Chapter 80. Northern Central Church

The Northern Central Church, Goldance Duchy

Whizzzz...

The snowfall raged on across the city as harsh, howling winds began to pick up. Citizens scrambled frantically into their homes to seek shelter from the biting cold and relentless snowstorm.

Through the whiteout, a lone young man wrapped in a thick fur coat sprinted toward the towering cathedral entrance.

The moment he stepped onto the stone stairs, the armored Paladin guards posted at the entrance held out their spears. “Halt! Identify yourself.”

The young man stopped, catching his breath as he pulled out a brass identification plate. “I am the new junior priest, Samuel! I am starting my service today!”

The Paladin inspected the plate, gave a brief nod, and signaled to his fellow guard. With a heavy, creaking groan, the grand wooden doors opened just enough for him to slip inside.

Stepping into the warmth of the grand foyer, Samuel pulled down his hood and shed his heavy fur coat. Underneath, he wore the Church’s mandated standardized tunic. A long, flowing linen robe that reached down to his ankles. However, the front was cut in a drastic, plunging V-shape that started at the collar and descended all the way to his navel, leaving his chest and stomach completely exposed to the drafty indoor air.

“It is freezing out there, and this ridiculous standardized uniform is just awful...” Samuel sighed, hanging his coat on a wall hook.

“Tell me about it... It is ten times worse for us women,” a lady’s voice chimed in from right behind him.

Samuel turned around abruptly. Standing before him was a young priestess with long brown hair, wearing her own standardized uniform. It consisted of a thin, silver-encrusted linen bralette that offered minimal coverage, paired with an open-front ceremonial skirt made of a single layer of silk that sat low on her hips. The front split was so wide it functioned essentially as a loose loincloth drape, leaving her stomach, sides, lower back, and legs almost entirely bare to the biting cold.

“Ah... I am so sorry! I didn’t see you standing there, Miss,” Samuel apologized quickly with a polite nod.

The priestess smiled warmly, introducing herself. “I am Kavya, the junior priestess assigned to be your guide today.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Kavya,” Samuel replied, extending his hand.

Kavya chuckled, shaking his hand casually. “You can drop the formality and just call me Kavya. We are of the exact same rank and age, after all.”

“Then you can just call me Samuel as well,” he smiled.

Kavya turned on her heel with an amused smirk. “I was going to anyway! You don't need to give me permission. Now, follow me.” She began walking down the high arched cathedral hallway.

“Oh... right,” Samuel muttered, falling into step right behind her.

As they walked, Samuel couldn't help but comment looking at her bare legs, “So... as you were saying, it truly does look like priestesses have it far worse than us priests when it comes to these robes.”

“It is all because of that arrogant Central Church in the South, I tell you!” Kavya began ranting, her voice laced with deep annoyance. “Ever since the war with the Jin Kingdom ended, they have been pushing their authority way too far! First, they forced all northern branches to change our sacred ceremonial vestments simply because of Jin Kingdom influences...”

She glanced back over her shoulder as she continued, “And they were even actively blocking us from sending aid to impoverished local chapels because they don't want to get on the bad side of the Imperial Prince factions!”

Samuel nodded in shared frustration. “So much for the Church remaining strictly neutral in politics...”

“See? Even a brand-new recruit like you gets it!” Kavya agreed enthusiastically as they arrived at a pair of grand double doors at the end of the long corridor. Stopping before the doors, she added, “High Priest Landon is inside right now. We will begin your training today by demonstrating how to conduct blood testing to read soul shapes.”

With a firm push, she opened the heavy doors and led him inside.

“Observe carefully, Samuel. This is the magic artifact that reads soul shapes directly from blood,” High Priest Landon, an elderly man with a long white beard and a smooth bald head commented, as a deep rumble echoed through the grand chamber.

“First question for you, Samuel: what are magic artifacts, fundamentally?” Kavya asked, standing beside him while holding a wooden clipboard with a testing checklist attached.

As the stone floor vibrated slightly, a massive, carved pillar began ascending from the hidden mechanism below.

“Magical devices created from the remains and essence of extinct divine races such as Sirens, Mermaids, and Fairies,” Samuel answered promptly, watching the colossal stone column rise to its full height.

“Correct. Now, what is this specific Soul Shape Reading Artifact called, and how many operational units exist?” Kavya continued her oral examination, while High Priest Landon walked over to the pillar and spun a heavy bronze crank. The outer stone walls slowly opened, revealing a reinforced glass chamber housed within its core.

“It is a Functionality Sphere! There are approximately one hundred and sixty four operational spheres known across the continent,” Samuel replied without hesitation.

Inside the fully exposed glass chamber, a glowing, living organ floated suspended in clear liquid, a beating heart.

High Priest Landon chuckled warmly. “My, you certainly seem to have memorized the textbook cover to cover!” He pointed toward the floating organ and continued, “Now, as you likely know, that right there is a living Mermaid Heart.”

Reaching into a padded wooden case nearby, the High Priest picked up a sealed glass vial containing a crimson blood. “This is a blood sample sent directly to us from Viscountess Francesca Ironwood, which we were requested to analyze to determine her soul’s current spiritual health.”

High Priest Landon carefully inserted the vial into a designated slot at the base of the glass chamber.

“Now, how does the underlying process work? Explain it to me, Samuel. Let us see how deeply you truly understand the mechanics,” High Priest Landon tested him as the slot closed, drawing the vial inside.

“Mermaid hearts are uniquely capable of reading the precise shape of a soul because Mermaids were highly magical beings who required a conscious understanding of their own soul’s form to execute high tier magic,” Samuel answered rapidly.

High Priest Landon let out a bright laugh. “He seems far more studious than you were when you first joined us, Kavya!”

Inside the artifact, the suspended Mermaid heart began to beat at a rapid, rhythmic pace as the blood vial spun at high speeds within the chamber, glowing with a faint, ethereal light.

“Well then, let us proceed with the ritual,” High Priest Landon said, his tone turning focused and scholarly.

The three of them spent the remainder of the night meticulously observing the artifact's reactions, taking detailed measurements, and calculating the complex spiritual readings required to decipher the true condition of Francesca's soul.