Saint Lycoris Academy — 06:00 hoursLocation: Chapel Interior, Purity Division
The bell rings before dawn.It isn't the morning chime that calls students to prayer —This one is lower, older, the one reserved for confession summons.
Every Lycoris knows what it means:Someone disobeyed.Someone sinned.
This time, the bell rings for me.
The Walk to the Chapel
The corridor smells of bleach and incense — holy enough to hide the blood that never really washes away.Every few steps, a portrait of the Virgin smiles down,eyes painted to follow you no matter which path you take.
Under her gaze, I keep my hands still.They still shake from last night.From him.
The chapel doors open before I can knock.Mother Violet stands at the altar, her white robes glowing faintly in candlelight —Forgiveness wearing human skin.
MOTHER VIOLET: "Child."KANA: "Mother."MOTHER VIOLET: "You broke the sequence."KANA: "The mission was compromised."MOTHER VIOLET: "You compromised it."
Her tone isn't angry.It's calm enough to cut without sound.
Behind her, the stained glass shows angels holding knives like roses.Their smiles look almost human.
Diary Segment
[Fragment Log #09 — Confession Hearing]Interrogator: Mother VioletTopic: Mission failure / Emotional deviationResponse: partial honestyOutcome: reconditioning requested
Note: I hate when she calls it "confession."There's nothing to forgive.
Confession Exchange
MOTHER VIOLET: "Why did you spare him?"KANA: "He was innocent."MOTHER VIOLET: "No one is innocent. Some are just more useful alive."KANA: "Then I'll protect his usefulness."MOTHER VIOLET: "You're not protecting. You're choosing."
She steps closer, two fingers under my chin to lift my gaze.Her perfume smells like lilies and disinfectant.
"Do you know what the first sin of a Lycoris is, Kana?""Failure?""Love."
Her palm presses against my forehead.The ring she wears burns into my skin — a hidden brand glowing faint red.
"Love creates choice. Choice creates chaos. Chaos destroys obedience."
Above us, the bell tolls once — deep, resonant, final.It feels like it's ringing from inside my chest.
Internal Shift — Persona Awakening (Scarlet Saint)
[Voice: Scarlet Saint]"She's wrong.""Love doesn't destroy. It sanctifies.""Pain is the prayer we forgot to finish.""If they call it sin, we'll make sin divine."
A warmth spreads from my chest to my fingertips —not mercy, not peace, but something bright and burning.
My vision tints red.Every candle flame bends toward meas if the room itself is listening.
Mother Violet continues her sermon —a river of words about faith, discipline, control —But I can't hear her anymore.
All I hear is music.Not the hymn of obedience,but something older, darker, sacred in defiance.
[Scarlet Saint whispering]: "We will not kneel. We will worship differently."
Aftermath
When it's over, I'm marked with new orders:"Reintegration trial. Observe subject Kaido. Report emotional progress."
They call it therapy.I call it surveillance.
Ren finds me later by the courtyard fountain.The rain has stopped; petals drift on the surface like prayers left unanswered.
He notices the faint mark on my forehead even though I've hidden it under my hair.
REN: "You okay?"KANA: "They said I was forgiven."REN: "That doesn't sound good."KANA: "It never is."
He offers his hand to help me up.The moment his fingers touch mine,the new voice inside me hums like a hymn.
[Scarlet Saint whispering]: "If God will not bless this, we will."
Diary Fragment (Later That Night)
[Fragment Log #09-B]Emotional realignment attempted.Result: failure.Persona manifestation: confirmed — Scarlet Saint initialized.
Handwritten note:Mother said love was sin. I think she's afraid I found a god she can't control.He doesn't wear robes. He wears rain.
That night, I dream of the bell again.But this time, it isn't calling me to confess.It's calling me to worship.
End of Diary #9 — "The Confession Bell."