Chương 25: Chapter 24: Blessing Day

The church bell rang and signaled the end of the morning class. Alice rose from her seat and let out a sigh of relief. Finally. Maybe tomorrow we can start learning important things. Father Orlando dismissed them with a wave of his hand, and they soon left the chambers and headed straight for the first mass. Alice strode beside Evelyn, keeping note of the sweet berry smell of her hair. While Marley and Jack followed behind them, the two lads talking about God knows what.

The moment they stepped into the gallery, Alice was assaulted by the stench of ungodly perfume. She covered her face with her hand; the smell drowned out everything, even the scent of incense and rot in the air. What is that? Alice thought as they approached the back row of benches. In the corner of her eye, she spotted men clad in copper masks, standing atop balconies, by the pillars, and by the ends of the aisles below.

They were Inquisitors, and they held their rifles and were as silent and still as statues sculpted into the shape of men.

"Is there an event going on?" Alice asked as she took her seat at the right end of the bench.

"You don't know?" Evelyn tilted her head and sat down beside Alice.

"It's Blessing Day. It's the Twentieth already."

"B… Blessing Day?" Alice furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Blessing of Ghouls. Just… just take a look for yourself." Evelyn flared her nostrils at the masses. Alice turned to the people on the pews in front. A soft "oh" left her mouth as she noticed many rotting and bandaged scalps among them. They sat among the well-dressed and noble, and though they wore the same silk as their masters, their putrid, gangrened flesh spoke of what they truly were. Before she averted her gaze, she noticed iron collars on the ghouls.

They all looked identical, with a large oblong-shaped rune engraved at the back.

"Do you have ghouls back at home, Marley?" Jack said.

"Of course we do. Though not as many as some other folk. Mother doesn't like ghouls that much." Marley shrugged. Evelyn tugged on Alice's arm.

"I'm surprised you didn't know about Ghoul Blessing." Her tone was more curious than accusatory.

"Well, I didn't go outside much," Alice replied. I'm not lying. I've never even heard about it before. Before long, Father Arno emerged from the red door and walked over to his pulpit. He pressed his palms together for a second and closed his eyes, as though uttering a silent prayer for himself. And then, with open eyes, he greeted the masses with a smile, his voice reverberating across the nave.

"Good morning, my children. Today is an auspicious day for all of us. The Twentieth of the month has been holy ever since the Lady gave us the gift of death. It is when we purify and bless the souls and minds of our beloved ghouls. It is when we ensure they will never stray from the good path of the Lord. Before we begin, I kindly request everyone to stand up and welcome the holy spirit." First, the unrotted rose to their feet in unison, and then the rotting ghouls followed.

Alice stood up, resisting the urge to yawn and stretch her arms out. Ever since coming here, she felt stiff like a rock. The choir of children and singers atop the overlooking porch sprang upwards, and they sang a song so holy it sent an unnatural warmth washing over Alice's body. Their voices were like the call of angels, reaching every ear and soothing every soul. No tone was too high, nor too low. Each voice intermingled as one. And when their singing faded to a lull silence, the bell rang out once more.

Father Arno lowered his hands, gesturing for the masses to sit down. And sit they did, like obedient dogs. Alice leaned against the pew rest and gazed at the marble baptismal font at the end of the main aisle. It was filled with a luscious red liquid; whether it was wine or blood was unbeknownst to her. I wonder what's going to happen. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"When I call thy names, you shall rise and approach me with your ghoul. Let the blessings begin." Arno went down from the pulpit and stood behind the baptismal font. And the choir sang again, their soothing voices echoing off the walls of the Cathedral, singing in ancient tongues.

"Alwen," Father Arno spoke. A man clad in working garb stood up at the front row. He gestured behind him, and a pair of hulking ghouls rose, towering over everyone in the nave. Their bodies were misshapen, more akin to massive monkeys than men, and their arms and legs were like large pieces of timber. They were completely hairless, and they wore old wilted gambesons. The man approached Father Arno, the two ghouls following behind him. Father Arno gestured for the first ghoul.

Like a willing dog, it went in front of the font and lowered its head. Father Arno placed his hand atop its skull and slowly submerged its face into the red liquid.

"The Lady blesses thee. Purify the impure. Mend mangled thoughts, and repair the broken soul." So it's like a baptism, but for a ghoul. That's rather neat, I suppose. The ghoul was completely still even as its head was underwater. After a few moments, Father Arno grabbed it by the nape and pulled its head out from the liquid. The ghoul quickly moved aside, making way for the other. And just like before, Father Arno submerged its head into the liquid and uttered another prayer.

The man wore a pleased, almost satisfied smile as he watched the whole ordeal. When Father Arno was done, he spoke.

"You may go, child. Tend to your ghouls well." The man bowed and walked back to his seat, walking side by side with his two ghouls.

"Annalise," Father Arno said. A woman wearing a plain white dress and a tall lanky ghoul clad in a simple black suit stood up from the same row. The woman held the ghoul's gloved hand as they approached the baptismal font. Once again, Father Arno submerged the ghoul's head into the red liquid and said aloud, "The Lady blesses thee. Purify the impure. Mend mangled thoughts, and repair the broken soul." The woman returned to her seat with her ghoul in tow, and soon enough the next patron rose up.

Alice's lips curled into a frown as she realized deep down. How long is this going to take? Another name was called, and another ghoul stepped up to the font. Then another, and another, and another. There were tall working ghouls, ghouls clad in suits, shorter ghouls, ghouls with many arms, ghouls with swords instead of arms; the sheer variety was mind-boggling. It seemed with enough resources, you could make anything from a rotting corpse.

"Pavel," Father Arno said. An obese man stood up four or five rows away from the pulpit, his belly bloating out of his buttoned shirt. When he walked out of his row, a little girl who was no taller than his waist followed after him. Her hair was cut into an adorable bob, and she wore a frilly white and black dress, and despite her stature, she had a prominent bosom a little too plump for her size that it seemed almost unnatural.

Unlike the other ghouls, her skin was a lifelike pale, as though the rot was painted right over it. They walked down the aisle just like the other ghouls, but then the little girl halted dead in her tracks. The man took a few steps forward before turning his head in realization. Before he could react, the girl broke into a sprint and fled down the aisle. What the hell?

"Get back here!" The man snarled. The girl suddenly collapsed onto the pavement. Sparks flew out of her collar, and a grotesque scream broke out of her throat. She flailed, her head rising, eyes bulging out of its sockets and its gaze falling directly on Alice. Her hands flew out as if reaching for Alice.

"By the Lady…" Alice gasped and leaned away, her face twisting in horror. After a while, the girl stopped moving, a strange greenish foam spewing out of her mouth. The obese man walked over, shook his head, and sighed. The man lifted the girl's limp body over his shoulder and continued back down the aisle.

"That was disgusting," Evelyn said.

"Is that normal?" Alice asked.

"Probably not." Evelyn shrugged. Why is she acting so calm? Alice then turned to Marley. Marley rubbed his chin.

"Sometimes that happens. A part of the mind lingers even after the ghoulification. But after the blessing, it shouldn't be anything to worry about."

"Ri… right." Alice frowned and looked back down the aisle. It almost looked like she was calling for help. Was I imagining things? I mean, it's just a ghoul after all. The obese man lowered the girl against the baptismal font, her arms dangling by the edge. Father Arno simply nodded, held her head, and submerged it deep into the red liquid.

"The Lady blesses thee. Purify the impure. Mend mangled thoughts, and repair the broken soul." After a few seconds, Arno lifted her head above the liquid and gave it a gentle slap. The girl's limbs came to life once more, and she slowly rose back up like a puppet dangling from a set of strings. The obese man grinned and wrapped his arm around the girl's shoulder as they walked back down the aisle. When they neared, Alice got a good look at her face.

It was still, devoid of any emotion, and the greens of her eyes had turned a light slate of grey.

"Where do they get those ghouls?" Alice raised her brows.

"Prisons. From war. From the recently deceased. Most of the time, at least," Marley said.

"Most of the time?" Alice frowned. Marley bit his lower lip.

"It's not… appropriate to talk about it here."