Matriarch Despair introduces herself to us while kneeling in front of her, the speech laced with cruel and existentially degrading insults.
"I'm not your typical generic Goddess or so whatever babysitting sky mommy. Anyways, don't ask if I didn't know everything about your personal lives or some useless preferences because here, your names and memories are just noise. Void doesn't care about your dignity, nothing different from porking your own dignity for an ounce of chipped silver. By the way, pleasantries are too boring isn't they? There's a sword rack at the side of the altar, pick it up or else?"
Nikolai and the 4 newcomers included Takeshi pick the glassy steel longsword and quickly form in line and Matriarch Despair announces the mechanics.
"This is free-for-all combat, you are going to kill each other, as I said. There's no room for unnecessary negotiations or refusal, don't worry my children. Death is non-existent here, your injuries even fatal injuries can be regenerated instantly. Now start, work your asses off".
The female newcomer named Maibelle Rutherford sloppily swung her sword against Nikolai, he lunged the sword straight in her neck with practical efficiency and minimal movements. Takeshi attempted to sneak attack but Nikolai's guard stance had blocked his surprise attack, the longsword pommel bashed into Takeshi's head has cleanly decapitating him with a horizontal slash.
The extreme sharpness of the sword cut Nikolai's finger but it regenerated rapidly. Another newcomer Akihisa Mei and Liang Feng double team to overwhelm Nikolai and block its potential opening stance.
Nikolai threw his longsword at Feng like a javelin and impaled his upper chest. He quickly picks up the discarded sword as Mei desperately charges at him, Nikolai postures in a side guard stance thrusting her into the lower chest part. Maibelle awakes from unconsciousness after her neck finishes regenerating, she smiled creepily at Nikolai indicate symptomatic progression of psychosis.
As she reaches for the sword, Nikolai vertically splits her head in half. Ruptures fresh blood like a fountain and pinkish brain matter spilling in sacred floor of the cathedral. The smell of crimson iron is too overwhelming even the dead will complain and rolling now in their own respective graves.
A robed man appears at the side of the confessional, he applauds the impressive performance of Nikolai's act and other newcomers. Doesn't mean, it implies praise but perfect marketability of new toys for the grand scheme of things. He is very glad regarding new products, the Matriarch and higher directives was very pleased and entertained with a raw yet fresh concept of storyline.
"Since you are done, why don't two of us waltz each other with our own blades. You contemptuous rat?"
Matriach Despair's chilling retort makes Nikolai convulse in fear. She is beyond mortality, it is impossible to fight her with just a mortal weapon even the sword made of baryonic matter which is beyond human capability to produce an artificial one.
Matriarch Despair pulls out a translucent stiletto that reflects the microscopic world, Nikolai quickly postures in a guard stance to block the incoming attack and she blitzes toward at attoseconds (1 × 10^-18 seconds) reaction frame in non-local instantaneity. Matriarch Despair cleanly decapitates him without a single spill of blood and the headless body collapse in floor.
Nikolai choked in terror, holding the neck while gasping for breath. Prescience occurs in his neurological map does show millions of simulated probabilities lead on it's own endless and despairing death in different forms of artistic gruesomeness.
Crimson Reverends are encouraging rebellion unless you're brave enough to take millions, billions, or trillions of deaths without breaking sanity just to defeat them. Really? Yes, possible unless you have loose screws in your head, imagination is rent-free but stupidity is getting taxed here. Why should you rebel against a system if the system also rebelled against you for masturbating over frivolous trivialism in indifferent existence?
Maibelle's sanity further shatters in despair when she saw Matriarch Despair's true capabilities. The curse of biological immortality had repeatedly killed herself while manically laughing in the pleasure of agony.
A cheap yet very realistic slasher scene when Maibelle cuts her own stomach open, yanking the bloody intestines out, and then she ties it around her neck like a goddamn decoration that horrified Feng and Mei. Broke down in tears and pleading for mercy to someone save them from the deliverance of insurance is pretty common in religious drama.
So pathetically oversaturated, bland, and obviously predictable response from people who don't believe in the existence of Hell. Takeshi only stares blankly at the Haemanthus field, which signifies his newfound obsession, a man who once cling in earthly illusion of free will. Now, he become an ascetic of absolute obedience and docility meaning to serve, love, and devote the very system that torments him like a beaten dog, whining around in the cesspit of delusions.
Patriarch Futility watching the awkward personal moments with indifference and for him, it is a boring recollection from the Cathedral of Cosmos. Suffering is the motif of duplicity and only matters if you have a story to tell but still doesn't matter because the so-called fate is nothing different from a wind-up toy.
Everything is pre-determined just only to do is perform the very basics of life and complain if you want because in fact, not everyone cares about the noise produced by insignificance. Polluting clarity amidst the vagueness of common sense.
"All of you may rest, my children. The next trial begins sooner. Also don't forget to form friendships and cherish affection amid adversity. Comfort each other then forget the animosity, you may pretend this never happened before. Love your enemy and embrace what you are from within".
Patriarch Futility's ominous sermon and his serene demeanor are not something that should be taken lightly. In this alien world, every words weigh law and has consequences.
Matriarch Despair dismisses us to clean ourselves from the aftermath of monotonous carnage. Thick stain of blood crusting on robes, smell still lingering around as the floor paints red like a messy canvas. Nikolai and others descend into the church grotto.
They walk 40 paces toward the shallow lagoon and take a bath together without looking or talking to each other. Mei helps Maibelle to wash her body while Takeshi and Feng stare blankly at mosaic icon of Haemanthus adorned in cave wall and then shamelessly prostrating in ground though naked and pray in something gibberish with pietistic fervor.
Welcome to the afterlife re-education camp. Nikolai has nothing to help but sneers and remind something from generic dystopian literature, the same internalizing theme of the oppressed worshipping the oppressor, licking someone's feet over the leftover scraps.
Both Big Sister and Big Brother are so very pleased of them in its own's gullible infantilism, pity on these guys. Maibelle shrieked in terror when the moment she accidentally take glance at Nikolai. Mei immediately embraces Maibelle to calm her down, and Mei averts her eyes in fear indicate the hostility still lingers.
And then, Maibelle profanely shrieked in rage and cried out violent threats.
"Fuck off, you freak psychopath. Don't ever dare to touch or look upon us even with. I will gouge your fucking filthy eyes out and shove it into your fucking mouth!".
Nikolai and two other men still remain nonchalant. Her cry, anger, and complaints are nothing but background noise for irrelevance. Seriously, she has the nerve to bitch around and still thinks this is some random sequence of a fever dream. After taking a bath, they change their tattered clothes for new ones in the opulent wardrobe.
Nikolai is quite fascinated in architecture design of the cathedral, its extremity of asymmetric-symmetric topology tricks the perception into thinking the place is moving around like a centrifuge.
Patriarch Futility is playing harpsichord at left side of the altar, accompanying Matriarch Despair as a violinist. They sat themselves in a pew to listen in musical performance of Crimson Reverends and not afford to risk being subjected by wrath of these two powerful entities.
Matriarch Despair starts performing, Nikolai pauses for a moment when he recognizes the musical piece, it is Giuseppe Tartini's Il Trillo del Diavolo (Devil's Trill) because Major General Kovalchuk once invited him to watch classical performances in the National Philharmonic Orchestra during Major Kovalchuk's birthday.
The graceful Larghetto sways the stars, gracefully dancing amidst the melancholy of the void. Soothing the very soul of despair, storming the mortal's heart beneath darkness. Matriarch Despair's descent to Allegro moderato, the ominous atmosphere inside the cathedral hall including outside turns everything in crimson hellscape.
Haemanthus field revealed its hellish nature, the valley of flesh and vegetation of innards. Projects unimaginable atrocities spanning boundlessly where screams and pleas of the damned echoes eternal torment.
The screeching devilish sound of Adante makes Nikolai's instinct screams and he orders around immediately to get the sword to prepare for the worst scenario. Five direwolves huge as adult tiger broke into the cathedral, their eyes were brimming with unfathomable bloodlust and hunger for flesh.
"Remember, follow the beats of my feet and attack synchronously. Don't ever dare swing sloppily or attempt to attack independently also maintain your defensive postures. Now move and form in a circle".