《Legend of the God Killer》 Prologue: Monologue of an immortal May you find the fate that belongs to you That which lies beyond pain and pleasure Blessed is the path you are destined to walk Know that it is only yours to have The same gentle verses were chanted in her head. It was supposed to give her solace, to give her peace, but those were the furthest from her mind. Years, decades, even centuries, she was stuck in the same struggle she started with. Some days she wanted nothing more than to be released from it all, but most days her greatest desire haunted her with almost the same fervor as the miracle that had kept her alive for all this time. She said alive, but was she really? She was not the only ¡°ghost¡± that stubbornly remained in this world for certain reasons. No, that sounded like they were fighting against their fate of death, when all they did was receive an invitation to transcend it, become the ones to control it, and rid themselves of mortality. Doesn¡¯t that sound delightful? She had a lot of time to herself all these centuries, and so she questioned whether her true desire was actually not what she thought all this time, but rather just power. Power over humans, power over life and death. It all seemed so enticing, she must admit, but like every other day, she knew better than that. Just like how she continued to shake off the feeling of existential dread and compulsive self-destruction even as she was drowned in a sense of desolation only an immortal would understand, she knew better than to deny the one thing that had kept her still ¡°alive¡± in her mind.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. She was no longer human, but if being alive was simply holding onto a desire and trying to make it happen, then she was more alive than anyone she knew. You won¡¯t be able to do it Not enough You are not enough The voice shifted from its seemingly amicable tone to its true purpose: taunting her for being far away from where she wanted. It was funny that she, as one of those who have transcended mortality, still had things that were beyond her reach. So beyond her that this voice found endless amusement in mocking her of her incompetence, repeating the same drivel like a broken soulless doll, as if making her give up to ¡°fate¡± was its one true desire. If that was the case, she thought, then empathetic as she was, this was one wish she could never grant. Sometimes, just sometimes, she thought back to those days. Her human life wasn¡¯t that pretty, but it was the spark to her neverending struggle. A commitment to an impossible dream. If the humans below her were to find out, they would laugh at how ludicrous it was that someone in her position would ever desire such a thing. Not like they would understand, being so controlled by the very power she seeked to overcome. Sometimes, more often that not, she thought back to that moment which changed her life. There were more than one of such instances, and she remembered them all, but dwelling on negativity was not a wise move for an immortal. So she chose to reminisce on that one moment that cemented her one true desire. Despair was no stranger to her, and some might say what happened to her was not even that bad, but the significance of something to someone could only be decided by that very same individual. Mistaken or deluded, that person could not escape being the true judge of what something meant to them. The day she stopped being a human. The day her neverending struggle began. Chapter 1: A haunting dream Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. A chamber... the wine cellar wouldn¡¯t be it, not the laundry room or the kitchen either. So no, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve been there. Chapter 2: A believer in Fate Lute¡¯s hand hovered over the book, close but not really touching it, as he slowly said. ¡ª Just a collection of stories about the Goddess. The usual fairytale-like stuff. Asri looked at him, before saying. ¡ª It seems like it would be more fun to read than the usual scripture you carry around. ¡ª It¡¯s for children. There are exaggerations everywhere. ¡ª Aren¡¯t you just slightly bigger than a child too? You don¡¯t seem to enjoy those thick books about the Goddess¡¯ teachings either. ¡ª ... I just want to see what exactly is it all about. The faith, the teachings, that sort of stuff. Don¡¯t you think about what they are teaching you here too? ¡ª Well... it was so much to take in when I first came. I prayed to the Goddess with my parents too, but it¡¯s a lot more serious here. A way of life, a way of thinking? To be honest, I think it¡¯s just too much to memorize! Asri thought about what they would be tested for the exam tomorrow and shuddered for a bit. The last and final exam. She had been preparing well but the amount of stuff to remember still daunted her when she thought about it. Lute seemed to think a bit, before he started again. ¡ª They told us to find our ¡°fate¡±, the one thing that guides us regardless of what happens to us in life. The Goddess simply overlooks our fates, trying to protect the fate of the world and give everyone the best path possible. ¡°Fate is unseen, all-around and omnipotent.¡±. We are told to find it, to take it, but never to fight it. He looked conflicted with himself as he continued. ¡ª But how can it be the best path unless it¡¯s decided by yourself? What happens when your fate turns out to be something you don¡¯t want? She let her thoughts wander at that. Honestly, she hadn¡¯t put that much thought into it. Praying to the Goddess had always felt like something to give herself peace of mind, rather than something to live by. But she was in a temple, if not the biggest temple of Fate in the country. It was a bit amazing that even a servant was thinking this much about it. She wanted to be the Chosen Star because she wanted to help people. It had always made her happy, all the way to her little toes, when she was able to help someone in some way. It was a sort of salvation to her, and it was more important that she could help someone rather than follow the strict teachings of a religion. She knew it was not something she could just say outloud as a candidate for the Chosen Star, the very representative of the faith of Fate, but she felt that Lute would understand. So she said, after a moment of silence. ¡ª I... if my fate isn¡¯t to help people, then I don¡¯t want to accept it. If the fate is someone in front of me is to suffer while I can help, I won¡¯t let that happen. He looked at her, almost unsurprised at her declaration. His eyes shifted around for a bit, and she knew that he was making sure no one was around. Then he replied, the chuckle evident in his voice. ¡ª Why are you telling me this? What if I... ¡ª I know you won¡¯t! He was always a careful person, but that was not the only reason she felt particularly safe around him. Perhaps it was the way they talked, the way he acted all the time they¡¯d known each other, but she trusted him. So she continued, hesitantly at first. ¡ª I just... I know I should be following the teachings. I¡¯m not saying things like I am going to fight the fate the Goddess has given me... He laughed a bit at this, and she continued, feeling some sort of fervor rising within her as she sorted out her thoughts.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡ª ... But who¡¯s to say what I want to do isn¡¯t part of my given fate? Maybe resisting what looks like it¡¯s fate, is part of fate itself. I am simply following my fate, even if it looks like I am going against what others think should be my fate... I think I just confused both of us. He laughed harder at this, the chuckle rippling out of him almost like he was purring. She tried to get herself out of thinking about the way his hair was shaking along with his chest, and looked at the book in his lap instead. He sounded a bit quieter as he said. ¡ª I get you. Who¡¯s to say resisting isn¡¯t our fate? It was then quiet. A comfortable kind of quiet, the tall blades of glass in the garden swaying gently with the wind. She could almost smell the sunlight, the scent of an afternoon not too hot nor too cold, and it was unmistakably more relaxing than the normal air further inside the temple. She could never tell if it was a temple thing, or because Lute was here. It was a strange thing to consider, but she thought it could be possible anyway. The garden had always felt a bit more abandoned and less lively when she was not meeting him here. Then she was reminded of something, and so turned to ask. ¡ª I almost forgot. Didn¡¯t you say you were gonna show me your new piece today? His eyes widened just a little bit, and she found it just a bit cute. He definitely told her to come so he could show her the new song he learnt to play on the flute. He had found it discarded in a dusty corner of the storage room, and decided to give it a try. She smiled as she thought back about it; he had said something about not wanting to waste it, but she could see the curious gleam in his eyes. He ended up really liking it, and even came up with some short melodies of his own. It was so nice to listen to, and he looked like he enjoyed it a lot too, like he was at peace. It reminded her of when he was playing with the stray cat that came to them once in a while; he kept denying it but she would never forget the tiny smile that came up when his hand was petting the cat¡¯s head. She would also not forget how his hand looked rougher than it had seemed from afar, and how she had wanted to try touching it, but that¡¯s not relevant here. Anyway, Lute definitely forgot about the new song, and now he was probably unsure about showing it, like he always was. She had asked if he was nervous before, and his lips had tightened before taking out the flute. She gave him a look, and he seemed to resign as he took out the flute before she could ask the magic question. His hands on the flute, he looked away for a bit before saying, really softly this time: ¡ª I tried making a whole song this time... It¡¯s silly but... I¡¯m just gonna play it. Then he started playing. Now, Asri was not going to demean his song by trying to explain it with her limited vocabulary, but she liked it. It sounded like a quiet self-reflection, a sense of sadness that was quickly taken over by light-hearted optimism. Nothing too passionate, nothing over the top. She definitely did not miss the way he was smiling, albeit a bit melancholically, with his eyes. She thought he really looked beautiful, a lot more than his usual self, when he was playing music. The song came to an end. It seemed to have been absorbed by the wind around them, the grass swaying just a bit slower than before. Lute¡¯s hands were still on the flute, his eyes open but slightly dazed as if he wasn¡¯t sure if the music was over or not. Then, almost like the whole thing was just an illusion, he put down the flute and turned to look at her, waiting for her first word. She suddenly felt an urge to look away. He had always looked a bit uncaring, like he was unconcerned with everything, like he was always thinking about something beyond the conversation. She didn¡¯t mind that; he was always listening even though he looked like he wasn¡¯t, and at one point she realized that was just how he normally looked. That was why she liked the way his eyes were warm with the cat, when he was playing the flute, when he chuckled at something she said. But just then, he looked at her with something almost intense in his eyes. Perhaps because it was his first song. There was something in her that was decidedly happy at the thought that she might be the first, if not the only one, that he was showing this to. And so she smiled. Broke into a giggle, to be more precise. He looked a bit strangely at her, as she started talking. ¡ª Hehe... I just... It was good, Lute. It was really good! I love it. I think you have a gift for music! He still looked at her. Asri thought that this must be his look of slacked-jaw wonder. Lute just wasn¡¯t that expressive, but she could definitely tell that he was a bit dazed right now. Then he snapped out of it and looked away a bit, his hand gripping the flute just a bit tighter. When he turned back again, he didn¡¯t look happy per se... but there was a light in his eyes that kinda make Asri happy too. He said, faking a cough. ¡ª Ahem... thanks. I am glad it turned out well. ¡ª You are being too humble; that was incredible! You¡¯ve started playing this for like, a month or so at most? It was a beautiful song. ¡ª It¡¯s really not that... Well... I didn¡¯t think I would... I mean it would be so good either. ¡ª What are you gonna call it? The song I mean. ¡ª ... I don¡¯t know yet. I came up with it just a couple days ago, didn¡¯t think I could actually finish it. ¡ª But you did! Hehe, I¡¯ve got such a talented friend!! ¡ª ... I wouldn¡¯t say talented... Anyway, you still got time to be here with me when your exam is tomorrow? Asri winced a bit at this, but she pondered a bit before saying. ¡ª ... Well, I am worried, but I have done my preparation. If it was my fate to be the Star, then just trying my best tomorrow would be enough. ¡ª Then I sure hope it isn¡¯t your fate. ¡ª But I could get to be the Star! The Chosen Star, the light that brings joy and peace to the many people that visit the temple every day! It sounds like the perfect place for me. Lute didn¡¯t reply; he just put away his flute and was thinking something again, his eyes glued to the grass near his feet. Then, conflict evident on his face, he turned to her again, and began. ¡ª Asri, listen, the truth is... The reluctance was heavy in his voice, but so was resolution. However, before he could get to what he wanted to say, a high-pitched voice called out to her, seemingly breaking whatever reverie they had between them in the garden. ¡ª Hey, idiot! We are gathering at the study room! She turned her head and saw the annoyed figure of Miru on the corridor. ¡ª You don¡¯t have to wait for me! Then she looked at Lute again, silently urging him to finish what he wanted to say. But whatever it was that tipped the scale in Lute¡¯s heart to decide to tell her something at the moment was gone; he was back to looking unconcerned again. His eyes glazed with something indecipherable, Lute told her to go and they could meet up later. Just like how the moment they had could not come back, she let it go knowing she would know of it eventually if it was meant to be anyway. She also could never make him say what he did not want to say. When she got back to the corridor, surprisingly Miru was still there. They left, and Asri missed the way Miru glanced uncertainly, even narrowing her eyes, at the back garden. Chapter 3: Dark rumors Asri followed Miru to the study room, where the Head Priestess was going to tell them something important. The temple was by no means empty, and yet she felt like it was only her and Miru on the long corridor. Their shadows falling over, chasing behind them as they walked across the waning sunset light. Suddenly Asri felt her heart race, like she was being watched. But there was no one around except Miru, whose hair was bobbing with every frisk step she took. There was some sort of childlike elegance in the way Miru carried herself, owing to her noble upbringings no doubt. But Asri could sometimes sense a certain darkness, something heavy that Miru had on her almost like a shackle. Elrin told her it was a nobility thing, and she had been convinced; it was easy to single out Miru among non-noble children because of that unique feeling, the way shadow cast over her eyes sometimes in an unnerving way. But later Asri realized. She could sometimes detect the same thing from Elrin, whose fists were tightly grip before exam results. And earlier, right after Miru interrupted him, Lute also showed a similar look. Perhaps she had been reading one too many novels lately. The silence felt a bit unfathomable to her, so she decided to say something. ¡ª Hey, do you know what the Head Priestess is gonna tell us? A pebble was thrown into the heavy silence, and it was like Miru didn¡¯t hear her until she turned back. ¡ª I don¡¯t know. Although, I must say... Her eyes seemed a bit weird as they were fixed on Asri., and she continued. ¡ª You better be careful. Of course, I don¡¯t care if you get yourself killed but... ¡ª Killed?! What are you talking about? Miru looked a bit pensive, her steps slowing a bit, as she said. ¡ª ... There are some bad people who don¡¯t like the temple. The Goddess, the Chosen Star, they don¡¯t like any of it. It seemed a bit strange to Asri. People she¡¯d met in the village had varying levels of enthusiasm about the Goddess, but everyone prayed to her. Saying prayers, seeking guidance at the local temple, it was something everyone just did naturally. Liking? You could complain about the lengthy scripture, the temple gathering being so crowded with people because it¡¯s such a small temple, but you would still pray, still worship. It was strange to say you don¡¯t like the Goddess or the temple. Miru looked at the confusion on Asri¡¯s face, and clicked her tongue as she said. ¡ª Anyway, they don¡¯t like how the Chosen Star is bringing people to the temple. So some say they are going to sabotage this year¡¯s Divinity Ritual. Why would they not like the Chosen Star helping people? Asri just could not understand, the confusion in her growing. Miru continued, very quietly. ¡ª So... don¡¯t trust anyone, got it? Then she swiftly turned her head away. Her steps quickened once again, and before Asri could ask her to explain herself, they already reached the study room. ¡ª¡ª¡ª The Head Priestess stood at the podium, her face in a harsh frown. But she had always looked like that so there was no surprise among the candidates. They also knew she would not let them have a good time if they so much as whispered among themselves, so everyone were unerringly quiet. She then began. ¡ª The final test is tomorrow. Everyone here knows what they are here for, so I will not repeat myself. We will announce the new Chosen Star by supper tomorrow, and the Divinity Ritual will take place after night prayer. She looked at them all for a moment, before adding. ¡ª Go back to your room once supper is over. There is no night prayer tonight. You are dismissed. It was a simple notification of what was about to happen. The Head Priestess left the podium, eyes glancing over everyone one last time before walking out. There were hushed whispers - the Head Priestess had left, but they had been told to not make noise in the study room even when no instructor was there. People slowly poured out of the room, and Asri caught up to Elrin, who had a notebook in her hand. ¡ª Elrin! Let¡¯s go to supper together!This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Elrin looked at Asri, then at the notebook, and replied: ¡ª I¡¯m going to study. Normally Asri would have told her that she was pushing herself too much, but since the final test was tomorrow, Asri knew she wouldn¡¯t be able to stop Elrin this time. She just answered. ¡ª Alright, I¡¯ll grab some snacks for you! ¡ª ... Thanks. She made her way to the dining hall. There were a bit fewer people at supper, and she guessed that they might be studying just like Elrin. Miru came over to look for Elrin, but seeing no one by Asri¡¯s side, she clicked her tongue in annoyance. She glanced around, before standing right next to Asri. Her eyes looking at Asri from above, she smiled almost wickedly. It was the same look she would give Elrin before saying something mean. It had always confused Asri a bit, as to why was Miru doing all this. She never hit people or really messed with them, but she would harass certain people regularly. The priestesses have spoken to her a few times, but she would just keep doing it. When it looked like the main victim, Elrin, did not have too much of a problem with it, they just left her alone. Asri had felt like she had to get justice for Elrin a couple times, but Elrin insisted that it was a waste of time. True to her words, Elrin never let any of the harassment affect her studies. Miru was mean to people; she was rarely ever kind. Ignoring was the best she could do for someone. But Asri remembered the warning from earlier. She didn¡¯t have time to dwell on it, but it was really strange of Miru to do that. Unfortunately, it looked like she was back to the normal Miru now. ¡ª Your little friend isn¡¯t here? Where is she? ¡ª I¡¯m not telling you. It¡¯s the day before the final test, why can¡¯t we just be peaceful? ¡ª Peaceful? Me not kicking that piece of trash out of the study room every time I have to see her is already me holding back a lot. You¡¯ve got some guts asking that of me. ¡ª I just don¡¯t understand; why do you hate Elrin so much? I get it that you didn¡¯t want to be here, but why treat others like this? ¡ª I¡¯m more baffled at why you are sitting next to her knowing nothing! What kind of person she is, where she was from, how did she even make it here! The disgust was all over Miru¡¯s face as she continued. ¡ª You¡¯re just an idiotic peasant, but she¡¯s disgusting. You are rooming with a prostitute¡¯s daughter, and you feel nothing? Did she seduce you as well? ¡ª She didn¡¯t ask to be born into that kind of situation! And didn¡¯t the Head Priestess say status and background meant nothing here? We¡¯re all just candidates here! ¡ª Well I don¡¯t mind having to live with a bunch of lowly peasants... The sneer was effortless on Miru¡¯s face, like she had done it millions of times before, before it quickly turned into a scowl. ¡ª ... But I won¡¯t be seen being friends with a murderer! The dining hall was already sparse of people, and everyone instantly quieted down after that. Asri stared incredulously at Miru, who looked more vindictive as she said. ¡ª You haven¡¯t heard about it? Of course, those cowards won¡¯t say it because they are afraid of the priestesses. But I¡¯m not gonna let you off for trying to befriend, trying to defend a killer. And you know who she killed? Asri knew she didn¡¯t want to hear what was coming next, but she couldn¡¯t run away. Miru¡¯s eyes were sinister as she said. ¡ª Her own mother! She killed her own mother! ¡ª¡ª¡ª Asri walked back to her room with uncertain steps. The room she shared with Elrin. Her hand ghosted over the door. Did she want to see Elrin right now? Her head was a mess. They all said Elrin killed her own mother to escape the brothel, only to be caught in the end, before being taken back to the temple by the Head Priestess. Their words were overlapping in her head, the contempt in Miru¡¯s voice striking her even though she had heard it every day. It was true that Elrin never talked about her family. It was true she turned frosty the moment someone talked about theirs. It was true she never talked about the rumors, about her past, about she got here. It was just a simple ¡°The Head Priestess took me¡±. Asri knew better than to trust rumors. She trusted what she could see. Lute looked cold and uncaring, but he was kind. Elrin was curt and distant, but she cared for Asri in some ways. They were friends. Asri trusted her. She could not... she could not believe that Elrin did that. But what if it was true? If it really was a mindless rumor, Elrin would have given her that usual look of annoyance. She would have told Asri ¡°you fool¡± before going off to the library again, not minding anything the least. She would not have... There was one time, quite a while ago, a group of candidates approached Asri and Elrin. They were also at the dining hall. The girl in front of the group had her hands clasped together like they were praying, as she asked us in a tiny voice: ¡ª E-Elrin, is it true that... your mother... you... that... At the time, Asri thought they were talking about Elrin¡¯s mother being a prostitute, so she reminded them of the Head Priestess¡¯ words, that everyone¡¯s families didn¡¯t matter here. But they were all looking intently at Elrin, like waiting for a verdict. There was the faintest hint of fear in their eyes, but Asri was too indignant at them to realize at the time. Then, Elrin suddenly stood up. She took her lunch and left the dining hall. She didn¡¯t come back to the room that night. The next day, she came to class and everything was normal... but Asri remembered feeling that everyone was sitting a bit further a way from Elrin. Asri didn¡¯t realize. They were talking about this. They knew... and Elrin didn¡¯t say anything. Not even a scowl on her face. She knew Elrin would be here. The library had more books, but Elrin always chose the peace and quiet of her room when revising the night before exams. She knew Elrin would be in there right now. Her hand was numb as it hang above the door knob. ¡ª What are you doing? She felt her spine shake, and turned to look. Elrin stood a short distance away, her eyes inquiring, books under her elbow. The common sight seemed to calm Asri down, as she said in a voice that was not shaky at all. ¡ª I... think I might have forgotten something... Then it came to her, so she immediately said, falling into a normal pattern. ¡ª ... Your snacks! I said I was gonna get some for you, but I forgot! ¡ª ... Whatever. ¡ª I¡¯ll go get them now, supper¡¯s not over yet! Wait for me! ¡ª I¡¯m gonna study. Asri stepped aside for Elrin to open the door into the room. But the door was not immediately closed. ¡ª Don¡¯t wander, remember what the Head Priestess said. Asri felt something stuck in her chest. She looked away and said. ¡ª I¡¯ll be back. Don¡¯t worry. The door was closed, and Asri walked away. She gained speed, practically running from her own room, her eyes looking frantically for something, something, to help sort out her thoughts. She could not return to the dining hall; she didn¡¯t want to meet anyone, especially Miru. The study room was closed, the library room was across the dining hall... there was only one place left. She arrived at the back garden. It was dark now, and of course Lute was not there. The place looked and felt very much like the desolate place it really was. It was unnerving, but the fact that there was no one also relieved her. She didn¡¯t... she didn¡¯t want to be with anyone right now. She didn¡¯t want anyone to know... that she could not trust her friend. That for a moment, she felt the same feeling of disgust within herself towards, towards Elrin. The same feeling Miru had. She had... towards her friend... She killed her own mother! The voice resounded in her head. She couldn¡¯t believe it, but she could¡¯t not believe it entirely. She had her own mother, a family, and she destroyed it! She deserves to be condemned! But it was Elrin. Her friend, who cared for her in the smallest of ways. Her friend, who talked to her despite hating to talk. Her friend, who stopped her from going against Miru because Miru would attack her as well. She had to know the truth. But she was too afraid to ask. ¡ª What are you doing here? She swivelled around. It was Lute. Chapter 4: Strangers It was... Lute. She couldn¡¯t hear anything, but he was behind the tree all along, just mere steps from where she was sitting at their usual spot. The moonlight was faint on him like some sort of ethereal aura, and his white hair looked even more unreal. The streak of red in his black eyes was somehow brighter than usual, and if she didn¡¯t know she would have mistaken him for a wandering ghost. She felt like running away, but it was Lute. His eyes seemed to fix her in place, waiting for her answer, and so she muttered. ¡ª I... am just... watching the moon... Lute looked at her. She didn¡¯t know what the look meant. Did he see through her weak attempt at hiding how shaken up she was? Did he secretly laugh at her for harboring such thoughts towards her own friend? She had always thought she understood him, but it finally dawned on her that it might have been her wishful thinking this whole time - he was unreadable, just like everyone said he was. Even though she knew there was something, something hard to describe, between the two of them, she could not deny that in this instance, she could not tell what he was thinking at all. Perhaps he was mirroring her own lack of understanding towards her own feelings. Perhaps there really was something different about him tonight. The night before the Divinity Ritual. Lute glanced at the side, the light movement not even moving a single strand of hair on his shoulder. Then he turned back and smiled at her, at which something in her shook; she seldom saw Lute smile in front of her, and when it happened it was like this tiny smile that he was almost afraid of showing. Not this kind of overly gentle, crescent-eyed smile that seemed like he was not smiling at all. It was all the more stranger as his eyes glinted under the moonlight, looking like razor blades. He walked towards her. His steps were light; she could barely hear the sounds of grass shuffling as if a wind simply passed through them. Somehow she could not find it in her to move, her palms clutching each other a bit tighter. Her breaths slowed, almost like she was afraid to make any noises, and her shoulders were painfully set into place as she did not dare to break eye contact with him. It was as if something bad was going to happen if she did. He was in front of her almost in a split second, and his head lowered right next to her cheek. He had never been this close to her before, so close she could even make out his eyelashes, his tall nose bridge, his thin and pale lips. His lips were moving, and she almost missed what he was saying amidst her own heartbeats: ¡ª ...back to your room, and don¡¯t come out until morning prayer. He was whispering, and his voice sounded cold - or perhaps she was simply underdressed for the chilly evening. But there was insistence in his eyes, and she even felt like he was trying to block her sight from something. No, it was more like he was trying to... ¡ª Asri. She snapped out of it, and quickly replied: ¡ª O-okay, I¡¯m going. She turned her back to him, and walked back to the corridor. She could still feel him looking at her, or maybe it was the nerves getting to her. But she did not dare to turn and check. ¡ª¡ª¡ª Asri went feeling shaken up by one thing, and returned feeling even more shaken up. She still didn¡¯t feel right talking to Elrin, but what happened with Lute was truly spooky. It was like... he was not the Lute she knew. It also made her think about Elrin. There was a lot she didn¡¯t know about her friend and roommate, but it had never bothered her since the Priestess told everyone that their past was to be left behind. She had also never put too much thoughts into the rumors surrounding Elrin - part of her was condemning the other candidates, Miru included, to come up with such malicious rumors about a fellow candidate. She had never, perhaps even dared to have, considered that a fraction of those rumors were true. That her roommate, her friend, truly had such a past. She loved her family. She was born without one, yearned for one, and so loved the one she was given with all of her heart and being. She was not beyond being jealous of others who were born into such joy, but she had always kept the orphanage director¡¯s teaching to heart: only good children deserve a family. So she strived with all her heart, and adopted she was. She loved her new parents, her mother her father, her family.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. She would do anything for them. She would do anything to not be left alone. She would do anything if it meant they were happy. So she took the Head Priestess¡¯ hand and became a candidate. Her family would be happy, happier without an extra mouth to feed, happier without her who was not their real child, happier with the remuneration from the Temple. Because of this, she could not stand the thought of someone killing their own family. How was it possible? Circumstances? What circumstances so dire that one could kill their own closest kin? What circumstances so harrow that one could not just die for their most loved ones? Elrin never spoke a single word against it... Asri¡¯s feet stopped in front of their door to her own room. She was finally back. The night silence was heavy around her, and she was deadly afraid of turning the knob in front of her. All she needed to do was ask... but she was afraid of the answer. She was afraid of hating her one of her closest friends in this place. She was afraid of the stranger living with her inside this room. The stranger that killed their own mother. There was a rustling of the leaves behind her, and she was reminded of the encounter with Lute. She quickly twisted the knob and launched herself into the room, heading straight to her bed. Her head in the pillow, she could make out the yellow light of the candle on the table next to hers. Elrin was studying, almost unperturbed by the shutting door. It was okay. She would get her answer. Until then, Elrin would remain Elrin, the friend she knew and loved. ¡ª¡ª¡ª They said, when it rains it pours. The final test was an arduous and tense business, but it was finally over. Seeing everyone with their books and stationery, Asri felt her heart calm down - everything was normal and familiar to her. Her lost courage slowly returning, she decided to ask Elrin about it once lunch was over. But Elrin somehow disappeared after lunch, and Asri spent the free period looking around for her friend. Elrin being anywhere but the library and her own room was strange enough, but she found Elrin at a remote isolated corner of the Temple. Furthermore, before she could call out she saw another unexpected person. It was Lute. What was unexpected was not the fact that he was there, but rather him talking to Elrin. She never recalled the two of them having ever talked, but there they were having a conversation which she could use no word other than ¡®secretive¡¯. She wanted to know, and just barely held herself back when Lute quickly left. Elrin alone stood there, as if debating something with herself. Asri never heard anything, but she did not want to be found so she shuffled away. Even she herself did not know why she did not want to be found. The two people talking were her friends; what was she feeling guilty for? And after that whole fiasco, the sight of her two friends talking secretly together still not leaving her mind for hours after it happened, she found out that she was the Chosen Star. Talk about being relentless. The priestesses simply shook their heads amidst inquiring gazes, and brought Asri to the Head Priestess¡¯ room where she was told what would happen for the ritual that night. She could see neither heads nor tails of her friends, and the unbelievable fact that she was chosen simply shook her up just like she was the night before. She was escorted back to her room, and fell down into her bed. It was like, it was all a dream and she was simply in a long, unending dream... And she must have fallen asleep. Because when she was barely conscious again, she was in a dark space. She couldn¡¯t see her hands, her feet, her torso... nothing at all, but the fact didn¡¯t bother her. She was simply existing, her gaze somehow encompassing the entire space that she was encompassed within. But it was nothing but a deep darkness. ¡ª¡ª¡ª The darkness was wide and far, she could tell. There was something primal, something fearful, that filled up this space, and she did not know where did ¡°she¡± end and that other thing began. She could make out screams, muted yells, cries painted with resentment as dark as the night sky. She understood - the darkness was one of hatred. At the same time, it was as fervent as the worship of deities. Just as the thought came to her, as if fulfilling her wish, she could her people chanting. She could not make out the words, but they were chanting something. Their distinct voices, high and low, overlapping in unison, like the unstoppable march of soldiers. She had no hands of her own, but she reached out nevertheless. Anything, if it meant she could escape this darkness...! A scene opened up in front of her. Candles dotting the low chamber. The hushed whispers of people in black garbs shivering along with their shadows cast on the run-down brick walls around them. A coffin with intricate pattern, the object of their fervent gazes. Two dark shadows, one short one tall, stood next to the coffin whose carvings looked as if they were deviously glowing. Upon closer look, she saw that the shorter shadow was actually crouching on the ground, the edges of its robes spreading around it like they were surrendering to the other silhouette. The taller shadow was not that tall, but something about its imposing figure made it seem natural that a chamber full of people should be bowing down to it. The tall figure walked towards the coffin, and her attention was brought to it. She could not see inside the opened coffin from where she was, but suddenly she was right above it. And laid within... was a young man with white hair... ¡ª Asri! Wake up!! A voice shook her to the very core, and suddenly she was Asri, just Asri, lying on her rough bed, looking a bit bewilderedly at her friend, Elrin, who was staring down at her next to the bed. The voice had been Elrin¡¯s, and she had simply having a strange dream. A dream? What was it about again? Didn¡¯t she have a weird dream just another day, about... ¡ª What are you thinking about, Asri? Elrin¡¯s voice cut her off, and she stared at Asri, feeling unable to move all of a sudden. But Elrin looked just the same as usual, even sporting a rare smile. Her mind was frazzled, and she simply answered to that familiar, gentle smile. ¡ª I had a bad dream... but I don¡¯t remember what it was... Elrin smiled a bit more at this. She felt weird... did Elrin use to smile this often? Her head felt like it was spinning, her breath seemed like they were draining from her. She must have lied down for too long. So she put her hands next to her torso and push herself up... ...and was promptly pushed back down into the bed. On top of her was Elrin, whose hands were gripping her elbows and pinning them to the bed. The candle¡¯s light was flickering behind them, casting shadow on Elrin¡¯s face as it was inches away from Asri¡¯s own. She could see the mole under Elrin¡¯s left eye so clearly at this distance, blue-grey hair framing her friend¡¯s face like licking fire. Speechless, she almost missed her friend¡¯s next words as they were whispered right next to her ears. ¡ª Are you running away again? Chapter 5: Wandering to the end ¡ª Are you running away again? Was it an accusation? Or was it simply a statement? Elrin¡¯s voice didn¡¯t seem like it belong to her reticent roommate who treasured words like gold. But it was definitely Elrin¡¯s voice. Asri was pinned down by her friend, Elrin. This was by no means something usual, and she was only half surprised by it. Asri was surprised, but she was simply letting the words sink into her. ¡°Running away¡±? ¡°Again¡±? The words struck a chord, but it didn¡¯t make sense to Asri. The Elrin she knew wouldn¡¯t do something like this either. The sleepiness was flushed out of her, and she glared up at Elrin, the one who was pushing her down. That¡¯s right, she glared at Elrin. Was it Elrin? Or was it someone else? The Elrin she knew wouldn¡¯t do something like this. But she felt awake. What was going on? ¡ª W-who are you?! You are n-not Elrin! She could not help the shaking of her voice, but she managed to finish the sentence while looking straight at Elrin¡¯s eyes. They were quirked up in a bemused manner, and the familiar-but-not-really voice continued to flow like thick honey next to her. ¡ª Oh? If I am not then who am I? Asri struggled, but the grip on her arms was strong. Inhuman, even. But she was simply a child. Elrin was a child just like hers, but she was somehow unable to escape. Elrin looked truly entertained at Asri¡¯s struggle, and continued to say after a chuckle. ¡ª Seeing you like this... makes everything worthwhile. Elrin paused a bit, as if taking in more of the sight, before saying. ¡ª It might even be worth it just to continue... seeing you forever unable to escape your fate... just like me. Asri could not understand any of it, and she was starting to feel her arms aching from being pinned to the hard bed, so she yelled to the ¡°fake¡± Elrin. ¡ª W-what are you talking about?! Release me! You are definitely not Elrin! The Elrin in front of her laughed at that even more. ¡ª You are right!! I am not your Elrin! Do you know what I am? Then ¡°Elrin¡± started to speak, in an impossibly low voice. ¡ª I am you. The future you. ¡ª I am what you will become. A pathetic excuse of an existence. Unable to fulfill what is expected of you. Running away from reality in elaborate dreams. Trapped by your own fate! ¡ª You think I don¡¯t know what you are scared of? What you are running away from? Asri stared wild-eyed at the being in front of her, looking unmistakably like Elrin and yet was the furthest thing away from her friend. This was... the future her? The eyes of ¡°Elrin¡± seemed to instantly grow colder, as her normally expressionless face morphed into a twisted frown. ¡ª You hated that girl. I... ¡ª You pretended to be nice to that girl, but actually condemned her inside. No, I... I don¡¯t... ¡ª You were disgusted by her. Didn¡¯t she kill her own mother? You couldn¡¯t stand someone like that. Friends? Stop lying to yourself! No! Elrin is my friend!! Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Like she was jostled awake, Asri felt her strength come back to her. The grip on her arms also felt weaker. She shook them off - somehow, they were not as tight as she thought they were. Elrin... no, the future her stood next to the bed, their face unreadable. She stood up and faced the silhouette, her voice cracking at first before it gained momentum. ¡ª ...You are right. I... I have felt hatred at Elrin... when I found out that she could have killed her... mother. ¡ª You are right. It was not something I could accept. I did not, I avoided asking her because I was afraid... Afraid of hating her if it turns out to be true. ¡ª But you are also wrong. Even if I don¡¯t know if we can still be friends, at this moment... we are friends. Until I heard it from Elrin... until I know what truly happened... Elrin is my friend!! That¡¯s right, she had not asked Elrin yet. They were friends. Elrin was her beloved friend. And that was the truth. So where was Elrin? In response, the Elrin-like figure in front of her put its hand on her shoulder, before leaning in, almost like it was embracing her, as it said. ¡ª Before that... where are you? Suddenly Asri¡¯s eyes snapped open. She was lying against the wall on the ground, in a dark and narrow path surrounded by rock walls. Lined along the cracked walls were dusty lanterns giving off feeble light. Just ahead of her a few steps, she could make out the outline of a door. She was sleeping? Where was this place? Was there such a place in the Temple? She stood up and walked towards the door. There was a large button, and when she pushed it, the entire ¡°door¡± pushed a few inches towards her, the wall making rumbling noises in the progress. Before she could collect herself from the shock, the wall rumbled more as the ¡°door¡± slowly moved to the right, revealing the way out. She walked out, only to find herself just walking out a huge painting on a corridor next to another set of door, only that this looked like proper doors with gold-lidded handles on them. It was definitely a corridor in the Temple. Asri heaved a sigh of relief, but where was she inside the Temple exactly? And how did she end up... in a secret pathway hidden behind a painting?? She looked at the other end of corridor. It was almost night time, the sky outside the window turning purple rapidly as she stood there. The corridor looked like it was sucked into unfathomable darkness, even if she knew it was just the lack of lighting. She took a few steps in that direction, but felt the ground tremble beneath her, like everything was falling apart on the other end of the corridor. But how could that be? She was standing on even ground. She turned to the huge door next to her. It was fancier than any of the doors she had seen in the Temple, with intricate engravings that seemed to glow in the dark. She could hear noises coming from behind it, like they were beckoning her. Suddenly the door creaked open, like it could hear her thoughts, and her steps took her towards it. Like puppet on strings. It was quiet behind the doors. A wide and tall chamber stood in front of her, exquisite engravings filled the dome-like ceilings of the chamber. There was a circular platform slightly elavated at the center of the chamber, and an altar was on top of it. Crescent moon patterns, flowing vines dotted with pearls. The symbols of the Goddess filled the place; it was truly a place for the most pious of believers. But all of that went past her as she saw the two people standing next to the altar. It was Elrin... it was Elrin, looking like she usually did, minus the part that she was being restrained by a taller person in black. In fact, the whole person was black. She could not make out what they looked like, like their very being was being painted over by rough strokes of ink. But it all went past Asri. She could only see Elrin, whose neck was inches away from the knife held by the black figure. A past conversation flashed through her head. A conversation with Miru. ¡ª ... There are some bad people who don¡¯t like the temple. The Goddess, the Chosen Star, they don¡¯t like any of it. ¡ª Anyway, they don¡¯t like how the Chosen Star is bringing people to the temple. So some say they are going to sabotage this year¡¯s Divinity Ritual. Miru warned her about shady people. People who did not follow the Goddess. People who wanted to ruin the Ritual, because they hated the faith of Fate. Was this one of them? No! She could not let them hurt Elrin!! She still... she still needed to ask about that thing...! So she ran towards the dark figure. She could not see them clearly. What did they look like? How tall were they? Were they a man or a woman? She did not know, but she ran towards them anyway. Only she could save Elrin, her friend, and she would hesitate at nothing if it meant saving her beloved friend. Then it was like she stepped into darkness. She could see the dark figure expanding, like claws were growing out of it, reaching towards her like it was going to tear her apart. A monster she thought. But there was no fear in her heart. Elrin was right there, right there, and she had to... she had to... She was pushed out of the way, then thrown to the ground. It would hurt, it was supposed to hurt, but somehow she could not find it in her to care. She raised her battered body to look at what had pushed her, and on the ground just a few steps from her was a familiar figure on the ground. White hair, white temple garbs, blood as red as ruby seeping through his back. A scene flashed through her head. The dream. The dream she had. The same figure now lied in front of her, motionless. And just like in the dream, she rushed to hold him in her arms. She could feel the blood seeping onto her arms, no doubt dying her similar white temple garbs with red as dark as the sunset sky, but she could not bring herself to care. For some reason, it was like she knew it would all come to this. The end. But Asri felt tears streaking down her cheek nevertheless. The pain was like a fresh wound, even though there was no injury to be found on her. The blood on her arms looked like it had drained from her own face, her pale face shaking as tears fall down like pearls. Her light brown hair cascaded down on her small shoulders, shaking along with her torso. Her very person seemed to be shivering in the nonexistent chill of the room. The carpeted ground was so soft on her knees, but Lute looked uncomfortable lying there. No, perhaps it was her who felt that he shouldn¡¯t be looking so lifeless, regardless of the place. ¡ª Why, Lute, why... She found herself speaking incomprehensible words. It was not like he could answer her, and she didn¡¯t know how he ended up here either. But here he was, dead from protecting her. She cupped his face in her palms, his skin cold as marble. His ponytail was loose, white hair pooling underneath her hands. She had always wanted to comb through his hair like this, wanted to touch the strands to see if they were as nice as they looked from afar. She had wanted to put her hands on his, to look at his black eyes as they looked back at hers like she was the only one he could see. But his eyes were closed. Closed. And they would never open for her again. All because of her. The tears had dried from her eyes, but it was like her heart was bleeding where no one could see. She loved him. She loved Lute. The moment she realized this, a warm feeling filled up her heart. At the same time, her heart bled even more. So what it said you killed the one you love. I... killed... the one... I... Then there was light in front of her. Light from the altar. The dark figure had long since disappeared, and Elrin was lying on the ground. But Asri was focusing on the figure that had appeared on top of the altar, bringing immeasurable light with them. Straight black hair like the night sky. Silk-like vines dotted with pearls like stars were weaved along her hair. Eyes as dark and at the same time full of starry wonder. Skin as white and lustrous as the finest gem. She was dressed in an impeccable dress of glowing crescent moon patterns, and her very presence seemed to invite worship and appreciation beyond words. Asri knew, almost as natural as breathing itself, that this was the Goddess. The Goddess of Fate, Lumina. Chapter 6: Prayers and miracles
Asri sat there, almost dumbfoundedly so, as she took in the grand figure of the Goddess. None of the education so far had informed her of what to do if she actually met the Goddess herself, so she found herself a bit at a loss. That and also she was in no mental state to fully take in the fact that a deity was standing in front of her. But the story would not wait for her. The Goddess raised her hand, and a light enveloped the figure of Elrin lying on the floor. Asri gently put down Lute¡¯s body, and walked over to Elrin, who had woken up. It was like the shock of what had happened had taken down the last barrier in her heart, and so she said to Elrin, who simply looked at her without saying anything. ¡ª Are you okay? Elrin nodded. The Goddess looked at the both of them, as if watching a story unfold. Somehow Asri thought it was the perfect time to finally ask the questions she wanted to ask. ¡ª What happened here? This was a place they had never been to as candidates, and it was even stranger that she woke up just outside of it. Then someone bad was about to kill Elrin. Then the Goddess appeared. She didn¡¯t think the Goddess just appeared out of nowhere, so this must be a rather special place. A thought came to her, so she voiced it. ¡ª Is this... the chamber where the Divinity Ritual is supposed to take place? At this, Elrin nodded, reticent in the same way Asri was used to. Even when so close to death, Elrin was still the same, almost fearless. As if taking some of that courage, Asri continued. ¡ª Okay, so... why are you... here? She was supposed to come here at the designated time when the Ritual began. It looked dark from outside just now, so she must have woken up around that time... the Goddess was here so the Ritual was a success? But what did they do actually? The only thing that happened was that Lute... A voice, melodious like it was singing, cut off her running thoughts. ¡ª It was simply the time for me to descend and perform the Ritual. It was meant to happen, so disruptions wouldn¡¯t mean anything at all. The way the Goddess spoke was beautiful to listen to, but what she was saying was cold. Asri felt the hope leaving her just as it was starting to emerge. In her imagination, the Goddess would be a radiant figure whose generosity must be as boundless or even more than the beautiful rumors she had heard of the Chosen Star, the vessel of the Goddess. The former was undoubtedly proven true in front of her eyes, but the latter brought her doubts. No¡­ she was convinced that at that moment, the Goddess would not be granting her any goodwill. But why was she so convinced? And was she okay with this? No! How could she be okay with her beloved dying?! But resignation filled her heart. Like it didn¡¯t just happen. But this resignation had been with her for a long, long time. Like she had been forced to confront this fact over and over again, that the Goddess was simply helpless when one¡¯s fate had simply ended. There was no saving what no longer existed. So she continued what she wanted to do. She needed to know what happened. A hazy fog filled her heart. She needed to know what happened. She needed to know if the person standing of her was a friend, or a stranger, ¡ª Elrin, please. Why are you here? Tell me, what happened?! Elrin turned to the side, face partially obscured by uneven hair bangs. The shadow was like the dread that slowly crept up Asri¡¯s heart, but she kept herself calm. She waited, she would wait. And then, like decades had passed, Elrin turned back to her, and slowly said. ¡ª I heard that, anti-Fate forces were going to stop the Ritual. So I came here. If she had not fallen asleep, then maybe she would be the one in there almost killed by the assassin, Asri thought. Perhaps Elrin was worried, and got involved when coming to check. On the other hand, if it was just Asri being held by the assassin, then maybe Lute wouldn¡¯t have died. Why did she fall asleep!? The Goddess stood still, dark eyes watching the silence between Asri and Elrin. It was unknown what she was waiting for, or perhaps she was simply waiting for the play in front of her to be over, for the next stage. Asri clutched her dress, and breathed out. There was... there was nothing more she could do. As the familiar resignation set in, she looked at Elrin again. One final question, and this could be all over. ¡ª Could you tell me... The words felt painful to say, but she had to say it. ¡ª Tell me... what happened to your mother, Elrin?The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. The question was asked, and Asri felt like unending ripples were made in the still water that was their friendship. She wanted it, she wanted the person in front of her to be her friend. But she could not let this stand between the two of them, not when it was so important to her. She prayed, she prayed, the Goddess was right there, that it was not what it seemed. That there was a story behind it. That it was all a misunderstanding. But prayers seemed to have stopped working for her. Elrin looked back at her like there was nothing to hide. ¡ª My mother died because of me. I caused her to die. Don¡¯t say it! ¡ª I killed my mother, Asri. And you know what? No, stop!! ¡ª I killed my father too. They both... Please... ¡ª They both died... because of me. CLAP! There was a clapping noise, and they both turned to the only other person in the room. The Goddess was clapping her hands together, like she had really enjoyed what she was watching. Then she spoke, infinite power in her voice, like pulling down the curtains of it all. ¡ª Let¡¯s proceed with the Ritual. ¡ª¡ª¡ª What¡¯s the Divinity Ritual? Everyone knew it was when the Goddess would descend and make a suitable young girl into the Chosen Star, her representative. The Chosen Star was mesmerizing and full of wisdom, and people in the nation flocked to the Temple of Lunacape in the capital everyday in order to have a chance of seeing her. They said it would change your life. The Chosen Star would guide you to your path, would point out the way you should go to take hold of your fate. It all sounded very esoteric, but everyone who came back from the visit had stars in their eyes, and they all found happiness and success in their life, however it was like. But of course, no one but the people of the Temple itself knew what the Ritual was really like. And Asri and Elrin were about to find out. The Goddess smiled like a blooming flower as she made a motion with her delicate fingers. They were all surrounded by light, and suddenly Asri could see no one, nothing, but the figure of the Goddess in front of her. She was mesmerized, and there were stars in her eyes. The voice of the Goddess was like that of a wandering bard, singing and telling fantastical tales at the same time. ¡ª There was once a girl and a boy. The girl was special, a chosen one. The boy was a dispensable existence. They met, and like the beautiful reflection of the moon on the lake, fell in love. But, just like how the beautiful reflection was simply a mirage, their fates were never meant to be. The greedy humans emptied the water of the lake in hope of capturing the moon, but all they did was take away a beautiful sight that could never be recreated. The story was strange, like some sort of fairytale you would sing to children at night. ¡ª The moon wished it could be captured along with the drying lake. It had been so lonely. The lake wished it could reach out to the splendid moon. It had been so lonely. So, so lonely. There was a stabbing pain in Asri¡¯s heart. It sounded so familiar. But the pain rendered her speechless. Her heart felt like it was filled with blood, but she was standing still without a single injury on her, surrounded by light so splendid it was indescribable. But the Goddess continued, heedless of her pain. ¡ª Then, a miracle happened. The moon, which had remained beautiful and untouchable for the mere mortals underneath it, cried. A single tear flowed, and the tear shone brightly. ¡ª The tear dropped onto the lake, which had but one last drop of water left. The two drops merged into one, and shone even more brightly. The sight was mesmerizing, a miracle the likes of which humans could not dare to understand. ¡ª Then there was light. The combined drop became a star. The moon seemed to lose its brilliance next to this radiant star. The moon, which forever remained in solitude, could not hope to outshine this young star which was the spirit of that young couple. Their love! The Goddess raised both of her hands like it was the climax of a great play. ¡ª Their love itself had created the miracle! The strength of your love!! It was just what I have been looking for!!! Then she laughed, almost maniacally, happiness spilling out of her eyes as bright as the miraculous star she had just described. And she looked straight at Asri, who was staring in a daze at the light surrounding them. ¡ª All these years... and my miracle has arrived. Allow me to grant you... a miracle. ¡ª¡ª¡ª When Asri opened her eyes, she was in a wide field of grass. The sky was blue and bright above her. The sunlight was soft and beautiful, dancing on the tip of the grass. There was no blood on her, just a lighthearted, ticklish feeling like she was crying from happiness. The wind caressed her face ever so gently, as she walked towards an unknown destination. She then saw a tree in the distance. A familiar tree. She took a couple more steps. There was a silhouette standing by the tree. She felt her steps hurrying even thought she didn¡¯t know what it all meant. When she was close enough, the person turned around. White hair in a ponytail, black eyes crinkled into a gentle smile. Before she knew it, she was already in that person¡¯s embrace. The happiness rushed out of her, tears spilling even though she was so sure there wasn¡¯t any left. The warmth that enveloped her felt real - she had thought she could never feel it again. He was alive. Lute was alive. Her beloved, was alive! She hugged him with all of her strength, not even minding if he might be hurt in the process. It was like, if she continued to hold on, if he continued to stay in her arms like this, then he would remain here, alive, whatever this world was. She would not be left behind again. She would never be alone again. He didn¡¯t seem to mind the grip, and instead leaned further into her embrace, almost like melting into her. Comfort filled her heart, and she decided to tell him about her feelings towards him. She wanted to know if he felt the same. She wanted to look into his eyes and see her figure reflected in those beautiful black orbs, like there was nothing else in the world but the two of them. But he didn¡¯t let her. Their heads were next to each other; she couldn¡¯t see what his expression was, and he couldn¡¯t see hers either. But she heard him clearly, speaking right next to her ear. ¡ª You... you are so... His voice was muffled, like it was hard to even articulate the words, like he was being overwhelmed by something. It was a bit raspy, like he was struggling to breathe. Before she could wonder further, he finished the words. ¡ª ...gullible. And then, light was no more. Chapter 7: A quiet wake
Did I die? The question was loud and clear in her head, but there was no answer. Because she already knew the answer. ¡°Asri¡± had died, but ¡°she¡± was still here. All of it was simply a dream, and it was time for ¡°her¡± to wake up. Could I die? The same question plagued her for more than just a few decades, incomparably long compared to her time as ¡°Asri¡±. There was an answer, a proven solution, but it was not one that she could take. She sat at her bed, her hand tracing the exquisite fabric of the veil enclosing the bed. They said dreams were quickly forgotten upon waking up, but for some reason she found herself unable to extract herself from the feelings of the girl from an unspoken time. She was no longer the same, the memories of her newfound reality rushing in to remind her, but she could not help yearning for that unspoken time. The time when happiness was so simple and easy to find, when the smile of a person could bring her so much joy. She brought her hand to her chest. There was the sound of a beating heart - or so she could make it seem to be, but she knew there was no such thing. She also knew that even if she had a beating heart, she had already forgotten what it was like to live without this feeling of emptiness. Maybe she was sad. Maybe she was lonely. Maybe she was all of that combined. But her nonexistent heart could no longer feel. There was only a heavy feeling of nothingness. There was a gentle knock at the door. She acquiesced, and a graceful figure entered and kneeled in front of her. Her voice felt a bit estranged from her own self, but she was used to the sensation. She knew the person in front of her would also understand, seeing as she had just woken up from another long sleep. ¡ª How are the pillars? Truthfully, she could have gone and checked using her own power, but she was tired. Tired of being reminded of her responsibilities. The person in front of her was also someone she could trust, so there was no problem asking about it like this. ¡ª There has been no major incident, your Grace. ¡ª Good work. Is there anything that requires my attention? ¡ª There are two things, your Grace - the time for the next Divinity Ritual is approaching, and a new divine being is coming into existence. ¡ª It¡¯s that time again¡­ Alright. What is the problem with this divine being that requires my intervention? No other deities were allowed to exist beside the Goddess of Fate, as dictated by the rules. Normally the angels, led by Archangel Azelia, would take care of it for the Goddess. This new deity seemed to be especially problematic if it required her attention. Azelia, still gracefully kneeling with full composure, slowly explained. ¡ª The narrative for the new divine being was that of a God Killer - in other words, a being with the power to kill your Grace, the Goddess of Fate. The narrative has gained traction among a group of people who has unfortunately grouped the faith of Fate with the Cassendrian nobilities. The angels have attempted to fix this misunderstanding among the people, but there are forces within the nation that are pushing for this misconception to be accepted as fact in order to fuel a civil war. As we are unable to stay in the mortal world for too long, we are currently unable to stop the narrative from spreading. It seemed like the new divine being, the God Killer, was gaining power because some humans were determined to make a civil war happen, and the story of a God Killer was convenient to divide the people who had been united under their common faith for the Goddess of Fate. It would be hard for the angels to take care of a divine being with the power to supposedly ¡°kill the Goddess¡±. She felt the tiredness consume her just as she thought about having to personally deal with this, but she could not just abandon her duties. She could sleep for decades, she could leave all the work to her angels, but she could not turn her back on an issue that could only be solved by her. It was not something like noblesse oblige - she was simply unable to throw away her responsibility of managing the Fate of the world. Divine identity, the same power which ¡°killed¡± Asri and ¡°created¡± a new Lumina, an immortal Goddess, also made it impossible for her to do anything that could harm the Fate of the world. She could not abandon her duties, she could not knowingly damage the Fate of the world, she could not kill herself. Lumina chuckled inside, but her face remained unmoved. Azelia waited with seemingly boundless patience. For immortal beings such as themselves, forever bound to life and duty by the shackles of their divine identity, time was not of the essence. Lumina then spoke. ¡ª I will descend to take a look at this God Killer. Prepare for the Divinity Ritual in the mean time. Azelia did a quiet bow, her shoulder length blue-grey hair not falling a single strand out of place. The mole under her left eye brought a bewitching charm to her otherwise emotionless face. Lumina was reminded of another girl from an unspoken time, and found herself speaking again. ¡ª Azelia, do you want to come with me to the mortal world? She did not know why she had asked. Perhaps she was reminiscent of the time when ¡°Asri¡± was with ¡°Elrin¡±, and what she had with Azelia was a little similar to that. The angels were companions, servants, loyal subordinates of the Goddess. It was etched in their divine identity that they could not disobey the direct orders of the Goddess. She could trust Azelia because of this, but beside that they had been together for close to five centuries. She trusted Azelia the most, and Azelia also understood her more than anyone else. She knew Lumina was reminiscing about their past as humans. Lumina almost already knew the answer, so she was not surprised when Azelia simply replied.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡ª Do forgive me but I have to prepare for the ritual and assemble the angels for information about the God Killer. I will send you the relevant information once I have them ready, your Grace. With that, Azelia left the room. ¡ª¡ª¡ª She was Lumina, the Goddess of Fate. The name Lumina belonged to the one and only divine being with the divine identity of the Goddess. Divine beings, such as gods and angels, were distinct from human beings - with divinity, they were immortal and held powers beyond what humans were capable of. The power of faith sustained them, empowered them and also shackled them. That was their divine identity. She used to be ¡°Asri¡±, the human girl who was going to become the Chosen Star, the human idol of the faith of Fate, the living vessel of the Goddess. Little did she know, on the day of the Divinity Ritual, she would become the Goddess herself. It sounded like a thrilling story of a human child overcoming the limits of humanity and reaching what many others could not even dream to accomplish. Immortality! Divine powers! Angels at her beck and call! Thousands, millions of puny humans worshipping at her feet as she held the Fate of the world in her palm. If they knew, no one would pay attention to the small fact that she never asked to be the Goddess. Her memories of what happened were hazy, but they were nevertheless etched upon her soul. She found herself inexplicably sleeping in her room a long time after she was announced the Chosen Star, and then woke up in a secret pathway that led straight to the chamber where the Ritual was to happen. She came upon the sight of her closest friend, her roommate, being held with a knife to the neck. As she was trying to come to terms with more than one surprise, the Head Priestess came to talk to her. She remembered this conversation so clearly, even though it felt like a dream to her. The Head Priestess had a glint in her eyes as she told Asri. ¡ª I thought my blessing was failing me, pointing you as the next Chosen Star when you were just a normal unremarkable child. All the other Stars have been different, special in some way - befitting of their high fate value. But you, you were just a naive commoner with nothing to speak about. ¡ª But you were hiding all this time, weren¡¯t you? You had all of us fooled, even that boyfriend and roommate of yours. You knew all this time, didn¡¯t you? ¡ª Your boyfriend was an assassin sent to sabotage the ritual, he probably thought he had you in his palm when you were scheming against him all this time. At first I thought your little roommate was trying to take your place as the Star, but what are the odds that she just happened to be mistaken as the real one by the assassin, who¡¯s also coincidentally your boyfriend? ¡ª I thought it was weird that a naive little girl like you had so much fate value¡­ yes, you were pretending this whole time. ¡ª You tricked your boyfriend, then your good friend as well. Now they will kill her, and your boyfriend will also be exposed. Who else but you will benefit the most from this! ¡ª It could also be that friend of yours trying to save you by taking your place, but that¡¯s even more ridiculous! That prostitute child, that mother murderer!! Sacrificing herself for someone else, I¡¯d be a fool to believe that!! ¡ª You¡¯ve done well, Chosen Star. Asri heard every single word, but she could not make sense of it. Her mind was struggling to catch up to the reality in front of her, and she could only come to one realization. Elrin¡­ if it was not for Elrin, she would be the person standing there, with a knife on her neck. The words trickled out of Asri. ¡ª ¡­No, Elrin, she definitely¡­ ¡ª She loved her mother. She didn¡¯t kill her mother! She definitely¡­ for me¡­ Elrin!! Her friend, whose face looked even paler with a knife right next to her small neck, noticed her and paled one shade further. ¡ª Don¡¯t come here! Why are you here!! After this, Asri lost consciousness¡­ and found herself back at the same pathway she woke up from. She had thought everything was a dream, a cruel dream that her anxious mind cooked up before the ritual. But when she walked out of the pathway and entered the chamber again, she was faced with an even harsher reality. In the dream, Elrin had a knife pointing at her neck¡­ by Lute. Lute, her dear friend whom Asri had spent countless afternoons with. Lute, her beautiful friend whom Asri had thought to be an angel. Lute, her beloved friend whom Asri had ticklish feelings towards whenever he smiled. And in front of her, then, was Lute, sitting among the fallen bodies of priestesses, holding a knife that was inch away from Elrin¡¯s face. The dream¡­ no, was everything a dream? Was this a dream within a dream? No, it was not. She remembered this as well, barely a conversation as it was. Lute turned to her, and his face almost twitched. In a resigned voice, he said. ¡ª You¡­ do you have resistance to drugs or something? She was still flabbergasted at what she was seeing. ¡ª Lute¡­ what does this¡­ mean? He did not answer her, only raised his hand with the knife in order to strike. The horror consumed her and she uttered a silent scream as the knife fell. But it never hit its target. Because right at that moment, the Goddess descended. After telling some meaningless story that Asri could not remember, the Goddess stabbed her with a black dagger. She felt the excruciating pain of being transformed into a Goddess, then the rest was history. An old unspoken story of centuries prior. ¡°Asri¡± died, and she was now Lumina, the Goddess of Fate. The old Lumina took pity on her, perhaps, and made two other nearby humans into angels that would accompany her on top of the existing angels. Azelia was one of them. Their human past had long been forgotten, by history and time. They had become so different, their story felt like it belonged to someone else completely. After all, they were no longer humans - they were gods and angels. Lumina closed her eyes. The familiar sleepy sensation came to her, almost like it was silently whispering to her, tempting her to return to her dreams. When she slept, when she let herself be drowned by the dreams her frazzled mind came up with, she could temporarily escape her current shackled reality. She could forget that she was Lumina, and return to being Asri. Even if the dreams always ended the same way. Lute was lying the floor, blood seeping through his garb from when he was swung against the wall by the Goddess. The Goddess continued her meaningless story as Asri held Lute¡¯s hand, which was rapidly growing colder. Perhaps she was still trying to persuade herself that there was a misunderstanding, that Lute didn¡¯t kill all the priestesses and was not about to kill Elrin as well. Perhaps she was unable to accept that the person she loved, as she found out, had possibly been deceiving her this entire time. Perhaps¡­ Lute looked at her. Did he know what was going through her mind? He breathed heavily as if trying to laugh, and said. ¡ª You¡­ you are so¡­ The words laboriously trickled out of him. ¡ª ¡­gullible¡­ It was at this point that the Goddess stabbed her. She did not know which was more painful, being stabbed in the heart or finding out that the person she loved had been deceiving her. And he died. Possibly because of her. She could remember the pain, whichever it was. Her tears had all but dried up, and so her face remained unmoved even as she recalled the bitterest of memories. She could not let herself break down. As Lumina, the Goddess of Fate, she could not break down. She was no longer Asri. Her dreams as Asri had ended. It was time for her to be the Goddess again. Chapter 7.1: Rules of the angels
This was a memory from a long time ago, in a place farther than the reach of humans. ¡ª Your Grace, may we grant blessings upon the fate of the world. ¡ª Your Grace, may we protect the pillars of the fate of the world. ¡ª Your Grace, may we embrace the turbulence from the fate of the world. Time felt like it had slipped away; in place of her humanity was a feeling of power unlike anything she had ever felt. But there was a catch - her new power, her new identity was governed by a force beyond her own desire. Spoken simply, she could wield her power, but the power also compelled her. In between assemblies and lessons, during which the abstract concept of ¡°protecting the fate of the world¡± was slowly beaten into her in the form of practical actions (talk to the angels, summon divine power, perform rituals), sometimes she found herself without anything to think about. It was strange, being a Goddess, and she wondered if all deities felt this way. The angels all looked like they had a purpose and knew what to do, their every word compelled by the power within them. It was the same for her; all she had to do was reach out to that familiar and encompassing power. The shackle of duties could barely be felt among the euphoria of fulfilling the purpose of her new existence. But sometimes, she found herself estranged. Left with an inexplicable sense of emptiness that weighed in her heart, even though she no longer should have one. And sometimes, she tried to think back on what it was like before this. To the unspoken time, was how she liked to call it. Her memories were fragmented, of course, because she was recalling memories from another existence together. In fact, she had no idea how she was even recalling memories that were not her own. The angels told her to not pay the dreams any mind as they would simply fade with time, inevitable remnants of the process of become divine. And faded away they did. But she found herself searching for them nevertheless, if only to escape from the stifling emptiness that surfaced whenever she was alone. Memories of an unspoken time. It was one of those days. She sat in the chair reserved for the Goddess, staring aimlessly at a spot on the exquisite sculpture of the Goddess embracing the world. The angels had all left after the assembly ended, and she had time until her next lesson about divine power. Feeling without energy as usual, she started recalling the memories again, even though she had no idea what she was supposed to feel. Meeting someone under a tree. Looking at families. Sharing a room with someone. Taking the hands of a couple. Hearing someone play the flute. Watching someone read a book. Sometimes the memories repeated, sometimes they overlapped into a meaningless mess. But she was enraptured nevertheless, hungered for whatever she could salvaged, completely dazed until some force pushed her out of it. ¡ª Your Grace. ¡ª Your Grace, are you alright? Brown hair. Hazel eyes. A gentle voice. She didn¡¯t lose her sight, but for some reason she had to will her mind to recognize what was in front of her, or rather, the figure that was standing next to her. It was Hirule, one of the angels. She then responded to him as usual. ¡ª I¡¯m okay, just thinking about¡­ angels, that¡¯s all. Hirule was kind and approachable, and he was more understanding of her struggles while learning the duties of the Goddess compared to other angels. He was the only one she dared to ask about the memories, but she also did not want to worry him by saying she had been doing the opposite of ¡°paying the dreams no mind¡±. He looked at her and, recalling something, began to say. ¡ª It must be overwhelming having to lead all of us angels, on top of your other duties. And she blurted out. ¡ª They are kind of intimidating, to be honest. They had lived for countless years serving the Goddesses before her, so while they looked at her with nothing but reverent and polite gazes, it was the kind that made her feel like she had to live up to an expectation that she was yet to grasp. She pushed this feeling away, remembering one of the angels telling her that the fate of the world rests on her shoulder. The statue of the Goddess was always smiling, not grimacing from confusion. Hirule put out a small smile as he said. ¡ª We must be doing a terrible job if we¡¯ve scared the one person we have to support. Sorry about that, Your Grace. ¡ª No, it¡¯s just¡­ I still don¡¯t know if I can do this. I mean, I have to, I just don¡¯t think I¡¯m ready yet¡­Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Or ever will be. But she kept this to herself. Hirule seemed to ponder a bit before he said. ¡ª You can take your time, Your Grace. The fate of the world won¡¯t just crumble one day - we have spent centuries keeping it stable. There¡¯s no problem right now, and if there is we can help you solve it. Please have faith in us. ¡ª Crumble¡­ ¡ª It won¡¯t, Your Grace. Not so easily. We have the pillars, or angels who kept track on the most important forces influencing the fate of the world. They usually could handle most problems by themselves, only needing you to be informed. The only thing that requires your personal attention¡­ ¡ª The Divinity Ritual, at the Temple of Lunacape. The kingdom of Cassendria. The names she had heard many times. She tried to not think about how they also came up in her caricature of memories. Hirule nodded as he continued. ¡ª Yes, but that¡¯s only every decade or more. We will also be there to guide you, so you can rest assured Your Grace. ¡ª You are all very capable, what can I even do as Goddess? The angels, the voices from the her divinity, from the believers of the Goddess¡­ they were all expecting from her, the new Goddess of Fate. But what was she to live up to if the angels could do everything? Why would they believe in her when the angels were doing everything? ¡ª We are but your hands and feet, Your Grace. Your word is our command. ¡ª ¡­¡­ She know she could command them. But what was the point when they knew what to do better than her? ¡ª You keep us in check, Your Grace. Us angels don¡¯t live for the believers, we live for you. So you can punish us when we are doing goes against what you need to do to protect the fate of the world. ¡ª What does that mean, really? ¡ª It¡¯s unlikely, but angels could, instead of preserving the forces influencing the fate of the world, use their power for other reasons. To benefit the humans they know, for example. ¡ª That can happen? But why is it a bad thing to help the humans who believe in us? ¡ª Sometimes, humans may wish to destroy the very world they live in. In such cases, we are not supposed to grant such wish. That would go against our duty of protecting the fate of the world. ¡ª Oh¡­ So ¡°save the world¡± for the faith of Fate was not ¡°making everyone happy¡±¡­ ¡ª We can¡¯t grant the wish of every human. We can only protect the world they live in. That made sense, but it was also unbearably sad for some reason. Even as Goddess, she could not just help everyone. Seeing her look down, Hirule stopped and began to say something else. She listened as he continued on. ¡ª In any case, there are two simple rules that you can follow to make sure such issues don¡¯t come up. ¡ª One, angels are not allowed to stay in the human world for more than one month at a time. This will minimize the time we have to get attached to the humans we meet. ¡ª Two, no other deities beside the Goddess are allowed to exist. This is a rule passed down from the first Goddess of Fate in order to minimize turbulence to the fate of the world that we cannot control. She tried to put the knowledge into her head as she pondered, almost to herself. ¡ª I¡¯ve heard of the second rule. But doesn¡¯t the first one make it hard for us to help¡­ I mean, do much to the fate of the world? Hirule seemed to smile as he said. ¡ª There are key moments in the fate of certain individual humans that if intervened, can greatly change the course of their destiny and thus change the fate of the world. And this is what I¡¯ve heard from the last, last¡­ last Goddess. ¡ª What was it? ¡ª That rule was actually made to protect the angels, or any divine being that decides to descend for any reason. ¡ª You mean, even the Goddess? ¡ª You too, Your Grace. The human world is beautiful in its complexity, the way the fates of humans are interlinked, but we shouldn¡¯t stay there for too long. I do not know why myself, but if the last, last¡­ last Goddess had said so, the rule must be there to protect us. ¡ª Protect us, huh¡­ She kept thinking, but she could not figure out why would being in the human world would hurt divine beings like the angels, who were immune to each and every of the ailments that agonized the humans. Divine power was infallible, just like their unwavering duties. And Hirule said it himself, it was unlikely for the angels, who had been diligently performing their duties over centuries, to let themselves be swayed and misuse their power. Especially by some humans they would have met only for a while. The human lifespan was pitifully insignificant compared to how long divine beings have existed. But if following these rules was what she could do as Goddess, then she would try to do just that. ¡ª Thank you, Hirule. I¡¯ll remember them. ¡ª I¡¯m glad if I have helped you in some way, Your Grace¡­ And, I hope this might not be too much to ask. ¡ª ? ¡ª You seemed a bit dazed earlier. Could you be¡­ having those dreams again? She felt the skin on her face go still, so it was not like she reacted, but Hirule seemed to take that as an answer. It was a bit unnerving to be seen through, but she also took solace in the fact that he was the only one to care enough to point it out. ¡ª Your Grace, if I may¡­ ¡ª I know they¡¯ll go away eventually, and I¡¯m not really dwelling on them either¡­ It was a half truth, but one she could live with. Hirule did not need to worry even more about this bumbling excuse of a Goddess. ¡ª I know you¡¯ll be fine, Your Grace. It¡¯s just something that has happened before¡­ well, perhaps you may find it useful to not sleep for extended amounts of time. ¡ª Have I been sleeping too much? There were lessons and angel assemblies every other day, so she went to sleep and woke up around the same time each day. It was similar to how much humans normally sleep, actually. ¡ª That¡¯s not it. Very soon there will be no more lessons, and angel assemblies only happen once in a while. You may find yourself with a lot of time to spare, and¡­ ¡ª Once in a while? How long would that be? ¡ª It would be a year, or even a decade, depending on the events around the world. The last Goddess chose to spend the time sleeping, and it did help her pass the time more easily. But¡­ ¡ª But¡­? Hirule was looking away when he said this. ¡ª The dreams¡­ took longer to fade for her. So if I may, Your Grace, please take care not to spend too much time sleeping. ¡ª Alright, Hirule. She could not imagine sleeping for days, let alone years at once¡­ but perhaps it was nothing unusual for divine beings, whose lengthy existence could render years into feeling like days to humans. Perhaps it was something she would eventually come to understand. No longer a human, but a Goddess. Chapter 8: The Killer awakens
Somewhere, in a chamber filled with hushed whispers, a being unlike human was being born. Or more precisely, ¡°it¡± had already taken root in its worshippers¡¯ mind and was simply bidding it time, slowly manifesting its form in reality. Everything had been for this single moment. The first step in their grand plan, their grand ambitions, the embodiment of the ideals they spoke of materializing to signal the change of an era. The eyes of zealot worshippers, its shine made even brighter by the undertones of their human desires, were glowing in the dark, but none can match the radiance that was emitting from the object of their desires. No, that was inaccurate; ¡°it¡± was technically not the very object that they wish for, but was the crucial driver to make their wish a reality. All to defy the fate that was imposed upon them, by imposing a stronger ¡°fate¡± upon the world. That¡¯s right, their ¡°fate¡± was stronger. So much as they believed, stronger ¡°it¡± became. The torches all around the chamber flickered, even though there was no wind. The fire extended like thorny vines towards the central of the chamber, where there was a black coffin with glowing runes carved into it. The light grew dense, the boundary between illumination and the darker corners of the room growing sharper. The figures on the ground remained prostrated, their whispers like a rumble beating against the low ceiling, but none dared to move out of place in fear of the mystique that was occuring in front of their eyes. Or was it anticipation that seized them, watching as their hard work finally coming to fruition? Then, all the torches were extinguished, their arm-like shadows on the walls disappearing as if eaten. The only thing visible was the coffin with its carvings, glowing with a silvery hue. Not a moment later, the whispers that filled the room also faded away like colors drained from a canvas. The runes on the coffin had stopped glowing, and in its place was a pale long arm emerging from inside the coffin. Bony white fingers like porcelain were stretched out as if the figure laying in the coffin was reaching for something far away. Then just like a fleeting memory, the hand simply dropped to the side of the coffin, propping the figure inside into a sitting position. Tall nose bridge, eyes blacker than ink, hair white like strands of silver cascaded down the wide shoulders. Its skin was pale without a single blemish, and the lines on its body were sculpted. The muscles rippled on its back, and its entire torso was taut like a beast ready to pounce onto its prey. There was a silver hue around it, not eye-prickling but sharp like the light of a full moon. It turned to look at the clothed figures laying before it, its eyes dark like the abyss. ¡°It¡± was born. The God Killer had awakened. ¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡ª Your name will be Luther. Luther the God Killer. That was when it was first aware of its title. It instinctively knew of its purpose - to kill Lumina the Goddess of Fate - but putting it to a human-like expression was a novel experience. It was aware of the difference between it and the humans that worshipped it, but it was simply a fleeting thought to a barely sentient being that it was. After all, it was not ¡°human¡± enough to realize that it was simply a tool to the humans that supposedly served it. Humans were weak. Humans also had words coming out of them as seemingly endless as the amount of thoughts they seemed to possess. It could not guess what they were thinking, but it was sure there was some sort of special way in which they created these thoughts - if humans were guided by their thoughts to act, then what kind of thoughts had resulted in such a range of actions, most of which seemingly without reason? It then learned of emotions, which was a special kind of thoughts that seemed to have a huge influence on what the humans decided to do. It realized that the source of its power came from the thoughts of humans towards it - or more accurately, the feelings of reverence and hope towards it. It looked, and looked; and even though the result was predictable, it still felt a sense of loss when it could not detect the same feeling of reverence and hope within itself. Reverence and hope towards what? The fleeting thought in its mind continued, but there was no answer. Those disgusting pigs in the temple! They have all the time in the world to deal with nobles and merchants, but not a single second to spare for us! The Chosen Star, the priests, the nobles, they are all cut from the same mould. They just want us to remain their obedient slaves, happily giving up our possessions in the name of ¡®worshipping the Goddess¡¯! The Goddess? Would she even care for the lives of those who couldn¡¯t afford the ¡®donation fees¡¯? There was a lot of human killing. Sometimes it questioned if any of this was necessary, but its instincts drove it to follow the requests of the worshippers. It could never understand the bitter rage when they voiced their desires, the way their eyes were stretched wide as they roared in laughter when it showed them the bloody remains. Humans were weak, but in certain moments its eyes would be glued to the inexplicable power within the expressions of those weak humans.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Sublime satisfaction, erupt joy, cathartic liberation. The expressions of those who asked it to kill. Stricken fear, breathless desperation, gripping resignation. The expressions of those who it had killed. Its existence was like its thoughts, calm and uneventful with nary a ripple for years and years. But strangely enough, humans with their short lifespan seemed to exist in a different form within every moment of their life. During moments when they were consumed by this ¡°emotions¡± that it had yet to grasp, humans seemed to condense the entirety of their existence until that point into a single unique expression. There was so much power in that singular existence, that even it was somehow momentarily daunted. Because that was a power that it could not understand. Because that was a power that was out of reach to such an existence like itself. The fleeting thought ended once again. These thoughts had been coming and going more frequent as of late, but that did not stop it from performing its duties as usual. Another temple destroyed, another nobility wiped to its roots, but its worshippers were not sated. Blood was like its coat of arms, the amount it had shed would be enough to dye an entire army in red. But like the passage of time, lost lives were simply buried away under brown soil. But unlike the tides of time, the desires of its worshippers were unending, unceasing. Luther, the God Killer, the executioner of Fate, please help me... Those who oppress us, those who think of us like mere ants to squash... they deserve to die! I want to watch it all burn in flames... only then will the souls of my family be able to rest in peace...! The worshippers would sometimes grow uncontrollable, like now, to the point that they themselves might start pouring their hatred onto the world. It was then that their leader would show up to settle them down. Its name was given to it by the leader as well. It remembered, before its awakening, that the leader would say next to the coffin where it used to lie. ¡ª The Goddess dreams... she always dreams of unattainable fates... in which lies her true downfall. ¡ª He shall be created to become her weakness, he shall be the one to lead her to her true death... as his predecessor has been created to do so. Like a storyteller, like a bard singing an age-old song, that was the way the leader used to say these verses next to the coffin as if weaving a story into life. There were all sorts of humans within the worshippers, but they all fell silence when the leader took the podium. This time was no different as well. The leader told them that the ripe time for permanent change was close, and they must all preserve their strength for the moment they had been preparing for. Death and destruction, to pave the way for more death and destruction, until a new world without nobles and temples would rise from the ashes. The eyes of the worshippers grew wild with glee, consumed by a feral joy that was more beastly than human. But the leader¡¯s speech did not end there. A human, dressed in slightly more elaborate worshipper¡¯s garbs, walked to stand next to the leader. With its eyesight, it could see a young woman with light brown hair and chestnut eyes, an expression of grim determination as shadow cast over her small face. The leader spoke, a story once again being told. ¡ª You all have met Leila. She was an innocent child who fell in love with someone she shouldn¡¯t have, and dreamed of something that was out of her reach. And so, Fate punished her. ¡ª Framed for a crime she never committed, beaten by ridicule from the ignorant people... she escaped death, and the innocent child was no more. But her dream, her desired fate, has not ended yet. ¡ª Soldiers, brave warriors of Liberatia. Listen well, and do not forget. ¡ª Everyone here, each of you have a fate that you desire, but was stopped from yearning for it ¡°because it¡¯s not meant to be¡±. The worshippers were silent, but their bodies were taut like the words had reminded them of a memory they had wanted to forget. The leader continued, almost uncaringly so. ¡ª Just accept it, it¡¯s your fate in life. ¡ª Don¡¯t weep, they died because that was their fate. ¡ª That is not your fate. Give up. There were sounds of gritted teeth, of clothes being gripped so harshly the fabric seemed like it would permanently crease. Then, just like a stone dropped in still water, the voice of the girl next to the leader rose up. ¡ª I REFUSE! Almost like a yell, a cry for injustice, or simply the protest of a child being denied of its wish. But unlike the child, which could only cry and beg for the mercy of others, the girl¡¯s eyes were filled with a resolve to do anything and everything. That was to be expected in order to proclaim something like fighting against Fate itself. The worshippers cheered as the the young woman finished her speech, and the leader announced that Leila would be receiving direct orders from the leader to coordinate the group closer to the day of uprising. The mention of the plan brought the excitement of the group to another level, and Leila herself had fire in her eyes. Her gaze, along with everyone else¡¯s except the leader¡¯s, unerringly turned to one direction - towards ¡°it¡±. It was used to having fervent looks sent its way, but the look on the girl called Leila left it to wonder what had happened for a young human to have such a gaze of unbridled resolve. It soon found out that Leila was a lot more indescribable than it had originally thought. A lot of its worshippers had intense hatred for the snobbish nobility or heartless temple people, but it had yet to meet a human who was more passionate about love than Leila. This love thing captured its interest, simply because of how much Leila was talking, thinking, obsessing about it. It was also the first time someone had made it aware of the fact that it looked like a male human, so it should refer to itself as ¡°he¡±. It... he could remember when Leila stood close to him, unlike other worshippers who were content with looking and bowing to him from afar. There was a bit of worship in her gaze, but he felt that it was of a different nature from that of his worshippers. The way her gaze roamed over his armored body and face gave him a feeling so indescribable, for the first time since awakening he felt the need to withdraw from a human. ¡ª Luther the executioner... why do you have to look so handsome? As far as he could tell, good looks was a valuable traits among humans so her frustration was a mystery to him. He did not give a reply, and she did not seem to expect one either as she continued. ¡ª Why do you have to look so similar to my beloved Prince? Chapter 9: A noble girl鈥檚 story
There was some sort of strange glint in Leila¡¯s eyes, not the same as the fervent worship Luther detected from his worshippers but something just as powerful. The girl went on to tell him about this ¡°Prince¡±, whose name was either ¡°Al¡±, ¡°Alfie¡± or ¡°Fenny¡±, he could not really tell. ¡ª Luther, sir, why are you so silly? It¡¯s Alphen, of course! Are you even listening to me! Luther also felt that there was something distinctly different from the way she interacted with him compared to everyone else. Their leader acted mysteriously, the worshippers were either polite with distance, sometimes with fear lingering in their eyes. But Leila was always talking, thinking, wondering about ¡°her Alphen¡± that Luther felt replacable by a wall when in front of her. It intrigued him, having such a different reaction to his presence that he kept coming to her when he had time. Even though she talked about the same person almost all the time. Sometimes Leila would look at him with that indescribable look again, as she commented on how he looked similar to ¡°her Alphen¡±. Then she would promptly looked to the side with a sigh as she said. ¡ª It¡¯s just not the same, even with the same face¡­ It took him a while to understand that Leila had feelings of love towards ¡°her Alphen¡±. And she was initially excited looking at Luther because of their similar appearances, only to find out that ¡°no, you two are absolutely not the same at all, at all!¡±. Leila made sure he was clear on this point, multiple times. He was wrong; Leila was not looking at him with any worship at all. She was seeing ¡°her Alphen¡± through Luther¡¯s face, and after realizing it was ultimately not the same person, she would ¡°drop the act¡±, as she said. In front of the worshippers, she was indistinguishable with others in her gaze of reverence, but he knew (she told him) that she pretended he was ¡°her Alphen¡±. But it was a whole different story if it was just the two of them. ¡ª You had this dumb expressionless look on your face all the time, Luther. It¡¯s so not charming at all, like you don¡¯t know anything. So different from my Alfie, he¡¯s always¡­ Luther did not know what to think about this at all, and so he did not dwell on it. After all, it was inexplicably comfortable listening to Leila in between the killings. She did not look at him with fear or intention, and he liked that. Even if all he got from these conversations was the potential fatality of looking directly at ¡°Alphen¡± because ¡°he¡¯s deadly attractive, you¡¯ve gotta believe me, Luther!¡±. Since he looked the same as this Alphen, he considered using this as a potential weapon but was promptly shut down by Leila. ¡ª No way I¡¯m letting you ruin my Prince¡¯s image! And Libel also said you have to wear the mask when you¡¯re outside! I¡¯m keeping an eye on you!! Their leader, Libel, did not interact with them often, so the few interactions were memorable to Luther. He remembered Libel, whose face was always hidden under the cloak, was looking at him rather wordlessly when he first awakened, when he was first introduced to Leila, who looked at him ¡°like the finest piece of meat¡±. It was almost like Luther¡¯s appearance was somewhat of a surprise to Libel, who always seemed to exude a sense of timeless composure. If Leila¡¯s words were to be believed, then it was indeed rather troubling that the God Killer looked very similar to a prince. They could also just kill this prince, but he was not a supporter of Fate and more importantly, the look in Leila¡¯s eyes were genuinely dangerous when he mentioned this. So Luther never talked about it again. He also found out that Leila used to be a noble, but was ¡°exiled¡± due to ¡°that hateful Shion Palstia¡±. It was the first time Leila was so zealous talking about anything beside Alphen, so Luther had to take the chance. Leila used to be the third daughter of a baron in a remote area, and with luck and effort managed to join high society, or a group of elite nobles living in the capital. She was a hardworking girl in the academy, and caught the eyes of Crown Prince Alphen and the Knight Commander¡¯s son. What was the name of the son of the Knight Commander? Leila called him ¡°Knight¡± - Luther knew enough to know that it was not a name, but Leila told him to shut up unless he wanted to hear a story of Prince Alphen instead. He promptly got quiet. Leila was good friends with Prince Alphen and Knight, regardless of what other people in the academy were saying. It was a wonderful time for Leila - she could be near her Prince, the apple of her eyes, while enjoying the luxury of nobilities. Cute dresses, sparkling jewellery, tantalizing desserts and tea¡­ it was just the life she hoped for when she left her hometown. There was no future for her there as the third daughter, but here¡­ she could find happiness, and splendor! Of course, there was an evil witch in every fairytale. That was Shion Palstia, the so-called fiancee of Prince Alphen. Leila was indignant - Prince Alphen never wanted the engagement, but he had no choice because the Palstia family insisted on it. And they were the only Duke¡¯s family in the kingdom, their power second only to the king. In between the hushed whispers under a starry summer night, Prince Alphen told her that it was only a ruse - he needed the Palstia to lower their guard after successfully forcing him to an unwanted marriage.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Then a few things happened. Luther looked at Leila quizzically, and she said that she disliked politics, before looking to the side. It was the first time that he could sense no joyous energy from her. ¡ª Then¡­ my parents. They were killed. My brother and sister, too. Leila never showed much of a reaction seeing Luther kill, but he could tell, despite the lack of movement, that she was brimming with a different sort emotion. Her fists tightly clenched for just a moment, she said. ¡ª It was not Prince Alphen¡¯s fault. He sent people to protect them, just in case. But they were poisoned. The kind of poison no random person could have afforded. Anyone but the Palstia, the richest family in the kingdom Leila seemed to whisper. Shion Palstia was a dazzling lady, golden locks and bright violet eyes like the most precious of amethyst. She did not look down on Leila when they talked, but there was something in her demeanor that was incomparably condescending, like she was speaking from a place forever out of reach for Leila with her common appearance and lineage. So Leila knew; Shion might not lack anything in the world as the Palstia heiress, but what she did not lack the most was pride. And what could be more damning than having your fiance stolen by some unknown baron¡¯s daughter? Leila knew what people were talking behind her back, and she could not help the subtle sense of pleasure when Prince Alphen came to her, smiled at her, embraced her as she imagined the look on Shion¡¯s face. Ah, what she would trade for that perfect smile on that hateful face to turn into a grimace, wrecked by heartbreak and jealousy! When her parents died, Leila was sad, for sure. And yet, a part of her felt victorious. That the most beautiful, exquisite flower of high society had considered Leila a threat, that she had to resort to such vile means because she could not touch Leila directly. Luther looked at Leila, who had started smiling. The strange glint on her eyes was back, and he could finally find the right word to describe it. Maddening ¡ª Luther, oh¡­ I just don¡¯t know how to describe it. My Prince finally took action - for me, no less - and that hateful Shion was punished. Condemned! Publicly! She was pushed to the ground, like a ragdoll! She was not smiling! Can you believe it Luther, the flower of high society! Not! Smiling! Light filled Leila¡¯s eyes, like she was the prima donna of a grand play. Then just as abruptly, she looked down, her hand hovering over her throat. Luther looked at her, but she was just looking into space, as if lost in memory. He called her several times, and she continued the story but with less than half the enthusiasm, like the climax was already over. Shion was demoted into a commoner, and it was rumored that she entered a remote temple as a priestess ¡°to atone for her sins¡±. Luther asked if Leila was not happy that Shion was alive, but Leila just shook her head and told him to listen. Leila was going to be the Crown Princess, but the night before her coronation, Prince Alphen was poisoned. Leila was there with him when it happened. In fact, she was the one who brought the tea that fell from his lips as he convulsed in unspeakable pain. Leila spoke very quietly, almost in a whisper. It was not a problem for Luther with his good hearing, but he felt like something was amiss when her face got paler and paler, her hand still ghosting around her own neck. ¡ª H-he was choking. Said he couldn¡¯t b-breathe. I ran for help, but I was taken away. They said I did it¡­ Leila was locked into the dungeon, but even the cold winds and barren cell could not take her away from the sight of her beloved holding onto his own neck, his breath faint, his face deadly pale like a lifeless sculpture. It was because of the tea she brought¡­ how could¡­ how could she have harmed her Prince?! She was in a daze, not realizing days had passed, before she was handed a similar cup of tea. The prison guard¡¯s face was emotionless. She wanted to ask, but the cup of tea left her unable to speak. She took it, and with morbid curiosity wondered if this was fitting punishment for the her who had brought harm upon her beloved Prince. She could not breathe. Her chest hurt. The blood under her skin seemed to boil, prickling her from inside like needles. It started from her stomach, which felt like it had collapsed into a mangled mess, before spreading to her limbs, which felt like they were being gripped with thorns underneath her skin. And when they reached her fingertips, which were digging into the skin of her neck, she was already so delirious from the lack of air that all that was left was a dull, thudding pain in her head. When Leila woke up, she met Knight, who told her that she should leave the capital. The Prince was in a coma, and Knight said that this was all he could do for her. ¡ª He said¡­ I¡¯m too weak. I don¡¯t have a family anymore, no backing, no lineage. I was a liability for my Prince. I¡¯m useless, I can¡¯t help him, I will only pull him down. Leila clenched her fists, and she was finally back to normal as she looked at Luther. ¡ª Then I met Libel, who told me that I have strength, that I could fight against my fate. I could gain the power I need to get my revenge. Since I¡¯ve never really believed in the Goddess, I joined Liberatia. It was their group, the mission of which was to defeat and kill the nefarious Goddess of Fate and her followers. Leila was full of energy as she talked about how her ¡°friends¡± in high society mocked and condemned her when she was ¡°exiled¡±, how Shion was behind the poisoning of Prince Alphen, how high society was abuzz with news of the comatose Crown Prince and the inheritance struggle of the Palstia. ¡ª Isn¡¯t it just perfect that Shion Palstia is now a Fate priestess, an enemy to our group? I don¡¯t have to pretend to be civil to her like in the academy. And of course, she can¡¯t have an easy death either. Poisoning my Alphen¡­ Luther asked if she was here just to take revenge. To that, she answered in a low voice. ¡ª That, and also Libel told me that defeating the temple will help my Prince. Liberatia is against the temple and even some nobles, so my Prince as a member of the Imperial family will have more political leverage when those pests are out of the way! Politics is so tricky! And Luther had to swear by Leila to not tell this to anyone. ¡ª They can¡¯t know I¡¯m doing this for the Prince! Many people here hate nobles just as much as the temple¡­