CHAPTER 41: SANCTIFICATION

"I don’t get it..." Stratus answered and was confused about what it meant for Seraphina to take the Holy of the Temple.

"You gathered Holy?"

"I didn’t gather Holy like I usually did! You didn’t see it properly! Maybe it’s because I am the only one who can sense it! Let me put it this way... I’ll ask you! Stratus, tell me, have my powers increased or decreased?" Seraphina smiled.

"What? Of course it has decre-" But Stratus’s words stopped.

Vayne and Sayla also wore a stunned expression.

The Judgment Ray that Seraphina managed to cast was far greater than the ones she had cast before.

"No...! It was... marvelous! It can’t be...! You mean...!"

"The healing spell of the Princess! It was fast again! Princess! You’re powers have returned!" Vayne shouted in delight, as did Sayla.

"Do you understand now? This Temple has offered the one thing that allowed Sanctus Luminara to rise! The one thing that Sanctus Luminara was losing! Sanctification!"

At those words, the group trembled. But then, they recalled their battles.

"Those bells!" Stratus exclaimed.

"It resounds in holiness and could even push back the mist and darkness of Libra. Princess... Did it amplify...?"

"No! My powers did not amplify the energy of the bell! It triggered it! My prayers made it release those powers! Do you understand? We have here an artifact that has been lost ever since the Great Sealing and the Great Renew eras of the past. This is First Magic! We have found it! We now have a more powerful source of Holy! One that is at least three times greater than what we had in the Kingdom at its peak! And this one... is alive!"

The group burst into many questions. They all began to speak and answer each other’s questions.

Everyone was far more alive than ever.

"We found something that can save the kingdom!"

"Praise God!" Stratus wept.

"It’s far more than this. I saw it! At each bell strike! The Holy energy that came out of it! You were being Sanctified! It purged the Mist, and did more! From what I can see, it’s possible that all of you will gain the Holiness!"

"Holiness?!" Vayne trembled.

Sayla was also shaking.

"We can... we can return!"

"No! It is too early to return like this!" Seraphina rejected it.

"She’s right! We can’t! Not now!" Stratus added.

"What’s going on? What are you guys so excited about?" Thane asked in confusion.

"It’s like this, Hero Thane." Seraphina approached Thane and spoke at a strangely close distance. She was excited and began to narrate the power of the Temple while her eyes are locked on Thanes.

"The Temple that we have here has a tremendous ability to resonate Holiness! It used it to seal the Angel, and even attacked it, as if trying to kill it! This means that the tmp ol ishaaa deevnnaa prowfles rehssd tehsmf ehchemenfinguh remselhsaus kleevore skeaskt..."

Thane couldn’t think or hear anything else as his head began to sing something from Ed Sheeran.

"I found a love for me... Oh, darling, just dive right in and follow my lead... Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet..."

"Thane!"

Vayne realized what Thane was going through and shouted as he saw Thane’s dumb and entranced look.

But his shout had no effect. He stomped closer, now a little more frustrated than before.

"THANE!" He shouted at Thane’s ears.

"I... I do!" Thane jolted and confirmed his vows.

"What?" Princess Seraphina was confused.

"What?"

Vayne facepalmed.

"Thane, as you have deduced, a great plot has been made to kill the Princess. But more importantly, it is a power struggle. Our Kingdom has been on a great decline because our Holiness is fading."

"Fading?"

"Yes. This is why my brothers probably agreed to this plot. Support against me has been fading, since Holiness has been fading."

"Fading? You’re holiness was fading?"

"This is a secret among the kingdom, but most nobles know it. It’s not surprising that Hero Thane is not versed in this. The seat of power of the kingdom of Sanctus Luminara is the Holy Place. Where one who is worthy can enter and go receive the power of Sanctify. This allows Princess Seraphina to offer her prayers. And in the kingdom, only she is deemed worthy."

"The problem is, Sanctify can only be done in the Holy Room. And that power source has drastically weakened. It has been a problem for years. We even calculate that the Gravulkar would soon be on our borders! War will definitely come! And now, they probably used that as an excuse to oust the Princess! They abandoned the Divine Child of the Kingdom and would change the kingdom! Removing theocracy and establishing their own dynasty!"

"Wasn’t she... the one to inherit the crown? Or was it tied to her Sanctification?"

"It’s tied to it. But if no object can sanctify her, or if the Sanctifying powers weakened, her value diminishes. Already, we are preparing for war against the Kingdom Gravulkar, who wants to destroy all Holiness..."

"Thane had a bizarre expression. He had seen a strange phrase on the list of episodes when he watched the first episode of The Sanctus Scandals.

"Wasn’t there an episode that said, Elyndoré was connected to this plot...?" Thane murmured.

"Hmm... Is Ebenzer... connected to Elyndoré?" Thane asked.

At that moment, Vayne and the rest had what appeared to be an epiphany.

"Elyndoré!" The four chorused.

"He’s right! Could this be...?!" Sayla asked.

Seraphina had a grave expression.

"It is possible... If that’s the case, we’ve been reading and planning against the wrong enemy!" Seraphina cursed.

Thane decided that it was best he relay other clues, and instinctively reached for the Celestial TV remote.

FWIP!

[ENEMIES DETECTED.]

[Celestial TV shutting down...]

[5]

[4]

[3]

Horror stabbed through Thane’s chest as the countdown ticked. There wasn’t anything in the room! Unless...

"What’s wrong?" Vayne called, alarmed.

"He’s still alive! I forgot! It’s an angel! We destroyed his body... but this one has left its habitation!" Thane shouted, his voice sharp with dread. His gaze snapped toward Libra’s corpse.

At that moment, a skull wreathed in mist tore free from the angel’s body and shot toward Thane.

"You brat! You foiled my plan!" Libra’s voice thundered once more as the skeletal head lunged.

The mist-born skull of Libra shot toward Thane with terrifying speed. Before anyone could even react, the remains of the fallen angel’s soul clamped onto him, wrapping around his body like a net of shadows.

"Thane!" Seraphina screamed.

The air crackled. A warping circle of jagged light unfurled beneath them, its geometry twisted and broken, far removed from the holy symmetry of the Temple. In desperation, Libra unleashed his last card!

"Let’s continue our one-on-one!" Libra laughed as he dove towards Thane, harnessing his magic.

It was a warping spell designed to tear both captor and victim away from the sanctified ground.

WARRRPPP!

A dark light appeared, and both were swallowed in a vortex.

"No!" Seraphina cried again, her voice raw with anguish.

The knights watched in horror as the light swallowed Thane whole.

Stratus and Sayla staggered forward, their hands reaching helplessly, but it was too late.

Thane and Libra vanished from the Temple.

The silence that followed was unbearable.

Hadn’t they just found hope? Hadn’t they just discovered that they had a Temple with them?

Seraphina fell to her knees, her hands trembling. "No... no, no, no..."

Her tears struck the cold stone floor. The Princess who had carried herself with poise and courage through countless battles now broke down openly, her sobs echoing through the ruined Temple.

"Lord... bring him back... bring him back..."

Her allies bowed their heads, their grief heavy. For all their struggle, it seemed as though victory had been stolen from them.