The first chapter
A pale young boy was standing in front of the cathedral. He had been standing there for hours waiting for someone. He wasn't alone as others like him wearing criminal clothes and 'will' imbued shackles were standing while forming a crowd.
Suddenly the paladins parted ways and a priest came into view. The crowd also noticed the priest and started humming in a quiet clatter.
The young boy's fears came true when the priest came and announced those accursed words without an emotion.
"No food will be issued today"
The young man and the people behind him could only watch helplessly with grim faces as the priest went into the large stone-cathedral.
The pale boy along with the rest of the criminals could only sigh as they could not eat today. They were starving for a week already. The only reason why he and others like him were even alive was due to the blessing present in the air cast by the 'green saintess of life'.
This was a common occurrence among criminals like him. They had to work every day in the outskirts and hope to get some food. If they did not work and rebelled like some always did, they were sent out of the walls to die. The pale young boy however, was sighing for an entirely different reason.
It was because he was going to die today. The reason for his death was not starvation. Nobody actually dies of starvation in the outer sector anyway. It was because he was one of the rebels and one of the youngest criminals of the all outer sectors.
The criminals of the outer sector were treated more like cannon fodder than actual criminals. Their crime was just that they were suspected of being infected of the corruption that made everybody worse than monsters.
The young boy was also among those who had come in contact with the corruption. The young boy's mother who gave birth to him became corrupted during the birth. His crime was something he had been atoning for since birth.
He was a child born of corruption which was also the reason why everybody hated him from the moment he was born. Though he was fed up with this life and just wanted to die. He hated this continent and the people inside the walls who threw his outside when he was born.
The only reason why he sighed was that he wanted to taste food at least once before he died today. Reality was still cruel on him as he did not get to fulfill his last wish before his death.
The pale young boy who was just around sixteen crossed the muddy streets and sat down on one of the dry grounds he could find under the perpetual dark sky. He had a few hours before his executioners came for him and some others living in the outskirts who were either about to become corrupted or sentenced to go out of the walls to die.
He was just pondering something when an old man sat beside him and said.
"You got some match sticks young man?"
The pale young boy opened his eyes and looked at the old man who was wearing criminal clothes just like him. The old man was familiar to him as he saw him almost daily after work.
The old man was quite unique to him as he kept a finger sized dried up stick with him all the time. When the young boy asked what it was, the old man just shrugged and said that it was road to heaven.
The pale young boy never believed that a road to heaven was present in a finger sized stick that was kept by an old man like him. The young boy answered to the old man after a full moment of silence.
"Do I look like I would have matchsticks with me? I don't even have a day to spare anymore."
The old man looked at him and repeated the same words he said every day.
"Everything is possible young man!"
Just like that, the old man started to pester the young man in front of him like he did every day.
The pale young boy did not mind the old man. Maybe it was the reason why he was still sane in this insane world. The old man would lecture him on various things and would say some interesting things that he never heard of.
Though it would all become meaningless as he was going to die today, he still looked at the old man and brought something from clothes. He still wanted to thank this mad old man for all the teachings he received for years.
The old man suddenly stopped blabbering and looked at him with stupor. The old man knew that the thing the young boy was holding right now was not only hard to get, but also considered blasphemous to keep in the outskirts. Fire was banned to be lit in the outer sectors as it could awaken the slumbering corrupted residing outside the walls.
Right now, they were living between two large walls. The walls were built with enough space in between them to be able to build an entire city.
The only sources of lights in the outer sectors were the dimly lit street lights made of moonstone blessed by the church. The night in the outer sector was eternal as it was always covered with clouds with some sort of blessing from the 'black saintess of darkness'.
What the pale young boy was holding right now was a lighter which was in good condition at that.
"Where you got that from?"
"Stole from a corrupted corpse"
The pale young boy said as if he went to a park. The old man stupefied as he was, shifted his gaze and looked ahead with somberness.
The criminals in the outer sectors labored each day to build walls. Some were asked to go out to repair the walls. The corrupted rarely wandered around the walls as well due to the 'will' imbued in each brick of the wall.
The young boy in front of him must have wandered quite far to be able to get something so rare in the outskirts. Did he had a death wish at that time?
"Quite lucky that you survived it"
"We are going to die anyway."
The pale young boy said in a different language he learned from the old man while fiddling with the lighter he acquired. Though, the old man just shrugged his words like he always did.
"Who knows, we might just survive"
"Nobody has actually survived it"
The pale young boy just sighed as if he had given up on hope.
"What is the difference between those corrupted sleeping flesh outside and us?"
"We don't look as hideous as them."
The old man started laughing as if he had not uttered a deadest humor of the day.
As the pale young boy ignited the lighter while fiddling with it, his eyed reflected the spark. If one looked at him, they could see that he had black eyes and black hair.
The pale young boy finally got tired of playing with the lighter and just tossed it towards the old man. The old man quickly grabbed the lighter lest it got drowned in the little mud nearby. He whistled as he read the letters written on it.
"Northern Blaze"
Lighters were made in the northern continent, and were sold in the eastern continent that they were living in before the world war happened ages ago. The pale young boy clicked his tongue as he returned from his deep thoughts. He had been influenced by this old man near him.
There was a south-western continent as well. The communication between the continents had stopped since ages ago when the world war stopped and the continents went away due to the movement of tectonic plates.
The pale young boy was quite lucky to be able to acquire something so rare, but there was no hint of happiness in his gaze. There was just emotionless silence.
The silence was broken when the old man lit the stick like thing he always held like a treasure.
The young boy never understood why the old man wanted to burn it when he treasured it so much.
After the tip of the stick was burnt, the old man just blew off the fire from the lighter. The young boy was a little curious as to what the old man was trying to do.
He just saw as the old man brought the finger sized stick to his lips and inhaled the smoke coming out of the burnt tip. The young boy initially assumed that the old man was going to heat and eat the stick, but became even more curious after seeing his actions. This was the first time he was seeing something so bizarre.
Humans were genetically curious, and he was just another human in the grand scheme of things. Moments passed by and his curiosity was at its peak when he saw that the old man enjoying the smoke he inhaled.
He hesitated for just another fraction of a second and asked the old man.
"Let me do it too old man"
The old man stopped as he sized up the pale young boy in front of him while saying something that he couldn't discern. He then gave it to him with some hesitation.
The pale young boy did not even pay attention to the old man's ramblings as he always did.
The pale young boy brought the finger sized stick to his lips and took the first puff of his life. He had heard the old man say that this stick like thing was a road to heaven, if heaven did exist that is.
After a moment of inhaling, the pale young boy burst in a fit of cough and he could swear he saw the old man chuckling from the corner of his eyes.
After he calmed down, he asked the old man.
"What in the god's name is this even?"
"It's a road to heaven boy! Maybe you have a lot of sins to walk it on!"
The pale young boy could swear that the old man in front of him was the most sinful person in the entire outer sector. As if to prove it, he took another puff. This time it was purely out of his ego to show that the old man was wrong.
The old man chuckled as he noticed the childish actions of the young boy in front of him. Minutes passed by and the young boy felt calmer as he found the burning stick refreshing.
After a few more puffs, the old man wanted his finger sized stick back. The pale young boy gave away the stick back, though he did grimace a bit. He then turned to the old man and asked.
"What's it called old man?"
"Don't know. I forgot I guess."
The pale young boy found the presence of the old man oddly comforting at the last day of his life. Though, the silence was broken sooner as he saw his executioners coming his way.
…
There are 128 sectors that are divided evenly on a circular mass of land which is also the last stronghold for the people of the eastern continent. There is an inner circle and an outer circle which are really close to each other. The boundary of the circular land mass is made with large stone walls imbued with 'will'.
Sector 77's inner circle had one of the oldest cathedrals that stood like a monolith. There were paladins guarding the doors and servants cleaning the floors. There were some of the priests chanting ancient scriptures and healing some of the paladins.
If one entered the cathedral and opened a large door which is usually closed, they would find a large statue at the center of the great hall. One could see a hundred people kneeling and praying while shedding tears in front of the white naked statue with wings and a face without features.
There were another group of people that anyone would recognize as servants coming and collecting the tear drop before it fell down from those shedding tears. The large hall looked busy as servants were going and coming.
At the forefront of the people shedding tears, there was a person facing the statue with closed eyes and clasped hands. One could say that he was the pope if they looked at his hands which held a necklace made of white beads. He was a dark skinned man in white priestly robes.
The massive door opened as paladins rushed in making way for the regal 'purple saintess of mysteries' to enter. The pope did not even pay attention at the commotion in the hall. The saintess who was greeted by all, went ahead and prayed in front of the statue and then she bowed at the pope.
The pope opened his old eyes and nodded towards the saintess while blessing her like an elder would to a child. The saintess wore white robes while she had purple hair and eyes. She had a pristine white skin akin to a fairy which was a contrast to the old man in front of her.
The pope opened his mouth and asked her.
"How was your operation?"
"It went as expected."
The pope nodded and turned to move to his job. The entire situation looked serene if not for one of the paladins near the pope to bring out a knife and press it against his old throat making it bleed a little.
There were only a few artifacts that could affect the old man here. The paladin was holding an ancient knife.
The room descended into chaos as the other paladins brought out their weapons in a swift arc. The saintess was at the forefront with her back against the statue and hadn't predicted such actions from a paladin.
Even the paladins were shocked that one of their own had chosen to betray the church in such a way.
After a moment of stalemate silence, the paladin keeping the knife on the pope's throat took out his helmet reveling his face and long black hairs while looking at the saintess.
The pope was still silent with his eyes closed as if he did not care if he died or not. If he died though, there might start a war between all the factions as the small thread of trust that has been maintained between them would be broken.
Though the priests nearby and some of the paladins along with the maids were sweating buckets, the saintess looked amused as if she found the entire situation funny.
The paladin who removed his helmet asked the saintess with a loud voice.
"I want some answers from the esteemed saintess here"
The saintess narrowed her eyes a little. She gestured with her hands for all people present in the hall to get out. When all the people except those who were shedding tears as they prayed in silence got out of the room, the traitor paladin asked the saintess.
"Why did you corrupt normal people into mindless abominations?"
For the first time, her smirk faltered as she looked at him with confusion on her face. She thought he had come from one of the factions to create chaos in the holy empire.
"What do you mean?"
The paladin raised his voice and asked in a rough voice.
"Don't even dare act clueless in front of me! I decoded those cursed texts! They record how the church unleashed the corruption a few decades ago!"
The saintess's smirked disappeared and was replaced with a serious face. The situation was a lot dire than she had anticipated. If he really did read the texts as he had described, then he will die sooner. It means the paladin in front of her doesn't fear anything. She asked him in a somber voice.
"What do you actually want?"
The paladin answered in a hoarse voice with another question of his own.
"What is the purpose behind this madness? Don't you know that nearly 40% of our people have been corrupted already? What could be so important for the church to do something do deplorable?"
The paladin's eyes were red as he shouted at the saintess.
The hall went silent for a moment as the saintess suddenly brought her hands to cover her eyes and then the paladin heard it.
He heard the muffled laughter coming from the saintess. Moments passed by and her evil laughter turned louder and she looked maniacal. She finally stopped and raised two of her fingers.
"Two reasons! That is all"
The paladin was perplexed for a moment as he asked.
"What do you mean by two reasons?"
"You heard me correct dear! There were two reasons why this madness was unleashed"
"What are they?"
"We were creating an empire and uniting everyone under the walls. We created this nameless empire for a reason. It was all planed since the beginning of the church."
"What?"
He was flabbergasted after hearing this world bending truth. If this truth were to spread, it might bring an unknown catastrophe which would ravage the continent for years.
"Yes! The church had been accumulating the corruption from centuries ago and released it just a few decades ago. We did it to unify then entire eastern continent and bring all factions under one flag. We also erected the walls and divided it into sectors!"
"Why! Why such tragedy for such a petty thing! There were other ways to do it!"
The paladin's voice was increasingly drowned with despair. How could he not when half of his family along with the family members of people in the empire got turned into abominations by the same church they trusted so much. The saintess smiled as if relishing his despair and folded one of her fingers. She then said.
"That is due to the other reason and is also the main one as well"
What the paladin heard just shocked him to his core. He couldn't believe that such a conspiracy was going on throughout the continent to such a degree.
…
In the outer sector 59, the paladins in hundreds came and called out names. Some were forcefully brought, while some came out of their own violation. Nobody could hide as they could be tracked with the collars they were wearing. They could not even kill themselves as they were cursed to not do it.
The pale young boy along with the old man was present in the crowd that was made of people whose names were called out. Just like today, hundreds of paladins would come and take people every month. There was a notice which held the names of those who would be called out a day before they were taken.
Just like before, around a hundred people were taken by the paladins. They could not resist as they were brought to a location many dreaded. The young boy saw the wall as they approached it. The great wall protected them from zombies. Though a few occasionally did manage to get by from underground, they were quickly dealt before any corruption spread into the masses.
The pale young boy had never seen what a sun looked like. He only heard that the sun was a giant ball of fire in the sky. It is so bright that one cannot look into it directly without getting some blinding issues. He would always get amazed by the ramblings the old man spewed.
The old man beside him started to talk enthusiastically as he looked at the walls.
"Do you know, if one went for a thousand miles straight from here, one can find oceans"
"What is an ocean?"
"It is a place where there is only water and no land"
The pale young boy did not believe that something like that could exist. If there was such a large water body, why did they work all day just for a handful of water?
They reached the wall and were taken to an empty field near the wall. There, their collars were removed and were replaced by another one. This time, the collars they were wearing was much lighter than the one they were used to it.
After replacing the collars, they were asked to change their clothes in the field with the one they were given. This time though, they were given standard military set of armor the paladins used and a sword. They were given a shield which was mostly transparent. It was a retractable shield and made of frozen 'will'.
After the commotion settled down, a man in paladin armor which looked quite unique came towards the criminals and released an intense aura of bloodlust. Every criminal staggered and fell down to their knees wearing paladin armor. Nobody could resist the man's aura and was pressured to the ground.
The man spoke in a commanding voice.
"I am the general of the 77th legion and all of you are heinous criminals who are given a chance to redeem themselves."
The general intensified his aura and spoke in his commanding voice once again.
"You will face the corrupted outside and kill them. If not, you die protecting your homeland!"
The general gave out an evil smile and for some reason the paly young boy along with those around him felt chills at that sight.