing but trouble. Now the only question was:
How exactly do I do that?
The Inquisition itself was an organization that adhered to the dominion of man to a fanatical degree, following the book written by the Emperor of mankind as a guideline for humanity to follow the tenets of God.
The Emperor of Mankind, also known as the Man of Prophecy, brought redemption to this world when almost the entire population had been consumed by the ever-encroaching darkness. With ninety percent of humankind slaughtered, God, in His last act of mercy, granted humanity a savior, who was endowed with powers to bring humanity into the light. Eventually, the masked man known as the Emperor defeated the Demon.
At least that's the official story...
It's rather vague, isn't it?
So many questions arise—where did the prophet suddenly come from? How did the Demons suddenly appear? Where did the Emperor disappear to after this?
Obviously, the imperial church had 'official' answers for this, as God would never permit the baseless assumptions and theories of heretical entities. But to me, it seemed almost too convenient to be true.
Looking across the grand room, I saw a statue. A man with a large mask, only his eyes visible, stood proudly yet wearily, leaning on a sword at his feet.
It was a grand display of worship for a great man and emperor who commanded humanity against the demonic horde, standing as a testament to human salvation. His stature seemed defiant and strong.
But to me, he almost seemed tired.
Well, whoever he was, he definitely made an impact. In fact, he was probably the most important human to ever live.
Such contemplation didn't help me right now, and it was useless to think about the past. But I still found it interesting, since I found entertainment almost fleeting nowadays.
"So sorry, this damn boy seems to drift off at the smallest distraction."
"I find it endearing. A mage without a mind is a man without his gall. Depending on his results today, I might want to steal him from you, Arthur."
The two men laughed lightly at the jest, but there was a serious undertone.
"Let's see if the boy can use his mind and impress me."
Following his finger, I looked to the statue, where three priests were lighting candles at its base. The smell was so potent I could already smell it from here. It wasn't unpleasant at all, bringing a great sense of comfort—a mix of lavender and caramel.
"Do you know what that signifies, boy?"
I gave a slight head shake, oblivious.
"Well, not unexpected. It means that under our prophet's eyes, three oaths of truth will be made today. Now you've figured out two, I wonder what the third will be, hm?"
With an intrigued smile, he stared into my eyes, looking for some hint of revelation.
I offered none. I tilted my head innocently, staring blankly into his.
"Hm, I don't know, sir. Would you care to enlighten me?"
With one last lingering gaze, he smiled and returned to his previous demeanor, eyes kind.
"I guess you'll just have to wait, huh? Unless you can figure it out yourself? Ha."
With a light sigh, he prepared to get up, dusting off his army apparel, and saluted Arthur.
"The announcements will start shortly. I will prepare before then. I hope you two are thoroughly excited."
He left, but not before brushing my head, ruffling my raven-black hair.
"I'll see you soon, kid. Thoroughly entertain me."
Once I saw the back of his jacket, I finally let out a breath of relief, slouching back in my chair. I adopted my usual listless face and stared at the paintings to ease my boredom.
"You know, you didn't have to pretend in front of the Regent. He's a trustworthy man, from my experience."
Annoyed that my relaxation had been rudely interrupted, I gave Arthur a side glance of acknowledgment before returning my gaze to the paintings.
"And what makes you such a judge of character?"
Still deep in thought, I half-hazardly answered Arthur's query.
"Well, I met you, so certainly it can't be that bad. And we've both benefited from this relationship, haven't we? If you remember our agreement long ago, our goals align quite nicely. And to top it off, unlike 98% of the people in this room, I don't despise you, nor him. Quite a good deal, no?"
My right eyelid twitched in irritation as I looked at Arthur, who wore his usual shit-eating grin. He always managed to rile me up with such ease, though normally, I'd be immune to it. But he certainly had a knack for it.
"Okay, Your Majesty, you have my attention. What would you like to impart upon your humble servant?"
"Careful, I might have to report you to the Inquisition for such talk of authority. Ha."
Rolling my eyes, I waited for him to continue.
"I wanted to know how you're going to hide that. Considering its implications, it could have quite the negative effect on both our plans, wouldn't it?"
I paused, contemplating. I knew I had something planned, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember it.
Placing my hands under my chin, I confidently stated that I had a plan.
"Don't worry, I have a plan."
No, I don't.
"No, you definitely do not."
Now it was his turn to show irritation. His eyes narrowed in slight annoyance, and his usual grin was gone.
"And you better not fu—ahem—you better not cause an inexplicable situation to occur. I hope you know the consequences. Even for me, as the direct donor for a potential black mage, I'd lose a lot of my political presence due to the Inquisition. Do not mess this up, Lucien."
"Yeah, yeah, I got you."
I dismissively waved him off. I'd rather spend the next ten minutes thinking than hearing him nag like an old bridesmaid.
Suddenly, I heard a trinket being tapped. The Regent went up on stage, the maskless Emperor directly overseeing him.
"Greetings and salutations, comrades of Morest," he began. "I'm sure you're all wondering why I've invited you to my residence tonight. Tonight, in front of the Emperor's holy figure, we have three oaths of truth to make. I hope you all, under his divine guidance, will act as witnesses to such proceedings. And with the Almighty's holy blessing, we shall proceed."
Silence filled the room. From the corner of my eye, I could see the same platinum blonde girl waiting. Her smile was gone; all I could see was a completely emotionless face, her eyes, though fortunately not making contact with mine, seemed like endless whirlpools.
More fitting of her, I'd say.
A chill ran down my spine as I felt my throat dry and my breath becoming hoarse. I looked around and saw that more than half the people in the room had drinks in their hands.
Wait a minute...
Where the hell are our drinks?