Extra's POV: My Obsessive Villainous Fiancee Is The Game's Final Boss-Chapter 180: Headcount
The Bishop stood tall at the front of the chapel, his long white and silver robes flowing like liquid light as he stepped away from the pulpit and addressed the gathered aspirants directly.
"You all must be wondering why you were asked to stay behind." He smiled kindly at them. "Calm yourselves, aspirants. You have done nothing wrong."
A wave of relieved muttering swept through the gathered aspirants, Ren and Lilith watching quietly. His eyes swept the room, taking in the casual stance of the Chosen around them. It didn't seem like they were preparing to catch spies.
He still didn't drop his guard, focusing back on the Bishop.
"In fact, you should all be proud of yourselves." The man smiled proudly as if it was his own children who were assembled in front of him. "You stand right on the cusp of transformation. From the dust of the ordinary, you will rise into clarity. You will become Chosen."
A hush fell over the room. As if waiting for this exact moment, the sun fully rose into the sky, bright golden light spilling through the stained glass of the chapel, sending a kaleidoscope of colors spinning around the room.
"But understand that this is just the beginning of a long journey. A long journey of becoming one in resonance with the Creator." The Bishop continued, hands clasped lightly behind his back.
"And always remember the lesson you have been taught since you all were selected as aspirants at a very young age. Resonance does not favor the timid. It does not reveal its true strength to those who cower. Fear," he said, pausing for emphasis, "is a parasite. It burrows deep into the soul, feeding off doubt. And so, for you to bloom, fear must be cut out."
Ren mastered his expression, trying to keep the smirk that was building him from showing. It wouldn't do to stand out.
The Bishop's words might have felt like a flowery, dramatic speech, but it was anything but. A warning for all aspirants. If one does not conquer fear, they would fail the test of the Shivering Tree.
Lilith stood beside him, quiet, but he knew she was listening just as closely as he was.
The Bishop smiled faintly. "As of last night, we have received new orders from the Synod."
Murmurs began immediately, some of the aspirants turning to one another in confusion.
"The initiation trials," the Bishop said, raising his voice slightly over the whispers, "will begin today."
Gasps filled the room. Some aspirants tensed, and others began to panic.
Ren's eyes widened. Today?
He exchanged a glance with Lilith. So, this was what Florian meant when he said they had a big day ahead of them.
"Without further ado, we shall proceed with the preparations. Let us begin with a headcount." The Bishop continued, his voice resuming its smooth cadence. "Chosen Thalen."
One of the Chosen along the wall stepped forward. His expression was blank, but his eyes roved around the aspirants like a lion before prey.
"Retrieve the aspirant list from Archivist Davien."
Thalen bowed and turned, leaving the chapel through a side door.
"When the list gets here, we shall verify your identities." The Bishop said. "Before then, we ask that you remain orderly and silent."
"This day, after all, marks the end of what you were... and the beginning of what you will become."
Ren's heart beat faster in his chest. His eyes moved to the Chosen around the room. They were subtly building their resonance loops, unseen by the eye, but Ren could feel it.
His gaze went back to the Bishop, they'd given Florian their actual names, and had no idea what the names of the aspirants they'd replaced were. Killing them immediately had been a mistake.
If the list is allowed to reach the hand of the Bishop, their cover would be blown. And their chances of finding the Blood Chosen would dwindle to zero.
Fuck!
The room buzzed with the sound of the aspirants murmuring anxiously among themselves. The chapel was filled with their whispers, some full of excitement, others panicking as they tried to recall all they could of their training.
The sudden change in schedule had shaken some of them and their partners were trying to calm them. A few of them placed masks of bravado on their faces, trying to look confident, while a few others glanced around like trapped animals.
Ren leaned slightly toward Lilith. "We need the names." He whispered, keeping his eyes forward.
Lilith blinked. "Names?"
"The pair you took out. Their names. They'll call for a headcount."
She hesitated, her eyes widening in panic. "I— I can't." She stammered at the prospect of disappointing Ren. "I already absorbed them. There's nothing left to pull from."
Ren's jaw clenched. Of course. Once Lilith fully consumed a soul, the soul became part of her, their previous memories lost and wiped out with her imprint.
He drew a slow breath, forcing his shoulders to relax even as his heart beat faster.
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Across the room, the side door opened and Chosen Thalen strode back in, a long piece of parchment held in his gloved hands. His boots echoed like the sound was moving through water as Ren's perception slowed, his brain moving at maximum capacity.
He tried to find a way out of the headcount as the Chosen stepped up to the altar and bowed slightly before handing the parchment to the Bishop.
Ren reached out in the safety of his mind for the teleportation beacons shining in them. If it all went to shit, all he had to do was teleport out of the church. And that was when he noticed it.
The connection between him and his coin trembled, a low buzz sounding in his brain as if his connection had been cut off.
It was as if a clawed hand dipped in ice had wrapped around his heart, trying to crush it in his grip.
Something's wrong.
His connection to his coins were all blocked.
He swallowed hard, turning to Lilith. "We can't teleport."
"What?" She hissed back.
"There's a Resonant field here." He whispered. "Someone's loop… it's disrupting teleportation. There's no way out without a fight. We're locked in."
