Chapter 72 Dawn of Battle (3) Rowan closed the door behind him, turning to the priest, who jolted at the sound of the closed door, but his eyes were still closed, and his mouth opened and closed sporadically. By the side of the priest were the bodies of three people, everything above their necks was gone, as fragments of blood and bone stained the floor and walls. It was a harsh callback to his time in that room, it appeared to be two men and a woman, he had an urge to cover their bodies with something, it felt inhumane to leave them like that. Rowan had shut off his energy sight, for he feared that his glowing eyes would draw too much attention. Activating it once more with a thought, his gaze fell on the priest. He discovered that everything about him was normal, his Aura appeared dispirited, but it still blazed with warmth and health. Only his current state was an indication that something was wrong with him. Inside his Domain, Rowan had seen there were more than twenty flying eyes clustered around the priest, a mental command to the snakes was all it took, and they began consuming the eyes. He noticed with every eye that was consumed, the shaking from the priest got worse, until he opened his mouth wide in a silent scream, and the sparse flying eyeballs left, just three of them, flew into his mouth and he snapped it shut. The priest gasped and sat up, holding his head, he groaned aloud, he appeared disoriented for a short while, before collecting himself. Rowan's eyes tightened, in a brief moment when the flying eyeballs had entered the mouth of the Dark Priest, he had seen his Aura shift. It happened very fast, there appeared to be a film covering the dark priest that could broadcast a sort of fake Aura because in that small instance, when the Aura had lifted, he saw the yellowish Aura of an Abomination. "My lord? Apologies, it appears that I have caused great harm to my people." The eyes of the priest were filled with shock and horror, and tears threatened to pour from them. He looked around in a fit, calling the names of the bodies on the floor, he completely broke down, and began to cry. "I am so sorry Mersha, Levri, Apham, I don't know what happened… I am so, so, sorry…" Rowan walked up to the priest, and standing behind him, placed a hand on his shoulder as if in condolence. The priest began crying loudly, tears and snot running down his face, the commotion was so loud, that the door opened, and the people outside could see what was happening in the room. A bit of anger flashed through Rowan's eyes, he could see that the door was opened by the Captain, he had been joined by the remaining Guardsmen. The people looked inside confused at first, and seeing the kneeling priest who was crying his eyes out, compassion overcame them, and some of them began to tear up. "My lord, I suspect it's the strain of battle, that made him lash out and made his powers uncontrollable." Captain Titus said, "By all accounts, he was a priest who hardly used his powers, it's no surprise that he broke down… This is my fault, my lord… I should have anticipated something like this from a non-combatant." The people hearing the captain looked at the priest in compassion, they knew that without his contributions, most, if not all of them would be dead, he was a kind man who placed his life on the line, and stood with them. Even colored by the sadness of their loss, their hardy nature prevailed, and Rowan knew at that moment these people had forgiven the priest for what happened here. "Please… don't say that captain, I accept the blame for my actions, I should have known that using my powers in such an intense manner would cause a backlash. It is all my fault." "We all understand, purdue, we all bear scars." Declara said as she looked to the others for support, and they all nodded their assent, "Please, let us focus on burying our dead and figure a way out of this situation." The priest, still crying his apologies, attempted to stand, but Rowan's hand was still on his shoulder and he could not. He looked up at Rowan, and made a weird expression, as if he was trying to smile, while still crying. "My lord, I'm alright now, please let me perform the least of my duties and say the last prayers for the people my negligence has killed." He attempted to stand again but Rowans hand was like a mountain, and he was an ant, he could not move an inch. In a bizarre manner, Rowan began touching the fabrics of the priest's black robes, a slight frown on his face. "Is anything the matter, my lord." The priest stammered, he was clear something was wrong, the people also became silent, as the mood instantly changed. Rowan saw the Guardsmen becoming tense, and he sighed, "Is it not the clothes? No… It's the skin, right." "Wha– I don't understand, my lord." Easily picking him up with one hand by the shoulders until his feet dangled in the air, the priest grimaced in discomfort as he cried, "My lord, punish me if you will, but let me say the last prayers for these poor souls." The people began to shift in discomfort, but Rowan ignored them, and he set the Axe by his side so that the shaft rested on his leg, he seized a handful of the priest's robe and yanked it off, it tore apart in his hand like tissue paper. He was wearing a prayer chain around his waist, and gray briefs. It revealed his surprisingly toned body, he nearly forgot that the priest was a legendary state Dominator, so his physique would still be far better than a mortal. Rowan ran his hand over the priest's skin as he looked at him with curious eyes. "My lord, is something the matter?" Captain Titus cried out, "The priest must be under Battle Shock. Let me take care of —" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚 "Silence Captain! Do not speak unless I tell you." Rowan yelled at him, forgetting the power of his voice, everyone inside the Room winced, and they all fell silent. The captain's mouth closing with a resounding clack. Rowan turned to the priest and said, "I thought you were a follower of the Fallen god Malakith?" "Yes my lord." the priest said as his teeth began chattering, his image of confusion and despair touched the heart of the people and confusion and fear began growing inside their chest. The priest continued speaking, "but that does not mean the rites I would say for the dead are blasphemous, I only wanted to pray for their souls." "I do not recognize the god on the prayer chain around your waist." Rowan fingered the chains. "This? I fear that is a misunderstanding. Malakith takes many forms, and unlike the Orthodox gods, he chooses to wear any form of his choosing." Rowan sighed, "Your cover… is so perfect. Everything here reminds me of that father of mine. In everything he does, he leaves no stone unturned. He takes his games seriously… I grow weary of this endless charade." His left palm stopped over the chest of the priest, as if he was fondling him. "My lord… I don't understand." The priest sorrowfully whispered. Rowan smiled sadly, "Did they change you into this, or have you always been this way?" With his palm on the priest's chest, he grasped the flesh and he pulled. The priest's torso exploded in a spray of blood, as Rowan held in his hands the skin of the priest. He had taken all the skin around the entire upper body of the priest.