The drowned chapel of Saint Vicar Darren came into view at last.

  Even though half of its structure was beneath the water, Yor could still picture its former glory, mostly because she couldn’t see it outright like everyone else. So, she had to take the initiative of painting a picture herself.

  It was a place of grace and devotion. Its roof sloped into spires, though the stone had long been drowned beneath the mire. Moss hung like tattered curtains over the weathered carvings of sculpts, while stained glass windows peeked just above the waterline.

  They were cracked but they still caught fragments of the dim light of the night.

  The most disturbing part was the water surrounding it. It was darker than ink, wide and impossibly deep. Even with her astris perception, she couldn’t spot the bottom. It was as though the lake itself had been painted on a sheet of glass.

  The sight of it made her shiver

  It seemed to carry no ripple, no reeds or fish beneath its surface. It was too still, unnaturally so.

  ‘Was it always built here? Around a natural body of…water? Or did someone submerge it?’

  In a world like this, supernatural interference wasn’t out of the question. And by the looks of that strange water, it was only natural that the latter felt far more likely.

  ‘Could the Sun-Clad have done this?’

  Yor remembered a group Temperance had mentioned back in the Coffin & Crown bar in Gray City. It was the name of the group that wiped out a cult by the name of the Mouth of the Starving God, who worshipped the Howling Evil God of Chaos.

  So, it was possible that a bishop in their cohort might have done this. If they were capable of such, then they must have been very powerful. Yor made a mental note as to not mess with them for any reason in the future.

  ….Should she happen to stumble upon them or get on their bad side.

  ‘What are the odds of that?’

  Duskfall came to a halt a few paces from the shore. Nobody said anything, all they did was take in the sight of this cursed structure. Elias seemed to be more moved than anyone here. It was expected really. After all, this did belong to his late great grandfather.

  “This is the drowned chapel? Looks shabby”

  “What did you expect? It's a ruin”

  Until one of the twins said something. It was Seth, and was followed by Silas.

  “It’s not shabby!"

  However, Elias didn’t take their remarks too kindly. He stepped in front of them and shouted with indignation.

  “It…it’s not as bad as it looks. Grandma Opal said this chapel used to be a beacon of faith for Fens and…”

  “And it lost a fight to a swamp”

  “It looks more like a drowned rat’s coffin to me, hahahaha”

  “You wrenches! You can’t just…”

  No matter how hard Elias tried to defend, he couldn’t beat them ganging up on him. It especially didn’t help now that Arthur decided to join in the ranting of kids.

  “I’m siding with the twins on this one. All I see is mold and mildew. Hard to pray in a bog”

  Yor shook her head and tuned them out. Clearly, she wasn’t going to get anything intellectual from them. She stared at the endless expanse of black water instead.

  ‘How in the world are we supposed to get across that?’

  The thought of stepping into and encountering some unknown dangerous horrors made her swallow hard. It was obvious that there were no signs of life anywhere, not even insects hovered over it.

  This meant the possibility of the black water itself being deadly. Or there was something hiding beneath it that even with her enhanced sight, she couldn’t detect either.

  Her initial question lingered for a bit, waiting for Temperance to speak. Surely, the leader would have a plan, right?

  The leader in question finished scouting over the chapel, and raised a finger at its roof.

  “Agnes, you reckon you could throw us up there?”

  For a while, there was drawn out silence, they let that crazy idea marinate. Until the giant woman cracked her knuckles, rolling her shoulders with a grin.

  “Course I can, Tansy. Easy toss”

  And that’s when, both Yor and Elias whipped their heads around in unison in utter shock.

  “Wait, what?! You can’t be serious. Tossed across that death trap? What if you miss?!”

  “That’s insane! Human beings aren’t sacks of coal you lob around!”

  “Exactly! There has to be another way”

  Yor and Elias went back and forth trying to convince them of the absurdity of this plan with their arms flailing wildly. However, their cries seemed to have landed on deaf ears as none of Duskfall gave them the chance.

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  They didn’t so much as bet an eye, they all agreed with going through with it, leaving Elias and Yor utterly defeated.

  ‘They’re crazy. All of them’

  She felt a warm hand ruffling her short hair.. It was Marcille, she could tell with the maddeningly patronizing way she ruffled it in the way only she could manage.

  “Don’t worry, Yor. I’m not about to let my precious little sister anywhere near that rotten building”

  But, wait, she wanted to go. She wanted to explore it! The only thing she didn’t agree with was their method of traversing the black waters.

  She tried to pull Marcille back, who was making her way up to Temperance, but before she could say anything…

  “That’s right. We’re splitting our forces. Marcy, Toby, and I will investigate the chapel. The rest of you stay behind”

  Arthur let out a loud sigh.

  “Babysitting duty, then”

  “Yes. You and Aggie will keep the children safe. That’s priority. We’re not sure what we might encounter there. This way is best”

  Arthur sighed once again, but there was no protest or refusal in him. Just like Yor, Agnes looked almost as disappointed as her. But she understood her role well in this so there was no use fighting against it.

  Admittedly, a part of Yor exhaled a long breath. She somewhat felt relief swelling in her chest, though she tried not to show it nor believe it.

  She wanted to learn everything she could about this world, uncover its mysteries and stuff, but she also couldn't deny the fear that came with it and the plausible possibility of death. Now that they had split their forces, death was imminent.

  That must have been why she felt relieved to hear she wasn’t going in. She clenched her fists as the thought crept into her mind.

  ‘I’m afraid of dying…again’

  “I’ll go first…”

  Proving that she was the only one among them with a spine of steel, Marcille was the first to volunteer. She straightened her back, held her spear tight and went closer to Agnes.

  “If there’s something waiting to ambush us, I’ll make short work of it. Better me than the rest of you”

  Yor didn’t understand why but nobody argued with that logic. They simply accepted her reasoning. They must have had faith in her abilities. Frankly, after seeing her performance against the gatekeeper, Yor also had new found faith in her dotting older sister.

  She was going to be fine…right?

  Agnes crouched low and offered her one of her broad shoulders. Marcille climbed up with ease, steadily balancing herself.

  “Ready?”

  Marcille nodded to the giant woman’s question. With that confirmation, Agnes rolled her neck, pulled her shoulder back like a great bowstring.

  “Spirit Body Art…”

  The next moment she drove herself forward with a roar that split the peaceful air.

  “[Earth to Sky!]”

  Marcille shot across the night like a hurled javelin, leaving a gust of wind blooming in her wake. Yor and the other kids gasped in awe as they followed her flight, soaring clean over the ink water.

  “Stars preserve us…”

  Elias whispered and Yor’s breath got caught in her throat. This was because Marcille barely missed smashing face first into a crooked spire. If it weren’t for her impressive acrobatic agility, then she would have been done for.

  Before smashing in, she had twisted her body, and flipped herself over, landing deftly upon the stone. From there, she did a mini sprint then leaped to the chapel roof, landing roughly against the soaked slate.

  “Fuwaaa…She’s okay”

  Yor exhaled a long breath of relief. Marcille had sort of stuck the landing perfectly, however, she didn’t seem pleased. She whirled back to them, raised her fist and shook it furiously at the group.

  Since she was so far away, it was hard to make out what she was saying. But, even from this distance her body moved with such aggression that it was obvious what came pouring from her mouth.

  With her keen senses, Yor head every syllable, clear as day, but…

  “...what is she saying?”

  Yor looked away and pressed her lips together.

  ‘You don’t want to know’

  Most of the words coming out of Marcille’s mouth were cusses, which she chose to tune out.

  Agnes must have gotten the idea because she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted.

  “Sorry Marcy!”

  It was unclear whether Marcille heard her or not because she didn’t stop cursing. That almost discouraged Agnes but Temperance patted her on the back, sparking light in her eyes once again.

  “A-aim better next time, okay?”

  “Right, my mistake”

  Eventually, Marcille abandoned her shouting fit and scouted the roofline. She swept her eyes over the shadows and stone, ensuring that there wasn’t a part of it she didn’t check. It didn’t take that long since the roof itself wasn’t that big.

  A moment later she raised her spear to signal that it was safe.

  Now it was Tobias’ turn. Even after witnessing that close call, the masked man didn’t hesitate for a second. He scaled Agnes’ shoulder like he had already accepted his fate.

  Agnes flexed her arms, and with the same routine…

  “[Earth to Sky!]”

  She once again roared as she launched Tobias into the black expanse. This time, her throw carried more force since he seemed to fly higher and straighter than Marcille.

  It could be the differences in their body weights or shape. It would make sense since Tobias was a lot skinnier than Marcille. Sickly so.

  “Ah—!”

  Yor and Elias shouted, horror rising in both of them as they watched Tobias plummet. He quickly lost his momentum and was now heading straight for the mysterious black water.

  They still didn’t know what dangers lurked in those depths so falling in there wasn’t advisable.

  ‘He’s dead’

  Luckily, he was in fact not dead. At the last second, Tobias snapped his arm forward and a coiled rope hissed from his sleeve and latched onto some unseen jut of stone upon the chapel. Then, with a fierce pull he swung himself upward, and barely landed in a crouch on top of the roof.

  He stayed in that position for a while before getting up to his feet. Not a word left his mouth, or it did but she just couldn’t hear him underneath that plague doctor mask.

  Even though he didn’t express it outwardly, Yor’s astris perception flared with the searing heat of his anger. He was not only livid but panting heavily with relief at surviving that.

  Again, Agnes shouted her apologies with genuine desperation. Then nervously turned to Temperance.

  “Y-your turn, Tansy”

  The moment she heard her name getting called, she flinched in fear, as if the very thought of going through what the other two went through spooked her.

  Yor didn’t blame her though, even she was horrified by this.

  Also, looking back on the battle against the gatekeeper, Temperance hadn’t moved from where she was standing. Instead of joining them on the frontlines, she chose to stand behind and provide support.

  With that, Yor made the assumption that she wasn’t as nimble and quick as the others. In other words, if Agnes messed up her throw again, it was most likely that the leader was going to die.

  “M-my, my turn already…?”

  “Up you go”

  Agnes hoisted her up her shoulder before she could attempt to run. Temperance pressed her hands as she pleaded in a trembling voice.

  “Aggie, listen carefully. T-throw me once you’re confident you got the right aim. If you miss, I swear I’lll….I’ll…actually, how about we try a different—”

  “Hold tight”

  Agnes drew back with that same movement, but a bit adjusted this time. On the sidelines, the twins encouraged her to do it much to the leader’s protests.

  “No, wait! Don’t you—!”

  “[Earth to Sky!]”

  Temperance’s scream cut across the night sky as she soared higher than Marcille but a bit lower than Tobias.

  Elias was horrified at her flailing wildly like that, then he keeled over and hit the ground. He had passed out.

  Yor on the other hand buried her face in her hands. Not that it did anything as she could still see everything.

  Sailing above the black lake, Temperance screamed the whole way. Until her boots touched stone, landing gracefully on both feet. She stood tall on the chapel rooftop, stunned at how she survived that.

  There were tears falling across her cheeks which she didn’t try to wipe away. Instead, she suddenly broke into a laugh, threw her head and crowed like a lunatic.

  “Huhahaha…I..I did it!”