Chapter 47: Lord of Finality (1)

The church stood in silence amidst the thick, gray mist.

Grand yet somber, its architecture spoke of an ancient era long forgotten.

Towering pillars stretched skyward, adorned with intricate carvings of celestial and earthly beings, their faces frozen in terror and despair.

Dim light filtered through the stained glass windows, casting faint glows upon the interior. Above them all, a domed ceiling shimmered with faint, luminous mosaics.

A statue of a deity sat upon a stone throne, radiating an aura of boundless majesty and authority. Its posture was both imposing and serene, an embodiment of unwavering dominion.

The statue was draped in a robe that concealed its form, and its face remained indistinct, as if the very mist shrouded its identity.

Beneath the deity's gaze, a humanoid woman knelt, her hands clenched in a pose of prayer.

Her body trembled, as if burdened by an unseen weight.

Long hair cascaded to the floor, her hands folded tightly against her chest. From her trembling lips, a prayer emerged in a language so ancient it felt like a whisper lost to time.

A soft murmur escaped her lips before she rose to her feet, turning toward the statue.

Within the church, she stood beneath the towering figure of the Lord of Finality, leading the prayer. Behind her, an uncountable mass of worshippers filled the vast hall, bowing in perfect unison.

Their faces were lost in the haze, yet their voices resonated as one, creating a harmony that stirred the soul.

Each of them wore long, gray robes, and some carried dimly flickering candles—like lost stars adrift in the darkness.

The grand staircases surrounding the church stretched endlessly, each step occupied by kneeling worshippers, their heads bowed low.

The woman lifted her hands toward the statue, her eyes tightly shut, and her voice trembled with reverence.

As she began to recite her prayer, the air within the church quivered, as if the world itself was listening to every word she uttered.

Each prayer echoed into the infinite, resonating beyond the boundaries of time and space.

Every word she spoke was like a thread, weaving the mortal realm with the unseen, drawing forth hidden forces from the depths of existence.

"Ad Omnitempus, Dominus Finalitatis, Arbiter Mortis et Vitae."

The first words left her lips, low yet brimming with power.

The moment Omnitempus was spoken, a weight settled upon the air. The candle flames flickered, trembling as if touched by an invisible force.

Outside, the gray mist crept inward, coiling around the ground and enveloping each step lined with worshippers.

Some bowed even lower, as if feeling the depth of the invocation.

"Te invocamus, Custos Temporis, Redemptor Perpetuus."

As she uttered Custos Temporis, a cool wind swept through the church, carrying the scent of damp earth and ancient leaves, their origins unknown.

Beyond the walls, the wind stirred into a growing tempest, spiraling through the mist and twisting it into a dark vortex.

The worshippers behind her raised their voices in fervent prayer, their chants growing deeper, more impassioned.

"Da nobis lucem tuam in obscuritate sine fine."

The moment the prayer was spoken, a soft radiance illuminated the church, though no visible source of light could be found.

The glow rose from deep within the earth, from the church's most hidden depths. It coursed up through the black stone floor, reaching the grand statue before them.

The light spread, filling every corner and crevice, casting shadows that seemed to shift on their own.

Outside, the sky churned, gray clouds swirling as if responding to the call for illumination.

"Exaudiam me, servam tuam, et populum tuum, qui in silentio supplicat."

For a brief moment, the swirling winds came to a halt.

Everything within the church was wrapped in a profound stillness, as if the world had paused to listen.

The voices of the worshippers fell silent, allowing each word of the prayer to settle into the hush.

Then, as the final syllable faded, their voices rose again—stronger, deeper, a deafening chorus that shook the air.

From the statue, fragments of light began to drift downward, golden embers cascading from its form as if answering their call.

"Libera nos a tenebris quae omnia devorat, et a carcere temporis."

Dark shadows began to stir within the church, creeping slowly along the stone walls.

At the same time, the voices of the worshippers grew louder, merging into a single, resounding rhythm.

Some bowed even deeper, feeling the weight of the word tenebris as if it were fire searing their very souls.

Beyond the church, the gray mist thickened, swirling like a colossal being rising from the depths of another world.

"Fiat lux tua, finis et initium universi."

The dim lights within the church suddenly flared, their glow intensifying until it bathed the entire space in radiant illumination.

Outside, the sky began to part, revealing a vast ocean of twinkling stars.

The worshippers slowly lifted their heads, gazing upward with expressions of hope as they felt the light embracing them.

"Absconde nos a calamitate mortalis."

At the utterance of calamitate, a distant rumble echoed through the land, as if an immense force had shaken the world itself.

It was as though all things—living and dead—had turned their attention to the invocation.

The worshippers behind the woman clasped their hands more tightly, their bodies trembling, as if an unseen power was pulling them into a state beyond their control.

"In nomine aeternitatis, te veneramur."

At that moment, the night sky outside the church ignited with brilliance, as though countless stars had gathered, turning the heavens into a vast, luminous canvas.

The voices of the worshippers resonated in perfect unison, piercing through the very fabric of time and space. And when veneramur was spoken, the sound reverberated across the cosmos, as if reaching something far greater than themselves.

"Fac nos partem ordinis tui, ut fiant dies nostri sicut pulvis stellarum."

An unseen force enveloped the worshippers, lifting them slightly off the ground, as if they were being cradled by a power that transcended the sky and the earth.

A strange peace settled over them—one laced with an overwhelming dread, as if they had become part of something far beyond their mortal existence.

"Salva nos, Dominus Finalitatis, a chaos et oblivione."

With these words, their voices expanded even further, as though linking them to a realm beyond comprehension—whether it was another dimension or a higher plane of existence, none could tell.

Outside, the gray mist began to recede, as if being drawn away by the power of their prayer.

"Fiat voluntas tua, in saecula saeculorum."

In the final moment, a golden radiance engulfed the church, filling every crevice and corner.

A presence—indescribable yet undeniable—descended upon them, as if the world itself had paused to heed their prayer, uniting them in a single, eternal purpose.

***

Far from the church where the ritual took place…

"Those lunatics…"

"Why don't we just leave them be?"

"I don't mind their practices… It's just that lately, they've been praying at all hours, without pause."

"Haha, don't let it get to you. They're just fanatics chasing after the Lord of Finality. We don't even know if that being truly exists—"

The woman's words were cut off before she could finish.

"You know nothing… At its core, when a being's prayers and desires converge, they form a miracle of a higher order. A madness… an endless devotion."

The old man's expression tightened slightly.

"Hah… Let's just hope this so-called Lord of Finality never exists, or…"

Or what?