"By the God-Emperor, how could I dare commit such heresy!" Bayev was horrified when Eden questioned him about the chapel. It was clear he held the Emperor and the Church in great reverence.
With a solemn expression, Bayev addressed Eden, "If not for the Church's help, the royal district would have fallen long ago under the heretics' assault..."
Bayev recounted the events from years past, when the nobles had allied with heretic followers and invaded the royal district.
They had driven the citizens to the Holy Square, intending to perform a blood sacrifice of thousands of lives to desecrate the statue of the God-Emperor.
This was a common tactic among the heretics. Every time they conquered a place, they would desecrate the Emperor's statues and slaughter all loyal followers.
Such blasphemy was something the Church could never tolerate, and so they fought back with all their might.
The fanatical priests and militant crusaders, wielding hammers and staves, had charged the front lines, determined to defend the Emperor's glory.
In the end, the heretic rebels were driven out of the upper hive, but the Church suffered heavy casualties, nearly being wiped out.
Now, only Bishop Doni More and a handful of clergy remained in this chapel.
As Eden followed Bayev up the tall steps, Carter led the bodyguards behind them. Since they were entering the chapel, they had left their heavy weapons behind.
Soon, the group entered the grand hall of the chapel.
Upon stepping inside, Eden was immediately struck by the aura of solemnity and sanctity.
Sunlight streamed down through the towering stained glass dome, which depicted the Emperor leading the Primarchs against the forces of Chaos.
In the air, cherubic figures with mechanical wings and strips of scripture wrapped around their bodies floated above, their mechanical components visible in places.
These were the Church's cherubim.
Cherubim resembled childlike angels but were artificial creations, hybrids of flesh and mechanical augmentations, anointed with sacred oils.
They held the same status as servitors but possessed a certain degree of independence and intelligence, serving the priests of the Imperial Cult.
As the holy light poured down, the cherubim flew to Eden's side, singing hymns of praise to the God-Emperor.
Eden felt a pair of eyes on him. He turned to see an elderly priest in a robe staring intently at him.
This was Bishop Doni More, the last bishop of the Urth Church. He appeared quite frail, leaning on a staff adorned with the symbol of the Aquila and inscribed with sacred texts. His sharp, hawk-like eyes were locked on Eden.
Did he see something? Why is he staring at me like that? Eden felt uneasy.
Just as he began to worry, Bayev spoke up, sensing the tension. "Bishop Doni's eyesight isn't the best..."
Bayev then raised his voice, addressing the bishop. "Your Excellency, the governor has arrived!"
Upon hearing this, Bishop Doni's eyes lit up, and his gaze softened. He quickly made his way over to them.
"Praise the God-Emperor!"
The bishop grasped Eden's hand enthusiastically. "Governor, you've finally arrived."
His overly warm attitude left Eden confused.
What's going on?
It seemed Bayev was quite familiar with Bishop Doni, as he spoke candidly, "As we discussed, our lord was attacked by heretics and needs your help for an examination."
Hearing this, the bishop nodded. "Of course. I've been waiting for this."
"Let's begin right away," Bishop Doni said, his sharp eyes studying Eden before leading him to the altar of the Emperor.
The altar was surrounded by lit candles, filling the air with the thick scent of sacred oils.
"You may relax," Bishop Doni said, patting Eden's hand and signaling for him not to be nervous.
Through a psychic link, he commanded the cherubim to fetch holy water, which they then sprinkled on Eden while he began reciting sacred prayers from the scriptures.
The bishop closed his eyes, chanting loudly, while the cherubim circled above him, harmonizing with his prayer.
Bayev stood behind them, tense as he awaited the outcome.
He exchanged a glance with Carter. They had prepared for this moment before arriving.
If anything went wrong during the examination or if Bishop Doni showed any signs of aggression, they were ready to protect Eden at all costs and withdraw from the chapel.
Whether Eden had fallen to darkness or made a pact with a daemon, they were prepared to follow him to the end.
Such was their unquestioning loyalty.
As the prayers reached their peak, Eden felt a psychic force envelop him, probing his body and soul.
As expected, the priests can use something akin to psychic energy, Eden mused.
Though they were not psykers, it was clear that their devout worship of the God-Emperor produced effects similar to psychic abilities.
Bishop Doni was using the Emperor's will to examine Eden.
For an ordinary person, this scrutiny would have revealed everything. Even powerful psykers would have their secrets laid bare under the bishop's gaze.
No darkness could escape the Emperor's will.
However, Eden had not fallen to darkness, and with the power of the Little Sun within him, his psychic abilities far surpassed the bishop's.
Under Eden's control, the psychic energy from the Little Sun quickly shielded his consciousness while allowing the bishop to examine a portion of Ron Grant's soul.
After a short while, the psychic force withdrew from Eden's body, signaling the end of the examination.
Bishop Doni looked up, smiling. "The Emperor protects. There are no traces of heresy on you, and the Warp has not had much of an effect.
"Your body and soul are fine, though you seem a bit physically weak. You should rest and take it easy..."
He gave Eden a knowing look.
Hmm...
Eden immediately understood. The bishop was suggesting that he was, well, physically exhausted.
All Eden could do was nod in agreement.
After all, he had only recently escaped the Palace of Slaanesh and was indeed feeling quite drained.
"Just make sure to rest, and everything will be fine," Bishop Doni concluded.
"By the God-Emperor, it's a relief to know our lord is unharmed!"
Hearing this, Bayev finally relaxed, a rare smile crossing his normally stern face. "Thank you, Your Excellency!"
"I merely follow the Emperor's guidance, tending to lost sheep," Bishop Doni responded humbly. He then turned back to Eden with a more serious look.
"Governor, there's something I need you to clarify. You are a psyker now, aren't you?"
Eden's heart skipped a beat. He suddenly remembered something—the Church didn't have a good opinion of psykers.
The Imperial Cult represented many aspects of the Imperium itself, using its teachings to unite humanity in service to the Emperor.
The Church's core tenets were known as the Imperial Creed.
These included the belief that all humans must worship the Emperor, hatred of xenos and heretics, and the understanding that psykers and mutants among humanity posed a dangerous threat that had to be controlled.
The priests of the Church would give their lives to uphold these tenets and maintain their loyalty to the Emperor.
Falling into the Church's hands as a psyker was a dangerous situation.
The most likely outcome was imprisonment, followed by being sent to Holy Terra aboard a Black Ship for further processing.
"Governor?"
Bishop Doni's gaze remained fixed on Eden, awaiting an answer.
(End of Chapter)