[Book 2] Gate Guardian - Song of the Frozen Soul

PHASE 54 - A CHURCH TO BRING DOWN MY SANITY

PHASE 54 - A CHURCH TO BRING DOWN MY SANITY

It’s already nine, and we are still walking in the dark sidewalks of the street. Dradecim seemed like a ghost town already, and there are only a handful of people passing by. I haven’t even seen any cars on the highways yet for the past twenty minutes that we’ve been walking. 

I don’t know why, but the more I venture forward, the creepier it gets. It also makes me a lot hungrier since I haven’t had my meals or snacks yet. Jeannette seems so eager to bring me to a place that only she knows. She’s been holding my hand for a long time now, and I can’t just let go. It seems so important.

“Here we are. Finally.” 

Jeannette muttered as she released me from her grasps. I followed her eyesight and saw a rusty gate that leads to an uphill forest. At the arc of the gate is signage that reads Cathedral Exa.

Jeannette slowly opened the gate, which made the creaking sound. Then she continued to walk further and nodded at me, signaling that I should follow her. Creeped out, I shyly bowed and bumped my index fingers over and over, trying to provide all the excuses I can give.

“Uh, Necchan… I mean, Miss Jeannette Senpai… I don’t think they hold masses at this hour. And I’m not Catholic. I’m also a witch, so they might hang me to the gallows...”

“Stop being a scared pup, Tiara.” Jeannette made her disappointed face. “We should get going. Time is running out.”

“Auuuu…” I cried silently as I took a brand new step forward. I just hope there’s no ghosts or witchers around or I’ll be dead.

The uphill forest is not that vast. It just took us another ten minutes of walking until we finally reached our destination. There is a wide opening in the forest that gives out a group of small buildings and a church. The first thing that greeted us in this opening in the woods is a wide oval that has a fountain in its center.

The fountain is peculiar in shape, as it has a monument of a girl knight riding a dragon. It’s quite cool to see it even though there’s nothing but the moon illuminating it.

There are left and right rectangular two-story buildings that look like classrooms or dormitories of some sort. Right as of this moment, there’s no light on any of those buildings that looked so abandoned.

However, those things are not our destination. Our main destination is the small church that looks like it has been cleaned regularly. It is made of bricks and stones that made it look like a well-preserved medieval sanctuary. There are also lights coming from its windows, indicating that there is someone inside.

Jeannette pushed the giant wooden doors of the church, and surprisingly, it opened without much effort.

My eyes were filled with amazement when I saw the church. I don’t know if I have ever visited churches in the past timelines, but I know that this is my first time seeing it in this timeline. The lights are brightened by the creamy white paint of the inside. There is a golden altar at the center and a red carpet as a pathway to it. On both sides, there are rows and columns of long wooden chairs. There are also angel statues at the side of the walls.

“We’re here.” Jeannette wearingly said. “I’m sorry that I texted you this late.”

At the nearest set of pews, there are people sitting separately. They are girls that have some weird prana signatures. 

The first girl who approached us is a short one, maybe one or two years younger than mine. She has this ash-grey color on her hair that is tied in a side fringe, and she’s wearing an outfit similar to a witch. She even has a black witch’s hat that made her look like a student from Hogwarts.