Trial by Water

I took a cruel pleasure in the look on Brother Lysander’s face. His veneer had been cracked, his face now contorted in a grimace. I waited for his response, my gaze boring into his eyes, trying to hunt down a flicker of doubt.

“As an outsider, I wouldn’t expect you to understand,” he said finally. “It takes years of study to comprehend our relationship with the gods. I cannot speak of your world, but here they are the bedrock upon which our civilization is founded.”

He shook his head slowly, regaining his composure. I snorted and remained where I was. My words wouldn’t be able to convince him, and nothing in Wosurei thus far had convinced me that these gods were worth listening to. Now the plan had shifted to forcing him to be the one to step away first, to give up ground.

“Seer Rin,” Mizuki said, coming to stand near me. “The purpose of our coming here is to convince you of the need for your cooperation. The Eternity Temple will allow you to speak to previous Seers.”

My attention shifted to Mizuki. “Once again, I ask, why could I not be told this before now?”

Mizuki sighed. “This fact is not known to anyone outside the royal family and the acolytes of the Eternity Temple. I was forbidden to speak of it until you had been purified.”

I glanced at Brother Lysander. He scowled for a moment before smoothing his face. If those words upset him, I suspected they were true.

“If that’s the case, then I will agree to undergo the purification,” I said.

The women, who had remained frozen throughout the entire conversation, moved a little closer.

“However,” I said, glaring at the women. “I will not be purified until I receive a gesture of good faith on behalf of Brother Lysander and these Sisters.”

Brother Lysander’s eyebrows shot up. “A gesture of good faith?” At this point, he stepped back. I revelled in my private victory.

“Yes,” I said. “Because as I must remind everyone here, the world doesn’t get saved unless I choose to do so. And being doused in cold water has soured my desire to be purified, and if I can’t be purified then I can’t be shown the proof I require that might change my attitude on The End of Days.”

I crossed clasped my hands behind my back and started to pace in front of our oddly assembled group. “So, my request is very clear and easy to acquiesce to. It would only take a few minutes.”

“And what is this request?” Brother Lysander asked. His serene tone was back in place, like he’d slid a mask on.

I smiled at the two women. “I would like you ladies to bring three buckets of water here.”

There was some arguing. Brother Lysander felt that such a thing was improper, and could I not think of something else? Yet I remained firm. If they were going to throw water in my face, I should have the opportunity to throw water in their faces.

In the end, the two Sisters retrieved the three buckets. Both women took their water without complaint, remaining stoic throughout the process. Brother Lysander flinched when the water hit him and he huffed and puffed while drying himself off with the towel the Sisters had also brought. I noted they hadn’t brought any towels for themselves.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” I said, beaming. “I am ready to be purified now.”

Brother Lysander wearily waved at the Sisters. “Take her.”

I stuck my elbows out and the Sisters steered me toward the back of the temple.

“If I should die as a result of this purification,” I called back to Brother Lysander. “I will haunt you personally, Brother.”

Mizuki coughed, her hand hiding a possible smile. Brother Lysander and Mizuki disappeared as we rounded the corner. It became clear that we were headed to a small building behind the massive temple. The building was perhaps large enough for one room and a small bathroom, the collective square footage of a modest studio apartment. There were no windows and only one door. Three silver locks held the door shut.

I shivered. My clothes held much of the water thrown at me and standing in the shadow of the temple didn’t help matters. One of the Sisters removed a key king and unlocked the three locks. Then, I was hurried inside.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dimply lit interior. The smell hit me while the dark held me in its fist: the briny tang of salt water. Thick air slipped past my teeth and into my lungs, though it wasn’t hot like I’d expected. I started to shiver in earnest as this room was colder than outside.

“Remove your clothes and step into the pool,” one of the Sisters said. They stood off to the side, waiting.

I blinked a few times and saw the pool she referred to. It was a general circle, but its outline was ragged, as if it were created by the natural force of water over stone rather than human intervention. The water within was opaque, a milky blue that obscured the pool’s depths.

“How deep is it?” I asked as I knelt down and stuck a finger into the water.

“You must discover that for yourself. Take heart, you will not drown,” the other Sister said.

I jerked my finger back from the liquid, for I now doubted that it was water. My finger was intact and not even wet. The moment I’d touched that fluid, I’d lost sensation in the finger like it had gone numb all at once. I steeled myself. I’d come this far, and only by doing this would I get answers.

It took only a few seconds to divest myself of my robe, tunic, and pants. I sat on the edge of the pool and stuck my legs in. The same bizarre feeling overtook my legs as they slid into the liquid. My teeth chattered and not entirely from the cold. Then, before I could talk myself out of it, I threw myself into the pool.