God always bestowed light upon the earth, but there were places where that light gathered with particular intensity.
In this age, and in ages past, it was the holiest of places.
A white cathedral, not tall, but formed of graceful curves and powerful straight lines.
The headquarters of the empire’s Tasta Order, famed for making one believe in God’s existence merely by looking upon it.
A floor laid with the colors of a rainbow that rose after rain.
Inside, where the sound of a quiet wind rang in the ears, sat a person whose face was covered by a white veil.
The seated person’s face could not be seen, but from the shape of the body, one could infer that she was a woman.
Whoosh.
A brief sound of wind.
It brushed past her ear.
She gently parted her hands from each other.
In the stillness, her prayer ended.
When she raised the head she had bowed in concentration, the veil like a curtain blocking the light slid back.
“Phew….”
Eyes shining with rainbow light were revealed.
Her hair was a deep yellow, as if dyed with sunflower petals.
Her long eyelashes fluttered slowly.
Her chest rose and fell, and a long, faint breath escaped.
Though it was nothing more than a movement, she dominated the interior of the cathedral.
Even if others had been there, her presence would not have faded.
She glanced at the Order’s emblem hanging at the center of the cathedral, made of a square and lines.
A jewel-like square, with four lines stretching out from its center.
The symbol of faith, shining with a pale golden light, left her with this impression.
‘How boring.’
If anyone else had heard her thoughts, they might have called it blasphemy.
But to her, faith was nothing more than a needlessly heavy burden.
A savior chosen by God, one of the empire’s principal powers, one who gave light to the weak and restraint to the strong.
All of them were words used to describe her.
She still remembered that day. No, it was a day she could never forget.
The vast, old-fashioned plaza she had seen for the first time in her life, and the thunderous cheers of the people who filled that wide plaza.
Seuijeun, she is one blessed by God!
A high building upon which every gaze in the plaza was fixed. To my eyes, it looked like a stage.
On that stage, a man who looked middle-aged was giving a speech at the top of his lungs.
What had I been thinking back then?
Probably… that I couldn’t understand it.
I had thought my life began in a dark back alley and would end there.
And yet I was receiving the gazes of all those people at once.
A filthy object of disgust who had hidden in the back alleys.
In the empire’s greatest cathedral, I received eyes of admiration.
I had been chosen.
Without knowing the name of God, nor His form, nor even whether He existed.
I became a saintess.
Without understanding any responsibility, salvation, or wisdom.
Back then, there was only one truth I knew.
A simple and perfect truth.
Violence.
Of course, I was not someone who could ascend to the position of saintess.
Even if God had designated me, the age when the Order would simply obey that had already passed.
I should never have been able to enter that black, stagnant water rotting in place.
Yet because of one person alone, I rose to this position.
Thud. Thud.
It was a rough sound of footsteps, far removed from elegant strides, and perhaps somehow familiar.
When I turned my head toward the sound, I saw the middle-aged man who had given that speech—no, the man who was now beginning to enter old age.
Saintess, have you finished your prayers well?
“… Don’t stand on ceremony. I’m not someone worthy of that.”
Even when I spoke in a firm voice, he merely smiled faintly.
The man who had once been pope, and was now nothing more than a retired priest.
The person who, with gentle hands, stripped away the life that had been thickly covered in black paint and completed my life for me.
“… Do you have something to say?”
No, I only came to see if you were doing well.
Today, as always, he placed one small chocolate on the wooden chair, then quietly turned away.
“Maybe I should have asked for something other than chocolate….”
I walked to the chair and picked up the chocolate.
The chocolate carried a warmth befitting his nature.
“… It melted.”
When I pressed down on the wrapper, it yielded without resistance.
Thinking I should freeze it and eat it later, I sat down on the wooden chair.
The position of saintess was naturally a busy one, but for some reason, my duties had lessened lately.
So after I finished the necessary prayers, I could spend my time leisurely.
I raised my head and looked at the stained glass through which sunlight poured in.
The same colors as my eyes, which had gained divine power, wrapped my body warmly.
“It doesn’t feel bad…, but there’s nothing to do.”
Muttering to myself, I tried to shake off the dreadful boredom.
Every day, I found myself thinking that being a saintess came with too many restrictions.
“Books are limited to textbooks, no one will even play games with me, and I can’t eat anything too excessive…”
It was uncomfortable. Since there was no fun, there was no reason to live.
But the fact that I had a hobby that no one interfered with kept my life going.
The Gallery.
An ancient relic accessible with nothing more than a simple thought.
There, I clicked on the most popular post.
-Aurora: Deep Sea Escape Log, Day 11. Doing some exploring (Stream)
She smiled faintly and moved her fingers to write a comment.
ㄴHealingIsViolence: Are you exploring a hospital or something?
***
The dark night passed, and a dark morning arrived.
Was it because my mana had vanished all at once? My whole body ached.
“Ugh…”
Letting out a groan, I raised my exhausted body.
I wanted to lie back down immediately, but I had something to do today.
When I operated the blue Gallery window and turned on the stream, people flooded in instantly.
The sight of thousands appearing every second felt burdensome.
“Haahm…, today, I’m going back to the food factory.”
ㄴTruthScholar: If there are no security robots, let’s bring one back, okay?
ㄴHealingIsViolence: Are you exploring a hospital or something?
ㄴEducationMaster: Look around carefully and come back safe!
…To be honest, I didn’t particularly want to go.
Wasn’t it obvious? I had nearly been killed by a security robot there.
Even so, the reason I was going back was…
‘Because of that thing.’
The black egg sitting quietly inside the submersible.
I couldn’t just leave that risk factor alone.
The place where this egg had been stored was the food factory, so I thought there might be more detailed information there.
And while I was at it, I could pick up anything worth taking.
Whirr.
“Ah, charging?”
Eosollujeun rolled over to me on its caterpillar tracks and thrust out its mechanical arm.
It didn’t say a word, but I understood exactly what it was asking for.
Like training a pet, I turned my hand over and held it out, and Eosollujeun promptly grabbed it.
A faint amount of mana flowed into Eosollujeun.
ㄴTruthScholar: Is this a pet…? No, a pet machine?
ㄴEducationMaster: I’ve trained countless animals, but… this is a first.
Perhaps I looked like a trainer right now.
In reality, I was nothing more than an owner giving out a treat.
“Eosollujeun moves on my mana, so this kind of thing is necessary.”
For some reason, I felt proud that Eosollujeun was special, so I puffed out my chest as I spoke.
Though most of the comments were along the lines of, “Ah, I see.”
ㄴTruthScholar: Does it really matter where mana comes from…?
Hmm, I had wondered before whether my mana was truly necessary, just as TruthScholar said.
But even we can survive on grass or tough meat, yet we still eat tasty food like chicken, don’t we? I figured Eosollujeun was similar.
‘Then am I a human ChuO…?’
As I thought that, quite a bit of time had already passed.
It was time to go to the food factory.
I forced my strengthless body, which didn’t want to go at all, to move and stood up.
Creeeak!
The grating sound of the old hatch lingered in my ears, and soon I emerged outside, into air thick with humidity.
Outside, there was still no sunlight, nor any hope.
Still, it hadn’t even been a month yet, far too soon to give up, so I moved my feet.
Crunch. Crunch.
The sound of sand crumbling reached my ears for a short while.
And then.
Thud. Thud.
The sensation of a well-packed, stable road traveled up my legs.
As I walked while heightening my vigilance of the surroundings, I stopped for a moment.
The reason was…
ㄴTruthScholar: That egg keeps following you.
ㄴEducationMaster: Does it think you’re its parent?
ㄴHealingIsViolence: Did you make some kind of contract with mana? Why is it following you?
When I turned my head slightly to look behind me, the black egg was there, as if it had been in that spot from the very beginning.
But there was nothing I could do.
If I could use teleportation, I would at least have tried shaking it off, but…
Teleportation magic required overwhelming computational ability to realize three dimensions, so it was a spell I didn’t even dare attempt.
In any case, I continued making my way toward the food factory.
If I hesitated, my chances of running into a Cyclops would only increase.
Chk.
…No, whether I moved or not, I would run into a Cyclops.
Despite my vigilance, a Cyclops suddenly revealed itself from around a corner.
Gulp.
I placed my hand on the hilt at my waist.
Because of the tension, saliva and sweat poured out uncontrollably, but if I concentrated, I could win.
As I prepared to cast magic with my left hand and use swordsmanship with my right, the moment I tensed—
Whoosh.
The Cyclops disappeared.
Without any sound or trace.
ㄴTruthScholar: …Wow. That wasn’t magic?
In the place where the Cyclops had been sat the black egg.
As if it had been there from the very beginning.
…The deep sea always surprised me.
Usually in a bad way.