Asuka wasn't sure what to make of the hate coming from Kopika. It was so deep and terrible that for a moment she thought the Aeon had done something to her personally. But the Aeon's weren't supposed to interfere with the business of man. So, what could possibly cause this hate in the woman?
Suddenly, Kopika turned to look at Asuka. Seeing the look of shock on her face made the sister take a deep breath. The hate flowing from her body receded back into her body Asuka guessed her expression softened.
"I apologize. I told myself to control my emotions," the sister said.
Asuka raised her hands in protest of her apology.
"No, it's quite alright."
Shocking the Trinity, Kopika gently took one of her hands and lightly pulled her forward. She followed without resistance.
When inside, Asuka couldn't help but notice the similarities between with how the church looked in her dream. She looked up towards the ceiling and the same image of two Aeons doing something was there. She also couldn't help but notice how different it was to the other church.
"This church is older than the one Bishop Sebastian attends. People back then were far too focused on making the place look divine. That is what you were wondering, weren't you."
"Is she a damn mind reader? How the hell did she do that?"
"Y-yeah. It's just so much."
Kopika took a moment to look around herself.
"Yes. I'm still new to this continent so I don't know much, but I heard it was a gift to the Archprophet from a merchant. The merchant wanted him to marry his daughter and gifted him with this building. It was originally supposed to be their home, but he instead turned it into a place of worship."
"Wow. That's… pretty dumb," Asuka replied.
After saying this, Asuka swore she heard a snort coming from under the mask. But as soon as she looked over at the woman, the walls around her heart returned and let nothing slip.
"I thought the same when I first heard the story. But he already had a place to live. He and his wife lived happily for a while until she passed."
"How long ago was this? The Archprophet took his position a little over two hundred years ago."
Kopika thought about the question for a moment before answering.
"This building should be about half a century older than his inauguration. So around two hundred fifty years."
"Have you ever seen the Archprophet?"
"No. No one not a Seraphim or part of the Four Arch's has for a very long time."
They continued moving closer to the front. There, the Trinity found the only difference between the church and her dream. The stained-glass image was the same as the one from outside the church instead of the violent one from the vision.
The sister took her all the way to the front of the church where there was a door that led downstairs. A sweat fell from Asuka's brow, but she reasoned that if Kopika wanted to kill her, she would already done so. Or would have at least tried already.
They walked all the way to the bottom of the staircase in silence. There, a doorless doorway lead into a large room with stone pillar supports and a floor of sand. Bloodied practice weapons lined up against a wall. Some were weapons Asuka had never seen before.
"Sister Kopika, why did you bring me here?"
The woman did not immediately reply. She quietly walked through the room to the other side. She grabbed one of the practice weapons. It was like a sword, but the blade was hooked like a scythe.
"How did it feel to have your family slaughtered?"
The question surprised Asuka, but Kopika did not stop there.
"How did it feel to have to watch people you've grown up with, people you've known from before you could even be enslaved. Their bodies beaten and violated?"
Asuka didn't understand what the point of the questions were, but she had a gut feeling Kopika was looking for a particular reaction.
For someone with so much fury, you are strangely anxious.
She was no actress, but she didn't need to act to show fury. Her face cringed with memories she would do anything to forget. Not of a village burning and its residents slaughtered, but a young girls prone, bloodied form on the cold rocky cave floor. The helplessness. The hate.
The anima she allowed to slip flared and Kopika took notice.
"Why are you asking me this sister," asked the Trinity.
Kopika did not reply with words.
She burst forward with a speed Asuka was not prepared for. She almost ducked out the way but realized last second the character she was playing should not be able to react at all.
The hooked, wooden sword almost made crushing contact with her skull, but Kopika stopped it only a hairs breadth away.
"If I was a true enemy, you would be dead."
Asuka did her best to look shocked and scared of the speed but couldn't tell if her performance was convincing enough.
Kopika's mask tilted in intrigue.
"Hardly a reaction. You're bolder than I thought you were. You barely flinched."
Different replies were dancing in Asuka's mind. With that mask on, it was almost impossible to tell what was on the woman's mind.
"Was she impressed? Maybe I hurt her pride? Is she insulted?"
Finally, she settled on one.
"Um… well… if it makes you feel any better… I think I pissed myself a little."
Kopika did not react to that statement. She slowly lowered her arm and stared at Asuka for a long awkward moment. Again, Asuka thought she noticed Kopika's shoulder twitching. But she quickly straightened herself.
"Yes… well… it would be best if that didn't happen. So, I've decided that I want to train you."
The words didn't process in Asuka's mind.
"She wants to train me?"
The confusion in her mind must have shown her face because Kopika immediately started to explain herself.
"I've seen what anger and hate can do with someone. When it goes unchecked and is left to fester. And I don't want to see it happen to you."
The woman then turned and looked at the wall with all the practice weapons. But Asuka could tell that her mind was somewhere else. Maybe a loved one whom she lost. Or a land she called home destroyed.
"That's why, I want to help learn and control that hate. It is very dangerous, but if wielded correctly it can form an indestructible weapon."
A confused expression crossed Asuka's face.
"You… want to teach me how to wield my hate?"
The woman nodded sternly.
"But," Asuka continued, "isn't that opposite too what Aeonara teaches us to do? Aren't we supposed to let go of hate and fill our hearts with love and kindness?"
The question wasn't a strange one for Madeline to ask, but it was Asuka who was intrigued and worried about the suggestion.
"It's similar to what Arthur said before I left."
The thought of the boy helped cool her concerns, but still, they lingered.
Interrupting her thoughts, Kopika answered her questions.
"Yes. It may be contradictory. But what other option is there for you. No matter how much you try to suppress it, it will be there. And when you're alone at night, no noise to distract you. Those feelings will be all you can focus on. So, you might as well put them to good use before they make you do things you'll regret."
Asuka thought about it for a moment, before speaking again.
"Okay, but you talk like you know what I want. How could you know what I want?"
Turning, Kopika spoke almost insulted by the question.
"Isn't it obvious. You want revenge."