“How does becoming a Crusader help me?” asked Angar.

  “It'll grant you power, maybe enough to save your world,” the woman replied, her voice steady.

  Angar needed power, but there were things he wouldn’t do for it. “Know that I’ll never betray the Great Lord.”

  “Good news – you don’t have to.” She smirked faintly, a flicker of wryness in her eyes. “Your religion, Ikimism, is very compatible with Trinitarianism. The Great Lord becomes God, and Qitakai becomes Heaven. You could even call Him just Lord if you’d like. You keep the same lust for battle, but the blood tithes will come from Hellspawn.”

  That didn’t really sound blasphemous at all. A few words would change. He was certain the Great Lord would prefer his tribute be in the form of far more powerful enemies anyway. “Understood. How do I receive this power of a Crusader?”

  “You're about to gain a massive amount of XP. But first, we need to…”

  Angar interrupted to ask, “XP?”

  “It’s shorthand for experience points, the main way of gaining power.” She raised a hand, gesturing slightly. “It’s a numerical value Theosis awards for killing Hellspawn and completing certain objectives like closing gateways. It could be awarded for killing Heretics and other powerful creatures too, depending. Gain enough XP to reach certain thresholds and you can level up, increasing your power.”

  That was easy enough to understand. Killing made him more powerful. The more killing, the more power. He nodded.

  “As I was saying, we need to get this done while time’s dilated so you don’t die. I'll persuade Theosis to calculate and award your XP in advance. Then, we'll swear you in. I'll guide you through the choices and help you level up.”

  Angar wanted to know how time was being manipulated, but if this woman wasn’t Moloch, he didn’t know her name. “What’s your name?” he asked. “And should I give you a title or honorific?”

  “No need.” She smirked faintly. “I’m a ghost in the machine. Spirit would be a fitting name. Call me that, unless it offends your beliefs.”

  “There are helpful spirits. Spirit it is, then.” His voice softened briefly, testing the name. “May I ask how you’re slowing time like this?”

  “I'm not the one manipulating time,” Spirit explained. “Theosis is. It’s a function of the Holy System. Remember your first System message? You couldn't read it at first, then suddenly could, right?”

  “Yes. True,” replied Angar.

  “That was free training. You learned to speak, read, and write Imperial Standard in dilated time, where moments stretch into eternity. It’s used for all training given by the Holy System. Your brain retains the knowledge you’ve learned but not the memory of gaining it.”

  “When you receive a System message, you’re put in a different type of dilated time. It’s slower and you retain everything, but as soon as you move, you lose its effect. I placed you in a version of that when the volcano exploded. When we began conversing, I brought it up to the training-level of dilation. And don’t worry, I’ll make it so you remember all this. Ready to be sworn in?”

  Angar had a dozen more questions, but he was eager to gain this power. “I am.” He squared his shoulders, his voice firm.

  “Good. Theosis will have you perform the oath,” she replied, her form shimmering briefly, as if signaling the shift.

  Behold, the unyielding gaze of Theosis, the Holy System, pierces the veil of mortal frailty. You stand upon the precipice of glory, poised to unleash Holy vengeance upon over a thousand reavers – a feat to echo through the ages, a saga carved in infernal blood and Holy flame.

  Your earlier flight from the abyssal horde was no mark of craven weakness, but a trial of your soul’s mettle, now eclipsed by this righteous triumph.

  A Crusader forged in the crucible of battle, chosen from blood-soaked fields, raised from the devout Laity in an unprecedented ascension. In hallowed tradition, our glorious Holy Knights endure ‘The Grim Ordeals of Sanctified Knighthood,’ a deadly rite you have yet to face, nor have you learned the blessed Catechisms that guide us.

  Yet, the Holy Trinity has decreed your rise, an unprecedented event in the annals of our sacred history. You carve a new path to glory – prove this grace is not misplaced, lest your untested zeal falter and drag us into unholy darkness. Beseech the Lord that this bold venture bears fruit, that sacred resources are not squandered on folly.

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  Though you hover in the air, borne by the unleashing of righteous wrath and blessed slaughter, for this solemn moment, you must humble yourself. For the sanctity of this rite, kneel, as best you are able.

  This was the first time Angar put his full effort into understanding the words shown to him by this Theosis. It was written strangely but he had no issue understanding it.

  And if he was understanding correctly, it seemed Theosis didn’t want him to become a Crusader.

  “I want this power, but this wasn’t my idea,” Angar said, his voice tightening with a hint of anger. “Spirit made this offer to me. And the first words you showed me stated I could ascend from this Laity to Crusader if I proved my valor.”

  “Theosis can’t sense me, so he’ll think you’re mentally unstable if you talk to him about me,” replied Spirit, her tone carrying a faint edge of exasperation. “He’s a stickler for the rules. Things are done a certain way in the Holy Empire. Tradition is the glue that binds it all together. Give me a second to address this.”

  Angar had already been knighted, the oath taken the very day his father recognized him as legitimate. He disliked Theosis’ hesitancy. “I understand tradition, but why does he see me as unworthy?”

  “It’s not that.” Spirit shook her head slightly. “The message notifying you of imperial citizenship stated acts of valor can qualify for Knighthood. He knows you’re worthy and qualify. And this has happened before, it just hasn’t happened in this way, to a Layman without a Class or a solid foundation specifically trying for Knighthood.”

  “Our youth are trained from birth to undertake what’s called the Grim Ordeals. Those that survive gain a lot of strength and power before they ascend to level 1. You're not as strong as traditional candidates, but surviving this harsh world has made you formidable. He’ll realize that soon.”

  Spirit moved over to Angar and placed her hand on his shoulder. “It’s time to kneel and swear the oath. Speak the words Theosis shows you exactly as written.”

  Kneeling in the air was strange and felt unnatural, but Angar did it as best he could. The air thrummed faintly around him, heavy with unseen weight.

  I, Angar of Sulfuron 9, do solemnly vow before the Almighty God and upon my immortal soul:

  By the sacred blood of the martyred dead who paved the path, by Theosis, the coming and arrival, by the blessed Mother Mi, our savior, and by the Lord of Hosts, sovereign of all creation, I consecrate my existence to the relentless annihilation of Hell’s foul spawn and the wicked Heretic.

  I pledge undying fealty to the Three, the unbreakable beacon that pierces the unending gloom, and to the Empire of the Holy Trinity, its light an unquenchable flame, to uphold the sacred tenets of our faith.

  No dark whisper of temptation, nor Heresy, shall see me falter, or bend the knee. With each breath until my last, I shall fight, my heart burning with the righteous fire of wrath, my flesh a vessel of ceaseless might, my mind ablaze with sacred fervor, my spirit unbreakable, my soul incorruptible.

  My most singular purpose shall be Holy War. Point me towards my enemies, and I shall make a glorious slaughter. Command me to march into the infernal abyss, and I shall trample the gates of Hell underfoot.

  I shall shield all worthy Children of God, be they Terran, Pleiadean, Reptiloid, or Gray, with my faith, my fury, my life.

  I stand as a bulwark against oblivion. I stand as Holy wrath incarnate. I stand now a Crusader.

  So help me God, lest I burn in tormented damnation.

  Now it was Angar’s turn to hesitate.

  After reading through the oath, he had second thoughts. There were some words he didn’t understand, but this religion’s hunger for blood and battle resonated deeply with his own, mirroring the fire in his soul.

  It was the demanded devotion to this Empire of the Holy Trinity. It clashed with his loyalty to Mecia, where his heart and true allegiance would always lie.

  But once time’s flow resumed, his kingdom would be ash. Mecia would fall, and with it, his ties of loyalty would dissolve, leaving him bound to nothing and no one but the Great Lord, now God.

  And when that moment came, he would bear the weight of Mecia’s destruction, the city and its fleeing people dead by his hand.

  Guilt pressed at his mind, its tendrils clawing at him, strong and familiar, not unlike the dark whispers of the reapers. He knew that path led to madness. With effort, he shoved the guilt aside, forcing himself not to dwell on it.

  He should’ve been dead now, beyond guilt, beyond suffering. The easy path. But it seemed his Lord had other plans for him.

  If he were to swear this oath, he’d do so without reservation, and with every fiber of his being. As with all things in his life, he’d commit fully, totally. He’d keep his word unto death. He’d never be an oath breaker.

  But the oath would mean only what he understood it to mean in this moment. He would worship as he always had, as Spirit had said just two words changed. If that proved false, that was on her.

  And above all, he would remain Mecian, first and always. He’d never forsake his blood and ancestors –the martyred dead who paved his path.

  With that resolve, he would surrender himself completely – body, mind, and soul – to this cause.

  Kneeling, Angar recited the oath, his voice ringing with fervor, passionately, each word igniting his heart, lifting his spirit, and stoking his great desire for glory, war, and vengeance. His voice echoed faintly, as if the words carried beyond the moment.

  When he finished, Spirit commanded, “Stand, Crusader.”

  Angar obeyed.

  “There’s usually a lot more to this,” she said. “A big ceremony called the Anointing with a lot of oils, rites, solemnity, and speeches. If you survive, you’ll eventually get all that. I hope. We’ll see. I hate to say it, but your survival is unlikely.”

  She looked him in the eye. “Theosis calculated the full extent of all the death you’ll soon be responsible for. Are you ready to gain power and ascend?”