Mathias stood outside of the temple with his brothers and fathers, their faces full of contempt after seeing the so-called proclaimed Son of God getting supporters left and right, to the point that he, along with the others who were against this blasphemous heretic who had managed to also make a name for himself,.
Luckily for this priest, there were still many who sided with the church itself due to how ridiculous this idea sounds alone. However, it is nonetheless disheartening to fathom that their own family has been deceived by one single person who they looked up to.
Outside the temple, Mathias and his cohorts stood together in groups as the people passed by them with indifference, minding their own business without acknowledging their presence. The city itself bustled with activity as crowds flooded the streets and shops alike, filled to capacity as merchants sold wares alongside local artisans who were eager to sell their goods.
Homeless children played among themselves in various locations, while others went around picking pockets from unsuspecting civilians. A beggar sat alone on a bench near an alleyway as people ignored his presence altogether and rich nobles strolled past in search of entertainment to cure their boredom.
"Our founding father must die," one of them said, his face stern and serious as though there is no denying this fact: "the longer he breathes, more people are blinded by his lies, but there is hope yet that this situation can still be salvaged."
Whispers spread throughout the congregation, some of the members murmuring among themselves as others continued with this decision, but Mathias had a plan in mind: "Do not fret; our vote will be its victory, brothers," he reassured them, calming down their nerves. "Look around you; how many elders do you see? How many are there besides us who will defend our tradition?"
An elderly father commented, "The majority of them are here," nodding confidently. "However, we still can't be sure if the numbers are accurate," worried that they might lose no matter what. "We pray that the Lord is on our side during this trial," he whispered.
While listening attentively, the youngest member spoke up in displeasure, "Enough talk!" He shouted impatiently, glaring at the other adults with venom laced in his voice, "Let us get this over with already!" He yelled as his fellow disciples quieted themselves down in order not to cause anymore unnecessary commotions among each other.
Once again, silence engulfed them for a while before suddenly, Mathias spoke up again: "Then it's settled; we will bring this false king and messiah down." He announced in agreement with the younger one, smiling wickedly as their plan worked out perfectly, "Let's proceed to the trial chamber immediately before time runs out on us."
At the corner of his eyes, he noticed Gus and a little girl following this giant man at his side. "You must be him," Mathias smiled happily towards the veteran soldier, who looked at him skeptically. The tall soldier seemed unfazed by their presence. "Are you ready to arrest that false prophet?" He asked with a relieved tone, eager to hear the expected answer.
But to the priests shock and disbelief, Gus and his little companion stopped in their tracks before saying, "Arrest? For what reason?" The veteran replied in utter confusion, causing them to react angrily, "Did he commit any crimes or break the law when he arrived in this city?"
Mathias shared their shock as well: "What?" Eyes widen at this response: "He's a criminal, isn't he? Moreover, doesn't the empire want him alive?" It's hard to believe that someone like Solana wouldn't order her soldiers to apprehend this heathen despite the reward on his head.
Gus, however, shook his head and said, "It is true, but in this city, there are laws that go against that," countering the priest's argument, "as of now, Seth isn't liable to be arrested in this state," causing the priests to speak to one another in loud tones.
"Are you serious?" Gritting his teeth, "He's a criminal and heretic! He must die!" Causing the others around him to agree with him, "This is our law," he tried to convince Gus of their point of view but failed miserably when he remained unaffected by their words.
"How am I supposed to arrest a man who claims to be king?"
All the priests became outraged at that title, their faces and tightened fists full of fury as they struggled not to attack this man for even speaking such a word without being ashamed or embarrassed: "blasphemer!" One of them cursed in outrage, pointing at the soldier.
But Mathias remained calm despite the rage boiling inside him: "If anyone blasphemed the queen, would that be against your empire's rules?" He countered, using this opportunity to persuade them to join their cause by using logic: "If Seth goes against God, then he goes against the Queen herself," making his point across, giving logical arguments as evidence for support, "wouldn't that make him guilty?"
"You can't be serious," the magician girl intervened, responding skeptically at this, "his innocent! Have you heard the good works he has done?" This caused many of them to stare at her in cold, silent anger. She gulped nervously, realizing they weren't fans of what she had said.
One of them said, "Women aren't allowed to partake in this conversation, nor children, for that matter!" Yelling at her with disgust as the other agreed, "such ignorant and naive mindsets of yours to believe in that heretic is pitiful," ridiculing the young girl, giving her a look of pure revulsion and scorn.
Gus frowned at their attitude, making him more determined to side with Seth than these types of men. "In what punishment do you believe it is fitting for Seth to receive for his crimes against the Empire and God?" He demanded, his tone holding a hint of disdain towards these hypocritical clergymen,
Mathias then answered on their behalf, "In our law, anyone who blasphemous God would be stoned to death," he declared loudly with a slight smirk, "that is why it's imperative that he needs to be crucified," causing the duo in front of them to be horrified.
Crucifixion is a very painful method of execution, involving of suspending an individual on a vertical cross, either by nails or ropes. The person then hangs lifelessly, watching others watch them suffer a slow death as disease and blood loss consume them like hungry beasts.
The two stared at the priests in horror as Gus understood how serious this was: "Crucify him? That's...he doesn't deserve that type of death," he reasoned with them, hoping it would work but with no such luck. "Just stone him instead if that is what your law says; you don't need to go—"
An elderly priest with a gray beard and round glasses cut him off immediately. "Silence, insolent fool!" He snapped, shutting up the soldier at once. "Only God can judge what is right and wrong here," he said, turning away from him once more as the others took place beside him. "We have spoken; are you with us or are you with that false king and messiah?"
There was no escaping this, no matter what happened, because Gus and Cyan knew that they couldn't do anything if they tried to prevent it. It's either do or do not, and the latter isn't going to please them greatly. "Why do you want him to die aside from being called that?" Questioning once again, trying to find a reason for such a barbaric method.
They smiled darkly at the soldier who couldn't do a single thing. "It's simple!" All of them shouted in unison, "He called himself the Son of God!" Yelling at the top of their lungs in pure anger, they stared at Gus coldly before continuing on their rant, "which means he's above everyone else, including the Queen herself!"
The magician girl spoke in confusion, "So you want him to die because he claims to be King and God's child?" Her question only worsened their moods when she realized how petty it was: "That's just stupid." This sentence greatly angered them to the point that they shouted at her.
Throwing insults and profanities at the little girl who winced at this behavior, Gus saw this as an unforgivable act and said, "That's enough!" He bellowed loudly, silencing every member in the vicinity, "Let's just get this over with already!" The soldier growled before moving past them and through them into the entrance as she trailed behind.
Mathias clenched his fists, turning around with a serious look on his own face. "I'll return shortly, go and be with them," he said, "ordering his brothers and fathers to get everything prepared," commending them with a curt tone. "I'll make sure this fake prophet never sees the daylight again," the young priest reassured again, causing the others to storm inside the temple.
As all of them entered, Bruno exited the temple with a look of conflict plastered on his face. "Mathias," he called on the young priest, "I don't think I can do this." His heart was still troubled by these choices that had been thrust upon them.
"You're backing out, aren't you?"
"N-no!" Bruno shook his head fervently. "I'm just nervous about doing it," he said, trying not to sound like a coward in front of his ally. "It feels wrong, you know?" It is difficult to explain why he doesn't want to participate in this act after so many days of building their bond together.
"I understand where you are coming from, but think of it this way: he must be punished for what he has done." Mathias smiled in reassurance, comforting the poet with a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Why don't you walk with me? Maybe it will help ease your conscience somewhat," encouraging him with a confident grin upon seeing Bruno's distraught expression.
Bruno was hesitant at first before finally nodding in acceptance. "Lead the way then," he said as they both headed towards the busy streets together. "It's been awhile since we last talked, hasn't it?" He asked the young priest out of curiosity, wondering about current events.
The other man chuckled, "It has been," acknowledging his comment, "things are quite exciting lately, aren't they?" Noticing how crowded everything had become because of that false prophet's presence, "somehow, I have a feeling our plan will succeed," excitement grew within Mathias.
But the poet himself was never thrilled with dealing with this kind of topic. "I don't know about that," Bruno remarked warily, remembering the horrors of what the Queen is capable of doing. "His going to die a painful death; doesn't that hurt you?"
Only to receive a nonchalant response and smile from him, "good," was the sole reply given by Mathias, who wasn't concerned in the slightest bit for someone who had taken him in the temple. "He deserves it; he's nothing but a fraud and charlatan; he brought this onto himself," he pointed out with pride, making valid points that could have some validity.
For some strange reason, hearing Mathias say these types of things is beginning to tear Bruno apart piece by piece, secretly expressing so much sorrow filling him inside while keeping quiet for fear of being questioned if he voiced it out, "I guess you are right," faking a laugh as his smile faltered into a frown momentarily.
"Now let us begin the preparation, shall we? They can't keep us waiting any longer if we continue wasting our time chatting like this. I am sure we are going to get ourselves a reward after doing something incredible like this; wouldn't it be fantastic to earn that kind of glory?"
Nodding in fake enthusiasm, "sure," the poet answered numbly. "Let us go then," he urged. There was no point in delaying the inevitable for much longer since everything had already been decided. And he really didn't want to drag things out when it would only make them more frustrated.
