[Valerianne Yul]

I woke up naked on a bench in the middle of the Convent courtyard. Argh! Why were the Virtuous always undressing me? Why was this happening?

“Awake already? That was… quick.” Alyssa grumbled from above me. “Did I muck up the spell or are you just naturally immune to sleep spells? Oh, I know... The healing gem must be interfering. We should really get it out of you.”

“It’s not the healing gem! I told you, already!” I yelped, trying to cover up. “There’s a vampire controlling my body whenever I pass out!”

“That’s not a real thing.” Alyssa said. “You fell asleep twice already and you aren’t acting like a monster."

“Please! Believe me! You have to manacle me so he can’t do Void magic!” I begged, offering the Searcher my hands and turning very red from shame.

“A level zero cannot possibly do complex magic. You have no affinity and only a gem of healing. All you can do is heal.” Alyssa said. “I'm a level 29 Searcher of Virtue and not a farmer girl, I would know these things!”

“Listen to me!” I begged, feeling slightly offended at the farmer girl comment. “He probably has a higher level than I do!”

“The pearl of Inquiry sees all levels. You are level zero. You are not a vampire.”

“Please!!! He will hurt you or others!”

“Okay, fine.” Alyssa sighed. “Lazarus, get the wizard binding, spell cancelling manacles. They are needed for the next test anyway.”

Lazarus grunted, reached into a bag on the side of his armour and pulled out a pair of thin, white-steel manacles, connected by a chain. He snapped them closed over my hands.

“Thank you.” I exhaled.

“Don’t thank us yet.” Alyssa said. “We still have to test your Virtue. I’m sorry. This will not be nice at all, but it is very necessary.”

“What does that…” I started to speak.

Alyssa swung her arm at my face and slapped me.

“Wuahh? What?!” I stepped backwards away from her, grabbing at my face as it burned with pleasure.

She put a hand on her Searcher sphere and it shimmered with power. I didn’t understand.

“Nada.” She said.

“What?”

“Auras are reactive. Colors should show up!” She turned and snapped off a long twig from the bushes.

“Give me your hand.”

I offered my hand and she struck me with the twig. I yelped. My hand burned with pleasure. She squinted at my hand. “Nothing.”

She struck her own hand with the twig and yelped, jumping in one spot.

“Let me help!” I grabbed her hand. “Heal!”

The red line instantly vanished from her hand. “Thanks for the heal.” She squinted at me. I stared back at her, expecting an explanation. None came.

She swung the twig at me at full strength.

“Aeyeeehhh!” I yelled.

She suddenly shoved me down and swung the twig again and again. I shook, twirled and heaved on the ground, my body burning with bliss as she struck me all over.

“What’s happening? Why are you doing this?” I whimpered.

“You still show no darkness in your aura.” She panted.

“I told you everything!” I whimpered, panting.

“Shut the hell up, you dumb bitch!” She growled, striking at me again.

“Whyyyyyyyy?!” I cried, twirling. I didn’t even bother getting away. She wasn’t giving me pain. It felt great, amazing. I wanted more. Curse this vampire body.

Eventually she ran out of stamina and simply stood over me, panting. Then she resumed the attack.

“You’re a moron! An imbecile! A loser!” She yelled insults at me, hitting me again and again. I thrashed, bliss overwhelming my body.

“Nothing.”

“Wuuuught?” I blearily looked up at her.

“This is a basic test to see whether you attack me or respond negatively to my name-calling or violence, but I’m not seeing spikes of darkness or color in your aura. You’re either really amazing at controlling your aura, which should be impossible for a level zero or you’re the purest girl in Europa, straight up destined to be our healer!” She answered.

“I told you… there’s a vampire ghost archmage inside me!” I muttered, sinking in and out of bliss.

“There’s no such thing!” Alyssa glared.

“He’s giving me Quests!” I insisted.

“Stop making stuff up!”

“I’m not making anything up! You were so nice to me earlier? Why?” I cried.

She lifted me up by my hair. “I’m going to murder you.”

“Eeeerghhh!” I yelped. It felt way too nice to be pulled by the hair.

Alyssa dropped me back on the ground. “Nope. Nothing. No darkness at all.”

Lazarus shrugged.

“Okay we’ve tried everything.” Alyssa said. “I don’t see any sins, curses or darkness in her except for the one point of Void."

She turned back towards me.

"My apologies. I had to do that. It was a test of your purity. Stay by the well and recover. I reckon the blessed, divine radiance of the well will purge the last Void and that’ll be that. Lazarus, let's go arrange breakfast, I’m starving.”

The Searcher and the Enforcer left, leaving me naked on the grass.

I stayed there, shaking and whimpering.

Why did Alyssa no longer believe me? Why was I supposed to have darkness in my aura? I watched as the welt lines on my body slowly healed themselves. Midday ringlight shined down upon me. Droplets of sweat sparkled on my body. Bliss let go of me.

“Come back! Look at my sweat! It’s extra sparkly!” I yelled out, shaking my manacled hands. "I'm a vampire!"

Nobody came. It was becoming clearer that the Church of the Light could not help me. They refused to see or lacked the knowledge to fix my problem. Maybe Searcher Alyssa was just inexperienced. I decided to wait for someone with more knowledge and power like the Legate.

An acolyte emerged from the bushes, white hood covering her face. She pounced upon me.

“Goddess, there you are! Listen! Get up. We need to leave, now!” She whispered into my ear.

“What? Who are you?” I blinked at this unexpected, new acolyte. She had the features of a fox. Yellow eyes with odd, glowing, triangular-ish pupils shined at me from beneath the hood.

“Are you having more amnesia, Goddess? Not a good time, right now. Wait. Why do you smell so delicious?”

“Why are you calling me Goddess?” I whimpered, feeling absolutely befuddled.

The foxkin wasn’t listening. She was busy sniffing my neck.

“Stop sniffing me and answer me!” I demanded.

She didn’t. She started to lick my neck.

“What are you doing? Get off me!” I protested.

“You taste amazing too! What the frig!”

“Stop licking me! What is this?!” I yelped, trying to shove her off myself. She clung to me with her sharp claws.

“Oh! So, when you lick me while everything is fucking on fire, that’s perfectly swell and good, but when I do it you are like - oh no, stop the boat!” She started to lick me harder.

“Gahhhh!” I groaned. “Help!”

“Shhhhh. Don’t be summoning the Virtuous fucks now.” She put a hand over my mouth.

I started to sweat more. It didn’t help my situation one bit as the crazy foxkin licked it right up.

The Enforcer emerged from the doorway leading to the courtyard. The foxkin looked up and suddenly vanished. She didn’t actually go away. I felt her atop me. She kept licking my face.

“Come. Breakfast is ready.” The Knight said, turning.

I stood up, bearing the full weight of the foxkin, nearly toppling over. The insane beastgirl acolyte clung to me, still licking me. It was maddening, absurd. I didn't know what I was supposed to do.

I followed the Knight, nearly toppling over with every step. It was beyond difficult to try and stay balanced with another person clinging to me like some sort of an oversized, invisible leech.

At one point she got off and simply started to harass me from the behind. It was unberable. The knight walked ahead of us, not paying attention to my torment. A chilly gale blew from distant glaciers in the exposed section of the Convent, making me shiver.

The Knight led me to an empty cafeteria where he gave me a plate of soup.

“Eat.” He nodded at me and sat down across me, watching me.

I felt pretty hungry so I started to eat, occasionally twitching whenever my invisible assailant licked me in a sensitive spot. Was this another test that was supposed to reveal darkness in my aura? I was starting to get fed up with what the Convent offered.

The foxkin acolyte appeared underneath the table out of the view of the Knight. She made a shushing sign at me with her hand.

The Enforcer took off his helmet, turned around and grabbed himself a plate of soup. He looked somewhere around 45 underneath the shiny bucket helmet. He had a chiseled face, blue eyes and blonde-gray hair. I would dare to call him good looking if it wasn’t for a massive scar across his face.

The foxgirl under the table started to lick my feet.

“Shhhtoooppp I’m ticklishhhh.” I tried not to giggle out loud.

The Knight raised an eyebrow at me. Searcher Alyssa emerged from the doorway.

“Why are you people doing this?” I whimpered.

“Pain and embarrassment are natural triggers for exposing sins or curses, dark shades within the aura. Or they would be, if you showed such.” Alyssa lowered the Searcher sphere. “You don’t show anything. I don’t get it. Lazarus have you ever heard of anything like this? No affinity at all and crystal-clear White aura?

Knight Lazarus shook his head.

Alyssa poured herself a plate of soup. I started to giggle out loud, unable to contain myself anymore.

“What are you laughing at?” Alyssa glared from her soup plate.

“Ha ha ha please stop!” I laughed.

“We can’t stop till we find your sins, girl!” Alyssa smacked my hand with a spoon. “You still got one Void mana!”

“Hahahaha please no more! I can’t take it anymore!” I laughed, turning red.

“Did you hear her? She can’t take it anymore and she’s laughing at us.” Alyssa commented. The Knight shrugged.

“I’m not laughing at you. I’m ticklish!” I gasped.

“She’s ticklish, she says. What a freaking weirdo.” Alyssa shook her head, busy with her breakfast. “None of the base stuff is working. Maybe we have to up the ante?”

“It wont work! I don’t feel pain because I’m a vampire!” I declared.

“You’re not a vampire.” Alyssa commented. “Do you really think a vampire could survive being in the Convent of the Light this close to our well? The well purges darkness from all weary souls, if you didn't know.”

“Look! Look at my damn bruises! They’re shiny and purple!” I offered her my hand. “There’s Void in me!”

Alyssa glanced at the bruises she made on me. They were already pink and barely visible.

“These look normal. Maybe the internal amulet is causing this aura problem?” She muttered. “It really shouldn't though… I really don’t get it. You’re an anomaly of some sort.”

The Knight shrugged again. He didn’t seem to care that much for tests. He seemed more like the brawn not brain type.

“Give me a knife! Check my blood! It’s glowing and purple!” I insisted, realising that the foxkin was no longer harassing me from beneath the table.

The Searcher and the Knight looked at me, probably thinking that I was insane.

“Seriously!” I declared. “Check my blood! It’s magical!”

The foxkin acolyte appeared behind them, bearing a sack. She swung the sack against the head of the Knight. The man made a choking noise and slumped headfirst into his soup.

“What!?” Alyssa turned towards the passed out Knight. The foxkin vanished. In mere seconds she reappeared behind Alyssa and struck her with the same sack. The girl acolyte slumped down onto the table.

“What the hell?!” I jumped.

“No. What the hell, you!” The foxkin leapt atop the table, swinging her sack. “Guess we never got properly introduced. I’m June Rim Maldiver, your Dark acolyte. Are you going to come with me willingly, Goddess… or do I have to knock you out with this stolen sack of gold too?”

“Is this another test?” I gulped.

“This is not a fucking test!” June growled. “We need to leave this fucking place before the Legate comes back and divides us both! I really don’t want to drag your curvy ass around, but I totally will if you won’t come willingly!”

If this was a test, it had to be a test of greed. Was calling me Goddess a test of Pride? Was implying that I was round a test of Gluttony or something? I pondered sins and how they could be tested as June advanced towards me. She suddenly vanished. Fuck!

I rushed away, not wanting to be knocked out. I had no way to tell where she was. I grabbed at my plate of soup and chucked it behind me. June appeared with a yelp, soup dripping from her face.

“Quit screwing around, Yul! Please, for once just be sane and fucking come with me! I really don’t want to die here!” She pleaded, looking quite desperate.

“Why would you die?” I asked, blinking.

“You’re a Void mage, you amnesiac imbecile! I’m your Dark acolyte!” June growled, wiping soup bits out of her eyes. “Do you really think that the Triumvirate of Virtue are going to treat you nicely here or something? Really?”

“I’m not a Void mage.” I uttered.

“How are you not a Void mage? You literally changed my pain into pleasure with a kiss! Ancient, mental magic!” June insisted.

I gulped. The vampire had been busy. He did the same thing to June as he had to me.

“Look, I barely have enough Shadow mana as it is! I don’t think I’ll be able to vanish an entire extra body if I have to drag you. We’ll get caught and killed.” She said. “You need to accept what you are, Yul. I’m a Shadowmancer and I accept it. You’re a Void mage. Accept yourself. Don’t let these horrible people change who you are!” The foxkin pointed at the passed out pair.

If this was a test of sins, it was very elaborate. I expected Alyssa to rise from her soup and complain that I had White aura that was impervious to greed and pride. Instead, I saw that June was unbelting Alyssa.

“What are you doing?” I blinked.

“What’s it look like I’m doing?” June answered, busy attaching the belt with the Scanner sphere to herself. “The pearl of Inquiry is pretty fucking valuable. I have debts I’ve got to pay off.”

I watched her quickly rummage through the Knight’s pockets, pulling out a gemstone encrusted dagger and what looked like a smaller bag of gold.

“Are you stealing from the church?!” I finally stated.

“Preeeetty slow for a Goddess.” June muttered, unbelting the Knight.

“Are you taking a sword from an Enforcer of Virtue?!” I gasped.

“You bet your juicy, Void ass I am.” June lifted the Knight’s sword, pointing it at me. “Now, start walking or you gets the stabby.”