"Susan, you seem a bit tense," said the old man, squinting at her as he turned his head.
The woman from the North replied anxiously, "Yes, your Excellency, thinking about the hostile sect attacking us and those false god’s followers planning to destroy our great ritual makes me nervous."
"Don’t worry, the messenger of the High God is guiding us," the old man said with a smile, then coughed twice and shook his head with a smile, "Don’t be tense, and there’s no need to fear, the Master of Wisdom is leading us."
"Yes, yes, your Excellency, it’s just that... I’ve never seen such a large-scale event before," the woman from the North said with an awkward smile.
She looked at the Array forming before her with a mixture of confusion and vigilance.
Why was the Array taking shape so quickly when it was said to need a whole day’s time?
Not much time had passed, yet the captured vagrants and civilians were already exhausted, their sacrifices bringing the Array near completion.
The self-proclaimed Master of Wisdom and Evil God of Chaos was indeed the Mimicking Bird, with deception as its tongue and disguise as its armor... just like her.
Susan looked on with a bitter expression at everything unfolding before her, reminiscing about her good friend—yes, her good sister.
Linz Mowish, who did not recognize her, or her schoolmate from childhood.
It was understandable, after all, Linz was a high achiever in school, while she was the ugly duckling among the students; their fates had never intersected from the beginning and perhaps were never meant to.
After Susan joined the intelligence gathering department of the Church of Justice, old man Gold was her superior.
As for why she joined... Susan’s family had all died when she was ten years old; her entire village was slaughtered by the invading forces of Chaos. From that moment, the once innocent Susan died, and the one who lived on was a vengeful ghost determined for revenge.
It had been many years, and as Susan watched the Array slowly taking shape and approaching perfection, a smile bloomed on her face.
If anyone else saw her at this moment, they would surely think she was joyful at the success of the ritual.
But only Susan herself knew she was delighted at the prospect of vengeance, of being able to sabotage the ritual and consign these dogs of Chaos and their so-called messenger to death.
"I’ll be stepping away for a moment, your Excellency," said Susan to the old man beside her with a smile, "I am too tense and too excited; I need to tend to some personal matters."
"Go ahead, child, and while you’re at it, please fetch that leather bag for me," the old man said with a smile.
Following his gesture, Susan saw the brown leather bag, and being respectful to her elders, she picked it up and brought it to the old man, "It’s quite heavy, your Excellency."
"Of course, it is heavy, as it is filled with my past," the old man replied with a chuckle, pulling an envelope from a small pocket on the outside of the bag, "Here, child, take this, it’s a reward for you."
"Thank you," Susan took the envelope and left the scene, pondering how to sabotage it.
Should she check the supplies to see if any explosives were left?
Watching the girl from the North leave, the old man let out a soft sigh.
He saw in her the vigor of his own youth, that strong desire to prove oneself.
He remembered when he was young and accompanied by many comrades—a journey where some lost themselves to irreversible distortions, some were identified and perished in the dark dungeons, and others were obliterated in factional conflicts. None of them would have thought that their silent peer would become a grounded fish without a superior.
He could barely remember why he himself had joined the sect of the Master of Wisdom as an undercover agent, which was many years ago. Back then, he had someone he loved, but then one day, the news of her death reached him; she and her family were utterly destroyed in a rebellion incited by Chaos... That was when his young self swore to seek revenge against Chaos.
Thus, he joined the Sydney Union military intelligence, volunteered for the Deep Fish project, and so... many years ago, he became one of the Chaotic Believers he used to curse day and night.
It was a time he could never forget. His younger self also wavered under the allure of Chaos, but it was his superior who helped him escape time and again; he had doubted the value of his long undercover work, and it was his superior who helped him shed his resentment.
Then, one year, he never got the chance to meet with his spring again.
After much inquiring, he found out that during the previous winter, while distinguishing friends from foes at the northern defense line, he had been killed by an assassin of Chaos.
He lost his only superior, and became a nesting fish that sank to the bottom.
No one knew his true identity, and ten years, then another ten, was no longer a jest, but a cold reality.
His superiors never appeared before him again, to tease him with their crass and chilly jokes.
And he rose through the ranks, eventually becoming the Chief Bishop within the Master of Wisdom— the senior with the longest service, the strongest, and the most esteemed by the Sect Hierarch.
No one knew that he had been playing the fool all his life, and even less knew that he was a fish to begin with.
Opening the leather bag and glancing at the bomb inside, the old man smiled, squinted his eyes, and hugged the leather bag tightly to his chest.
In the Church, there were many like him, and the old man had been covering for them all these years.
Otherwise, these fools would one day end their own lives with their stupidity.
Like that fool named Susan.
Right, speaking of names, he seemed to once have a name of his own.
It wasn’t Markov; that wasn’t him but a murderer who had been sentenced to death years ago.
What... was my name again?
It seems I can’t remember anymore.
The old man chuckled and clenched the miniature detonator in his hand.
It was no longer important. What my name was, who I was—all of that didn’t matter anymore.
In his life, he had always remembered what he was, and that was enough.
Fate was cruel to everyone. He had already sacrificed everything for his ideals and beliefs, and that child named Susan was still young. She needed to live, to strive to keep living... After this incident, she should be able to leave the Church that was doomed to be eradicated, and return to being her true self.
Thinking this, he looked at the fully formed Array in front of him, stood up, and walked toward the Array.
Some were still making way for him.
Others watched him with vigilance.
But no one thought to stop him, not even the sect’s Hierarch, who only focused on him without scolding.
Looking at the Hierarch before him, he walked up to him, bowed his head, and whispered in his ear, "There’s been a thought I’ve wanted to tell you."
"What is it?" asked the Hierarch with a smile.
"Long live the Sydney Union." With that, he pressed the detonator button.