Shadow of the Abyss

Reina could not explain the sense of familiarity she felt when she first laid eyes on the Saintess. It was the same feeling as a child with whom you shared a close bond, yet she had never met the woman, never seen her from afar, much less spoken a single word. It wasn't familiar, but…

She kept her head low as she continued scrubbing the floors. It was a rather hateful thing they did, forcing the ladies to scrub the floors by hand. She could burn the entire church of Sepith to the ground for such a crime.

With a bit more appreciation for the custodian staff, most businesses had, though at least they didn't have to get on their hands and knees. She was a Nephilim, a disciple of the goddess of the moon. If not for her mission, she could not imagine such humiliation. That was all that mattered.

'I'll kill them all…' She thought, tilting her eyes back down on the stone floors, unable to stop a small smile from blossoming across her face.

"You've got a beautiful smile," a sweet voice reached out from above. A small jolt rolled across Reina's shoulders as she tilted her head up to the azure blue eyes of the Saintess. "You might be the first Novice to ever smile while scrubbing the floors. Even I couldn't help but glare at the floors when I first entered Sepith."

Despite the innocent sparkle in those blue eyes, Reina couldn't help but gleam, something she'd often found in her Masters. A sort of spark of the divine that separated Gods from Mortals.

Was the Saintess a god? Rising to her feet, considering the length of mystery surrounding the Saintess, Reina forced herself to offer greetings before speaking, "I wasn't aware that the Saintess came from such humble origins." The three sisters behind the sisters, guardsman, no doubt, began to frown.

"Child, have you not heard the stories?" The saintess said with a curious look before she clasped her hands together. She giggled, glancing around at the other workers peeping up to listen, and giggled, much like a mischievous child rather than a holy woman. "I see the others haven't either. Is someone trying to scrub my past from history again?"

"Again?" The words slipped from out of Reina's lips before she realized she had spoken out of term. The frown on the Sisters of Sepith deepened.

"Oh yes!" said the Saintess. "Some people think that if they can erase my history, they can better aid me. After all, a saint or saintess must be a holy symbol of purity. I'm sure that is what you all thought. Most people do." The other Novices all nodded, enriching the Saintess' smile. "I was born in a brothel, my child, and sold to a slaver when I was three months old. I later lost my maidenhood at six and killed my first man at seven."

Dead silence filled the halls as the Saintess spoke in a distant voice as if she were speaking about a stranger.

"war, strife, and famine later consumed the land in what was called a hundred-year war. I don't expect any of you to know which war. That was long before the past seven kings were even born. Back then, wars were a common thing. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a cultivation manual when I killed my Old Master and managed to survive by raising my rank to the Eight Circle by the time I was fifteen."

"Heavens!" A few of the Novices uttered in disbelief. Reina might have done the same if she hadn't heard of the stories from her Master of those whose talent exceeds the threshold of their world.

"Those who used me and abused me I slaughtered in cold blood, turning into something of a demon. There was no other word for it. I was a killer in the purest sense of the word. I was scum… Believe me. Worst than you can imagine. If not for the previous saintess, I might have followed the path of sin. But she took in a rabid dog like me, even as I kicked and screamed, and forced me to scrub the floors of my old temple. I was the epitome of impurity but was later reborn. Made anew by the Guidance of Sepith. And now I'm a saintess. Hehe! That Old Sister is surely smiling at me."

"... Can…" Reina hesitated. "Can I ask what your Sin was?"

The smile of the Saintess slipped away like melting ice, "Wrath," she answered, looking down at her palms. "The Seven Sins are quite a thing; they are like a leach suckling at your will each day. It's so easy to fall into them, but sometimes, I must seek the Will of Sepith for guidance. Even now… Even as the Saintess, the Seven Sins are there, whispering at me."

"My lady," The Sisters behind the Saintess whispered in unison.

"The act of scrubbing these floors isn't to punish, but to train discipline and to help you lower your pride and submit. The Doctrine of the Heavens, The Law of Concordance, require as such. Submit, and you'll no longer be a slave to anyone or anything."

"My Lady," Another of the Sisters of Sepith whispered into the Saintess' ear, bringing a frown to her face.

"How bad is the damage?" The Saintess demanded.

"Over five thousand dead."

"Was it Nox?"

"No, but he is involved. A madman attacked him."

"Strange… I didn't even sense it." Contemplating for a moment, she said, "Yona, send out a hundred Clerics alongside fifty Iron Maidens. There is sure to be a lot of panic."

"As you command," the one called Yona uttered dutifully, clasping a fist to her chest. She beamed with an emotion rather unbecoming of an Iron Maiden. However, it quickly faded to stony indifference the moment she received a strange look from the Saintess.

"Don't suppress yourself too much, Child. It's alright to be excited; just try not to let it control you. Remember your oaths," warned the Saintess before she turned to face Reina with a curious smile. "Why don't you join me."

"Eh?" Nearly forgetting herself, Reina exclaimed, "Me? But I'm just a Nov—"

"And I'm the Saintess! I make the rules," with an innocently evil laugh similar to the ones held at the Xenophian Opera House, the Saintess took hold of Reina's hand, blurring her perception as she appeared above the clouds in a single instance. They stood above Vastroph burden by a pillar that bore no sound in the way it blazed brighter than any sun at its center.

Reina did not have any trouble believing Altair was the heart of this crisis. Even if she hadn't eavesdropped, she would have come to the same conclusion. They were both cursed with the Curse of the Nelphiem. If something could go wrong, their curse would ensure it would.

"Who are you?" The saintess asked in her usual voice, gently soaring towards the pillar of light.

"I am—"

"And don't lie. Your Aura is far too suspicious… Anyone above a certain level will instantly be able to tell you don't belong on this planet."

Reina blinked as her skin broke into a cold sweat. "How'd—"

"I've met every Novice, Child." For the first time, the Saintess sounded proud, as if she had done something right. "Did you think I'd just let anyone in without vetting them?"

".... Don't you have actual work…"

Red hot shrieks crossed the Saintess' cheeks as she glanced back with a glare. "O-O-Of course I have work… I just like to… Hey! I don't have to explain myself to—"

"So you ran away from work," Ren concluded with a deadpan expression. "I knew it. That's what you were doing today."

"Nuh-uh!" said the Saintess as she continued in a fumble of her words. "I was just going on a long walk, is all! Promise!"

Resisting the urge to poke fun, Reina sighed. She hadn't thought someone would be able to tell. Seraphine was still active, but it seemed like she had overestimated her abilities. However, there was one thing she was certain about—the Saintess was not a Transcendent.

"Are you going to kill me?"

The Saintess blinked. "Why would I? Did you kill—"

"No; she's only unconscious. I wasn't sure if she had a Soul Lamp connected to her or not," Reina admitted, pausing short of the massive pillar of light devouring all of the Noble Quarter. She tsked, making a mental note that it wasn't always best to kill everyone she captured.

"What a day," The Saintess muttered, studying the pillar for a second before she tilted her azure blue eyes to Reina, her expression as vacant as those who had taken the Oath of Silence. "So tell me, why should I not lock you up?"

Reina considered her odds for a second, going back and forth before she smiled. "I'm hunting a particular Fallen Angel…" She stopped a little, taken back by the icy radiance around the Saintess deepening. "Have you heard of—"
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"We will talk about this in my office. Say no more, Child." The Saintess decreed before all was said, opening her palm towards the pillar and slamming it shut. Suddenly, the pillar of light several miles long shattered like glass, transitioning into molts of golden light that dissipated into the atmosphere.

Gone as if it was never there.