"Evelina and Lillian are trying to escort people out, huh?"

I said, sitting on the roof of the building we were staying in, cloaking myself with enough magic, along with the false hydra’s ability, to keep myself completely hidden.

Kevin and Vivianne were still playing along with Jayden, Julius and Marcellus were at the fountain, and Evelina and Lillian were currently helping Marcellus in secret by easing his guilt.

That meant I was the only one left with nothing to do.

I could let Kevin and Vivianne rest for a while as well. They had already suffered enough during the trials. It was a miracle that they managed to come out of it fairly well with their skills.

They deserved the rest. As for Jayden, being protected by my two students was definitely far better than having him tag along with the rest of us.

"I should visit Nyx’s cathedral... if Kevin was right, it should be fairly barren."

***

[Darkfire Step]

I teleported directly inside the cathedral. Unlike Elion’s, the place was completely empty.

The silence inside Nyx’s cathedral was absolute.

No hymns. No incense. No golden-robed priests chanting prayers to a god who might or might not be listening. Just dust motes drifting through shafts of grey light that filtered through windows stained the color of twilight.

My footsteps echoed off the marble floor as I walked down the center aisle, past empty pews that hadn’t been sat in for weeks. The altar at the far end was bare, stripped of offerings, stripped of candles, stripped of everything except a single black stone that pulsed with faint silver light.

"You shouldn’t be here."

The voice came from everywhere and nowhere, soft as silk, cold as winter.

I didn’t turn around.

"Nyx."

The shadows in the corners of the cathedral deepened, stretched, and coalesced into a familiar shape. She was once again taking on the form of Evelina, but with fewer clothes.

Guess gods really didn’t care about public nudity that much, huh?

"You’re about to start a war in my brother’s house," Nyx said, stepping out of the darkness. "And you came to visit me first? How romantic."

"Just here for advice is all."

"I guess my advice back when you were still fighting the False Hydra helped, huh? I didn’t expect you to ask for my advice so directly now."

"Well, you’re not mad at me anymore, right?"

"No. The time you used chaos magic was nothing more than a blink in my limitless lifespan. I’m over it now."

Nyx circled the altar, her bare feet soundless on the cold stone. The silver light from the black stone pulsed beneath her fingers as she trailed them across its surface, leaving faint trails of shadow that faded almost instantly.

"You’ve grown since we last spoke," she said, not looking at me. "The False Hydra suits you. Better than the chaos magic did, anyway."

"I don’t use it because it’s convenient. I use it because it’s necessary. Well, I guess it could be a mix of both."

"Necessity." She rolled the word around like a piece of candy, tasting it from every angle. "That’s what you mortals always say when you’re about to do something terrible."

I leaned against a nearby pillar, my arms crossed. The amulet against my chest was warm, almost hot, responding to something in the cathedral’s darkness.

"We’re trying to stop a massacre."

"And you’re willing to commit a smaller massacre to do it." Nyx finally turned to face me, her borrowed features sharp in the dim light. "I’ve seen this pattern before. Thousands of times. It never ends well."

"Then what would you have me do?"

She was quiet for a moment. Then she laughed.

"Nothing. That’s the problem. There’s nothing you can do that will make this clean. Nothing that will make this right. You’ve chosen a path, and now you have to walk it."

"That’s not advice."

"It’s the only truth I have."

Nyx moved closer, her shadow stretching across the floor until it merged with mine.

"The church has been planning this for decades. Centuries, even. They’ve infiltrated every level of every government on the continent. They’ve turned brother against brother, nation against nation, all in service of a purity that doesn’t exist."

"And Elion?"

"Elion doesn’t speak to them. Hasn’t for generations. They’ve been acting on his behalf without his blessing for so long that they’ve forgotten there was ever a difference."

"So that confirms that they’re heretics."

"They’re fanatics." Nyx stopped in front of me, close enough that I could feel the cold radiating from her skin. "There’s a difference. Heretics know they’re wrong. Fanatics think they’re right."

Her eyes searched my face, looking for something I couldn’t name.

"You’re going to kill a lot of people today, Cael Arden. Some of them will deserve it. Some of them won’t. But if you hesitate, if you let your conscience get in the way, then everyone dies. Including the people you’re trying to save."

"Is that a prophecy?"

"It’s an observation." She stepped back, her form flickering. "Take it or leave it."

"I’ll take it."

"Good." Nyx’s lips curved, and for a moment she looked almost kind. "Now get out of my cathedral. I have your father to continue watching over."

"How’s my father, by the way?"

"Well, he’s quite a talented dark magic user." Nyx’s eyes glittered with something that might have been amusement. "Right now, I think he’s even stronger than your professor."

I blinked. "He’s stronger than Corvus?"

"Yes. And significantly so." She tilted her head, that too-familiar smile curving her borrowed lips. "Does that make you want to be my champion?"

"Nice try." I shook my head, stepping back toward the aisle. "After the demon prince business, I’d rather not tie myself down to another powerful entity."

"Shame." Nyx’s form flickered, shadows bleeding from her edges like ink in water. "I would have liked to have you as my chosen."

I paused at the threshold of the cathedral, glancing back over my shoulder. The goddess stood alone before the altar, the black stone’s silver light casting her face in sharp relief.

"I’m flattered," I said. "But I already belong to someone."

Nyx laughed, soft and knowing. "Yes. That’s precisely why I wanted you."

She faded into the darkness before I could respond.

Guess it’s about time I actually execute what I was originally here to do anyway.

[Search]

Gathering more spirits into my ranks before Marcellus gives the signal. There’s no better time than now, and if luck is on my side, I might even claim something stronger than the False Hydra.

As for why Nyx’s cathedral...

I just thought I’d get better chances here.