The sound of bells rang echoed throughout the sky of a sunny day, people coming into the cathedral that was bigger and taller than any building in West Neva. Hundreds of carriages have swarmed the cathedral since two days ago with banners from different nations and royal families. They came to celebrate Ascension Day, a day when the Westerners rose into a higher position above other humans by the blessing of Saint Ermaine and the Orthias.

All the prominent figures including Sorcerers attended Ascension Day to receive the blessing. The cathedral was so big that it could fit more than a thousand people easily. The commoners couldn’t attend because Ascension Day lasted for a whole week, and the first day was exclusively for royal families and nobles.

Agnesia and Marina, the twin Sorceresses that had become the image of power in West Neva also attended Ascension Day. They had no choice but to play along or they would be seen as threats to Satan and her followers. They had been trying to gather more forces to resist against the wolf wearing the shephard’s skin. However, they couldn’t find more trustworthy people in West Neva or their scheme would be exposed.

"They even come for the Ascension Day," Marina whispered as she looked at the two figures that had caused anxiety to the whole continent and taken countless lives due to their turf wars.

Agnesia looked over her shoulder and saw the two leaders walking side by side so proudly without any shred of shame in their eyes. She wasn’t the only one who looked at those two figures, everyone in the cathedral were looking with various expressions written on their faces.

"They have become their puppets. It wouldn’t be a surprise if those two suddenly became good friends," Agnesia learned from Rasmus that those two leaders were being used by the Fallen Watchers, Satan’s followers. "But I have to admit that it’s quite concerning to see them here. We just need to stay out of this for now," she muttered and sat straight, facing the front and looking at Ermaine, a young woman wearing a black cloak standing at the altar, a fake Saint and a false prophet with Satan and the Orthias standing behind her.

‎A normal place should grow louder and the atmosphere should grow lighter by the bigger amount of people gathered, but not in this cathedral. The more people entered, the silence remained and the atmosphere grew heavier, it was as if none of their presence could overwhelm those who stood at the altar.

‎"(I have never believed in Gods, but would it be too late to believe in them?)" Agnesia thought to herself, remembering how powerful Satan and the Fallen Watchers were.

‎When the giant wonder doors closed shut, the slamming sound echoed throughout the cathedral. Everyone held their breath without them knowing, there was no sound, only silence. It didn’t matter if they believed in Ermaine or not, they all felt the same way, anxious.

‎"The day has come. For those who believe in themselves for centuries, unwavering beliefs of who they truly are..." Ermaine’s voice was soft and gentle, a voice that showed humility and innocence. "The ones who have stayed pure, the ones who have resisted the impurities. Those people are here, gathered in this holy place," her expression was impassive, but her gaze saw through everyone’s souls.

‎Almost everyone in the hall was touched by her words, like cold water that washed away the dry in their throats. It was that feeling of being validated, of being seen, and heard. Her voice was like arms embracing their heads and her eyes were like the warmth that had spread inside their chests.

‎"To exist in this world, everything is seen as special. The trees, the mountains, the water, the sea, and all the creatures. But there’s one creature with limitless potential, to grow stronger, to grow smarter, to reproduce, and lastly to rule and take care of this world. And what’s that being called?" Ermaine put her hands on the altar, looking at all the masses in front of her.

‎"Humans..." Everyone muttered.

‎"Humans, us..." Ermaine smiled softly and nodded. "The Orthias taught us how to live, to give us knowledge. But what did the humans do to them?" She asked with her brows raised. "We slaughtered them in the name of what? Gods?" She added.

‎Everyone in the hall was silent, not wanting to admit it because even though they were humans, they weren’t a part of it. They were the ones who were against the massacre of the Orthias, they kept devoting their lives to the ones who taught them.

‎"Yes, their Gods!" A voice echoed throughout the hall. "We don’t believe in Gods!" He added. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

‎That voice resonated with everyone in the room, and without them realizing it, they were nodding in agreement.

‎"You don’t believe in Gods? Then who made you?" Ermaine asked. "The Orthias came from the essence, the remains of True Dragons, Mana. But humans? Animals? Beasts? They bleed. Until this day, the Orthias never said that they made humans or the lives before us. Then who?" She looked into everyone’s eyes.

‎The hall grew silent once again. It was a fact that they never wanted to touch or even to look at. They knew there should be an explanation, but Gods, those who believed in them had done nothing but bloodshed.

‎"God, it sounds familiar and yet it feels distant, is it not?" Ermaine asked as she walked down the steps. "What is God? All of you must have known the answer or at least heard of it. Omnipotent," she stood in front of a king who looked pale and sick.

‎"We want to believe in God, but the humans have tarnished that name until we want to ignore its existence..." Ermaine held the king’s fragile and wrinkly hand. "Yet God never abandoned us," she muttered as she closed her eyes.

‎The stained glass that prevented the sunlight from blinding the hall suddenly grew brighter. The rays of light pierced through the stained glass, it was a white light, unfiltered by the stained glass. The king who looked old, pale, and sick suddenly grew younger, his skin turned pinkish, and he looked nothing like a sick old man a few seconds ago.

‎Agnesia, Marina, and the others who knew the truth were shocked. They had seen Serena’s divine power, they were shocked when Ermaine could do the same and the worst part was it seemed that Ermaine’s divine power was stronger than Serena’s. They wanted to be skeptical, but they found no traces of demonic energy, only pure divine power.

‎"(Why does someone like her, who’s a false prophet, a false Saint to show divine power? Isn’t she supposed to turn us astray from God? What are they scheming...)" Agnesia was utterly shocked.

‎"All of you have shown your devotion toward yourself, of what kind of human God wants you to be. You have proven yourself worthy to be called a human. I’m not trying to use you, to turn you into a martyr. What I’m trying to do is to make you understand, it’s not only that you’re different from the other humans, but God has come to reward you for your purity," Ermaine spoke as she walked in between the benches, looking everyone in the eyes. "You will remain the same, God wants nothing back but for you to be yourself, like you have always been," she smiled softly as she turned around, looking at the altar in front of her and the thousands of people around her.

‎"Now! Close your eyes! I’ll raise you to ascension..." Ermaine clasped her hands together and the divine light hit everyone’s bodies.

‎The pain, the stress, the sickness, and all the burden inside everyone’s bodies were lifted. They could feel their bodies floating from how light their bodies were. Nobody had experienced something like that before, and they began to believe they had ascended into something more superior than other humans.

‎"Now stand and rejoice in your ascension!" Ermaine smiled softly as she walked back to the altar.

‎When everyone opened their eyes as they stood up, tears fell to their chins. Basked by divine light, to be given a gift for their beliefs, for staying pure, and knowing they had done the right things, it empowered them. Agnesia and the others were petrified once again, it was too overwhelming and it was hard to resist the feel, the words, and rightness.

‎"You are now embraced," Ermaine said in a soft voice.

‎Satan stood there as a smile slowly formed on the corner of her lips.