930. Abyss Prayer Room
Teresa found it harder to part her lips than to lift a boulder larger than her body. It felt like a heavy boulder had been hurled into her heart. Or was it a dagger? It felt like blood was gushing out. It was scary to look down. Teresa opened her mouth, her gaze fixed on the holy emperor.
“how?”
Noah spoke with a blank expression, throwing away the smile he had shown before.
“Does that matter?”
Is it okay for me to be here?
“I only heard it. Even Lord Overdeer doesn’t know this.”
Noah lifted his teacup. Smoke rose from the top of the cup and spread across his face.
“Really? Were you a cultist?”
I’ve heard that cults have been causing a lot of trouble within the Legion lately.
I’ve also heard that those who claim to have completely turned their backs on the group, swearing they’ve broken free, suddenly turn their backs and attack. I’ve also heard
that there have been several recent operations to root out the remnants of the cult.
‘One spell and you’ll go crazy and not even recognize your own child.’
I heard what Lord Overdeer said to Audin. He might be the same. The suspicion is justified.
“I need an answer.”
His voice was not raised, his posture was the same, and he was even drinking tea, yet Seonghwang’s words were full of pressure. Teresa felt her hands and feet stiffen.
‘What should I say?’
No? Is that okay? It’s true I was involved in a cult, isn’t it?
It wasn’t just a temporary stay. I experienced all sorts of things there, and I fought for them. The past doesn’t change. Teresa’s pupils dilated. Her eyes looked not at the present, but at the past.
Memories she wanted to forget tore at her head, digging, piercing. They were the marks cut by a red-hot blade. Her head felt hot.
‘There are two guards at the door.’
The Holy Emperor left his escort behind and spoke to her alone. If she reached out to him like this, he wouldn’t be able to put up even a proper rebellion.
She instinctively sought a way out of here and save herself. It was a tactical response ingrained in her instincts, thanks to her rigorous training within the Knights. She could either take the Holy Emperor hostage or kill him to create chaos. She had two options. However, she chose neither.
“That’s right. You were a cultist.”
The saint speaks. Teresa lowered her head. The veins on the back of her hand bulged. Tension filled her body. Still bowing her head, Teresa’s mouth opened.
“I am.”
Noah waited quietly for her to continue speaking.
“This person shouldn’t be here.”
Noah didn’t force anything on her. Even though he was busy, he didn’t forget why he was there.
“why?”
Noah asked back.
“yes?”
Teresa raised her head again.
“Why shouldn’t you be here?”
Noah asked again. Teresa’s eyes trembled.
Wasn’t he bringing up her past, her past sins?
“Please answer.”
Seonghwang straightened his back. He clasped his hands together on his knees and looked at Teresa. He must have unconsciously let out a hint of intimidation, but Noah’s posture remained undisturbed.
“I don’t even know my parents.”
“That’s the same as me.”
The city is also an orphan. For a long time, the cruel blade of war ravaged the continent, leaving many orphans in this world.
“It was a social gathering.”
“Yes, I heard.”
“Is that a big deal?”
Seonghwang seemed to be saying. Teresa tilted her head.
“You’re not nitpicking.”
Only then did the king smile brightly.
“Me you? No way.”
Seonghwang continued to speak with a smile.
“I am a saint, but I do not know how to use divinity at all.”
Although the muscles are still tense, the reflexive tactical response has disappeared.
“What would you say now when asked who you are?”
Teresa did not hesitate when asked by the Holy Spirit.
“Teresa of the Border Guard, Teresa of the Mad Knights.”
A disciple of the bear-like Audyn and a knight under Encrid’s command. This is the root of her heart.
“To those who wish to love others, love yourself first. Those who are harsh on themselves cannot be generous to others.”
This was a translation of part of the temple. The Holy Emperor recited a few more words. As she listened, Teresa relaxed. She relaxed her tense muscles and listened.
Her mouth naturally opened. She confessed all the sins she had committed in the past. They claimed
there had been coercion and oppression, but it was her own hands that had acted. She also spoke of her own pain.
Fortunately, perhaps, she hadn’t killed the helpless and pitiful. She had tried to save them. Still, the sins she had turned a blind eye to remained.
Noah listened to her story. It was the Sacrament of Confession, a process of repentance, confession, and forgiveness.
It was the Sacrament of Penance. It was the first time she had ever experienced this.
Teresa shed a few tears as she spoke, but Noah pretended not to see them.
Teresa didn’t wipe her own tears either. The long story had ended. It was the story of the life of a half-giant.
“The Lord looks down.”
After Noah spoke, a moment later Teresa asked.
“Aren’t you reluctant to have a private meeting?”
“Why would I be reluctant?”
“I was a half-giant and a cultist.”
There are giants with exceptional intelligence, but none with exceptional patience. It’s a well-known saying. Patience was the element that most alienated
her from. While she wasn’t often feared within the Border Guard, the wariness of those outside her was a daily occurrence.
She managed to quell this by singing hymns on the Southern Front, but after everything was over, she secretly felt a sense of distance.
“And she is a knight under Lord Encred and a sister who serves the god of war.”
“Noah said. Encred is a close friend. If he believes, he believes too,” he said. There was no soot in Noah’s heart. He simply looked straight ahead and spoke.
‘A great success.’
A person who tries to see everything as it is.
Among the stories I’ve heard from various places, there were many stories about how Seonghwang’s stubbornness caused various problems.
‘Never give up on people.’
He is surrounded by love. His heart is full of generosity.
‘A person who cannot use even a little of divinity, but who breathes light into everyone’s heart.’
Suddenly, I remembered the captain of the Border Guard. He had many similarities to Seonghwang. They both embraced everyone around them with the same convictions.
Memories of when I entrusted myself to Encred also came flooding back.
“Take responsibility for yourself.”
Those were Encred’s words. It was the end of a conversation that began with him promising to fight and prove himself.
Much had happened since then, and though they had reached the present, at some point Teresa fell into self-loathing. Noah pointed that out.
“Sir Audyn was very worried about you, Sister.”
His words had created the current situation. Teresa nodded. It was her first time going to confession, but pouring out everything inside her brought her comfort.
‘I hated myself.’
I hated being half-blood, having giant blood in my veins, not being able to control my killing instincts, being involved in social groups.
I hated everything. I hated it because I tried to forget but failed. The past remains forever. It can’t be cut cleanly with a knife. That’s why I had to accept it and embrace it.
“Love me. If you want to love others.”
Noah’s words again pulled the dagger from Teresa’s heart. Instead, she placed a burning fireplace in the middle of winter inside her. As she
reframed her thoughts, a change began to take hold within her.
More precisely, it was the giant instinct she had been forcibly suppressing. She was afraid that if she awakened it, she would lose her reason.
‘That won’t happen.’
There is no delusion for those who trust in themselves.
“You have good eyes. Can you love others now?”
“Yes.”
Teresa answered. She thanked the saint. Noah simply smiled. It wasn’t something she expected. Audín had told Teresa of her suffering and wanderings, and Noah had merely offered a few words to listen.
Teresa steeled herself and looked forward to a bright future.
‘When I get back, I can beat up Pell, Lawford, and Shinnae.’
I was sincere. I used to think the sanctity and the giant’s instincts were contradictory, but they weren’t. I realized they were both within me.
* * *
‘You’ll do well, sister.’
Audin took a step forward, pondering the thought. Now was not the time to worry about others, but he still resisted the urge to force the thought that came to him.
It was a staircase leading underground. It was deep inside, and without a single torch hanging on the wall, he was greeted by pitch darkness. The
only source of light was the torch he held in his hand. Audin stepped onto the stairs, relying on the light.
The flame in his hand didn’t illuminate the entire area, so his footsteps were dim, but even without his eyesight, he could feel the air flowing, so he could walk without difficulty.
“Do you really have to go there?”
Just before arriving, Lord Overdeer expressed his concern. He was headed to a secret place known only to himself and the Holy Emperor.
Its name was the Abyssal Oratory,
also known as the Sunless Oratory.
The owner of the oratory actually called his dwelling a prison.
It was reached by descending through a hidden underground passageway in the central chapel of the sacred city of Legion.
The descending, curved staircase felt like a signpost to hell.
‘Was it always this long?’
As a martial priest, Audin learned the ways of training, and with his overflowing talent, he honed his skills and discipline.
Many mentors, including his adoptive father, the Ragged Saint, taught him, but Audin felt inadequate, and it was here that he met a new master.
Come see me.
It was a place I’d been drawn to repeatedly by the words that had stirred my senses.
The best way to keep a secret was to limit the number of people who knew about it. The Legion did the same.
Posting guards would mean accusing someone of hiding something here, so no one guarded the Abyssal Prayer Room. The underground passages were cleverly concealed, and the secrets maintained.
That was the best way to keep this place hidden. And that’s why, when Audin came looking for it and descended, no one tried to stop him or watch him.
Come see me.
The same words resonated within him. More precisely, they echoed within his heart.
It was at a time when he had just awakened to the divine and was intoxicated with the art of harnessing it.
Audin was confident he wouldn’t succumb to any temptation. If the devil were lurking beneath him, he was fully prepared to confront it.
‘It’s not like the devil.’
Audin acted on instinct. He sensed no malice in the call. Nor was his heart swayed by desire.
‘If there’s any problem.’
He had prepared for all sorts of events as he descended.
The master of the prayer room had used his divine power to vibrate the earth, transmitting his will only to his intended targets. Audin recognized this.
‘Who is it?’
He had never seen anyone with such talent. Curiosity was piqued. A sense of triumph also arose.
Thus, he was drawn to the underground chapel by the call.
Who could it be?
A demon hiding in the Legion’s underground chapel? Something possessed by evil? A prank from God, trying to pierce and test him?
The path down to the crypt was dark and quiet. Descending the stone steps, he found a door twice his size waiting for him.
The moment he touched it, a searing pain shot through his palm and into his mind. He forced the door open, and the owner of the prayer room greeted him.
-You’re here.
His emotions were indiscernible. His intentions were indecipherable. All he conveyed was a colorless will.
-It’s a talent I haven’t seen in a long time.
It was a body made of light, yet it wasn’t dazzling. Chains hung from its arms and legs, and it was bound to a sword. It
had no eyes or nose. It was a thing made of light, yet barely held together in human form.
Without a mouth, it had no tongue. It spoke by vibrating the air.
It was a remarkable feat.
“What are you?”
Audyn asked.
-I am the last guardian knight of the legion.
His answer was twofold.
-Also a fool intoxicated with divinity.
The one sleeping in the Abyssal Prayer Room is a light addict. He is one who, intoxicated by the divine, has ultimately absorbed a portion of God into his own body. He is also one who, deep underground, barely survives, relying on the divine’s generosity.
His desire is death, and he awaits the one who will kill him.
* * *
Memories of the past faded away. This was our second meeting.
-You’re back again.
The divine addict spoke to Audin.
“yes.”
-It seems like you’re not ready to keep your promise.
This was his domain. It was a sanctuary he had created, a space where his power was projected. He sensed Audin’s level just by stepping inside. The paladin, who was practically his disciple, didn’t yet possess the power to kill him.
“The promise is not yet made, but I came because I need my armor.”
“Audin spoke,”
the mass of light, its eyesless head bowed. It was a special light, still devoid of glare. Vibrations emanated from its center, conveying its will.
-So you’re planning to follow the same path as me.
The light spoke.
“No, that’s not it.”
Audin answered.
Anyone who came down would be crushed to death by the pressure. That’s why the conversation took place in a space rarely visited by anyone.
