Byzantium (4)
***
At first, I had no idea what knocking out had to do with discovering my identity.
But now that I’m seeing this scene, I think I might understand.
‘Is this a dream?’
Just a mont ago, I was at the Papal Palace, specifically in the training grounds. But now, I’m not.
It’s an expansive plain. The grass, which reached up to my ankles, swayed gently in the cool breeze.
On felt off.
‘The sky…’
The sky was dark, as if it were night. Stars dotted the sky, and the Milky Way flowed above.
But the ground was different. While the sky was certainly night, the grass on the ground was bright green.
It was as if they were glowing. The contrast between the dark sky and the bright ground was stark.
‘…But what am I supposed to do?’
I get that they made pass out to force to dream, but now that I’m dreaming, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. Is this supposed to reveal my identity or sothing?
As I was grumbling to myself, sothing strange happened in the dark sky, in contrast to the bright ground.
One of the already-bright stars suddenly began to shine even brighter.
To be more specific, out of all the stars, one particular star was shining more intensely.
It was a star with a pure white hue. Before long, that star slowly started to move.
As the star moved across the sky, the grass on the ground began to change as well.
The grass beneath my feet suddenly started to grow, wrapping around my body until I was tightly bound.
Panicked, I struggled to move, but it was no use. The grass was so strong that I couldn’t budge.
anwhile, the star gradually descended toward the ground. Its size remained unchanged, as if soone were plucking a fruit from a tree.
Eventually, the descending star reached directly above my head.
I barely had ti to register this before it continued descending, finally reaching my chest.
The brilliant, glowing star then began to sink into my chest.
As soon as the star entered my chest, the grass that had been binding receded.
With my body freed, I instinctively touched my chest. The star in the sky had definitely entered my chest.
What could this possibly an? How is this connected to the reason I’m here?
As these questions swirled in my mind, I heard faint, indistinct voices.
-Madness… freely…
-I am alive… existence.
-We are intruders…
.
The only thing I could infer was that a man and a woman were having a conversation.
-Chaos is… fear.
-Do it… we are…
-We? No…
I couldn’t figure out the content of the conversation, but one thing was certain. The man and woman were fighting over sothing.
Although I didn’t know the reason for their fight, their tone suggested that it was pretty intense.
I shook my head, trying to clear the voices echoing in my mind. I was starting to feel dizzy.
“Ugh…”
While I was clutching my head in pain, the voices suddenly disappeared.
At the sa ti, an unfamiliar sensation washed over . It wasn’t sothing I felt with my five senses; it was a feeling that resonated directly in my chest. 𐍂
‘But why do I feel…’
That feeling was none other than…
‘…Sad?’
An inexplicable sense of guilt.
*****
I woke up. It might have been a forced sleep through unconsciousness, but sleep is sleep.
When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling. Not taphorically, but literally.
It took a mont to piece things together, but I soon rembered why the ceiling was unfamiliar.
‘Ah, that’s right.’
Rize knocked out by striking the back of my neck. And then I had that strange dream.
I blinked and stared at the ceiling for a while before sitting up. I realized I had been lying on a makeshift bed.
“You’re awake.”
“?”
As I sat up, I heard a familiar voice. I turned my head to see Rize sitting calmly nearby.
She wasn’t in her bulky Holy Sword form but her Holy Warrior form, which emphasized her overwhelming chest. She wore the sa outfit as before, which made her stand out even more.
Her short shorts revealed her muscular thighs, and the combination of the shorts and the sleeveless top was impressive.
“Everyone, Sivar is awake.”
Rize’s gentle yet firm voice carried across the room. In response, those who had been sparring nearby turned their attention to us.
The people sparring were Luna and Kara, with Rod standing off to the side, observing with his arms crossed.
I wasn’t sure when Luna had woken up, but I could tell that I had been asleep for quite a while.
“You’re awake? You were asleep for so long that I was getting worried.”
Kara wiped the sweat from her brow and spoke in her usual cheerful voice. She always exuded an aura of brightness.
Next to her, Luna was staring at intently. Her wide-eyed gaze was a bit unsettling.
“So, what did you dream about? Did Chaos speak to you?”
“Um…”
I furrowed my brow at Kara’s question. Was it because it was a dream, or because I couldn’t rember it clearly?
My mory was hazy, and I couldn’t recall much. I only rembered the star from the sky entering my chest and the strange voices I had heard.
‘Even that lingering sense of guilt at the end…’
I still didn’t understand what any of it ant. It was probably best to just tell them what I rembered.
Using my limited vocabulary, I did my best to explain. I skipped over the fragnted conversation since I couldn’t make any sense of it myself.
uilt at the end.
“So, to summarize… A star in the sky entered your chest. Is that correct?”
“Yeah.”
“There’s a lot left open to interpretation… And the sky was night while the ground was day…”
“Is this how Chaos usually communicates?”
Just like Luna’s question, everyone else seed to share a similar sentint. There were too many possibilities for interpretation.
I didn’t even understand what this was supposed to an, so how could anyone else? Rize nodded in response to the question.
“Yes. Chaos has never communicated directly. I, too, was led to visit the academy through a dream.”
“What kind of dream did you have?”
“It was a dream where Sivar beca a great follower of Chaos.”
If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable. But because it was Rize, there was a strange sense of trust.
However, sothing about the idea that Chaos couldn’t communicate directly seed odd. Just look at the ssages that appear.
Whenever I do sothing ridiculous or influence those around , I get a ssage saying my faith has increased. It’s hard to figure out how this works.
‘Even in the Soul World, Chaos didn’t say a word, like a mute.’
Gaia and Gulak at least communicate when you reach their temples.
Of course, they usually send their subordinates to speak on their behalf.
These subordinates aren’t human; they have a distinct aura. Each god, except for Chaos, commands two subordinates.
Only soone like Rize or Rod could probably communicate directly with the gods. Maybe Kara can communicate with Gulak as well.
“So we’re still lacking in clues. Could it be interpreted as so kind of blessing that the star entered his chest?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s clear that the gods are taking an interest in Sivar. However, I don’t know the reason for that interest.”
“Can’t we just ask the various sects?”
“That’s a reasonable approach, but it might not be very helpful. Even if they can hear the gods’ voices, if your faith isn’t strong enough, it’s just a simple prayer.”
“I’ll ask Gulak about it later.”
While everyone was offering their opinions, Luna remained silent, staring at .
She was still observing with wide eyes, as if studying . I began to wonder if there was sothing on my face.
“Luna.”
“Luna?”
“Uh, yeah?”
“Why are you staring at ?”
I decided to ask directly. Luna blinked her large eyes a couple of tis before scratching her head awkwardly and responding in a quiet voice.
“Oh, it’s nothing… Just, sothing’s been bothering .”
“What is it?”
“Um… Your eyes?”
“My eyes?”
At the ntion of eyes, I touched the area around my eyes. What could possibly be the issue?
As everyone knows, Luna has a special ability related to ‘eyes.’ I wondered if sothing had happened to .
If there was a problem, that would be a headache. Especially since I had just had that weird dream.
“Is there sothing wrong? The color hasn’t changed or anything.”
“No, it’s just… I was wondering if anything had changed.”
“I don’t get what you’re saying.”
Fortunately, it seed there was nothing wrong. At least, that’s what Kara’s words suggested.
Or maybe Luna was hiding sothing. I should ask her about it later when we’re alone.
“In the end, the mystery just deepened. I guess we’ll have to wait for ti to solve it?”
“That seems to be the case. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”
“No need to apologize. There’s no issue with adding more mysteries to an already enigmatic situation.”
“At least we’ve confird that Sivar is connected to the gods. That’s sothing.”
Indeed, it’s more than enough. It’s almost certain now that the gods are the ones who brought to this world.
I’m tempted to storm into a temple and start cursing them out. But I’d probably get banished permanently, so I should hold back.
The imdiate task is to visit the various temples. I’m not sure if their subordinates will show up and talk to .
‘Let’s see… my faith…’
I briefly focused my gaze into the air. I wanted to check the faith I had accumulated so far.
[Sivar]
• Strength: 145
• Agility: 143
• Stamina: 148
• Magic: 145
• Luck: 110
• Faith: 287
[Traits]
• Wild Instincts (???)
• Rampage (Ex)
• Tenacity (SS )
• Iron King (SS)
• Poison Resistance (SS)
• Digestion (S )
• Dexterity (A)
[Skills]
• Stealth (Ex)
• Throwing (Ex)
• Martial Arts (A)
[Abilities]
• Red Magic (Ex)
• Regeneration (SSS)
• Thunder (S)
There were two notable changes. The increase in faith and the evolution of Rampage.
Faith had steadily increased to its current level, and Rampage had evolved during my training with Rize.
I hadn’t used it properly yet, but I had a rough idea of what it could do. It’s a mindless charge using pain suppression.
anwhile, my agilies.
‘The minimum faith required to talk to a subordinate is 300… So close.’
I’ve been diligently playing the clown, but I still haven’t t the conditions. It’s a bit disappointing.
…I feel a little guilty, but it’s not like I did any of this on purpose. I definitely didn’t intentionally cause any of those incidents.
“It’s best to visit the Temple of Life first to check on Sivar’s wrist.”
“Oh, I forgot to ntion. Sivar’s wrist is fully healed. There’s no need for any additional treatnt.”
Rize suddenly interjected as Rod spoke. It seed she had examined my wrist while I was unconscious.
When it cos to the ‘body,’ there’s no one better than Rize. So her diagnosis is probably accurate.
“Is that so? That’s a relief.”
“Yes. So feel free to visit the temples at your leisure.”
We have plenty of ti. Just as Rize said, there’s no harm in taking it slow.
But it’s still better to get things done quickly. After a bit of rest, we decided to visit the Temple of Life first.
I’d love to have a conversation with a subordinate if possible, but I don’t have enough faith for that. So I’ll just settle for visiting the temple.
‘At least I didn’t co away empty-handed.’
As I ntioned earlier, I’m dying to curse them out to their faces. But with my lack of faith, what can I do?
Initially, I thought I could just visit the temples and that would be enough. Only later did I rember the need for faith.
So, we were heading out of the Papal Palace to grab so lunch. Rize, in her Holy Warrior form, was with us.
Crash!!
Suddenly, her level.
I turned my head to see soone jumping out of a window with their arms crossed in an X shape. I swear, it was like a scene from a movie.
“I’m escaping! From this crazy place!!”
Soone was breaking out of the Papal Palace. What on earth am I witnessing?
“Hahaha! Where do you think you’re going, Your Holiness!”
And then soone else jumped out after him, as if trying to catch the escapee.
What followed was a chase scene as they plumted to the ground. Watching those burly n run around like that was surreal.
“That’s the Pope and Brother Gaspard.”
“It happens all the ti, so don’t worry about it.”
This place is definitely insane.
End of Chapter
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