If Things Should Stay the Same

Chapter 17. Unknowingly

"Hero of the Light Crystal, do you desire to be freed from your wretched existence?" said the robed woman with a thick red veil of silk wrapped around her head, obscuring any distinguishing features such as her hair and face. "Then allow us to unshackle you from the chains of the worldly sins that plague you in this world. Let your hopes, your dreams, your friends, your life itself fade before your eyes. Let yourself wake up to nothing but a mere dream of blissful ignorance." She cackled maniacally, her laughter akin to hair-raising howling in the placid atmosphere of an otherwise almost-empty cathedral.

Standing beside her were two more women in identical white robes with what appeared to be ink blots randomly dotted all over the fabric. They seemed to have been expecting his arrival for quite some time now. Despite their eyes hidden from his view, he could feel their unfaltering gazes aimed at his direction as he staggered through the towering royal doors that had already been flung wide open before his appearance at the narthex.

As he slowly approached them with caution and dogged panting, he dragged his sword on the ground, scraping it against the rectangular stone bricks while veering it around the holes where the masonry had been upturned. Not that the condition of the cathedral was any better without etching those scratch marks.

Much of the roof had already been obliterated by an unspecified disaster, leaving behind mostly broken piers and a handful of wooden support beams as a skeletal reminder of what was once a holy sanctuary. The stained glass windows were completely shattered to reveal the cracked and crumbling arch buttresses outside while the remaining portions of the collapsed walls barely provided any shelter to the strong winds, possible thunderstorms and the occasional hail in the area.

The pews, somehow managing to remain in usable condition, had been left in a state of disarray. The altars had been overrun by growth of wild weeds and thorny vines while the podium and the lectern were smashed into irreparable chunks of wood. And there was no sign of any man-made cult images to identify the religious sect in charge of the place of worship.

As he was making his way through the aisles, he then lifted his sword and pointed it at the three women standing in a line at the chancel. "Think again, we're here to put an end to your tyrannical rule. False deities of mud," he said defiantly, his intention to strike all three of down at once audibly transparent in his voice.

Extending her slender fingers adorned with gem-studded jewelry resembling a hawk's talons, the red-veiled woman cleanly toppled his helmet off without any further movement, as if commanding an invisible force to do her bidding. The headgear clattered onto the floor, revealing the man's blonde hair in a short pompadour cut.

"Really now? Sir Lyle, you would dare defy a goddess? And not just one but a triple?" mocked the robed women with a plump figure, recognizing the identity of the man. She cocked her head to the side, her stubby fingers adjusting the angle of her oversized hat's wide brim. Affixed onto the headgear's band were long layers of mesh-like fabric that concealed her face in a barely-translucent silhouette; yet when she spoke, the man could feel a sinister smile creeping up her supposedly round cheeks.

"It's not your world yet. Not while there are people like me," the blonde hissed, biting his lip. This was no game for him. Not after the three of them had destroyed dozens of towns that rejected to worship them. Not after they had slaughtered countless of innocent civilians for exercising their rights to uphold the respective practices of their own religion. And especially not after they had torn his father's kingdom asunder by spreading doubt and envy among the people.

"Come now, we can't be all that bad. We give everlasting peace to all those who embrace us. Wouldn't you want a world free from conflict and corruption?" The third of the robed women extended her hand that was abundant with brown blemishes on her shriveled skin. Compared to the other two women, she had a small, scrawny, hunched-over figure that donned a large grey bonnet and a black scarf wrapped around her head, also covering most of her face. On the other hand, she firmly held onto a wooden staff that housed a metal finial affixed with three intersecting circles made of copper, iron and gold.