Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 223: Tenebrous Order

Chapter 223: Tenebrous Order

The carriage ride to the cathedral was mostly spent in silence with Natasha taking the time to familiarize herself with her surroundings.

It was inept to say familiarize considering she knew most places but some parts... seemed out of place.

It became more apparent when the carriage entered the northern district as various statues of humanoid beings with angel wings were placed at every junction.

Natasha couldn’t help but feel a faint sense of trepidation whenever she came across these uncanny statues but try as she may, she found herself unable to find out why that was the case.

Unfortunately, Ambrose wasn’t exactly in a chatty mood leaving her unable to satisfy her curiosity.

Letting out a resigned sigh, Natasha opted to just take things in stride.

As she kept her gaze outside the carriage window, Ambrose glanced at her with a thoughtful gaze only for his expression to contort prompting him to let go of whatever thought he held.

Soon the carriage arrived at its destination.

It was an imposing structure that seemed to be the most prominent, barring the assembly house in the central district.

Ambrose stepped out with Natasha following after only to pause as she scrutinized the building.

The so-called cathedral was the religious building for the Tenebrous Order, a religion said to worship the Black King.

According to what Natasha could recall, it was the sole religion in Eventide with all others deemed as cults.

But for some reason, she didn’t think that was right.

A certain institution caused her pause as she tried to recall its name but before she got a chance to dig deeper, Ambrose called out to her.

"Let’s go."

Nodding imperceptibly, Natasha shifted her glance to the large winged human statues standing on either side of the pillars supporting the cathedral’s gates.

She stepped in and was immediately enveloped in an eerie silence that caused her to pause yet again.

Apart from that, it seemed as though the day had gotten a lot darker.

Pursing her lips, she took a deep breath before surging forward with Ambrose stepping into the main hall with steady steps.

Inside was even much worse than outside as barely any light could penetrate the shadowy ambiance of the cathedral.

It seemed this had something to do with the deity worshiped by the Order.

The Black King was said to be the god of primordial darkness, existing before the creation of the world.

Barely any sound could be heard in the dark hall that spanned wide enough to contain more than a thousand people.

Close to the walls, depictions of winged humanoids were etched on the walls, and at the altar, the likeness of the Black King could be seen.

It seemed like a deluge of darkness with nothing else about it representing the state of the universe before creation.

Making their way to the altar, Natasha soon noticed the presence of a figure seated at the front row with his head down.

Getting close, it soon turned apparent that the middle-aged man was paying obeisance.

Natasha tried to call out to him only for Ambrose to stop her.

Signaling with his fingers, he directed her to a different seat where they made themselves comfortable.

Ambrose bowed his head and fell into deep thought leaving Natasha to ponder the situation yet again.

The silence of the hall gave her some reprieve but it also seemed to intensify the clouds that obscured what bothered her.

Just then, a familiar voice jolted her from her thoughts.

"You are here."

Ambrose raised his head and looked toward the one who spoke with Natasha doing the same.

"Father Anderson." Ambrose greeted as he rose to his feet with Natasha following him.

Anderson flashed a smile as he replied. "Nice to see you both could make it."

"You told me that there was a problem you wanted us to look into."

"Indeed, there is. Recently we have received reports of anomalies under the city. We didn’t plan on taking any serious precautions but with the disappearance of Bishop Marcus, I’ve had to change my mind."

Ambrose raised a brow. "The bishop was kidnapped?"

"Not at all." Anderson shook his head before explaining. "He left for the sewers to investigate but hasn’t returned since. I need you to find out what happened to him."

"How long has it been?"

"...Quite some time."

"Any clues?"

"He used the entrance here in the church to access the sewers."

"Anything else?"

"Unfortunately not. I hope you can find him before anything untoward happens to him."

Ambrose glanced at Natasha before shifting his attention back to Anderson.

"Alright then. We’ll do our best to find him."

"Thank you," Anderson remarked before adding. "Don’t worry, I plan to properly reinforce you before sending you on your way."

"That would be much appreciated," Ambrose replied.

"Come with me."

***

Currently standing before a set of stairs that led into an underground tunnel, Ambrose regarded Natasha and the effigies she carried courtesy of Anderson.

"What do you think?" Ambrose asked.

Natasha pursed her lips, pondering for a moment before replying, no, asking. "Forgive me but I... I have a question."

"Hmm?"

"Isn’t it weird?"

"What?"

"Everything," Natasha remarked. "It feels like... we are missing something. I don’t even know how to use these... mini statues and yet he gave us so many. What do they do anyway?"

"Of course, they..." Ambrose trailed off as his brows quickly furrowed.

Natasha regarded him, hopeful that she hadn’t overstepped.

After silence persisted for quite some time, Ambrose’s expression contorted.

He placed his palm on his face and let out a muffled groan causing Natasha to move over to assist him.

"...You are right," Ambrose muttered weakly, his breathing ragged.

Natasha looked surprised as she intoned. "I am?"

"I... I’m not sure but something is wrong. I’d come over to your place to ask you a few questions but ended up forgetting it. Now... I think I remember."

"What did you want to ask?"

"... What did we do yesterday?"