11 |The easy way or the hard way|

Who was the person who brought him here and were they strong enough to bind him with his own mind? These assumptions frightened him as he rolled off the table with great effort and caught himself before he face-planted on the floor in the most painful of ways.

His knees hit the floor and hands holding the right side of the table as he looked up to where the voice originated. What he saw made his heart stop entirely for a moment.

"De-death?"

He couldn't say, the angel of death before, his nausea caught up with him and he threw up what food was left in his body.

"Fucking men! always so weak when they don't eat for a few days...", Lilianna added snidely, while he gagged.

"Lily!"

"Ok Ok"

Jian was shrouded in fear and confusion as he looked down at his own mess and tried to catch his breath with large gulps of air. While he did so 'the angel of death' walked around to the other side of the table to the other two women, before seemingly communicating with them, however, they did not speak nor whisper.

After a moment she turned and looked down at the weak Jian with an unconvinced expression. She would not distrust her god's judgment so she would just leave the rest to the Cardinals as requested. A few moments later, The angels exited the room in a silent fashion and the clatter of the guard's heels could be heard in the distance.

"Hey, Kid! are you done throwing up your despair yet? we are very busy people and we don't know why we were assigned to.. um persuade you, but let us make this fast for both of us! "

Lilianna paced around to the foot of the table where the saint stood just moments ago. She continued.

"You have two options... renounce the Massacre Faith and Pledge to the Cathedral or have your soul ripped from your body and drowned in the deepest ocean trench, never to see the high heavens or the sun again"

Jian finally caught his breath and with as much effort as he could, began to pull himself up with the support of the table. He turned back to the two ladies in the dim room but truly could not make out their features and could only tell them apart from their hair color. His thoughts raced back along the words that just entered his ears and after truly realizing what she said he inhaled deeply. She was asking him to betray not only his home but his homeland as well.

"I- Why? No Never. "

"Does it matter why? you are rejected trash and even if you went back to the blood god's domain you would fair no better than a slave, but here you can be something else... something far better"

The lady that did all the talking emitted a pressure that the weakened Jian could not resist. He crumpled to the floor again.

"Jian Han was it? "

"How do you know my name!"

"Let us just say dead birds have a song of their own!"

"huh?!"

"You will know when you join us... though it might upset you even more"

The lady with red hair chucked with no sign of femininity and her threatening tone was still prominent. They presented him with one way out and there really could be no other options for him. His death was the only outcome of resistance and in fact may be something worse than death laid in the refusal of this offer. Jian's face twisted in confusion and distraught.

"I have no choice, do I? "

"None"

Jian gripped the edge of the table and tried to help himself up again, but struggled as his arms shook.

" Fuck- this is truly worse than dying with my family... I will not yield to you bastards- "

A ringing sound echoed in the room similar to a bell once cracked and Jian was out cold laying in his own throw-up.

"Well looks like we have to resort to that now..", Ren finally spoke. Her words were slow paced and her face became more apparent since she was near the door now.

"It upsets you, but for me, it is fun, though who is moving him?", She quickly followed up with "Not it"

"Liliana, are you a child?"

"Fine, Fine"

Liliana walked to the door and yelled out.

"Guards get down here for this Cardinal"

A few seconds later three trained guards marched in with straight faces. Two took each of Jian's legs before dragging him out the room while the last one was assigned the task of cleaning the room regretfully. The Cardinals lead the two guards as they walked down the north hall and into the underground pavilion, before ascending the staircase at the very south end of it. They headed to the first floor which was similar to the underground pavilion.

The first floor was different, however. All walls were made of jade and it seemed to be part of an ethereal garden with an amazing view of the high seas. They entered the easternmost hall and picked a room at random. The room they chose was walled entirely of jade tiles and just as open as the pavilion as there was a large open balcony at the other end of the room, which let in a strong sea breeze.

The room was decorated in a luxurious theme, with a large empty pond at the center. The guards tossed Jian into the empty pool, before exiting the room. He landed with a 'thud' and it was clear he wouldn't wake up for a bit longer as a result.

"Well, we need some Holy Seawater now... or the blood of many Sea-God worshipping virgins- ow! ow!"

" Liliana shut up and go get the girls to bring in the holy water, we don't have enough time to dally with this. The Eastern and Western Borders are alone with us gone."

" Fine!..."

Liliana left the room, while Ren walked around the pond-like-pool before stopping where she started. She kneeled at the bank and took out a blood red scale, before beginning to draw a rectangular rune on the edge. After, an hour she had completed the same rune on the entire outer edge and they seemed to have all connected as they glowed a bright cyan blue. Their glow pulsed vigorously and flicked like the steady breathing of a newborn.