Astra was as methodical with Raphe’s tongue as she was with his heart, cutting open his neck and jaw before locating his tongue and ferociously ripping it out.
It was during this time that the apprentices noticed something strange. Raphe was still alive somehow and trying to plead. It was terrifying, even when Imogen explained that they were using a healer’s magic to keep him alive until the end of the ceremony.
Mikel took to hiding his head so he would not see the gruesome scenes playing out as Imogen ordered Raphe’s fingers be cut then his arms and legs dismembered, even though he was sure he would never be able to forget the sounds he heard that day.
Next, Imogen had wanted to see how long Raphe’s spinal cord was and from then, the length of his intestines.
And throughout the process, even when his chest was properly opened and his lungs fanned out on the floor like some sort of sick exhibition, Raphe had been kept alive, feeling every cut, and sensing when each of his body parts were removed or chopped off.
Mikel couldn’t understand how the people around him could watch, how they could celebrate each tear that fell, or each grunt of protest that came from Raphe.
Most of all, he wondered if the blank look in Astra’s eyes was her way of coping, her façade when it came doing to duties like this for the church.
*
Imogen stood up as Astra dropped her knife and turned to leave, standing aside as the Prelate came to stand near the blood stained gurney.
“Do not hide your eyes!” Imogen yelled out to the rows of apprentices, particularly to those who had closed their eyes in a faint. “Behold this sight in front of you and remember this the day you think to betray this church, this will be your fate.”
There was silence as she went down the podium and left, and helpers scurried up to clean up the blood and get rid of the littered body parts.
Neil came up to address the apprentices who were frozen in their seats and not sure what to do.
“You are dismissed,” he said, a grim look on his face. “There will be no classes today, seeing as this event has trumped our schedule. Instead, you all will go to the villages and townships nearby which are under the name of Erynla and perform menial jobs for the villagers.”
“This will be a means of grading you, depending on how many family heads sign a slip that will be given to you. Of course for this, you will be wearing your uniforms. That is all, you may go,”
Neil waved them off.
The apprentices began to rush out, most probably to get more sleep before the trek to the townships began although some threw up immediately they exited the Basilica.
After dry retching for a several minutes, Mikel found that both Eric and Victoria were nowhere to be seen. He sighed, reluctant to return to the dorm now.
He had gone to college and he had shared a dorm room before so walking in on unspeakable actions was not really a big deal for him.
But walking in on unspeakable actions between those two would imprint mental pictures that Mikel doubted he even wanted to see.
He leaned on the tree wearily, making a decision instantly. He couldn’t wait here because he was too tired.
Moreover, he did not want to see when Raphe’s body parts were brought out, it would make what had happened much more real.
He would just take the long route to the dorms and hope for the best. It also helped if he made a ruckus coming in, just in case something was happening.
YOU ARE READING
No Blessed ✓
Fantasía- Completed - For Mikel Ark, being offered a job by the world's biggest gaming company is a dream come true, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will launch his career as a hotshot programmer. But what Mikel hasn't been told is that his employer's...
