Pov Ignis:
The air in Rome was thick, heavy with the scent of incense and the tension of unspoken secrets. The streets were crowded with faithful followers swirling around masked cardinals, their silver robes gleaming under the sun like celestial armor. But I knew better than anyone that behind those masks there was no holiness, only a game of power and manipulation. And now, I was just another piece on that board.
I hated getting involved in the Church's political games. They were nothing more than a maze of mirrors where the reflected image was never real. Nothing was as it seemed. Not the altar boys in their pristine robes, nor the elderly crawling like penitents, nor the vagabonds who seemed to ignore the world around them. They were all pieces on a board I hadn't chosen to play.
But I was here now. And they knew it.
