Chapter 8: Dr. Mav and Bishop Borker

A beautiful, lavish room contained a man watching a feed from a surveillance white orb on his desk. An expensive grey sash hanged over his shoulder. A mahogany desk in front of him had books on the left and parchment papers on the right. On the wall behind him hanged an enormous portrait of a holy man and woman, and their body formed an elegant cross.

A single knock came from the door, and the white orb gradually faded away at the man’s whim.

“It’s Mav.” A voice called out from behind the door.

“Come in.” The man in front of the desk replied.

Dr. Mav stepped inside wearing his top-to-bottom white coat.

“Good work today.” The man said.

Dr. Mav nodded and approached the desk with a stack of paper in hand.

“Here are the details of the ones still alive thus far.” Dr. Mav placed the stack of paper on the desk.

“Thank you, Dr. Mav. Things have been progressing smoothly. We may see the birth of a new power soon.” The man picked up the stack of papers and examined them one-by-one.

“Soon can’t come fast enough. Once this is all over I’ll be going into hiding. Please search the entire world for other doctors before you come find me again.” Dr. Mav said.

“You’ve done your part, so relax and enjoy your life as a spectator.” The man pleasantly said.

“Wouldn’t that be nice?” Dr. Mav shook his head. “Anyway, do you really believe this will work? It didn’t work the last time.”

“Have some faith, doctor.” The man said.

“I have a lot of faith, but only in myself. I find it hard to believe this will work if something doesn’t change.” Dr. Mav said.

“Must I tell you about June’s Cup again?” The man asked.

“You can tell me a thousand times, and I still won’t believe it until I see it exist.” Dr. Mav replied.

“Oh, but the last few times I try to tell you, you cut me off before I even finished.” The man said.

“And? If you tell me the entire story, will anything change?” Dr. Mav asked.

“Probably not.” The man denied. “But if what I say interest you, wouldn’t you go out and find the truth? Maybe then you will start believing in August’s letter.” The man said.

“Humor me.” Dr. Mav said.

“Are you familiar with purgatory?” The man asked.

“I only know what everyone knows. Purgatory is what believers tell adults to dissuade them from living a criminal life.” Dr. Mav answered.

“And what is purgatory to you?” The man asked.

“Hard to say when I don’t believe in it. I guess my best answer would be the common answer: the hole you fall into after death. Some even say sinners are trapped here before they go to heaven.” Dr. Mav answered.

“Yes. I believed that too, until recently. Although the truth doesn’t seem to trail off too far.” The man said.

“What are you saying?” Dr. Mav asked.

“The Church of Salvation was founded by the ideal of a benevolent man who tried to save all of our brothers and sisters.” The man said. “He saw the world in all of its cruelty and depravity, and lived his mortal life to correct the wickedness in our soul.”

“The Gospel of August and June...” Dr. Mav said.

“Yes. All the mortal could see was the tainted colors of our sins. June fell in love with him after watching him for so long, but she knew that what he wanted to achieve couldn’t be done in a mortal’s lifetime. Upon his deathbed she created the hole known as purgatory before departing from the mortal realm. And in it, every sinner will be trapped until her lover can cure their wickedness.” The man placed the stack of paper on his desk.

“So that’s the story behind purgatory… But I still don’t get it. This is just a story passed down from eras ago. I would even say that it has been thinned from the origin after so many years.” Dr. Mav said.

“A story has to start somewhere, no?” The man asked.

“Borker, I took you for a man of greed, not a fairytale believer.” Dr. Mav slapped his forehead and laughed.

“Well, what do people usually say… seeing is believing?” Bishop Borker smiled.

Dr. Mav thought it was a joke at first, but upon seeing the confidence behind that smile, his eyes grew solemn.

“It’s real?” Dr. Mav asked.

Bishop Borker passed a parchment scroll sitting on his desk to Dr. Mav.

“If you really want to confirm its existence, then come.” Bishop Borker replied.

Dr. Mav broke the seal on the parchment scroll and read its content:

“Thank you to all patronage and various aids. None of this would have been possible without your support. As a way to thank you, our finale will be a stage on August 18 for you to catch a glimpse of the future. We cordially invite you to see a mysterious and new power that none have ever witness before. Come and invigorate your life.”

“…A few days after the end of my contract.” Dr. Mav was conflicted.

“Interested?” Bishop Borker asked.

“I really am, but it’s not enough to keep me here.” Dr. Mav laughed. “I’ll leave at the end date of our contract, and I hope to see the funds in there by then. Perhaps I’ll do as you say: live at ease and enjoy the show.”

He looked at the stack of papers. “I get the gist so far, but I don’t see why you would choose from them. The stronger the body is, the better the outcome, no?”

“Magic is, in essence, extremely complex and limitless. By using mana, a person can create anything they want with their minds.” Bishop Borker said. “Wouldn’t you agree, Dr. Mav?”

“There have been magical applications in my study, but I’ve never delved too deep since I can’t use it.” Dr. Mav replied. “But from what I’ve heard so far, yes, I would agree.”

“At the same time that it is limitless and complex, it can also be limited and simple. The freedom of creation comes at the burden of the user’s mental capabilities.” Bishop Borker took a paper from the stack and placed it in front of Dr. Mav.

The paper had detailed information on a girl named “Priscilla.” Her age, height, blood pressure, blood type, and weight were listed in a clean, easy-to-read format.

“I remember this girl. She came into the medical ward a few days ago with Logan. After talking to her and performing a complete diagnostic, I found out that she suffered from prosopagnosia. It seems that her inability to recognize faces aids in her mental health from all the killing she’s done.” Dr. Mav said.

“That’s not all it does.” Bishop Borker commented.

“Go on.” Dr. Mav said.

“Anyone who can conjure fire with magic are able to do so because fire is a commonality in our life. We can feel the heat of fire, see it, hear it, and smell it. With the power of imagination, mana, and information from our senses, we can conjure it. But an average adult who goes through their entire life without being expose to fire cannot conjure it.” Bishop Borker explained. “Why do you think that is?”

“I see. Seems like you utilize your time at the academy wisely. So you’re saying to conjure fire, you have to know what it is.” Dr. Mav said.

“I didn’t study far off from the basics though. Ripping people of their money is far much easier.” Bishop Borker said. “But if you take what I just said and apply it to a different concept, then what would happen?”

“In this case… prosopagnosia…” Dr. Mav gulped.

“Exactly. Even I don’t know what kind of magic will be born from this. Elderly scholars suffer from a similar illness, but they’ve all succumbed to it. Yet, here we are, a young girl who still has her mind in-tact for the most part.” Bishop Borker said. “Fascinating, don’t you think?”

“Scary would be the first word to come to my mind.” Dr. Mav replied. “And all of this is for the war?

“August once said that a soul isn’t inherently evil, it only became evil when tainted with mortal desire. To save everyone in the world we must start with the first step: send them to purgatory.” Bishop Borker smiled. “It would be exciting to see how a few cats and dogs play against lions and tigers.”

“I don’t know if you believe in karma, but it sounds like you’re piling up a big one.” Dr. Mav commented.

“I have faith that August will overlook every bad deed I’ve done with what will soon occur.” Bishop Borker said.

The door flung open and a man dressed in a patient’s robe stormed in. His head was completely wrapped by many long strips of white cloth, leaving two slits open for his eyes to see. He stomped his foot with a ton of frustration as he marched towards the desk.

“Bishop Traitin, you’ve recovered?” Bishop Borker asked.

“Hell no! That damn kid cut my face and wore it as his own! Take him off the list! Let me torture him the same way he did to me!” Bishop Traitin roared. His voice was muffled by the cloth, but the intensity of his rage couldn’t be held back.

“Patient Traitin, you should go back to bed.” Dr. Mav suggested.

“How long will it take for him to recover, Dr. Mav?” Bishop Borker asked.

“He wouldn’t let me do anything.” Dr. Mav replied.

“I’m not letting your damn hands or your student near my face ever again!” Bishop Traitin shouted.

“You’ve interfered once. Be glad that this is your punishment. The Lord had mercy on your soul.” Bishop Borker said.

“Mercy? Mercy!? My face is gone! GONE!” Bishop Traitin shouted and slammed the desk.

“You’re still alive, aren’t you? Besides, I haven’t reported this to Archbishop Helloven because I believe you won’t make the same mistake twice. But if you have truly lost your way and your faith has waned, then this is truly troubling. As a fellow Bishop brother, I have to report it for your sake.” Bishop Borker said.

“No…” Bishop Traitin clutched his teeth and backed up from the table.

“Relax. The two inmates who did this to you have been locked inside their cells. The most I can do is move them up the list. If they survive the ceremony, then we’ll break their minds and control them as we please. If they fail the ceremony, then they’ll die on the spot.” Bishop Borker said. “Sounds good for you, Bishop Traitin?”

Bishop Traitin stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut.

“I was wondering what happened to Pontiff.” Dr. Mav said. “So that’s where he’s been.”

“Your workload has tremendously decreased from before. I believe losing him won’t be a problem.” Bishop Borker said.

“Having him help around was really helpful. But from a thousand patients to a few -- I think I’ll manage on my own.” Dr. Mav said.

“Good.” Bishop Borker commented.

“Well then, I’ll come visit once more at the end date of our contract.” Dr. Mav left the room.