Chapter 183 - Familiar Words

Within the Tye-Anne cathedral, Char Char sat alone at a pew in an inner chapel located in one of the many spires of the building. Tall, narrow stained glass windows cast blue and white light across the three rows of pews that sat on either side of a small central aisle. The late afternoon light that reflected off the dust in the air created an ethereal, mystical atmosphere in the dimly lit chamber.

At the end of the aisle a small set of stairs led up toward an altar. This smooth slate pedestal with twelve sides had a polished, flat surface. In typical shrines and temples across Nian Xing, a symbolic item would be placed upon the pedestal to represent the diety who the shrine belonged to.

In Huan, where Char Char had spent several years studying, the temples would often have idols made of precious metals crafted into the likeness of Lord Matsuhara or the Nature Goddess Yuima. At the Cloud Peak monastery, a silver mirror was the typical object, as it represented the moon and a connection to the spiritual world. Even the White Maiden’s shrine, which didn’t have a pedestal of its own, had a small bowl placed in the center of it.

But this altar like all of Lord Noga’s altars, was left empty. It was symbolic of Kumin’s pragmatic approach to the world, a world where the supernatural and arcane were simply myths and stories and had no place in “real” life. A simple world, where life was about the daily toil of survival, about honest work and living a peaceful life.

A world that had just been exposed to be a big emphatic lie to everyone.

Just before Finn left her, he’d told Char Char something about the chapel and that he’d be back soon. She was lost in her thoughts and hadn’t been listening. She’d just simply sat down and stared blankly at the floor, losing all track of time. Even now, she didn’t care where she was as her heart hung heavy in her chest.

Char Char sat in the center row on the left side next to the aisle. Her gaze hung down at her lap, her eyes were unfocused as she remained lost in the turmoil of her thoughts.

Images of the terrifying, violent and surreal experience that she had just been through flashed in her mind. The arrhythmic, pulsing light inside the black and orange egg-shaped glade. The demonic black tree with its branches shaped like limbs and hands. The forest crumbling around her in a cataclysmic roar as she was propelled up into the twilight sky. The crazed look in Lyssa’s eyes as her hair splayed outward like snakes.

Char Char could still feel stinging winds and hear the ear-grating screeches of Deka’s rebirth. The putrid, metallic scent of blood still clung to her clothes and skin.

All of these thoughts were overwhelming and deeply unpleasant, but they were better than thinking about her friend.

Hakuya.

She shuddered as the intrusive thought bubbled up in her mind. She bent forward and cupped her face in her stained hands, feeling small and helpless. After a while she inhaled deeply and opened her eyes, trying to calm herself down.

Eventually, Finn was going to come back, and when he did they were going to go see the White Maiden. Probably to pray to Her and reach out as a representative of Lord Noga in response to Her involvement with the God of Life.

After all, it was no secret that Char Char was a devout follower of the Maiden, that she had previously received instructions from the Maiden. That she had been the one to disrupt the reawakening ritual.

Given the Maiden’s actions of assisting the people of Noga against the Devileyes, it seemed straightforward to conclude that the Maiden had sent Char Char to stop the God of Life from being reborn.

The only thing was, Char Char wasn’t sure whether this was actually the case.

Lyssa’s crazed worship of the White Maiden echoed in Char Char’s ears. According to her, the Maiden had sent the broken, corrupted Hakuya to the God of Life to act as His vessel. And She had sent Char Char there to release Hakuya and let the God of Life enter his body. And Char Char had indeed served that purpose.

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Right before she stabbed Deka in the neck and slashed him in two with Hakuya’s sword.

Was that also part of the White Maiden’s plans? Or had Char Char just defied the Maiden that she worshiped so devoutly just a few hours previous?

When she returned to the shrine, would the Maiden congratulate her or curse her? Surely, the White Maiden, who had saved so many people in Noga, would be against the God of Life? But then why was Lyssa so convinced that the Maiden was on their side?

Char Char had no clue. She thought back to when Lyssa first approached her on the plateau. She had simply followed Lyssa’s lead, assuming that it was all ordained by the Maiden in answer to her prayers to find Hakuya. In the end, just like she’d asked for, they’d found Hakuya…

Char Char’s hands clenched into fists as she shook her head.

She didn’t want to see the Maiden so soon, but at the same time she knew that she couldn’t hide forever.

“The Gods are not to be trusted…” Char Char whispered softly to herself out of the blue, “Even the benevolent ones… No, especially those ones…”

The words sounded vaguely familiar to her, though she didn’t know where she’d heard them. Was it something Firuzeh had told her? Or something she’d read in a story?

She couldn’t remember, but she distracted herself for a while trying to recall the origin of those words.

“It’s so quiet here.” Char Char muttered, looking around the small chapel, “It feels… empty, and cold.”

She thought to herself, if she prayed to Lord Noga here, would he hear her? Would he respond?

Her eyes dropped to the floor again as she realized that she had no desire to learn the answer to her questions.

A while later, her spiritual intuition triggered moments before the heavy door at the back of the chamber opened.

Two people stepped in. Her intuition was clear enough that she knew who they were without looking up. The first one to enter was Finn, the second was one of the female officers that was present when Char Char was rescued from the palm of the giant hand.

They didn’t approach her at first, but stood at the back of the room watching her hunched over form as they spoke.

“She looks a little worse for wear.” Minnie commented to Finn, keeping her voice low.

“Well, she just survived an encounter with a literal God…” Finn raised an eyebrow, “Isn’t that to be expected?”

“I mean- have you talked with her about what we’re doing, yet?” Minnie asked, “Is she in the right frame of mind for it?”

“I didn’t. I’m sure she’ll snap out of it.” Finn cast a glance over to Char Char and shrugged, “She’s usually not like this.”

“People don’t usually kill a literal God with their bare hands.” Minnie frowned.

“Well, let me talk to her and check her condition.” Finn said. He walked up to the side of the pew and observed Char Char for a moment before firmly speaking up, “We’re ready to go to the shrine.”

“Okay.” Char Char nodded, standing up without looking at Finn.

“We will be using spatial rifts to minimize the risk of travel through the forest.” Finn said, gesturing for Char Char to go before him, “It should be relatively safe, but in case there’s any trouble, Minnie will try to get you to safety first.”

Char Char nodded once more as she walked up the aisle toward the entrance. The female officer gave Char Char a warm smile, though Char Char didn’t acknowledge her.

Finn followed behind, shrugging at Minnie, “She seems fine to me.”

~

The young kumin girl had a brooding expression in her eyes as she quietly led the pair of officers by several paces.

The door exited out onto a narrow staircase that wound its way up and down the spire. They traveled down several floors, then crossed through a long, bleak hallway lit by tall narrow windows. Beyond the glassless windows the city of Noga sprawled out in the distance under a chaotic grey sky.

Their footsteps echoed across the smooth stone walls as Char Char felt a chill slowly seep into her body. It was enough to break her out of her thoughts as her head rose to observe her surroundings. The stark, geometric architecture on the inside of the cathedral was unlike any construction that she’d seen before.

The empty hallways devoid of furniture or even simple things like torches and candles left Char Char wondering if this part of the cathedral was even used on a regular basis. Even the chapel that they had just arrived from only had the four pews and bare altar as furnishings. The air was crisp and cold.

After a while they arrived at a dead end. An iron door frame stood freely with a small gap between it and the solid wall behind it.

Minnie held out her hand and the bricks behind the doorway began to individually rotate and shuffle out of the way, revealing an empty courtyard that was surrounded by walls and spires.

As Char Char stepped out to the center of the courtyard Minnie spoke softly to Finn.

“It would normally take about three or four jumps for me to make it to the shrine, but Chief Gwynn requisitioned some sapphire for us.” She pulled out two tiny blue crystals from her pocket. The polished, faceted gems were each about the size of a pea, “There’s one for the trip there, and one back… If we get lucky and don’t meet interference. Regardless, this will be safer than trying to port multiple times through the forest.”

“Even without the sapphire, getting to the shrine is probably the easy part.” Minnie paused, looking discreetly over to Char Char as a thought passed her mind, “But the rest, I guess, is up to you and her.”

Finn nodded quietly, “Let’s hope the White Maiden has some good news for us.”