Chapter 33: His calculating gaze

The Grand Cathedral of St. Celeste buzzed with an energy anyone would confuse with devotion.

The novices filled the benches for the Ascension ceremony, although for Raziel, the whole place stank of hypocrisy.

He stood next to the other initiates, with his typical poker face, but inside was chaos.

He had witnessed this ritual countless times, but this time was different, because the man leading it had his soul sold to the highest bidder.

The familiar chants, that in other lives offered him a shred of comfort, now sounded hollow, like an out-of-tune melody that only he could hear.

Father Marius went up the platform, with his face of a pious old man illuminated by candles. Silence took over the place when he raised his hand.

“My dear children of Zhalyr,” he started, his deep voice booming in the enormous space.

’Children… what a bastard,’ thought Raziel, while the memory of the [Soul Contract] flickered in his mind like a warning.

“Today we celebrate the day our goddess ascended, bringing her divine light to all of Phaedra!”

A chorus of “Praise be to Zhalyr!” resonated against the high ceilings, but the voices sounded distant to Raziel.

“It was Zhalyr, in her wisdom and compassion, who gave us the gift of magic,” continued Marius, with hands up high. “Through her grace, we can heal the sick and fight against the forces of darkness.”

The passionate devotion of the crowd felt intense, almost suffocating, and the abyss between the priest’s sermon and the truth he knew was getting bigger and bigger.

“But we must never forget why Zhalyr gave us these gifts!” declared Marius, his gaze scanning the congregation. “They are to serve others and fight against the evil that tries to destroy the light of our goddess!”

The initiates murmured in agreement, with faces full of blind faith that gave Raziel nausea.

He felt terribly alone, surrounded by people who had no idea of the rot hiding under the altar.

Lara, by his side, had a slight frown. She leaned towards him to whisper something.

“Raziel, do you feel that? There is something strange in the atmosphere. Father Marius’s voice sounds forced.”

Raziel almost choked.

He didn’t know what, but his instinct was screaming that something was wrong.

He forced a tight smile.

“It’s the emotion of the day,” he lied, although his eyes were fixed on the shadows gathering at the edges of the cathedral.

Just then, he felt a shift in the air, a sensation of cold on the back of his neck.

In the farthest corner, where candlelight barely reached, the air started to distort. It was like looking through deformed glass, a smudge of spiritual static absorbing light and sound around it.

Raziel’s heart raced.

Shit.

An Impure Resonance Specter.

It was being attracted by the ritual’s energy, energy that was surely being corrupted by Marius’s pact.

The sacred ceremony had become a beacon for that spiritual trash.

He looked around.

No one else seemed to notice.

Not the novices, not the priests, not even the Paladins guarding the perimeter. Everyone was hypnotized by Marius.

He had to do something, and he had to be discreet.

Using his powers here, in plain sight, would be suicide.

He kept his head down and closed his eyes.

He searched inside for that familiar warmth, the golden light that had always been his anchor, but he felt it distant, as if stained by the darkness he had found in the crypt.

For a second that felt eternal, nothing happened. Panic rose up his throat.

Then, like a small spark fighting to ignite, he felt it: a flicker of heat in his chest.

He grabbed onto that spark, feeding it with all his concentration.

Slowly, the heat spread down his arm.

With small and subtle movements, he shifted a bit, letting his hand brush the stone pillar beside him.

As soon as his fingers made contact, he pushed.

A silent pulse of golden energy sank into the stone.

VMMM!

It worked.

A wave of purifying power traveled through the cathedral’s foundations, invisible to everyone.

The stale air seemed to clean itself at once.

The distortion in the corner vibrated violently, like an out-of-tune musical note, and released a silent dissonance that only Raziel could feel before disintegrating completely.

He leaned against the pillar, exhausted, with cold sweat running down his back.

He had purged the anomaly, but it cost him almost all his energy.

“…and may the light of Zhalyr guide us always,” intoned Father Marius, finishing the prayer.

“For Zhalyr!” answered the congregation.

Raziel straightened up, trying to recover composure, but he felt someone watching him.

He turned and saw Lara staring at him, frowning and with a shocked expression.

“Raziel…” she whispered. “What just happened? You leaned on the pillar and… suddenly, all the cold disappeared. What did you do?”

He forced a smile, although he felt his face muscles trembling.

“The power of Zhalyr’s love is very strong today,” he said, hoping his voice wouldn’t betray his exhaustion.

Lara didn’t seem convinced. She was too perceptive.

“I felt a wave of energy… but it didn’t come from the altar. It seemed to come from you.”

Raziel hesitated.

Shit.

She had felt it.

“You must be tired, Lara. The ceremony is overwhelming, I assure you the light of Zhalyr protects us.”

Lara seemed to sense he was hiding something.

She opened her mouth to insist, but then thought better of it.

“If you say so…” she murmured, although her gaze was still full of questions as she turned her eyes back to the altar.

While the crowd started moving to receive blessings, Raziel let out a sigh.

He had avoided disaster, but at a cost.

Worst of all, while he mixed with the crowd, his eyes crossed with Father Marius’s from the altar.

For an instant, the priest’s pious mask vanished.

Marius’s gaze, stripped of all blessing, pierced him with calculating suspicion.

Right at that moment, a new notification appeared in his vision.

[WARNING: Subject “Father Marius” has raised his hostility level towards you.]

[Intention: Active Observation.]

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