Chapter 10: The Vatican

The scene opens up within the white rural walls of the Vatican echoing footsteps. Within this enclosed building, a girl in handcuffs is taken in by the Vatican's central guards. Wendy, after being arrested for involving herself with an evil God, is escorted by the guards to meet with the Pope. Upon reaching the palace's main deck, she is met by a smiling old man dressed in an all-white robe. "Ahh so you're finally here, I've been waiting for you, my dear!" The Pope goes up to Wendy, giving off a very welcoming exterior. Feeling nervous about her current predicament, Wendy attempts a smile in response to the older man's greeting. "Oh this will not do, someone please get these dirty cuffs off of her, she's a Goddess, and part of the Ogdoad for crying out loud!"

As Wendy is freed from her cuffs, she makes an effort to show her respect to the man in front of her. "It is an honor to meet you, Mr. Pope Sir, your Highness, Majesty!" The girl bows her head while the old man seems genuinely happy to see her. "Oh please don't be too formal with me child, it's in every pope's good nature to associate with the ogdoad of their period. I understand you've had a very hard couple of months in your wake?"

"Uhm, yes… things have been rather difficult for me." Wendy and the Pope start to walk together, with the pope's guards not too far off, "Things haven't been easy for me since my resurrection, it's only been six months since then, and yet I feel like my whole world was thrown upside down."

The pope tries to console her, being limitedly aware of her situation. "I understand, suddenly getting thrown into the world of gods and monsters is not an easy pill to swallow. The gravity of your situation may be falling heavily upon you, as the fate of humanity now rests on your shoulders for the foreseeable future. One might stop to think, "Is this the world the gods had intended." Wendy chimes in, "Oh yes all that does suck. But also I'm talking about my idiot Ronny! He's falling into the scummy pits of a harem protagonist! He already has two other girls pinning after him and it's only been 6 months since we parted! Has he no shame!!!"

The pope is taken aback by this and starts to laugh, leaving the girl to overthink her mundane problems. "My I forget before you were a demigod, you are still just a young girl. I remember when I was your age… being caught up in my youth." Not satisfied that her earth-shattering problems are being taken very lightly, Wendy decides to continue. "So why did you call for me?" The man in question stops his walking abruptly, setting a more serious tone, "It's come to my intention, you've been working with Set, am I correct?" Wendy, taken aback by the sudden change in mood, decides to answer honestly.

"It's true I spent a small amount of time with The old God Set. But I have not been affiliated with him since I left the temple. I was stuck there for a while and he helped me get out of there."

"I see" The Pope walks down a few distances away from Wendy. "Forgive me, I blame myself for Brother Michaels's betrayal, I knew the church had harvested a few bad eggs, but it turned out he was actually working with the enemy cult this whole time, a heretic indeed."

Wendy attempts to put at ease the old man's thoughts. "I'm sure a spy like him had his ways for infiltrating and climbing the ranks, I doubt there was much anyone could have done to prevent it." The pope then turns his head to look at her then decides to press forward. 

"Come my darling, there's someone I'd like you to be with before we continue our conversation." The pope says walking forward, Wendy follows suit. He leads her to a vacant room nearby, where she is met with a single girl sitting in the room, awaiting their arrival, this girl's silver antenna creeks up upon her view. 

 "Onee-sama you're safe!!!" Hibiki lunges over to the blue-haired girl which she dodges, causing the younger of the two to hit the wall face-first. "Oh, you're here too Harlibi." "Ouch! Onee-Sama, why would you move out of the way? Wait, Harlibi! Did you already forget my name, it's Hibiki!" 

"Hai hai okay I got it, it's Hibiki, now would you quit yelling." Wendy puts a palm on her face before she begins her inner monologue. "Gah, are you serious? I thought I got rid of this brat back in Egypt, what is she doing here!?" It was a thought at first, but her emotions getting the better of her caused her to let that last phrase out loud. The pope stares at the two girls before speaking out loud. "Forgive me for hiding this from you, but I had informed Veronica not to inform you that I asked to speak with both of you." Wendy takes a seat right next to the sister, who in turn lets out a small blush. "In any case, you got us both here, so what exactly is going on?" She asks, trying to make sense out of her current situation. The pope begins "As you are well aware, I hold the esteemed position of the Pope, serving as the paramount leader of the spiritual and religious hierarchy in this world. Recently, I have had the privilege of engaging in significant meetings during which I was presented with ancient scriptures and texts. These documents, bestowed upon me by Thoth, the deity of wisdom, contain revelations concerning a prophecy set to unfold in our era. This prophecy foretells the emergence of two young women, both unparalleled in their spiritual connection and mastery over spiritual arts. It is prophesied that together, they will unite to vanquish a great evil…"

Both Wendy and Hibiki, who were both staring directly at the pope, take a moment to stare back at each other. "I see… so you're saying, you think this prophecy has to do… with us?" Wendy starts, edging the Pope to continue.

"Yes, in fact, I am near certain it was referring to you two. Wendy, this era's Spirit Goddess. Hibiki, a sister of the Egyptian Orthodox Church, is someone who I've seen flourish into a young woman and who has a connection with the spirits. You two are without a doubt, the Spirit Sisters!" 

They both give weird and unamused faces at the name bestowed on them by the high-standing individual. The man in question then grips his staff, and with a high amount of intensity, he bows his head forward. "I ask you as head of the Roman Catholic Church, Spirit Sisters, please find and defeat the seven sins." 

The two are immediately taken aback by this before they both let out a loud, "Eeeeeeeeehhhhhhh!!!" They say in unison looking at the man like he was crazy. 

"Uhm your highness with all respect, aren't their other gods better suited for this task? I am still a novice, after all, I only recently became a demigod." Wendy says with a hint of hesitation. Hibiki immediately chimes in after her. 

"I agree! I agree! Yes, my Onee-sama is wonderful and equal to the likes of any comic book superhero, but the seven sins are way too powerful for her to defeat! Let alone me!!!" 

The Pope responds " Yes I agree, in all seriousness, I'd rather send the old Dragon Gods to take down the sins. Because they've done it once before. But they are all preoccupied applying their strength on other matters, not to mention they are all scattered on the opposite ends of the world right now." The two girls sit in silence, decking to hear out the rest of the old man's tale. 

"Ahem, as you know now, the 7 sins are composed of the seven acts of sin listed in the Christian Bibles. Those sins are stated as such. Greed, Obsession with wealth. Lust, Obsession with attention. Sloth, Obsession with avoidance. Envy, Obsession with others. Gluttony, obsession with pleasure. Pride, Obsession with the self, and Wrath, Obsession with justice." 

"The cult of the sins was formed to fight against the order of the gods. They have been our direct opposers for centuries now. These cultists have found a way to conjure up the power of the Egyptian underworld and create stronger-than-average demons. These demons take the form of the seven sins, every time they've been defeated, they simply get summoned by the cult once again, returning stronger than before."

"So what does the Spirit Goddess have to do with this?" Wendy says before The Pope continues, "It is said in the prophecy, provided to us by Thot, the God of Knowledge, that the Spirit Goddess has the potential to become the strongest being in the universe, her power rivaling only the primordial deities. When gaining access to the spirit of origin, they may one day become not a demigod, but a god, such as Hathor, the original spirit Goddess."

"Wait wait, so you want me to become Hathor?" The pope responds to the young girl's question. "Not in the literal sense, more of a spiritual sense, the Goddess of all spirits, Hathor is what all spirit goddesses have been leading up towards. Only after ridding mankind of the lecherous sins that have purged their hearts for centuries, can a demigoddess be worthy enough to enter the palace of godhood."

"I see, so I'm just your lab rat then. You want to see if I can make your little prophecy come true." Wendy looks rather irritated. Hibiki takes notice of this and chimes in. 

"It can't be like that Onee-sama, I'm sure we just aren't understanding him correctly!" The pope then continues. 

"I mean not to insult you my dear, but please do understand this is what centuries of our core faith have been leading up to. The purpose not only for Christianity but for all our religions is to bring forth not a god, but a savior to this world. One that will bring peace and light to the path of eternal darkness. The Ogdoads have done so much for this world and we will always be thankful for their acts of heroism, but this world needs a true savior that will rise to the call." The pope leaned his head down, "Please, I ask you to take on this task for the sake of humanity, comply with our wishes, and we will provide you as much aid as possible." He then turns his head to Hibiki before continuing. 

"Sister Hibiki, I have been made aware that you are the child of light. You were born with a flux of unimaginable spirit magic. You, from the moment of your birth, have been accumulating spirits into your very body. The white church dress you wear is meant to contain that power within you so it does not consume you. With you at Wendy's side, I'm sure she'll have a better chance fighting off those demons."

"What about the other demigods?" Wendy says. The pope begins,

"The number of demigods in this world is not as grand as you may have believed. As of now, less than about 100 Demigods are roaming the earth. It may seem like a lot, but when you consider how large the world is, many of them are scattered around the globe. Not to mention that only a handful of those demigods have the offensive power to deal with this threat."

"What about Ronny?"

Wendy signals to the boy she deemed her precious childhood friend. "Couldn't he help me with this whole thing, I don't know how strong those demons are but Ronny has gotten pretty strong in a short amount of time!" 

"I would have no problem with his assistance, after all the phoenix is the spirit that had rejuvenated the power of the Egyptian gods. Though recent inquiries have informed me that another matter will take up his time in the foreseeable future."

"I see…" She says as she ponders what event could take place that would leave Ronny incapable of aiding her. Nonetheless, Wendy has reached the height of the current conversation, immediately standing up from her seat. 

"I'm sorry Your Highness, but I must decline. I don't necessarily feel an obligation to give myself to the church to this extent. I've never really been religious so I honestly just want my life back as soon as possible. I'll fight off demons if they come my way, but I have no intention of becoming some all-powerful god. I'm not sure where you got all these prophecies from, but I'm not the type to allow myself to be imposed by some predetermined fate. With that said, I'll be taking my leave.'' The girl bows her head, before looking over to the petite girl beside her. "Sorry, Hibiki…" She says before making her way out of the premises, leaving the Pope's presence. As Wendy is seen walking out of the corridor, she sees a familiar face, in which she frowns. Just her like for her to run into Veronica.

"Leaving so soon?"

"Can it, you old hag," Wendy says, not even taking a moment to look at the Archbishop. She laughs at her vulgar response before continuing, "Oh don't hold a grudge, like I said I was only doing my job. Do take care of yourselves now, my little birdie.~" Hibiki, who stayed behind with the Pope, speaks up. "Forgive me for her abrasiveness, Father. I'm sure she just needs some time to process the information." The Pope replies, "Do not be discouraged my dear, these things have a way of working themselves out." Hibiki smiles, holding a strong sense of respect for the elder she is in the presence of. "Well, thank you for having me in your presence, Father, but I had better return to my church as well.." Hibiki bows her head at the man before turning to leave. Before the young maiden had left the room, however, the Pope spoke up once more. "Hold just a minute, my child. Before we part ways, there is still one more matter I must discuss with you, concerning your church's deformation."

Wendy can be seen walking towards a man who's been waiting for her outside the Vatican, This man smiles at her as she comes into view. "Thanks for waiting Ronny…" She says smiling back at him, she takes a moment to look at the boy as he stands in front of their ride. Before her is a gold floating boat parked by the other cars, this boat is encrypted with old Egyptian texts, and a long handle at the front. 

"Wow, so this is how you get around these days then?" Scyron laughs for a moment before inputting, "Oh yeah, this was Ra's sun boat. Basey gave it to me as a present when we dropped her off in Egypt not too long ago."

"Basey?" Looking back he says, "Oh yeah you haven't met her yet. I mean the cat Goddess Bastet. She's supposed to act as the Ogdoad's protector, along with her sister Sekhmet." Wendy immediately looks at the boy with a deadpan look. "Bastet, and yet you called her Basey. Tell me, Ronny, this girl isn't someone who holds romantic feelings for you?" Scyron aims the boat up to the sky, Helping Wendy aboard ready to set off.

"Hehe, I'm not sure how to answer that one. Now then, It's been a while, but let's go home, Wendy!" She rolls her eyes before smiling at him, "Yes, let's shall!"