Chapter 1 : Father Elien

At the border of the empire, a village drenched in the light of the early sun reflects beauty to its land.

The village is Oakhaven.

In Oakhaven village’s sole church.

An old man sat awake long before the hours of the sun.

The old man, covered in black and white robes, makes his way to the church's bell

The old man slowly ascends the stairs, making his way to the top of the church's tower.

Standing atop the tower. The old man slowly steps onto the balcony.

He looks at the village and admires its beauty.

"It never gets old; the beauty of this village," the old man muttered.

"Hmm... what a beautiful day the god has bestowed." The voice holds his delight

"Now shall we"

"Let us begin." The old man holds the rope as he stretches the hanging log, striking the bell with it.

Old man struck the bell in a steady rhythm, drawing out a beautiful and resonating sound.

The sound travels as it covers the whole village, signaling the start of the day.

“It surely gives me fulfillment, but my back is starting to hurt from the effort."

A low voice reaches his ear as he looks down to the balcony

“Good morning, Father Elian," the village hunter gives his greeting to the father as he looks up to the top of the tower

"Good morning to you too, Allen. May you have GOD's grace."

"Thank you, Father," Allen replied cheerfully, waving his hand. He continued to walk away

"What a cheerful child he is." Elien starts making his way down, but looking at the passing stairs is enough to make his back cry.

I am getting old; maybe it is time to retire, but before that, I have to ask for an apprentice to take my place.

But

I don't have an apprentice, and I can't think of leaving.

"What can be done, and what can I do?"

Before Elien can drown further in his thoughts, he is already out of the tower and soon surrounded by the village's children.

'Good morning, Father Elien."

'Good morning, Father Elien."

'Father Elien, good morning."

'Father Elien, Father Elien"

The chattered voices from children overtake Elien's whole view.

"Good morning, my children." Elien's burden vanishes, as it never existed in the first place.

"One at a time, my children, or this old man will have a hard time keeping up," Elien said, his voice brightening with amusement.

Children look at each other as they silently decide who to speak first.

"Father Elien, please tell us the story."

"Yes, Father tells us a story."

"A scary one, Father."

"Not a scary one, please, Father."

"Hmm... I think I know a perfect story for you all." Elien replied as he looked at the excitement in their eyes.

"Really, Father?"

'Really."

"What is its name, Father?"

"Yes, name, Father. What is its name?"

The children crowded around Elien once again, and in that moment, something snapped back with a sharp crack of pain.

"Children, why not get to the church and let this old man sit down a little?" Elien speaks in a low voice, maintaining his posture as he starts moving, followed by the children.

The crowd of children with Elien as their center made their way to the church.

It takes a small amount of time for all the children to sit down.

"Now, do you all want to hear a story?" Elein asked, looking at the children who sat patiently, waiting for him to begin.

"Yes, Father," they reply in unison

The tale I am going to tell you is "The Tale of Beginning." Silence settled over the air, strained with the children’s rising eagerness.

Elien's voice carries a strange pride and devotion as he starts the tale.

At the beginning, there was nothing but the dark. In that darkness, devoid of everything human, in the suffering, they prayed for salvation through generations until their voice finally reached God.

Though the suffering of humanity was painful for God to watch, ancient laws bound Him from interfering directly. So instead, He bestowed the blessing of the stars, granting humans the power to drive back the dark.

With the blessing of stars, they drove out the darkness and offered GOD their world.

With the blessing of the star, the world became a paradise

But not every being born with the same blessing by a star driven by jealousy—one of the humans—takes his hand to the void.

He became the calamity.

He gathered others like him, building a rebellion of the defiant, but before the absolute power of God, they all fell.

GOD spared them out of love, holding them precious still. The void, however, showed no such grace. It corrupted them, erasing their minds until nothing remained but mindless obsession.

All of them remained in the same place where they fell, never to move, except for the first one, who is said to still roam the world in search of GOD's forgiveness.

Elien took a deep breath as the tale came to an end.

The bubble of silence vanished in thin air. The voices of children fill the room

"Father, what happened to…"

"What is…"

"Are they…"

"Why is the blessing not the same?"

The question is to listen to Elien as he looks at the child and replies, "Blessing is the reward for devotion; the more devotee you are to God, the higher the grace of the good is with you."

"But Father, you are the most devoted… of all. How can you only be a 3-star?" The child replied.

"Hey, how can say that".

"You shouldn't say that"

"That is rude".

Other children also start joining in to scold him.

A voice pierced them all: "It is alright; it is natural to have questions, and you all shouldn't say things." It is Elien's voice

Elien approached the child, lowering himself to the ground as he spoke, and his voice carried the same devotion from which he started the story.

"Child, with the blessing came responsibility, and this old man is not strong enough to bear that."

Soon the atmosphere settled down, and their parents came one by one until he alone remained.

Elien became busy with his prayer until a knock pulled him back to the present.

Elien opens the door; the dusk is falling, and night is approaching.

In front of Elien stood a man in church attire.

The man spoke, "Father Elien, I am from the main church."

"Yes."

Elien makes a way for them to come inside, but the party has already shaken his head in denial.

"Forgive us, Father Elien, but we are in a hurry and have to reach the next church before night." The man replied with helplessness in his voice

"It is alright … may I have your name?" Elien's voice shows a little hesitation for a sudden interaction

"Forgive me, I am Hail. I am here for your letter requesting to deliver the books for village children to study." He pointed the carriage behind him

Elien looked behind Hail at the carriage full of books, his eyes softening as a smile took shape on his face, but he quickly regained his composure.

"I am sorry, Reverend Hail, for not properly receiving you." Elien quickly apologized, with regret evident in his voice.

It is my fault for not showing at the correct time, Father Elien. "Hail" also shows his regret at leaving all the work to Elien.

But there is only happiness in Elien's eyes.

"May the GOD's grace be with you," both said in unison as hail departed and Elien looked at his fading figure.

Hail departed after leaving the carriage full of books behind for Elien's to deal with.

Father Elien pushes the carriage in the storage room of the church

Inside church storage, Elien looks at the mountain of books.

His will is stronger than ever, so much so that he momentarily forgets even about his old body.

After placing all the books, Elien is exhausted, and only pain will remain, but the satisfaction is much greater than any pain.

"Now."

"Only one remains, but this book."

"Not only is the cover burnt, but the language is not the one he knew."

"Something to study," Elien smiled.

Taking the book back with him.

Elien walks to his chamber, ready to sleep

Unknown to Elien, In the distance a figure clad in dark stares as it observes the future that starts to unveil itself