Episode 17| A shadows report
The temple was silent.
Not the peaceful kind of silence—
But the kind that pressed heavily against the walls, thick with unease.
At the highest level of the temple, within a secluded chamber untouched by light—
A man knelt.
Head bowed.
Body still.
Waiting.
Before him stood the High Priest.
His expression was calm.
Too calm.
"...Speak."
The single word echoed softly.
The shadow investigator lowered his head further.
"My lord... after months of searching, I bring new findings regarding the Saintess."
The High Priest's eyes narrowed slightly.
"...Go on."
"I sensed it."
The shadow's voice was steady—but careful.
"A surge of holy magic."
A pause.
"Powerful."
The air shifted slightly.
The High Priest's fingers twitched.
"...How powerful?"
The shadow hesitated.
"...Beyond anything I have encountered within the temple."
Silence.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
"...Continue."
"It was at the town square," the shadow said. "Brief—but unmistakable."
His voice lowered slightly.
"...And then... it vanished."
The High Priest's gaze sharpened.
"...Vanished?"
"Yes."
A pause.
"As if it had been... controlled."
That—
Was not normal.
Even high-ranking priests struggled to conceal their holy presence completely.
But this—
"...It disappeared so seamlessly," the shadow continued, "that it could only mean one thing."
A breath.
"...The individual has already mastered their holy magic."
Silence filled the chamber.
Thick.
Oppressive.
"...And?" the High Priest asked.
The shadow bowed deeper.
"...Without a doubt, my lord... that power belongs to the Saintess."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
"...Did you see her?"
The question came out slowly.
Measured.
The shadow hesitated.
And that—
Was enough.
The High Priest's eyes darkened.
"...Answer me."
"I—" the shadow swallowed. "...I caught only a glimpse."
A dangerous pause.
"...Describe it."
"...A woman."
The High Priest stilled.
"...Go on."
"Long blonde hair," the shadow said. "Radiant... almost unnatural in its presence."
Another pause.
"...But before I could see her face—"
His voice tightened.
"She disappeared."
Silence.
Complete.
Utter.
Stillness.
The High Priest's hand slammed against the armrest beside him.
"Useless."
The word cut through the air like a blade.
The shadow lowered himself further.
"My apologies, my lord—"
"You were there," the High Priest snapped. "You sensed her—and yet you failed to see her face?"
His voice dropped.
Low.
Dangerous.
"...Do you understand what that means?"
The shadow remained silent.
"...It means she is already beyond your reach."
A chilling realization.
The Saintess—
Was not only real.
She was—
Prepared.
The High Priest exhaled slowly, forcing his anger down.
"...This changes things."
His mind began to move rapidly.
Calculating.
Analyzing.
Reconstructing.
"Months," he muttered. "You have searched for months..."
And yet—
Nothing.
No trace.
No presence.
Until now.
"...Why now?"
His gaze darkened.
"...Why reveal herself now?"
Then—
A thought surfaced.
Sharp.
Unsettling.
"...When did this occur?"
The shadow answered immediately.
"During the past few days, my lord."
"...Be specific."
"...The same period in which Priest Ryan took his leave."
Silence.
The High Priest froze.
Just for a moment.
Ryan.
The young priest.
Blonde hair.
Green eyes.
Exceptional... yet controlled.
Too controlled.
Too careful.
The High Priest's mind began to piece things together.
"...No."
He shook his head slightly.
"That's impossible."
Ryan was a man.
The shadow clearly reported a woman.
And—
Ryan's hair was short.
Not long.
"...And if it were an artifact..."
The High Priest's eyes narrowed.
"...My mages would have sensed it."
Artifacts powerful enough to alter one's form—
Could not go unnoticed.
Not within the temple.
Not under his watch.
"...And his holy magic..."
The High Priest frowned.
"It is not extraordinary."
He had observed Ryan personally.
Worked alongside him.
Tested him.
Nothing about his displayed power suggested—
That level of mastery.
"...It doesn't align."
And yet—
"...After months of nothing..."
"...The Saintess appears..."
"...At the exact moment Ryan disappears..."
Silence filled the chamber once more.
This time—
Heavier.
More dangerous.
The High Priest leaned back slowly.
His fingers tapping lightly against the armrest.
"...Coincidence?"
He muttered the word.
But his expression said otherwise.
He did not believe in coincidence.
Not anymore.
"...Continue searching."
His voice returned to its calm, controlled tone.
"But this time—"
His eyes darkened.
"...Expand your scope."
The shadow lifted his head slightly.
"...My lord?"
"Do not limit your search to nobles."
A pause.
"...Or commoners."
Another.
"...Or even... what you believe to be possible."
The shadow's eyes widened slightly.
"...Understood."
"Find her."
The High Priest's voice dropped.
Cold.
Final.
"...Before she makes her next move."
The shadow vanished.
Leaving the High Priest alone.
Silence returned.
But his thoughts—
Were far from still.
"...A Saintess who can control her power..."
"...Hide her presence..."
"...And move without detection..."
A faint, dangerous smile touched his lips.
"...How interesting."
But beneath that calm exterior—
There was something else.
Unease.
A quiet, persistent discomfort.
The kind he had only felt—
Once before.
"...Ryan..."
The name lingered in the air.
Unanswered.
Unresolved.
"...It cannot be you."
And yet—
For the first time—
The High Priest wasn't entirely certain.
Far away—
Unaware of the storm quietly forming—
Riley slept peacefully in her home.
For now.
Because soon—
Very soon—
The shadows would begin to close in.