"Your Majesty! The formation is working! The arrival of the Divine Massacre is certain!"
A middle-aged man with a thin mustache and eye-catching robes looks toward King Aureth Vahl with excited expressions.
King Aureth Vahl wears a platinum crown and carries a majestic aura around him. His white hair reaches his shoulders, and a thick beard grazes his chest. His tall stature alone makes him appear imposing, while his eyes hold the wisdom of someone who has endured countless vicissitudes of life.
A faint smile rests on his face.
The hall is vast and majestic. Above, an enormous pane of crystal glass stretches across the ceiling, revealing three crimson moons painting the night sky in shades of red.
A fragrant aroma lingers throughout the chamber.
Countless mages hold their breath as they stare toward the massive altar at the center of the hall, where ancient runes engraved in a circular formation begin radiating golden light.
When the Three Eyes of the Godess bleed Crimson,
and cursed darkness devours the world,
the moons shall weep sacred tears,
condensing into the purest holy radiance.
Then shall the Divine Saviour descend.
A maiden untouched by mortal waters,
blessed with beauty beyond the earthly realm,
shall liberate the pure
and cast down the ancient evils.
"Are you certain about this, friend Aureth?"
King Malveris speaks in an uncertain tone. Unlike King Aureth, he is short in stature and broad in build, with thick brows shadowing his skeptical eyes. A golden crown engraved with crimson rubies rests upon his head.
"You created this ritual artificially… and I do not know…" Malveris lets out a dry laugh. "This holy light… it is unlike anything I have ever seen in my life."
"Hm. Worrying as always. No wonder I seized half your kingdom," King Aureth replies flatly.
"Hehe… what else can one expect from a once-in-a-century genius like you, my friend?" King Malveris chuckles dryly.
King Aureth's unmoving gaze remains fixed upon the altar, completely ignoring King Malveris as though his very presence is insignificant.
"Look! The Divine Energy is intensifying! Hahaha!"
Elder Mage standing at the front shouts in joy. Tears stream down the old man's face as his aged body trembles with excitement.
"Prepare the sacrifices! The time has come!" he orders loudly.
As the golden radiance grows stronger, illuminating the grand hall with increasing intensity, acolytes beneath the junior mages begin scurrying around in panic.
Meanwhile, several men and women wearing plain white gowns move forward in a trance-like reverie, silently following spheres of pale green light that drift in circles around the altar at a distance of a few steps.
The Grand Cleric and High Priest stands tall with pride, looking upon them with unwavering resolution.
"Children of Humanity! Your sacrifice shall be remembered! The eyes of the Goddess witness all things!"
His voice echoes throughout the grand hall.
"Your peers…
Your families…
Your friends…"
He slowly raises both arms toward the radiant altar.
"All await your return. Children of Humanity, you shall be remembered for your sacred sacrifice!"
The gathered men and women belong to different age groups, most appearing to be in their twenties and thirties.
Yet all of them smile.
Then laugh.
Not with fear… nor despair…
But with the innocent delight of children.
The sound echoes unnaturally throughout the chamber.
King Aureth sighs for a brief moment before silently shifting his attention back toward the Grand Altar.
The mages begin chanting in an ancient language, their voices overlapping into a deep and rhythmic hum that reverberates throughout the grand hall.
The sacrifices walk forward onto a circular pavement covered with countless thin needles.
Yet instead of piercing their flesh, the needles connect directly to their nerves and tendons, slowly siphoning away their life force.
The men and women, numbering nearly a hundred, raise their gazes toward the three crimson moons hanging above the altar at the center of the chamber.
For a brief moment, the pavement beneath them glows in a deep crimson shade.
Then gradually, the scarlet radiance merges with the divinity surrounding the altar, causing a brilliant golden light to flood the hall.
The sacrifices once appear young.
But as the ritual continues draining more and more life force from their bodies, their vitality begins fading rapidly.
Wrinkles spread across their skin.
Their hair loses color.
And with each passing moment, they grow older and older, their flesh withering away until only skeletons remain, gradually it also turned into dust.
And even that dust is absorbed into the golden radiance surrounding the altar.
"More! More sacrifices! It is still not enough!"
The High Priest stands upright and shouts with fanatic fervor.
The process repeats itself seven times.
The number of sacrifices reaches seven hundred or so.
At last, the High Priest's face turns pale. He glances toward King Aureth, and sensing his cold gaze,The High Priest lowers his head respectfully.
"The harvesting of life force is approaching its final stage, Esteemed Grand Cleric," he says in a strained voice. "We require more sacrifices."
The Grand Cleric stands motionless beneath long golden robes. A thin veil conceals their face, revealing only their lips.
"Prepare," they reply softly thier voice shifting between that of a male and sometimes female.
The High Priest turns toward the hall, his voice echoing with unnatural excitement.
"Acolytes! Knights! Preachers! It is now your turn to sacrifice yourselves for the prosperity of the kingdom!"
His arms spread wide as though embracing the divine light itself.
"Your courage shall be remembered for eternity! Hahaha! What greater honor exists than offering your lives for humanity's salvation!?"
***
The sky is grey and time to time lighting pulses through the dark clouds that devor the light of sun painting the world in a shade of melancholy.
The wild wind rustles Ranol's dark hair as he walked with an indifferent expression,he was wearing formal clothes,a trench coat hanging on his tall frame and broad shoulder,his face pale and eyes were amber making him look intimidating,with all of this he might be considered as an attractive guy.
Time to time he drew attention from people around him,some walking away some turning heads, ignorant to that all Ranol's internal termoil was unseen by all.
"Another rejection!.. What's wrong me with me?,even though I've all qualification and have everything for that post in the end I'm just rejected?.. without any reason?"
He sighed,feeling like any other person in this vast crowd of people,just like everyone some were walking hands in hands with thier lovers some hiding their tears others just minding thier own business and Ranol just walked, in his mind was only his rejection.
He remembered how the lecherous HR gave a completely different treatment to the female applicant who literally was doing nothing rather than sweating and fumbling over and over, compared to his own sharp presentation she literally was nothing compared to him.
Yet she got hired and he didn't, after wasting most of his early twenties he's now in his mid twenties