Kazius would begin to nervously play with his necklace as more kids began to be called one by one in alphabetical order. It really had been altered just so Ron could go first. Yet, still, no one else seemed to be bothered by this.

As the children got their futures revealed, they got all sorts of random things. From baker to gardener… Rather simple things… Then came Alex’s turn.

Alex was excited, the blonde seeming to not think much of what had happened with Ron. He would approach the orb and after entering a daze, he would soon look more than excited.

“I really will become a Knight! A Holy Knight! I looked so cool! I saw myself in an Edict’s Uniform even!” Alex exclaimed happily, looking at Kazius for approval briefly. Which earned him a happy half-smile from the still worried Kazius.

Kazius wanted to be happy for his friend, but it was hard to be with his worries in his head. The Royal Family was allowed to have a few simple Knights, but the real military force of Ratier was with The Church, The Holy Knights.

Among them there was an elite squad called The Order of Edict. There were only 32 of them in total. They also only took 18 squires at a time as well. They were rumored to be incredibly strong, but they were such a rare sight that Kazius had never seen one. The design of the uniform was part of the education in the teachings of The Church, just like those of Priests of different levels. This was all in order to be able to show adequate respect in the event of encountering those of high rank.

More than their uniforms though, what was most famous about them was the fact their numbers had a significance in showing their strength, since they were ranked from 1 to 50. It was a great honor to become one.

Excited, Alex would be escorted away after waving at Kazius, clearly expecting Kazius to be following along soon after… Something Kazius was not so sure on anymore.

More kids went… One by one… Until it was Derek’s turn.

Like the others, he entered a daze, but unlike the others that reacted happily, he looked horrified.

“Well?” High Priest Jordan questioned impatiently, his lips moving to a hint of a smile.

Derek shook his head repeatedly. Not saying a word.

High Priest Jordan scowled at this, “Say what you saw.” He demanded, losing his patience.

“N-No!” Derek exclaimed in panic, “Please, let me try again!” He exclaimed, his eyes tearing up.

Rather than a response though, Derek would receive a heavy hit to the face. High Priest Jordan had another priest hand him a holy staff, using it to strike the poor boy. Of course… Such staffs were supposed to be used for holy magic… But it seemed the staff was strong enough to be used as a blunt weapon as well.

The impact was hard. Derek’s nose began to bleed as he began to sob more.

“Must I repeat myself again?” High Priest Jordan questioned.

“N-No… I… I…” Derek would cry further, collapsing to the ground from both the hit and the sadness, “I-I was shoveling horse poop…. In a stable…”

High Priest Jordan looked pleased at this, taking a napkin, and cleaning the staff from any blood that Derek’s nose has gotten on it. Treating it as if he was simply cleaning some dirt. “Hm… What a fitting job for someone like you… Shoveling shit… No room for growth in such a position… Just shoveling horseshit for the rest of your life… The Oracle truly is just… On your way then… A priest will arrange you with a fitting stable that needs the help.”

With that, Derek would limp away, defeated.

‘This is wrong… But The Church is good… There must be a reason for this…’ Kazius assured himself, he refused to see things as anything other than that. Not wanting to believe his own eyes and ears.

Despite lying to himself, after seeing this, Kazius was more nervous… And for once he wasn’t alone… Gabe… The poor boy looked like he was about to have a heart attack or a panic attack. Maybe even both.

With a whimper, Gabe would head over once his name was eventually called. Like the others, Gabe was dazed for a second after looking into The Oracle… His expression of anguish afterwards showed his fears came true.

“Well? Will you talk about what you saw, or do I have to beat it out of you like I did your friend?” High Priest Jordan questioned, gently tapping the staff against his hand in an unspoken threat.

“Rat catcher…” Gabe stated in dismay. In other words, he would spend his whole life catching pests or trying to find possible pest…

“Surrounded by fifth and rodents… What a fitting position… Once again, The Oracle truly is just… You get to be among your kind, you little vermin… Good for you…” High Priest Jordan stated, allowing himself yet another pleased smile.

As Gabe left, Kazius was feeling terrified.

‘This is bad… It isn’t like he has control over what The Oracle decides… But it seems everyone High Priest Jordan dislikes is bound to have a bad future… Did The Oracle grow displeased with those who insulted his priests? I don’t understand…’

The fact you had to tell them what you saw meant that the priests couldn’t decide or see your future… Only you could see it when you looked into the Oracle. Lying was not possible though…The spell in the room made it so that those in it could only say the truth… Likely a precaution set because the priests had no way of verifying what anyone saw otherwise.

Distracted by his thoughts, Kazius was snapped out of it when he heard his name.

Growing tense, Kazius felt his blood grow cold… A chill running down his back as he internally panicked.

‘The Oracle has to understand I am devoted right? He has to… I… I have to be a knight… At least a Holy Knight…’ Kazius thought to himself as he found himself grasping his necklace so hard his knuckles were turning white.

Yes, things didn’t make sense in Ratier… But as long as he had Alex, his friend, his brother… Kazius would be fine… Or so he tried to assure himself as he approached The Oracle.

It was then Kazius could feel himself enter a daze. The Oracle began to show him something on it’s surface… In fact… He could even hear it as if it were there.

The first thing he saw was not only unexpected, but a startling sight by itself.

Flames and fire… It was everywhere to the point that it was all he could see for a while… Then came a barrage of Demons flying out of a dark black portal, swarming into an army of Holy Knights.

This is where he thought he would see himself, see himself as a Holy Knight, yet instead...There was another army. One filled with Monsters as well as a few Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and even Demons.

Then there at the helm… He could see himself… He was leading them, his eyes shining an ominous different darker shade of red, a confident smirk on his face.... Two fangs showing in his mouth as his smirk widened into a grin… Was that a Werewolf? Is that what the horror stories called them? A woman with the features of a snake… A fox woman… The faces of his comrades were fuzzy and hard to interpret due to Kazius’ limited knowledge of Monsters. There were so many figures he could not identify.

That is where he heard a voice, a very sly and deep voice....

"Kazius.... You... Will be the Breaker of Worlds... The Ruler of the Undead... A Creature of the Night... The Bringer of Destruction... Darkness itself… The Monster King."

After hearing such words, he would be pulled out of his trance. He was in a cold sweat as he collapsed to the ground, ending up on his knees. He was immediately swarmed by not only Priests, but also some Holy Knights standing guard. It seemed his strong reaction had earned him unwanted attention. They were all concerned, considering none of the other children had reacted the way Kazius did.

“What did you see?!” High Priest Jordan demanded, growing more impatient than usual.

That is when Kazius heard the voice again, chuckling into his head.

“Lie.”

‘The Oracle wants me to lie? Why? Won’t that get me caught? Isn’t doing that going against The Church?’ Kazius thought to himself in horror. He felt like he was at the border of a break down… If the vision is true… He was not Human.

Still, He had no choice but to trust The Oracle. The alternative would likely result in…

"Holy Knight...I am to be...A Holy Knight, the greatest of them all... An Edict of a high rank." Kazius managed out, doing his best to hide his total terror.

High Priest Jordan seemed shocked at his words, looking displeased, “I see…” Was all he said, clearly expecting something along the lines of what Gabe and Derek got.

“That is wonderful news! Being shown such a future by The Oracle must be overwhelming for such a devoted believer such as yourself.” Another Priest commented in delight, being surprisingly friendly.

Still, it was shocking… To hear The Oracle himself… And finding out he could freely lie… The Priests of The Oracle were great when it came to magic that forced people to tell the truth… It was their specialty… They even used it on rare occasion in The Orphanage, Kazius had seen it in action against other children… Part of the reason Kazius had never dared lie to a Priest until now… Yet their magic did not work on him… Why? Did it have something to do with the fact he was not Human?

With that, Kazius would be led to where Alex was eagerly waiting, his friend happily greeting him with a big hug. “I knew it! We were chosen by The Oracle!” He exclaimed happily.

Kazius smiled at his friend hesitantly, there was no way he could tell anyone the truth… But it would be okay… Maybe with this lie… He could live a normal life anyway. Yes… Yes, he could… He would manage to become a Holy Knight… He would…

He felt lost, even frightened. The very thing he worshipped told him to become something The Church hated. So Kazius had gone completely in denial to cope with it. Did this make him a heretic? He didn’t know. It wasn’t like he didn’t believe The Oracle… But he was just refusing to accept things.

Of course, he wasn’t stupid … In the back of his mind, he knew to some extent he needed to learn as much as he could… About Holy Knights… Monsters… And even Demons… Because as things were… His life was in danger.

Two things were clear with his vision after all, he was not Human… In other words… If this fact got discovered… He would be dead… And the second thing was… That the Demons would return… And he would be there to oppose them.