Rhaine, Alex, and the remaining Church troops marched into the holy city of Trendell.
They had been on the move since the battle at River Hallow. They had failed to stop Marcus Obsidian from killing Tyler Langston. And in the aftermath, Rhaine discovered the truth this wasn’t the end of the war. It was only the beginning.
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As Rhaine and Alex entered the city, they weren’t greeted by the usual bustle of pilgrims or the hum of daily life. Instead, silence reigned. Streets once teeming with activity now lay still and empty.
"Creator keep them safe," Rhaine murmured, her voice low, her heart aching at the sight.
They passed one of the local shops. Rhaine stepped forward to enter, but the door was locked. So were the windows. Every building they tried was the same, barricaded, shut tight.
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“Be ready to retreat,” Rhaine ordered. The air was thick with the stench of decay, and it seemed to seep from the direction of the main cathedral. Earlier in the campaign, Tyler had set a trap for the Church forces. Many had died. Rhaine wouldn’t risk more lives if she could help it.
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Alex rode up beside her. “Commander, are you ready?” he asked. He had seen enough of war to recognize the signs. Civilians used as pawns. Innocent blood spilled for nothing. In Silver Falls, Tyler had murdered the townspeople with his corrupting blood. In River Hallow, he raised them from the dead. Now, as they approached Trendell, Alex feared the worst.
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Rhaine nodded. “Yes. I have to see this.” But it wasn’t the cathedral or the city that weighed heaviest on her it was Orion. Brother Orion had been her responsibility. She had ordered his arrest, had sent him here for judgment. She hadn’t known what was inside him. If she had… she never would have sent him to this place.
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Upon reaching the cathedral’s large wooden doors, Rhaine turned to the troops. “Be ready for anything,” she said firmly. She nodded to Alex, and together they pushed the doors open.
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Inside, they were met with a grisly sight—blood and gore smeared across the walls. Dismembered remains of clergy were scattered throughout the hall. Rhaine’s heart sank as she recognized some of the mangled forms.
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“What could’ve done this?” asked Copper Thomas. As a Church scribe, he had spent many hours within these sacred halls. He had survived Silver Falls only by the sacrifice of his friend Dareth, and at River Hallow, it was Copper’s quick thinking that saved what few remained. Yet now, surrounded by death again, he felt anything but heroic.
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“Orion,” came a familiar voice.
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Rhaine and the others immediately drew their swords. “Don’t let us get boxed in,” she warned, motioning for several troops to guard the entrance. She scanned the blood-soaked cathedral. “Who are you?” she called out.
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“Don’t you remember me?” the voice echoed down from above. “You sent me here to be judged.”
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It came from the direction of the High Council Chamber up the grand staircase. Cautiously, Rhaine and Alex began to ascend. “What is your name?” Rhaine asked. She almost recognized the voice, but something about it was… wrong. Distorted.
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“Come see for yourself what your precious Orion has done.”
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Rhaine and Alex reached the door to the High Council Chamber. “Rhaine,” Alex said grimly, “whatever’s beyond this door… be ready to run.”
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She gave a silent nod, then opened the door. What lay beyond was worse than anything they had seen before. Bodies were twisted and contorted, broken and mangled beyond recognition. Intestines hung like garlands from the walls. Organs were smashed and smeared across the floor and ceiling. Where the High Council once sat, their bodies were fused together in a grotesque, fleshy wall—joined with their attendants in a horrific sculpture of death. Dozens of corpses had been merged into a single grotesque form. At the center of it all was the torso and head of Brother Douglas. His chest rose and fell with the slow, rhythmic beat of his heart. It was his heart alone that pumped blood through the tangled mess of flesh, keeping the rest of the amalgamation grotesquely alive.
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“Look at what you’ve caused, woman!” Brother Douglas shouted. His voice was hoarse, his face haggard with exhaustion. “After the trial… Orion changed.”
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Still in shock, Rhaine stepped into the chamber. She needed to see this for herself—to witness the aftermath of her decisions. “I… I didn’t know,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “You’re right. This is my fault.”
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Douglas drew a shallow breath. His heart thumped again, and his entire body flinched with pain. His head slammed forward, striking his own chest as he cried out.
“Is that all you can say?” he snarled. “You worthless woman!”
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Rhaine lowered her head. “You’re right. I’m sorry… Sorry I didn’t do better. Sorry for what he’s done to the Council… to the servants.” Then she lifted her gaze and looked Douglas directly in the eyes. “But I’ll never say I’m sorry for what’s happened to you.”
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Alex blinked, taken aback by her words. “Don’t you think maybe… just maybe, Doug up there might need to be put out of his misery?” he asked, motioning to the grotesque wall of flesh.
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Rhaine turned to him, her expression sharp. “Weren’t you the one who stopped me from killing him before? Have you forgotten what he did to Father Lucas?” She looked back to Douglas, her voice laced with venom. “He should rot for whatever time he has left.”
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Alex’s tone shifted, more somber now. “That was vengeance talking before, Rhaine,” he said, stepping toward the wall. “Father Lucas was a good man. I’d run anyone through who said otherwise.” He glanced back at her. “And I’ve no doubt Douglas has suffered more than enough in all of this.”
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Rhaine clenched her jaw. She hated it, but he was right. “Orion let him live…” she muttered, finally understanding. She had been speaking out of rage, hatred for Douglas, not justice. “The Church teaches mercy,” she said quietly. “To the weak… and the damned.” She stepped up to Douglas’s broken body, raised her sword, and steadied her hand. “May you join the Creator in the light,” she whispered and thrust the blade through his chest. Brother Douglas went still. His heart ceased its grim labor, and in that final act of mercy, Rhaine ended the torment of all who had been bound to his suffering.
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“Commander Rhaine,” a voice called out. It was Brother Constance. “Orion said you would come,” he continued, stepping forward. He was the lone survivor of Orion’s assault. “I’m Brother Constance. I served as Orion’s speaker during his trial.”
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“Why were you spared?” Rhaine asked, her eyes narrowing with distrust.
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“I believe it’s because I treated him fairly…” he said, glancing at the mangled bodies littering the cathedral. “Far better than they did.”
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“Where is Father Rowland?” Rhaine asked quickly, fearing he might be another victim among the wall of corpses.
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“Father Rowland is dead,” Constance replied solemnly, “but not by Orion’s hands.”
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“Who killed him?” Rhaine pressed, as she and Alex followed, maintaining a cautious distance.
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Constance gave a bitter nod. “He was thrown into a cell. Then someone murdered him while he was imprisoned, most likely someone from the Church.”
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“That’s absurd,” Rhaine snapped. Even after everything, she clung tightly to the belief that the Church had acted with righteousness.
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“I thought so too,” Constance said, leading them toward the Tapestry Chamber. “Until Orion showed me the truth.”
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He opened the chamber door. Inside were the famed three tapestries depicting The Fall of Man. The first two still hung on the wall: The Mother Threatening Her Child and The Starving Beggar Ignored. But the third—The Destruction of the Church—lay in shredded pieces across the floor.
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“What happened here?” Alex asked, stepping cautiously inside. It was his first time seeing the sacred room. “You church types really know how to decorate.”
Constance nodded. “I didn’t realize how strange it truly was until Orion showed me what was hidden behind one of the tapestries.” He stepped toward the torn-down cloth and pointed to the smashed bricks behind it. “The Church was hiding something, something dark… something terrible,” he said, his voice trailing into a whisper, still shaken by the memory.
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“What was the Church hiding?” Rhaine asked, confusion clouding her voice.
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“We were never told,” Constance said. “But the Church was hiding a piece of Annihilation itself… and it had long since been corrupted.” He stared ahead, replaying the memory.
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“After Orion finished what he called ‘Spreading the Gospel of Annihilation’ on the Council, he brought me here. He tore down the tapestry, struck the stone, and revealed a hidden compartment. Inside it was a large glass orb. Within that orb was a piece of Darkness, caged, or so they thought.”
Constance mimed Orion's movements. “When Orion smashed the orb, it reacted violently. Then… he consumed it. Drank the Darkness like it was wine. The contents that the church used to keep the darkness at bay were no longer holy”
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Rhaine stood frozen. Her mind reeled with the impossible things being laid before her.
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“The Darkness’s influence went beyond the orb or the holy oil that sealed it. It seeped into the minds of everyone here. The truth is… we’ve been puppets for a long time,” Constance said. He suddenly clutched his stomach, staggering. “Orion said he wanted to give you a final gift, Rhaine,” he groaned. “He said he would find you… and show you the truth.”
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Rhaine steadied herself. “What truth?”
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Constance's eyes snapped open, wild with something not quite human. “That the Church… is filled with vermin!” he roared.
With a scream, he dug into his abdomen, tearing open his own flesh. From the gaping wound, rats began pouring out, hundreds of them, writhing and shrieking as they spilled onto the floor.
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“Move!” Alex shouted, grabbing Rhaine and pulling her back. He slammed the chamber door behind them but the rats were already scrambling beneath the crack in the threshold, clawing to follow.
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Quickly they ran down the hallway, Alex took a moment to glace in the High Council Chamber and seen rats eating their way out of the flesh wall. Once they broke free, the vermin joined in the chase of fresh meat. "Get the Hell out of here!" he yelled to the soldiers at the enterence way.
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Copper Thomas held the door open, "What is that sound?" he said. The scraping of little claws against the floor confused him, he found the answer to his question when Rhaine and Alex descended the stairs and they were followed by hundreds of rats, Copper didn't ask anymore questions and lead the troops out of the church. Once they were back in the town, they were greeted by more rats, they spilled into the streets. Survivors fled their houses, the rats appeared in there as well. The people soon followed behind the army. Each soldier had to fight them off themselves and the remaining townspeople, As quick as they could, Rhaine and her army escaped Trendell.
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When they were far enough away, Rhaine halted the army and ordered an inventory of things,
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"We have enough rations to feed everyone for about five days. " Copper said, "Twenty-two soldiers, each of them armed. So that is a plus. We also have Ten Families from Trendell who are starving and they are like us, no place to go."
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Rhaine nodded, the news was not reassuring. "We can't leave them behind, but at the same time we can't feed them." Rhaine said as she held her head in her hands, stressed. "We have to go back to River Hallow. That is the only place in this area that can offer these people any kind of protection."
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Copper sighed," We were hoping to restock on supplies in Trendell. Obviously that is not an option, with no bow and arrows among us, hunting will be extremely difficult. If we divide our rations to one quarter…..maybe, but we would be in no condition to face Orion if he is still around. "
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"Then that will have to do. Make camp, let everyone know about our ration situation and see to it that the families are within our perimeter. We will start going back to River Hallow in the morning."
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