——Believers.
Maria couldn’t help but frown at such a sacrilegious choice of words.
Annan was rely a mortal now.
To worship Annan sounded like he was one of those Wizard idols who deceived the ignorant masses into believing in them...
But Kafney explained solemnly,
"I have sworn to beco an adult believer, following the Doctrine of the Heavenly Chariot. Though His Majesty Annan has not yet collected all the Pages of Truth or completed his sublimation... no one has decreed that one must complete all the sublimation rituals to be worshipped by others, right?"
In Kafney’s eyes, there was an unwavering purity of purpose.
She did not seek the Divine Arts endowed by Annan, nor was it because Annan had perford any miracles before her. It wasn’t because she had received so sort of propaganda or owed him a favor.
It was when she t Annan for the second ti in Frostwater Harbor.
Her increasingly refined spiritual vision had allowed her to see Annan’s true nature—
This vision was not entirely due to her painting skills but rather a legacy from her family lineage, much like the Winter family’s Heart of Winter... The Noah family, although not tasked with such grave missions or bestowed a bloodline Curse Binding by a True God.
But the "binding" of guarding a Great Calamity Curio endowed their bloodline with a certain power.
It was a kind of spiritual vision that, through the outer appearance of others, allowed one to see so abstract essence.
But this gift, the depth each "Noah" explores and the field they apply it in, vary. Generally, it is used to select talents... This vision could discern soone’s potential even without them having any works, making it a regal talent.
For instance, a Noah king proficient in military affairs, familiar with hunting, might see different generals as "monkeys," "wolves," "bears," and other wild creatures; a king versed in incense might "see" — or rather, sll — different types of scents on different people; a Noah sensitive to colors would feel different "colors" emanating from different people.
This was a talent only they could comprehend, "used to perceive the essence of others."
The only, and the greatest, constraint of this talent was that it couldn’t be used to observe oneself, as one’s self was the baseline for this perceptive ability. It was akin to how a compass cannot tell its own direction.
Yet, among the generations of Noah royalty, only Kafney chose to beco a painter.
She drew everything she saw from those twisted and abstract images. And what she saw beca increasingly bizarre.
When she first t Annan as a child, she only saw so strange hallucinations.
——It was a "vision to see the deities."
For example, she could see Mr. Radiance walking in the sky when looking through the sun; when seeing a fountain, she would see the Fountain and River God "Guardian of the Source" sitting at the top of the fountain; when people fought, she would see a phantom of the Red Knight nearby; when people were frenziedly buying items, she would hear the laughter of the Silver Baron; when soone was nearing their end of life, she would also hear the sound of the Bell Ringer’s bell.
She even frequently experienced so prophetic visions.
For instance, during her first encounter with Annan, she saw a vision of "the sky turning red, red vines crawling from the ground to the sky," which she then painted.
Later on, she naturally ca to understand.
——It was precisely a prediction that the palace might soon be engulfed in flas.
And during Kafney’s second encounter with Annan, she had already perceived the unspeakable divine nature Annan himself had yet to realize.
Annan was the most divine deity she had ever seen.
She even felt a faint hope from Annan that he might save the world...
She was fascinated by the divine fire that burst forth from Annan.
It was undoubtedly the most beautiful light she had ever seen.
Only when she and Annan t in the nightmare of the "Great Hunt" did Kafney finally rember everything Annan had done. He had saved everyone, yet no one knew of the hero.
"It was from that mont," Kafney said softly, "that I swore to serve Annan, the Heavenly Chariot, my light, for life.
"You will beco the Heavenly Chariot, and if you wish... I will be the Angel Envoy of the Heavenly Chariot."
"Ah, of course, no problem."
Annan agreed.
He smacked his lips, feeling sowhat regretful.
...He had previously thought that Kafney harbored romantic feelings for him.
Now, it seed he might have been overthinking it...
Maria furrowed her brow, her ring finger unconsciously and rhythmically tapping the armrest of her chair silently.
As a girl and also as Annan’s sister, she keenly perceived that Kafney indeed had a fondness for Annan.
It was definitely a romantic kind of affection.
But that feeling wasn’t pure... or rather, the attitude Kafney held towards Annan wasn’t just that of a lover’s. It was mixed with worship of a god, admiration for an idol and a hero, trust in a good friend...
...and even respect for a ntor, for a father, akin to the care one gives to a priceless piece of art.
It wasn’t bad to say.
Rather, it was too good—she didn’t need to worry that Kafney would later betray Annan or change her heart. These complex emotions intertwined, only making her fall deeper.
Perhaps, as Kafney herself said... becoming an "Angel Envoy" might be her ultimate outco.
But because of this—
Maria always felt a bit awkward.
It couldn’t exactly be said she disliked it.
This pretty, polite doll-like girl respected her deeply. Maria indeed liked her too, even wanted to hug her.
—But even if she couldn’t pinpoint any fault in her, Maria just felt a bit awkward.
"Winter" didn’t understand human emotions.
Because of the heart of winter’s curse, she lost the ability for positive emotions. She also didn’t interact with outsiders like Dmitry did... Besides her family, Maria hardly interacted with anyone else.
This made her feel very alien to the emotions arising in her heart now.
It was like... sothing that belonged to her was being taken away by soone else.
...No.
This feeling wasn’t entirely unfamiliar.
Maria rembered.
As a child, she had a walking stick that was very comfortable to use, made by Ivan himself as a toy... and also as a teaching tool when she learned the Frost Sword Technique. But as she grew older, the stick beca too short and she put it away.
She had completely forgotten about that stick, didn’t even rember where it was placed.
However, later, Dmitry turned that stick into a jade-white shortsword, given to Annan. It was also used for learning the Frost Sword Technique.
Maria didn’t dislike Annan, in fact, it could be said she liked him.
But at that ti, when she found out Dmitry had taken her stick, she still ended up beating Dmitry up.
That was the first ti she had hit Dmitry.
Of course, back then Maria was very young. Hitting him didn’t really hurt; it was more like a massage.
But Dmitry realized he had done sothing wrong.
And from then on... whenever Maria hit Dmitry, he never fought back.
And now, seeing soone so attached to Annan, seeing the rapport between Kafney and Annan,
Maria suddenly realized—the emotions welling up in her heart were exactly the sa as back then.
It was like... her own child, whom she had raised by hand, was about to be taken away by soone else.
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