The walkway to the Hidden Church was damp and cramp, but strangely, it seemed to be well kept. The walls did not seem to be deteriorating nor did the floor appear to be dusty. The lack of cobwebs was a bit off-putting for the setting too.

I glanced back at Minister Juniper whose eyes seemed to be kept forward. I faced forwards and shook my head. I felt like I should be scared but my body did not show any signs of fear.

Entering into this area felt underwhelming if I did not get any chills down my spine or goosebumps.

I opened my mouth, but words could not come out of my throat. Was my brain unable to process what is going on right now?

Finally, Minister Juniper decided to end the creepy silence.

“Are you curious about this area?”

I placed my right over my forehead and wiped it, despite the lack of sweat, in hopes that it would help get rid of sudden warmth radiating off of my face.

“Y-yes. Why is this area so secluded and... so hidden-y”

“In this world, the Words of God is seen as a sacred and thus places where we conduct such rituals are in hidden areas that are protected from the elements that would wear it down much faster.”

“Hmm… that does make sense since the lack of light means that anything with color wouldn’t lighten over time and it seemed like this area has a bit of moisture, so anything that is painted wouldn’t crack either.”

I glanced back at Minister Juniper whose mouth seemed to widen a little along with his forehead seeming to be wrinkled up from his eyebrows.

“Are you amazed or confused?”

“I would say I’m feeling a bit of both. Who knew that a familiar can be so smart? But it does seem proper for a spirit such as yourself to be able to know the laws that govern the world.”

I looked back towards the direction of the hallway and let out a sigh.

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing, I just didn’t expect such praise coming from someone like you.”

He looked at me confused before shrugging it off.

“Say, speaking of ‘Words of God’ what is it anyway?”

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“The Words of God is a religion that every people in this world follow. However, throughout history, many wars have been fought due to people differing in beliefs. Currently, there are three major denominations left of people who follow the Words of God.”

“Really now… Can you continue telling me more?”

“The first denomination is called ‘Scythia,’ which is we named the dragon of our glorious kingdom flag after. Almost all of humanity follow Scythia.”

“What separates Scythia from the other two?”

“Followers of Scythia believe that the words of God are sacred and should be treated properly, thus we follow the doctrine of trading our Spirit Essence for Light Essence.”

“Spirit Essence? Light Essence?”

“I’ll those more in detail once we reach the area, we will conduct our ritual for appraising you.”

“Oh, alright then, continue.”

“The second denomination is called ‘Kulshedra,’ which is what almost all demons follow. Followers of Kulshedra believe that the Word of God leads to absolute power. Thus, their doctrine is trading Spirit Essence for Dark Essence.”

“I see, so is this what lead to the eventual schism of what the difference between humans and demons are?”

“Not exactly, although it is said in legend that humans and demons are descended from a similar ancestor, we are completely different races.”

“So it isn’t that simple,” I sighed. “So, what about the third denomination?”

“The third denomination is called ‘Ladon,’ followers of Ladon called themselves her ‘Children of Ladon.’ Her so-called ‘children’ believe that Spirit Essence should be used for both Light Essence and Dark Essence as it brings balance to this world.”

“Are there many Children of Ladon left in this world?”

“Who knows? Most of the governing bodies consider them as subhuman, thus they are not counted whenever a census occurs… and even if we counted them in a census, it would be difficult since they live in temples and monasteries that are secluded from society.”

“So, they would rather be left alone than deal with squabbles of society?”

“Not actually, throughout history Children of Ladon have been discriminated against in society. Their belief of balance of the natural world makes Followers of Scythia see them as impure beings who would rather be silent than taking action and Followers of Kulshedra, see them as entirely weak beings who can’t decide anything.”

“Is the discrimination purely just from belief?”

“Partly, but it could be from the Great Purge a millennia ago.”

“Great Purge?”

Minister Juniper stopped entirely and stared down at me. I turned around and glanced up at his face. His mouth seemed to have moved without making a sound at first. But a few seconds later, his words reached my ears.

“A millennia ago, 80% of the world was sacrificed in the name of Ladon.”

“Eighty percent?”

He nodded.

“It was a genocide no one has seen before. Many races, including animals, were wiped into extinction. Society crumbled and when the people grew angry enough to revolt… the person who caused this mass genocide mysteriously disappeared.”

“This person… if you don’t mind me asking, who are they.”

“Echidna, the first and last Empress of the Empire of Typhon.”

“Where could she have gone?”

“Nobody knows, but afterward, it seemed like the rules that the Words of God seemed to have changed as decades passed. It is said in legend that the mass genocide led to her becoming God, or at least she managed to somehow challenge God.”

“You seem to know a lot about this world… umm, so was this ‘Echidna’ ever considered a legendary hero of this world?”

“Yes, but that’s a story for another time.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve wasted enough time with this conversation, and I wouldn’t want to delay the appraisal ritual any further.”

“I understand, let’s not delay this further then.”