Preacher

Carrying the small girl, Cane walked behind the so-called shepherds, watching as they led him through the dark corridors of wherever they had been taken. As he walked he noticed more and more people joining them, coming out from hidden doors in the black walls of the passageway, arriving in pairs and each escorted by their own shepherd, their golden mask illuminating the path they paved

Soon so many people had joined them that the pathway became cramped, Cane soon found himself bottled shoulder to shoulder with another pair of people, both looking equally miserable in appearance. They walked in sync, their skin equally bruised and tattered, the only stark difference where their garbs and the shapes of their bruises, much like the clothes Cane had just found himself in, clothes he had no recollection of putting on, the man of the pair sported an all-black gown, similar to a dress but more closely fitted and tattered as all hell. The woman wore a white garb, opposite to her partner equally damaged but more filthy due to its brightness, one could easily see the outline of her body.

As a matter of fact, the only one who didn't fit in within the crowd was in his arms, her nun uniform starkly different from both the uniforms of the shepherds and the "sheep". The girl had been staring at him since the return of the light, her eyes never even flicking towards the figures of those who surrounded them or their surroundings, she simply stared. It was rather unnerving

Finally after a few minutes of walking and just as the fatigue had begun to set in on Cane's arms from carrying the tiny nun the shepherds stopped their march, halting as one, causing the now hundreds of people they were leading to all to take a breath.

It was completely still, a lack of momentum so great that Cane couldn't even fill his lungs, unsure whether to break the stock-still hush. For a few moments nothing happened, not one of the hundreds of people standing silently in the dark moved a muscle or took a breath

And then the silence was broken, the walls began to shake and the floor began to creak creating a sound which was loud enough that the momentary silence was completely forgotten…and suddenly the floor began to shift.

It began as a slight push, so small it was noticeable to most, and then rushed into a full jolt, causing some to fall over and stumble, but thankfully not Cane as the slight weight in his arms acted as a counterweight

The floor was rising and the lights were dimming

While before they had walked in low light through the halls, they now stood again in complete inky darkness, causing some around him to emit sobs or cries as they were plunged back into the dark they had only just escaped.

And as the cries got louder the girl roosting in his arms began to shift, her original tight grip on the front of his garb loosened and eventually let go as she climbed down from his grasp, allowing him some reprieve from the slight ache in his arms that had appeared

However before Cane could ask her what she was doing, he felt a slight pull on his sleeve, pulling him downwards. Tilting slightly, he shifted down towards the now only slightly visible outline of the nun, her white hair acting as a light almost

"God?" she asked, her tone sounding similar to that of a child asking her mother a serious question "a-are you going to leave me?" as she asked the question Cane heard her swallow, stopping the slight tremble in his voice

Pausing for a moment, cane struggled with what to do, he wasn't sure if now was the best time to tell the girl that he wasn't god, but at the same time he felt a small part of him that stood against lying, especially to a child

However, deciding to be more compassionate than he normally was, he gently leaned down further, taking a knee in front of the girl's silhouette and placing a hand on her head

"No… I'm right here" he answered her, feeling a slight pang of guilt in his chest as he allowed the girl to continue with this fantasy of hers, he always had a soft spot for children, they were the one and only type of person in this world he had yet to kill and he disliked hurting them in general

Even mafia have limits… or at least he did… surprisingly

Giggling slightly the girl wrapped her hands around his, taking it off her head to hug onto his arm before gently clinging onto his side as the lifting floor began to slow, and slowly a crack erupted in the black sky above them, growing wider as they drew closer

And after a few moments of tension the crack grew to its maximum width, becoming rectangular and the floor they stood upon lifted through it, bathing them in light and letting Cane feel a breeze for the first time in what felt like hours

And before they could even adapt to their new surroundings all of the people standing on the platform heard the sound of a voice, strong and confident

The same voice that had erupted from the speakers in the darkroom before

"WELCOME CHILDREN OF EMANCIA!" the voice boomed, sounding vigorous and filled with joy. "You have survived the trials of our lady and are here to join her flock!"

Looking for the source of the voice Cane spun around causing the one attached to him to cling tighter so as to not lose their grip.

Searching Cane looked around the room, they were in a giant cathedral. The space was huge and luxurious, its walls covered in symbols and carvings, the walls lead up in a triangular fashion to the roof which had multiple golden chandeliers attached to it

And at the front, standing in front of an altar, surrounded by dozens of masked figures, each sporting a purple cloak and a golden mask far more detailed than those of the shepherds, depicting a woman's face, stood an old man.

His blue cloak was long and draped over the stairs of the altar like water and his translucent walking stick shone in the candlelight of the cathedral. His wrinkled face was covered in scars, marking his face as one that had been through many battles and his eyes shone with a light that seemed to portray a level of insanity on par with Jasmin when she was on a rampage

A man he recognized, one from the news and the wanted posters were strewn across the city

Lapis

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