A Few Nights Later
The moon hung high over the quiet village, casting soft silver light across the church roof.
Suddenly a loud voice shattered the night.
"HEEEEYOOOOO! Sister, I'm baaaaack!"
The villagers stirred in their beds, only for a moment.
With resigned sighs they rolled over. Everyone knew who that was.
At the church door, Paladin John, now wearing a simple tunic and cloak like any other commoner.
Looked up from where he was standing. His noble features caught the moonlight, far too refined to be hidden by plain clothes.
He arched an eyebrow. "Oh. Nexi… you're back?"
From the darkness, a young woman with bright, mischievous eyes stepped forward.
Her night blue hair was tied up in a short braid. As she stepped closer.
But just as she reached for the church door.
She froze.
Her hand stopped mid-air. Her legs trembled.
Her mana surged in a panic. Cold sweat trickled down her back.
"J-John…?" she stammered. Her voice cracked. "W-What... what the hell is that?"
She was feeling a dangerous being.
To her, it was like standing at the jaw of a dragon.
John sighed and went inside.
A few minutes later, the church door creaked open again.
Out stepped the Blind Saint.
Her face, as always, was calm and warm.
Though her eyes were covered with a cloth. Yet it didn't decrease her beauty.
"Nexi, welcome back!"
The moment she heard nuns voice, Nexi forgot everything.
She dashed forward and threw her arms around the nun.
"Madeline! I missed you sooooo much!"
Madeline chuckled and hugged her back.
But the moment they took a step closer to the church, Nexi's body stiffened again. Her legs locked. Her heart raced.
Madeline placed a hand on her shoulder. "Use your mana." she whispered.
Nexi hesitated. But she trusted her. Slowly, she closed her eyes and let her mana sense it.
Like standing before a mountain of corpses. A battlefield where no one survived.
Her breath caught in her throat. But her heart felt warmth.
There was warmth inside that grave. No malice. No hatred.
Her eyes fluttered open. "Amazing… This person… they're incredible!"
She looked at Madeline with awe. "Who is it? I have to meet them! Do I know them?"
Madeline smiled softly. "Perhaps you do. Perhaps you don't. He's… difficult to explain."
As they walked up to the church again, Nexi no longer scared.
She stepped inside without resistance this time, though her heart still raced with curiosity.
"I'm sorry for scaring you," Madeline chuckled "I forgot how sensitive your necromancer mana can be."
Nexi rubbed her arms, still buzzing with aftershocks.
"You really should've warned me, Mads! I thought I was about to be devoured."
Nexi glanced around. "...He's in here, isn't he?"
The nun nodded gently.
The church door flew open with a loud bang as Nexi kicked it in with the full force of her excitement.
"Alright, where is he?!" she beamed, expecting to see a tall, shadow drenched necromancer with black robes, skeletal accessories, and a deep, ominous voice.
Instead, she saw… a girl reading a book.
And a boy sleeping peacefully beside her.
"…Eh?"
Her voice deflated.
Her pride turned into a confused pout. "This… this isn't what I imagined at all."
Madeline gave her a knowing smile but said nothing.
Nexi furrowed her brows. She wasn't about to give up so easily.
With narrowed eyes, she extended her senses.
First, she found Madeline standing beside her, her aura glowing like warm sunlight, gentle, pure, and comforting.
Then looked at the room far right the girl in bed Ina.
Nexi blinked, surprised. Ina's aura was no less impressive: a majestic, azure dragon in slumber. Majestic, scary and yet awe dropping.
But then… she turned her attention to the boy.
And her heart stopped.
His aura wasn't enormous or overwhelming. But so tightly condensed it felt like a singularity, like a star collapsed into a point of infinite gravity.
Nexi gasped, her hands trembling.
"…This is… this is impossible."
She looked to Madeline in disbelief, mouth agape.
"Madeline… That aura it's like..."
Madeline nodded before cutting her off.
"Yes. A few days ago, he started detonating. I believe someone used ancient demon blood to save him."
Nexi stood still, her brain scrambling to connect what she knew to what was in front of her.
Long ago, when the Old King was still alive, there had been an experiment.
A attempt to forge a weapon no, a being capable of destroying armies, kingdoms… even the world itself.
It was said the old king personally ordered the massacre of every scholar and mage who had ever been involved in the project.
The project was buried. Forgotten. Lost to time.
Or so she thought.
Because now, that same presence… was sleeping before her.
Alive.
Nexi's lips quivered with awe. "I thought all of them were wiped out… But this boy…"
She looked back at Madeline, who remained calm.
The saint simply offered a nod, as if confirming what couldn't be said aloud.
But then, Nexi paused.
Something was off.
She had almost forgotten.
The other presence was one that made her heart freeze when she tried to step into the church.
Her eyes slowly drifted toward the right corner of the room.
There like a shadow against the wall, she could feel it.
A dense, elusive presence. One that didn't pulse like living souls did.
"That's the same aura I felt earlier…" whispering to herself.
Using her mana-sight, Nexi focused harder.
And then she saw him.