Chapter Text
The air was stale; the lighting - poor.
How else would it be? Lit only by a few tiny candles around the wide spacious room, the room was left mostly in darkness. A stark contrast to how beautiful it is during the day, the colorful windows painting the whole room in different colors. And sometimes even in the moonlight it was stunning. However tonight was not the case – a moonless night – and the room was left in the dark.
By how stuffed the space was with Siblings of Sin, or how the wax dripped from the ritual candles placed deliberately around the pulpit, there was no question about it – it was a night for the ceremony. The ritual that somehow invented itself and was now a part of the never-ending list of traditions in the Emeritus family.
The ceremony wasn’t anything too complicated really. The whole clergy had done far more complicated ones and everything turned out great at the end. Yet, this one was more of a way to show your respect and honor the church authority, than a real practice. It was a way to show the Emeritus family how much the clergy is devoted to them. How the mass would pray for them, to them, for protections of those who are to depart sooner or later. And the siblings would bow their heads, send their best wishes to the Papa, kiss their grucifixes. As the Papa is the center of attention, a toast must be had, a speech held, and the sacred words for shelter be said upon those who need it the most.
Or simply said – have a nice trip you guys! Don’t forget to bring back souvenirs!
Usually, Terzo wouldn’t be so depressed to be the center of attention, quite the opposite actually. Yet, this was his third “parting” ritual (and that word is used very loosely) and those can be quite tedious most of the time. Sure, the first time was exciting – after all back then it was his first time going on tour. But as one gets used to the thrilling nature of concerts, real rituals are… daunting at best. It felt as if you’d finally reached eighteen, but you still get placed at the kid’s table.
Trying his best to not doze-off, Terzo shot a look towards the pulpit, where his father had planted himself and won’t move. The speech had been going for way too long and it got Terzo wondering if his father had some form of verbal diarrhea – every time he thought the speech was coming to an end, Papa Nihil found a way to keep going. By the way the whole room had gone eerily quiet, Terzo was sure he wasn’t just dramatizing from how boringly long his father had been talking. It was so quiet and still that one would think the mass had left, or more probably, just fallen asleep.
His brothers weren’t in any better condition. His oldest brother, that old man, was sound asleep at the table beside him as if he hadn’t taken at least two naps today. He wasn’t even trying to hide it. At his other side sat his other brother, Secondo, battling a massive headache. He was also the only one that refused (or more likely, got too lazy to do so) to wear their ceremonial skeletal face-paint. Yet, no one was surprised at that display.
“And now, I’d like to give the word to someone else- “Nihil reached for his oxygen tank, took a breath and Terzo was hopeful he’d be called forward. He just wanted to give his part of the speech and be over with it. Nihil looked as if he didn’t want to leave his place, yet continued “-our newest associate, Cardinale Copia.”
As if awaken from a coma, Terzo’s eyes snapped open, his full attention forwarded towards the pulpit. That seemed to wake up not only him, but the whole room, as shuffling and murmur came from the siblings, and his brothers finally awoke from their misery states. The Cardinal?
“Ah- si, yes, si-” The Cardinale’s wavering voice was heard from… somewhere. It came from somewhere at the back of the room and definitely not from where he was supposed to be. Wasn’t he with the rest of the Emeritus family just a few moments ago? When did he slip away? Although that wasn’t very surprising – him wandering off that is - Terzo wasn’t sure he’d ever seen the man sit down quietly for more than five minutes.
But a moment passed and there was still no sight of the man. Nihil looked around, seemingly confused. Yet, his face quickly became grim, confusion long gone and replaced only with annoyance. There was a pronounced silence in the room, only the slightest of shuffles coming from nervous siblings. The Papa waited. Someone coughs.
“Cardinale?”
Without any hesitation, the voice replied, “Yes, Papa?”
A huff of frustration left the eldest Papa, his hand raised to pinch the bridge of his nose. “I’m too old to do this, I’m too old to do this,” he kept thinking silently to himself, taking in deep breaths. “You’re too old for this,” unknown to him, Terzo kept thinking as he watched his father do his best to keep his composure.
“Will you come up here and finish the ritual?”
“Aw shit, right- I should probably do that…” his red pointy hat stuck out of the crowd – the only color amongst the otherwise dark abyss that the siblings offered. Terzo watched as the hat bounce up and down, making its way through the crowd and towards the pulpit. And as the crowd thinned out, the hat grew, acquired a body and finally reached the pulpit.
Quickly ascending the stairs, Copia made sure to almost trip on the last step before stopping and shooting a look out towards the mass. He took a breath, two, before speaking.
In all honesty, from the little time Terzo spent with him, he’d learnt one thing – somehow whenever he started talking, Terzo couldn’t focus at all on whatever he was saying. He had no idea if it was a curse or a blessing, but he was willing to think it was the latter. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to listen to the man ramble on about rodents for up to an hour and still look mildly interested.
But thankfully, he wasn’t as wordy as Nihil and his speech was over as soon as it started. Yet, as the Cardinale cleared his throat and pulled out a few loose cards from his pockets, Terzo couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. Copia begun reading the sacred spell off of the cards; the youngest Emeritus nudged Secondo and before he had an opportunity to complain about Terzo bothering him, he pointed towards the pulpit, whispering.
A second passed between them, a knowing look exchanged, and they burst out in quiet giggles, just like a schoolgirl would. How could they not – it was unprofessional at best.
“Ah, no, fuck-” The Cardinale suddenly stopped, waving one of the cards around, “Sorry, this one smudged – I think I read it wrong.”
“Oh Satanas,” Nihil whined from beside Primo, holding his head with both hands.
This earned a new set of quiet laughs from the two. Sure he was doing his best, but him stumbling through the words as if he hadn’t learnt them before was way too amusing to them. After mispronouncing one or two more words, Terzo turned to his brother.
“I think the clergy is in good hands.”
“Hm,” Secondo rubbed his forehead, a playful smirk tugging at his lips, “clearly.”
And then the whole room went dark. Every single candle went out, as if snuffed out by some unseen force, plunging everyone in further darkness. It seemed impossibly dark; Terzo couldn’t even see his brothers beside him. Everyone suddenly stopped, as if frozen. Not a sound was made. What was happening? Was this some kind of joke? Had the Cardinale done something – how could this be his doing?
The air suddenly grew tense, hot, uncertain. The room – too packed, too loud, too silent.
Terzo shivered. His pulse unknowingly why spiked, his breathing quickened. And obviously he wasn’t the only one – he could hear his brother do the same beside him. As if something had ordered them to do and they had no other option but to obey. His head felt heavy; there was some kind of pressure at his temples, a sharp pain that felt as if it reached straight into his brain. It came so suddenly and without any warning that it made him want to scream out, either in surprise or pain. Yet, he was left fixed on the spot.
As soon as the candles went out, they light up all by themselves. The room looked as if nothing had changed from a few moments ago – as if the light never went out. Nothing was missing, nothing out of place. Everyone was right there where they were before the lights went out. However, no one had the courage to move.
A moment passed.
Everyone was collecting themselves – mentally and physically. People looked to those beside them, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Looking over themselves, over their friends. Each sibling found themselves and those around them completely healthy, as if nothing had ever happened. It took Terzo a moment to collect himself as well, shooting a questioning look over at Secondo.
At last, Papa Nihil stood up after a moment to recollect himself.
“The ritual is called off. Leave.”