By the time they arrived at the cathedral, the sun was up in the sky and Anton had managed to recover a little bit from the shock he had previously felt, which had also helped the other two relax a little bit too.

From up close, the cathedral looked even more amazing, especially with the sunlight reflecting from the incredible stained glass windows.

On top of the main entrance, there was a statue of a woman carrying a sword on one hand and a balance on the other.

“Lady Justice?” He asked. “Like on Earth?”

“Yeah, she looks similar,” Said Clara. “But she is called Menphis, she is the goddess of law and order, and she is the reason why there is such a big line to enter the cathedral.”

A long line of people, surrounded by guards, were slowly moving up the stairs, walking towards the building.

“Criminals?” Asked Anton.

“Yes.” Said Morgan. “All suspected criminals are brought here to the Menphis Altar. There they will place their hands on top of a stone similar to the sensing stone, but that will show if they are guilty or not of the crime they are being accused of.”

“Oh…” Said Anton. “So, every god has a stone on their altar that gives some kind of information?”

“As a matter of fact, yes.” Said Clara. “The Sensing Stone is actually a part of the altar to the goddess I follow, Lady Alya, remember? The goddess of records and information?”

“Makes sense.” He said, shrugging, he still didn’t buy into the whole ‘Gods are Real’ thing, especially now that he knew Clara was but another NPC.

“Come on you slug!” Yelled one of the guards, kicking a prisoner who had fallen to the ground. “Move!”

The man tried to stand up, but his legs failed him and he fell to the ground. He began crying.

Anton gave one step towards the man to help him stand up, but he was stopped by Morgan.

“Let him. I know it may seem rough, but if he is here is because he is suspected of something, and common criminals aren’t brought here, just those that are suspected of having committed dangerous crimes.”

Anton looked at him and nodded. He had experienced several cultural shocks today, so he immediately understood that that man was probably a dangerous criminal, not just a petty thief.

“But I haven’t done anything!” Yelled the man trying to clean his face with a hand that looked broken. “I haven’t… Ugh!”

The guard kicked him once more and grabbed him from his broken arm, making him scream in pain.

“Stand up you fucking murderer!” The guard yelled. “We shouldn’t even give the likes of you this opportunity, we should just ki…”

The guard never finished speaking, as Anton appeared behind him and put his right hand around the man’s neck.

“Electro charge…” He said, his voice grim and serious.

His hand lit up with energy, which crackled as it found its way into the guard’s body, making him fall to the ground, unconscious.

Anton got down on his knees and smiled to the prisoner with the broken arm.

“Hey John.”

“A-Anton?” Said the man.

“You look like shit man.” He said as he helped his friend sit on the steps with his back against the railing.

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” Said John, trying to smile as tears ran down his cheeks, but failing. “It’s been so bad An, they tortured me… for days…”

“Don’t worry man, it will be better now…”

The other guards, who had been looking at the scene without managing to comprehend what was happening, finally moved towards Anton.

“What the fuck is happening here!” Said one.

“Stand down or we will attack you!” Said another.

A group of five guards started to get closer to Anton, all of them with their spears pointed towards him.

“Wait!” Yelled Morgan. “He’s a Traveller! He doesn’t know what he is doing!”

“He could be the King’s son himself for all I care!” Said one of the five guards. “But the moment he attacks one of the guards and helps one of the prisoners, he becomes nothing more than a criminal!”

Noticing that the man was higher than him on the line of command, Morgan was forced to not intervene.

Anton, who had been looking at his friend to check the extent of his wounds, noticed that his friend’s eyes where now a light colour of blue, almost white. Anton stood up slowly and turned around.

“Ah…” He said as the air around him crackled with small electric sparks. “It’s good that you are all here… I would very much appreciate it if you could point me to the fucker that broke MY BEST FRIEND’S ARM!”

He felt the magical energy on his lower back propagate throughout his body, creating small arcs of electricity that popped out of his skin and moved towards the ground. His hair stood up as static sparks flew around him.

Congratulations!

After meeting the necessary requirements, you have learned the electric ability ‘Electro Surge’, an ability that improves the electric connections within the body enhancing speed and body control. Physical attacks while on this state carry a possibility of stunning the enemy.

Administrator.

One of the guards moved his spear menacingly towards Anton.

“I don’t know what you are doing boy, but if you don’t stop it now, we will attack…”

“I get it… you won’t tell me…” Said Anton on a low voice. “So I’ll take you all responsible!”

Anton waved the window away as he began to move, completely ignoring the guard’s order.

“What!?” Said one of the guards as Anton closed the distance between them faster than he could react.

Anton sped past the spear and planted a heavy punch on the guard’s mostly uncovered face, sending him to the ground, stunned.

He turned around and began moving towards the second guards leaving a trail of electrical energy behind him, ready to fight against every guard.

“Stop!” Yelled Clara, releasing a wave of mana that disrupted Anton’s Electro Surge, stopping it, and knocking out two out of the other four guards that where fighting Anton and John behind him.

She looked at Anton.

“What are you doing!?” She said.

“He is my friend.” He answered, trying to contain his growing anger; he knew that he didn’t have any opportunity against Clara. “And they tortured him!”

“Are you sure he is your friend!? He could be anybody! You just arrived here a week ago! You don’t have friends in here! Or were you lying when you said you came from earth!?”

“I grew up with him! He comes from fucking earth too!” Yelled Anton, sparks beginning to form around him once again.

His anger was the only thing keeping him conscious against Clara’s strong mana pressure.

Clara stopped and glared at John, who had fallen unconscious under her heavy mana pressure.

“Are you sure he’s from earth?” She said, doubtful.

“What do you fucking want, some fucking dog tags around his neck telling you where he’s from? That I materialize a fucking letter telling you that he’s from earth? I lived with him for 4 years; I should be fucking able to recognize my best friend…”

“But… you never said anything about other travellers…” Even she was beginning to fear Anton’s incredible anger.

“I knew there were others, but I had no idea where they were of if I was ever going to be able to meet them again either, so I just kept quiet about it.”

A group of people had gathered around them and where looking at both of them fight. Most of them recognized Clara as the King’s Counsellor and they were amazed by the ability of this strange young to face her without falling unconscious.

“Ok, if he is your friend,” She said, sensing that nothing good would come from continuing this fight. “That means he is a traveller as well, so both of you fall into the King’s jurisdiction and we will take care of him from now on so he can recover.”

“But my Lady.” Said one of the guards. “He is suspected of murder, we found him outside the walls, inside the forest, next to a dead woman.”

“What!” Yelled Anton, making the guard to retreat. “Are you saying my friend is a killer!?”

“Calm down Anton.” Said Morgan. “We are here, we can see if what they are saying is true or not.”

“There is no need for any fucking stone; I know John wouldn’t do that.”

“Yes, and I trust your knowledge about him.” Continued Morgan using a soothing voice. “But if you really want for him to be able to rest, we need these gentlemen to believe in him too.”

Anton looked to the guards around him, some still pointing their spears at him out of fear.

He turned around and lifted his friend from the ground by putting his good arm around his neck. He then pointed to the guard in the floor, the one he had knocked out with electricity before.

“You should take care of him, he will be alright, I just knocked him out, didn’t use enough electricity to fry his brain...” He said.

The guards shuddered.

Clara, who had finally managed to calm down, managed to stop releasing her mana pressure.

“Now,” Said Anton. “Where is this fucking justice stone or whatever it is that you were talking about?”

-----------------------------------------------

The inside of the cathedral was as elegant and grandiose as the outside, with a central hall filled with people sitting and praying towards the 20 statues of the gods in the back end of the building and 20 smaller rooms which lead into the sanctuaries of each god.

It was on these rooms where each specific stone was placed.

They entered the first room to the right of the entrance. It had a big statue similar to the one outside of the cathedral, a circular stone around 2 feet tall with writing carved into it and a small stone box next to it.

Clara deposited a silver coin in the box and waited. After a few seconds the coin disappeared and the writing on the stone started to shine.

“So the gods charge money now?” Asked Anton, sarcastically.

He was still burning with anger due to the state his friend was in.

“That’s not how it is. The money is only payment for the priests that channel the energy of the Gods into the stone.”

Anton only smirked.

John, who had woken up but was having problems to stand due to his poor physical state, was helped by Anton and Morgan up to the stone.

“What do I… have to… do?” He asked, tired.

“Just place your hand over the stone and it will do the rest of the work.” Answered Morgan.

John raised his good arm and placed his hand against the rock.

The writing shimmered and changed, moving to and from John’s hand, writing several things on the stone as it moved.

“Wow…” Said Clara. “That’s the first time I’ve seen Manphis say so much…”

“What… What does it say?” Asked John.

“I’m not… sure…” Said Anton. “I’m still not very fluent on this country’s language…”

“That’s not the Alarian language,” Said Morgan. “That’s the Old Language the Gods use to communicate with. I’m not that good at it, but from what I can read it says that you are not guilty, so that clears his name.” Said Morgan. “But it also says you feel guilty even though you shouldn’t. It says that you don’t have to feel that way and that she was the one to choose her fate… I think… Does that make any sense to you?”

“Yes,” Said John and looked at Anton. “I was with Sarina, she… She killed herself thinking it would bring her back to Earth…”

“Sorry to interrupt but, whom is this Sarina?” Asked Clara.

“She was one of my classmates, like John.” Said Anton.

John looked down to the floor and let his hand slip down the stone.

“The guards arrived shortly after I found her… she had cut her wrists; I was covered in her blood from trying to help her. I told them what had happened, but they didn’t believe me and brought me in here… the rest you can’t gather from how I look…”

“John…” Said Anton. He could barely imagine what his friend had gone through.

The stone shined once more and the writing changed again. Anton looked at the writing.

“What does that say?” He asked. “Isn’t it finished?”

“Should be,” Said Clara. “But it is acting strange.”

“Menphis also says…” Explained Morgan. “ That you have the… shine? Sorry, those are not words I’m familiar with…”

“That means he has divine light inside him…” Said one of the priests that were walking around the cathedral while looking at John who was barely able to stand with a look that almost felt like devotion. “And it also says the Great Menphis has chosen you as one of her Champions…”

“A champion of Menphis!” Said Clara, her eyes lightning up the same way as they had done when he saw Anton. “That’s incredible!”

Anton looked at his friend and smiled.

“See? Told you things were going to get better, no one would dare attack a champion of a goddess here.”

But John wasn’t hearing, he had fallen asleep again and slumped to the floor.

“He needs to rest.” Said Anton, turning around as he spoke to Clara. “Can you arrange something?”

“Yes, of course.” She said. “Sorry for my behaviour before, but you acted irrationally.”

“I know.” He said. “But seeing him like that, it just, I don’t know, I felt something growing inside me and I fell into a fit of rage… He is like a brother to me…”

“Don’t worry too much about it, that was probably due to your element, when fire users fall into rage they tend to lose themselves on it, and giving that electricity is a mix between air and fire it probably had something to do with it.

“That… kind of makes sense…” He said. “I don’t normally lose my temper so easily…”

Clara smiled and turned to Morgan.

“Morgan, can you arrange that Sir John is taken to the Castle and treated?”

“Yes Milady.” Said Morgan bowing.

A few minutes later a squad of guards arrived with medical equipment and took John back to the castle.

Anton began to walk after them, but Clara took his arm and spoke to him.

“I know that you would like to follow him to see that he is alright, especially after he told you that one of your classmates is dead, but we still need to do what we came to do today.”

“Ah, yes.” He said. “The Sensing Stone, let’s get that over with so I can check on John.”