One night had passed. Rina had barely slept, as every unfamiliar creak of the old church kept her awake and on edge. Eventually, she gave up on resting entirely. She stepped out of her small room and was immediately greeted by the bright morning sun streaming through the high arched windows.
The rhythmic, scratching sound of a venik echoed through the massive, empty cathedral. Bashnikov was sweeping the stone floor with intense focus. He moved left and right, ensuring not a single speck of dust in any corner went unnoticed. Rina walked quietly across the room and stopped beside the grand stone statue of Celeste. She stood completely still and simply watched him work.
It took a few moments before the young apprentice realized he was being watched. When he finally noticed Rina standing there in the morning light, his face immediately flushed. The heavy memory of his emotional breakdown last night made it impossible for him to meet her eyes. He let out a strained, awkward laugh and quickly returned to sweeping the floor, moving the broom much faster than before.
Rina let the silence drag on for another second before she spoke. Her voice echoed clearly through the quiet chamber. "When is the Bishop coming back?"
Bashnikov jumped, startled by the sudden question. He gripped the handle of his broom tightly. "He texted me," he stuttered, keeping his gaze firmly glued to the floor. "He said that the Father is on the way."
Rina slowly closed her eyes and let out a quiet sigh. For a while, Bashnikov continued sweeping the cathedral. Rina stood silently, watching the morning light glint off the freshly polished stone.
As the young apprentice moved to clean the base of the statue of Celeste beside her, he kept glancing up at her awkwardly. Upon noticing his shifting eyes, Rina finally spoke.
"What?" she asked.
"About last night..." Bashnikov started hesitantly.
Before he could finish his thought, Rina cut him off. "There is no problem with what we talked about last night. You are a human being, and I simply stated the truth," she said calmly, crossing her arms and closing her eyes again.
"Is that so..."
Before Bashnikov could complete his sentence, a heavy sound struck the two massive oak doorways of the cathedral.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The deep sound echoed through the vast chamber. It did not stop. Instead, it became violently louder with each passing second, shaking the ancient wood.
Bashnikov dropped his broom. He looked at the doorway, his face lighting up with absolute relief. "It is Father!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
Unbeknownst to the two people inside the cathedral, the comforting divine presence in the air was already beginning to subside. A cold, lingering darkness was slowly bleeding through the heavy doors. The overwhelming prodigy was about to witness a bloodied cathedral.
Bashnikov turned his body, about to run forward and pull the heavy doors open, but Rina suddenly raised her left arm, completely obstructing his path.
"If I say run, run with full speed. I will make you an opening," she whispered, her voice dangerously quiet.
The massive oak doorways slowly creaked open. The darkness had arrived. The figure stepping inside held a blade that seemed to swallow the morning light. A heavy cloak hid his face in the shadows, but the overwhelming, sickening bloodlust reeking from his presence was unmistakable. He stepped into the cathedral, his slow, deliberate footsteps echoing loudly against the stone floor.
Finally realizing the terrifying reality of the situation, Bashnikov gritted his teeth and bravely prepared himself to sprint. Despite his resolve, his entire body was visibly shaking. Rina glanced at the young apprentice for a fraction of a second before shifting her weight, readying her heavily bandaged body into a fighting stance.
"Ahh, I forgot the churches have a barrier," Anatoly said casually, lifting a hand to scratch the back of his head. "That is why I had a hard time tracking you. The mana was all over the place."
He stopped walking. The casual, fanatical amusement in his voice instantly dropped into a dead, serious manner.
"It pains me, but I hope Celeste will not be the witness for today's murder."
With a sweeping motion of his arm, Anatoly hurled his dagger directly at Rina. The black blade cut through the air, seemingly swallowing the morning light.
Rina flared her eyes open and poured raw mana directly into her central nervous system. The intense flow of energy caused the veins around her eyes to swell visibly, glowing with a dangerous, ethereal blue light. She threw herself to the right just in time. The dagger missed her face by a fraction of an inch and buried itself deep into the stone wall behind her.
"Run!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.
She did not look at the doorway. Her glowing eyes darted straight to the embedded dagger. Anatoly was already gone from the entrance. The shadows around the blade rapidly expanded, and his cloaked figure instantly materialized out of the dark spot on the wall.
Bashnikov was completely frozen. The sheer, impossible speed of the combat left the young apprentice paralyzed with terror.
Anatoly let out a mischievous, echoing laugh. "No witnesses," he whispered. He ripped the dagger from the stone, instantly shifted his aim toward the frozen boy, and launched his body forward. "Shadow Thrust."
Rina started to move. Her ruined body immediately flared with agonizing pain, but she had no choice. She lunged across the floor and delivered a brutal kick squarely to Bashnikov. The force sent the boy tumbling out of the altar boundaries, successfully clearing him from the lethal trajectory of Anatoly's blade.
Bashnikov hit the hard floor and groaned in pain, tears streaming rapidly down his face.
"BASHNIKOV, RUN!" Rina shouted again.
Anatoly landed gracefully on the stone, twirling the dagger in his hand. He looked down at her and smiled mockingly. "Saving a single person, but you do not refuse to kill a thousand men. What a hypocrite you are, Fang."
Rina slowly forced herself to stand up. "Do not compare yourself to the divine people of Celeste," she defended coldly, her voice laced with venom.
Hearing her desperate command, Bashnikov finally scrambled to his feet. Sobbing and profusely sweating, the terrified apprentice sprinted blindly through the side exit, leaving the two monsters alone in the holy chamber.
Anatoly and Rina now stood directly in front of each other. The grand marble statue of Celeste loomed over them, a silent witness to the impending bloodshed. They were fully prepared to clash again. However, Rina was visibly in pure agony. The raw strain on her central nervous system was taking a massive toll, and her glowing eyes twitched violently as the moments passed.
Here is the clean, grounded version of your exact draft, with absolutely no scientific fluff and zero horizontal punctuation marks:
If I use mana enhancement on my arms and legs, I may damage them permanently, she thought to herself.
Anatoly stood right in front of her, ready to strike at any second. Meanwhile, Rina was barely holding herself together. Her ruined body was trembling, ready to collapse at any given moment.
My mana circuits are already destroyed from reflaring them up last time, she continued.