Time flew by since The Coming-of-Age Ceremony. The whole event had almost become like a bad dream to Kazius. Human or not, he wanted to be a Knight… The Oracle must have simply been wrong or made a mistake…

After all, he no longer saw The Oracle as a God. Not after the events of his Coming-of-Age Ceremony. Witnessing even more of The Church’s rot up close did not help either.

What sort of Holy being would make you lie to his own church, much less tell you to become The Monster King? Or even have Priests like Ron and High Priest Jordan?

No, he saw it for what it was, a powerful entity, sure, but one that foresaw the future and in doing so could also try to influence it. It was no God, not good nor evil. It also far from had a way to change your future if you did not want it.

Or so Kazius told himself.

The future it saw could be wrong… Besides, in the unlikely event The Demon King ever returned, he could address the issue as a Knight of Edict.

To him, being a Holy Knight had evolved to be about community and friendship between him and his fellow squad members. After all, he had admired The Holy Knights due to the tales of their strength and his shared dream with Alex. He was drawn to such strength and The Church was still all he ever knew. Even with as much disdain it’s actions and leadership brought. Destroyer of worlds? Ruler of the Undead? He didn’t know who The Oracle thought he was, but it had nothing to do with him.

He was very much in denial, but reality was not something Kazius could fully flee.

Yes, Kazius had been able to graduate from The Holy Knight Academy within a year after finishing their training program… And was now on track to become a Squire of The Edicts after becoming the youngest Lieutenant in Holy Knight’s history.

In fact, Alex could not be any prouder of his brother…

Yet despite all Kazius told himself, he was not happy. While progressing in his dream of being a Knight, Kazius found the fact he was not Human slapped him more and more in the face.

He found himself feeling almost a sort of kinship with shadows. Whether on the ground or in crevices, he found himself feeling more and more aware of them. One time he could even have sworn he made them move.

He attempted to ignore such feelings, but shadows were everywhere… And he was forever conscious of their presence. As if they were constantly breathing nearby.

Thankfully his work as a Knight kept him busy enough to allow him to maintain his delusion of normalcy.

It was morning in Marv, the trade hub of Ratier to the East of the capital of Layton, where he had lived at the orphanage.

It was time to meet with the squad and conduct preparations for patrol. Before that though, the squad had to get their daily report of current events in Ratier. This step was crucial now more than ever. After all… The Coming-of-Age Ceremony was happening in the capital at this very moment, which meant there were fewer Knights than usual in other parts of Ratier except for the capital.

Alex beamed once he saw Kazius enter the lobby of the Holy Knight HQ of the city. He wore the same silver and blue elaborate armor as Kazius, minus the blue cape with the symbol of the Oracle that indicated Kazius as a higher rank.

“Good morning, Lieutenant!” Alex exclaimed with a salute, the blonde man as energetic as ever. He had grown tall, standing 6ft (1.82 m), an inch taller than Kazius who stood at 5ft 11in (1.80m).

“At ease.” Kazius stated, doing formal greetings first before he allowed himself a smile and Alex laughed.

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“Today is so nostalgic, isn’t it? Just 3 years ago we were in the capital getting our future told. I really lost that bet, didn’t I? I always thought I would be the leader of whatever squad we were in. I sure was wrong. I am happy though; I can’t think of anyone better to lead than you. I don’t think anyone has ever beaten you in a spar. It is like you’re built differently!” Alex laughed out lightheartedly.

Kazius thought he would be happy, but the mention of The Coming-of-Age Ceremony only ever brought him nothing but anxiety. He was always in a terrible mood during this time of the year. Then there was Alex’s innocent remark about him being different. It was a simple happy conversation, but it all left a vile taste to him.

Kazius forced himself to smile, being almost relieved as Leo showed up and interrupted the conversation.

“Morning, Lieutenant.” Leo stated with a kind smile and salute. The black-haired man was someone Kazius had also grown to befriend. He was quiet yet a very kind and attentive friend. He was the shortest in the squad, standing at 5ft 8in (1.75 m).

“At ease.” Kazius stated.

“I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.” Leo stated, concern showing in his brown eyes.

“Oh, you stop it with that, you weren’t interrupting anything! Right, Kazius?” Alex stated with a pat on Leo’s back.

“Of course. We were just talking about the Holiday… It is a shame that we aren’t at the capital near it.” Kazius lied, very content to not be stationed anywhere near Layton.

“I know! We should celebrate after we do our rounds!” Alex exclaimed eagerly.

“A celebration you say?” Hank stated, the ginger approaching. His green eyes shining with curiosity at the idea of festivities. He stood at 6 ft 2in (1.88m), the tallest in the group.

“Count us in! Will there be women involved?” Mark questioned slyly. The brunette seemed to have such things usually always in mind. He rubbed his beard as he raised the question, his brown eyes looking over to the group as he raised the question. He stood at 5ft 10in (1.78 in).

“Of course!” Alex exclaimed with a grin.

“Maybe we can get our Lieutenant here to actually have some fun.” Mark teased.

“I am good. Someone must stay sober, so you all stay out of trouble.” Kazius stated with a sigh, dodging the suggestion. After all, someone in his position had no ability to think about dating and the like. The fact he was not Human concerned him too much, specially to keep up the façade that he was one in front of a wife or a girlfriend with always her eyes on him. That was the last thing he wanted; it was already hard on him to keep his teammates from noticing anything.

“Oh, you’re no fun.” Hank groaned.

“Fun can come after work. Speaking of, I don’t recall you two saluting.” Kazius pointed out, wanting to change subjects.

Hank and Mark both groaned a bit. They would salute Kazius in unison though.

“Good morning, Lieutenant!” The two exclaimed in unison.

“Better.” Kazius stated with a smile. They were friends, but they could get in trouble for not following the procedure. They were not alone in the lobby. So, snobbish as it sounded, Kazius made sure to follow The Church’s rules. He did not want his teammates or himself punished in the odd chance any of the Priests that maintained The Holy Knight HQ to report them.

As they spoke, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a bell.

“It seems the daily report is ready… The Ceremony always happens without a problem… But we should check in. Just in case there is anything we need to do.” Kazius stated.

He headed over to a Priest that stood by an overly elaborate hand carved desk. The marble wall and hardwood floor in the lobby were as over the top as anything else associated with The Church.

“The report, Lieutenant. Today there is some red texts, please make sure that only you read those sections.” The Priest stated.

“Thank you.” Kazius replied, already looking things over.

He went page by page. The red text today was as boring as ever, something to do with mundane procedures of security in case of an emergency. It was beyond Kazius’ comprehension as to why they would even issue such a thing during The Holiday.

While reading, Kazius was silent, but he did voice an audible noise of shock as he came to one page. The text was not in red or anything like that… And the fact this was not even at the front was also concerning… This was more important news than anything in the whole report.

“What’s wrong, Kazius?” Alex questioned with a raised brow.

Swallowing his own spit, Kazius could not help but show his concern in his face, “Today’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony will be special. The Pope had been granted a vision by The Oracle himself. The vision revealed the fact that The Royal Family has betrayed The Oracle. They no longer guard that which is Holy. Princess Alice would have led to the fall of Ratier… Thanks to The Pope and the warning from The Oracle, today’s festivities were kicked off with the execution of the entirety of the traitorous family. The Knights under the Royal Family will now join The Holy Knights and The Pope will be granted The Crown… As it is The Oracle’s will. All hail The Pope King.” He read out loud in disbelief.