The four youths looked curiously at Ventura, who was around their age. Mrs. Ganfusen understood what was about to happen, but the four youths were still somewhat oblivious.
Ventura pressed his lips together and said, "Um, there's something I need to explain first. There's a problem with my body—I have an illness. So when it acts up, it gets painful. But I'll do my best to protect whichever of you chooses to come along with me. I promise!"
Choosing a soul contract partner was like going on a blind date, and Ventura was effectively blurting out his hidden affliction right from the start.
Just then, one of the youths spoke up and asked, "What does having a sick body feel like?"
As he asked, the youth stepped forward, reached out, and touched Ventura's arm, taking in the unfamiliar tactile sensation.
"It just feels awful," Ventura said.
"I want to experience feeling sick, too," the youth said.
"Huh?" Ventura was taken aback, but he continued to caution him. "Even though it acts up less often now, every time it does, the soul suffers too."
"Aren't you fine, though?"
"I'm just used to it."
"I'll get used to it too," the youth said. "I'm not that fragile. When I lost my mom and dad, I told myself to always stay strong. That feeling—you probably wouldn't understand."
"I don't have parents anymore either."
The youth froze, then murmured, "I'm sorry."
"It's fine. What's your name?"
"Lan."
"Lan? Oh, I'm Ventura. So we're together, then?"
"Yeah."
"Do you know what 'together' means?" Ventura asked.
"That lord said earlier that I could go outside with you to see a world where Order reigns supreme."
"Then do you know that once you leave with me, we won't be able to separate again?"
"I know."
"And you won't be able to return here."
The youth immediately shouted, "Can't you have a little backbone?"
"Huh?"
"If our Church of Order is so powerful out there, we'll fight our way back sooner or later! After all, this world inside the gate you talked about—my world—still has a group of Order believers persevering and waiting! Grandpa Ganfusen said we won't abandon a single comrade. We're all fellow travelers walking the path of Order!"
"Yeah, that's right." Ventura nodded vigorously. "We will!"
"So why worry about never coming back? We'll be back!"
"Yeah!"
When Karen walked over with Bart, Yilaman, and Demel, Ventura turned back and smiled. "Captain, he's with me. We're going to sign a soul contract. His name is Lan."
Lan immediately bowed to Karen. "My lord."
"Once the soul contract is signed, you and Ventura will become the closest comrades-in-arms. You will face future trials together and grow together. Have you thought it through?"
"I have, my lord."
"Good. In a little while, I will hold the ritual to seal the soul contract for you."
Karen glanced at Bart and the others. He had intended to give them a bit more time to consider.
However, seeing that Ventura had already decided, Bart hesitated no longer and said directly to Karen, "Captain, I'm willing."
"Go pick one yourself."
"Yes, Captain."
In truth, Bart never would have refused Karen's orders to begin with, but he couldn't bring himself to be quite as seamless as Ventura.
Now that two people had made their choice, Yilaman and Demel were left looking at each other.
After a moment's hesitation, the two walked over to a corner and squatted down to confer.
"I'm a little reluctant," Demel said. "This isn't how I pictured things turning out."
"Same here, but Captain Karen makes a lot of sense. If we hadn't run into this group of Order believers here, we definitely would've followed the original plan to find contract partners in Black Forest City—we might've even found powerful beings on par with city lords. But now that we've met these Order believers, we actually have a new option."
"Still, when it comes to things like talent and potential, who can say for sure?"
At that moment, Muri returned. He had already learned of what was happening from Aisli. He saw that on one side, Ventura and Bart each had a kid and were bonding with them;
On the other side, the two members under his command were still crouching there whispering to each other.
A surge of anger flared up within him instantly.
Due to his family background, he carried the halo of a noble scion, but in reality, he felt deeply alienated from that circle, allowing him to see things quite clearly at times.
This reform, in which a large batch of exceptional youths would be incorporated into Whip of Order squads, was itself a warning shot fired by the church's upper echelons at the church's internal family factions before taking action.
For a long time, the Church of Order had kept the growth of family factions under tight control. Few of the past High Priests had family backgrounds; over the past thousand years, a tradition had even formed where only those without family backing could assume the position of High Priest.
The previous High Priest, Lord Rasma, was the son of a prostitute, which was no secret.
In fact, in the courtyard of the palace designated for the High Priest's office in the Holy City, there was even a statue of Lord Rasma's mother. Unlike other solemn, sacred statues, the statue of Lord Rasma's mother appeared somewhat flirtatious and alluring.
This had been carved at Lord Rasma's request according to the image of his mother in his memory. In his spare time from work, he would often sit beneath the statue and talk to his mother.
The newly appointed High Priest, Norton, was an orphan. When he first rose to prominence within the church, he had the chance to marry into a prominent family, but he ultimately gave it up, marrying a woman from a small family with a family faith system.
Rumor had it that he was on the verge of agreeing back then, but due to certain events, he ultimately declined.
There was also talk that the reason the Church of Samsara had fallen so quickly and surrendered so early was tied to factional conflict: the old family factions within the Church of Samsara, led by the Simonsen family, were eager to use a defeat to return to the center stage and seize power once more.
The treaty had been signed so smoothly partly because the blame for such humiliating terms that compromised church authority could simply be pinned on the opposing faction.
As the defeated party, the Church of Samsara was still immersed in the joy of the old factions retaking power, promoting internally that only the return of the traditional royal family could steer the Church of Samsara back onto the right track.
Meanwhile, the Church of Order, as the victor, sounded the alarm for itself: if it did not swiftly address the family factions within its ranks, it would one day walk down the same disastrous road as the Church of Samsara.
Therefore, in Muri's view, having already drawn sufficient nourishment from their families, what they needed to do next in pursuit of higher personal development—which their families were also pleased to see—was to scrub away the negative baggage of their family status.
Muri felt rather helpless. What a pity that his body had to be preserved to receive Gaitanbert at any moment; otherwise, he too would have wanted to choose one of these Order children.
"Captain, come over and help us talk this through?" Yilaman waved at Muri.
*Talk through my ass, I'm already planning to jump ship myself!*
Though that was what he thought, for the sake of unity between the two squads, Muri had to keep playing the role of captain.
In the end, Yilaman and Demel agreed.
Then, to their dismay, they found that what had originally been a choice of four youths had dwindled to just two.
That shyest-looking, youngest fellow had actually run over first—damn it, he was so scheming, he must have snagged the best one!
Bart's contract partner had also been called over by Lan, chosen on his behalf.
Seeing this, Bart had simply agreed without stepping in to assess the remaining three himself.
How should one put it? Whether a melon was sweet or not, the melon surely knew best.
The four of them stood there, each holding hands with a youth.
Karen prepared to begin the soul contract sealing ritual. In the world inside the gate, this was the simplest of rituals, requiring neither contract beads nor Samsara spells for support.
For the gray moon overhead could be thought of as a colossal contract bead hanging in the sky.
As for the ritual itself, it was recorded in the booklet; one merely had to trace the pattern and activate it.
At this moment, Karen recalled his thoughts after hearing Barat's appraisal of the gray moon during class: yin and yang undivided, order disordered, the living and the dead no longer bound to separate paths.
A gray ring of light rose from beneath everyone's feet. Except for those on watch, the rest of the squad members gathered around to watch. Mrs. Ganfusen stood beside Karen, witnessing the moment together.
The old woman felt joyous in her heart, for her children would earn the right to leave this place and venture into the real world—a world dominated by Order.
Not only were their biological parents long gone, but even if their parents had been present, they would have wept tears of joy over such an opportunity.
After all, when the Auspicious Lords arrived every ten years, city lords and beings even more powerful than city lords had to fight tooth and nail for them!
The youths' bodies floated upward, coming to hover above the heads of Ventura and the other three.
The next moment, the skin of Ventura and his companions began to flush red, and their expressions tightened in pain.
Still, they were exceptionally gifted youths after all, and this level of pain was well within their tolerance. Above them, Lan and the other three youths also wore expressions of intense agony.
Muri leaned in close to Karen and asked in a low voice, "What's the situation?"
He had noticed black light swirling in Karen's eyes, clearly observing something through some secret Order technique.
Karen replied, "The souls of Ventura and the others are cleansing the souls of Lan and the other three. Fortunately, these four kids are still young and don't have many impurities in their bodies, so the pain and duration of the torment shouldn't last too long. But this also serves as a reminder: when the others form contracts later, we must make full protective preparations. I suspect that a considerable portion of the mortality rate among past trial takers occurred during this very step."
Therefore, the more powerful a soul was, the more it needed to choose the most outstanding trial taker. If the contract failed to form, the outcome would very likely be sudden death for both parties.
Muri said, "Then our Gaitanbert and Furnites..."
"That's why our survival rate is so low. In the eyes of the upper echelons, the souls of the two of us are highly likely to become nothing more than fuel to cleanse those two lords' souls."
"That's utterly suffocating."
"Don't worry. Who ends up cleansing whom is still up in the air. Rest assured, I have a way."
"Can you be a bit more specific?" Muri whispered. "I don't mean anything by it—just curious, plus I'd like to be somewhat prepared when the time comes."
*I don't know how to be specific either...*
Karen's method of dealing with it was simply to wait for the other party to enter his body; his measure was a completely passive ability.
As for how he planned to help Muri, once Gaitanbert entered Muri's body, Karen would establish a mental and spiritual connection with him, either temporarily linking himself with Muri or transferring Gaitanbert over to his own body.
"Just make sure you're by my side when they arrive, and there won't be a problem."
"Oh, alright." Seeing that Karen was unwilling to elaborate, Muri pressed no further.
The cleansing of the four youths' souls was complete. Shedding their previous jelly-like forms, they turned pure and translucent, and their soul auras surged dramatically at that moment.
"The effect is that pronounced?" Muri said in astonishment.
"Because they've been carrying a heavy burden all along. In this world, their food is basically tainted with toxins. That's a harsh reality; only truly powerful beings and upper classes can directly draw soul power from those crystals."
Muri nodded in agreement. "Over time, class stratification becomes completely set in stone. This is the paradise promoted in the teachings of the Church of Samsara—every tier is predetermined at birth and cannot be altered."
"That's why they prune the influence of other churches inside the gate. In this world, the power of faith from a church is one of the few ways to break through rigid class stratification with limited resources."
"Right, exactly so."
The four crystal-clear souls of the youths gradually merged into the bodies of Ventura and the other three. Once the fusion was complete, when the four opened their eyes again, their auras leaked outward in bursts, unfamiliar as they were with this newfound strength.
At this moment, their power had all received a boost.
Even Yilaman and Demel, who had hesitated earlier, now showed smiles on their faces. They knew that with the passage of time, the enhancement to their power would continue to grow, as their contracted souls could still develop further.
In the end, they found it too good to resist after all.
One after another, the four walked over to Mrs. Ganfusen to bid her farewell.
Mrs. Ganfusen embraced each of them in turn, offering words of comfort.
Once the farewells were finished, Karen waved his hand to signal the four to go rest, while he and Muri needed to confer with Mrs. Ganfusen about the future arrangements for her people.
"My recommendation is that you can move to live in Tagima Village for the time being. After we leave this place, we will submit an explanation to the church, requesting that the church formally issue a diplomatic note to the Church of Samsara, demanding that they warn their forces inside the gate not to harass any of you living in Tagima Village."
"We can live out in the open, and... preach?" Mrs. Ganfusen asked in pleasant surprise.
"Yes. Because every ten years from now on, trial takers from the Church of Order will enter this place. For our entry this time, the church isn't very familiar with the world inside the gate, but the second and third times will definitely be different. In the future, trial takers from the church can even be routed to descend upon Tagima Village, giving priority to choosing you believers of Order inside the gate as contract partners. Driven by mutual benefit, the church will value you, and the Church of Samsara should be wary because of it as well."
"I think this arrangement is wonderful." Mrs. Ganfusen looked toward where the women and children were sitting in the distance. "They can live safely, and those infants can grow up in peace. This is precisely the state of affairs Ganfusen dreamed of achieving."
"I am very sorry for Mr. Ganfusen's death. If we had stepped in a little earlier, Mr. Ganfusen probably wouldn't have had to die."
By the time Karen decided to intervene, Mr. Ganfusen had already combusted himself beyond recovery.
In truth, if Mr. Ganfusen had simply shouted "Praise the God of Order" a little earlier back then, the outcome might have been different.
Mrs. Ganfusen immediately said, "No, please do not say that! To fault a savior is the filth of the saved! The great God of Order had long arranged everything. When Ganfusen combusted himself, a new guardian appeared immediately to take over his duty, allowing the believers to find safety. I know that my husband saw you before he passed. In his heart, he had no regrets and was fulfilled; his soul was surely filled with sincere praise for the God of Order."
"Thank you." Karen smiled. "He may be fulfilled, but I am left with regret. A senior like him deserved to have someone sit down and have a good, long talk with him."
"Oh, right. I have a relic of my husband's here that I would like to give to you."
"It would be best for you to keep it as a memento."
"No, I believe that if my husband were still alive, he would certainly do the same."
From within her garments, Mrs. Ganfusen drew out a scroll. It was not a spell scroll, but simply a painting.
"This is a rubbing of a mural my husband made in his youth when following his senior to a vandalized, abandoned Order missionary station. In truth, although we believe in Order, our inheritance was severed long ago. Not only in terms of magic, but also in historical lore, we lack a great deal of heritage; otherwise, we ought to have known that this is a world inside the gate. However, this painting always bolstered my husband's resolve to keep moving forward on the path of Order, for he believed that one day, the true Light of Order would shine upon this place."
Mrs. Ganfusen unrolled the painting. Though battered and worn, its contents were discernible.
The back of the God of Order stood at the center, flanked by four retainers behind him. Ahead lay a chaotic sea of fire, fallen angels, corrupted true gods, berserk ferocious beasts, and the despairing screams of mortals.
Muri spoke up at once. "This is a mural scene from Light of Order. Those four are the four great retainers of the God of Order."
...
[Light of Order, Mythological Narrative, Volume 12, Chapter 1: The old system collapsed, and the world was rife with chaos and calamity. God selected four retainers and resolved to establish the order of the world.]
Chapter 359