As Eleanor prepared to stand and thank the kind Angel who led the congregation, there was a gentle pulse of warmth that found its way to her shoulder.
Flinching out of surprise, she turned her head to look over her shoulder, finding two emerald eyes staring back at her with a smile attached.
"Lady Prudentia?"
Sitting in the booth behind her, the Angel of Justice nodded slowly, regarding her student with a pleasant grin.
Never had the blonde-haired girl expected to see her mentor within a cathedral meant for the God of Depths, as the beautiful Angel, a disciple of the God of Truth and Equity, was far from the ideal clergygoer.
As if reading her mind, Prudentia released her grip on Eleanor's shoulder, relaxing back against the wooden bench.
"Praying to an individual works the same as praying to a deity. If one were to, let's say… Pray to their student, then they would be brought to that student's place of worship."
Not needing her to finish her point for the reasoning to come across, the young priestess shook her head with clear surprise still radiating from her face.
"How curious… Would it work if that person weren't within the temple at that time? Or what if they weren't dead?"
The Angel of Justice sighed at the child's words.
"You come face to face with the mentor you've been avoiding for days, and the first thing you do is ask questions… If I didn't know your origins, I would've assumed you were the spawn of Cauron Thorn himself."
Eleanor blushed at the woman calling her out, suddenly feeling embarrassed by her own actions and failure to even properly greet her teacher.
"I apologize for my behavior."
She bowed her head slightly, causing Prudentia to chuckle in response.
"That's better."
Slowly, the winged woman stood, displaying her fluffy wings in full, with the other church visitors having their attention drawn to their magnificent form.
Whether it be the nuns who had only recently arrived in the Great Beyond or the clergyman who had delivered the sermon, all eyes were turned to the True Angel.
"We have much to discuss, my child. Lady Strixen has told me about your little science project that you've forced Abraham to join."
Turning her back away from the girl, she spoke one more time before heading towards the door.
"To harass Abraham to such a degree as an intern… Perhaps there is nothing I can even hope to teach you anymore."
Quietly laughing at her own joke, she excused herself from the cathedral without another delay, the young priestess following soon after.
All that remained was the tranquil church hall filled with stunned workers who had simply wished for peace but came into contact with one of their bosses even at their moment of rest.
For the remainder of the week, certain murmurs spread about the Angel of Justice never allowing even the humblest worker a break, something that was, of course, not true at all.
…
Walking through the white halls once more, a conversation naturally sprang to life between the two women as they headed towards the training hall.
"I couldn't believe Lady Strixen's words until I saw you myself. The corruption clinging to your core is nearly completely dispersed throughout your body after your experiment with Abraham. It will be far easier to digest small clumps like that."
Eleanor beamed with pride as she strolled behind her mentor; the joy of her success, coupled with her own improved mental state, brought her woes to a halt and her jolly attitude to the surface once again.
If not for the world around her and the lingering corruption, she could almost believe she was home again, the cathedral, her bedroom, the reassuring days before everything fell apart.
"I found it hard to believe as well. My body is as light as a feather now, and I can actually sense my mana core again."
Proving her point, she leaped forward, appearing at the side of the Angel though only missing her wings by a fraction of a centimeter.
Prudentia smiled down at her, her hands clasped tightly at her side.
"Then it's finally time to begin your training in full."
As she spoke, she turned her attention to a small doorway ahead, propped open on a broken chunk of rock.
Eleanor, having heard her mentor's words, stopped dead in her tracks, her expression covered by her loose hair that fell over her face.
There was a long silence before the Angel turned around and noticed her unmoving apprentice.
"Is there something wrong…?"
The blonde-haired girl's body twitched before she replied loudly.
"YES!"
Booming excitement radiated from her figure as she jumped skyward, the mystical training she had been hoping to accomplish for weeks finally within her grasp.
Prudentia stared at her like she was crazy, the silent judgment forcing the young girl into a statue-like pose.
"I-I mean…"
The Angel of Justice shook her head, chuckled, and then turned around and walked into the large training hall.
I don't think she understood…
Sighing, the blonde-haired girl followed her mentor's footsteps carefully, delighted that her long and arduous attempts to rid herself of corruption were finally bearing fruit.
…
Eleanor stood within a circle of burning candles, the smell of wax permeating her nose while smoke wafted through the air.
The True Angel teacher walked around the ring of candles, speaking in a soothing, almost ethereal voice.
"The Holy Arts, otherwise known as Holy Magic, are a broad section of mystical knowledge that rarely leads to any meaningful growth past a few spells. The great difficulty and low odds of ever achieving true mastery create an internal struggle that leads many down the path towards the Dark Arts, also known as Dark Magic. That is, after all, a far easier and more reliable source of power."
She held out her hands, one side glowing with a visible golden hue while the other seemed to suck the light away from the other.
"Typically, weak Dark Magic will surpass weak Holy Magic due to the Law of Agathokakological Reverence. Yet, do not be discouraged by this."
Releasing the auras that covered her palms, she watched the flicker of fear fade from the gray-eyed girl, instead replaced by determination.
"Good. You'll need that drive to master even the basics of what you must learn to survive in the world above."
A hint of a smile tugged at the lips of the Angel as she continued.
"Holy Arts are derived from positive emotions, whether it be joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe, or even love. As a normally kind and jovial individual, these traits come easily for you, allowing the arts to be perfected to a far greater extent than others."
Behind Eleanor, one of the twenty candles that surrounded her burned out, the girl's body flinching as it did so.
"Focus your mind. Wrap the candles in a thin veil of mana that allows them to retain their shape even as I walk."
Giving the girl her first task, Prudentia did not stop her explanation of the Holy Arts for even a moment.
"For you, there are three types of Holy Magic you must know. Firstly, there are the general, or basic sigils. These forms of spellcasting typically require a staff or a conduit to conduct the mana in your core and can usually allow a person to wield spells such as Holy Bullet or even weak forms of Erasure."
Eleanor's mind jolted to the scene of her home cathedral, the memory of Godrick casting those spells towards her, something that plagued her nightmares.
Another candle burned out, her emotions unstable in that moment.
"The second form of Holy Magic you must know is the one you are already familiar with. Religious grace, or known by simpler terms as prayer, allows one to conduct the residual powers that circulate around a myth, a legend, or a belief, and use them as fuel to cast spells such as Mind Weaver or Divine Light. These are impossible to use in combat, but essential in a priesthood."
This time, the blonde girl stood her ground, focusing her mana perfectly around any flickering candles, their orange flames taunting her even beyond her senses.
"Lastly, the strongest of the three magics and by far the most dangerous would be the power of miracles."
The air condensed around the woman's hands, a faint mark appearing on the tip of her index fingernail.
Out of the corner of Eleanor's eye, she could not make it out in detail, yet still recognized the shape—one extremely familiar to anyone versed in the world to any extent.
For, similar to the one on the side of her forehead, that sigil was the Mark of Souls, the special engraving of those born within the Sea of Souls.
"Through harnessing the power of miracles themselves, and by proxy, the God of Death, we can grant the deepest desires of beings who spread the very same myths, legends, or beliefs that are required for prayer."
The definition instantly confused the girl who was frantically trying to control the seventeen remaining candles that flickered dangerously in the blowing wind, the child's weak mana already on the verge of running out.
"Such a power can only stem from faith, and that very faith is what you lack."
At that comment, two candles burned out at once, a voice coming sharp from the girl's mouth.
"I'm a believer in the Lord!"
Feeling somewhat offended by her teacher's doubt of her faith, she nearly let three more candles go out, but managed to keep them alive in the end.
Hearing her worried comment, Prudentia only sighed and continued onward.
"Not faith in a deity, rather, a faith in you. When mortals put their faith in beings who bear the Mark of Wishes, the person who wields that mark will grow exponentially stronger and gain powers similar to those of Angels. Yet, their strength comes not from their own flesh or magic, but their abilities."
Curiosity tugged at every corner of the priestess's mind, yet she held onto the circle of flame, the balance between their flickering and her mana becoming more stable.
"For a man like the current King of Wishes, Oakly Belvedere, with a single flick of his hand, he could grant the wishes of dozens of faithful believers in seconds. The Lady of the Holy Spirit, who is now the Pontiff in the mortal world? Nearly a thousand with a bat of her eye. You? Not even one."
Her harsh words stung like iron, yet they made complete sense to the girl who understood history to some extent.
The great Maria Elaris, who balanced the Five Sacred Churches, had once granted the wish of the world itself, banishing the Plague of Despair from all newly born lifeforms and effectively eliminating the disease forever.
"Such miracles cannot be used to benefit oneself directly, and a heavy mana toll is extracted as well. Furthermore, if a wish is truly unfeasible, it will simply not occur."
Eleanor nodded, her expression strained as she battled against fatigue and weakness, barely able to ask the question she had been dying to get answered.
"W-what if I don't wield the Mark of Souls or Mark of Wishes?"
As if to pay the price for her question, a candle snuffed out after her words.
The True Angel, who had reached the region behind her once more, chuckled quietly.
"Lord Death can grant you such a mark easily. Though it would require the erasure of your current mark to establish a valid connection. Any Angel that wishes to return to their world must go through this process, for the power of miracles is by far the best weapon in any Angel's arsenal."
At that, she smiled, turning her attention up, somewhere beyond the dark ceiling.
"It's even said that with the power of miracles, one could even ascend to divinity…"