A gentle, slender hand took Mu Lin's and helped her step down from the carriage. The girl, who had not left her bed in days, felt her legs wobble; she clung cautiously to the priest's hand for balance. A sudden gust of wind whipped past, carrying away the cloth that had covered her eyes.
Sunlight, absent for so long, stabbed painfully into her vision. It took Mu Lin several moments before she could slowly open her eyes.
The high priest stood before her, his long silver hair gleaming. A fitted white robe outlined his lean, powerful frame; over it he wore a long coat trimmed in gold, a ceremonial sash embroidered with golden insignia draped across his shoulder. At its prominent lower end was the swallowtail cross of the Church of Light. His silver eyes, unreadable in expression, held a cool, aristocratic air; the sharp, perfectly sculpted lines of his face were strikingly beautiful. To Mu Lin, whose sight had only just returned, he seemed to radiate holy light itself.
"Your eyes have recovered?" the priest asked.
Mu Lin nodded, then looked down in flustered confusion, realizing she was still holding his hand. She withdrew it nervously.
"Let's go," Noyes said simply, turning to lead the way. Mu Lin followed close behind—only to freeze the next instant, her jaw dropping at the sight before her.
An immense white cathedral rose like a mountain of marble. Its outer walls were adorned with intricately carved stained-glass windows; towering spires pierced the sky, each crowned with gilded statues of divine figures in extravagant splendor.
Mu Lin trailed after the high priest as if in a dream. The overwhelming opulence along the way left the inexperienced girl stunned, questioning everything she thought she knew. They passed through the ornately decorated cathedral and entered the residential area for clergy. The buildings here remained predominantly white marble but were far more austere, their broad, imposing courtyards exuding solemn authority.
"This place is enormous…" Mu Lin could not help murmuring.
"The Cis Holy See handles not only the Church's daily affairs but also the teaching and training of newcomers—cultivating new priests and enforcers. The Cis Divine Academy is here, so naturally the grounds are vast," Noyes explained.
Noyes held considerable status; younger priests in simpler robes greeted him respectfully as they passed, receiving a slight nod in return. Many cast curious glances at Mu Lin. She kept her head down, staying close behind him until they reached the inner courtyard.
Once again, Mu Lin was breathless at the beauty before her.
It was like a paradise from myth: clear streams wound beneath lush trees, colorful flowers bloomed around white statues of goddesses and fountains. Even more striking were the beautiful young women living there—laughing, resting, moving like nymphs from a fresco.
A woman in nun's garb approached with a warm smile. "Noyes, you're back."
Noyes nodded in greeting and drew Mu Lin forward. "Theresa, this is the new witch I mentioned in my letter—Mu Lin."
Mu Lin imitated his gesture and bowed to the nun. The woman, with gentle pale-green hair, studied the rather timid girl. "She hardly seems to need further treatment."
"Her wounds healed faster than expected. Her regenerative ability is exceptional even among witches. Still, for safety, she should undergo a full examination."
"Understood. I'll take over from here." Theresa smiled at Mu Lin and introduced herself: "I'm Theresa, the sister in charge of newcomers. From now on, I'll oversee your life at the academy. Come to me with any trouble at all."
With Mu Lin handed into the nun's care, Noyes turned to leave.
"You're going?" The girl, who had depended on him these past days, sounded suddenly anxious.
"I have other duties. Theresa will arrange everything for you. We're all in the same Holy See—once you become an enforcer witch, we'll meet again."
"You can relax with me here," Theresa said, taking Mu Lin's hand and speaking to Noyes. "I'm better at looking after newcomers than you are. Speaking of which—have you still not found a suitable familiar?"
A shadow passed through Noyes's silver eyes. "Such things cannot be forced."
Theresa sighed. "It's been a year. Some things must be let go." Noyes said nothing more, reached out to lightly pat Mu Lin's head, then turned and walked back the way they had come.
Theresa watched him go with faint concern before turning to Mu Lin with her practiced, warm smile. "Come, I'll take you to your dormitory."
Those possessed by heart demons were called witches here. The witches' living area lay at the very center of the Holy See, encircled by the residences of priests—so that if anyone began to degenerate, the surrounding clergy could eliminate the resulting monster before it escaped the grounds.
Following Theresa, Mu Lin arrived at an elegant small building. Her room had already been prepared: simple yet cozy, furnished with luxuries she had never known.
Theresa asked Mu Lin to undress and lie on the bed. Placing a hand on the girl's lower abdomen, warm holy light spread from her palm to envelop Mu Lin's body. Moments later the nun withdrew the light. "You've healed very well—nothing serious. You're just much too thin." She gave Mu Lin a gentle smile. "You'll need to eat more from now on."
Mu Lin sat up and looked at herself. Large, shocking scars remained where the fire had burned her.
"Don't worry. A witch's regeneration far exceeds ordinary people's. Those scars will vanish in time." Theresa smoothed the girl's chestnut hair, shortened by the flames.
"Why only witches? Don't heart demons possess men too?" Mu Lin asked, remembering that since entering the inner courtyard she had seen only girls—no men at all.
"It's not impossible for men, but they rarely resist the lure of power. Once possessed, they degenerate extremely quickly—usually before the Church can bring them back. So very few men remain here."
"Then… what is a 'familiar'?" The word from the earlier exchange between Theresa and Noyes had lingered in Mu Lin's mind.
As if reading her thoughts, Theresa smiled faintly. "After entering the Holy See, a witch forms a curse seal bond with a priest and becomes that priest's familiar. The seal has two functions: a restraint curse, which suppresses demonic energy if the familiar's power spirals out of control and prevents degeneration; and a destruction curse, used to kill a fully degenerated witch. Normally the priest purifies the demonic energy within his familiar to keep it stable. Once engraved, the seal cannot be removed until the familiar dies."
A chill ran through Mu Lin. She had thought joining the Church simply meant serving like the priests—not handing her life and death entirely into another's control.
"It's the only way to prevent those already possessed from becoming monsters," Theresa soothed the now-pale girl. "It isn't necessarily terrible. When two people are bound, their fates are linked—life and death shared. Sometimes it can be a beautiful thing."
"Does Noyes have one too?" Mu Lin recalled the mention that he still lacked a familiar.
"His familiar died in a mission a year ago." Sorrow flickered in Theresa's eyes. "The strength of the seal depends on the priest's power. The stronger the witch, the stronger the priest required to control her. If a priest's power is insufficient and cannot suppress the demonic energy, leading to degeneration, he must kill her. If the priest dies, the familiar—having lost her master—will also be killed by the seal. Therefore the Church evaluates strength and matches accordingly. Noyes is a high-ranking high priest; his former familiar, Deliya, was once among the most powerful enforcer witches in the Cis Holy See. Since Deliya's death, the Church has tried to find a suitably strong witch for Noyes to bond with, but he has refused every one."
Mu Lin felt a hollow ache inside. Clearly she had nothing to do with the word "powerful"; she was destined only to look up at that lofty high priest far above her.