"Brother..I've been wondering. Couldn't you pray to Mother and have your arm restored?" asked Henry. The idea came to mind as he stared at Vincent's wrapped shoulder.
If the badge had been enough to mend Henry's own wounds after their first confrontation, it stood to reason that Vincent should receive the same grace.
Vincent traced the edge of his left collarbone, a weary smile pulling at his lips."If only I could. The badges don't hold enough power to repair damage of this scale without impacting my spiritual energy."
He then shook his head and added, "To have someone make any changes to your soul, you would need to let their spiritual energy interact with yours at the core node directly. Without that, the arm would never respond to my will, even if I regained it, and I'd rather not give our mother free rein over my mind to see everything I do."
'Thankfully, she doesn't ..' Damon subconsciously agreed with his last statement. It was one thing to be watched; it was another entirely to have one's innermost thoughts laid bare. That would be simply unbearable.
Henry frowned slightly, taking out his badge.
"So it would just be useless?"
"Pretty much," Vincent smiled and shrugged, glancing to his left with a relaxed expression. "You could still use it to restore your spiritual energy as Damon did, but I don't recommend it."
'Could this guy be more tactless…' Damon thought as he side-eyed Vincent. He glanced toward Kruger, fearing the priest might become suspicious, but the man had already closed his eyes, slipping into meditation.
'From the looks of it, they completely misunderstood the changes in my energy.' Damon secretly sighed. He then shifted his focus back to Vincent."What's the problem with using the badge for spiritual energy?"
"Becoming reliant on it would stagnate your energy growth over time. Our core nodes need exercise just like any other part of the body to properly function."Vincent pointed to his temple and said.
With that, the interior fell into silence as Vincent and Henry, who decided to continue their meditation, temporarily had nothing more to say. In the meantime, Damon was assigned to look out duty; however, he argued this was pointless, considering he did not know what the cathedral looked like.
Four minutes later, they heard the clatter of the wheels soften until the trotting of the black horse pulling the carriage along the stone road came to a halt.
Damon lifted his gaze toward the window, and the looming silhouette of masonry immediately filled his vision.
The structure seemed to soak up the surrounding lamplight, its cream-colored walls turning a soft, burnished gold. Near the green dome-roofed chapel, a pair of black spires remained somber and sharp, as if cutting a jagged path through thin clouds.
Rows of flying buttresses bled sharp shadows against the nave, looking like the massive ribcage of a sleeping titan, and up where the light began to thin, headless marble statues erected along the roof-line stood out against the darkened sky. Each one's surface was riddled with cracks, and from within grew vines decorated with Aureate lotuses that seemed to lure the eyes of anyone passing by.
Damon was no exception either; however, his attention was soon drawn to the figure of a man with a familiar raven perched on his shoulder, standing by the cathedral doors.
He wore a loose robe rather than the single-breasted suits and tunic tops worn by the men around him, and in his hand he held a rectangular metal case, as if patiently waiting for a pickup service.
"A monk..?" Damon muttered.
As he rose, the others stirred from their trance. Kruger was the first on his feet, reaching for the door handle even as Henry gasped.
"It's.. massive!" blurted Henry, stumbling out behind the priest.
Vincent similarly echoed this sentiment with a slight nod as he stood up.
As Henry and Kruger stepped outside, Damon looked back at him for a moment. He could tell he still wasn't close to full strength, but managed to regain eight gallons worth of spiritual energy.
After stepping down from the carriage, they both then studied the man's unfamiliar attire as he stood like a sentry. Unsurprisingly, a few civilians rudely pointed as they passed by, sharing quiet remarks.
"Shouldn't that be attire for a temple?"Henry inquired, raising a brow.
Without turning his head, Kruger began walking toward the entrance and said, "He is from a temple. That is Deacon Lindani Talawa, and he hails from one of the many villages scattered throughout the kingdom. In those regions, temples remain the primary structures constructed to honor our Lord; as such, their attire reflects that of early ministry culture."
Damon studied Lindani as they approached. The man made no effort to adjust his robe or blend in, despite the occasional stares from passersby on the nightly street. There was something quietly defiant in that stillness—a refusal to bend to expectations that Damon found himself respecting despite himself.
Lindani opened one of the large doors behind him and stepped inside as they followed.
"It is a blessing to see you return safely, Dizang," he said, his voice settled in a friendly yet respectful tone. "I did as you requested and granted the Olympian deaconess usage of Arcane tool 1006. A few minutes ago, she departed with a Detective Rǔchuān, headed for the Franz estate."
"Dizang?"The unfamiliar name immediately caught Damon's attention.
'Isn't that the name of a mythical guardian of souls and the land of the dead..?'
Beside him, Vincent's brow furrowed as he searched his memory for where he'd heard the name, Franz. While he was a bit surprised by the reveal of the priest's given name, he had already guessed the man had a diverse background, as most residents of Koinonia did.
Ignoring their curious expressions, Kruger lowered his gaze for a second and inquired as he thought about it. "The same woman mentioned in the papers last year?"
"I believe so," Lindani answered.
"I see." Kruger's silver eyes flickered with concern. "In that case, why have you not sealed away the Arcane Tool?"
Upon hearing that, Lindani lifted the case slightly."I was uncertain whether you would require it."
"You have already cooperated with the Olympian church. That will be sufficient. You may return the tool to storage, as I will not be using it myself," said Kruger as he shook his head.
Lindani bowed. The raven took flight from his shoulder, fluttering across the hall to land on Kruger's. Without another word, the Deacon vanished into the cathedral's deep shadows, the metal case glinting once before he was gone.
"Should we split up?" Vincent asked, his green eyes tracking the spot where Lindani had disappeared. "Lorelei is capable, but I doubt she'll have much luck arresting an entire mansion of suspects alone."
"I fear you are right," Kruger agreed. "Lady Lorelei's methods tend toward the... aggressive. If she has already reached the Franz estate, a confrontation is almost certain."
Kruger turned his gaze to Damon and Henry. "You two will take the carriage and provide support. My raven will guide you. Vincent, you will remain here with me while I verify the status of Zaheer Constantine's soul."
Vincent's posture stiffened. "I'd rather not stay behind."
"You must," Kruger replied, his voice dropping an octave. "The soul you are currently carrying has not yet been properly laid to rest."
The air in the hallway seemed to plummet in temperature.
Immediately, the three brothers froze.
'He knows about Marco...' Damon's eyes narrowed. They had suspected as much at the mortuary, but to bring it up now, so bluntly?
"How?" Vincent asked, his voice trembling despite his efforts. "I destroyed the core. I cut straight through it."
Kruger sighed, a sound of genuine pity. "If an individual possesses even a trace of Death affinity, destroying the physical core does not sever the tether to the soul. The presence is faint, almost as though it exists at a different spatial point, but I can still sense him."
He looked directly at Vincent's chest. "If you still have the body, we must arrange a ceremonial cremation."
Vincent hesitated, caught between shock and a lingering sense of attachment. He hadn't told Damon or Henry, but the truth was, he had already noticed it.
Damon stepped forward, breaking the tension. "Is that even allowed? Marco wasn't an official Specter like you."
Kruger shook his head slowly, gesturing to the towering walls around them.
"That does not matter. He once received the blessing of our Lord. That alone is enough to earn him a place engraved within these walls."