CHAPTER 19:
As the four of them descended down the weird and eerie staircase, none of them spoke
The only thing that could be heard was the sound of water droplets, dropping of the walls
At the end of the staircase was a door? it was the size of the average male, made out of glossy wood with a pommel of steel
John, being the first in line, reached out with his hand to grab the pommel
Twisting it to open to the right, approximately 80 degrees
As the door opened, a light came across it, flashing everybody on the staircase
Haru, as if instinctively, raised his hands in front of his face, closing his eyes
(Do lambs really produce that much light?)
On the other hand, Sylvia only closed her eyes, utterly unfazed by the abruptness
Micah happily walked forth, stepping down from the last stair into the door, following John
Sylvia glanced beside her to Haru, now that things calmed down
“Don't be standing there”
(I'm trying okay?)
Haru, letting out a soft grumble, rubbed his flashed eyes, following Sylvia inside the mysterious room
There in the room lay in a big and seemingly looking comfortable chair a man wreathed in Archbishop like clothes
Besides him, where Michah and John, each with their own facade on their faces
Seeing this, Sylvia stood beside the seat that was opposite of the man in the clothes of the pope
As if on cue, Haru understood what he had to do
So sitting down at the seat near Sylvia, he looked up at the man that was in the clothes of the pope
“What is the meaning of this?”
“I'm glad you asked, I have gathered you here for a reason. Tell me, Haru senkawa, what is really your position in this supernatural scheme?”
(W-what?...what is this old man saying)
With shaky eyes and his spit caught in his throat, Haru answered
“If you're asking what I'm gonna do about it, then I'm gonna stop it”
The mysterious man smiled and chuckled to himself. Both his hands extended outwards
“You have misunderstood me, young man, I'm not asking in that sense”
Besides the mysterious man Micah, despite his smile and John's, despite his intensity, remained silent
Sylvia sensed that this conversation would quickly go south, butted in before Haru could respond
“Don't you think that you should introduce yourself first?”
“Ah, of course, my name is Alexander, Alexander Petrov, Archbishop of the Eastern Orthodox Church”
(Alexander?...he seems like someone from Russia, or at least near there, he is dressed like an Archbishop)
“May I restate, what is the meaning of this?”
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Alexander hummed softly, moving his hands openly
“The upcoming war, of course, or did Sylvia not tell you?”
“...”
(Shit, it still stings…)
Sylvia spoke internally
“Upcoming war? I know of that, Sylvia mentioned it. She didn't mention the specifics of it”
“Ah, I see, how peculiar of her, the upcoming war that im referring to is the invasion of hell, unto earth”
Haru paused, but Micah, John, and Sylvia didn't flinch
“Hell? Unto the earth…Are you serious?”
Alexander's left eye moved to open fully. It wasn't a glare
“I am dead serious. Do you think that this is a game? Don't tell me you haven't realized what you have gotten yourself into?”
Haru internally bit his lip
(Stop mocking me, you old man, this isn't my first time…)
“As if, I know exactly what I've gotten myself into, just what are you trying to get at?”
“A war of this scale, it's more grand than anything you have ever seen before, in broader terms, are you really sure that you are prepared?”
“...”
Haru sighed, taking a moment to recollect his thoughts
(Going back to what he said, he is saying the truth, an all-out war, that I have never witnessed before, if I am prepared?…I don't know for sure)
John looked across at Haru, his gaze lingering
“Sir, may I speak up? If it is that you don't want to speak anymore, i can-”
Alexander simply raised his right hand
“It's not necessary. Instead, please serve my guests here some tea, we are talking anyways, im not that unkind”
“Understood sir”
John walked towards the left door, where the kitchen was, to prepare some hot tea
(This guy…they have such respect for him, just how big of a deal is he?)
Haru cleared his throat and spoke
“So, in your words, what do I have to do to be prepared?”
“It's not a matter of if you are preparing now, or not, let me put it differently”
Both of Alexander's eyes opened, his gaze neutral
“Do you think you have been in control of your own actions this entire time?”
“And what the hell does that mean?”
(Is he bluffing, or just simply bullshitting me…)
Sylvia intervened, but now, for the second time in this conversation
“Archbishop, with all due respect, don't you think you may have gone overboard with that information”
Haru regained his cool, he took in a deep breath, his hand involuntary clutching
“Are you implying that the notion of fate actually exists? Because if you are, that's utterly nonsense”
“I am not waffling, my friend. What im telling you is the unaltered truth”
As Archbishop Alexander said, the silver tray with hot tea, flavored with honey, was brought to the table
John returned to his post beside the Archbishop
Sylvia was the first one to pick up a cup of hot tea, sipping it. She swished in her mouth
“Good enough, John, not your usual work though”
While John stayed silent, Archbishop Alexander would laugh heartily at Sylvia's comment
So he grabbed a tea cup for himself, slowly drinking it and setting it back on the wooden long table
Haru reluctantly looked at the hot tea and picked it up to sip
(Ugh, I hate honey…)
“This is nice and all, but back to the matter, how come fate exists?”
“My, what a delightful question, you see my young friend, in this world, fate governs all things, the things you see or you don't, she was always there, and will always be”
Haru held the tea cup in his hands for a moment, then liquid at the surface letting of steam as Haru thought
(It seems that Sylvia hasn't told me the full truth)
“I see…well that isn't none of my concern, at least for the time being”
“I understand my position, so may I leave?”
Alexander raised an eyebrow at this. He pretended to ponder it
“Not so fast, I've got some questions for you too”
Sylvia set her tea cup on the table as she was done with it
(Ah, so he's really punching it in, you old fool…)
“Firstly, tell me Haru, why are you even doing this?”
(As if I haven't been asked that before…)
“I want to be useful, in my life, I had nothing, i was never gifted, at anything, I want to grab this chance by the throat, I know of its bearings, but that doesn't matter, due to my healing, you can say, that I've found a new purpose in life, other than just existing”
Alexander clapped his hands. He leaned back on the chair, laughing out loud, not like a mad man, but with a delighted feeling
“Exquisite, marvelous answer one would even say, i haven't ever heard an answer like that from a holy being such as you”
“Old fool! What are you saying to the boy! He doesn't know stuff like that”
“Watch your mouth elf, we do not tolerate insults to the head of the church!”
John shouted in response, his expression changed, his eyes narrowed, and his muscles wrinkled
Admit of all this, Haru sat silently
(Other, holy beings? This is the second time that I've heard of holy beings before my time. I had already assumed that, but now I'm curious, who was before me?...)
“Silence”
Alexander delivered only one word. His one word was enough to silence both Sylvia and John
John clicked his tongue and bit his lower lip shut
Sylvia simply took a step back, her expression back to being neutral
“Now, to the second question, what is your end goal? What will you do after all this is over? Assuming that you win”
“I am mature enough to say that I don't know, or to say, I can't possibly know, I guess I'll just go back to my old life if the situation calls for it”
This time, the Archbishop said nothing
He contemplated in utter silence. Even the air around him wasn't moving
“Good, now, to the third question, do you truly trust Sylvia uphant to be your guide?”
“What kind of question is that? Of course, I trust her. She has done nothing to warrant my distrust”
Alexander finished his own tea cup and set it aside, a satisfying smile playing on his lips
Micah, for the first time in the meeting, spoke
“Yiu don't even know what uphant is, right boy?”
Haru tilted his head about 10 degrees to his left to look at Micah
“No I don't. That doesn't matter, I couldn't care less about her surname right now”
Given that Haru had answered all his questions correctly, Alexander had no further use for him here
He waved his hand towards him
“Our meeting here is complete, you may go now, and you Sylvia”
Both Micah and John were shocked by this. It was their first time seeing the Archbishop this indifferent
“But sir, how have you come to that conclusion? The boy simply isn't ready. You can tell by his demeanor!”
John yelled out
“Stop your whining, the boy is worthy of his bearings, i deemed that myself, it was the wheel point of this meeting wasn't it now?”
Micah restrained John both physically and from further wrath
“Yes sir, understood, we shouldn't have questioned you in the first place”
Micah said in a rushed tone
Alexander stood up from his chair, heading with his tea cup into the kitchen
“That boy, they call him the boy who saw hell with his own eyes”
“And what does that have to do with anything?”
“Nothing really…but because he saw hell with his own 2 eyes then that must mean that the synchronization failed”
“What do you mean sir?”
“Haru Senkawa should have never survived drinking the imaginary codex”
The old man muttered to himself, as if utterly fascinated…
Seeing this, Sylvia motioned her head to Haru, his eyes snapping back at her
“Let's see the others”
Haru stood up from his seat. It was quite comfortable for him
Weirdly enough, he didn't even argue this time
Nor did he make a grudgeful face
Sylvia and him walked up the spiral and slippery staircase in complete silence
By the time they arrived back up at the church
Each person was doing their own thing
“Oh, Sylvia! You guys are back. How did the meeting go?”
Zoe asked cheerfully yet unknowingly
“We are heading back to base”
Sylvia responded
Albeit with a mysterious smile
“Huh?”
“You'll see”...
