[Temple of Eternal Fla —Ceremonial Hall—Lavinia’s POV]
With so many unwanted questions swirling in my mind—and Papa’s tense reaction when he glanced toward the library door still burning in my mory—my legs twitched restlessly, aching to burst through those ancient doors and uncover the truths they held. But with a heavy heart, I forced myself to follow Papa and High Priest Calvein down the stone corridor toward the Ceremonial Hall.
The guards bowed low and pushed open the doors for us. The doors groaned, heavy and ancient, as if they had been waiting centuries for this single mont.
A hush fell over the hall.
The Ceremonial Hall stretched vast and awe-inspiring before . Arched ceilings were painted with golden flas, walls etched with sacred vows, and the floor of polished obsidian reflected every flicker of torchlight like dark, liquid mirrors. The thick, curling scent of incense wrapped around like unseen fingers, filling my lungs with both reverence and unease.
Nobles lined the hall, silks whispering as they bowed low. Their eyes never left . So glittered with admiration. Others glead with envy. And far too many sharpened with barely concealed malice.
It wasn’t the assassins in the forest that unnerved now. It was this silence. This suffocating, watchful silence.
I caught Count Talvan’s poker face. Lady Elenia’s hissed expression. Lady Sirella’s serene and smiling face. And further along... My Osric, Grand Duke Regis, Grandfather Gregor, and even Grandfather Thalein, sparkling with pride and happiness.
Brother Lysandre and Brother Soren waved with more sparkles than etiquette would allow, and a few elves flickered with their faint ethereal glow. Nothing new there.
I walked forward until I reached the altar. My gaze rose... and almost broke my neck. The statue above towered impossibly high, a figure so massive I could barely make out its form.
"What... I can’t... see the god’s face," I muttered, craning my neck.
Rey stepped beside , calm and unfazed. "You’ll never see the god’s face, Princess."
I blinked at him. "Huh? Why?"
He spoke flatly, almost matter-of-fact. "Because... no one has. No one has ever seen it."
. . .
. . .
I squinted. "So... you’re saying this is a... headless statue?"
Rey’s eyes widened in mock horror. "Don’t say that out loud... the god will be offended."
I let out a sigh, feeling both amused and exasperated.
"Rember, Princess," Rey continued, his voice lowering slightly, "we don’t pray to the statue. We pray to that power... the one no one has seen, but everyone knows exists. The god... is soone who left proof of existence, even if so people doubt it."
I tilted my head, studying him. "What kind of proof?"
He smiled faintly, eyes drifting back to the towering statue.
"Everything around you... is proof, Princess. From the tiniest insect crawling at your feet to the birds flying high above. From the plants and the trees... to the beasts that hunt and the winds that howl. From the vast universe itself, to the smallest human brain, the beating of hearts, the organs that work in silent rhythm... even the sun, the moon, the tides, the seasons... everything is living proof that soone created it all. And yet... people still question if it exists."
Wow...that was too deep.
I looked up at the statue again, then back at him, astonished. "You... you speak as though you are the god’s spokesperson."
Rey blinked, then proudly puffed out his chest. "Because... I am."
I froze. Dumbfounded. My mouth went dry, my mind racing with disbelief and awe. He was serious. He had to be serious.
And yet, sohow... I felt the truth in his words, resonating deep within my bones.
"Princess... let us begin."
High Priest Calvein’s voice was calm yet carried the weight of centuries, each word reverberating through the hall like a whispered command to the very air itself. I turned to him and nodded, Marshi padding faithfully at my side, his golden eyes reflecting both caution and anticipation.
As I stepped forward to the altar, every eye in the hall followed , yet it felt as though the walls themselves were holding their breath. Every shadow, every carved pillar, every flickering torch seed to lean in closer, waiting for the mont I would take my place.
Calvein stepped forward, his smile slow and knowing. "Princess... this Benediction does not rely grant you the title of future Empress," he intoned, his voice resonant with authority—and sothing far older, far more ancient. "It reveals the truths you carry within yourself. It weighs your heart, tests your soul, and awakens the potential that destiny itself has chosen for you."
I swallowed hard, nodding, trying to steady the nervous flutter in my chest.
Then Calvein’s voice bood across the hall, deep and commanding, echoing off the vaulted ceilings. "Princess Lavinia... you are about to receive the Divine Benediction, the sacred oath of rulership passed down through generations. Stand tall, for all eyes and all worlds are upon you."
The air thickened, almost pressing against my skin. A subtle hum rose beneath the obsidian floor, at first imperceptible, then growing, like the heartbeat of the world itself acknowledging the weight of the mont. I felt it in my chest—a low, resonant pulse that made my heart drum in perfect rhythm with the hall.
Papa’s eyes were fixed on , unreadable, cold as stone. But beneath that calm mask... I glimpsed a spark. Pride? Respect? Or... perhaps sothing I could not na.
The priests and saintesses murmured in unison, their voices layering into an ethereal chant that twisted and stretched through the air. And then light—oh, the light—exploded across the hall, scattering rainbow fragnts across walls, pillars, and the polished floor.
"By the Flas Eternal, by the power that binds all life and all worlds... we call upon the essence of creation itself!"
I swallowed again, my throat dry. The air thickened further, vibrating, as if the very atmosphere had beco molten. A gentle heat coiled around , alive, whispering, testing. It grew, wrapping around in a living aura, pressing against my skin and bones alike.
"Princess Lavinia," Calvein’s voice floated over the soundless roar in my chest, "step forward. Open your hands."
Trembling, I obeyed. Palms raised. Knees threatening to buckle, yet sohow, I remained upright, rooted by sheer will against the invisible forces now entwining .
And then—a thread of sunlight broke through the window, a single, perfect shaft striking the center of my chest. A pain blood there, sharp and strange, as if the light itself were piercing through the layers of ti and mory.
"What... what is this?" I whispered, but my voice was lost in the hum that now pulsed in my bones.
Marshi nudged my legs, grounding . I focused on him, on the simple warmth of his presence, and tried to calm the storm inside . I sighed and closed my eyes again. My chest feels tight.
Then... I saw it.
Not the present. Not the future. But myself.
I lay cradled in Papa’s arms, eyes closed, pale, and motionless. And there... standing before , was Rey. His expression was unreadable, yet his eyes were alight with sothing ancient, sothing knowing. My chest constricted as the vision seared itself into —it felt like a mory.
And just as suddenly, it vanished. The heat, the vision, the humming—they all fell away like mist in the morning sun. I gasped, chest tightening.
What had I just seen? Why was I lying dead in Papa’s Arms? Did I glimpse a mory of the future?But...sohow it felt like a mory; I don’t rember.
My lips parted, but no sound ca. It felt as if sothing—soone—was tugging at the edges of my mind, urging to rember sothing long buried.
"By the Flas Eternal..." Calvein’s voice grounded , yet it carried a gravity I could feel in my bones, "the Divine Benediction is complete, Princess. You have stood tall... before the gaze of the gods themselves."
Applause erupted throughout the hall, echoing and bouncing from stone to stone. Nobles bowed, whispers carried awe and envy alike. But my chest... it still ached. The warmth lingered, not from the Benediction alone, but from sothing far older, far deeper... sothing I could not yet na.
Rey’s hand brushed lightly against my shoulder, grounding once more. His voice was calm, yet threaded with aning. "You felt it, didn’t you? That pull? That... calling?"
I swallowed hard, looking up at him, my eyes wide and searching. "Yes... but... what was it? What did I see?"
He didn’t answer imdiately. He only smiled faintly, lips curling in that almost-insufferable way he always did, eyes glimring with secrets. "All in good ti, Princess... all in good ti."
And for the first ti, I realized the Benediction had not only crowned in power—it had awakened sothing inside . Sothing ancient. Sothing waiting. Sothing... that would not be ignored.
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