Moments earlier.

"Welcome, everyone."

I had no time to properly digest the new information before I was dragged into a large church. Looking around, I saw a few faces that I had seen back in the first chamber that they had brought us in.

Thinking back, I realized that the main reason behind that situation was probably to demonstrate to us what would happen if we were to become disobedient.

".....It looks like most of you are here. I will now start with an introduction of myself and what we do."

The old man in white started to speak as I found a seat in one of the wooden rows.

For some reason, as I sat down, I noticed that the expressions of everyone present as they looked at me were extremely wary.

'Do they hate me or something?'

It was like this in the first chamber as well.

"We are the Celestial Chorus. I am Archbishop Lucas, and we serve and worship the great god Oracleus."

"....?"

I sat confused.

This was the first time I had ever heard of such a god. But at the same time, I realized something.

This was no company.

.....It was a cult.

While I already had some ideas, I only received confirmation right now.

I took a deep breath to calm my mind.

There were still many questions that I had, but I chose to push them to the side and continued to listen.

"The god has granted me a vision. He was the one who let me know of your appearance. So rejoice!"

The pitch of his voice heightened slightly.

"...As a devoted follower, I will do his bidding and turn all of you into his disciples!"

His face was bordered with fanaticism and insanity.

I felt my arms shiver at the sight.

Whatever god he was worshipping, I wanted to get out of this place. With such thoughts I started to look around, trying my best to memorize everything around me in hopes of finding something that could aid my possible escape.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find anything concrete.

No, in fact, all it did was bring me trouble as the man's voice echoed again.

"You, there."

I felt every hair on my body rise the moment that my name was called.

Raising my head, I felt a pair of two blank eyes staring back at me. My heart jolted at the sight as I suppressed a shiver.

"...Hm, yes. You will be the first one."

As if he had made up his mind, the Archbishop nudged with his hand as several people appeared from all sides of me, grasping me by the arms and lifting me up.

"Uh? W-what's going on?"

I tried to resist but found myself unable to.

Their grip... It was far too strong.

It was almost as if their hands were made of steel.

I tried to resist, but it was futile. Before long, I was brought before the priest who stared at me with its chilling white eyes.

The sight made my stomach clench.

Pressing both of his hands against my shoulders, he calmly spoke.

"Be calm."

He said to be calm, but how could I be calm in this situation?

Or at least, I thought that way.

Strangely, his words held a certain magnetism to them that numbed down my emotions and made me calm.

'What is this?'

Shocked, I looked at the man in front of me.

He was smiling kindly. He almost looked like a friendly neighborhood grandpa. But I knew... I knew it was all a facade.

"Let us begin."

He began to say, raising his hands to press it against my head.

"....We will now commence the trial of the forgotten minds."

My mind blanked.

***

A strange glow enshrouded the church the moment the Archbishop placed his hand over Julien's head.

Aoife stared at the scene with open eyes.

'What's going on?'

She didn't dare make a noise as she looked at the scene in the distance in silence.

The glow only lasted for a few seconds before disappearing. Once it was gone, so was the cadet.

Gasps of surprise came out from the mouths of all those present as some shuddered.

On the other hand, Aoife remained firm and didn't make a single sound.

She had a lot of questions in her mind, but her thoughts were taken over by the blonde-haired cadet. He appeared different than the last time she had seen him.

In total, she had seen him three times.

Each time, the vibe around him was completely different.

If before he felt unsettled due to his calmness, the current him appeared to be completely different. He appeared far from calm, and despite his best attempts at trying to be calm, he simply couldn't stop himself from occasionally trembling.

He looked like a completely different person.

'Was it all a facade?'

Aoife wasn't too sure.

Nonetheless, she needed to think of a way out of this.

Her mana was sealed, and thus, she could only sit here and watch whatever was happening.

But she knew... she knew that by now, the Empire must've sent several search squads in order to look for them.

They just needed to bide their time.

Vooom

Suddenly, the room shook.

A pulse of mana swept the surroundings as Aoife found her clothes fluttering.

"Ukh."

When everything settled, a large projection appeared for everyone present. It was entirely in white, and standing right in the middle of it was the cadet from before.

'How did he get there?'

Aoife's narrowed as she looked towards the projection.

"....Ah, it's been a while since I've seen this live."

The Archbishop's words echoed quietly throughout the entire church.

Turning his head, he looked towards everyone.

"Do not be afraid. This is good for you. Once his turn is over, it will be your turn so make sure you take notes of what happens."

His smile grew subtly.

"Be happy."

***

The world was white.

In one moment I had been standing in front of the church, and in the next moment, I was standing in this world of white.

"....."

Looking down, I could see my own reflection.

I could still not get used to the sight that greeted me. I looked completely different than how I normally looked.

It was hard to adjust my mind to the sight.

Thankfully, there was something else that took my mind away from it.

"Walk forward."

It was the voice of the Archbishop.

"....There's no need to be scared. No one can harm you in this place. All you need to do is walk."

'All I have to do is walk?'

I looked ahead.

There didn't seem to be an ending in sight.

Where exactly was I supposed to walk?

'Am I just supposed to walk aimlessly?'

"Walk, young disciple. If you keep walking, you will eventually reach an end."

"....."

I looked ahead.

It was blank. There was nothing. I wanted to get out of the place, but I knew it was impossible.

The only thing I could do was walk.

Walk like I was ordered to.

And so,

I took my first step.

Tak

The floor rippled under my step, and my reflection scattered slightly.

"...."

Under the first step, I felt nothing.

I was worried at first, but seeing that nothing happened, I took my next step.

Tak

The floor rippled under my step.

I took another step.

The same again.

".....Nothing."

I felt nothing.

With such thoughts, I felt a lot easier and took another step forward.

I didn't know what I was supposed to do and just walked.

Tak, tak, tak

The ripples beneath me started to overlap with one another with each step that I took.

"....."

A strange silence took over my surroundings.

Staring at my reflection, I found myself squinting at the sight of it.

It was starting to blur, and I couldn't quite make out the exact features of it.

In fact, I also started to feel like my thoughts were starting to diminish.

There was only one thought in my mind currently.

'Walk... I need to walk.'

Tak, tak

The sound of the steps started to grow fainter.

My legs started to move on their own, and my thoughts continued to diminish.

No longer did I think about my situation or what was going on with the entire situation. I just walked.

Step by step,

I walked through the white world.

Tak.

Gradually, I started to lose all sense of myself.

Be it time or emotions.

....I was starting to feel nothing.

Looking down, my face was entirely blurry.

But within the blur, I could see my blue eyes. They were muddled and unclear.

'This me...?'

I felt my steps slowing down.

Staring at my reflection, I massaged my cheeks while staring into those muddled eyes of mine.

"Who....?"

I blinked.

"Who am I?"

It was a simple question, and it was at the tip of my tongue, and yet, I found it impossible for me to answer.

Who...? Who was I?

I couldn't remember a thing.

'I think my name starts with E?'

Evan?

Yes, it was something like that.

"Evan. That's my name."

I nodded in satisfaction after repeating the name.

It sounded right.

It was right.

I was Evan.

I was...

"....!"

Suddenly, the world around me changed. The white disappeared, and I was startled to see myself standing in the middle of a large church. A hand was pressed against my head, and when I looked ahead, I saw an old man with a kind smile.

"You have done well."

I blinked my eyes.

"Done, well..?"

What was he talking about? And who was he?

"I..."

"Shhh."

He stopped me from speaking.

"Your mind is currently very sensitive. This was just a taste of the trails. To get your mind adjusted for the real thing."

He smiled again, this time, he was looking towards the rows behind him.

There I could see several dozen eyes locked onto me.

Who...?

They felt vaguely familiar and yet didn't.

Before I even had the chance to understand what was going on, the man beckoned several people dressed in white towards him.

"Bring him back to his chamber. We will start the real thing soon."

That was the last thing I remembered before my world turned black.