A Witness for my Baptism

The whole group was led to a chapel area within the palace. It was a private room for the royals to have church services as well as other religious activities. Normally, people weren’t allowed in unless you were invited to one of those services, but since I was here, they let us go in.

“Why are we in here?” Indena asked. “I thought we were going to a meeting in the council chamber or whatever.”

“Because it’s amazing.” Yamin was gushing over being in such a rarely seen hallowed hall. “They show this room only once a year on Christmas eve.

Despite Yamin’s giddiness, that wasn’t the actual reason Marek let us in here. The real reason we’d been allowed in was because there was an important person here that wanted to meet me before the meeting started.

“The pope has requested an audience with you,” Marek said. “He’s in the baptismal room just behind the chapel.”

Yamin let out a gasp that startled everyone.

“No way! You get to go into the Royal Baptismal?! Eeeeh!” she squealed, prompting a busy nun in the corner to shush her. “Sorry…” she nervously waved to the nun.

“Marek,” Miss Lauri spoke up, “why isn't she meeting him at the Cathedral of Life?”

He explained that there wasn’t enough time this morning to hold an official ceremony at the cathedral, so the pope decided that the Royal Baptismal would be a fine spot to take care of some of the spiritual aspects of my arrival. There would be a more superficial version later that could be televised to the world.

“I’m going to be on TV?” my eyes went wide. I couldn’t decide whether that made me nervous or excited.

“You almost were already,” Marek revealed. “We had to suppress a lot of photography that’s been circling around the last few weeks.”

I haven’t been doing a ton to hide myself from the public, besides wearing an outfit that made me look like a paper girl. So anytime I’ve been in battle, who knows who was watching from afar and taking photos or videos? It also makes sense how the mafia guys were able to get so much info on me. Now I was really paranoid about who's been cataloging my abilities this whole time.

Could it have been one of my friends? No way!

Behind the altar was a passageway that led to this special baptismal. None of the people here were allowed to step behind the altar, so it was just me going in alone.

After a few steps up a flight of stairs and a very short hallway, I parted a set of veils and was met with a dome shaped room of very extravagant stained glass windows. A small fountain in the center of this room allowed pure water to bubble up to the surface and fall back down into a surrounding pool. A stardust orb Hovered above the water, gracing it with a very pretty glow of rainbow light.

Two people were in this room besides me. A woman in blue robes with a veil, who was clearly a nun. And an aged man in white robes and a large silver crown with eight gems in it. Seven of those gems were glowing, each a different colour, while the one that was the center focus was dim as coal.

The moment I entered, both turned away from the water to look at me. Their gaze was full of awe and anticipation. They were so still that I couldn't tell if they were breathing.

In an effort to break their trance, I began to speak.

“Hello,” I said. “My name is Yalda.”

As words left my mouth, it brought the elder man out of his trance long enough for him to collect a small glowing lantern from the lip of the fountain. His motion drew the attention of the nun.

He fell down to his knees, taking up the lantern and slamming it down hard on the ground.

Hot blue ash sparked out of the lantern and landed around him.

The blue ash sent out waves of light energy across the floors. Bright blue lines scattered across the surface of the ground and glass walls.

All of those lines stopped when they reached me. Pulses of light flowed through the lines, creating a glowing aura around my body. The aura focused in on my crystal heart, causing my chest to tingle.

It felt like thousands of voices were crying in me all at once, but not in fear…for joy. A joyful song of ghosts.

Yan Asta…Yan Asta. Eighth Star…Eight Star. Those were the words I could pull out of the static of spectral noise.

This wasn’t a random type of magic. It was an ethereal data stream. That was one of the most advanced forms of information transfer out there, hundreds of times more powerful than any other type of wireless signal. It’s the same thing The Hive uses back home.

Whatever was in that lantern, it was communicating with me on a very special frequency.

“The lantern confirms who she is,” The Pope let out a breath, bowing his head toward me. “At last, she has arrived.”

As he placed aside the lantern, he continued to keep his head low.

“Graka! Graka! Na yan asta to Yahona Ka mi hasha. So be it!” sang both of them.

-Translating Nazalian-

"Rejoice! Rejoice! The Eighth Star of God has come down! So be it!”

I remember that the clergy back at Urnan were singing the same thing when they saw me awake for the first time. It was significantly less intimidating this time, since I knew what it was all about now, but my anxiety came more from the attention I didn't feel like I deserved.

Regardless of my status as a real angel or not, that lantern gave them the signs they were looking for. I couldn’t deny any longer that this title was meant for me.

The elder man gained the courage to look up at me, but only stealing a glance. That moment repeated a few times until finally we were just looking at each other.

My mannerisms weren't very confident. I had my hands pressed close to me and was on the backfoot. This wasn't scary, but the attention was a lot to take in from these clearly high ranked clergy.

The elder man put a hand on the nuns shoulder to get her attention, then he pointed at me. She looked confused until he whispered something in her ear.

“I think this is a bit much for her,” I picked up on his quiet words.

The nun realized what he was getting at and rose to her feet, walking over and wrapping her arms around me, pressing me close to her fluffy robes.

“There there…” she said, brushing my hair softly. “We didn't mean to scare you.”

Like a mother with a comforting aura, my anxiety soothed in her kind embrace. This hug was the most lovely I'd ever had. Was magic involved, or was this woman truly so caring that it took on a near magical feel?

My face was buried in the nun’s fluffy robes, so my only indication that the older man was coming over were footsteps and a lot of gems and chains rattling against each other from the jewelry he was wearing.

“Pressuring you was not our intention, so we do apologize,” said the elder man.

“It's okay,” I said, my voice muffled by the nun's robe. “I'm getting used to this.”

I stepped away from her, then the older man led me to the front of the fountain and introduced himself.

He was known as His Eminence, Holy Father Johnathan Paul George Richard XVI, but people usually referred to him as Pope John.

I can’t imagine why?

The nun's name was Mary. She was a Sister of the Divine Liturgy of the Seven Stars, which was why she was wearing blue robes instead of black ones, like other nuns I’ve seen. From my understanding, the only thing that really set her apart from other nuns was that she was allowed in some of the more sacred places without covering her face like other nuns had too.

“I’m Yalda,” I said with a bow, since I wasn’t sure how else to approach a formal greeting like this. “Yalda Asamo. I’ve come to defeat the Devil!” I said in a spritely tone.

“Asamo?” the Pope’s brow furrowed. “I hope asking where your surname comes from wouldn’t be offensive.”

Now that I think about it, it probably was weird to think an angel would have a last name. But since I was little and raised under the Asamo family name, I think I had a way of spinning this so they could understand.

“When I first arrived here as a baby, Dr Ivan Asamo raised me,” I said, not lying, but not giving the whole picture.

There was a shock that erupted on both their faces. Their hands did a figure eight over their chests, just like I’d seen Yamin do in times of stress.

“We weren’t informed on this by Cardinal Azori,” the pope revealed. “How long have you been among us?”

“I’m seven,” I said. “But I’ve only been on the surface for a little over half a month.”

It’s wild to think how much has happened in the last few days, let alone the whole time I’ve been here. What a crazy place the surface was.

The pope took a few quiet moments to process my words, but he quickly came to accept them as truth.

“So be it,” he said. “We may discuss these matters another time. For now, there are things that must take place before we reach the public eye.”

“What sorta’ rituals do I need to do?” I asked.

“As I understand it, you were not baptized in Urnan. Were you ever baptized in the past as a baby?” he asked.

Not that I can remember. I didn’t even know baptism was a thing here in the church.

According to him, all those who were servants of God and members of the Ecclysian church needed to be baptized in holy water. They claimed that a transformation would take place in my spirit, declaring me fully an enemy of the darkness in the name of God.

“Why do we need to do this before I go out there for the meeting?” I asked. “Can't it wait till after?”

I wasn't going to stop them, but I was curious why it needed to be done first.

“There are enemies who dwell among us,” the pope said. “This meeting will mark your first ever official appearance to the public, and those enemies will see you. Having you baptized before this meeting will be a declaration to all of those demons, and our allies, that you are of the light, and you will receive all of its benefits and glory.”

Demons already didn't like me by nature, but this baptism seemed a bit more deeper than that.

“I'm ready,” I said.

“You’ll need to select a witness from your friends,” the pope said. “A trusted confidant who you can confide anything to.”

Surprisingly, the first person that came to mind was Indena, which made me realize I do trust her a lot. It also meant she’d have to actually come in here, which I doubt she'd enjoy.

“My friend Indena. She isn't Ecclysian though. Does that matter?”

Oddly, the pope actually preferred to find someone who wasn't of this religion. Sister Mary would be our church witness, whereas Indena would represent anyone outside of the church. In a bizarre twist of logic, he even wanted demons to watch. It made sense why, since this event would be an open declaration against them. We'd be saving that one for the televised baptism in the big church though.

Sister Mary left for a moment to go get Indena. While she was gone, I swapped into a ceremonial white dress they gave me. It was so sparkly. Since it was an item I could digitize, I put it into my inventory and equipped it in my EQUIPMENT menu. It magically appeared over my body.

A few seconds later, the nun returned with the fire mage blindfolded.

“I have no idea why I'm coming in here…” Indena remarked as the nun stopped her infront of me. “What's going on?”

“I'm being baptized,” I told her. “I know you might not care much about that stuff, but I wanted you to be my witness.”

Her mouth opened like she was about to speak, but no words came out.

“Indena?” My head curiously tilted. “Are you okay with this? You don't have to be here if you're not comfortable.”

She stayed silent for a moment. It wasn't like she was ignoring me out of spite or something like that, she seemed like she was deep in thought.

Her hands came up like she wanted to grab something in front of her, but she reeled them back in.

“Indena, we don't have a lot of time,” I encouraged. “I can get someone else if you…”

“Why pick me?” she asked. “Yamin’s into this stuff, go with her.”

I figured it would be obvious. I loved Yamin, but Indena was… “You're my best friend.”

Suddenly Indena’s gaping mouth closed tightly and her head tilted down. Moisture started to build over the blindfold.

“Come on… You think I'm best friend material? You hardly know me. I give you crap for everything you do. For God's sake, I call you a shrimp. Why would you like someone like that? I'm just a bitch.”

She and I have been through a lot in the last few weeks. I’ve gotten a good look at who she is on both the outside and the inside, and I saw someone who's kind and caring for those around her. She may swear a lot of and say mean things, but that's just part of the package that was her life.

I told her all of that. She didn't even try to hide her crying anymore. She even tugged away the blindfold on her own.

“If I'm here to watch, ain't a damn thing going to block my view.”

The pope and nun were a little surprised that she tore the blindfold away, perhaps becoming the first heathen to see this hallowed baptismal. But thanks to my authority, Indena was completely cleared.

Besides, they were planning to take the blindfold off if she agreed to watch. They just didn't think she'd be so forceful with it.

The first view she got was of me standing in front of the pretty fountain in a sparkly dress. She was impressed at the view.

“That dress looks good on you,” she chuckled. “Now go take a bath already. We gotta’ get to that meeting.”

Upon her encouragement, I stepped into the fountain pool. The water gave me both hot and cold sensations simultaneously.

“Now, with one witness from the church,” he gestured to the nun, “and one witness from the entourage of the Eighth Star,” he gestured to Indena, “The baptism of the Eighth Star Angel may begin.”

He placed his hands on my back. I let myself go and allow him to hold me up.

“Do you, Yalda Asamo, promise to serve the Lord Deus with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, forever and ever?”

His words caused a stir in me. A feeling deep within was bringing the right answers to my mouth.

“I will serve God with all my heart, all my soul, and all my mind,” I replied. “Amen.”

“So be it.” The pope said, lowering his hands quickly and allowing me to fall into the water.

The water tingled as it flowed over me, but in a nice way. It was soothing. Just as soon as I went in, the pope brought me back up. All that sparkly water soaked me to the bone.

As my sight cleared, all I could feel was happiness. This experience was so lovely, yet so simple all at once.

-Advisory! New skills have been unlocked!-

-Eighth Star Baptism achieved-

-The following blessings have been granted-

-Stardust power increase-

-Light Affinity boost-

-Ecclysian Church Authority I-

-Ecclysian affinity has been granted-

-The following things have been obtained-

-Stardust power increase-

-Light Affinity boost-

-Darkness resistance boost-

-Spiritual Warfare I-

-Diligence I-

Oh wow, what were some of these skills?

For starters, Ecclysian Church Authority I legitimized my position as the high ranking member of the church. It wasn't just a superficial title either. Members would be more inclined to listen to me if I told them things. It also gave a power and morale boost to church members whenever they were around me.

Spiritual Warfare I was a passive skill that gave me a boost in power whenever I did battle with supernatural enemies. My power would multiply a little bit, especially with stardust related things.

Then the Diligence I ability was also a passive skill that increased my willingness to stay focused on a difficult task, so long as I was putting in the effort. So the harder I worked, the more I’d focus on getting it done. Apparently, this was actually a skill I got after the crisis in Verrenville, but baptism officially unlocked it for me. Could it have had something to do with countering Belphegor's slothfulness?

All of these skills would get stronger over time, making them more effective overall. Based on my HELP menu's explanation, it seemed like these skills weren't going to get stronger the more I used them. They would actually have to be upgraded somehow, but those upgrades were independent from my UPGRADE menu, so I wasn't quite sure what to make of that…

“Mr. Pope John?” I turned to him. “Are baptisms supposed to make me stronger?”

“Spiritually, yes,” he answered. “According to the scriptures, if you are ever to defeat an exceptionally powerful foe, you can come back to me, and I can unlock the fruits of battle for you by bathing you in holy water.”

Oooh! So this definitely had to do with my battle with Belphegor. I can't say I beat him completely, but I would say I overcame his temptation. That must have been where the Diligence I power comes from, since it was the opposite of being lazy.

“Now that you have been blessed, the time has come at last for the world to see you.” Pope John said.

“Is this going to be TV?” Indena asked.

Sister Mary had an answer for her. “It will be broadcasted live in some areas for military personnel or other officials in the church and parliament who could not be here. After it has been finished, it will be broadcast to the rest of the world.”

So, I guess this was my grand debut. Pretty soon, the whole world would know who I am. There wouldn't be any going back after that. Was I ready? I believed so.