Aris stared at Scarlet, his gaze wide and innocent, utterly mesmerized by her striking presence. Her firm, serious demeanor was softened by the unique intensity of her pink eyes and the bright contrast of her red hair against the solemn marble of the Church. Her beauty seemed to momentarily captivate his soul, offering a small, human anchor in this overwhelming, divine space. He quickly broke the contact, turning his head away sharply, his fear of appearing too forward warring fiercely with his immediate, naive attraction.
Lucky, the eternal prankster and keen observer of human weakness, missed nothing. He grinned broadly, his own pink eyes dancing with amusement. He leaned in conspiratorially, his voice dropping to a theatrical whisper, and nudged Aris lightly with his elbow. "My sister so cute right~? She cleans up nice, doesn't she?" Lucky couldn't resist mocking the boy's flushed confusion.
Aris flinched violently, his face instantly turning a bright crimson hue that clashed dramatically with the pale marble around them. "It's not like that!" he exclaimed, stammering the denial out with the clumsy haste of a teenage boy caught off guard.
Lucky merely chuckled, leaning back slightly, fully satisfied with the reaction. "Oh, I get it, I get it. The silent type. Very wise."
Scarlet, oblivious to the subtle undercurrents of the conversation and focused purely on the hierarchy of their departure, watched the strange exchange with genuine, professional confusion. Did my brother's poison—that infectious lack of focus and respect—get to the newcomer so quickly? she pondered, frowning at Aris's unnatural redness. Her only frame of reference for such erratic behavior was Lucky.
Aris, desperate for a change of subject and the reassurance of an adult voice, turned desperately toward Merlin. Merlin, however, viewed the entire display as a monumental waste of precious time. He let out a weary, almost imperceptible internal sigh, a sign of the constant burden of commanding two subordinates perpetually prone to distraction. "Alright, Lucky. Let's head out. We have a crucial meeting with the Archbishop."
"Aww, okay..." Lucky muttered, clearly disappointed that his attempt at matchmaking and tormenting Aris was cut short by high-level bureaucracy. He straightened, though his grin remained.
Merlin fixed his gaze on Scarlet, his expression one of calm, absolute command that demanded adherence. "Scarlet, introduce Aris to the surroundings and ensure he remains strictly confined within the acceptable zones of the compound while we report back. His spiritual signature is still volatile."
"Yes, Sir Merlin!" Scarlet snapped to attention. Her intense enthusiasm stemmed from her deep respect and desire to emulate Merlin's own rigorous discipline and tactical genius. Aris, observing her instant deference and rigid posture, had correctly concluded that the commander was indeed her primary role model.
"Aris," Merlin addressed the young Sinner, offering a rare moment of assurance as he recognized the boy's anxiety and isolated status. "Feel free here. This is your new home. Use this time to acclimate."
Aris nodded, acknowledging the comfort despite his apprehension. He turned back toward Scarlet as the three agents—Merlin and Genius marching with disciplined, almost inhuman synchronicity, Lucky dragging his feet and shooting one last wink at Aris—went away. They were immediately swallowed by the colossal scale of the Nave, leaving the overwhelmed newcomer in the charge of his surprisingly firm guide.
Scarlet watched Aris, her expression shifting from the rigid focus demanded by Merlin to a relaxed weariness as the trio finally moved out of sight, their footsteps fading into the immense volume of the Nave. She let out a quiet sigh, adjusting the fit of her gloves. The duty was hers now.
"So, Aris, follow me," she said, her voice dropping from its formal register to a more conversational, though still firm, tone. "I'll show you around and tell you all the rules and stuff. Pay attention; this isn't Rytha."
Aris simply nodded, absorbing the instruction. He fell into step a respectful distance behind her as she started to move forward, his mind already churning with anticipation about what wonders he would see within this unreal, monumental church. Every detail of the architecture now seemed less like passive stone and more like active spiritual technology.
As Scarlet led the way, navigating the vast corridors that circled the central core, she found Aris profoundly intriguing. She glanced back at him, noting his wide, hyper-observing eyes and the way he cataloged every pillar and relief carving. He feels familiar, she thought, a brief flash of recognition surfacing, as if she had seen him somewhere before, perhaps in a classified file only the highest-ranking Sinner teams should access, or maybe in a fleeting, chaotic moment during the Calamity itself. She quickly brushed the thought off, dismissing the distraction for the sake of efficiency, and returned to her current duty as guide.
"This first floor is where all the equipment, alchemist stations, and Calamity Finder stuff are located," she explained, gesturing broadly to the side chambers and large, reinforced laboratories recessed between the great columns. "It's the logistical hub for active containment. Every spiritual tool and every consecrated reagent is processed here."
Aris listened with focused attention, absorbing the information like a sponge. "Oh, that's cool! This is so huge! I only saw labs like this in my school, but they were nothing like this! The scale alone implies a mastery of spiritual chemistry I never imagined." Aris said excitedly, the academic curiosity overriding his nervousness.
Scarlet nodded in response to his enthusiasm. A slight, almost imperceptible smirk curved her lips—she found his earnestness refreshing after the usual grim seriousness and self-importance of the high-ranking Sinners she usually interacted with. "Well, there's more than just that. These labs handle everything from purifying water for the central district to forging spiritual alloy for Merlin's combat armor. Let's head up to the second floor."
She led Aris toward a massive door of pure ethereal beauty. It was built with intricate silver and golden paneling that seemed to shimmer with an inner, arcane light, framed by stylized carvings that resembled ascending angels, their wings forming the geometric pattern of the door frame. "This is the lift," she explained. "It's powered by Holy Magic—the continuous flow of purified spiritual energy from the central leylines."
Aris looked at the door in awe. It was the first time seeing a lift this massive and, nonetheless, one powered by a mystical force. It was yet another powerful symbol of the Church's total mastery over both mundane engineering and spiritual energy, perfectly combining technological function with religious symbolism.
The massive silver and golden door slid open not with a gentle mechanical hiss, but with a rush of steam and smoke, thick with the scent of ozone and concentrated spiritual power. Aris's awe grew even bigger, his breath catching as the interior of the lift was revealed to be as breathtaking as the door itself. The walls were polished obsidian, reflecting the light like dark mirrors, inlaid with glowing gold sigils that pulsed with a slow, rhythmic energy, clearly demonstrating the source of the "Holy Magic" Scarlet had mentioned. The ceiling was a dome of deep blue crystal, giving the illusion of open sky.
"This is amazing," Aris muttered under his breath, his eyes wide as he took in the sheer expenditure of spiritual and material wealth on a simple conveyance. The lift itself was a mobile shrine.
Scarlet chuckled softly, genuinely amused by his wide-eyed wonder. "Oh, trust me, this is still the basic transport. There's more up there you won't believe."
Aris nodded eagerly, his excitement palpable, and followed her into the colossal lift.
The massive lift began its smooth, silent ascent. Scarlet looked over at Aris, her earlier amusement replaced by a focused, intense curiosity. She couldn't hold it in any longer; the files on the newly awakened Sinner were sparse, but the whisper about his "Awakening Dream" was not.
"If you don't mind," Scarlet asked, her voice slightly lowered and serious, hoping to find an answer to the terrifying questions currently circulating at the highest levels of the Church. "What exactly happened in your dream? What did you see when you awoke?"
Aris looked at her, the fear from the experience still chilling his core. "The world was destroyed," he began, his voice barely a whisper, forcing the images back into his mind. "It was all blood and corpses, and the moon was red and the sky was red, and everything felt like it was pulling my soul into the pits of hell." He trembled slightly as he recounted the horror of the vision, clutching his forearms as if warding off a chill.
When he looked back at Scarlet, her usually stern features were slackened, her pink eyes wide and staring, as if she had just witnessed the terrifying vision of an Outer God itself.
"Oh, okay," Scarlet muttered, recovering slowly, but Aris saw the visible flinch that ran through her body. It was the first time she had heard of a survivor that described the world-ending vision associated with his specific Sin, especially one from the rare and dangerous Brave Path. She instinctively knew Aris was utterly clueless about the devastating implications of what he had just described—a prophecy of true global annihilation—and she made a conscious choice not to burden him with the horrifying truth yet.
"Is everything alright, Scarlet?" Aris asked, noticing her sudden pallor and distraction.
Scarlet shook her head slightly, forcing her professional composure back into place. "Yeah, it's nothing. Just... spiritual interference from the lower levels, sometimes the magic in the lift gives me a jolt. Let's keep moving. The lift is up."
The heavy door hissed, releasing a billow of steam and spiritual essence once more, and slid open to reveal the Second Floor. Aris gasped inwardly. The entire circumference of the vast, circular wall was composed almost entirely of towering, stained-glass windows. The light streaming through turned the whole floor into a breathtaking kaleidoscope, reflecting the deep, colorful artistry of the Church even more brilliantly than the Nave below. The sight filled Aris with renewed excitement, though he managed to suppress it behind a calm smile, determined not to look like the "puppy" Lucky had teased him about.
"This is beautiful," Aris murmured, stepping forward. He reached out and lightly touched the nearest panel of glass. The texture was strange, simultaneously rough and soft, and he could feel the immense, devotional labor put into its creation, the microscopic effort required to contain the color within the panes.
Scarlet watched him, a slight smirk playing on her lips at his reaction. Yet, deep down, she knew that Aris had a great, unknown burden coming for him. She forced the grim thought away for now, shrugging it off. She lightly tapped his shoulder. "Let's go, Aris. Duty first."
Aris turned, nodded, and followed her. "This floor is where the teams are stationed," Scarlet explained, walking toward the center of the ring where several open workstations were located. "Every team has their own dedicated space; it's really big. It's the operational command center. There are a total of thirty-four teams registered with the Church. You will meet them soon, probably."
Just as Scarlet finished her explanation, a new figure approached them. She looked young, around Aris's age, and was wearing the standard, highly embroidered Church suit, paired with a neat skirt. She had vibrant pink hair and warm brown eyes set in a round, soft face. Her eyes glowed with recognition as she spotted Scarlet, and she rushed toward them.
"Scarlet!" she exclaimed happily, immediately pulling Scarlet into a big hug.
Scarlet sighed, enduring the embrace. "Senior Iuka, I can't breathe," she said softly, though without real malice.
Aris calculated the identity from Scarlet's prior comment: this was Iuka.
Iuka let go instantly. "Oops, my bad, hehe!" she apologized clumsily, and then her attention snapped to Aris. Her brown eyes widened. "Ohh, we got a new face here! A very new face!"
Aris, still processing the sudden appearance and the hug, just chuckled awkwardly. "Yes... I'm Aris. I just got here."
Iuka's eyes sparkled. She quickly checked Aris over, front and back, with an incredibly direct stare, and then patted his shoulder with an air of playful authority. "Hmp! Nice guy! Pretty cute," she smirked.
Aris's face flushed hot again. "Thanks..." he managed to say, feeling the familiar, sudden pressure of his social anxiety under the scrutiny.
Iuka just flashed a brilliant smile and skipped off to a nearby workstation. "See you guys around! Maybe for lunch!"
Aris, still flushed from the quick appraisal, couldn't help but ponder how his life was rapidly changing, filling with strange encounters and overwhelming sensory input. Before he could dwell on it further, Scarlet's voice snapped him back to reality.
"Well, don't mind her," Scarlet said, shaking her head. "She is always like that. Quite the prankster."
"You guys seemed close," Aris observed.
Scarlet sighed. "She's part of the problem. Iuka is officially assigned to Sir, Merlin's team—and unfortunately, my brother's influence got to her. She should be focused, but she's constantly distracted."
"Sir Lucky?" Aris asked, seeking confirmation.
"Yes, he got her infected too," she confirmed, a small sign of her resignation to Lucky's chaotic nature. "Anyways, let's go to the Third Floor. That is where the famous Library of Luminara and the main training grounds are located."
As soon as Aris heard the words Library and, nonetheless, the Library of Luminara, his eyes sparkled like a dog in heat. He knew the Library of Luminara was fabled to hold all manner of restricted texts, forgotten histories, and classified spiritual doctrine—a priceless collection to feed his voracious knowledge. "Yes, let's go!" he exclaimed, forgetting his attempt at composure entirely.
Scarlet was startled by his sheer enthusiasm after hearing the word "library," immediately figuring out that he was a profound bookworm—a trait she might have normally admired. She smirked, ready to tease him about trading combat training for history books, but before she could make a move, her face went utterly blank as a sudden, sharp spiritual signal came into her mind—a priority alert that overrode all other sensory input and rational thought. It was a direct, high-level summons.
She quickly spun toward Aris, all traces of playfulness gone. "We need to go," she said, her voice dropping instantly to a serious, low, urgent tone. "They are calling for you, Aris."
Aris had no time to ask questions—no time to wonder what she meant by they or who was calling for him. The sudden, extreme seriousness in her voice, replacing her earlier composure, didn't sound good at all. "Wait..." he began, instinctively stepping back.
Scarlet didn't wait. Her discipline took over. She grabbed his arm with a surprising burst of strength, dragging him back toward the lift, and rapidly pressed the button for the Seventh Floor.