Episode 11. Sacred Vessel (3)
A body in which a miracle had occurred.
The Canon of Light called it a Sacred Vessel (聖體).
When the Sacred Vessel was mentioned, the abbot fell silent for a moment. But Gebel quickly continued.
“I saw someone manifest a Sacred Vessel when I was young. They gained abilities overnight that could not be explained in words. Isaac is still young and small, so this is all he can do, but the larger he grows, the more powerfully it will manifest.”
“He certainly does not look like an ordinary child…….”
Isaac’s unreal appearance was enough to confuse even the abbot. Honestly, it felt more likely that his very appearance was the Sacred Vessel rather than his lifting a heavy axe. But under Gebel’s unwavering gaze, the abbot let out a dry cough.
“Miracles are granted through meritorious deeds, while the Sacred Vessel manifests through revelation, is it not? If Isaac truly is a Sacred Vessel, we must think carefully. This is not a matter to be decided arbitrarily.”
In reality, there were many people in the world who possessed miracles. Those who entered burning furnaces and returned alive, those who moved unbelievable distances with impossible speed, even those who died and came back to life. Priests could perform everyday miracles like lighting flames upon candles.
But those who manifested the Sacred Vessel were fundamentally different. The Church called them those born into the world bearing a divine mission.
Since they carried miracles in their bodies without any meritorious deeds, they were undoubtedly messengers sent to resolve the missions bestowed by God.
In truth, a considerable number of Sacred Vessel bearers had risen to the ranks of saints or left great marks upon history. Among them, quite a few had even ascended to the ranks of angels.
In other words, the manifestation of a Sacred Vessel was not something to be decided arbitrarily; it was a matter that required the Church’s acknowledgment. Because it was an issue that could shake the very direction of the Church.
It was, in a sense, revealing which direction God’s will pointed.
But Gebel answered coldly.
“Do you trust the blind beneath the lamp (燈下盲人)?”
The blind beneath the lamp, or “the blind under the lamp,” was slang for the high priests of the Canon of Light. It meant that they stood closer to the light than anyone, yet were too dazzled to see freely, and in their blindness could not even see their own feet.
Gebel despised the Church’s high priests.
That was why he had deliberately hidden Isaac in the monastery when he found him.
“Even if Isaac is truly recognized as a Sacred Vessel born with a divine mission, in the end, those people will use him politically for their own ends. Isaac may be precocious for his age, but he is still a child.”
Suppose Isaac was a Sacred Vessel born with divine power. Those who wanted war would take his existence to mean the Church’s enemies must be subjugated, and those who wished to maintain the status quo would take it as a sign to display the prosperity of the Baekje Empire.
They might sway the scales to some degree, but in the end, the opinion would inevitably tilt toward the stronger faction.
The abbot somewhat sympathized with Gebel’s opinion. He too was someone who had come to a remote monastery because he loathed such politics of the central Church.
“Then what do you wish to do?”
“I am saying we must be careful before others discover Isaac’s true nature. Abbot.”
Gebel’s voice was filled with tension.
“Of course, all the priests in this monastery are good people, and the children know nothing. So if we ask them kindly, they will watch their words and actions. But the monastery is not inhabited by them alone.”
To operate the monastery, they had to receive constant donations from the village or meet merchants to purchase goods. Lost travelers or pilgrims might visit, and neighboring monasteries or the upper echelons of the Church might come as well.
“We can only gauge the right time once Isaac is at least sixteen. If the world learns of him now, who knows what will become of the boy…….”
Gebel could say no more. The abbot let out a long sigh.
“You know that hiding a Sacred Vessel is akin to concealing God’s will from the world.”
“I know, Abbot.”
“Then you should not have told me at all.”
Gebel bowed his head to the abbot.
In truth, he was shaken. He had expected since Kalsen’s disappearance that Isaac might be a Sacred Vessel, but now that the fact was proven, it was hard to accept.
‘If only it had been certain from the very beginning that he was a Sacred Vessel.’
The Sacred Vessel was commonly said to be God’s will made manifest in human flesh. As a former paladin, it was something he should have accepted with piety. But Gebel had grown too close to Isaac, and now he felt fear at the thought that this young child might have been born bearing a heavy divine mission.
That was why Gebel had wanted to confess this fact to at least the one person he could trust most and simply accept it.
Because otherwise, he felt he would end up hiding Isaac’s existence from everyone.
When Gebel did not answer, the abbot spoke with a weary expression.
“The appearance of a Sacred Vessel means that God’s will has descended into flesh. You know that the current Emperor of the Gertonian Empire, Emperor Baltzemer, manifested his Sacred Vessel at age twenty and ascended to the throne just six years later?”
“Of course.”
The Gertonian Empire. Though it was commonly called the Baekje Empire, it had only properly taken on the form of an empire some thirty years ago. Emperor Baltzemer had used the power of a Sacred Vessel manifester to bring countless feudal lords and warring warlords to their knees, forging a mighty empire. And the Church had accepted it as God’s will.
“If we hide a Sacred Vessel, how are we any different from those blind men beneath the lamp?”
“Need we openly play the herald to the world?”
“Then…….”
“If Isaac truly is a Sacred Vessel, he will undoubtedly distinguish himself. For he must reveal God’s will. But the timing may be what God deems appropriate, a time not too soon.”
If we have the Abbot’s help.
Gebel swallowed these last words and finished speaking. The abbot let out a shallow groan but understood what Gebel was saying. In the end, they would leave the timing of his distinction to Isaac himself. At least once he had grown enough that he would not be exploited recklessly.
He too had once been a body engaged in political games within the central Church. Even if he had grown tired of the power struggles and left, he still held no small influence. He alone could hush it up even if words slipped out.
“Very well. It is not another’s request but yours, Gebel, and if the Canon of Light has a prepared design, it would be presumptuous of us to go blowing trumpets.”
At the abbot’s words, Gebel let out a sigh of relief. Watching him closely, the abbot asked.
“But in what manner did the Sacred Vessel manifest?”
“Pardon?”
“It is said there are various forms of Sacred Vessel manifestation. From showing no change at all to appearing alongside light or special phenomena, or even the holy incarnation (聖肉身) being revealed.”
“By holy incarnation, do you mean the body transforming?”
“As you know, Emperor Baltzemer sprouted shining horns from his head, and Ruatdin, the lighthouse keeper who emerged from the pyre bearing the Dawn Stone Tablet, was said to have been in the form of burning light all over his body. The more closely the body transforms to resemble the divine, the greater the power and destiny prepared for it.”
At the abbot’s words, Gebel recalled the other Sacred Vessel he had seen. That person had manifested a Sacred Vessel with no outward sign on their body.
Gebel thought back to the moment Isaac lifted the axe.
“I do not think there was anything special.”
The abbot smiled in relief.
“That is fortunate. It will be easier to hide, and the Canon of Light may not have placed too heavy a destiny upon Isaac’s shoulders. Perhaps he is simply strong for his young age.”
It was not impossible. For miracles could descend temporarily as well. There were not a few Sacred Vessels in history who had vanished without leaving great marks. But ever since Gebel had taken Isaac from the annihilated village, he had dismissed that possibility.
Once may be coincidence, but twice is intentional.
The abbot murmured as if in passing.
“In any case, let us pretend today’s conversation never happened. It would be best not to speak of the Sacred Vessel to Isaac either.”
“Yes. I understand.”
The two promised to keep the secret, but there was another pair of ears already listening to those words.
***
A short while later, Isaac withdrew his tentacles with a bewildered expression.
‘Gebel brought me to the monastery?’
Isaac recalled the day he had been stabbed by Kalsen.
He could not clearly remember how he had gotten from there to the monastery, but if Gebel had intervened, it meant that for some reason, he had deliberately hidden Isaac’s identity.
Isaac was bewildered but did not know how to process this.
‘Then why didn’t he act like he knew all this time?’
Perhaps he had intended to hide him among the other orphans and raise him as an unremarkable child. It meant there had been a need to hide Isaac’s identity. And the reason he did not inform the upper Church that Isaac was a “Sacred Vessel” was likely the same.
‘I hadn’t expected preferential treatment, but I didn’t expect to end up in such a predicament either.’
The new information was surprising, but nothing had changed. However, he did know how he should act if a certain situation arose.
Historically and narratively, Isaac knew that the life of a child who must hide his identity was no different from a candle before a wind that could snuff it out at any moment.
And he also knew that if that candle managed to survive until the very end, it could become the spark that would burn the world.
***
“I shall teach you the sword.”
The next morning.
Isaac, who already knew, was not greatly surprised. But he pretended to be reasonably pleased so that Gebel would not find it strange.
“However, there is a condition.”
“A condition?”
“As you did yesterday with the axe, avoid displaying your superhuman strength unnecessarily in other places. Do you understand what I mean?”
He was telling him not to speak of having manifested a miracle.
‘Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a miracle but a monstrous ability.’
Isaac was rather glad for Gebel’s words.
He had shown it believing that Gebel was not someone who would go around blabbing about his display of superhuman strength. The unsociable Gebel had no reason to chatter, and as a former paladin who had deserted, drawing unnecessary attention would do him no good.
The same was true for Isaac.
Isaac above all knew that the power he had displayed was not a miracle but a trick using a tentacle monster. If the upper Church launched a detailed investigation, he would become a well-roasted barbecue in no time.
‘I was planning to play dumb and live comfortably here before escaping, so this works out well.’
“Yes. Very well.”
When Isaac answered readily, Gebel looked at him oddly.
“You accept rather readily.”
‘Ah, did I agree too easily?’
At an age when he should be starved for attention.
But Isaac responded shamelessly.
“If I refuse, you won’t teach me the sword, will you?”
In truth, Gebel had already intended to teach Isaac the sword regardless of what he said. It was to reduce the time Isaac spent mingling with others. He could not afford for Isaac to accidentally reveal his Sacred Vessel while with other people. And he also wanted Isaac to have at least one means to protect his body when he eventually left the monastery.
“Well, fine.”
Gebel spoke thus and took out the hand axe he had stuck in the firewood yesterday.
“Let us start with this.”
“……The axe? Are we lifting it again?”
“No. There is no sword suited to your body at the moment. My sword is too long and ill-fitting for you to hold. So until your body grows properly, I will have you practice holding whatever is at hand.”
Weapons at the monastery amounted to little more than clubs or staves; there was no proper blade. Of course, Gebel had several spare weapons prepared for emergencies, but as he had said, none were suited to Isaac.
“Weapons break and dull far more easily than you think. When battle arises, you must be able to pick up whatever is at hand and fight. In the end, the basics of all weapons are the same.”
“The basics?”
“Bringing the pointed part down on the enemy quickly.”
Gebel gripped the hand axe and stared straight ahead.
The Gebel who had monopolized all the monastery’s menial chores had vanished without a trace.
In his place stood a battle-scarred veteran paladin, worn to the bone.