The same day we left that Heretic God alone to rebuild his own body, I go overnight to the Isle of Death to meet Henry.
After a week, the Igreja da Morte was more than half ready, of course, there was still a need to put in the details that would take more time and could only be done after the construction was finished, but I had already told Leonardo to leave the details and decoration to the Priests who will stay here.
There’s no reason for us to do all the work, let the people who are going to live here finish the work, Leonardo didn’t like to leave a work unfinished, but he understood what he meant and said he would do it.
When I entered the main building that was finished and where the statue of the Goddess Kalistos was, I see that it had already been decorated and the details had been done.
There were paintings showing different detainees of death, from a person dying in their sleep to someone dying from being eaten by a monster, but all the images had a Lady’s hand holding these people’s hands at the end of their lives.
There were painted skulls and bones serving as decoration, there were also statues that were built purely of bones, and there was also normal decoration like chairs, tables, magic chandeliers, etc.
I make my way to where Henrique is kneeling in front of the statue of the Goddess Kalistos.
The statue as always is made of crystal, after talking to Ragnar, Rakan, and Nix I learned that things made of crystal are very common to be found, that’s because these crystals are made of crystallized energy, so in Temples and Churches the statues of the Gods are always crystal, the difference in the color of the crystal often signifies the element or other characteristic contained in the statue.
I look at the statue of this Demon Goddess of Death and I see a lady in a simple dress with a beautiful body wearing a veil to hide her face, at her feet, there were skulls of different creatures but her arms were open as if she wanted to hug everyone while a slight gentle smile was the only thing visible through the veil.
“(All one day ended in her sweet embrace…)” (I)
Seeing this statue up close I don’t feel fear, sadness, or loneliness as expected when it comes to death, all I feel emanating from this statue is peace.
I look at Henrique who is silent, still kneeling, I know he has noticed my presence, after all, I’m not hiding, but he doesn’t move from his position, he looks like the skeleton of someone who died praying like that.
I realize he must be offering his prayers to his Goddess so I wait for him to finish, I could also say a prayer but I don’t want to risk meeting with Goddess Kalistos every time I do this in a temple or Church like I do with the Goddess Selene.
The less contact I have with the Gods the better, I know this will be impossible considering my origins as a child of a Goddess, but I can still avoid praying inside the Temples and Churches just in case.
———-
After nearly 20 minutes the motionless Kneeling Skeleton stands up, he stands and bows once more to the statue before turning to me, I know it’s impossible to read the emotions on a skull’s face but I feel the joyful emotions coming from Henry.
“You look excited.” (I)
“I’m just glad I was sent to such a peaceful place, plus the construction has been quick thanks to your followers.” (Henrique)
“How has contact with the surrounding Realms been?” (I)
“It’s been easy, those we choose to ignore are angry but won’t do anything, plus trade deals are already being discussed, I’m just waiting for the rest of the Priests to arrive before signing a final deal.” (Henrique)
“I’m glad for you, but how about we get to that main subject now?” (I)
“Have you thought about it?” (Henrique)
“Yes, this will be the fastest way to fulfill my promise to the Demon Goddess of Death.” (I)
“Also it will save me a lot of time and effort, but I want to confirm something first.” (I)
“Are you able to converse with a Soul?” (I)
“I am able to converse with any Soul, but whether the Soul is willing to listen or respond is entirely up to her.” (Henrique)
I remove the crystal where the false Hero’s Soul is to show it to High Priest Henry.
“Inside is a Soul that I believe is strong enough for what I’m going to do, but first I want to confirm its will.” (I)
“May I?” (Henrique)
“Feel free.” (I) .𝒄𝒐𝒎
High Priest Henry holds out a boned hand and I hand the crystal to him, watching as his empty eye sockets glow gray as the light of the same color envelops the crystal in his hand.
For a few minutes, everything is quiet and High Priest Henry stands still again, I wait in silence as I’m not sure what he’s doing.
Soon the light fades from his empty eye sockets and the crystal he was holding, but even so, he keeps looking at the crystal for a few seconds, I feel his mood go dark and a slight sense of anger escapes through his Aura before he hides.
“Where did you get that Soul?” (Henrique)
I tell everything I know about this Soul to High Priest Henrique he gets even more angry and this time he can’t hide it completely, the stones at his feet start to crack under the pressure of his desolating Aura.
“I’ve heard rumors before, but seeing it with my own eyes is outrageous!” (Henrique)
“Now I know why my Goddess’s Taboo Hunters don’t come back, to do this with a Soul that shouldn’t even be here…” (Henry)
“Even if it’s a God, doing it by invading a domain that doesn’t belong to you is the same as the Heretic Gods do…” (Henry)
“Please calm down, High Priest.” (I)
“Tell me what happened?” (I)
“…” (Henrique)
Henry seems to have regained his senses, all traces of his anger disappear, I can tell by the red fire in his eyes that he didn’t calm down, he just controlled his emotions, whatever they did to that Soul was enough to let him go enraged.
