The room beyond was small, bare stone lit by a single flickering candle. To my right stood a large wooden rack, shoes upon shoes of similar humble design laid upon it. Stone stairs descended ahead, disappearing into darkness so complete the candlelight couldn't penetrate it.

  On the rack sat a metal tray shaped like an open lily, holding an unlit white wax candle.

  I kicked off my shoes, setting them neatly beside several other pairs. Then I lifted the unlit candle, touching its wick to the flame until it caught.

  The stairs watched me, waiting.

  I gazed down onto it, my gaze faltering for just a second erased the doubt from my head, forcing me legs forward.

  Better get this over and done with. Unless I want to seem even more detestable in the Churches eyes.

  I descended slowly, careful to keep my footsteps silent as I pulled the chain out from underneath my shirt - the silver mask swaying gently with my movement.

  The air grew colder with each step. Dampness clung to the walls, and an ancient feeling could be felt, as if every faint mark on the wall could tell its own story.

  Soon I heard it - the soft lapping of water against stone.

  Light began to seep upward from below. Faint, golden, flickering. Gentle in its touch.

  My feet touched water.

  Cold. Not freezing, but enough to make me pause at the sensation. It rose to my ankles, then my calves, soaking through my pants as I continued downward.

  The stairs ended, the water now resting onto my knees.

  Suddenly, I stopped breathe catching as I stopped to admire the image in front of me.

  The chamber opened - vast, immeasurably beautiful, its ceiling lost to shadow. Water covered everything, waist-deep and clear as glass. But it wasn't just the water that stole my breath.

  It was the light.

  Dozens of candles floated across the surface, each one held by a lily-shaped tray of polished and humble silver. They drifted in perfect constellations, forming rivers of light that flowed through the darkness like veins of molten gold. Some clustered together in glowing pools. Others floated alone, solitary stars reflected in water so still it became a mirror.

  The flames didn't flicker. They burned steady and pure, casting everything in warm amber that made the water glow from within. A clear pathway had been drawn by their light, onto the end of the chamber.

  And there, arranged in a perfect semicircle at the chamber's heart, stood the priests.

  What looked to be around several dozen of them. All robed in white, faces hidden beneath deep hoods, hands folded in prayer. Their voices rose in unison - a low, rhythmic chant that resonated through the water, creating faint ripples with them at the center. The sound wasn't loud, but it was all-encompassing - vibrating in the air.

  My mind calmed, my body lost its tension, and the pain of last nights conflict seemed to dull in the noise.

  I waded forward, placing my candle among the floating lights.

  It drifted slowly, joining the other constellations as the tallest, the others all being measurably shorter - their melted wax pooling on the tray.

  The priests maintained their formation, leaving gaps between them. I moved toward the nearest opening, trying to blend in-

  Then I saw her.

  Golden hair cascading to her waist, its tips barely caressing water. She stood slightly apart from the others, a space of reverence surrounding her as if the very priests revered her.

  Mary.

  I waded toward her. The priests nearby shifted subtly, creating more distance. Their chant never faltered, but I felt their awareness - watchful, measuring, never leaving.

  I stopped beside her, folding my hands in prayer.

  "You're late." she murmured, her voice barely audible beneath the chanting.

  "I woke up extremely weak." I said quietly. "I apologize."

  Mary's head lifted slowly. Beautiful and complex golden eyes found mine - irises spiraling with faint patterns that shimmered in the candlelight.

  "It matters not." she said softly, her expression betraying nothing of the moment. "You have arrived. The ceremony will now commence."

  At the center of the semicircle, a figure stirred.

  The man had been so still I'd mistaken him for a statue. Now his head rose slowly, hood still drawn, face lost to shadow. His voice cut through the chanting like a blade through silk.

  "Has Sister Mary's guest arrived?"

  Mary bowed her head. "Yes, Blessed Archpriest Nathaniel. Damian Solmere has arrived."

  The Archpriest was silent for a long moment. Then he spoke, his voice carrying a weight that made the water seem heavier.

  "Let him approach the water's heart."

  Mary turned to me. Her eyes caught mine, and before I could move, she raised one of her sleeves, an expensive white cloth probably costing more than a month of my salary, and brushed it across my lip.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  It came away red.

  "We will speak of this later. Don't embarrass yourself." she said quietly. Her eyes pierced mine with suspicion.

  I nodded, smiling lightly. "Of course."

  I waded forward, each step sending ripples across the still water. The chanting grew louder as I approached the center, voices layering over each other until the sound became something physical - pressure against my skin, vibration in my bones.

  The noise no longer felt gentle and calming. I could feel it slowly transition into something intense and judgemental in its essence.

  The priests parted before me, creating a path of darkness through the light.

  The Archpriest stood motionless, water lapping at his waist. I couldn't see his face, only darkness beneath his hood. But I felt his gaze - heavy, assessing, weighing something I couldn't comprehend.

  "Damian Solmere." His voice resonated through the chamber. "You stand at the threshold of man and the divine. Behind you lies the world of flesh and doubt. Before you lies the path of faith."

  He raised his left hand, which motioned deeper into the chamber.

  "Do you seek this path of your own will?"

  He then raised his right hand, motioning towards the spiraling staircase from where I had came.

  "Or do you come here bound by obligation?"

  Water dripped from his sleeves, falling in slow droplets that caught the candlelight. Every motion now created a ripple in the water. My senses heightened, and I could feel every single gaze now turned on me. Waiting. Judging.

  For a moment, I hesitated. Knowing what would come next, and the obligations that came with it. It was necessary to achieve the outcomes I needed. But still...

  I was used to faking my way through things, to have multiple faces. But in such a divine, holy place, I felt a pang of guilt rise up.

  But I quickly erased the thought. Replacing it with conviction.

  No rest for the wicked. If I don't do this, than my life becomes significantly harder - and the results become less certain.

  I met the darkness beneath his hood, with eyes newly forged with determination.

  "I come of my own will."

  The hooded priests paused for a moment, before continuing.

  "Why?"

  The question hung in the air. Simple. Direct. Impossible to deflect.

  I didn't hesitate.

  "Because I wish to serve something greater than myself. To find a purpose in a world of such cruelty. To use my faith as a tool to create a better world for our brothers and sister. That is my 'why', father."

  The priests paused again. Even if I couldn't see his face, I could tell he was pleased with my answer.

  It didn't really matter to me, though.

  Everything I said was bullshit after all.

  "Greater than yourself? I would say the purpose of servitude is the most freeing of all. " The Archpriest's tone gave nothing away, but his tone was lighter now. "It pleases me that the young generation is so in touch with the almighty, especially in these trying times."

  The priest lowered his right hand, my chance of escape leaving with it.

  His left hand remained, waiting, expecting.

  "Do you accept that the old Emperor walked as the Almighty's prophet? That His words carry divine truth?"

  "I do."

  "That the Church preserves His legacy, and through this preservation, humanity endures?"

  "Yes."

  "That your body is mortal, your mind is fallible, but your soul-" His voice dropped lower. "-your soul may be made eternal through faith and servitude? So that you may be protected from the Veil and its demonic influences?"

  I nodded curtly, smiling confidently.

  "I accept this."

  The Archpriest's left hand now pointed towards me, motioning me to grab it. Water dripped from his sleeve, falling in slow droplets that caught the candlelight.

  "Then let the old self be washed away," he intoned. "Let doubt drown in certainty. Let sin dissolve in grace. Let only faith remain to drive your mortal body forward."

  I grasped his left hand as his right held my back.

  "Then, under Saint Fredrick's gaze..."

  He slowly lowered me down, the water slowly consuming my body.

  "...Be submerged in the Almighty's waters."

  My head began to sink.

  I didn't resist.

  The water closed over my head, cold and absolute. Sound vanished. Light fractured into dancing fragments that spun through the darkness like distant stars and the necklace around my neck swayed softly with the artificial current.

  And then - warmth.

  The cold faded, replaced by something deeper. The water wasn't water anymore - but something heavier, darker, holding me suspended in perfect stillness. Pressure built against my ears, my chest, my skull, but it wasn't unpleasant.

  It was familiar.

  Like a dream. Like floating in an infinite dark, cradled by something vast and incomprehensible.

  Time stretched.

  Above me, light appeared - faint at first, then growing stronger, pressing against my closed eyelids. A single point of radiance that pierced the darkness, calling me upward with gentle insistence.

  I could hear a faint bell sound above. Something calling me, something ancient, something familiar.

  My body wanted to rise toward it. Wanted to break the surface, to gasp to breathe, to-

  The hand on my back raised.

  I was pulled upward, dragged through the warm dark into cold air. Water streamed from my hair, my face. Light blazed around me - too bright, too sudden after the comfortable depths.

  I gasped, blinking against the glare. Confusion racked my mind briefly while I regained my senses.

  What the hell was that? It felt like I was in another world.

  The Archpriest's voice rang through the chamber.

  "By the authority of the Church, by the will of the Almighty, by the wisdom of the Old Emperor - I name you reborn. I name you cleansed. I name you an Initiate of the Church of Man."

  The chanting swelled to a crescendo, voices rising like a wave.

  "Praise the Almighty!" the priests cried in unison.

  "Praise the Almighty." I repeated, my head lowered, my hands clasped around my necklace in prayer.

  The Archpriest stepped back, gesturing to his right. A younger priest waded forward, carrying folded black fabric.

  "You will serve as ecclesiarchal assistant to Her Highness, Princess Mary Magdalene - as chosen by her and approved by me." the Archpriest continued. "Therefore, you will don the black robes. You may keep your face, so long as your duties permit. But know this-" His hidden gaze seemed to bore through me. "-the white robes await. When you have completed your rites, you may join the ranks of the Emperor's Faceless. Only then, may you become one of the Almighy's Angels."

  I smiled happily at the offer.

  I'll have to humbly decline the offer for now, Father.

  I bowed deeply, respect and reverence soaked in my every move. "Thank you, Father. I await the day with open arms."

  The priest handed me the robe. Heavy fabric, reinforced with subtle threading, marked with symbols I didn't recognize. I pulled it over my wet clothes, feeling its weight settle across my shoulders like a yoke.

  Around me, the chanting faded. Priests began wading toward the stairs, their formation dissolving as they filed out in orderly silence.

  Soon, only two remained.

  Mary stood where she'd been, golden eyes fixed on me with an intensity that made my skin prickle.

  "Why was there blood on your mouth?" she asked quietly, eyes never leaving mine.

  I smiled, forcing lightness into my voice. "Just woke up that way."

  Her expression didn't change. But something shifted in her eyes - concern bleeding through the formality.

  "I told you not to push yourself so hard." Her voice softened ever so slightly, losing its ceremonial edge. "You're already far past others our age. Why do you feel the need to train your divine potential to such an extent? It will only harm you in the long run."

  I looked away, focusing on the floating candles. "I apologize. I won't do it again."

  Mary sighed. "I don't need my eyes to see you're lying."

  Silence stretched between us, broken only by water lapping gently against stone.

  Mary studied me for a long moment. Then she turned toward the passage to my right - another corridor submerged in shadow, leading deeper into the complex. The opposite direction from where the priests had exited.

  "Come," she said quietly. "We have much to discuss."

  I followed, water streaming from my new robes, leaving ripples that disturbed the floating candles in my wake.

  The lights drifted back together behind us, reforming their constellation as if we'd never passed through at all.