“Aah… this is boring,” Higure yawned whilst sprawled on one of the many rows of benches around her. She looked up at the high ceiling, where she could see colorful stained glass depicting a story like the ones you’d see in a Church.

“Weren’t you the one who said she wanted to see what one of the Basilicas of Eternal Night looked like?” Nyx retorted as she sat on her knees, her hands resting on her lap. She had her eyes closed and black lightning was faintly coiling around her body.

In front of her, a peculiar ‘totem’ was erected. A wooden black eight-branched cross, a silver skull embedded in the center, and chains held in its teeth; it was the Kind Demon’s Cross.

“Still, that’s a weird icon,” the lioness raised her voice, gazing at the cross that was big enough to make her crank her neck to observe it in full. “I never quite understood. The cross, the skull, the chains… what is that supposed to represent? It sounds silly but cryptic on sight. Mostly because it’s so confusing, honestly. What about you? Do you have an idea?”

Nyx opened one eye to glance at her before focusing on the cross. “I’m not sure either… The cross shape is probably nothing much in itself. The basic religious intent of it has existed even before Christianity. In fact, I would say that even the skull isn’t worth mentioning. After all, Eternal Night was a Life Hunter. It’s merely a simple connotation. Instead, I would say that the true crux is…”

“The chains being bitten,” a new voice suddenly joined in, and the two women looked over their shoulders to see an elderly man walk toward them from the entrance. He wore an embroidered black and white robe with the cross of Eternal Night hanging from his neck as a pendant. Both of the girls could sense the vast power he exuded.

“You are…?” Higure fixed her posture a bit while Nyx stood up.

“He’s the archbishop I mentioned last time, Lacros Hortensia,” the goddess replied. “The one who suggested me to try another perspective for my magic.”

“Ah,” the lioness exclaimed in recognition and the old man smiled.

“Hm, it seems you’ve overcome your bottleneck,” he said whilst inspecting Nyx’s lightning.

She nodded silently, her hand gathering the Aeter around her. “Yes, thank you for the advice last time. I did find my answer by asking someone who knew Eternal Night.”

“Oh?” The archbishop raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “It sounds as if you found someone other than Karaskan… am I correct in my assumption?”

Nyx smiled faintly as she dispelled her magic. “That’s a secret.”

Lacros chuckled. “I suppose I shouldn’t expect any less from the Eternal Maiden.”

“Hey, wait,” Higure spoke up. “Can you explain what you said while coming in just now?”

“Oh, that?” He smiled good-naturedly, not taking any offense to her informality. He approached the cross and placed his hand on it. “As you know, this cross you see here is a replica. One that we made based on the original. If you had seen the latter, you would have understood,” he paused and looked up at the skull.

“Even to this day, some of our clergy get scared by the real one. Don’t get me wrong; it’s not about the energy it exudes. Rather… the clattering sounds that one can hear when they have their back turned to it,” the archbishop’s smile widened. “I tried it myself. The most daunting aspect of it is that no matter how fast you look back, nothing has moved.”

The lioness fell silent for a few seconds, “And that’s part of the conclusion you arrived at I assume?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “I must say that I’ve always wondered; the chains connected to the cross are all binding it to the ground. But before that, they’re pooled within the skull’s mouth and pressed tight by the teeth. You’ve got to ask yourself; is the cross being tied to the ground, or is the skull the one locking the two together like a coacher pulling the ropes?”

“What are you implying? That this cross is self-coercing?”

The elderly man laughed lightly and waved his hand. “How about this? I will show you something so let’s turn around for a moment,” he said and distanced himself from the cross a bit before facing his back toward it. “Come on, don’t just stand there,” he added and the two women looked at each other before standing next to him.

“Now, whatever happens, do not look back,” he stated, and on cue, his aura erupted and filled the hall in an instant. Higure and Nyx shuddered as they saw black lightning, not unlike the Eternal Night Magic they were used to seeing, but with a white outline and an oddly soothing presence.

‘Certainly… that Aeter lacks the mark of the original one,’ Nyx thought. ‘That’s what they meant by mine being authentic. His is a variant; mutated to some extent. However, I can tell that even the Kind Demon himself would be proud. To reach this far without the complete form… impressive.’

As she was thinking about that, she noticed that the lightning was moving toward the cross, which they were unable to see. Then, it happened; a metallic noise resounded. It was oddly soft, but the intermittent screeches of grinding metal made her wince.

Aside from the archbishop, the two women were having a hard time resisting the urge to turn back and hopefully clear up the chills crawling up their spines.

Lacros smiled at that and eventually stopped his lightning. As he did so, the sounds stopped and the girls quickly jumped a few steps away from the cross whilst pivoting. Once they saw that the cross had not changed in the slightest, they sighed in relief.

“What the hell was that…?” Higure uttered, wiping her sweat.

“Yes, I would also like to know,” Nyx scowled. “Didn’t you say that this was a simple replica?”

The old man snorted. “I did. I merely gave it a kickstart. In this world, symbols and identity have power. Even drawing the cross on paper would have an effect if you inject the appropriate energy into it. The existential weight of Eternal Night is high enough to transform anything about him into a crude magic formation. What you just experienced was a temporary simulation of the original cross that I created by sharing some of my Aeter with the replica.”

Higure huffed. “Well, that was a bit too unsettling for my taste. Do you all really worship the person behind that cross without fear?” She asked. Despite knowing very well from Rakna that Arimane was not an evil being in any manner, what she just felt cemented one fact. That man was a monster of untold magnitudes.

“Without fear? Of course not,” Lacros retorted. “Eternal Night does not promise anything to his believers. He has no doctrines, core principles, or a sacred afterlife. If anything, he has the greatest netherworld,” he added with a chuckle. “No, lady. We do fear him. But in fear, we find respect. In respect, we find admiration. And as such, we follow. He is powerful and has reached heights that incite respect in his enemies. That is the kind of God Eternal Night is.”

“As for those…” His voice trailed as he glanced at the chains. “I like to think of them as a struggle.”

“A struggle?” Nyx reiterated in confusion.

“Yes, the idea of struggle, to be exact. It is the chains that weigh down the world. The Kind Demon is the symbol of them being shattered. When you turn your back, he devours them for you and you remain blissfully unaware. However, there are times when the skull drops the chains…”

“…and when is that?” Higure urged him on and he grinned.

“When there is something more urgent to bite of course,” he said laughingly. “If you see them being released, it means the cross is about to purge a struggle rising before them instead.”

“Uh-uh,” the lioness responded. “In short, you all follow a God whose dogma is to follow his whims and destroy whatever stands in the way of the betterment of his vision of the world,” she uttered blankly, until a smirk graced her features, her fangs in full view. “Can’t say I dislike it.”

Lacros closed his eyes with a hum. “I’m happy to hear it. I would be happy to welcome you into our ranks if you wish so. A friend of the Eternal Maiden is a friend to all of us.”

“I’ll pass,” Higure snorted. “Not that your organization doesn’t sound interesting, but all the faith that my mind could possibly produce is already directed at someone else,” she said with a sincere tone. “Love is the highest degree of faith, after all, isn’t it?”

Nyx blinked and her eyes widened slightly at the lioness’ abrupt confession. The latter gave her a glance in return and shrugged with a calm expression, not hiding for even a second who she might have been referring to.

“Hahaha, I see. I envy you; what a beautiful faith that is indeed,” Lacros said with a nod. “Treasure it. Those kinds of things must be held tight and forever preserved. No matter its end.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Higure snickered.

The archbishop smiled and his eyes abruptly shifted somewhere else, seemingly peering through the walls of the basilica. “Oh… that’s quite interesting,” he muttered.

“Is something wrong?” Nyx asked, confused about what he was looking at. Neither she nor Higure had sensed anything warranting his sudden change of focus.

“Well, if it is wrong or not, I have no idea,” Lacros hummed. ‘An Adjudicator…? In the middle of the city and so quietly? And with quite an interesting presence next to it…’ He thought.

“Something happening outside?” Higure asked and he nodded.

“Indeed. And I’m sure you will learn of it very soon. That unique presence is telling of who it may be,” he said with a chuckle. “On this note, before we part, would you like me to tell you something else about our Basilica?”

“Yes?”

“It’s about a prophecy,” the archbishop crossed his arms behind his back. “Much like the one that announced your arrival, Eternal Maiden, there is another that describes a special individual who appears at the same time as you. Someone…” His eyes narrowed. “Very close to Eternal Night.”

Higure and Nyx stiffened and looked at each other.

“I see… so, you knew about him after all, huh?” The lioness raised an eyebrow. “I guess there’s no harm or even surprise in your organization knowing that. But… what’s that prophecy about?”

Lacros snickered softly. “A simple affair, really. The prophecies we hear by tapping into the faith we created for Eternal Night are always quite straightforward. They aren’t detailed, just like every other prophecy out there, but there’s nothing flowery about it either. Perhaps it is due in part to the Kind Demon’s personality.”

“So, hear this,” he declared and gazed at the two women. “‘The Eternal Maiden of Elysium will find herself stranded in Systemakva. Together with her, the Kind Demon’s Kin will follow. He will rise and conquer; he is your liberator and your last chance… to survive long and well.’”