[We have to follow the bodies, right?] Corpse Doll asked her sister. [Just to make sure they’re not doing anything uncouth to the dead!]

[Obviously,] Porcelain Doll replied. [Besides, only our Caretaker is allowed to mess with the dead.]

Having come to a consensus, the twins immediately jumped down from their observation point and began to make their way to the hidden entrance that the corpse wagon had taken.

At least, that was the plan.

The moment the doll twins tried to cross the threshold into whatever weird hidden shit the Sacred Flame Church, the two of them ran face first into an invisible barrier.

[Ow!]

[Ouchie!]

The [Chaos] surrounding the doll twins should’ve been enough to break through any aether-based barriers as easily as a hot knife cuts through butter and fat. As such, the presence of this barrier was...confusing to say the least.

Thankfully, they didn’t have to worry about this problem all by themselves.

...What do the other Kaijin think?...

[Guys, me and CD have hit a wall,] Porcelain Doll reported back. [Literally.]

[Something stupid and transparent is blocking us from investigating into the central cathedral thingie. We need someone smarter to figure this out or more powerful to break it.]

[On it,] Frosttusk rumbled. [Logos, Pathos. Have you guys analyzed what’s going on?]

<=Working on it.=>

...Behold, a wall...

As luck would have it, Frosttusk was actually quite close to the twins, so they only had to wait a couple of minutes.

Neither the twins nor Frosttusk opted to grow back to their original sizes, in fear of being found out by the church and any enforcers that might be in the area.

[Alright, let me see...]

Frosttusk didn’t charge headfirst into the barrier as he was wont to do. Instead, he ran a hand over the barrier first to determine what exactly he was dealing with.

[Doesn’t feel hot...it doesn’t feel cold either. It’s just...solid.]

If the barrier was based on fire and heat, aka the thing that Frosttusk could easily absorb, he would simply take a deep breath and snuff out whatever was creating the barrier in the first place. However, as he analyzed the barrier, he noticed something...odd about it.

[Well, the good news is that it’s not related to dragon force and doesn’t appear to be empowered by Buddhist chanting,] Frosttusk shared while feeling the barrier tingle against his fingers. [It’s not even hostile...]

Out of curiosity, Frosttusk balled a fist and slammed it against the barrier before him.

A sound like a submerged gong rang out as Frosttusk’s shrunken fist made contact with the barrier before him.

[Odd...]

After the initial ringing died out, Frosttusk punched it again with a fist cloaked in [Chaos].

[Ow!]

Frosttusk had assumed that the moment his fist made contact with the barrier this time around, there would be one of two results.

The barrier would either shatter due to his [Chaos] being more potent than the [Chaos] coming off of the twins, or the attack would do nothing except release a strange sound.

Instead, Frosttusk felt the full force of his own punch reflect back onto itself.

[Now that’s—]

^What was that?!^

^It came from the larder entrance!^

[Shit! Book it, girls!]

Understanding that even the smallest chance of being perceived was probably a bad idea in a city that had a [Chaos]-infused flame as its object of worship, Frosttusk and Doll Twins opted to run away.

Especially since, moments before they heard the cries of alarm, they sensed that the guards coming towards them were radiating [Chaos].

Not unrestrained [Chaos] like Bishop Olmen during his battle with their creator, but properly controlled [Chaos].

As if a kaijin had been the one to bestow them with the ability.

...Ominous...

[Okay, what the fuck?] Frosttusk cursed. [I thought we weren’t dealing with anymore enemy kaijin shit until we get around shoving Buzza into a locker somewhere?!]

<We shouldn’t be, but I think our Lord’s karmic void is in full effect...again.>

=We have a theory on why that’s the case...and oddly enough, the [Sacred Flame] might be the key...=

[Really?]

<=Figure it out tomorrow, though. For now, run. The rest of you should retreat as well.=>

[Right.]

...

As the morning sun rose over the city of Emberona, the various religious sects that populated the city began their morning rituals.

Some started with a simple breakfast, others started by saying ten short prayers, while others did naked yoga...in the nearest public park.

As for the people who weren’t a part of any of these organizations, who were merely visitors passing through, they were also made into unwilling participants of these rituals.

To be more precise, they were awaken by the sound of religious hymns and songs echoing and reverberating throughout the city streets and walls.

That sounded like something pleasant to awaken to, but it wasn’t when the aforementioned holy choirs started their sets

"Ugh, why the fuck are people singing so loud at the crack of dawn," Jinju Ren grumbled as she was forcibly roused from slumber by the sound of chanting monks.

As she grumbled and moan at the disturbance, she noticed something odd out of the corner of her eye.

"Huh? Xiao Liu? You’re already awake?"

Sitting in one of the corner chairs of the room, Zhen Liu was deep in thought while resting his head on his hands.

"Oh my..."

The look in his eyes was something Jinju Ren had only seen a couple of times since she was engaged with the man, and it usually meant he was in deep conversation with the kaijin and the curators.

...What’s going on in Zhen Liu’s head?...

’What the fuck...’

As Zhen Liu processed all of the information that the kaijin had gathered last evening, he began to sort it all out into his own little theories as to why these sects all seem to get along in a most unnatural manner.

Or why the central cathedral had a fucking larder filled with corpses.

Of course, he bounced these revelations off of the kaijin since they worked at the speed of thought.

And right now, he needed a lot of speed.

’Option 1: The war is real, and the unifying factor has made it so that all the once-divided sects of the Theocracy have more or less buried the hatchet for the sake of defending their way of life. This feels the most likely explanation.’

[I sort of agree,] Nepherage commented. [But I didn’t sense any warm or fuzzy feelings that suggested such altruistic behavior. In fact, I felt nothing.]

[Well, not nothing,] Hurricroak added. [It was like...unified hate.]

’Option 2: The Sacred Flame that acts as the holy symbol and unifying force for the Theocracy is actually incredibly evil and is being used to suppress the free will of all who absorb its power.’

[That doesn’t sound right,] Razorstella noted. [Those sects acted way too individualistic for that to be the case. And like Nepherage said, they didn’t seem that unified.]

[It was more like they were being slightly tugged with puppet strings,] Corpse Doll added. [They occasionally pulled against the orders, but they still moved.]

’Hmmm...okay. It definitely sounds like we’re going to need secure one of those bodies,’ Zhen Liu concluded as he thought over the battle that the twins had witnessed once more. ’Which means we’re going to need to wait for the next possible attack from the Erupting Dawn Empire.’

[What about stealing one from the church itself?] Porcelain Doll asked. [We know there’s a weird underground cellar full of bodies that we can study.]

[Yeah, except there’s a weird barrier that’s preventing us from going in there,] Screamira pointed out. [And because of last night, they’re probably going to be on edge. Our best bet is to just wait until another attack happens and either take the bodies or make our own.]

’Unless...’ Zhen Liu interjected before any of the kaijin could point out the problems of the plan and begin a slightly unneeded argument. ’We approach that larder while taking a more scenic route while above ground?"

[That sounds nice...but what the fuck are you talking about?]

’You’ll find out in a a few seconds.’

...

’Okay, if he’s just going to be sitting there, I’m going to get breakfast—’

"Xiao Ren!" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Bwah!"

Without warning, Zhen Liu suddenly jumped to his feet and ran towards Jinju Ren as she was still in the process of putting on her outfit for the day.

"How do you feel about going on a tour of the religious buildings around here?" Zhen Liu asked.

"Touring...the religious buildings?" Jinju Ren repeated with uncertainty in her voice. "Why? Are you trying to see if any of these sects have some kind of answer to life? Are you going to be a born again convert?"

"No, no, no," Zhen Liu said in response to these three questions. "I saw an ad for tours and thought it would be a grand old time. That and I think I could drop off some zakos in thise places without attracting attention."

"Ah..."