The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1799

Chapter 1799 Religious Doctrine

Calabast gave Ves the time to process the name of his future client.

The name of an outfit often revealed their essence. It described their values, their history or their aspirations.

Ves suspected there was a remarkable story behind the formation of the Penitent Sisters. If their names accurately reflected their history, then it was impossible for it to be an ordinary mercenary corps from the Hegemony!

"The word sister sounds ordinary in most contexts, but when combined with a word like penitent, it sounds like there is a religious connotation." Ves threw out his guess.

Calabast nodded. "You're on the right track. Go on. What else can you figure out?"

"Penitent is a word that is related to feeling remorseful and seeking forgiveness. Someone who is penitent wishes to repent for their sins, whatever they may be. This makes it distinct from general guilt. All of this leads me to conclude that the Penitent Sisters have something to do with religion. Are they related to hexism?"

"The Temple of Hexism founded the Penitent Sisters, but to say they are backing them is not entirely accurate."

"Because the Sisters are guilty of something, right?"

"Right. The Penitent Sisters are basically made up of devout followers of hexism who went astray. All of them consist of Hexers who believed in deviant interpretations of hexism. They're extremists, basically. Not only that, but every Sister believed in the same radical doctrine that made them run afoul with the Temple of Hexism!"

This sounded rather thorny to Ves. He really didn't want to participate in another religious dispute!

"What is so serious that caused these Sisters to run afoul with what passes for your state's religion?"

"Did Goriana tell you about the six phases of existence?"

"She did, though it makes no sense to me. It sounds too much like a fabrication!"

Ves couldn't determine from Calabast's vague expression whether she bought into this nonsense or not. He believed her to be a secularist like him, but who could tell with women and Hexers.

"Well, to many Hexers, the six phases of existence is an inviolable truth. I highly advise you to never mention your true feelings about it to Gloriana or other Hexers. I can assure you they will go absolutely mad if they hear you disparage their beliefs."

"I know." Ves sighed. "I'm not so cautious in your company because I know you aren't like the other Hexers."

He never dared to question Gloriana's beliefs. She would probably turn into a terrifying monster if he pushed her buttons!

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not." Calabast chuckled and tapped her finger against her forearm. "The point is that the concept of the six phases of existence is so accepted within our state that it is a very touchy subject to suggest any changes to any one of the phases! This is important because the Penitent Sisters all belonged to a cult that once dared to suggest a 'correction'!"

"What's the controversy?"

"List out the six phases of existence."

Calabast adopted a school teacher tone again.

Ves recalled the so-called phases from the back of his mind.

"The six phases are life, death, godhood, damnation, dust and.. woman, right?"

His school teacher nodded in satisfaction. "Good boy! At least your memory is better than your apparent age. Now what Gloriana probably didn't tell you is that the order of the phases is important. It describes the cycle of life, death and transcendence, with women as the penultimate phase that is the reward of all living entities. To become a woman is to become a top existence in life, death and the beyond!"

How could Ves accept such a self-serving explanation? Only Hexers could come up with this stupid belief!

He predictably grew sour. "Hexism didn't even bother including males."

"That's right, and there are several different interpretations why that is so. The orthodox belief is that the initial phase, meaning life, is essentially a euphemism for boy. Accepting this interpretation means that every human life starts off as a boy. Only after they pass through some of the other phases will they shed their inadequacies and become a woman!"

"This.."

"The reason why this is the most widely-accepted interpretation is because it explains why boys deserve to be treated the way they are in the Hegemony. They are newborns who have not experienced any waves or winds in their short existences. Boys are too immature and incapable because they haven't grown up, as it were. A woman has gone through at least several lifetimes that has slowly sublimated their existence to the peak form. Compared to the majesty of the superior gender, a boy will always be a juvenile no matter how old they grow in their initial lifetimes!"

What a creative story! Ves widened his eyes as he took in some of the implications of this interpretation.

Believing in it basically excused all of the derogatory behavior of female Hexers towards their male counterparts!

Men were boys, and each of them were toddlers compared to the wise and mature women who had already gone through several different evolutions!

This twisted logic gave no room for boys to gain any measure of equality in Hexer society!

Since Gloriana was a devout follower of hexism, Ves finally learned why she could never stop regarding him as a boy no matter how impressed she was at him! Even if he did his best to prove he was a man, he was still a couple of eons too young to match her status!

A strange thought flitted through his mind. Didn't this mean that Gloriana was a pedophile?

Despair struck his eyes for a moment before he quickly shook himself out of it. No matter what Gloriana believed, she genuinely respected him and always treated him more than just a 'boy'.

"Oh, it's fine for Hexers to be relaxed or outright dismissive of hexism. The Temple of Hexism never bothers too much with them. It's when strong believers think they know better that touches their bottom line!" _{fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm}