After returning to The Orphanage, Kazius had a lot on his mind. From the way the parade was conducted to the Princess… Of course, not once did he dare voice his thoughts. Instead, Alex and him packed their belongings while chatting, which was not many.

It wasn’t like the generous Church would kick them out… But they very much were not allowed back into The Orphanage once their future was told. Instead, they would have to go wherever it made sense to, depending on The Oracle’s wishes.

Kazius’ heart was very troubled though. What if The Oracle felt his doubts? What if he couldn’t become a Knight? He wanted to be with his brother, his friend… Sure they did not see eye to eye all the time, but he was all Kazius had.

‘Alex cares about me… And The Church may do questionable things… But they are good. They guard the truth.’

That was a mantra Kazius repeated to himself repeatedly mentally.

After packing and lunch, it was time for the 15-year-old children to clean The Orphanage from top to bottom on their own. It had to be spotless. It was how they could repay their debt for being treated so well.

It was exhausting work, but they all managed to get it done before lights out and time to be locked in their rooms for the night… It did come at a cost though. The mandatory cleaning of such a big building was not easy. The children found themselves having to skip dinner… Which was a shame considering it was a feast day and they were supposed to get a whole baked potato.

‘Oh well…’

Though Kazius could not help but notice he did not run into Ron once while cleaning… They all were supposed to participate in it together… But Kazius wasn’t sure he saw him even cleaning one thing… Which made the fact he saw him head into the cafeteria for dinner all the more noteworthy.

Kazius paid no mind though. After all, stuff like this was not rare and none of the other children ever said anything about it. Besides, tomorrow was a big day… And someone like Ron would never become a priest.

Sleep would not come easy, but Kazius did manage to get some rest.

The next day everyone seemed to get up pretty early, even himself. After all, not only were the boys in the room rowdier than ever, but he himself was more anxious and excited than ever. Not to mention, they were all starving from skipping dinner.

“I can’t wait for breakfast…” Kazius sighed out.

“How can you think about food? We get to see The Oracle in person, and he will show us our future!” Alex exclaimed, seeming to be very energetic despite being just as hungry as Kazius.

Just as Alex finished speaking, High Priest Jordan would walk in, making the room fully silent. This time Derek was perfectly still with his shirt tucked and Gabe did not even dare look at the priest in the eyes.

“Seems you all have finally learned…” High Priest Jordan sneered, yet again not uttering even a hello.

“Since you are now all officially 15, you are no longer The Church’s responsibility. You will not receive breakfast today. It is your responsibility to feed yourselves from now on. Though do not worry. We are very generous, so wherever you get assigned, we will make sure you end up at an appropriate location depending on your future.” He stated dryly.

Of course, The children knew better than to voice their displeasure at the news of no breakfast. Hungry or not, none of them wanted to be sent to Priestess Rosette.

“Now go line up in the hallway with all the other children. I will take you to the Cathedral myself. Feel honored.” High Priest Jordan stated before leaving, not bothering to acknowledge the children any further now that he said what he wanted.

Of course, the children did as told. Out in the hallway all the children from the other rooms looked to be struggling with their hunger just as much as them. All except Ron of course. Kazius did not bother saying anything on the matter though. He would get reprimanded by The Oracle for sure.

Once High Priest Jordan had all the children lined up quietly in the hallway, he would stand at the front of the line.

“Stay in line and follow me… If you get left behind or fall out of line… You don’t want to know what happens.” High Priest Jordan warned sternly, his glare as cold as ever.

Of course, all of them knew better and did just that. Despite their hunger and exhaustion, they walked with almost military like discipline despite their age.

The Cathedral was not hard to spot. It would have been easy to see even if they had been far, which they weren’t. The Orphanage was quite close to The Cathedral and The Palace. Both of which were massive buildings that were more than imposing. While the palace had elegant architecture that radiated status, The Cathedral was a much bigger building with so much gold and jewels used as decoration that it made the parade yesterday seem almost like child’s play.

Kazius felt like if he did not know anything about Ratier, it would be almost easy to mistake The Cathedral for the real palace.

Kazius did not think more on the matter for too much. He was honestly too hungry to think, at this point a part of him wanted The Ceremony over with. It seemed he was not alone in this. Even the kids that came from across The Kingdom of Ratier, already lined up after likely just arriving from the generous transportation provided by the Church… All of them seemed anxious, tired, and hungry. The line went around and around… Who knew how long they would be there for…

With that, Kazius and the other Orphans would make their way inside the Cathedral. The marble and gold inside were just as luxurious. There were many priests inside, each dressed more finely than the next. From Arch Priests to High Priests, they were personally attending to the ceremony, motioning the children towards the heart of The Cathedral. The Chamber of The Oracle.

The Chamber of The Oracle was a great hall of marble, with pillars standing tall up to the high ceiling. The room was lavish, but pure white. Despite the fact there was not a candle nor magic light orb in sight, the place was well lit. Illuminated by The Oracle Orb itself. A shining crystal ball that stood on a pedestal. It was almost like walking into a room in heaven itself.

The Ceremony was supposed to be a joyous event, yet not a single one of the priests were smiling. In fact, their gazes were imposing, tense… And full of suspicion.

High Priest Jordan would finally speak again, turning towards the children with a cold glare. “I will call your name and you will approach The Oracle and look into it. Then you will be able to see a vision of the future… You must truthfully disclose what you see… You cannot lie in the presence of The Oracle… The Pope himself casted a spell so that you will only be able to tell the truth here. Understood? When you are done, a priest will escort you out.” He stated. Despite the question, the children understood High Priest Jordan did not actually want an answer.

“Now step up, Ron.” High Priest Jordan stated.

‘So… We are not going in alphabetical order?’ Kazius wondered mentally, unsure why Ron got to go first.

As Ron approached The Oracle, he would suddenly grow still as if in a daze, seeing something in the orb.

“Well?” High Priest Jordan questioned impatiently. At which Ron would simply grin smugly.

“Was there any doubt? Of course, I will be a Priest… I even saw myself as a High Priest.” Ron stated proudly, much to Kazius’ horror.

Priest of The Oracle were supposed to guard the truth, be honorable and just… Yet the biggest bully and liar in The Orphanage would become one? Kazius suppressed his anguish, many questions flooding his mind, but he just attempted to reassure himself with his usual mantra about The Church being good.

High Priest Jordan would allow himself a satisfied smirk, “I knew you had what it takes. You remind me a lot of a younger me.” He stated, pleased.

With that Ron would look at Kazius with a wicked yet smug expression out of the corner of his eye, following another Priest out.

Kazius could not help but frown, looking over at High Priest Jordan who seemed to turn back to the children, his gaze meeting Kazius briefly with a sneer. It seems Ron made good on his threat. He must have told High Priest Jordan about how he defended Gabe and Derek.