Ash's eyes widened in shock, his body freezing on the spot. His heartbeat slammed against his ribs, his mind trying to comprehend what had just happened.
'What the hell is this…'
His blood pressure began to drop, and his hair stood on end. Averting his gaze from the lifeless head, Ash began lying to himself.
'It's not real… it can't be.'
Still unable to comprehend what was happening, he was about to jump when a voice rang out across the room.
"Rejoice... the sacrifice has been accepted. The god is happy today. Bring the other one."
The words echoed for a moment before Ash's head turned toward its source.
One of the men standing on the high ground had called out to the giant man. It was one of the priests who had been chanting the prayer before.
'It's not real… all of it is a lie.'
Clenching his fists, Ash took a few deep breaths and remembered the words of the Imp.
/You will sleep and dream of the Beyond./
'If what he told me is correct… then this is a dream. A fragment of my imagination.' Sighing, he remembered another thing the Imp had mentioned.
/And if you die there, you will be gone for good this time./
Even if this was just a dream, he could die for real.
It was fortunate he was wearing a hooded robe, which prevented others from noticing his facial expression, or else he would have been caught long ago and probably had died as a sacrifice.
'Anything but being sacrificed to an evil god. I won't die this way…'
Making up his mind, Ash whispered, the words barely leaving his mouth.
"Imp.."
He remembered he could access a smaller version of that weird creature by whispering these words, but what happened next made him lose all hope.
[O' Chosen One, please awaken your Nexus before proceeding further.]
Ash almost cursed whoever had made this trial, but somehow calmed himself down. Despite all odds stacked against him, he refused to give up.
It was his dream, after all; just how hard could it be to clear it?
Taking a deep breath, Ash first calmed himself. With such a tense mind, he would only make mistakes. Mistakes that he could not afford at the moment.
Lifting his head, the first thing he noticed was the giant sigil right behind the priests.
At its center lay a black circle with a radiant triangle, enclosed by a perfect outer ring. Two crescent moons were anchored to the sides, while watchful eyes looked out from within the triangle's point.
As Ash watched the fine lines and geometric symmetry, something stirred within him. It was so subtle that he didn't even notice it. Shaking the feeling off, he looked a bit lower and saw blood dripping from the headless corpse.
The blood moved through a well-dug drain and was collected in a cylindrical container. The container was three-quarters full, which made him realize that the man wasn't the only sacrifice and that he wouldn't be the last either.
While Ash was inspecting his surroundings, one of the priests opened his mouth.
"Bring the head here."
The room remained silent until the priest repeated himself, this time in a less calm tone.
"Impudent… didn't you hear me?"
Hearing this, it didn't take long for Ash to realize it was indeed he who was being called.
'Who else would he call when it is right in front of me…'
Clenching his teeth, he glanced around, trying to look for any excuse.
His first thought was to send someone else, but when he noticed that all his rowmates were keeping their backs straight, focusing straight on the priest, he knew he had to do it alone.
'Forgive me, man…'
Praying for him to rest in peace, Ash bent down and picked up the head with both his hands. Moving forward, he climbed the high platform and looked for any area to place it.
"Stand on the side and keep it to yourself…"
The priest indicated that there was no place for it and that he had to remain standing there, holding the severed head.
Ash wanted nothing more than to slam the priest's head into the ground and run away from all this nonsense, but seeing his surroundings, he knew doing this meant giving his life up.
'If it wants me dead, it has to earn it…'
Gritting his teeth, he moved toward a corner and stood like a statue. Standing on the high ground, he could now look at things behind him as well.
Not wanting to be deemed suspicious, Ash didn't move his head around and only inspected what was in the field of his vision.
The first thing to notice was the number of people; there were at least a hundred of them, all wearing the same hooded robes, only their eyes visible through the slits.
'Where is the exit…'
Ash tried finding the exit, but it was nowhere to be seen. He moved his eyes to their extreme angles, but it was to no avail. There wasn't any door in the room he could find, leaving him to believe it would be behind this high ground.
'Is it behind me?'
With no clear way out, Ash was looking for something when a pleading voice rang in the surroundings.
"No… No, spare me. I did nothing. I have a wife and two little kids; please spare me. I want to live; I don't want to serve the gods anymore…"
It was the shout of a man, getting dragged toward the platform by the giant.
'What?'
Even though the scene was blood-curdling in its own right, there was something else that caught Ash off guard. The man was wearing the same hooded robe as them.
'A-Are they sacrificing their own people?'
A thought appeared as Ash paid close attention to the pleading of the sacrifice.
"P-please, my lord... I-I gave everything... everything to the gods... all my savings, all of it... there's nothing left... only my family... p-please... I beg you... don't take my life... please... have mercy... I don't want to die..."
"How dare you lose your trust in His Mightiness… You had to believe it all the way." One of the priests replied with fury.
The man begged for mercy and grabbed the floor. But the giant simply lifted him and moved toward the lunette-shaped block with no remorse whatsoever.
Soon, all three of the priests resumed their dance, praying to their mad god.
"O, the deity of space, the one overseer of time,"
"We honor your birth, the light that will shine."
"Let us bathe in glory, for the day has arrived…"
"We will witness the one; we vow your return."
"Accept our prayer; let us be beside you."
The song ended, and the giant sliced the head once again. Wiping the blood off his saber, he went down the platform to fetch the head.
"The Heretics have been rooted out. We are free today. Rejoice, for our Lord has accepted our sacrifices."
Saying these words, the priest looked at Ash and called him toward himself. "Come here, child."
'Now what?'
Thinking to himself, Ash moved closer to the priest. The giant lifted the headless corpse to his shoulders and moved toward the back side.
"Place it there, facing his almighty…" Saying this, the priest moved ahead and began talking with the other two.
'How am I supposed to know who this almighty is?'
Ash thought, keeping his steps as short as possible without making it obvious. He frantically searched the room for any semblance of a god's statue, but no matter how much he looked around, there was no such thing.
He was about to cry in despair when something clicked in his mind.
'Wait, runes… are those it?'
Ash thought, wanting nothing more than to ask the priest, but remembering how the previous man was sacrificed just because he did not believe in the god with all his heart, he stopped.
If he were to mention that he doesn't know who their almighty is, wouldn't he be crucified on the spot?
'Shit...'
Cursing his luck, Ash made up his mind and moved closer to the lunette-shaped block and placed the head there. Slowly, he turned the head toward the sigil.
'Nothing more I can do now.'
Leaving the severed head there, he stood there waiting for the priest to react in any way. Because of the hooded robe, he couldn't see any reaction and could only rely on verbal clues.
Waiting for a second, he heaved a sigh of relief and was about to move toward the front row when he heard something.
HAHAHAHA!!
"Today is truly an auspicious day. We have caught yet another heretic."