Three Days Ago — Human Kingdom
On the northern outskirts of the Human Kingdom stood God’s Grace Orphanage.
The building was secluded, surrounded by wide fields and forests, far from any village. It was quiet, beautiful, and almost too peaceful—as if the world had forgotten it.
Inside, children from ages one to fourteen ran about, chasing chickens, feeding cows, or laughing as they played in the snow. Others helped in the kitchen, lending small hands to the caretakers and the sisters of the church.
---
"Yuna, could you help with these clothes?"
A woman in her thirties, Sister Kole, bent down and struggled to lift a heavy bucket filled with dirty garnts.
"Yes, Sister Kole!" Yuna, a cheerful girl of twelve, hurried over and grabbed the other side of the bucket. Together they carried it across the courtyard.
"Where are your friends today? Aren’t they always by your side?" Kole asked, smiling warmly.
"Ah... Klause is scribbling sothing with pen and paper again. And Rio—" Yuna hesitated, rolling her eyes a little, "—he’s lying on the snow, smiling at nothing, with that black cloth tied over his eyes. Honestly, I don’t understand him... but he’s not crazy. I’m sure of it."
Kole chuckled. "Let them play around a little. Keeping them tied to your hip won’t be good when they eventually leave."
"Sister, we’ve been together since we were little. I can’t just let those stupid heads wander off without ," Yuna replied with a playful smile.
They reached the wash area and set the bucket down. Yuna dumped the clothes onto the ground with a dull thud.
Sister Kole pressed a hand to her chest, fingers tightening around the star-shaped sigil of her necklace. Her lips moved in prayer.
"Oh Mother of All, bless us with your grace. Let your tears cleanse these garnts."
At once, the water in the nearby tub rose into the air, shimring as if alive. The garnts floated inside it, swirling gently as the water scrubbed them clean.
Yuna’s eyes sparkled. "I hope soday I can learn spells like that. Then I could help the orphanage too."
Kole’s smile deepened. "You will, child. I’ll make sure you learn every basic spell you need. One day, you’ll be a fine caretaker."
"Thank you, Sister Kole!" Yuna bowed deeply.
"Co, let’s fetch the rest of the clothes," Kole said, and the two left together.
---
Inside the orphanage’s classroom, one boy sat alone.
Klause.
Even though the winter chill seeped through the windows, sweat trickled down his forehead. His face was pale, his eyes fixed on the parchnt in front of him—numbers and fragnted words scrawled across it.
Fear twisted his expression. His lips trembled.
"... I-It’s true," he whispered.
Shoving the paper aside, Klause bolted out of the room, his legs trembling as he ran, wiping sweat from his face.
---
Out in the snowy fields, Rio lay flat on his back, the black cloth covering his eyes. A faint smile tugged at his lips as though he were basking in sunlight only he could see.
But the smile vanished.
His head tilted. His expression sharpened. In one fluid motion, Rio sat up, his posture suddenly rigid—his aura shifting from carefree to dangerous.
"Rio! Rio!" Klause’s desperate voice rang out as he rushed toward him.
"Don’t speak."
Rio’s voice cut through the air like a blade. He raised his hand, and Klause froze mid-step, mid-breath, as if the world itself had forced him still.
Klause’s heart pounded violently, ready to leap from his chest. He could only stare at Rio, whose unseen gaze felt sharper than any sword.
"Co closer slowly... Use your left foot when you step forward." Rio spoke with a serious expression.
"Y-Yes..." Klause spoke as he imdiately raised his left leg and placed it down on the ground carefully.
*Step*
"Hehe... I was just kidding, hahaha." Rio started laughing as he pointed towards Klause.
"Rio... It’s not the ti to do this. I have sothing really important to show you." Klause spoke with a serious expression as he imdiately started walking towards Rio.
"Sothing important ?" Rio asked with a confused expression as he looked down.
"Hmm... I haven’t seen any possibilities for this, an absolute possibility it is." Rio spoke in a low voice.
"Last night... I walked out of the room after ten and saw sothing that I shouldn’t have seen, Rio." Klause spoke with a scared expression.
"Okay, Okay... Calm down, sit down on the snow. It will calm your body down." Rio spoke as he imdiately sat down in a lotus position.
Klause followed his instructions and sat down right next to him.
"Now tell ... What did you see ? And isn’t it forbidden to get out after nine ?" Rio asked with a confused expression.
"W-When I was going to the bathroom, I saw sister Kole and sister rose standing in front of room no.13." Klause replied.
"That room at the end of our corridor ? It’s a store room to store old items, what were they doing there ?" Rio asked with a confused expression.
"I would tell it to you, if you just stop cutting in the middle of my conversation." Klause spoke with a serious expression.
"I-I am sorry... It’s just that I haven’t seen any possibilities for this and I get a little excited when this kind of thing happens. I will try to stay silent now. What happened after you saw them standing there ?" Rio asked with a smile.
"Both of them were standing in front of room no.13 and suddenly, this red light started coming out from underneath.
And they imdiately went down on their knees in front of the door as they said sothing in an unknown language.
The words that I was able to understand were, Philous Helohem." Klause spoke with a serious expression.
"That’s ancient demonic language... I have learned it. That ans ’I will only serve my true God.’ " Rio replied as his expressions turned serious.
"W-What happened ? Is sothing wrong ?" Klause asked with a confused expression.
"I just had a vision... About soone nad, Leon Luster." Rio replied with a confused expression.
User Comments
0 comments from readers