Regnum Aetern: Dual Rebirth

Chapter 143: Trial of faith

The boy from the ritual incident was attempting the trial of faith.

The moment she heard this news, Nelliel left what she was doing and rushed towards the trial chamber, the place where the trial was going to be held.

’What the hell is he thinking?! That brat must really be sick in the head!’

After becoming a priest candidate, one becomes eligible to attempt the trial of faith. Passing the trial would make them a priest.

One could take the trial as soon as three days after becoming a priest candidate, which meant that the boy was attempting the trial as soon as he got the chance.

’It’s reckless.’

There was a reason Nelliel or other priest candidates didn’t attempt this trial the moment they got the chance. It was because they all only had one chance to attempt the trial, and failing it would mean losing their status as a priest candidate and being demoted to a mere believer.

Why was the boy in such a hurry? Did he feel too pressured and wanted to secure his place here as soon as possible?

Thinking that, Nelliel suddenly began feeling somewhat guilty. If she had looked after him like Uncle Rolf had asked her to, maybe he wouldn’t be attempting something like this right now.

Maybe it was all her fault.

Clenching her teeth, she finally reached the trial chamber. It was a massive hall, almost the same size as the ritual hall. By now, a dense crowd had already formed inside.

She looked to the center, and she instantly spotted the boy. He was staring at the ground below.

As she followed her line of sight, she saw smoldering coal arranged on the ground in a way that looked like a road. There was no fire, but the orange glow of the coal was enough of an indicator of its temperature.

She clenched her teeth even harder.

’The trial has already been set up.’

It couldn’t be stopped at this point. She could only watch and hope that the boy somehow passed the trial. Of course, it was extremely unlikely that the boy would really pass the trial.

The trial was simple. One had to walk on the road filled with smoldering coals and reach the other end. One couldn’t walk too fast, nor could one show excessive discomfort even as one’s feet burned from the searing heat.

The goal of the trial was to show how much of yourself you are willing to sacrifice for the Truth. It was to test how much you could endure for your faith until it was too much.

At first, Nelliel had also been desperate to attempt this trial and become a proper part of the cult.

’But Uncle Rolf was there for me back then, giving me the advice I had needed the most at the time.’

But she hadn’t been there for the boy.

She looked at him, and his face was still a mask of perfect calm, just as it had always been.

Just then, the priest overseeing the trial raised both hands high. Looking up, he spoke loudly, as if chanting.

"O God, my Truth, I ask you to watch over this trial as the strength of one of your believers’ faith is tested!" He turned his gaze to the boy. "And with that, I announce the commencement of the priest candidate Adrian’s trial of faith!"

The crowd quieted down as everyone’s attention shifted to the boy. Nelliel also tensed up as she watched him.

And under the weight of everyone’s gaze, the boy calmly took a step forward, putting one foot on the road of smoldering coal.

Everyone expected his expression to twist in pain, just like everyone else who ever took this trial. They even somewhat expected the boy to instantly remove his foot the moment he felt the sole of his foot burn, which would cause him to fail the trial.

But...

The boy didn’t even flinch; his expression was still as calm as it had been before.

Moments later, he placed his other foot on the road of smoldering coal. And then he started walking. His pace was unhurried, his expression calm. It was as though he were taking a casual stroll. They couldn’t find even a hint of discomfort anywhere.

He looked at peace as he moved forward one step at a time.

The believers watching him began whispering.

"This has to be some trick, right? There is no way anyone could do this without even flinching."

"Are you stupid? The priest overseeing the trial would’ve caught him if that really were the case."

"He looks as though he’s walking on sand. It’s so hard to believe."

Nelliel, meanwhile, couldn’t take her eyes off ‌him.

’Just how strong one’s faith has to be... for something like that to be possible.’

Suddenly, a dangerous thought surfaced in her mind.

Maybe it was not that she wasn’t ready to take the trial yet. No, maybe it wasn’t about being ready at all. Maybe she and everyone else who was still hesitating to take the trial were simply lacking faith.

It was a thought that made her freeze briefly.

Meanwhile, the boy continued walking and soon reached the end of the smoldering road.

And as he did, he turned to the priest overseeing the trial. Maybe that broke the priest out of his daze as he announced.

"Priest candidate Adrian has passed the trial of faith! From now on, he is to be recognized as a priest and shall fulfill the duties that come with this position."

Saying that, the priest hurriedly rushed forward and tore a long strip from his bluish-black cloak, wrapping it around the soles of the boy’s feet. In the process, everyone got a good look at the state of the boy’s feet.

Some even seemed to have gotten goosebumps from seeing that horrible sight.

Nobody could understand how the boy was still calm even after his feet ended up like that.

But they all knew one fact for sure: they had witnessed the moment when the youngest priest in the cult’s history passed the trial and was recognized.

***

After the trial, the cult was in chaos for a new reason. This time, though, that chaos was not uncontrolled.

Climbing the stairs, Nelliel finally reached the surface.

The sky above had turned orange as the sun was slowly dipping beyond the horizon.

She walked forward, navigating the rubble, and arrived at her destination within moments. And she found exactly what she had expected to find.

Just as she had seen three days ago, the boy was sitting on the rubble, quietly gazing at the sky. She followed his line of sight and found that his eyes were fixed on the cracks running across Feralscar’s sky.

Walking forward, she approached him and sat down right next to him.

The boy seemed to have noticed her as soon as she had got here, but he didn’t react in any way.

After thinking for a bit about how she should start, Nelliel slowly opened her mouth.

"I... am sorry. I captured you just when you were asking for my help. It caused you to go through so much. It is okay if you resent me. I just wanted to apologize properly."

The boy slowly turned to her and... shook his head.

"You have nothing to apologize for. It was all my fault from the beginning. If only I hadn’t been foolish enough not to believe in the Truth. I deserve everything that happened to me. But my eyes have finally opened now."

Hearing him, Nelliel’s expression turned strange.