After the 7th round ended, passing through seven deaths, I reached the 8th round. And this 8th regression became a new turning point for Shea.
Shea gained someone to share the regression with, and met a master (candidate) called the Sword Empress. From the scale of events alone, it was different from the previous rounds that ended while skirmishing with the Military Nation.
Perhaps in this round, she might learn an incredible qi technique. The Heaven Reversal Scripture was something she didn't even dare to dream of. But if it was the Sword Empress of the Zodiac Twelve Palaces, she would toss Shea at least one suitable qi technique.
However.
The despair was great enough to overturn all that hope.
"The King of Sins... when has that existed? Was it there in previous rounds too? Don't tell me I died without even seeing the King of Sins while fighting the Military Nation?"
It felt foolish to have been skirmishing trying to do something about the Military Nation until now. If she couldn't overcome the King of Sins, even if she destroyed the Military Nation, a bright future wouldn't come to Shea.
What on earth should she do? What must she do to overcome that? Even for Shea who possessed regression, it was just daunting.
Perhaps if Shea were smarter or had higher insight, she might have already given up then. Fortunately, Shea was neither that smart nor had high insight.
"Let's think while moving for now."
You see as much as you know, so Shea who didn't know couldn't see properly. Whether it was a neighbor's fence or a fortress's high rampart, it was the same wall to Shea.
Shea headed to the Holy Emperor's Court. Having entered the 8th round, Shea could now easily escape from the Military Nation.
The Holy Emperor's Court is not a nation. In principle, the Holy Emperor's Court is part of the Empire's territory, and its laws and systems all follow the Empire's. The borders and distinctions are not clear, and exchange with the Imperial territory is also free.
However, the Holy Emperor's Court is clearly separated from the Empire.
In the domain called 'Holy Emperor's Court', people call themselves believers and send faithful devotion toward the Heavenly God and the Holy Maidens. They follow the words of the scripture rather than the code of law, and when they catch a sinner, they first bring them to the confessional. They prioritize edification and repentance over punishment to maintain order.
A land forged by faith. The Holy Emperor's Court.
While impossible in other countries, in the Holy Emperor's Court, that becomes reality.
Because the Heavenly God transforms faith into power.
The more virtuous and faithful, the stronger divine power one possesses. Stronger power creates even firmer faith. His power and character are passed down as is to those below, creating a pyramid of faith.
And at the top of that pyramid is the Holy Maiden.
Blessed by the First Holy Maiden, the Holy Maidens perform the miracle of seeing the future. They are the proof of the Heavenly God's existence. God exists in the world. Because the Holy Maidens exist.
They believe without doubt, and prove it with power. Therefore, no sin occurs in the Holy Emperor's Court. The Ten Commandments are absolutely kept, and darkness is fully exposed before the light.
They do not steal others' possessions, do not covet their neighbors, respect their parents, fear hell, and earnestly desire heaven.
Such faith will be rewarded even after death.
"...I return even if I die, though."
Shea felt a strange sensation while gazing at the giant white wall visible in the distance.
The holy land of the Holy Emperor's Court. The white city of Rakhion. In that land directly ruled by the Holy Maiden, no sin occurs. The believers are grateful that every moment has come to them, and whip themselves instead of others. It is a city of purity and faith that tolerates not a single speck of dust.
If heaven truly exists, it would look like Rakhion.
After hearing the explanation before entering Rakhion, Shea changed into pilgrim's clothes. It was a garment similar in style to a toga, draping a single piece of cloth around the body, but with even less fabric than that, so moving even slightly vigorously would reveal her underwear. Though she heard it was clothing for hygiene, cleanliness, and proper bodily conduct, Shea kept feeling uneasy and uncomfortable.
In Rakhion where people clean in front of their houses every day, one shouldn't even make footprints carelessly. If even a mark was left, she felt someone's stinging gaze.
The firmly established order seemed similar to the Military Nation yet was different. The Military Nation's order arises from people being pushed by fear, but Rakhion's order is one that everyone follows by faith.
"Following voluntarily would be better, though."
Shea paid attention to her gait and walked together with the pilgrims. When the holy land pilgrimage making a large circuit around Rakhion ended, the guide asked the pilgrims.
"Brothers and sisters. With this, your pilgrimage has ended. From here on, you may freely visit wherever you wish on the pilgrimage route."
Freed from the suffocating and tedious schedule, Shea thought this was the moment and said to the guide.
"I need to go to the Confessional of Fallen Nature."
At that, the guide became bewildered.
"The Confessional of Fallen Nature...? From whom did you hear about that place?"
"Why?"
"...Excuse me, sister. To have heard that name means someone guided you there."
The guide, keeping their mouth firmly shut, led Shea to the Confessional of Fallen Nature.
If the world were truly filled with goodwill, there would be no need for laws, order, or commandments. Humans would trust each other completely, cooperate without being asked, consider others, and develop forward.
However, malice still remains in human hearts. Desire, impulse, and barbarity harm others and pursue only self-interest, deceiving others and filling the world with distrust.
And unfortunately, goodwill is always defeated by malice. Good people are deceived, robbed, and suffer at the hands of the wicked. In an imperfect world, good people reach one of two endings.
Die while remaining good.
Or become evil together.
Those who die while remaining good go to heaven. The Holy Emperor's Court honors the spirits of those who died so sadly. They leave what little comfort they can, saying they will be happy there forever.
Then one question remains here.
If all the good people have gone to heaven.
What remains in this world?
The world is filled with malice. Law governs evil with evil, and economics presupposes human selfishness. Children learn to be wary of others before they learn to love their neighbors.
It can't be helped. Since the good people have already gone to heaven, one must at least suppress and utilize the nature of the remaining wicked.
The Confessional of Fallen Nature is a confessional that accepts that unavoidable evil. Unlike other confessionals that soothe weary minds and bodies suffering from gentle goodwill, it handles extremely realistic and macroscopic fallen nature.
Shea went there. Sitting in the dark and narrow confessional, she waited for someone to come across from her. The moment footsteps were heard, Shea spoke without even waiting for the other person's words.
"Lost one, how did you come..."
"I saw the apocalypse in a dream. A blood-colored world tree blooming and destroying the world."
***
It went like a waterfall. In Shea's history of repeated regressions, things had never progressed so quickly and easily. Shea immediately received the Holy Maiden's summons and headed to the sanctuary. Receiving attentive treatment from young attendants and finishing dressing up, Shea met the Holy Maidens.
The Holy Maiden of the Sun, Rael.
The Holy Maiden of Causality, Tichiel.
A halo rises behind Rael's head. She is the one watched over by the sun. When the halo gathers around her dark red hair, the sky opens somewhere in the world and the sun pours down. Blessed by the Heavenly God and wielding the sky with power, she alone is like a strategic weapon. Though not revealed to the world, she is the existence through which the Holy Emperor's Court can most easily and quickly project power.
The Holy Maiden of Causality is the opposite. She belongs to the most externally active among the Holy Maidens. Reading causality and finding causes, she grasps the past by seeing the future, and possesses the power to uncover all secrets and darkness in the world.
Rael is more suitable for annihilating an army. But to destroy a nation, Tichiel would be much faster. And the two possessed that much power.
The two Holy Maidens, too sacred and powerful for an orphan from the Military Nation to meet, were facing Shea at eye level.
Of course, Shea didn't know how precious an opportunity this was. If she knew what deeds power brokers would commit to have a private audience with the Holy Maidens, she wouldn't have been able to sit comfortably.
Well, explaining to someone who doesn't know is meaningless. Shea just came because she was told to, and once she came, they showed interest. Shea shared what she saw in the 7th round with the Holy Maidens.
There wasn't much content to speak of itself. Until the 6th round, Shea only skirmished with the Military Nation, and in the actually important 7th round, she only did closed-door training for several years. Shea was surprised that the story ended so quickly even as she was telling it.
The Holy Maidens seriously accepted Shea's words, which an ordinary person would have dismissed as nonsense. Tichiel nodded and spoke conclusively.
"It is the power of prophecy. Shea, you are a Holy Maiden."
"Huh? I'm... a Holy Maiden? That can't be."
"A Holy Maiden is an existence blessed by the First Holy Maiden through seeing the future. Though each has a different type, they possess the power of prophecy. Shea, the 'regression' you speak of is the power that turns the present into prophecy. Having such a powerful authority means you are a Holy Maiden."
"But I'm from the Military Nation, I don't believe in the Heavenly God, and I don't particularly seem blessed. I didn't even know I was a Holy Maiden until I said it myself."
"It's because your method of prophecy is special. A Holy Maiden cannot interfere with another Holy Maiden's future. That means a gap forms in prophecy. The Holy Emperor's Court found Holy Maidens by seeing those gaps in prophecy, but your prophecy that changes reality into the future is so vast that they couldn't find it."
Tichiel, the Holy Maiden of Causality, connects causality. If the conclusion is certain, even if the process is roughly skipped, she will eventually reach it.
That power was useful for thinking but had shortcomings in making someone understand. Especially for someone lacking like Shea.
"Uh..."
"It doesn't matter if you don't believe. What's important is that you have that power, Shea. That you must overcome the apocalypse with it."
Even Shea who didn't understand difficult stories knew what she had to do. The King of Sins must not be born on this land. Anyone could know that much.
'Perhaps the power of regression came to me for that purpose.'
While Shea was lost in thought, Tichiel had finished preparing. Before long, maids flocked around Shea.
"Then, Shea. I will announce your existence to the world."
"Huh?"
"We also do not know what kind of Holy Maiden you are. But we know your power, so naming you is easy. I name you the Holy Maiden of Regression and bestow my blessing."
"Uh-uh?"
"While the Heavenly Holy Maiden dreams, the more Holy Maidens there are, the better. It will also be good for you. Everything is given to Holy Maidens."
And the 8th round.
Shea became a Holy Maiden.