The Dark Mass (Part 3)

“Once the Red Moon rises in the night sky, the Moon Princess shall awaken fully in her new form. She will no longer be a child of mere flesh, but a vessel of power, capable of standing against the calamity that the Red North Star brings.

Now, let us give gratitude to the Shrouded One, our savior, for sending us the Moon princess, the holy saintess. Let us pray to the Shrouded One, so the Moon Princess can fully awaken.”

They all started chanting now, asking for help and forgiveness. Forgiveness?

Selena uncomfortably squirmed on the statue. But as she was thinking of leaving her seat, the stone-cold statue of the saintess moved. She yelped, but was unable to do anything. The statue of the saintess was now alive, holding her tightly in her embrace.

“Let me go!” Selena screamed.

The statue was not listening.

The high priest ended his sermon and turned to her, the sharp dagger blade glistening in his hand under the moonlight. Selena shrieked. She knew exactly what would happen now.

One of the younger priests brought up a silver chalice decorated with moonstones. The high priest took it and turned to Selena. His cut was quick and deep. She cried out in pain, but he did not care. No one cared. She was sent here by their god, so they can drink her blood, fill their bodies with her holy powers, as they call it.

The high priest gathered her blood into the chalice and then raised it in the air.

“Let us thank our Shrouded One for the gift of blood of the holy saintess. Brothers, step in to receive her blessing.”

Selena was looking helplessly as the priests attending the mass raised and came closer, hunger showing on their faces. The high priest put his fingers into the chalice and smeared her blood on their lips.

Selena was looking in disgust as they were hungrily licking their lips, trying to devour each bit of her blood. This was no holy mass. But a dark mass. But in this case, no animal was being sacrificed. Instead, it was only her own blood flowing.

She was thinking about her powers. If she is fully awakened, will she be able to grant her power to others remotely? Is this sick vampire stuff happening only because she is not powerful enough?

She didn’t have her answer, and she didn’t know who to ask.

After the mass had ended and the priests had left, the statue released her from her deadly embrace. Selena fell down on the floor, shaking. The High Priest was still standing there, looking at her, his hands clasped behind his back.

“You were so obedient today, my saintess, I was thinking, what are you planning. But once the statue took you, you showed your true colors.”

Selena raised her head. The black veil swayed around her jaw.

“You share just a little bit of blood with them, but you drink several gulps from me almost each night,” she said. “Do you think they will not realize this once they see you are looking younger each month?”

He smiled at her. “There is probably a jealousy festering in their heart now. They see my changes, and they can do nothing about it. After all, our Shrouded One said, once the Moon Princess descends from the heavens, after she will fully awaken and turn into a proper woman, the High Priest will wed her, and they will both face the calamity brought by the Red Star directly.”

She looked at him, shocked. Is she supposed to marry this man whom she despises with all her heart? She would rather die.

“Aren't you scared someone else will try to replace you?” she asked him, pretending this did not shake her up.

“Even if they would like to have the priestess for themselves, they do not dare to take the responsibilities coming with her. In the end, they only desire her holy powers, and they can taste them bit by bit during each month. And after you are fully awakened, and someone will ask for your powers, I can share.”

“What if they bleed me dry and I will die?”

He laughed. “My dear saintess, you are still so young and inexperienced. Once you are fully awakened, you will be so powerful, every part of your body will contain the holy magic. They will be able to take anything from you, not only your blood, like now. They can cut your nails, they can pull out your hair. They can bite your skin off, and they can drink the water you will be bathed in. The abundance of your power will make them obedient to me if I share. I don’t mind losing bits of you, as long as the rest of your body will still be mine. After all, the most powerful priest will be the one who will lie with the saintess in the same bed after she is awakened.”

Selena could feel her head spin. She was still on the floor, supporting herself with both hands, touching the cold stone floor. Once she imagined sleeping with this man, her insides churned. She gagged, covering her mouth with her hand, but it was too late. She retched out the bile on the floor, her body convulsing.

“You should take better care of your body, my saintess,” he said to her. “After all, your body is a temple.”

She looked at him, pulling down her veil, wiping her mouth with it. Her dark blue eyes were glowing with hatred.

“I would rather die than be wed to you.”

“You do not have any other choice. The Shrouded One won't allow you to die, even if you will bleed out fully. Did you forget you already tried multiple times to take your own life in the past with no avail?”

Did she?

Wait, does that mean that every time the Moon Princess takes her own life, someone else is reincarnated into her body? So if she does it, too, she will be able to escape from this hell?

The relief was about to settle down in her body, but then she remembered her previous life. There were only two options, how this could end. She will return to her original body. To her world, where none of her friends exist, where her boyfriend died, and she is the weak puppet of her own parents. Or she will really die, and there will be no reincarnation. There was no guarantee that if she perished, she would be born again into the body of someone else. And she had only one try to test it. She knew she wouldn’t be able to do it. She was a coward, after all.

“I cannot escape my fate,” she said.

“That’s right, my dear saintess,” he agreed with her. “You are almost eighteen now, the Red Moon will appear soon in the night sky. And when he does, you will feel different. You will get used to it, no need to worry.”

If she becomes as powerful as they are saying, she should be able to overpower them, right? She had Elias on her side, so she could use him to run away once she awakened. She did not want to be wed to the High Priest, but she was not against spending her life with Elias. They could maybe run away to another kingdom.

She stood up slowly, leaving the dirty veil on the floor.

“I will be returning to my tower, Lord High Priest.”

“Get some rest, Saintess, as I shall return tomorrow night.”