Chapter 27: The Chapel of False Mercy
The rain began at dusk.
At the old chapel, which was built of fissured white stone, with towers which leaned, Kael arrived quite wet by the time he was large enough to see it. Or it appeared to be so.
It was quiet.
Too quiet.
> "Either sanctuary or trap," he muttered. "Probably trap."
But the sigil on the outer door, the Crest of Mercy, still shimmered faintly. A divine ward, meant to protect pilgrims and heal the wounded.
Even the book pulsed hesitantly.
> [Caution: Divine Residue Detected]
▸ Entry may result in Core Suppression
▸ Corruption signatures… unusual
He stepped inside anyway.
---
The moment his foot crossed the threshold, he felt it.
Like invisible chains wrapping around his limbs.
A pressure in the chest.
A muting of the blood.
His Crimson Core dimmed to a low ember.
The Holy oil laced the stale air. There were statues of angels on the walls, not at prayer but in attitudes of grief, with the cracking face and streaming black ichor.
Kael exhaled slowly.
> "Yeah… trap."
---
They appeared from the shadows, angelic figures, but warped.
Six of them, robed in white, faces veiled in silver, voices like wind chimes in a graveyard.
> "You bleed unclean. This is sacred ground."
> "Your kind forfeited mercy long ago."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
> "Your kind forgot what mercy is."
He reached for his blade…
but it wouldn't draw.
The scabbard burned to the touch, wrapped in divine sealing threads.
---
The chapel itself was the weapon.
Glyphs began to glow in the floor beneath him. Symbols of atonement and flame.
His blood ran cold. His strength slipped.
He dropped to one knee as the angels circled, chanting.
---
Then the book screamed.
A shriek only Kael could hear.
> [Sovereign Will, Flicker Lv.1 Activated]
▸ Override: Divine Glyph Denial Initiated
▸ Corruption Pulse Unleashed
A pulse of red light exploded from his chest.
The glyphs cracked.
The angels stumbled, shrieking in tones that made the walls tremble.
Kael rose, steam rising from his skin.
His Crimson Core roared back to life.
> "Mercy isn't given. It's stolen. And I'm done asking."
He surged forward.
---
The fight was short. Brutal.
Holy light clashed with bloodfire.
By the time the storm passed, the chapel roof had collapsed.
Only Kael remained, breathing heavily, surrounded by smoldering angel ash.
---
He exited through the broken doors as dawn crept in behind the storm.
His voice was quiet. Bitter.
> "No one gives sanctuary to monsters like me."
> "So I'll build my own."
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End of Chapter 27
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