Chapter 201: Seventy Days of Suffering (5).

Nero licked the last crumbs from his fingers, his stomach finally full for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

The food had been simple, nothing extravagant, just bread, cheese, and some kind of stew made from dried meat that tasted faintly of herbs and salt, but it might as well have been a feast fit for kings given how he had been living.

Doctor Lyon sat across from him in a chair, his dark eyes watching Nero with that same calm, measuring gaze. The room was quiet now, and the atmosphere had shifted into a much heavier state.

Lyon leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on the curve of the backrest of the chair, his fingers steepled together which he placed his jaw on.

“So Nero,” he said, his voice carrying that clinical quality again,

“Now that you’ve had your fill, I think we should have a talk.”

Nero wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and nodded slowly.

“About what?”

“About what you’ve agreed to,” Lyon replied.

“About what it means to become a Templar, and more specifically, what it means to bear a Seal of Sin.”

Nero’s expression remained neutral, though internally he felt a flicker of curiosity. The Oracle had told him about the Seals before, but hearing it from someone who actually worked with them, who had spent years studying and applying them, might reveal something new.

“I don’t know much about Seals,” Nero said carefully, keeping up his ignorant facade,

“I’ve heard of them, but only in passing. The Church doesn’t exactly share that kind of information freely.”

Lyon smiled faintly, as though he had expected that answer. “No, they do not. The nature of the Seals is considered sacred knowledge, restricted to those who have proven their loyalty and dedication to the Church. But since you will be undergoing the procedures necessary to prepare your body for one, it would be… unwise to leave you in the dark.”

He paused, his fingers tapping against each other in a slow rhythm.

“Tell me, Nero. What do you know of the Grigori? Of the Watchers who fell from grace?”

Nero hesitated, then shrugged. “Only what everyone knows. They were angels sent to watch over humanity, but they became corrupted and fell. They bred with humans and created the Nephilim, then they taught forbidden knowledge that led to the world becoming what it is now.”

“Correct,” Lyon said, nodding. “Though the details are far more complex than most realize.”

A strange look appeared on Lyon’s face,

“You see, the Grigori were not simply corrupted by their own desires, they were corrupted by ’ours’. Humanity worshipped them, giving them form through belief, and in doing so, transformed them from pure messengers into beings capable of sin.”

He leaned forward in his chair, his expression thoughtful.

“During the Age of Gods, when the Nephilim were struck from the Books of Life and Death, remnants of the Grigori’s knowledge remained. Fragments of their teachings, scattered across the corrupted earth, all now hidden in ruins of the ancient times. The Church, in its early days, sought out these fragments and attempted to understand them, to harness the power the Grigori had once wielded.”

Lyon’s gaze sharpened.

“They discovered… A lot of things. Secrets, some of which cannot be spoke. But most importantly, they discovered the Seals— divine runes that could be branded into human flesh and soul, granting the bearer access to powers once thought reserved for angels and demons alike. But this power came at a cost, as all power does. The Seals twisted those who bore them, corrupting their minds, their bodies, and eventually their very essence. They were chains forged from divine deviation and sin, meant to bind the bearer to a singular purpose, to fight the darkness even as they slowly became part of it.”

Nero listened carefully, his expression remaining neutral even as his mind worked through the implications. He didn’t know much about the Seals possessed by the Templars. However, he did know about his own Seal, which was the Divine Seal that came right from the Divine Will.

“So the Templars…” Nero said slowly,

“They all bear these Seals?”

“Correct,” Lyon replied. “Every Templar Order within the Church is built around a specific Seal, and each Seal is tied to a Sin, a conceptual force or will twisted from divine law. The Seals grant miraculous abilities, but they can also corrupt. Overuse or imbalance causes the bearer to descend, to transform into something monstrous. Most humans can only survive bonding with a single Seal, and even then, the corruption is inevitable. It is simply a matter of time.”

He gestured vaguely toward the door.

“The Templar Orders exist to manage this corruption, ensuring that those who bear the Seals remain useful for as long as possible before they must be put down. We are custodians of terrible knowledge and an even worse fate, Nero. We wield it because there is no other choice. This world is dying, and only those willing to sacrifice their humanity can hold the encroaching darkness back.”

Nero felt a chill run down his spine despite himself. The way Lyon spoke made it clear that this was not hyperbole or religious fervor, it was simply the truth as he understood it.

“What happens when someone becomes a Templar?” Nero asked. “How do they receive a Seal?”

Lyon’s smile returned, though it was thin and humorless.

“To obtain a Seal, one must first join the Church and enter one of its militant or non-militant wings. Then they must undergo the branding ritual, which kills seven in ten candidates. The process is excruciating, both physically and spiritually, as the Seal is burned into the flesh and inscribed into the soul simultaneously. Those who survive take the Vow of Chains, binding themselves to the service of the Church. They abandon their name, their past, and their will, becoming instruments of judgment.”

He paused, letting the weight of those words settle in before he continued,

“You, however, will not be following the traditional path completely. The Commander has vouched for you, and that grants you certain… exemptions. You will not be forced to abandon your name. Normally, this is a privilege granted only to those born of higher nobility. But you will still undergo the conditioning necessary to prepare your body and mind for the trials ahead, and that conditioning will be far more intense than what most candidates endure.”

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