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nSeven Years Later.

nIn one of the most protected places in the realm, only found in the Higher Continents, Temple Maiden Nyla Sheritz was performing the ceremony to become a Temple Matron, because she had unexpectedly become an Ascendant, shocking the entire order because of her youth, she was less than five thousand years old.

nThe Temple Maiden with the record for the earliest Ascendancy did it at the age of 3,760, and she was now the foremost Temple Mother.

nThe hall Nyla was waiting inside was dark, only brightened by several statues of powerful Ascendants whose heads were aflame.

nThe light from the flames hardly pushed back the gloom, but for those inside this hall the flames were not there for lighting, but for their significance Their lives were meant to burn for their service, and no matter how small the flames, it still lit up a small part of the darkness.

nFor such an important and elevated ritual, the atmosphere was surprisingly solemn, as there were only three Temple Matrons and a single Temple Mother here with Nyla who oversaw the rite of Ascendance.

nThe five women were all on their knees, their bodies covered with voluminous red robes that hid their appearances. Their hands were clasped to their breasts and for the last few days, there was nothing but silence as they meditated together.

nThe oath Nyla was about to swear required deep contemplation and she was expected to review her creed in-depth. The presence of the Temple Matrons and the Temple Mother was to give her a familiar presence to assure her and give her strength in the eternal journey ahead. When they had determined that the right time had come to proceed with the ceremony, the strong voice of the Temple Mother resounded in the hall, holding the attention of everyone bound,

n“Nyla Sheritz, today you kneel as a Temple Maiden who has served the Great Cause for four thousand years, and you shall rise a Temple Matron who will serve for eternity. Do you accept this burden?”

n“I accept this burden with grace, Temple Mother.”

n“Nyla Sheritz, today you kneel as a Temple Maiden who has died three thousand six hundred and fifty-three times in the service of all, and you shall rise a Temple Mateon who would carry the deaths of all Temple Maidens under you. Do you accept this burden?”

n“I accept this burden with an open heart, Temple Mother.”

n“Nyla Sheritz, you shall stand a Temple Matron, and your eternal service has just begun.”

n“I accept this burden with honor, Temple Mother.”

nThe five women stood, and their bodies were revealed no longer made of flesh, but Aura. They rose into the air and the space inside the hall trembled and for the next few hours, they remained silent in communion.

nAfter a while it was Nyla who made the first move to leave, she bowed towards the rest and left the hall. Passing through a massive door she arrived before a great teleportation prism that was seven thousand feet tall and was capable of reaching nearly all continents in the lower realm.

nAt the bottom of the Teleportation prism was a massive map that contained a greater portion of all the continents in the lower realm, even after millions of years, it was impossible to document the total number of continents in the lower realm because new continents were being born at every moment, and the sea was infinite.

nWhat was striking about the map were several areas painted in different colors. These places were the trouble regions that drew the most attention from the Ascendants, and in recent years there was one location that troubled everyone-The Time Blight Regions.

nThis place where time did not exist was growing. Nyla briefly glanced at that position before looking away, her target was somewhere else.

nAt a corner of the teleportation prism were thirteen Temple Maidens, who would escort her and be her assistant for the foreseeable future. With her presence, they all came up behind her and waited for her orders.

nA Temple Matron had their Convent, a place where Temple Maidens from all over the world gathered to rest and gain valuable insights for their journey ahead. New Temple Maidens were trained here and the history of their order was curated and studied.

nNyla had bargained for one of the biggest and oldest convents available, and because of her sheer talent in reaching the Ascendant level in less than five thousand years and her clear devotion to the creed, she was granted this honor to lead this convent after the sudden death of its previous Matron.

nThe Convent she would be overseeing was called, Temple of Silence, but her first act even before she arrived was to change the name, she called the temple, Trion. It was a strange name, but as a Temple Matron, her wishes were seen as an inviolable command and were taken as such. Trion became the new seat of Nyla.

nIn her new position, Nyla would be a Temple Matron overseeing more than a million Temple Maidens, a massive number for any new Matron, and it was expected that in time, she would have to reduce the Maidens under her care, but everything was seen as a learning experience, and if she was a genius, this was a chance to prove herself.

nUnder her robes, a brief flash of red shone that took the shape of an eye before vanishing, this went by so quickly no one here could detect it, and Nyla smiled as she touched the prism, she was going to spread the truth about their mission to every Temple Maiden and her convent was the first step.

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nThe corruption began slowly, Nyla did not make any move for three years, instead, she began what most would consider a maniacal devotion to the creed. Every single moment of her day was spent advising and uplifting the Temple Maiden, her insight into the challenges they faced was poignant, and she seemed to be able to touch the right place in their hearts, to reach the roots of their pain.

nNews of the new Temple Matron spread quickly, and soon the older Temple Maidens, women who had lived for tens of thousands of years and had gone through intense suffering and were on the verge of giving up and forsaking their oath began to flock towards Nyla.

nThese Temple Maidens she kept separately in an enclosed hall underground, and when they reached a hundred, Nyla came to them at night, her presence made all the Temple Maidens kneel, and they pressed their faces to the ground.

nShe gave them the command to rise and when they did they no longer saw a temple maiden, but a dreadful queen, whose crown were bleeding eyes, and in the face of the queen they saw the truth. Suffering was a choice and their redemption was also a choice. The weight they carried did not need to be a weakness, instead, it could be their strength.

nCalamity was not all about death. It possesses a powerful strength that was the right balance of Ascendancy, almost as if they were made to work together.

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