The Spirits of the Universe (PJO)

Chapter 56-- We Lead Some Order Into Our Lives

A/N--Edited by ALGAE122

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"What is your business here?" the priestess in the lead demanded as she stopped just short of us. Her brown hair flowed as much as her robes.

"We're . . . here to pray," I said. Obviously, that wasn't true, but literally any other answer than that would only make us more suspicious—and since Order was being mysterious about what he wanted to do here, it was best to not offend anyone.

"Are you new devotees? Where are you from?"

"We come from the other side of town. We heard of a temple here, and we decided to visit."

I was pretty proud of that answer. It didn't take a rocket scientist to deduce that the number one thing a temple in a shady district of a small town would have to worry about was recruitment. Every institution needed money—and that came from people. She can't fault us now.

But her frown only deepened as she studied the weapons decorating Liam and Aridne's hips. "I haven't seen you around. In fact, I haven't seen your friends before either."

"We come from a region outside of here, but it's close to the north end of the city."

"What's it called?"

"We don't have a name. It's for a historical reason, but it's a long story that you probably don't have time for," I deflected, but internally, I was panicking.

The priestess looked more and more suspicious. "I do have time. Please explain."

Fortunately, Aridne ran out of patience. "We came a long way, and we almost got mugged on the way here . . ."

"That's not believable with those nasty swords," Liam muttered, evidently still bitter about their argument outside.

". . . and all we want to do is mind our own business. We don't mean any harm, so could you leave us alone?"

Well, there went any pretense of politeness—but Aridne had made her point clear.

But this only made the priestess angrier. "What, so I can leave you alone to steal more of our money and food?"

"What?" Aridne and I exclaimed in shock as Liam asked excitedly, "You have food here?"

"Don't lie—I see those weapons," the priestess hissed out, sensibly deciding to ignore Liam. "You're Chaos soldiers, aren't you?"

Liam whispered to Aridne, "I told you—dual swords are a little over the top."

Aridne glared at him.

Meanwhile, I was lost for words. Being mistaken for Chaos soldiers should've been a blessing—as the major military force in the entirety of the solar system, we should've had a free pass wherever we went, no questions asked.

However, I had a feeling that being related to Chaos wasn't the right move right now.

Additionally, despite the priestess' lack of weapons, I could tell from the power emanating from her that we probably didn't want to mess with her. I wanted to placate her, but I was at a loss.

Then Order stepped in. Let me take over.

I wasn't so sure of that—End's crash out was still at the forefront of my mind. And at least End was transparent—Order . . . he was a closed book when it came to his intentions. Behind his calm facade, he could've been hiding a sinister side all along.

I would never hurt you, Order said gently.

I thought back to the first time I'd met the deity—more than twelve months ago, in that lonely Cabin Three. From that moment on, whenever I needed it, Order was always the prudent one. Without him, I'd have drowned in trouble long ago.

And yet, Order was End's brother—and seeing their statues in a temple together, it was obvious that they weren't on bad terms. That fact alone made him untrustworthy. Yeah, the sensible thing would be to keep control of my body . . .

But I wasn't known to be sensible.

Thank you, Order said genuinely as that uncomfortable feeling of losing feeling in my appendages took over.

Don't do anything stupid, I warned as I settled into the viewing chamber in my mind, trying to ignore the pouting woman in the corner who refused to look at me. Aridne will use any excuse she can get to thrash me.

Noted. Then he'd turned to the priestess and said, Daphne. How are you doing?

Besides the risk part, the number one disadvantage of letting a deity take over your body is the self esteem loss. Order was using my voice, alright—though a version of it that sounded deeper, richer, and more commanding. As much as I hated to admit it, it was obvious that someone more experienced and intimidating than me was speaking.

Daphne locked eyes with him and gasped. Immediately, she transitioned into a deep bow. "My lord."

Behind her, the two other priestesses followed her move.

To the side, Liam didn't look surprised—he'd had his panic attack about who was inside of my brain months ago. However, Aridne looked perplexed—and a bit frustrated at her lack of knowledge. I don't think I'm going to get to lie my way out of this one later.

I'm surprised you recognized me this fast, Order said. It's been what--at least a few centuries?

"We're approaching a millennia now—and every day I have been wishing for your return. Now, it seems like the primordials have answered my call—well, the primordials that are still on your side, my lord."

Primordials? Millennia? Listening to this conversation only made me more and more confused as time went by. Until now, I'd been under the impression that Order and End had been the solitary siblings of Chaos. However, it seemed like there was a whole bunch of context I was missing—context that Daphne knew.

Her tone was grim, and Order quickly realized that something was wrong.This temple isn't . . . er . . . as grand as I was expecting—at least regarding the exterior.

Daphne couldn't meet his eyes, ashamed. "I won't lie to you, milord, we fell into troubling times since the day you and Lady End disappeared. The Templar of Cause was forced to disband, and hooligans began bothering us every day—claiming that if we didn't pay up, they'd forcibly enter and destroy this sacred place."

Templar of Cause. That had to be important—but I didn't even know where to start understanding it. Was it an object? No—Daphne said it had to disband, so it probably was a group of people. But I'd never heard of it before—and given the confused expressions on their faces, neither had Aridne or Liam.

Before I could ask for some clarification, one of the priestesses said, "They're here."

I spun around. While we'd been talking, she'd moved towards one of the windows flanking the wide doors, pushing the curtain out of the way so she could see outside. Now, she looked at us in panic.

It was clear: whoever "they" were, they were dangerous.