Chapter 5 - 2

One of the priests scoffed.

"H-HOW RUDE! THE NERVE OF HER TO SAY SUCH A-"

"Quiet." The older priest said and the young man stopped.

"B-But, sir, the blatant disrespect," he was interrupted again.

"… Is merited from someone who is currently being held captive, for all intents and purposes. Worry not," he directed his words at her, "you will be released in just a moment. I simply wish to explain what is happening in better detail."

"Yeah?" Ash raised a brow. "Fine, go ahead, get your shitty advertisements out of the way."

She'd seen more than enough of the Church of Magia on the streets, constantly preaching about how regular people's degenerate ways would lead to the end-times, how the demon attacks were evidence of that. She wasn't a fan of them, and this wasn't making her opinion any better.

"Over a thousand years ago, the pious forces of Jade, before it was the seat of an empire, were locked in battle with the dark creatures that once covered Nova." He started walking around the church. There were paintings on the wall that Ash only now just noticed. Each one depicted knight-like figures dressed in white and gold armor, fighting off enemies or just standing around looking incredible. "We could fight them, but as time went on, we realized we needed aid to solidify our victories. The founder of this church, Ernest Callwatch, was given a task by Magia herself to create an object with which she could designate the heroes that would ensure Jade's victory. This crystal," he turned and faced it, "this wonderful item was the result. Magia's Crystal, an object that our goddess would use to choose her Saviors. Have you heard of them before?"

"No." Ash apathetically said, bored out of her mind.

"The Saviors are an order of god-like figures, capable of miraculous feats that serve Magia and the realm. After Jade's expansion, they retired, and, for hundreds of years, the crystal was dormant. Until recently, when the crystal began selecting again several decades ago."

People whispered amongst each other.

"Nightmares." The mere mention of these things made some of the people in the church flinch. "Creatures of the Dark capable of turning others, humans and animals alike, into demonic corruptions…" As if remembering who he was talking to, he turned to her. "Not hybrids like yourself, but full, mindless, feral beasts. Shells of humans that do nothing but kill and destroy for those they serve."

Human killers? Sounds a lot like "not my problem". Ash thought.

"At first, when we fought them, the tides of battle were in our favor, but slowly, over the last couple of decades, they have grown far more powerful. Now, our hopes rest solely on you. Our Saviors."

He stopped talking. A quiet hung over the room as everyone anticipated her response.

"Fighting horrible creatures?" Ash asked. "Doesn't really sound like something I'm interested in. Especially not for free." She stressed.

Outrage. Those watching, the priests standing by their leader, everyone lobbed insults at her, "pathetic, lazy, worthless," among others. None of them bothered her.

"Your holiness, there must be a mistake. Surely, this person cannot be one of Magia's chosen. Maybe the crystal made a mistake."

The archpriest did not turn his eyes away from Ash.

"No, the crystal belongs to Magia herself and as such, does not make mistakes. This is the one. But," he sighed, "I guessed you may have needed some convincing. Bring her to me," he ordered. "I would have you see something."

Oh great. Ash rolled her eyes. What now?

With the aid of a deacon, the archpriest led her outside of the church. They went behind the church where a terrible smell soon reached Ash. Ugh, what the… When she saw the source, she froze.

Piles of corpses, in the process of being burnt. They were stacked on top of each other, blood slowly trickling from open wounds onto the stone below. They were varied, with the bodies taking all kinds of forms. Some looked like weathered veterans, others being small children whose lifeless eyes pierced Ash.

The archpriest gestured to them, looking back at Ash stoically.

"All of these souls were lost because of this threat. Do you understand the gravity of the situation? Why, just this morning we had dozens of poor citizens of the world come to us, hurt and in terrible conditions. Most of them died. And, most of them will continue to die if this enemy is not dealt with. But," he put his hands behind his back, "it does not have to be that way. You, hybrid, have the power to stop it. Magia herself has looked upon you and seen fit to bless you with the natural strength and talent to make a difference. So, what say you? Will you do it? Will you make a stand for our, no, your people's sake?"

His volume gradually rose as he spoke, his tone turning inspiring and motivating. The few people around them, maybe the ones who had carried the bodies here, turned to watch their interaction. Ash looked into his eyes, then at the bodies and back at him. She had her answer.

"Fuck no."

The archpriest blinked. Ash had spoken those words with more certainty laced into them than perhaps any she'd ever spoken. Seeing these bodies had the exact opposite effect of what the archpriest had intended. Instead of rallying her, it solidified Ash's answer. She wanted nothing to do with this.

"Why?" The archpriest sounded genuinely baffled. "How, what… Why?"

"Are you kidding?" His question angered her. She gritted her teeth and stared into his eyes. "Let me tell you a little about myself, priest. From the moment I was born, I was hated. I had nothing, no one. My parents treated me like a fucking curse, my mom couldn't even stand to look at me because I was a constant reminder of what happened to her that got her pregnant with me. At school, every kid would call me 'devil' and no one ever talked to me unless a teacher made them do it for whatever reason. When I was twelve, some people came around to take me away and they did nothing to stop it. I stood there, knocking on that fucking door for days, hoping they'd let me back in but no. Six years. For six years after that, I had to live out in the streets. I begged for scraps, I had to eat literal garbage, I asked people for money and at best, I'd get a few crowns, and at worst, I'd get stomped on. I got beat up by thugs, I got chased around the city by guards and other homeless people, all the while I didn't even have a name. Hell, you don't even know what my fucking name is! The entire time I've just been 'the demon', 'the hybrid', 'the street rat'. And now this?"

She scoffed. The man's face twisted with anger.

"You wanna know the best part?" She asked. "I was actually kind of considering it. I was going to make you pay me a fuck-ton, of course, but I was thinking about it. But now, now that I've seen that," she gestured with her head to the bodies, "I couldn't care less about this whole Savior thing. You want me to stick my neck out for you, for the city, for everyone in fucking Nova, when I've been treated like nothing but dirt for my whole life!? You seriously expect me to put my life at risk for you!? Fuck that!" She spat out, breathing heavily. She'd gotten so worked up that she was practically yelling at him. She took a deep breath and returned to a more stable tone. "You want someone to stand between you and whatever freaks did that, maybe you shouldn't ask a freak to be the one." She concluded.

The silence that appeared was different from the last one, in the church. This one had the priest looking at her analytically. He scratched his beard, his eyes narrowed.

"I see," he said. "I misjudged you. No, perhaps it is better to say I underestimated you," he told her. "Appealing to your empathy was never going to work. I should have understood that from the beginning, as soon as I saw you in your shit-covered clothes."

"What?" Ash replied, angry. "If you wanna fight, how about you untie me and we can go a few rounds!"

He ignored her words.

"When interacting with… Someone like you," he spoke the words with as much disdain as Ash had ever heard, "morality is non-existent in the realm of negotiation. No, it is better to use needs." He had someone start dragging her again, following him.

They went back into the church, this time heading deeper. She followed him through dark corridors. At first, Ash was wondering if she was being taken into a dungeon, but soon, she saw a room up ahead that was brightly lit with a golden haze.

"I could lock you up until you're desperate enough to help," he said casually, "but that would make you an unmotivated, unreliable asset. No, I need you wanting to help. So, here. Let's talk needs."

When they entered the room, Ash actually gasped. It was like something out of a dream. Gold, more of it than Ash had ever seen, even in her dreams. There was jewelry thrown about carelessly, a few chests full of crowns, Ash swore she even saw a few diamonds. This looked like the sort of thing she'd fantasize about, that one day it would all simply appear in front of her. But, this, what she was seeing, was very real.

"I need a fighter, a shield. You need money, do you not?" He asked. "This is the wealth of my church. Everything you see here we have received through donations over the course of Jade's history and it falls onto the archpriest to do whatever he wishes with the contents of this room. Heh, in some ways, I am more powerful than the Royal Council itself. I," he turned to her, getting closer, blocking out her view of the riches, "can make your dreams come true, demon. I can give you enough wealth to never have to see or hear from a human like me again. All you need to do is be Jade's Savior."

Holy shit… Ash gulped.

The sleepless and hungry nights, the aches and pains she'd get from sleeping on stone, the smell of her piss-stained clothes, it all came back to her. This wasn't a fantasy, this was real, and it was being offered to her.

"In fact," he continued, "I will give you this right now if you accept." He grabbed one of the coins, a white crown. Ash almost cried. White crowns were a kind of prestigious currency, worth hundreds of regular crowns. "Should you accept, you will be taken from here, given a suit of Savior's armor, a weapon, and instructions, of course, but this coin will be yours to do whatever you want with before you commence your tasks."

It was too much for Ash to bear. It was all happening too quickly. She was still doubting whether she was asleep or not, conjuring up illusions of grandeur in her mind. She could feel her willpower slipping.

No more hunger. She thought. No more sleeping on the fucking street. She tried to raise a hand, failing of course due to the bindings. The archpriest nodded to the person dragging her and he nodded back, putting a key in her shackles and removing them. And all I have to do is go on a few stupid missions? She reached for it.

"So, now that we're talking in far more practical terms," he cleared his throat, "do you accept?"

Ash took a deep breath. She looked up at him, hatred still lingering in both their eyes. Her opinion of him hadn't changed, and she knew his opinion of her would always be the same. But, now, they were talking business. Strictly business.

And so, she nodded.

"Fine."

With those words, for the first time since she'd met him, the archpriest smiled.

"Very well then."

And Ash was declared the new Savior.