Conflux System: I Can Merge Anything-Chapter 27: Death Was Certain... Until It Wasn’t

Zane was alive.

He could swear the sword touched his head but not anymore.

His eyes were closed as a gust of wind came and things changed.

Something went over his head and his eyes jolted open.

Naturally, his head turned around to see and the sight made him question reality.

A wooden staff laid behind him and beside the staff, two pieces of one sword laid motionless.

The sword belonged to Jaryun, there wasn’t any doubt with that and it was broken in two by a wooden staff of all things.

Zane would have considered himself lucky if the staff had come out of nowhere but whether he liked it or not, he remembers the staff.

And to make his guess more accurate, he heard the familiar voice ring out:

"This execution has been nullified! The guilty have been pardoned!"

Whispers spread out the moment after and heavy footsteps came towards the circle of people in the crossroad.

But they won’t wait for the person to come to them, they couldn’t wait. They wanted to see who could command such an order.

So all heads in the area turned towards the source.

Just as their eyes fell on the owner of the heavy voice, their heads bowed voluntarily as if they had a mechanism inside them.

The Wardens were the same and Jaryun... Jaryun also bowed his head but Zane saw him cursing under his breath.

Zane and Xavier were already on the ground so they didn’t have to pay extra respect and moreover, Zane had shown him respect a few minutes ago in the church anyway.

The walking man was none other than the Priest whom Zane had met in the church. The Priest who exploded the Veil heretic with his prayers to the First Flame. The Priest who could do things with his wooden staff. Things like cutting a sharp steel sword in two.

The Priest wore the same white clothes as always and unlike Zane, he had changed his blood soaked clothes to new ones.

But this time, Zane noticed the yellow sun and a sword on the breast of the robe. The sigil of the Glory Order church or might as well, the marking of the First Flame.

He walked with no hurry but his forehead betrayed beads of sweat to Zane’s eyes.

Zane clutched the object tighter as he felt no type of intent from the Priest, which, for some reason, was more threatening.

With long strides, the Priest finally stood in front of Jaryun.

The populace wasn’t in a circle anymore and they definitely weren’t chanting for death.

They stood behind Zane and Xavier and the city Wardens remained between Zane and the people.

But the Warden pressing Xavier on the ground with his leg stayed as he was.

Xavier shifted his face to his right to see the Priest as his ears and cheeks filled themselves with dust and dirt.

Heads stayed bowed and Horum hovered his eyes at every face of the crowd.

He stopped at Jaryun’s head.

"Raise your heads." Horum said.

Everyone obliged.

They all looked up and waited for the explanation from the Priest. The explanation for stopping their means of protecting their God and entertainment.

Zane also watched closely as he saw the Priest doing nothing when he was about to die and suddenly he came down from his ladder and pardoned the guilty? Him killing Zane would have been normal, but him saving Zane was the same as humans letting go of a lamb after satiating its hunger.

Zane had dropped the idol of First Flame and the Priest worked for the same God. So more than anyone, it would be the Priest that would want the young man to die.

Therefore, Zane was ready to risk it all and run away now that the crowd was clearer than before and his body probably had cooldown enough to use the Merged Skill again.

The only issue was Xavier as he was still immobile and for helping Zane, he would surely be killed.

I only met this man today. We are not close.

Zane shook his head and focused only on himself.

The moment he would sense something wrong he would make a run for it. He would move to Xavros if he had to. He would be safer there as it had no Humans... and no Gods.

"This is over, Jaryun. Go back to the shop." Horum said.

Jaryun’s eyes widened.

"But, sire. He dro—"

Horum raised his palm.

Jaryun clicked his tongue.

Horum walked past Jaryun and stood right in front of Zane.

But before Zane, he spared a glance at Xavier.

He looked at the foot of the Warden and then in the eyes of the Warden.

"Move."

One word.

Only one word was said by Horum and the mighty Warden removed his leg from Xavier.

"Haaa!"

Xavier let out his first long uninterrupted breath.

He coughed as if he inhaled smoke for the first time.

Then he sat on his knees beside Zane while glaring openly at Jaryun, not considering Horum’s presence at all.

If he can glare like that with the priest present why didn’t he just stand up and fight?

Zane’s best guess was that the commoner was tired. Or he did consider the priest’s presence that’s why he was only glaring not fighting.

Nevertheless, both men stared at Horum and the Priest finally looked at Zane.

But before he could speak...

"Wh-Wh-What kind of Flame Keeper are you?" Jaryun blurted, his lips trembling with fear.

Horum sighed.

Seeing the calm reaction, Jaryun didn’t stop.

"This man let go of our God and you are pardoning him? How can you do that while being the prophet of our Flame? How can you stop his execution?"

Jaryun’s complaint turned to shouting and the eyes of the people quietly judged the Priest.

Horum remained silent and sat on one knee, the same level as Zane.

"Jaryun," he said. "Do you know the nature of crimes?"

"Ye-ye- Yes! But he did a sin! Blasphemy. He is not a criminal, sire. He is a sinner."

"Sin is but another name for crime, Kindler. There are crimes deserving death. Then there are criminals deserving pardon. You are mixing the two."

"I am mixing nothing, Flamekeeper. He did the crime of vandalizing the idol of our God. If he isn’t executed, then we have a riot on our hands. His execution is the only cure of his crime."

Jaryun’s nose flared as he was willing to go to any lengths.

But at the anger of the middle-aged man, Horum simply smiled.

"You are still green, Jaryun."

The Priest looked over his shoulder, staring at the shopkeeper.

"Execution is as fundamentally wrong as a cure for crime as charity is wrong as a cure for poverty."

Zane frowned.

"Besides," Horum added. "This boy,"

He looked at Zane again. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"He is forgiven by someone I can’t even look at without permission."

Zane was lost.

Horum’s words were heard but not understood.

But Horum carried on saying:

"He is noticed by the Emberlord Priest Coin of the Crown Aurex."

Gasps escaped the mouths.

"And someone with the favor of an Emberlord, their first crime is always pardoned. Forget dropping the idol, he would have been forgiven even if..."

Horum eyed each pair of eyes gawking at him.

"He had burned my church to the ground."