Morning light slipped through the narrow window, casting pale lines across the mudbrick walls.
The place Yanus had led us to the previous evening was little more than a shelter for travelers. A few woven mats covered the floor, with blankets neatly folded against the walls. Jars of water rested in one corner beside a small stack of firewood. It offered little comfort, yet after days in the desert, it felt more than enough.
Sarel was already awake.
He sat quietly near the doorway, his eyes closed in contemplation.
I walked over to him.
He opened his eyes and looked at me.
"Did you sleep well?"
"I did not expect a place like this."
"The Searchers were more helpful than I thought."
Sarel remained silent for a moment.
"So did I."
We gathered our belongings and stepped outside.
...
Three Searchers were already waiting for us.
Lamech stood at the front.
Behind him stood two unfamiliar Searchers, and Kaelum.
His lip was split. Dark bruises spread across one side of his face.
I froze.
"Kaelum..."
"What happened to you?"
Kaelum let out a bitter laugh.
"What else?"
"Our scholar friends."
Sarel frowned and looked toward Lamech.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Lamech answered without hesitation.
"He insisted on leaving."
"So we insisted that he stay."
Kaelum spat onto the ground.
"I should've expected it."
"The Searchers have stooped just as low as everyone else in this rotten city."
Lamech's expression remained unchanged.
"This would never have happened had the monk been honest."
"Either admit your tale is false..."
"...or stop filling the gaps with 'forbidden knowledge.'"
Silence followed.
Sarel turned to Kaelum with his head lowered.
"You have my apologies."
Kaelum immediately responded.
"Do not apologize."
He glanced toward Lamech.
"Once they doubt you know something they do not, they will never stop."
Lamech spoke.
"We are no monsters."
"But neither will we allow someone to challenge our records and simply get away... especially not a cultist."
I took a glance at the two Searchers behind Lamech.
"Where are your partners from yesterday? Yanus and Thalea were the ones who encouraged you to investigate our presence. I thought they prioritized the investigation of our backgrounds."
"Not everyone agrees with my methods."
"You see, unlike ignorant cultists, we can have differences in our ways as long as they lead to the our same goal: finding and protecting knowledge."
Kaelum scoffed.
"You certainly are unlike cultists. You are much closer to thieves."
"You even brought your own henchmen in here."
Irritation was visible on Lamech's face for a moment.
"They are my students. And we do not concern ourselves with the accusations of a cultist."
He looked at me.
"Eidos, I have a request."
"If you fulfill it, you will no longer be under our observation, and the old man can leave the city as he likes."
"Last night, when the monk spoke about your belief, it sounded a bit too familiar..."
"An unknown entity torturing us in a world of suffering because it is punishing us for our past sins."
"A theory came to mind..."
"Should I believe that the monk lives in a temple that is not only isolated from the world due to its location at such a height, but, according to our trusted records, has shown no sign of occupation?"
"What of the possibility that the three of you are former Remissionists who have separated from the main faith and want to rejuvenate it without the self-torturing part?"
Lamech turned to Kaelum with a smirk on his face.
"I have not taken any of your possessions, and yet you associated me with thieves."
"But what does breaking into our place and stealing knowledge make you?"
Kaelum frowned.
"Is this what it is all about? We never knew nor cared about your worthless records! We never asked to change them!"
"Not with your faces showing, anyway," Lamech said before ignoring Kaelum and turning to me.
"I want you to debate the Remissionists. Whether you prove to be your own cult or get exposed as merely divergent new sect of theirs, I will leave you alone. It will only change what the records say afterward."
I looked at Sarel.
He appeared lost in thought.
"I do not trust him. What do you think?"
...
"Oh... I think we should go regardless."
"Perhaps the confrontation can serve a purpose."
Kaelum glanced at Lamech scornfully.
"It's not as though they've given us much of a choice."
Lamech pulled up his hood.
"The fanatics are most likely still performing their daily morning ritual near the center, under the sunlight where people can see them cursing and whipping themselves in the name of shame."
"This is where we are heading."
And so we followed Lamech.
His students walked behind us.
We had not gone far when Sarel moved closer to Kaelum.
He lowered his voice.
"What happened last night?"
Kaelum looked at him.
"What does it look like?"
...
"Can you tell us how it happened?"
Kaelum glanced ahead at Lamech.
"I was leaving. After a short while, I saw a hooded Searcher going in different directions whenever I turned around."
"He was following me until we were nearly outside the city and there were no longer buildings to hide behind."
"I stopped and turned around."
"At first, he tried to laugh it off, told me to stay alongside you two a little longer for further investigation. I refused."
"Then he decided asking was not enough."
"His students came later. They dragged me back and kept me captive in an empty room not far from the Searchers' building."
Sarel's expression remained unchanged.
"Could it be one of their homes?"
"Hell if I know."
We continued walking.
"That is strange."
I asked.
"What is?"
"He is one who claims to be bound to evidence. And yet he chose to ruin his relationship with us because of the meaningless accusation of 'stealing knowledge.'"
Sarel glanced toward Lamech ahead of us.
"He speaks as though knowledge is his main purpose."
"Yet when a traveler unknown to him was about to leave for a place he knew nothing about, he chose to stop him."
Kaelum frowned.
"What are you suggesting?"
"I fear there is more to this matter."
...
The passage ahead gradually widened as we approached the center.
A group of five stood in the open space ahead.
Their faces were hidden behind crude, worn masks, with roughly carved noses and mouths, and circular holes for the eyes.
One of them was kneeling on the ground with his upper body exposed and his arms stretched outward. His back was covered in cuts, some fresh and others already darkened.
Another stood behind him, holding a length of rope.
He raised it.
The rope struck the kneeling man's back.
The sound of the strike echoed.
...
And again.
Although he kept his posture, his shoulders seemed to struggle.
Others stood nearby.
One stood slightly ahead of the other two.
Her mask bore a more distinct expression, its mouth twisted downward and its features carved into a strained grimace.
She raised her voice.
"Woe to the first descended."
"The lost children of the abyss."
"When the veil is lifted, the forgotten shall witness."
"Beyond the gates of inferno burn the souls that fire cannot touch."
"Within it sits the judge without eyes, reading from the book without letters."
The two beside her lowered their heads and wept.
"O unseen one!"
"Count not the names we carried before our own."
"Forgive what the tongue cannot confess, and remember not what we have forgotten."
A man who had been watching the ritual glanced toward us.
His attention lingered on Lamech and the two Searchers behind us in the crowd.
"What are they doing here?"
Another passerby slowed.
A few who had been walking through the center stopped. Others turned back after noticing the Searchers among the gathering.
Lamech stepped forward.
"Pardon my interruption."
"I am not here to confirm the words of either side."
"As you know, as trusted sources of knowledge, it is our duty never to confirm stories that lack evidence."
He pointed at us.
"These three arrived in Apiru yesterday. Or so they claim. They speak of our world as a mere fabrication, made solely for suffering because of our past forgotten sins."
"They also believe in oblivion as part of the punishment."
"Too identical, no?"
"But they deny any past connection to the Remissionist faith."
"Now we are presented with a predicament."
"If they are merely another form of the same belief, our records for the beliefs of Apiru should say so. If they are something separate, they should not be recorded as one."
"So we have agreed with them to speak more about their beliefs and let the people decide."
"We want to hear where one ends and the other begins. The purpose is verification rather than promotion."
...
The crowd's murmurs could be heard.
Around ten people had gathered during Lamech's speech. And more seemed to be coming.
The man on his knees slowly pushed himself to his feet and joined the other four, who were whispering to each other.
The woman with the detailed mask stepped forward.
"So this is how desperate you heretic Searchers have become."
"For a long time, you have been slandering our names behind our backs, trying to bury them with doubts and accusations. You refuse to record our beliefs in the name of proof, labeling them as fairy tales."
"You could not hide the truth. So you are trying to distract the people from it."
"Everyone here knows what you are doing."
"You used our rituals to come up with and spread a variant of our belief without the parts that discourage some people from joining our cause, such as having to embrace guilt and the rituals of shame."
The scarred man screamed behind the mask.
"Who are you trying to fool?"
The crowd's murmurs grew louder.
Among them, a dagger was raised.
"Hold it!"
Silence fell.
Two shabby figures pushed their way through the crowd. People moved aside without protest, leaving a path for them to walk through.
The man holding the dagger wore a crooked smile as he stepped between us and the Remissionists.
"This is entertaining!"
"The masked fanatics against the Searcher-backed new fanatics."
"Since all these people have gathered, why not turn this into more than just a change in some records?"
He casually lowered the dagger to his side.
"I am Teresh of Nethraim, and on behalf of everyone here, let the question of origin be part of a greater debate. State your arguments and let the people decide which one of the two beliefs is closer to the truth!"
Lamech took a step back.
"Then my part ends here..."
He turned to leave.
The other thief stepped into his path and shoved him back.
"You stay right here."
Teresh, with a malicious smile, raised his dagger again.
"And to make things exciting, we will cut the throats of the losing side!"
...
Everyone froze.
We looked at the Remessionists as they looked back at us.
There was terror in the eyes behind their masks.
Teresh walked over to Lamech and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"After all, Apiru can only bear so many false beliefs. Isn't that right?"
Lamech's voice shook.
"Am I counted among them?"
"Of course you are. You brought them here. You're responsible for them."
"But I don't actually believe their claims. I-"
"Oh, we know."
Teresh patted him on the shoulder.
"You are only here to spread lies. We just want to see you defend them."
He turned toward the crowd again.
"To make things fair, we will let each side choose one person to represent them. We will give them some time to decide."
Teresh stepped back and spread his arms.
"May the best deceiver win."