The Advent

With the appearance of the blue light, the world changed.

The whole cavern, the islands that are surrounded by a sea of fog, whole 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗹; they all shook. They quaked. They shivered. They trembled. They quivered.

They seemed to be welcoming something.

Rocks of various sizes fell from the ceiling as what seemed to be the air shaking, and the world around them suffered an immense earthquake of some magnitude.

At a slow, yet constant speed, the magnitude slowly increased, and the blue light shined brighter and brighter.

The blue light shined with more intensity from the butterfly on the witch's hair tie.

As the world continued to tremble, the woman bathed in light looked down below at the increasingly closing ground as she continued descending.

The ground where a veiled, gray haired witch was looking up at her.

The woman in the light seemed to look at her-no, past her; something really close to her, and yet not the witch herself.

"You're such a fool, you know that Ta-?"

A dark shadow casted itself over her. The blonde woman looked up, and saw a black wave of mud, with small patterns of color here and there, towered over the woman.

In an instant, it dropped down with might as it impacted the light. Then, the mud froze. It tried to crush down on its foe.

Like a tug-of-war, it struggled to bring the light down, but the light continues to hold, being still.

Still, steady, and warm.

Slowly, but surely, the mud dripped away from and the bright warm light began shining through the cracks.

Right after, along with the wind's howl, a beautifully formed spear of blue light blasted towards it from below. It smashed against the light-and shattered into blue pieces upon impact.

On the ground, the witch swung her staff. Her staff pointed at the woman, and another spear slowly began emerging from it.

"You two..." the woman in the light said in a slight off tone.

The witch didn't seem to care. Her eyes continued to examine the light surrounding the woman, even as it shined more dazzling than before.

'Analyzing data...confirmed. Magic being used...incomprehensible. Data set aside for research. Energy identification...analyzing...'

Another twinge of pain in her head made itself known, but she ignored it.

Her eyes and 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵 passively recorded the data, even as the headache, however minor it was, increasingly grow more and more painful. The butterfly's light offset the headache for the most part, but the pain managed to bypass it through the cracks.

Nevertheless, the gray-haired witch continued.

'Light that is considered as a barrier, exudes a strange warmth. It's energy...analyzing. Confirmed. The energy being used is not from mana, but from an energy called...hmm?'

"..."

The witch stopped, even for a small moment in time.

'This energy, what is this?'

Suddenly, something in her head pulsed, and another annoying sting of headache emerged. The witch ignored once again.

'The energy...the feeling...it was foreign, yet familiar. Endearing, yet a burden.'

'Analyzing energy. Processing...tossing away useless information...completed. The energy analyzed is...is...is...'

'...hmm?'

'Determined mysterious energy: love.'

"..."

'...love? Love?'

An abstract emotion, infused in the light?

How is that possible? Could such an energy even exist?

Right at that moment, the butterfly's blue light dazzled, and a thought flowed into the witch's head. Like a small light suddenly appearing amidst the foggy sea. A lighthouse to guide the way for the lost sailors.

The witch stared at the blonde woman in light, and the blonde woman looked back at her as she slowly began to descend onto the ground.

"Are you a hero?"

...

A thousand years ago, the Calamities descended, and the seven trumpets bellowed, casting the world into darkness.

It is said that The Lord God Almighty saw that humanity began to stale. They were not striving towards what was truly meaningful, and so he began his cleansing.

The first trumpet signaled the fall of fire and hail falling onto the world, burning up one-third of the trees and green grass.

The second, a portion of those who live on the earth shall be poisoned, and many will die.

The third will poison a third of the world's waters, becoming poisonous for the surviving mortals to drink from.

The fourth trumpet cast the world to near infinite darkness.

The fifth shall open the door for an army of monsters who gives a fate worse than death to those unworthy.

The sixth trumpet awakens the four horsemen, whom with their armies shall annihilate a third of humanity.

Last, the seventh trumpet brought the kingdom of the Lord God Almighty down to the earth.

Even before all of that, when the first trumpet bellowed, man despaired, for they cannot come close to compare with their strength. Kingdoms and empires fell, one by one.

In a hopeless world, man saw seven dots of lights shined through, guiding those lost in the darkness.

From heaven, man gained seven virtues.

From paradise, seven gifts departed.

Humanity rejoiced, as did the world.

Hope has arrived.

The heroes and their virtues fought against the Calamities and their plight.

At the end, for some reason, mana died, and magic was casted away into history. No one knew where the heroes and their virtues were.

...

Some of that was just based on a calculated, educated guess.

The witch didn't know either, for in her memories, she had already brought her entire race into the Realm of Dreams.

Before the Age of Calamity ended.

She was never there to see if the heroes had fell or not. Tales of their heroic deeds have not passed down through a thousand years, as the girl named Anna had never even heard of them.

'...hmm?'

...was she Anna, or was she #or###-?

"Ugh-"

The witch's body stiffened as another more pain pulsed in her head again. Like last time, just as it had appeared, it immediately faded away as she felt another wave of magic through her bond with Amor.

The butterfly on her headband pulsed with even more might, as she looked back up.

The spell she had constructed readied to be unleashed.

"You're not an angel from the Lord, but a...hero?"

Hero.

The word felt strange, leaving a bad taste in her mouth. The witch also felt her bond with the butterfly shook, and something in her head burned.

The virtues were lost long ago. So how is one standing in front of her?

'How can they possibly still exist? Let alone choose a new hero, even so early?'

Man or woman, no matter what, are only human. No matter what, they cannot live for so long.

The first Calamity had descended just past a month ago, and a hero stood in front of her? But here and now, the truth stood in front of her, like a bright flame in the dark.

So...if it was a virtue, then that explains why she cannot understand it; that she cannot comprehend it.

So, she could accept that, but this...this-!

But the fact that it's love...it's...it's baseless.

Useless.

Worthless.

The witch cannot understand. Such an abstract emotion cannot be so great. If it was, then she wouldn't have-

"..."

The witch is talented in all things magic, and with her eyes and 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵, she can unravel its mysteries.

Anything else...

Perhaps if she had the other one of the seven gifts, the gift of Understanding, then she would understand the abstract emotion that is love.

Without it, only magic is her path.

The woman in the light, as she continued to descend, fell silent. She seemed to only watch on as the witch struggled.

The witch instinctively felt a twang of fire burning inside her. She felt she was being looked down on, that she was weak, small, ch-

'Hmm? What's this? I'm feeling something? Emotions? Is this...anger? Pride?'

Why is she feeling such a worthless feeling?

Then, a voice invaded her ears.

"Don't you see, Anna? You do feel. It is not too late."

The witch ignored the woman, and she conjured all the rage inside her into another spear.

The woman in the light spoke again.

"You're just like your grandfather, do you know that?"

The world in the witch's eyes stopped-even if only for a brief moment, and her processing and calculation stopped, even for just a brief moment. The dark wind revolving around her, the mana being absorbed, every single movement, the world altogether-everything seemed to slow to a crawl.

The woman in the light shook her head.

"Did this age's standard of honor fall? Honor in letting someone continue a monologue? Anna, you should learn from me. If you let me continue, you could've had a chance to learn my name, or your grandfa-"

The blue constructed spear shot forward, heading straight for the strange barrier of light.

Shooting straight towards the women in the light, it touched the barrier filled with love...and pierced through the light.

"Hm?"

It was just a centimeter, but nonetheless the spear managed to pierce it. The woman in the light tilted her head, ever so slightly.

The gray-haired witch saw the result of her calculations.

'Weakness analyzed. Emotions such as anger and pride effect the barrier that is made of 'love.''

The witch should've continued attacking, but something made her stop. The burning feeling in her chest was empty, binding her hands and feet like chains.

She hated it.

So, she mustered as many emotions as possible inside of her.

The torments.

The anguish.

The unfairness.

As the flames began burning inside her, the veiled witch deigned herself to speak.

"How do you know my 'name,' and know of my grandfather?"

The woman in the light was silent. As the world shook, the two stared at each other, and the world around them slowed to a crawl.

Every movement, every twitch, every action-the witch took notes from them all.

Then, the woman bathed in love spoke, but this time, it was with an emotion that the witch could understand, however vague it may be now.

"After so many years, are you still afraid? So, dreadfully afraid of the hole that'll grow larger in your hearts?"

Then, the considerable amount of energy being en masse exploded around the witch. The winds howled and screamed much, much louder as it swirled faster and faster around her. The blue light also started shining with more intensity behind the witch, nearly blinding all those who looked at the butterfly.

"In both of your hearts?

...

Amor had enough.

At what is happening; at himself; at Anna's fate, and...that woman who couldn't help but get into everyone's business, who had just descended to this place somehow.

No matter what it is, he simply had enough.

For the past several days, he only watched. Watched as his little granddaughter become...this. A witch who is unfeeling. A witch who doesn't care anymore.

Something inhuman.

A monster.

So, as the being in light descended, he looked to the skies. Not at the clouds, nor the ceiling, but far beyond it.

To heaven.

The butterfly prayed to Lord God Almighty. To watch over his granddaughter, to light the path she walks so she doesn't walk off the road, and to simply help her.

Did Amor know the Lord in heaven would answer?

Perhaps. Perhaps not.

The Lord had always wanted his children to pave their own path.

'But here, in 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗹, there is a chance. For it is a place where the Lord Almighty has-'

"..."

Once again, he is thinking too much. The curse of overthinking is acting up once again.

From his bond, he felt Anna absorbing large amounts of mana from the surrounding, beginning the construction of another spear. The amount she can hold in is now enormous, for she has almost completed her transformation.

The transformation to his first Apostle.

Amor looked at her, and back at the being in light.

The light sparked such a familiar feeling, it somehow amplified his supposed nonexistent anger. So many things ran rampant in his tiny mind and heart.

The feelings. The bonds. The memories.

When he spent time with Anna.

When he created a bond.

When he watched over her.

Oh, he was in so much pain. Perhaps he regretted the opportunity to allow bonds to form.

Why was he doing this anyway?

Why did he think he was right to do this?

Pride? Stubbornness? Selfishness?

Amor thought he didn't have those.

He has to stop believing that now. Not now, and not anymore. Not until he has no family, when he has no one left to love.

Once again, his own selfish desires brought a beloved member of his family to fall.

He was such a fool.

Such a fool.

So now, to even change something, one must take action and stop thinking about ones regrets and actions up to now.

As Anna was absorbing and inhaling mana at an alarming speed, Amor jumped on the bandwagon of absorbing mana. Including it with the time when right after the fight with that Apostle with the top hat, with this much mana he had stored, he shall attempt to evolve.

And perhaps, with the permission to 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵.

No matter what he can do, it is limited. Being a three rank monster limits everything he does.

A tiny cup cannot hold an ocean of water, so how would he do it?

Amor simply just needed a bigger cup. A cup that can hold the sea.

A sea that will allow him to 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 as a Calamity.

So, the butterfly spread its wings, and he released everything he had been doing ever since he had arrived in this realm.

After Anna talked with the shadow of a girl.

After the massacre happened.

After this ignoramus, dunce, and fool of a stubborn woman came here.

So, Amor asks the Lord God's Almighty permission to 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵, and the world around them 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬.

It shook so much, the world seemed to turn upside down from the exponentially increasing earthquake, rising at a tremendous rate compared to before.

This time, the consequences were much worse.

Anna nearly fell over, stumbling, but that didn't stop her from constructing another spell. The woman in light strangely stumbled, even in midair.

"Why? Why would you go so far?" she whispered.

No one heard a thing, or even acknowledged they heard it, for the whispers pale in comparison to the seemingly crumbling world, rumbling louder than ever.

Almost everything around them became various shades of a dreamy blue. The rocks, the sky, the fog, the grass-everything was slowly turning a shade of blue. As everything in his eyes trembled, Amor spread his tiny wings, and once again he looked up to the sky.

Past the clouds, past the cavern ceiling, through the ground, and to the sky.

Amor prayed for a sign.

A message.

Praying for the Lord God Almighty to shine light on the road ahead of him.

...

...

And he was given a sign.