Eternal Master: Path to Godlike Status-Chapter 24: Hidden Agenda Part 1

The doors of the great hall didn’t open for a prisoner. They opened for an entourage.

Alicia walked with grace, her golden-trimmed vestments sweeping the floor.

But the eyes of every priest, every knight, and every acolyte were fixed on the man at her side.

Rain was transformed.

What stood in the doorway now wore a regal robe: white silk so pure it seemed lit from within, silver embroidery at the collar mimicking the curl of their church.

Alexandra stepped forward. Her face was filled with disbelief. One hand hovered over her sword, fingers twitching.

"High Priest Alicia..." Her voice trembled. "What is this? Why is that... thing wearing our emblem."

Alicia didn’t stop until she reached the dais. She turned, resting a hand on Rain’s shoulder.

"Your eyes deceive you," Alicia smiled. "You saw a monster because you were looking for one. I saw something else."

Alexandra didn’t back down. Her boots clicked against the marble, a sharp, aggressive sound.

"High Priest," she spat, her gaze never leaving Rain’s dark eyes. "This isn’t about me. That man is evil."

Alicia didn’t look offended. She turned to the congregation, her voice rising a little.

"Tell me. Did he kill you?"

Alexandra stammered. "He—"

"Did he slaughter the people of the town? Did he burn the scriptures? Did he leave a trail of corpses in the streets?"

Alicia’s eyes flashed white. "No. He spared your life, and even when he was trapped, he didn’t hold any grudge."

"How can a man so magnanimous be evil? Or are you simply judging him out of your own fear? Are you really so weak-spirited that it blinds your own logic?"

The effect of those words was evident on Alexandra’s face; doubt now clouded her expression.

Alicia didn’t wait for a reply. She struck again, cementing her decision.

"I have performed the Holy Trial," she lied.

The falsehood was smooth, polished, and lethal.

"He is not undead. He is a Chosen One, and his immortality is a gift given to him."

Her words hung in the stale incense of the hall. Chosen One.

In this isolated corner of the world, that title was almost a myth—a ghost story told to children.

And conveniently, her claim was nearly impossible to disprove.

"If there are no more questions..."

Alicia’s voice didn’t rise. It settled over the hall like a winter frost, chilling the breath in the priests’ lungs.

"I am formally announcing his induction. He will serve as a Combat Priest. My direct aide. Does anyone have an objection?"

She didn’t wait for a volunteer. She went looking for one. Her gaze swept over the high-ranking officials like a cold blade.

Rain watched the others cower. Usually, this would have bored him. Their fear was a song he heard a million times, a repetitive tune played on a broken instrument.

He should have seen this cathedral as a termite mound—a fragile structure built by individuals who would be dust before he finished his next breath.

But then, there was Alicia.

He watched the way her eyes caught the light as she lied.

She wasn’t just "smart." She was a gambler playing with a deck of cards she had stolen from the gods themselves.

He had lived for the end, but she was offering him a beginning.

A "Golden Cage." A "Chosen One." It was all nonsense, a play performed for an audience of fools, but for some reason, he found himself wanting to see the next act.

Alicia’s smile curved higher as the last official lowered his head.

"Leave us," she commanded. " I will personally oversee his induction into our tenets."

The crowd dispersed like ghosts, their whispers sticking to the cold stone of the hall.

Alexandra turned, her boots biting into the marble with every step.

She wanted to run. She wanted to draw her sword and dye those white robes in the color they deserved. Red.

At the threshold of the great hall, she paused and glanced back over her shoulder. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

She watched the white silk of his back disappear into the inner sanctum.

The image was a poison in her mind. It was a glass shard, grinding against her thoughts, drawing blood with every beat of her heart.

She spent her life hunting heretics. Now she was expected to kneel before it.