CH 03: Most Secure Hotel In the World
"And then, the Lord Almighty will descend." The Christian missionaries' sermons hung in the air like unquenchable smoke.
The mornings within the opulent hotel hall were consistently peaceful, almost manicured. As missionaries spoke nonstop about salvation, divinity, and the purported descent of God Himself, sunlight filtered through tall stained-glass windows, scattering broken colors across polished marble floors.
It was problematic in a number of ways.
The priests fed incomplete scripture to impressionable minds until devotion turned into dependency, relying less on the truth and more on cleverly crafted narratives. Compassion was the cover for mass conversion. Paradoxically, the men who advocated humility held themselves as though they were but a breath below Christ, like saints already engraved onto cathedral walls.
Nevertheless, my reason for being there extended beyond the free sweet bread and bitter coffee.
It was Herberies X. Saint. Or rather, was going to.
His visits were no longer seen as spectacular events, nor were they very uncommon. However, this would be his first public appearance following months of silence and disappearance. Crowds were moved to reverent expectancy by that alone.
After almost a minute, the hall was shrouded in an internal chorus of caution.
It happened quickly.
Even Shree staggered a little before getting back up, swiftly assuming the guise of a gullible bystander.
The chatter faded into murmurs. The previously vibrant hall lost all of its vitality.
He was here — Herberies X. Saint
The man was strangely made for holiness, according to others who described him with equal parts veneration and uneasiness. All the sounds had turned into gentle murmurs when Herberies X. Saint approached the sacred altar.
According to the folks, Saint had a fairly strange appearance. Unapologetically, age clung to him. Every time he talked, his face was etched with deep smile lines and wrinkles beneath his pale eyes, as if he had spent decades grinning at things that no one else could comprehend. His silver hair was tucked neatly behind his head in a style that resembled old-money elegance rather than priestly simplicity, and it was brushed back with almost aristocratic accuracy.
Now, the old male dressed in white stood in the middle of the altar. He stood upright beside the wooden podium and gestured the holy cross over his face while moving quickly and gently.
"A delightful morning to you, disciples of Christ." I pray that you devote yourselves fully to his worship. The way the Lord has provided for us..."
'Well, I guess he definitely knows how to make an entrance. Nevertheless, my arduous five-day stay in this treacherous hotel had finally borne fruit. Tasty fruits.'
The reason for this ravenous pursuit of Shree of Herberies X. Saint may be traced back to his arrival at the "Most Secure Hotel In The World."
Even the reason for his decision to come here.
It was two days short of a week ago....