Evan woke up early the next morning. He had had a very nice dream last night where he was finally able to fight back against Lyria. Today just seemed like a very good day. He got up, took a bath, and went downstairs. His house had two floors, and both had separate bathrooms making sure there are no delays in the mornings. After having a nice breakfast of sweet milk with bread he started to get ready. As his father had gone to work early this morning after getting an emergency summons, he was once again taken to the daycare by his mother.

  The atmosphere in the streets was a little weird this morning, but he wasn’t able to pinpoint how. As they neared the Cathedral, the road, which had been perfectly fine just yesterday, was now broken in several places, and workers were already busy repairing it. When Avelia asked them what had happened, they simply replied that the roads hadn’t been repaired for several decades, so the Temple of Light had decided to repair all the roads in the middle and outer districts. Not giving it much thought, Avelia just walked to the daycare center, thinking it was a good thing.

  But Evan was completely puzzled. How could the miserly Lyria so readily decide to repair all the roads for free? He would just ask her about it later. After leaving Evan at the daycare, Avelia gave him a stern look of warning. Realizing what was happening, he promised to first report to the adults present if anything like last night happened.

  Going inside, there were somehow more kids here than yesterday. But as he moved to his regular spot, they made space for him like usual. Clark was already sitting there, but unlike his normal self, he was very quiet and seemed to be deep in thought, staring blankly at the floor. Evan decided to save himself the trouble and sat down quietly without making a sound, hoping to avoid drawing any attention.

  After some time had passed, Clark suddenly stared directly at him and asked in a very serious expression, “Evan, do you know Lyria Pierre Luciana?”

  Evan was dumbfounded and unable to think straight. Lyria was the name of the Head Priestess, and Luciana the name of the goddess. But he didn’t know anything about Pierre. Was it some kind of title? A middle name?

  “Why are you asking about this?” Evan asked curiously, leaning in slightly.

  Looking around and confirming that nobody was eavesdropping, Clark brought his face close to Evan’s ear and replied in a hushed tone, “I saw her yesterday,” then proceeded to narrate his kidnapping, the strange ritual, and the dramatic rescue. Finally, he said in a quiet, almost resigned voice to himself, “Even if I tell you now, you will forget it in some time, like others.”

  He explained how last night, his parents had been alarmed when he didn’t come back home and were out searching for him. They were luckily near the docks when the rescue ships were about to set sail. His sister and mother decided to stay at the docks, and his father came along to rescue him. After he came back home, he told his parents and sister everything that had happened. But by morning, they had completely forgotten what he had told them and even about his kidnapping. Now he felt like he was the only one who remembered it. And also that girl from the Church must remember too.

  Looking at Evan, who was giving him a funny, skeptical look, he just sighed in his heart. But Evan was surprised for another reason: He remembers all those things. Normal people somehow forgot or had their memories rewritten when they came into contact with the supernatural, so he had met very few people who were not affected and most of them were from the Church. But looking at Clark, who was now behaving with the gravity of someone who had seen too much, his mind raced and a new theory formed. What if the Church just recruits people from those who were freed from this spell? Moreover, there was also that kidnapper last night who was surrounded by red. The kidnapping operation was likely forwarded due to his apprehension.

  And for the foreseeable time, Clark repeatedly told him the events of last night, as if trying to ingrain them in his own soul, or perhaps in Evan’s. Evan was never this happy to see Clark’s sister Clea appear as he was today. Waving his hands energetically, he was practically dancing in his place with relief. The other kids looked at him like he was an idiot. If you don’t like it, then why not just stay away from him?

  After the children started napping, Evan again went to the caretaker and started to tug at her clothes, his silent request clear. Today, however, the caretaker had conflicting emotions on her face, hesitation warring with duty. Finally, as if she had decided on something, she took his hand and led him to the Cathedral. There were more priests there than normal, and the atmosphere was also quite somber, thick with unspoken tension.

  After the caretaker left, Evan first went to the statue of the goddess and, like usual, prayed for the safety of his current and previous family. Although he didn’t believe the prayers would actually help, they at least gave him some peace of mind, a small ritual to hold onto. Then, following his regular path, he went ahead to the inner area.

  Opening the door to the fountain, he flinched and wished he hadn’t opened it. Lyria was sitting at the edge of the fountain, slightly stirring the water with her fingers. But the problem was that her creepy smile had gotten even creepier, and it made him feel very intimidated. As if she could see straight through him. After he had not moved for quite some time, simply standing in the doorway, Lyria looked at him and asked with that same unsettling smile, “Why are you doing not coming in?”

  Evan suddenly jumped back and asked, “Who are you? My Lyria never smiles like that.”

  Hearing this, Lyria’s smiling face slowly turned stern, and she asked in a cold, flat voice, “Are you coming here, or should I come there?” Realizing he had overdone it, Evan could only drop his head low and walk towards Lyria, each step reluctant. When he was within arm’s reach, Lyria gently flicked his forehead. Although it seemed gentle, it made his forehead swell a little, and Evan nearly cried out. Who made this witch a Head Priestess? Weren’t they supposed to be kind and gentle, and here is an old lady pretending to be a young girl and bullying even smaller kids? Then he remembered his dream. Dreams could never be trusted.

  “You know, I can clearly read your face and know what you are thinking.” Lyria gave a sly smile, her eyes glinting with amusement.

  “Ahem!” Clearing his throat, Evan changed the topic. “By the way, what happened yesterday?”

  “Just some small bugs trying to stir up trouble. Everything was handled neatly,” she nonchalantly replied, as if discussing a minor nuisance.

  “Were the roads also their doing?”

  Hearing Evan’s question, her face hardened a little, and she grumbled through gritted teeth, “Even after dying, they still create endless trouble for me. I had to use half of this quarter’s donations to get the roads repaired.” Her tone was one of great irritation, the grievance of dealing with someone else’s costly mess.

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  Having been in a trading family, Evan could also empathize with the pain of bearing losses due to others’ mistakes. It was a familiar frustration. At that time, Priest Aron entered the room carrying a transparent globe, its surface shimmering with a faint inner light. This was the first time Evan was seeing something like it. And being carried by Priest Aron with such care, it certainly must not be something normal. He brought the ball to Lyria, who gently held it and started to send streams of golden light inside it, the energy swirling and pooling like liquid gold.

  “Is it okay for him to see this?” Priest Aron asked while directing his gaze at Evan, a note of concern in his voice.

  “Yeah, it’s fine,” Lyria replied nonchalantly, not looking up from the globe.

  Soon, images started to form inside the crystal ball. It showed the landscape of the whole city from above, and looking at the darkness, it must have been around midnight: the inner district, where only the rich lived, illuminated by sparse, elegant lamps; the middle district, where Evan lived and the Cathedral was situated, darker but still dotted with light; and the Lower district, where the poor settled, mostly shrouded in shadow. Unlike other places, even the poor in this city were able to afford three meals a day due to the policies implemented by the Church of Light. Evan was quite fascinated by what he was seeing. A bird’s-eye view of his world, silent and still.

  Soon, several people started to move from all over the city towards the Cathedral—and a majority of them were from the inner district, their movements coordinated and swift. In no time, the cathedral was surrounded, and a golden barrier appeared around it, protecting it with a faint, shimmering dome. The people started attacking the barrier with flashes of red and black energy, and the priests and nuns inside started attacking back with beams of golden light. Golden and red spells were flying everywhere, a silent but violent show in the dark. This was Evan’s first time seeing supernatural powers in action, and he was amazed as well as afraid, his heart beating faster. If I hadn’t been quick and given the kidnapper a chance yesterday, I might not be alive now.

  And looking at the globe, as if they had received some message, several squads wearing black cloaks came out of the garrison and started to move towards the Cathedral, but their progress seemed too slow and too distant. Looking at the dimming, flickering light of the barrier, it didn’t seem like they would make it in time.

  Just as it seemed the barrier would break, a silhouette appeared above the spire of the Cathedral. She looked very identical to the statue of Goddess Luciana enshrined in the Cathedral, radiating a soft, unwavering light. Soon, hundreds of golden nails materialized around her, hovering in the air like a halo of deadly thorns, and at her signal, they targeted every attacker with impossible precision. All those hit by them were dissolved into streaks of golden light particles, vanishing without a sound. After doing all that, she suddenly disappeared from her spot, leaving the night quiet once more.

  Initially confused, Evan then asked Lyria in a tense voice, “These lights…”

  “Yes, they were all killed,” she replied, as if it were no big deal.

  There were at least several hundred people, and they had just been evaporated into light in a single instant. Looking at Evan’s horrified expression, Lyria gently said, “It’s not as scary as it looks. When a certain level of power is reached, numbers stop mattering. And moreover, most of them were just at the beginning of Awakener.” She just tacitly left out that there had been a few Paragons mixed in.

  The last detail caught Evan’s ear. So the first rank is called Awakener.

  Soon after, the globe stopped showing the images, its surface going clear and still once more.

  “So, who did it? Was it the Goddess?” Evan asked after some moments of silence. The thought that this was an illusion shown inside the globe did not even cross his mind.

  Lyria hesitated for a moment and answered. “Not the Goddess, but her daughter.”

  Hearing it, Evan’s brows furrowed. He had never heard of the goddess having a daughter. He gave a questioning look to Priest Aron, who in turn explained. “She was born just a few decades ago, so this fact is not known to most common people. Her name is Lyria Pierre Luciana.”

  Evan remembered having heard this name from Clark, who had been repeating it as if to make him memorize it. But then a new question came to his mind, and he asked Lyria, “Then who is—” but before he could complete his words, he felt a sharp pain from his forehead. Lyria had flicked him without any warning.

  “She. Is. The. Daughter. Of. Light. Born. From. Light!” she said, punctuating each word with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, her teeth slightly gritted.

  Evan again wanted to ask how someone could be born from light, but the throbbing pain from his forehead stopped him. Although he had some initial guesses but nope, that beautiful lady could never be this edgy teenager here.

  Then, ignoring him, Lyria turned to Priest Aron. Taking out a golden sigil from within her clothes, she ordered, “Take this to the garrison commander. Make sure everyone involved with this incident is dealt with. Thoroughly.”

  “As you command,” Aron said, taking the sigil. He bowed and, giving Evan a brief, pitying look, left the room.

  “No need to act this much. I didn’t even use a little bit of my strength,” Lyria nonchalantly said.

  “But it still hurts a lot. Still bullying children even at your age,” Evan complained, and Lyria just shrugged her shoulders. She knew that her might always made right in front of this kid.

  “Hey,” Evan called her seriously, and she just gazed at him while again idly playing with the water in the fountain. “When can I become like them?” He was referring to all those spells flying around at night.

  This time, Lyria didn’t say anything and just gazed at him, her expression unreadable. After some time had passed, and Evan had started to think he should not have asked anything, she finally replied in a very serious voice, “You can’t.”

  It took some time for Evan to process her words. Then he hurriedly said, “But I can already see all those things and am free from the spell, right? Is there a special kind of test required for it, like the Priestesses? Or is it because I have my previous memories?”

  Lyria gently shook her head. “Neither.” Gently patting his head, she continued, “Do you know how people get free from the Perception Dissonance spell?”

  Evan just gave her a puzzled look. “The spell that makes it impossible to remember anything supernatural?” he asked.

  Hearing it, Lyria nodded. “They need a certain intent, or in simple words, willpower. And this intent is used to guide the elemental particles in our body. I heard that yesterday you caught one of them. Did you see that he was covered by a red aura?” Evan just nodded his head, remembering that man clearly.

  Lyria continued, “The normal human body is like a container full of small cracks. In the process of accumulating energy, it is also slowly and continuously being leaked out. So, in order to even remain on the same rank, you have to continuously accumulate it; otherwise, your rank may even drop. Then excess amount is used to form a stronger connection between the soul and the body. But for some reason, there is a hole in your soul. So no matter how much you accumulate, it won’t hold up even for a moment and will just leak out through it.”

  “But I am still alive and able to do everything just fine. So can’t we just try for once?” Evan tried to reason, a hint of desperation in his voice.

  Lyria gently patted his head and said, “Some things cannot be forced. If we try to force it, your body would not be able to bear the pressure and you would just die. And trust me, that death would certainly not be peaceful.”

  Evan opened his mouth but closed it again without saying anything and let out a small, defeated sigh.

  While continuing to pat his head, Lyria said, “Don’t make a face like the sky has fallen. Well, even if it falls, I will hold it, so no need to worry. Instead of thinking about how to get something you will never get, look around you and cherish what you currently have. This is my only heartfelt advice for you.” From her voice, it seemed there was some story behind it, so Evan didn’t try to pry further. He just sat there getting his head patted by Lyria. It seemed that instead of increasing, his mental state was sometimes decreasing to match his body; otherwise, he would not have needed the advice of this decades-old lady pretending to be eternally young.

  “You know you sound very hypocritical,” Evan muttered after a moment.

  “Then do you hate it?” Lyria asked, her hand stilling for a second.

  “Not much,” he admitted quietly.