"…The Gates of Heaven?" Lucian stared at the woman's unchanging expression. "Wha— what will I be doing there? What about stopping the shadows stuff? The Well? What do the Priestesses want from me anyway?"
Seraphina glanced down at his lower region and licked her lips subtly. "Quite a lot of things…" Then she looked up at him. "But first, and more importantly, because of your unprecedented affinity for the Light Rune, your training, little vessel, cannot begin amidst this mere world. It begins at Heaven's Gate."
"Why?" Lucian blurted. "Why do I have to train there? Why not here?"
"Because the land isn't equipped enough to grow that power." Seraphina narrowed her eyes. "Could the Goddess not have chosen a smarter one?"
"You're not taking him!" a voice suddenly echoed from behind them.
The entire hall collapsed into sudden silence. One fueled with disbelief that someone had dared spoken and fear of what Seraphina would do to retaliate.
Seraphina was quiet for a while. Then, she slowly moved her curvy body, pivoting to the Anchors and lesser nuns behind her. She didn't ask who had said that, rather her eyes immediately landed on Celeste, as though she knew from the energies in the room pointing to the silver-haired nun's direction.
"Sister Celeste," Seraphina smiled with deceptive warmth. "You've gotten quite bold since we last met."
Celeste's lips were quivering, but that didn't stop her. "I'm not letting you take him!" she cried, squeezing her hands like it had taken a leap of faith to blurt out.
Lucian's brows raised, surprised and almost touched by the Prayer Nun's defense of him.
Seraphina scoffed, slowly stepping down from the platform. "And what are you going to do? What magic are you going to use to stop me?" She scanned the rest of the nuns. "Have you already forgotten that I am more powerful than every single one of you Sisters combined?"
Elaris stepped forward, and it seemed like for the first time, she and Celeste were going to be on the same side. "Please, Lady Seraphina. As enforcer, you must understand the High Priest's importance to the land of Altareign. The Shadow threatens further as the Heart Well dries up. Dark magic grows. He must see to these matters first before leaving for the Pearly Gates."
Seraphina didn't even glance her way. Elaris's words had hit an invisible wall of utter disregard. "As enforcer, Sister Elaris, what I must do is follow the orders of the Conclave. The Conclave have demanded that I bring the High Priest."
"But I have authority over the Conclave," Lucian said, realizing that suddenly. The nuns and Seraphina swiveled their heads to his direction.
"You do," Seraphina said with a doomed smile.
Lucian adjusted himself, standing tall and straightening his shoulders. "Then I reject their invitation!" he declared after clearing his throat.
Seraphina looked at him for a moment, her clothes waving slightly, hair glittering, staff brimming. Then, she exploded into a hearty condescending laughter.
"Kekekekeke! That is not how this works, poor Father Lucian. You have authority over the Conclave, but you don't have total control. Especially not at this stage where you've barely proven yourself."
Lucian frowned, pondering to himself for a moment. Then, he asked her another question. "How do I do that then?"
"Do what?" Seraphina swung her hair over her shoulder.
"Prove myself," Lucian explained. "How do I do that?"
An evil, mischievous, almost sinful grin tore out of Seraphina's beautiful face. She leaned forward, her gallons of breasts swinging down on their own weight as her voice reduced to a dramatic whisper.
"You do that by dominating all the Priestesses," she responded.
"Whaaaaaa?" Lucian backpedaled, almost tripping on the edge of his long garment.
Seraphina stood straight, smiling innocently. "And by completing sets of training, missions, rituals and holy tasks of course!"
Lucian paused, staring at her— at her face this time, for sure, because he was utterly bewildered. 'What did she mean by dominating the Priestesses? Isn't this place supposed to be pure and stuff? Or am I reading too much into all of this?'
"What are we going to do in the meantime?!" Elaris asked.
Marielle stepped forward, hands folded below her chest, sword glinting by her waist. "Demons are rising at ridiculous numbers. My Warrior Nuns were hoping that with the High Priest, we would have it easier in clearing Hellgates. But now you're taking him away. Without him, we cannot promise that Altareign could survive more incursions."
Seraphina glanced over her shoulder at the Warrior Nun and shrugged. "You are the disciples of the High Priest. If you can not protect the world in his absence then are you really worthy of being by his side? Maybe we should summon the Clergy to find us stronger nuns."
Marielle narrowed her eyes at the threat.
Lucian wanted to protest further, but Seraphina was already moving towards him. Her free hand shot out, not to grip his chin this time, but to seize his wrist.
He instantly shivered at how cold her palm was. The touch she had. It was like a manacle of pure energy.
"No! You cannot simply take him!" Celeste suddenly cried out, finding her voice again, though it trembled with fear.
Marielle moved with lightning speed, clamping her gauntleted hand on Celeste's shoulder, pulling her back sharply. "Don't try anything, Celeste!" Marielle hissed, her eyes wide with warning, fixed on Seraphina's staff. "You know how powerful she is."
The glowing golden runes that appeared around the sleeve of Celeste's arm slowly vanished as she turned off her magic and watched helplessly.
"Come, True Sovereign," Seraphina declared, her tone final and enthusiastic. "The Pearly Gates await."
She raised her golden staff. The sun sigil at its apex blazed with an intensity that was almost similar to the Light Orb's earlier display. Pure, annihilating radiance erupted, not just from the staff, but from Seraphina herself, from the very air around them.
It flooded the Selection Hall, a tidal wave of blinding, golden-white light that consumed everything – the gasps of the nuns, Celeste's stifled cry, Elaris's worried face, Marielle's stern expression, the five orbs, the ancient murals.
Lucian felt a sensation of being torn, not painfully, but fundamentally, from the fabric of the world he'd just begun to comprehend. There was no sound, only the overwhelming light and the terrifying, amused glint in Seraphina's molten gold eyes as they held his.
'This really wasn't how I expected to see the Pearly Gates!'