Okay, this is entirely the opposite of Gethys.

It really was. Over there, she was attacked for just being her, and here, these people were bowing down before her, and for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why. The only possible reason that she could think of was that they must've mistaken her with someone else.

The only person not on their knees was the priest, but not because he was still angry at her for obstructing 'justice'. It was because he was in utter shock. His hands trembled, and his mouth hung open so wide that she feared he would swallow a fly. He saw her looking and finally got his legs moving. He walked to her as if in a daze, arms held out towards her.

"Oh, I never would've imagined you would be her," the priest said, reaching for her hand, but she drew it away.

There was no way she was going to let this swarthy man touch her. He gave an opportunistic vibe, but she could feel genuine awe in his voice. This confused her the most. Just who was she to these people?

"What are you all doing?" Meera spoke softly. "Get up, please."

She helped the old man to his feet and gave him his cane.

"Thank you," he said with tears in his eyes. "Being touched by you is like being touched by divinity."

She stiffened and made sure Misidentify was working. It was. Her Ascendant aura was masked by the skill, and her level was in the mid-two-hundreds. There was no way for this man to know about her.

"What do you mean?" Meera asked carefully.

The priest spoke over the man. "He speaks the truth, Lady Meera."

Her eyes widened as she drew a sharp breath.

"Please don't be alarmed, sister of the Saviour. We know all about you and of your coming. We have been expecting you for some time now."

"Just what the hell is going on here?" Meera demanded.

The priest smiled in a grandfatherly manner as if he hadn't just given the order to burn two people. She surveyed the faces in the crowd, and they, too, looked at her affectionately. Some even had tears in their eyes. The guards no longer had their weapons in hand. Their expressions weren't much different from the people's.

"This humble one is called Gisman, " the priest said. "I will explain everything, Reverent Lady, if you will please come with me."

"I'm not going anywhere until you explain what is going on?" Meera shot back. "I've had enough of people's hospitality who try to mask their ulterior motives by saying they want to help me. Besides, you just burned these men—"

"Cervi," the guard captain provided.

"Yes. You just burned these two Cervi to death, and I saw how you relished in their pain. It doesn't give me any confidence that you wouldn't do the same to me since you literally just ordered your men to do the same to me."

The priest looked around at the crowd uncomfortably and then back to Meera. "Right, yes. Can we at least leave the square and talk somewhere private?"

Meera crossed her arms. "Nope. I'm staying right here until you explain why I should go with you and why I am this Reverent Lady."

The priest was sweating now. He pulled on his collar, clearly unsure what to do. There was something that he didn't want to say in front of the crowd. Then his eyes darted to the captain, and he motioned to the crowd.

The captain nodded and thumped his fist to his chest in what Meera figured was a salute. Then he stepped forward and spoke in a loud, clear voice. "Citizens, the execution is over. Return to your homes. Vendors close your shops, and you can open them once our business concludes with the Reverent Lady."

"But we want to stay and gaze upon her longer," shouted someone.

"Yes, please let us stay."

"We already know who she is."

Then, it became increasingly difficult to understand what they were saying. Some even tried to push forward, and then others followed, and soon, it looked like there would be a stampede.

The guards got into action right away. They cracked their wooden spears, which turned into vines. This deterred a few in the front, but the ones in the back still pushed forward. The captain jammed his wooden sword into the ground, which seemed to have taken root. Thick roots spread and formed a barrier around Meera, the priest, and the still-smoldering stakes.

"People, please do not do this, or we will be forced to use dire measures," the captain shouted.

The priest stepped beside him and shouted, his hands raised. "In the name of God King Arhazar, quiet down, or his wrath will be terrible if you do something to the Reverent Lady in your fervor."

His voice rang out over the crowd's din, and whoever heard it stilled as if in a trance. It even gave Meera pause—at how effective that was. It was like that one name was enough to turn the raving crowd into docile little puppies.

"Return to your homes or go about your business," the priest commanded. "Shopkeepers close up your shops. You can return when our business has concluded."

The crowd still murmured about how this wasn't fair, but they slowly filtered out of the square, not before stealing one last glance at Meera. Some gave her some benedictions before leaving.

"May the Eternal Protector watch over you."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"I hope you succeed in whatever you're here to do."

With that, Meera realized that whatever the priest wanted to hide from the crowd must be related to some prophecy revealing something they didn't want the populace to know.

After all, there's always a fucking prophecy.

Soon, the last of the people left the square, as commanded. The shopkeepers closed their doors, and they were all alone. Aside from the guards, the priest, and Meera, there was no one in the square.

"Now, can we begin?" Meera asked in a tired voice.

She was tired. Her Stamina was running low. She had hardly rested ever since she had escaped from Veridiana's chambers. It was just from one fight to another. She wanted nothing more than to sleep for an entire day, but for that, she would have to find a safe place, and as she had learned, there were no safe places for her anymore.

"Yes, as soon as the guards leave." He clicked his tongue.

The captain and the guards saluted him by thumping their fits to their chests and walking off to one of the lanes that exited their square. The priest watched them until they were truly out of the square before beginning. The only other person besides the priest was the girl who had lit the Cervi on fire.

Meera had never really noticed her before, but she wore grey robes and a red sash. She must've been nineteen or twenty at the most. Her face was expressionless as she watched the crowd depart, but her eyes held nothing but awe for Meera. She dipped her head when she noticed Meera's eyes on her.

[Imperial Acolyte – Level 129]

"What about her?" Meera asked.

"She is my pupil," Gisman said. "Reverent Lady—"

"Just Meera is fine," Meera interjected.

"I must beg your pardon, for I am about to defy a direct command from the Reverent Lady, but I cannot call you by your name. It is forbidden."

Meera sighed. "Fine. Call me whatever you want, but explain what is happening. How do you know I am Neel's sister?"

"Yes, Reverent Lady," Gisman dipped his head. "It was the Savior himself who told us of you. Your bloodline is considered sacred in our glorious empire. Praise be to God King Arhazar."

"Praise be," the woman chimed.

Meera sighed internally. Oh God, these people are fanatics.

Gisman looked around, making sure there were no prying ears. He leaned in and whispered. "The Royal Oracle predicted your coming."

He said the last word in such a low tone that if it had not been for Meera's Gem of Echoes, she would've never heard them.

"Is that a bad thing?" Meera asked.

"Oracles and practicing the seeing arts is outlawed in our empire," Gisman said in a regular tone.

"Oh, so you're all just hypocrites," Meera stated. "Why am I not surprised? But whatever, go on."

Gisman swallowed. "She prophesized your coming two months ago. She said that the blood of the Saviour would come looking for him, and so you are here."

"Okay," Meera nodded. "But then how did that old man know who I was, or as a matter of fact, how did you?"

"Someone in the Imperial palace must've blabbed." He waved a dismissive hand. "As for how we know, it's because of your class—The Mirrorborn Slayer. It was ordained, and so it has happened. The oracle stated that you would arrive precisely two months after the Saviour left his rightful home."

Meera raised an eyebrow at that. "Rightful home?"

Gisman spread his arms out. "The Varsha empire, my Lady. This is your home."

The words that must've been chiseled on her soul almost came bursting out of her mouth, but she didn't correct the priest that she was not a Varshan, nor was Neel. She may get more information from him if she played along with this farce.

"So, Neel left here two months ago and hasn't returned since?" Meera asked.

"That is correct, Reverent Lady," the priest replied. "He enjoyed the comforts of His Divine Majesty for some time before suddenly departing one day. We were all very perplexed about why he chose to do so since he seemed to enjoy his time here."

Two months ago… that was about the time he showed up at his friend's house in Ebonton. The timeline matched up. Then that meant something happened one day that made him give up his lavish life here and take this Champion business seriously. But what could have driven his laid-back, carefree brother to give up all the comforts a God King could offer to go on the hunt for the Reflectora.

"Did you meet him?" Meera asked.

"Unfortunately not, Reverent Lady." He looked at the ground uncomfortably, then back to her. "How should I put this? I'm not significant enough to meet with such an august company as the Saviour. Even meeting is one of the highest honors of my life."

"Oh, they just keep you around for burning folk," Meera said, mostly to see his reaction.

He flinched slightly but smiled. "The Lady speaks harshly but true. I am…how should I put this…a magistrate of sorts of this district. It is my charge to ensure that the orders from the royal court are executed to the word and, of course, sit over any local disputes."

"Whatever." Meera wasn't over the whole burning folk alive part. Even if it wasn't his command, he didn't have to have that grin on his face while he watched them burn. "Tell me more about Neel."

"I'm afraid I'm not the best person to ask. The best person to tell you about your hallowed brother would be His Divine Majesty and his family.:

"And they're to be found in the royal palace," Meera finished for him.

"Yes, indeed, Reverent Lady," Gisman replied. "It would be the greatest honor of my life if you would please allow this humble servant to escort you to the palace grounds."

Meera looked at him to the Acolyte, who looked just about ready to faint. It was like she had seen her favorite celebrity in the flesh and was doing her best not to keep it together.

Back home, Meera was rich, sure, so of course, people lined up to curry favor with her, more like her father, to be precise. So, she was well aware of what Gisman was trying to do, but this girl's eyes held a different gleam. For the first time in her life, Meera was more than just famous. She was quite possibly a religious figure to these people.

"Nah," Meera replied. "Truth be told, I don't really like you or your fire-happy acolyte. So, I'll find my own way."

He looked genuinely hurt or perhaps he saw his one chance of rising in the court slipping away. "But you don't know the way, My Lady."

"Is it the big white marble building with the gold domes?"

"Yes."

"Then I know the way." Meera almost shot up into the air but paused. "If you do want to do something for me, make sure you inform them of my coming before I get there, or I'll tell the God King how you tried to burn me at the stake."

The man blanched. Beads of sweat thicker than pearls almost instantly perspired on his forehead.

He clasped his hands and fell to his knees. "Mercy! I-I was just—"

Meera floated in the air before him. "Time's running out, priest."

Then she shot off towards the palace. She could hear the priest yelling at his Acolyte or maybe the soldiers to get to the palace gates. Was she going to tell on him? Of course not. She just wanted to avoid the whole display of people falling to their knees before her again. That was probably the most awkward thing that had happened in her life. On the flip side, she was looking forward to the comforts of the palace. After all, being the Reverent Lady must come with some perks.

She was owed something after the last couple of weeks on Gethys.

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