Dawn arrived long before Laliya had managed to find rest.
The bells of the grand veiled sanctum rang through the city while darkness still lingered on the horizon.
The deep noises rolling across marble courtyards and silver towers like waves and the sanctum awakened.
Every holy maiden rose at the first bell, every prayer attendant rose at the second and by the third bell, the entire sanctum was already awake and moving with practiced discipline.
Laliya stood among them.
She wore a white robe, carried herself in perfect posture and a calm expression.
No one would have guessed she had barely slept or imagined that every time she closed her eyes, she saw golden eyes watching her from the shadows of her room, felt phantom traces of fingers brushing her wrist, and heard a voice whispering that desire could be beautiful, endlessly.
She hated that those memories lingered.
Hated that they had followed her into her prayers and most of all, she hated that a part of her wanted to hear those words again.
The thought alone made guilt twist inside her chest.
Which was precisely why she found herself standing before the hall of Purification only moments later.
The chamber was vast.
Sunlight poured through towering crystal windows, scattering silver patterns across the polished floor.
Hundreds of candles burned along the walls while sacred incense drifted through the air in pale streams.
At the center stood a circular basin carved from luminous stone and filled with water so clear it almost seemed unreal.
Around it waited the Luminars with their judging and measuring eyes.
A dozen of holy maidens stood behind Laliya in silent rows and surrounding them all were the female wardens.
Tall women dressed in silver armor etched with sacred geometric patterns.
Their faces remained expressionless as their hands rested upon the hilts of radiant weapons.
They served as protectors of the sanctum, guardians against corruption, and hunters of fallen Serens.
Nothing entered these halls without their knowledge, nothing escaped their attention least of all a holy maiden.
But they didn’t know that one particular Seren had entered the sanctum without their knowledge.
Laliya lowered herself to her knees before the purification basin.
The water reflected her face, her calm expression and the shadows beneath her eyes that came with the exhaustion she was trying desperately to hide.
One of the senior Luminars stepped forward.
Her voice echoed through the chamber.
“Laliya Lancrest.”
The holy maiden bowed her head.
She didn’t utter a word.
“You have completed twenty-three years of spiritual discipline.”
“Yes, Revered Luminar.”
“You have maintained balance without incident flawlessly.”
“Yes, Revered Luminar.”
“You remain unfractured and have been the best example of holiness for other maidens.”
A brief pause echoed.
Laliya’s chest tightened.
Only she knew that a crack had formed in her perfect Lumen.
“Yes, Revered Luminar.”
The older woman studied her carefully before nodding.
“Then present your Lumen.”
Laliya extended her hands over the basin.
It was pure, brillian and steady.
The water within the basin began glowing.
Gasps spread quietly among the younger maidens.
Even after all these years, the sight remained remarkable.
Most people’s Lumens flickered, carried shadows of imperfections and emotional scars but Laliya’s light remained astonishingly clear.
The Luminar nodded with visible approval.
“The Radiance continues to favor you.”
Several maidens lowered their heads respectfully.
Others looked on with envy they tried desperately to conceal.
Laliya felt none of the pride they expected.
Only relief that no one could see the confusion hidden beneath her composure.
She covered up that crack very well.
The ceremony continued on.
Sacred oils were brushed across her forehead.
Purification prayers were recited and ancient hymns echoed through the chamber.
For nearly two hours she remained kneeling without complaint while the Luminars guided her through ritual after ritual designed to strengthen balance and suppress worldly attachment.
The younger maidens struggled to keep up with the ceremony.
Some shifted from discomfort, some fought through the exhaustion.
One nearly collapsed entirely before a Warden silently helped her regain her posture.
Laliya, however, never moved.
She didn’t waver and never showed strain.
Years of discipline held her upright even when her legs began to ache, sleep tugged at her mind and when memories of the previous night threatened to surface.
She endured as she always had.
Eventually the High Luminar rose from her seat overlooking the chamber.
The entire hall fell silent immediately.
Her gaze swept across the gathered maidens.
Then settled on Laliya, a small smile tugged at her lips.
“There.”
The older woman extended a hand toward her.
Pointing at her with pride.
“Observe your sister in the light.”
Every eye in the room shifted to Laliya.
Laliya’s stomach sank and twisted in knots.
The High Luminar continued.
“That is what devotion looks like,” she added.
Silence filled the hall.
Laliya felt all eyes fall on her.
The admiration, the awe, the envy and the hatred from the maidens.
Some wanted to follow in her footsteps, other wanted to be her while others wanted her gone so they can have a shot at the top.
“Laliya Lancrest has never missed a prayer,” an elder Luminar praised.
The younger maidens lowered their heads.
They couldn’t hold a candle to the pedestal that Laliya was on.
“She has never abandoned discipline,” another Luminar spoke up.
The Wardens stood motionless around the room.
But the look of pure admiration was written all over their faces.
“She has never allowed emotion to eclipse duty,” the head warden stepped up.
“She is everything the sanctum stands for.”
Laliya felt strangely uncomfortable hearing the words.
Their description of her was everything she worked hard for but when she received it again and again, she couldn’t find a single shred of happiness inside her.
“Twenty-three years of faith. Twenty-three years of balance. Twenty-three years of unwavering devotion to the heavenly radiance,” the high Luminar’s voice rose even higher.
The younger maidens listened carefully.
Some with admiration, others with despair.
Because no matter how hard they tried, none of them could match her.
It was evident in how far up she had risen when they had entered the sanctum at the same time.
The High Luminar’s voice hardened.
“Many of you seek ascension,” she said, the room grew still.
“But ascension is not given to anyone.”
Her gaze moved from face to face.
“It is earned. Heaven won’t open it’s doors for you unless you prove you are worthy.”
A pause in her speech allowed the deputy high Luminar rose and let in a word, “If you wish to walk the path of the heaven, look to Laliya for guidance.”
The holy maiden lowered her eyes.
Around her, the other maidens bowed respectfully.
The High Luminar smiled faintly.
“Laliya is the symbol of purity, discipline, endurance and balance. I am proud to be her teacher!”
Laliya dug crescent shaped marks in her palms by forcing her nails to pierce her skin.
Her mind kept flashing images of the fallen angel, her blackened wings and the temptation that was her mess.
She gestured toward Laliya.
“These are the virtues the Radiance rewards and you all need to follow in her footsteps to be blessed by heaven.”
The hall echoed with agreement.
Yet while everyone else admired her, Laliya found herself staring at the glowing water inside the basin.
And for the briefest moment, she remembered Anaqielle’s voice.
“You spend your whole life terrified of desire.”
Her heartbeat stumbled.
It was just once.
A tiny imperfection, a fracture in composure that went away immediately as it had arrived.
The Luminars didn’t notice it, the Wardens remained oblivion and the maidens surrounding her missed it too, but Laliya noticed and for the first time in twenty-three years of training, the girl everyone believed to be flawless was beginning to fear herself.
She feared tainting her Lumen, letting everyone down and falling from a saint to a sinner.