Elaris didn't respond in kind, she barely even reacted, though her stern gaze had turned to something that appeared somewhat prideful.
"Sister Celeste," she said. "I didn't know you were here."
"Of course you didn't," Celeste snapped. "Which is why you thought it was excusable to speak to the new Priest that way."
She glided into the room, her angered gaze fixed on the Scholar Nun. "That is the Sovereign Priest of Exalta, delivered by Her radiant grace. You will not address him as if he were a failing novice scribe caught napping during vespers."
Elaris merely tilted her head a fraction, her cold eyes meeting Celeste's fiery ones.
"I was only doing my duties. My duty is truth, Sister Celeste. Unvarnished and necessary. The world's peril does not wait for comfort."
Celeste wanted to scoff. "You forget that our duty first of all is submission and love to the High Priest. Perhaps, you have forgotten or you simply lack the wisdom to understand how truth must be tempered with reverence."
Her eyes narrowed and her voice dropped, snappy like a no-nonsense highschool 'it' girl. "If that's the case, then hold your tongue."
She looked at Lucian and smiled. "Especially before him."
Speaking of Lucian, he felt like an intruder, like a house guest watching a couple fight and not knowing whether to leave or stay, speak or be quiet. It was even worse when the argument was about him.
He moved his gaze between Celeste — her silver-white hair, glittering platinum eyes, pale, flawless skin and impeccable bosoms — and Elaris — enchanting curvy red hair, emerald eyes, red dainty cheeks, and similarly large breasts.
'How can they be nuns and not get along?' he thought in his mind.
The tension crackled in the air, thick and wordless, the ancient chamber suddenly feeling claustrophobic. The crackle of the candle flames seemed louder in the strained silence.
Lucian's head swam. Could someone just say something already? The cold stone, the suffocating robes, the impossible titles, the warring nuns — it was too much.
He stood suddenly, swaying slightly. "I— I think I need some air. Space. I don't even know where I'm going. Just… away from here."
Celeste turned to him instantly. The fierce protectiveness melted from her expression, replaced by gentle concern. The heat in her eyes softened back into that reverent warmth.
She stepped close, her movements fluid and soothing, and gently guided his arm with feather-light, almost worshipful, pressure.
"Come, Father Lucian."
Lucian almost choked. 'Father Lucian! Is that what they're gonna be calling me?'
"You need not know the way. Allow me to guide you. This cathedral holds places of quiet reflection."
Lucian didn't exactly have a choice and so he followed her and they headed down a corridor. She clung tightly to him, pushing her skin against his arm, he could even feel the softness of her—
Footsteps rang against the black marble like a war drum, shattering his thoughts. Someone was coming for them.
Looking back, Lucian saw that it was Elaris, and she appeared very deliberate the closer she got. "There is no time for any of that or any of this! You know this to be true, Sister Celeste!!" Elaris called after them, her voice cut through the hall's quiet reverence, cold as the stone beneath their feet.
"The Priest wants a sanctuary stroll, Sister Elaris," Celeste shushed her away.
"This is not the hour for sanctuary strolls, Sister Celeste. You should know what must happen now, and how important it is. It is a rule by the goddess herself!"
Celeste stopped, bringing Lucian to a stop with her.
"Celeste. The Rune Ritual cannot wait. With every moment the Heart Well dries up, the shadows encroach further upon our borders. Black magic rises. We must know which Rune the Sovereign's main power lies— now."
Lucian flinched, glancing at the two women. "Are you saying that I have powers? Are there any that could open a portal back to my world?"
Elaris's gaze settled on him, analytical and unyielding. She ignored his nonsensical question about leaving this world and responded to the first one.
"The full power of a High Priest is not recorded properly because the High Priest never had to use their powers as much. But amongst all the Rune types, there must be one which you have a higher affinity for."
Lucian lowered his head in brief thought. "So no portal out of this world then. Okay, I understand."
"He reeks of cosmic displacement, Elaris!" Celeste said, holding so tight to Lucian's arm that the blood flow stiffened. "He is still trying to coordinate himself after changing realities. To thrust him into the Selection Hall now is to test glass before it's cooled. Let us treat our master with a gentle touch. He was chosen by Exalta Herself."
Then she shot Lucian a dreamy gaze, her pupils turned to throbbing hearts. "My prayer made flesh."
Lucian edged backward. "That's… an intense thing to say about a guy who was pricing cereal discounts yesterday."
Celeste tilted her head, her voice softening to a reverent whisper. "For days and nights I knelt beneath the dying Heart Well, sustaining myself on sacred ash and visions. In the silence, I heard the cadence of your heartbeat. In the embers, I saw the shape of your soul. I knew you would come, Master Lucian. I felt your heat across the stars."
"Uh… Okay..." Lucian muttered, fixing his gaze on a distant stained-glass martyr.
A dry laugh echoed from above. Sister Ismere leaned over a wrought-iron balcony, her spy-nun cloak blending with the shadows.
Lucian almost shrieked in fear. No wonder she was a Spy Nun. He hadn't even noticed her there.
"What is this, Celeste? Some things never change but you've never been as obsessed over the High Priests as you are with this one."
Celeste narrowed her eyes angrily, cheeks red.
Sister Lilyx of the Worker Nuns barged through a side archway, her single long braid resting on top of her round perky breasts — although they were smaller than the rest of the Anchors, from the way she moved, Lucian could tell she carried a more difficult weight behind her.
"By the Conclave, not this again! Can we measure the Priest's magic without the devotional poetry? The western aqueducts are crumbling, and I need Runic directives by noon!"
"It's Sister Celeste," Elaris accused. "She already believes the High Priest is for her alone. But not only is he her Master, he also has immediate responsibilities."
Celeste rolled her eyes. "Oh, trust me, Sister Elaris. I have no problem with Father Lucian being my Master."
Elaris scowled. "You pervert!"
"You prude." Celeste snapped back.
They glared at each other like cats.
"I can not believe how ridiculous you two are being," Sister Lilyx said. "Do you wish this to be the new Priest's introduction to the nuns who are meant to be his disciples?"
Sister Ismere laughed from high above.
Another set of footsteps joined. "What's all the noise about?" Sister Marielle appeared, her warrior's pauldrons glinting beneath her vestments. Her gaze swept the tense assembly.
Elaris jabbed a finger at Celeste. "She's hoarding the Priest and delaying the Rune Selection."
Celeste's knuckles whitened on Lucian's sleeve, not leaving.
At a corner, Sister Kestra, Anchor of the Healer Nuns, anxiously watched them all argue, her hands wringing.
The nuns entered into another set of voiced disagreement, and Lucian was slowly losing his mind. His gaze snapped to each person that spoke:
"He must rest!"
"There is no time!"
"The shadows are near!"
"We need Runes!"
"He's the High Priest and has called for rest!"
"Rest can come lat—"
"ENOUGH!"
Lucian's control had shattered at that point, and the yell that left him was not just loud. It was primordial.
A wave of raw, unfocused power slammed outward. The colored glass windows hummed in their lead frames. Dust rained from the vaulted ceiling.
All the Nuns flinched as if struck.
Lucian breathed heavily, the unfamiliar energy still vibrating in his bones. "You lead Orders. You serve a Goddess. And you're bickering like fishwives over a market stall."
He met each nun's startled gaze. "Aren't you all supposed to be unified or is this what happens when there's no man in the house, huh?!!"
They flinched again and their heads lowered.
Lucian then took in a deep breath, calming himself to a decision. "In my opinion, the former High Priest didn't do a good job training and teaching you nuns or else you would know to remain peaceful and cohesive even after his death."
His eyes became dark and determined. "I didn't ask for this throne. But if I'm standing on it, then let's get this over with! Tell me what this ritual requires and point me to where it happens."
He freed himself from Celeste's grasp and stomped out of the dark corridor, the nuns shifting out of his way as they stared at him in shock.
"Perhaps I was wrong about him," Sister Elaris murmured. "The Goddess's choice has his surprises."