Published: July 26, 2025
The high-pitched voices of the children who entered ahead echoed through the temple, creating a resonating sound that gave me a headache. I instinctively stopped in my tracks, and Lutz lightly tugged at my hand.
“Watch your step, there’s a step.”
“Okay.”
As I carefully watched my footing and took a few steps forward, a heavy creaking sound rang out behind me as the door closed.
Startled by the sudden darkness underfoot, I turned around and saw a gray-robed priest closing the door.
“Oh, right. We’re the last ones…”
A blue-robed priest walked toward the firmly closed door at a leisurely pace. The priest shook a bell that looked like a wind chime, adorned with a strangely colored stone, making a clear tinkling sound.
The next moment, the children’s voices resonated and then faded away, leaving only the echoing silence in the temple.
“What’s this?”
Lutz’s voice barely came out. More precisely, he could only manage a whisper. From his expression and gestures, I could tell he would normally be shouting. Lutz touched his throat in surprise at his own silent voice.
“Maybe it’s a magic tool? Since it happened right when the blue priest rang the bell.”
I, too, couldn’t make a sound louder than a whisper. But having seen the exact moment the priest shook the bell, I could guess the cause and stayed calm.
At my words, Lutz relaxed his body, relieved to know there was a reason behind it, not just him losing his voice.
At the end of the long line, I let out a breath of admiration and looked upward.
The temple’s ceiling was high like an atrium, with great depth. Thick cylindrical pillars with intricate carvings lined both sides along the walls in neat rows. Windows were evenly spaced about four stories up, letting straight beams of light pour in.
Except for some gold decorations here and there on the walls and pillars, everything else was white, making the space bright even with minimal light. The only colorful area was the front.
Unlike Christian churches I'd seen in photo books or museums, there were no murals or stained glass windows. The pure white stone construction gave it a different vibe from Japanese shrines or temples, and it was distinct from the vivid colors of Southeast Asia.
The far wall featured a complex multicolored mosaic pattern from ceiling to floor, lit gloriously by incoming side light. That part reminded me slightly of a mosque. But about 40 steps of stairs led from the floor almost up to the window height, with stone statues displayed at intervals along the way, making it quite distinct.
Maybe those stairs symbolize a path to heaven or the gods? The statues on each step reminded me a bit of doll displays.
At the top of the stairs stood two stone statues, a man and a woman, arranged side by side. From their positioning, they seemed to be a divine couple and probably the highest gods.
Although the statues were pure white stone, the male god wore a black cloak from his shoulders shot through with golden sparkles like stars, and the goddess wore a golden crown with pointed, elongated spikes radiating outward, symbolizing light.
A goddess of light and a god of darkness, perhaps? Or maybe the goddess of the sun and the god of night? Either way, the crowns and cloaks looked like they were floating.
A few steps below was a somewhat plump, gentle-looking female statue holding a golden Holy Grail glittering with jewels.
Beneath that, statues holding various items were lined up: a woman with a staff, a man with a spear, a woman with a shield, and a man with a sword. Though all the statues were white, each held one item with color — a curious detail. Since they were given real items, it must carry some significance.
Holy Grails and Holy Swords, perhaps?
Lower steps displayed offerings of flowers, fruit, and cloth. The whole arrangement increasingly resembled a doll display.
“Mine, stop spacing out and keep walking forward.”
“Ah? Sorry, sorry.”
Lutz gave my hand a sharp tug, and I quickened my pace to catch up at the back of the line.