Ash covered Roka's body, and golden feathers grew back.
"Use your ignorance and confusion." Those were the only words Carlos left Roka before vanishing. The flames shrouding his body faded, and Roka appeared before Celes completely unharmed. When he opened his eyes, the light of sincerity quietly astonished Celes.
Whether in soul or flesh, Roka felt no different to her from any other saint. Celes placed a hand atop Roka's head and traced a circle with her fingertip, causing a halo to appear behind his head.
"You have received the God-Emperor's recognition, Roka."
Celes spoke softly, and the sisters all bowed deeply to Roka. No one held any doubt about the God-Emperor's choice.
"But now, let us deal with those invading xenos."
Celes beat her wings a few times and led the others to reinforce the various areas under Drukhari attack. Celes flew through the sky with both hands around Roka's waist, as though an Imperial fighter had a bomb slung beneath it.
"Perhaps those xenos wanted to capture you for some ritual. I have seen such things before..." Celes began recounting the past, but Roka did not care about any of that. He suddenly understood what it meant to use ignorance. Being well-informed was certainly good, but knowing too much could also make one's thoughts overly complicated.
Roka did not know how long Celes had lived, nor how many sacrificial arrays laid by daemons and xenos she had witnessed. But he knew that if the one handling this situation had merely been an ordinary bishop or Inquisitor, what awaited him definitely would not have been so many tests and investigations. Those comparatively ignorant mortals would simply have sent a bolt round into him in the Emperor's name. It was that simple.
"So, do you understand now?"
"Ah... I understand...