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Knock Knock Knock

I yawned, opening one eye to look at the light as it just started to peek in the window.

Knock Knock Knock

I grunted, pushing myself up on the bed. A glance told me that Ceru was still asleep along with Khi while Jericho was nowhere to be found.

Knock Knock Knock

“I’m coming!” I grumbled a little more gruffly than I would have at any other hour.

I opened the door to discover a man in a red robe with a scowl. “It’s about time! Initiates to the cause are expected to be up with the morning star. Now, make yourself presentable. You are going to meet the Cardinal today.”

I yawned again. “Who exactly are you?”

He scoffed. “My name is Archibald Regulus Gerard Hollywood. You’d do well to remember my name. I am to be your keeper from here on out.”

“Argh?” I asked, trying my best not to laugh.

“I beg your pardon?” He screamed in a voice so high that it cracked.

“Please keep it down over there?” Ceru asked, burying her head under the pillow.

“A.R.G.H.” I replied, chuckling. “Your name spells argh. Please tell me this isn’t the first time you’ve noticed.”

“Of course, I’ve noticed, you insolent cur,” Archibald grumbled. “Tell your woman to get out of bed this instant. Her re-education is set to begin before breakfast, and where is your spawn? I don’t see her.”

I willed Cornerstone into a blade and pressed it to Archibald’s throat in an instant. A cold sweat appeared on his brow and he stammered. “I-if you k-k-k-kill me, they will kick you out of this p-p-place. I beg of you. Show mercy.”

“Promise to never call my daughter that again,” I growled, glaring at him as I took the blade away from his throat.

“I swear,” he whimpered, clutching his throat as he backed away. “Regardless, it’s imperative that you get ready. The Cardinal doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

I turned around and scooped up my clothes off the floor. Normally, I’d have grabbed a fresh set from my bag but I was too irritated at Archibald to do anything he might find appropriate. He waited impatiently as I prepared.

“But, your wife, Sir,” he said as I closed the door behind me. “She needs to get-“

I cut him off. “She’s not part of this. I am the one who’s joining. Leave my family out of it.”

“But,” he started, cowering under my glare. “I don’t think that’s allowed.”

I sighed. “What should I call you? Argh might sound like I’m groaning, even though that’s what you make me want to do. How about Archie? Yes, I think I’ll call you Archie.”

Archie didn’t like that one bit. He trudged behind a few paces as he tried to explain decorum. “You’re supposed to call me Brother Regulus Gerard Hollywood.”

“That’s a mouthful,” I laughed. “Nobody would call you that.”

“Good morning, Brother Regulus Gerard Hollywood,” a man in a ragged brown robe said as we passed.

I gaped at him in stunned silence for a moment. “You planned that, didn’t you?”

He shook his head, seeming to worry he might anger me. “No. That’s how things work here. You need to figure that out or you might upset the wrong people.”

“Who might that be?” I asked as we approached what I’d taken to calling The Church.

The stained glass windows of the demon gave the building an ominous presence, one that I didn’t associate with a place of worship. Archie pushed the doors open in silence and gave me a wide berth as I entered the building. Rather than an open room with pews and a raised dais at the front for someone to preach from, the interior of the church consisted of a dark room with an ornate circle etched into the floor. The mosaic windows let in dark light that sparkled. It reminded me of the windows Iris had insisted on for her shrine, and I somehow knew that the room was flooded with ambient mana.

Pi, are you sure this isn’t a real god?

Just because it doesn’t meet the goddess’s definition of a god, doesn’t mean it isn’t otherworldly. My advice is to be on guard.

I nodded in silence as a group close to the circle noticed my presence. A man in garish golden robes said something in a low tone to several of the others before turning to stroll over to me. He turned his attention to Archie when he arrived. “Good day, Archibald. Who might this be?”

Archie sounded like a different person when he answered in a gruff voice. “This is the Adventurer who arrived last night.”

“That will be all,” the man said with a flick of his wrist.

Archie shot out of the room like his robe was on fire. I took a moment to inspect the man. Along with the gold robes, he had several gold chains around his neck, one of which sported the crimson eye that seemed to be the mark of the church.

Burasco Denali

Level

43

Class

Shadowbound

Affection Level

Corrupted

I stared at the menu Pi provided for longer than usual.

Shadowbound? Is that a class? And how is he corrupted?

Shadowbound is not a class that I see listed in any of my registries. It must have significant meaning. Be on your guard.

The Cardinal fixed me with an artificial smile and motioned me toward the circle. As I inched toward it, I noticed people gathering into seats around the outskirts of the room. The Cardinal made light conversation as he herded me closer to the runes etched on the floor. “I hear you visited the necromantic dungeon. It’s unfortunate that the dungeon caused the deaths of so many promising young adventurers. How did you manage to escape with your soul intact?”

I stopped at the last second, refusing to enter the circle. Instead, I rounded on him. “It wasn’t hard. Aren’t we forgetting something, though? My name is Alex, I don’t believe you’ve told me your name.”

Burasco looked scandalized. He stepped around me, approaching the circle but not entering himself. “I am Cardinal Denali. Didn’t anybody tell you who I am? That must have been an oversight on Archibald’s part. I apologize. Welcome to The Church of The Eternal Green Flame.”

“Nice to meet you,” I lied. “When do I get to meet Lord Puranis? Is this his shrine?”

Gasps rang out all around the room when I spoke the god’s name. Cardinal Denali’s eyes widened as he looked around frantically as if he expected the image in the stained glass to come to life. “You will not use our lord’s name in everyday conversation. If he deems you worthy, he will come to you. In the meantime, you need to pledge your undying devotion to him.”

“I need to what?” I asked, trying to think of a way to get out of whatever The Cardinal had planned.

He motioned to the runes on the floor. “Step inside of this circle. You will be blessed with a gift from the Lord of the Eternal Green Flame.”

“Why is it called that? I asked. “And why is there a demon in the window?”

He laughed in response to my question. “The actions of our lord have always been divine despite his outward appearance. Only heretics judge with their eyes. You must learn to see with your heart. Let’s start with an act of faith.”

“What about the green flame?” I asked.

“Legends tell of a flame from the heavens that cleansed the world of sin when man fell from the heavens.” Cardinal Denali said in a way that gave the impression he had recited it many times. “The flame has been lost to man and sin once again runs rampant. It is our job to spread the word of our lord and purge the world once again. It is only when enough people believe that he will be able to bring back The Eternal Green Flame and restore purity to the world.”

I sighed. Distracted by The Cardinal’s story, I didn’t notice when someone snuck up behind me and shoved me, sending me sprawling into the circle. I reached out to Cornerstone to coat me in armor but it was too late. Something wrapped around my leg. A living shadow crawled all over my body, entering my body through the shadows that fell on my body. It felt like they were going into me even though they were just shadows. Then I felt something in my head. A living shadow with crimson eyes moved around, wrestling with my mind for control.

There was only one problem with that. I already had a dark passenger. Pi emerged as a massive storm cloud from the back of my mind. In an instant, he pounced on the hapless shadow and engulfed it. I heard a distinctly high-pitched wail as whatever it was got dominated in a second.

A Wraith has invaded your mana. They are creatures born of shadow that usually do the bidding of those who practice dark magic.

Did you kill it?

I captured it. I intend to interrogate it to learn what it knows. Would you like me to kill it once I am finished? Y/N?

I thought about it. The idea was tempting. The thing had tried to kill me, hadn’t it?

It likely intended to do far worse than kill you. I believe many of the faithful are infected. That would explain the Shadowbound class of Bursco Denali.

He has a Wraith too?

Yes. I believe I may have a better solution than killing your Wraith. I believe with proper motivation, we can bend it to our will.

I rubbed my hands together conspiratorially.

I like the sound of that. Make me a pet Wraith.

“How do you feel?” It was Cardinal Denali, leaning as close as he dared to the ritual circle.

I flashed him a smile. “Never better. What was supposed to happen?”

He frowned. “Um, you were supposed to receive our lord’s blessing.”

I stepped out of the circle, causing the Cardinal to take a step back. “Consider me blessed. So, does that mean I’m officially a member?”

He nodded hesitantly. “Y-yeah. It does. We still need to complete the ritual for your family and friend. I don’t suppose you know where the Bard has gotten off to? He wasn’t at home when Archibald came to collect you.”

I shrugged, giving a small chuckle. “He’s kind of mysterious to me too. I have no clue where he goes.”

“Do you have any desire to tell me the…” he hedged some more. “Um, I’m going to need you to use the password.”

Pi, who was busy violating the Geneva convention with a Wraith in the back of my mind, already had the information I needed.

The password is Teddybear.

“Teddybear!” I said triumphantly.

A smile befell the Cardinal’s lips. “You had me worried, Invictus. Was he difficult to break?”

The Cardinal’s true name is Magnus.

“He was pathetically weak,” I lied, going along with the ruse. “What would you like me to do with him, Magnus?”

The Cardinal smiled when I said the name of the Wraith he had within him. “Take him to his dwelling and round up his friends and family. I doubt any of them are useful but let’s see if any can withstand the ritual. Then present yourself to the brothel. We might as well produce some magical offspring while we wait for the new core to be delivered.”

“Understood,” I replied, thinking desperately for a way to save everyone else from the ritual. “The wife is already pregnant. Perhaps it would be best to put off the ritual until after the child is born.”

“That is most fortunate,” The Cardinal said, rubbing his hands together the same way I had. “In that case, I will need you to play house until the baby is born. You can also make yourself available to the other women in the meantime. We will use this body to test out the new core once the Puppetmaster arrives.”

“As you wish,” I replied, making my way out of the church. The others who’d observed my ritual applauded as I left.