Ch.17: The Messenger and the Champion

The Cardinal stood in his room in thought as he peered out the window. The man had finally recovered and seemed to be in better control of himself.

The door to his room opened, and a man in black and crimson robes etched with silver skulls and cross designs entered.

This man was Dark High Priest John, the other dark priest in the room when the Cardinal received the goddess Lilith's message.

"Dark High Priest John, what brings you to my humble abode?"

"My Dark One, seeing you in good health again is good. You gave everyone a scare."

Dark High Priest John's face expressed relief upon seeing the Cardinal up and in better health.

"I have stopped any news about what transpired from spreading. I did not wish to make any unnecessary assumptions without input first," he formally explained himself.

His face showed a bit of hesitation for his next question.

"Is it true, Dark One, that the goddess Lilith has spoken to you? Has she finally decided on her champion?"

Dark High Priest John's tone held a shimmer of hope, believing that their dark days were ready to be placed behind them.

"Yes, our goddess has found her champion," the cardinal calmly answered, and a small smile of relief broke out on Dark High Priest John's face, but it became frigid when he heard the cardinal's following words.

"But our goddess was secretive regarding her champion's identity, stating how they shall remain in secrecy until the time is right."

"How absurd! Neither the goddess Terra nor the goddess Eve kept their champions' identities a secret! The people must know that our goddess has found her champion to calm their hearts!"

The cardinal could understand Dark High Priest John's frustrations as he too, was confused why the goddess wanted to keep her champion hidden. Did she not care about the unrest her children faced with the threat of dungeon gates looming over their heads?

"Besides, with the backing of either the royal family or the temple, their lives wouldn't be jeopardized, and their name will be praised. Only reckless and dumb thieves would think of doing anything against them, and it would be for ransom as killing them brings profit to no one and would make them an enemy of the world."

Again, he spoke the truth. Every man, woman, and child knew of the prophecy of the three champions and how only they held the powers to close dungeon gates that have caused many citizens to suffer heartache and grief from losing loved ones.

There was only so much that knights and dungeon hunters could do to postpone the situation, but it didn't stop it from happening again in the foreseeable future.

"We still have some of our men scouting the school. If we narrow down the suspects, we can move in before the royal family and bring the champion under our wing and away from their influence."

Dark High Priest John's eyes became serious as he began expressing his opinion on the matter.

"You and I both know the political power the champion carries as they hold the hearts of the people. There is no secret that the royal family is starting to target us. They hate that they have no control over us. You and the king have been in a hostile war since he was just a prince."

Dark High Priest John had been with the Cardinal a little before the second prince was crowned king and only knew bits of the history between the two.

From what he knew, the late king, Julius Alphonse Bael, had five sons and one daughter.

All but two were now deceased. The battle for the crown had always been a bloody affair, forcing innocent and greedy two-faced people to suffer life-threatening consequences for their goal.

Lots of people were dragged into their feud and forced to take sides, but the Temple of Darkness was a different story. By having their own independence, the temple had managed to stand this long by remaining neutral and watching from the sidelines.

They never took a side, but the Cardinal threatened this peace when he chose to side with the fifth prince.

The one least likely to inherit the throne, born from a maid and with no outstanding abilities, yet somehow he had won the Cardinal's trust.

Dark High Priest John couldn't see what was so special about the fifth prince that the Cardinal would threaten the peace of the temple for him, but a part of him did pity the young man.

Just like his brothers, he too, ended up dead. The last of his brothers put up a fight, but he was unable to look behind him to see a knife pointed at his back.

After the fifth prince's demise, the Cardinal sought to bring justice to the young man's death by bringing down the second prince, who he believed was the perpetrator.

The two clashed in a long-struggling battle until it ended when the king passed on his crown to the second prince.

With this defeat, the Cardinal retreated, but he did not remain silent. There were specific laws in this country that could not be passed without the temple's approval.

Such as the increase of taxes, the abolishment of polyandry but not polygamy, and reinstating the full act of slavery, which the temple was trying to abolish altogether but was having trouble with the noble factions who kept getting in their way.

The church believed all their people should have freedom which clashed with the noble faction who believed in the quote survival of the fittest.

In simpler words: The weak and powerless should bow their heads to the strong and feel honored to be their lap dogs.

So far, the law has stated that only those who have Slave Contracts, showing that their slave has signed their signature and has willingly given up all their rights, can own slaves.

Which was nothing but a scam and a can of worms that Dark High Priest John was not in the mood to dive into.

"That man can fool others, but not me. We may be demons, but we know honor. He does not know honor."

One of the reasons the Cardinal was against the second prince being throned was because he knew, similar to his other brothers, that that man did not care for his people.

He only cared for himself and those who could benefit him. At his core, he was a tyrant that would drive his people to extinction, not prosperity.

"The fifth prince was young and wet behind the ears, but his eyes saw the future for his people. Not our deaths."

The cardinal had left his quarters and decided to go for a walk when he spotted a young girl standing outside in the foyer, staring at the broad statue of Lilith placed in the inner courtyard for all to see.

The girl looked between the ages of nine and ten. Flying beside her head was an odd fluffy devil beast, one he had never seen before.

The cardinal did not know what made him approach the girl, but something about her drew his attention.

"So this is the statue of Lilith? She looks nothing like that," he heard the girl say and couldn't stop himself from laughing.

The statue was built on the belief of how many envisioned the goddess to look, which was that of a seductive succubus. A corset barely held together her ample bosom, and she had typical bat wings and horns. Nothing like the woman Rhia had seen up close.

"And how do you know what she looks like? Have you seen her in person?"

A friendly smile was placed on the Cardinal's face as he watched the girl jump with fright at being exposed that she was overheard by somebody else.

"Be at ease, my young child. I'm just teasing you. Mind me asking, what brings you here? We don't get many young visitors," the cardinal asked.

"I came with my mom, who wanted to donate offerings," Rhia truthfully answered.

She had only separated from her mother when the other saw the familiar face of a woman and the two dove into a conversation. Not wanting to stick around and listen to their boring talk, Rhia stepped away but made sure she wasn't too far away when she came upon Lilith's statue.

The Cardinal nodded as parents tended to bring their children when they came to donate or pray at Lilith's altar when something heavy was on their mind and they wanted her protection.

The two glued their eyes to the statue when the Cardinal opened his mouth.

"Tell me, little one, do you see peace in the foreseeable future? Not just for humans and celestials, but for all races?"

Such an odd question had caught Rhia off guard, but when she looked at the old man standing by her side, she could see he was searching for an answer that would bring him peace.

Why was he searching for peace from a young child? She did not know but did not want to lie and be rude.

"Life ain't a fairytale. Just because you wish for something doesn't mean it will come true. But if you work hard and try your best, add just a dash of hope, whatever it is that you are searching for may just come true."

Rhia became nervous when the old man remained silent before breaking into a hearty laugh.

"Such words I haven't heard in a long time. I appreciate your honesty, young one."

The Cardinal had flashes of a young boy whose eyes could see the future.

The man thanked her, and Rhia watched as he walked away with a satisfied smile.

"Wonder what that was all about?" she asked herself, not knowing the old man was the Cardinal of the Temple of Darkness.