The Sound Of Despair

When constructing the glider, Sturm used coal to blacken the construction. Thanks to that and the dark lightning cloak, the short flight through the air went by unnoticed. With smoke filling the skies and burning warehouses everywhere, the citizens and guards had higher priorities than staring into the sky anyways.

The ride was shaky, but the construction did not fall apart over the 200 meters distance. Sturm just concentrated and held as still as possible to not deviate from the trajectory until he finally landed inside the church tower. If Sturm had not been a lot stronger than even the strongest people on Earth, then his momentum would have carried him straight into the giant church bell, alerting not only the guards dozens of meters below on the ground but every other available guard in a few kilometers radius, 

While Sturm's strength and agility allowed him to dodge at the last moment, he still crashed heavily into a wall, just like some idiots used to do in King's Cross Station. Upon impact, the construction fell apart, so leaving by glider was no option anymore. 

Sturm waited silently and strained his senses to check if any guards had been alerted by his crash, and when everything seemed to be in order, he started moving towards the stairs. It was finally time for him to take the next step, literally. Even Edgar had not been confident in smuggling Sturm to a priest, but now he had managed to do so himself.

The church tower was simple, as there were no decorations on the walls except a few unlit lamps. Nevertheless, Sturm's vision was good enough to see in the dark, provided there was at least some source of light, and if there wasn't, then he could simply manifest some lightning matter on his palms. 

It was a momentous event, which would have a major influence on his future life, but feeling excited about it was hard, as there were still screams of panic resounding through the town. For this reason, and to quell the terrible feeling of guilt, Sturm practically ran down the stairs. 

Sprinting down a few hundred stairs would obviously not take long for someone as fast as Sturm, so a moment later, he arrived inside the nave. Like the tower, the decoration was kept to a bare minimum: no gold, no colorful paintings, just white walls and a few candles. In front of the altar stood a priest in simple white robes, praying for the safety of the citizens.

The man was completely bald, and the way he stood there, barefoot and in perfect calmness during his prayer, reminded Sturm of Buddhist statues back on Earth. While the bald priest seemed in deep trance, two curates were pushing the seats away to place beds inside the hall. 

<<I remember they once told me that nobles go to the church for healing, and only commoners have to go to the House of Herbs due to the restrictions. So they are probably preparing for possible burn victims.>>

The two curates, helpers to the priest, did their job quickly and meticulously. Sturm could see them frown and occasionally heard them sigh as they kept preparing. Just with a simple look, one could see they truly cared about helping, which surprised Sturm. In a medieval world, it was always easier for religions to abuse their power instead of helping humanity. Still, even if the local church was an exception, it seemed surprisingly uncorrupted.

As Sturm approached the altar, the two assistants finally noticed him, but instead of asking him why he was here, they only gave him a warm smile before resuming their work. The priest, on the other hand, turned around and clasped his hands towards Sturm.

"Son, I do not know how you got in here, but I welcome you nonetheless. How may this humble servant of God be of service to you?"

It was said that priests would always welcome anyone, but the priest's reaction gave relief anyways. Being thrown out would not only mean losing the chance of advancing a step but also probably death as the guard's outside would tear any intruder apart. They could not be compared to the lousy, untrained, and undisciplined guards inside the slave camp, as they were handpicked to defend even against hordes of commoners if necessary.

"I am here to take steps towards heaven. I was born a slave and wish to escape from my destiny, so I took immense risks to come to see you. I humbly request your assistance and would be ever grateful to your god if you can save me from my fate," Sturm answered.

The priest shook his head in response, and Sturm's heart stopped for a moment as he thought his request had been denied.

"You have done well in coming here, but please know, your destiny is your own. God provides all of us free will and expects us to do good in this world. If our thoughts and behavior were controlled, how would we be any different from puppets? Similarly, while he could certainly predict or even dictate our futures, why should that be in his interest? Would you want to know the ending of a book before you even read it?" 

His arguments sounded logical, and while Sturm had not been religious back on Earth, he had never been a fan of the concept of destiny. So knowing that, at least in this world, everything that happened would be a direct consequence of his actions and not some greater power was great news for him.

The priest kept on explaining. "You should also not call yourself a slave, as all humans are equal in front of the Creator. The steps towards heaven are a blessing bestowed upon us to approach his perfection. In the beginning, coming inside the Creator's house was the only requirement to be bestowed a blessing, at least until the tenth step that is. The tenth step marks a barrier, where physical and mental aptitude is required so that the body and mind endure another step."

One could argue that those aptitudes were some kind of fate or destiny as well, but those were matters Sturm did not care about. He was not interested in believing or philosophizing but attaining strength to be able to determine his own future. 

"If hard work and good deeds are all you need, then why do only nobles get access to those blessings? Can't you just leave and reward those that deserve it?"

If the church resisted the Empire's pressure just a little bit more, then they would be able to change society. Nobles would no longer dare to suppress commoners and slaves if they were at risk of being overthrown at any moment. It was not like the church did not have the power or bargaining power either, as they could refuse nobles to take steps until they let them leave the churches.

The priest seemed conflicted but ultimately explained the reason to Sturm.

"As a fellow human being, I agree with you. But as a priest, I am directed by god, so just like him, I cannot involve myself in human affairs. Every person that steps through the church's doors will be allowed to take a celestial step. What happens outside is sadly not my jurisdiction. If humanity wants to destroy itself, then we can just pray. I can only advise you to keep approaching clergy like you did today. Just do not let them catch you. Come with me, you can only take a step once a month, so you can either come back in a month or gain access to another church at that time."

As Sturm was being led into a room behind the altar, towards a shallow pond, he thought about humanity's situation back on Earth. Slowly, they had been and probably still are killing their planet, the very place they live on. But, on the other hand, no matter how much evil and crime there had been there, it was incomparable to this new world, where anyone that lacked strength could be killed with almost no repercussions. No need to manipulate evidence, bribe judges, or use connections, as there was not even some kind of legal system.

<<Well, this is kind of what I had asked for, didn't I? And now both Edgar and Reinhardt are gone. Let others worry about the meaning of life, I just want to get strong to be able to truly live in this world.>>

"Take off your clothes, and step onto the pond."

The shallow pond was embedded into one single giant piece of white rock. There were no signs it had been artificially excavated but seemed natural instead. Surrounding it were pillars made of marble with engravings in a language Sturm could not read. Deciding to ask about them later, he took off his clothes and, inside his birthday suit, entered the pond. 

Instead of his feet getting submerged in the water, he stepped onto it instead. It felt like he was standing on jelly. There were ripples spreading out from his feet; upon hitting the pond's walls, they returned to the center where Sturm stood. The same cycle repeated again and again, and every time they hit Sturm's feet, strange energy invaded his body. Every cell was revitalized, and memories of his time inside his mother's womb seemed to appear in his mind.

<<How is it possible to even remember this? It feels so… comforting and reassuring.>>