"The Purification Ritual"

A woman who looked like Euphorie appeared when they turned to a corner. She slightly bowed with respect to Priestess Althaia.

"Ah, good timing, Alodia. We were just about to go to you," Althaia told her. She showed the sketch to her, "This is you, right?"

"Hmm, maybe yes, maybe no," Alodia replied.

"What do you mean?" asked the puzzled Ivory.

"I have a twin sister, and her name is Euphorie… I was about to go to you, Priestess Althaia, and it's also about my sister."

"What happened?"

"The royal knights had requested a Purification Ritual… it's Euphorie who needs it."

Ivory curiously asked, "What is a Purification Ritual?"

"It's…" the priestess thought it would be easier to understand if she saw it in person. "Come with us, I shall explain."

"But… Is it alright to bring a guest with us?" a disciple asked.

Althaia smiled, "Do not worry, Miss Ivory is one of us."

As Ivory followed them once again, her mind was like a web of tangled strings, confused about how many things came about, and why the heck do they say that she's one of them. She followed them quietly hoping to have the answers to these.

They followed Alodia towards the bridge. At the end of it, she was led to a stone stair and under it was a mossy stone door with a wolf's head knocker and a silver handle.

The loud, creaking door opened revealing several lit candles lined up on the floor, and as they walked several steps downwards, it got colder inside the dungeon. When the exit could already be seen, the echoes of the loud crashing waves on rocks could already be heard.

After exiting the dungeon, two Royal Knights and ten knights were seen on the shore under the high cliff of Valios City. Euphorie was also in the scene and was made to wear enchanted handcuffs and a muzzle to prevent her from casting magic, and her arms were held tightly by two knights.

One of the Royal Knights noticed the unfamiliar person that they were with. "You recruited a new disciple? She looks similar to you, Priestess," he said.

Althaia smiled at him, "She's not yet a disciple, but I plan on asking her to join us in the near future-"

"No way," the other Royal Knight said. "She promised to join the Royal Knights once she graduates the academy!"

Ivory turned her head to see who it was, "Oh, it's you, Sir Xenos! It's good to see you again!"

"I apologize that I had forgotten to ask when we were in Gallean Town. What is your name, my lady?"

"Ivory Sprucemint."

"Right. Miss Sprucemint," Xenos chuckled, laughing at himself because of how forgetful he was. "Now, everything's complete. Shall we do the Purification Ritual?"

Using a small rock, the Priestess drew a big circle in the sand. She wrote ancient words that no ordinary human could understand. After that, Euphorie was made to sit in the middle and was left alone right after they took off her muzzle and her handcuffs. A few moments later, a blinding white light enveloped the circle.

"You! Woman who pretended to be a man… It's all your fault!" Euphorie yelled in anger. "If you hadn't appeared, I wouldn't be caught… ugh!!!" As she spoke, the pain of the Purification Ritual made her body sore. It was as if she was being beaten to death.

"Euphorie…" Alodia muttered. "You'll be alright if you don't fight the purification. Don't worry, you'll return to normal once again… as a normal human, without any power."

"No… No!!! I don't want to return as a powerless human!"

"Sister... You will be at peace if you-"

"You won't ever understand how I feel, Alodia!" there was anger in her eyes as she spoke to her twin sister. "Everyone praised you. You are the favorite one, the best daughter in our parents' eyes! And I… I was always ignored… That's why when I learned that a normal person like me can obtain power… I never thought twice of having it. It's the only way I can beat you!"

"But Euphorie…" Alodia was already crying. She kneeled in front of the flowing circle. "I never once thought of us having a competition. Please accept the purification, or else your body will suffer thrice as painful-"

"No! I will never accept- Uggghh!!!" Euphorie screamed in pain as she kneeled on the hot sand. She tried to fight back, but the purifying light was too strong. Smoke as dark as coal slowly rose up to the sky.

Ivory stared sadly at Alodia, who kept on weeping in front of her twin sister who was being purified. She suddenly remembered her sister Katie, whom she fought with the last time they saw each other. She hoped that in that one year of not seeing each other, her disappointment in her had already disappeared, and they could go back to the happy times just like when they were kids.

The ritual lasted for an hour. During that whole time, Althaia and the disciples who bore the birthmark of Destinia were concentrating on strengthening the magic of the purification circle, while Ivory was conversing with Xenos, who sat on the large rock beside her.

"I am quite confused, Sir Xenos," Ivory told him. "What is the purpose of this Purification Ritual?"

"Well, this is confidential, but since you are trusted by the Priestess of the Sanctuary, I shall explain it to you," Xenos cleared his throat. "What's being cleansed is the Dark Mana within her."

"Dark… mana? What is that?" asked Ivory.

"It is a kind of mana that shouldn't have existed from the start. A normal person without a birthmark can have it illegally."

"Eh? How is that possible? I thought mana came from our Goddess Destinia, and the birthmark is the proof of that."

"We are still in the process of tracking how it all started and who started it. Honestly, if the Sanctuary didn't exist and there are no people who can perform the purification, we're all going to be infested with Dark Mana."

"Why do you think so?"

"Because humans are sinful in nature. They easily succumb to envy, greed, lust, and other sins, which make the Dark Mana strong."