Chapter 467 - Saint Ai
"Careful," said the man in front of her, who was the oldest priest in the temple. It was no other than the man leading the religion of Schelera, Scholar Jermyn. "Your body is still new."
His words did not make sense, nor did she think she would hear them in her lifetime. Instead, her body was always called ugly, hideous, and deformed.
"Where..." Her sentence got cut off by her voice, which was different now. It was clearer, softer, and more magnetic. The Scholar in front of her turned to look around as if he was new to this place.
"A room in the temple," he said. "This room has been kept for ages until you finally appear," his words suggested that she was never here, despite living in the temple for years.
"I... was always here," she pushed herself up the bed and realized that her body was different as well. It was as if someone had taken away all of the aches she felt and molded her body a new. Furthermore, she realized that she was not wearing her veil.
"I meant arriving to this world in your current form," the scholar said as he saw her look around for her veil while hiding her face. "You do not need that thing anymore."
As he said so, the scholar took out a hand mirror and gave it to her. Ai reached out to grab it and saw her perfect her hand was as if those years of hardships never existed. Then, however, a bigger change shook her core.
"Who is this?" she said, baffled. "This is not me. It cannot be me," the mouth moved in the mirror as she spoke, but it still seemed like a cruel joke someone was doing on her. "What have you done to me?"
"I have no power to do anything to you," the scholar shook his head as he took the mirror. "I understand that the situation must be confusing. Let me explain."
"Please do," she politely said as she tried to hold down her trembling hand. "I want to know what happened to me."
"I believe that you are a miracle to prove our lord's powers," said the priest as he stood up, walking toward the wall. As he struck a pen to the wall, images appeared on it. "It was one of his dearest research areas: to build the perfect creature."
As he explained, the images on the walls changed to form diagrams and runes. It was all the knowledge they had on the creation of human tissue. The benefits included perfect regeneration of limbs, and it can also unlock the mystery of all: an evolving being.
"The perfect creature..." she said. "Am I no longer human?" her voice trembled. Ai could feel that she felt comfortable in this body of hers, unlike before. However, it was not hers because she could not recognize it.
"The perfect creature happens to be a human," said the scholar with a proud smirk. "You are our lord's gift to us: a proof that he is waiting for us and that his knowledge has grown in the past thousands of years."
"I did not meet him," she said, holding her head. "There was a different voice. I did not come back here because of..."
"You are disoriented, Saint," said the scholar, cutting her off. "You are our miracle, and the people are waiting for you to lead them toward knowledge. I will leave you to accept your new body, and this might help."
A tall mirror appeared beside the scholar as he waved his hand and walked toward the door. Ai stood up to call after him, but the door closed. She stood rooted in her spot above the bed, only a white dress covering her.
Ai turned toward the mirror, and she could see the person in it stare back. As she descended from the bed and walked toward it, she tried to believe that this was indeed her. However, it was challenging to do so.
This person had everything she did not have: a pair of giant hazel eyes, perfect skin, knee-length blonde hair, and a face. Yet, it was the last of them that bugged her the most. Her face, or the lack of it, was what stared back at her for all of her life.
"Who are you?" she asked the mirror, but the reflection had no answers. "The last thing that happened..." she tried to remember. It was the war summit. Her morning was like usual. But then, she met the guest. "That man..."
It was the Seika of Living Beings.
At first, Ai only respected him for his promises to feed the people, which she overheard from the vendors in the street. Talking to him was refreshing because he made her feel seen.
"Come back, Ai."
The words exploded into her mind as if memory had broken out of the sea of forgetfulness. They left her breathless, and she started gasping for air as she fell to her knees. A pain in her chest resonated with a single desire of hers: to go back.
"I died," she muttered as she traced the place the spear pierced her. "I died protecting the Seika. However, why am I still here?" she stood up as she questioned.
Her body obeyed, and she was on her feet in an instant. It was so light and effortless as if her wounds from before had disappeared. The scars hindering her muscles have faded as if that time in the underground cell was nothing but a nightmare.
"No, no," she shook her head as she took several steps back, and the person in the mirror did the same. "It was real," the memories crawled up to her like before. "That man was real," his ugly smirk appeared in her head. "Leave me alone!"
Then, he was gone. That memory disappeared from her head, and it left her dumbfounded. If she wanted it to, the memory would appear again. However, now it was sealed forever, and it would never dare haunt her again.
"I am..." Ai muttered, "not the same."
***
"The war summit is happening today," Ma reported to his lord, who was still sitting in front of the window. It broke his heart to see his lord in such a state, not moving for two days. "Have you eaten, Seika?"
There was no answer, but Ma knew that he didn't touch food ever since he entered his study. The incident at the temple was two days ago, but it seems the Seika was forever changed by it.
Ma only knew a bit about what happened because he was not allowed into the temple at that time. However, the people on the street had a lot to say about it.
A miracle occurred, and a saint was rebirthed.
Ma stared at his lord, who was even younger than him but looked ancient. It must be his doing because Ma recognized the light which exploded as his lord's powers.
However, the temple and the nobles all believed that it was the scholar guardian. The king did not announce anything, and the Temple of Schelera seized the saint to 'take care' of her.
"I realized," muttered the Seika at last, his hollow eyes looking out of the window, "that I do not need to eat," he said quietly, almost in self-ridicule.
Ma was dumbfounded because that was an absurd notion. No matter how powerful you become, you still need to eat. No one was an exception. Duke Yojeen devoured in a single meal enough to supply a whole platoon of knights.
That was proof that powerful people needed to eat, most of the time more than average. Ma thought that the Seika did not mean it literally, but a way to punish himself.
"You need to eat, Seika," said Ma walking to his side and picking up the tray. "I know that you are powerful enough to avoid starvation. First, however, your body needs to heal from what happened."
"It fully recovered a day ago. Maybe not fully," said the Seika without wearing any expressions. "I thought that hunger would make me feel more human, but it did not arrive. So, whatever hunger I felt recently was an imagination."
'At least, he is talking,' thought Ma to himself as he sighed and placed the tray away. 'However, it seems he is convinced that he does not need to eat. I need Miss Dia to help him, but she is gone as well.'
"How is the woman?" asked the Seika, confusing Ma for a moment. Then, he realized that his lord meant the famous miracle saint.
"I heard that she woke up this morning," said Ma as he leaned on the desk. "Schelera is witnessing an increasing number of followers, all people who want to see the saint for themselves. They call her the perfect human."
"She is, indeed," said his lord absent-mindedly.
"The Temple is going to use this as an excuse to grow stronger. King Solomon will use the saint as a spearhead to conquer the surrounding land," suggested Ma. "She is the hero of the people."
"She will be here soon," smiled the Seika.