Maiden of Tears

"Should we wake him up?"

In the midst of a familiar darkness, a white-haired boy struggled to open his eyes. As he continued to, he kept hearing voices.

"Should?" said another voice. "That is not the right terminology to use as of this moment, because it would mean there is a chance. What you should say is 'could.'"

Voices from afar, not unlike the voices the white-haired boy heard before, were muted and distant, as though speaking from another room.

Just like before, he cannot see anything, nor can he do anything else.

So he simply listened as intently as he could.

"...fine," said the first voice. It was neither a tone of complaint or whininess, nor exasperated and irritated, but rather one filled with uncharacteristic solemness.

"'Could' we wake him up?"

"No," the second voice firmly replied. "He is in the beginning stages of the trial. A trial from the Lord is a sacred ritual that cannot be simply 'interrupted.' Waking him up here and now will be tantamount to disastrous consequences...well that is if we can actually wake him up. Even tearing his limbs and organs out won't interrupt this trial of his. It is only for him and him alone."

The boy then heard a sigh.

"Jonah is already thirteen years old, right?" the first voice said. "I do not understand, how come the 'trial' only began a month after? Did not the angel of the Lord say when a child soon reaches the age of thirteen, the trial-"

"Perhaps this is but a special case. As you well and truly know, he is truly special amongst the millions, or billions of humans that remain on this earth."

Then, there was silence. A long silence so vast and wide, the boy didn't know what to do. As he 'floated' there, he later heard a hesitant voice.

"...how long do you think he'll wake up?"

"If I presume correctly, then just as usual he'll wake up, at the bare minimum, just shy of dawn. If we refer to my experience in the 'trial,' in the dream, my trial took about two weeks compared to a single night in the real world. For him, it may take months to perhaps even years."

"So we can only wait?" asked the first voice, but it was in the tone of a statement rather than a question.

"So we can only wait," the second voice firmly stated. "All people have different trials, Avalow. This is merely one of them."

"No," the first voice suddenly said. "𝘞𝘦 don't need to only wait. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 can help him, can't you?"

There was a longer pause.

"...under normal circumstances, no," the second voice deliberated and said after a moment. "However, maybe, just maybe, as this is a special case...with my third god-given emblem, [𝘈𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳], I may be able to delve within his trial. Alas, I can only change minor things."

"So you can, then."

"...if I fail, then perhaps the Lord will bring down divine judgement. However, the chances for such thing to happen is slim, for I have 𝘩𝘪𝘮 with me."

There was a longer pause. This time, the boy felt something. A bit of cold? A bit of heaviness.

"...I think you already know that, don't you," said the first voice in such an uncharacteristically code tone, the white-haired boy shivered. "I definitely know you do. That you know this 'Amor' is one of the-"

"Your words are utterly meaningless and full of drivel. State your true question here and now."

"....I do not know how you were able to forge a bond, a pact with 𝘩𝘪𝘮 of all things. Such a thing wasn't thought of even in the millennium past, and it rightly wasn't because the sheer amount of absurdity is preposterous.

"..."

"Somehow, just somehow, here and now, you have shown me this was a possibility. That one is able to forge a true bond with a 𝗖𝗮𝗹-"

There was yet another sudden moment of silence, but it did nothing to help the boy who felt his heart drop deeper than the ocean he's slowly falling into. The shiver that went up his spine. The uncomfortable sticky cold sweat pouring out of his forehead and back

"Yes," the second voice admitted firmly. "That is precisely why the chances of success are higher. With his assistance, the Lord won't bring down divine judgement onto me."

Then came another sigh, and the voices fell silent. The boy could finally feel what was heavy. it was the tension in the air, and even though the conversation was so far away, so distant, even he felt something heavy laid on his chest.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...maybe," said the second voice with a somewhat small hint of embarrassment.

Then the tension dissipated, and the boy felt a sigh of relief as another moment of silence passed.

When the white-haired boy began to think the conversation was over, until he heard one last sentence.

"Let us hope he'll be able to hear us, as we already established a connection with his 'dream.' Since this is a dream, then maybe I can provide assistance after all."

The muted voices had long since vanished, forgotten, never to be heard by him for a long while as he fell deeper into this 'dream.'

...

[𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗵...𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲...]

[𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲...]

[𝗦𝗼 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲-!]

Jonah's eyes shot wide open, and he sat up with a gasp. As he put a hand on his chest, gasping and heavily breathing, his other hand rose to wipe the sweat away from his forehead.

'What were those voices...' he thought tiredly. Rubbing his forehead, he fell back onto the uncomfortably strange bed and unconsciously let out an exhausted sigh. 'Why can't I remember most of it? Why am I just here...just to suffer?'

As he once again sighed over his predestined, unfortunate fate, he heard a voice by his side.

"Hey you, you're finally awake. Are you alright now? Are you strong enough get up"

"No, I definitely don't think I'm alright, but I guess I can..." Jonah's words halted as he sat up immediately.

Scratching his aching back and covering his mouth for a yawn, he found himself not on a rumbling stinky carriage, but a small, shabby room with two shabby small beds, one of them being the one he was lying on top. By his side knelt a familiar boy with a few bangs of brown hair covering nearly half his eyes.

"Oh no," Jonah murmured, and he groaned. Then, slowly, he took in a very deep breath. That was when he smelled something akin to sweat, rotten eggs, and dirty socks that has been worn for weeks.

"Freakin-I'm still in this godforsaken nightmare-!" he screamed.

"Hey, calm down, it'll be alright," Perc said sympathetically. Patting the boy's shoulders, he sighed. "It's alright, you're in safe hands..."

'Stop petting me as though I'm a child then,' the white-haired boy thought.

Is what he would say if he wasn't in an entirely different environment surrounded by strangers.

"Oh, it's you?" Jonah asked instead. "Perc? It's Perc, right?"

"Well, at least you remember that," the boy named Perc murmured. Jonah caressed the mattress he was on. It felt pointy stuffy, as though a bunch of hay was stuffed inside it.

Which it probably was.

'How far back am I?' he thought wearily.

"Where are we?" Jonah suddenly asked. "Weren't we on that carriage-"

"You fell asleep is what happened," Perc immediately said. "How you fell asleep with dingy carriage rumbling and all that I have no guesses."

Jonah just blankly looked at the brown-haired boy.

"Huh..."

Perc then made a lopsided grin.

"You know, you better thank me. I had to carry you to our new room in the barracks..."

Question marks almost physically manifested on Jonah's face.

"Barracks? What?"

Perc just gave him a look of exasperation.

"...are you having another one of your...what did you call it...short-term memory loss fit?"

Jonah's face was all that was needed to explain everything. The boy sighed and stood up. Stretching his arms, he yawned, covering his mouth.

"Jonah my friend, please, hurry and get your act together! We're going to be late for the ceremony if you ain't getting up!"

"Ceremony? What ceremo-"

Before he could finish his question, Perc pulled him up from the bed. Getting the white-haired boy to stand up, the brown-haired boy grabbed his arm and started pulling him over to the doorway.

"Now is not the time to explain, I'll explain everything to you on the way, so let's go-!"

With no choice but to follow, Jonah started naively followed Perc out the room.

"Wait," he suddenly said.

"What?" Perc said, annoyed.

"Don't I need to bring a weapon?"

In response, the boy quietly tossed him a familiar spear from who knows where.

...

It was early morning, and the sun had yet to rise above the horizon. The world was still gray and tired, and the air fresh and cold.

Towering buildings that looked as though they were made based on some kind of old, ancient civilization. Many buildings looked to be made of gray-brown bricks, with some looking like temples, while others looked like spire-like towers.

Some looked to be made of smooth, polished stone, while others were made of chiseled stone. On some of the bricks and stones, stylish patterns were carved into them. Some were blue-gray, and others gold-gray.

All in all, it looked like a prospering ancient civilization straight out of a time traveling computer.

Two 'boys' walked on one of the many, empty stone roads. One of them, a brown-haired boy, held a sword in his scabbard, while the other, a white-haired boy, hung a spear on his back.

"Woah..." the white-haired boy said, looking at one of the particularly taller trees by the side of the road as they walked past it. Still covered in the gray shade of dawn, the palm-like tree casted a mighty presence over the small almost ant-like people.

"...so yeah, this is the holy city," the brown-haired boy explained. Pointing at some particularly noteworthy buildings, he continued talking.

"So, this place is bigger than you thought huh?"

"Yeah, no kidding," the white-haired boy murmured.

"Well, that's to be expected, since this is the holiest city of Regnum Cordis, Cor Nascitur."

The white-haired boy scratched the back of his head.

"Regnum...Cor...what now?"

"Jonah, it's Regnum Cordis. You do know Cor Nascitur, right?"

"Perc...I have no idea what that means," Jonah said dryly.

"That brick really got you in the noggin, didn't it?" Perc sighed, concerned. "In the ancient tongue, Cor Nascitur it means "The Heart is Born."

"Huh..."

"Cor Nascitur is the name of the holy city of Regnum Cordis-which is, if you really forgot, and I'm sure you did-means 'Kingdom of the Heart.' Still..."

Joining Jonah in looking around at the buildings like tourists, the brown-haired boy clicked his tongue.

"Now that I've taken another look, this place really is far bigger than my hometown. You should've seen it from outside, with its tall, magnificent walls, but you were asleep then."

Even when Perc was talking calmly, Jonah heard the awe and wonder in his voice.

"Even I was in awe when we first came here yesterday night. Even though I didn't see many people last night, there would probably be more people out on the roads and streets soon in a few hours, since we're just shy of sunrise. Far bigger than my hometown. You should've seen it from outside, but you were asleep then..."

As Perc went on and on, Jonah thoughtfully looked at the city around him. He can imagine the people walking in and out of the buildings, happily smiling and laughing.

'What a strange name...' the boy then thought, scratching a sudden itch that appeared on the top of his left hand. 'This country is called Kingdom of the Heart? Why a heart?'

As though somehow listening to his inner thoughts, Perc conveniently continued talking about the capital.

"In the old stories and fables, long ago, the origin of this holy city-"

"By the way," Jonah suddenly asked. "If I get this right, we enlisted ourselves into the service of the kingdom, right?"

"...? Well, yes you are technically right. In reality, we are in the service of the religious church of Regnum Cordis, not the capital itself which is where the monarchy is prevalent. A few days ago, we volunteered to be soldiers, Warriors of the Heart, to fight against the coming apocalypse, the end of all that we know. Just as we were getting on the carriage to the holy city, you suddenly got hit by that brick-"

"When did we meet? Jonah abruptly asked.

Perc gave him a weird look, but a look of confusion overtook his previous look as he rubbed his chin.

"We met...huh. When did we meet? A year ago, I think?" Humming, he scrounged up his face and scratched both sides of his head.

"All I know is that we're...kinda old friends or something. Yes, that's right. We met when we're fifteen years old. We trained together often too. Back then, you also said you occasionally forget things and you have a little sister, who by the way I have never met."

'How convenient,' Jonah thought dryly. The world must've accounted for a variable like him to appear here. That was the only possible explanation.

Otherwise there was a theory that a person exactly like him exists.

Jonah mentally scoffed at the idea. Alas, he couldn't help but imagine a person exactly like him at this moment in time.

'Did the trial also make the history of the me in this world a siscon to? Or is this body I'm inhabiting that almost looks like me a siscon to? Does the era of now even know the word siscon?'

Suddenly, the white-haired boy stopped his footsteps.

"Wait...I'm sixteen?!"

The shocked boy quickly began patting himself all over the place. On his stomach, his shoulders, his face-

'How come I don't feel any different-?'

"Oh Goddess..."

A few feet ahead of him, Perc groaned and facepalmed.

"My Goddess, you forgot your age too? Well after all that has happened, it is to be expected..."

Sighing, the boy simply turned around and walked away. After taking a few steps forward, he turned back to see Jonah not following behind him. Perc raised his eyebrow and gestured for him to follow.

"If we don't want to be late for the ceremony, you have to hurry."

Jonah's eyes twitched, but still he quickly caught up to Perc. He can't disappoint his friend who almost explains everything after all.

As the two walked, shoulder to shoulder, the white-haired boy remembered a question he had forgotten earlier.

"...by the way, what is the ceremony?" he asked.

Perc gave Jonah a look, and the white-haired boy couldn't help but scratch his elbow. Seeing that the other boy still remained silent, Jonah sighed and pointed at himself.

"Remember? Amnesiac here?"

'It's great to have the excuse of being an amnesiac,' Jonah thought as he saw Perc sighing.

"...it's the once in a generation or lifetime chance to see the first ceremony made by the newly announced Maiden of Tears," he eventually answered.

'Maiden of Tears?'

Seeing the increasingly confused look on Jonah's face, Perc's own face darkened with lines on his forehead.

"You don't even know-no, no, I know. Amnesiac. Short-term memory loss."

Jonah nodded in agreement. It seems as though this 'friend' of his truly understands that he knows nothing. Perhaps he can even explain what the Maiden of Tears is, which he eventually did.

"𝘈𝘩𝘦𝘮..." Perc coughed into his hand. "The Maiden of Tears is the highest authority in Regnum Cordis besides the king. Each generation, a girl is chosen by the Goddess amongst many candidates to become the Maiden of Tears."

"...and?"

"And? This is an important ceremony that happens only once a generation!"

"...and...?"

"What do you mean 'and?' I don't think there's anything else besides the rumors...and the details of the ceremony. Say, are you into gossip?"

"...I would like to hear about the 'details of the ceremony,' please."

"I didn't know you were so inquisitive. Usually you were straightforward because you wanted to go home to your little sister faster. Perhaps that brick really did-"

"Humor me. Please."

"𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, well, there are some details with the ceremony that I know of," Perc said, and he raised two fingers. "There are two parts to the ceremony. The first is the newly announced Maiden is to get baptized by the previous Maiden, the second is to bless the warriors of Cor Nascitur-which is now us. Also, it is the ceremony we're heading to right now. The second part of the ceremony, judging by the amount of time we're walking, should start shortly after we arrive."

"So that's why you wanted me to get up quickly," Jonah said in understanding.

"That's right, it's a very important ceremony for us folks. Recently, just yesterday night, the newly announced Maiden had begun the first part of the ceremony. From night until midnight, the vigil never stops. The Maiden can only rest for a few short hours until she is awoken before dawn to prepare for the second part of the ceremony."

"...wouldn't we be already late since we didn't attend the first part of the ceremony?"

"First of all, you were passed out. Second of all, during the first part of the ceremony, only the royals, nobles, invitees, and high-ranking priests can spectate the ceremony."

"Hmm...I see..."

'I don't see.'

Then, a peaceful silence fell upon two as Jonah continued walking with Perc. Amidst the silence, the white-haired boy had a sudden thought.

'DId the brick actually give me brain damage?'

Jonah suddenly blinked and turned towards Perc.

"By the way, how does the Goddess choose the Maidens-"

"Hey Perc, we've been waiting for you!"

Looking up, he suddenly found himself in the middle of what seemed to be a large plaza with many people. Looking down, he found underneath his feet were patterns of several colors. Weaving, connecting, and fusing together, they created a picture that Jonah couldn't fully see until he had a birds-eye view.

Ahead of him was a taller than average building. No, it was the largest building Jonah saw. Compared to the rest of the ancient buildings he saw previously, this one was obviously more special and awe-inspiring.

The banners, the colors, its height, the carved doors made of some material the height of two or more humans, four towers surrounding the entire building like guards protecting it, a taller tower in the middle, the light it emitted for some reason...it radiated such a religious, sacred invisible aura that Jonah felt the heaviness in his chest that made it hard to breathe.

Or it was the cold early morning that made him feel pain from just breathing in the freezing air.

"Oh-hey guys!" Perc yelled, waving at them.

As his only acquaintance ran ahead of him, fading into the background, Jonah silently watched as Perc began greeting four other people.

Observing them one by one, he remembered they were the other four that were on the wooden dingy carriage he was just yesterday. His eyes then trailed away, looking at the other people gathered. All were men, at least from sixteen years old.

Reflecting from the talk just shy earlier, Jonah first thought that he now knew there were no thirteen year old boys as warriors. He had come to reason that it's just that these ancient people obviously have a larger growth-spurt compared to modern humans.

His second thought was noticing that all of them wore various colorful armor that showed their bare midriffs, as though their guts won't be spilled. Wearing leather pants and sandals, their hair colors were also different, as though dyed in the modern age.

While Jonah was looking around, his ears suddenly perked when someone mentioned his name.

"Is Jonah...you know?" one of them said, making and trying to hide an obvious attempt at a gesture of a screw being loose. Jonah just looked at that one with a deadpan face.

Perc just shrugged at the guy.

"It's not that bad. It's just his usual short term memory loss. There really is no real problem."

"Ah, I see."

"How fortunate."

"Yeah that makes sense."

"Phew, that's a relief..."

Jonah watched them all quietly as they all made their one line statements of relief.

'Oh...so they already know. How convenient,' he thought dryly as always.

"So guys...you got any juicy gossip?" Perc suddenly said, and he made a 'knowing' grin. To Jonah's horror, the other four also made similar 'knowing' grins.

"From the other guys, I've heard the Maiden of Tears is rather infamous in the capital," one of them said.

"That's what I heard, but it's just because she doesn't act 'dignified' and 'proper,'" the other one said. "She's their resident troublemaker. A rather good and helpful one, I think."

"I heard that besides the Maiden, she has a rather beautiful friend," the third one said.

"How about you?" Perc asked the last of the four.

"Well, I don't have any juicy gossip...but...," the last of the four hesitated.

"Hey friend, don't hold back on us!" one of the other four said.

"I heard that soon...in some amount of time, two of the heroes will arrive here. To get their 'blessings' from the Goddess."

A hush suddenly fell over the group, and they watched as the fourth guy who spoke squirmed on his feet. Suddenly, a hand gripped his shoulder.

"Two...heroes?" Jonah asked. "You mean the heroes chosen by the virtues?"

"...virtues?" the fourth asked. He scratched the back of his head. "You mean chosen by the Goddess, right?"

"...never mind."

Saying that, Jonah lifted his hand off and stepped back. As the five got back to gossiping, the white-haired boy fell into another whirlpool of convoluted thoughts.

'Was what I learned wrong? Is the Rector really lying? Or is it that the people of these times are ignorant? Is this 'Goddess' a false deity?'

Once again so many questions, and so few answers.

Before he could ask, that was when the boy heard the bells ring.

𝘋𝘪𝘯𝘨...𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘨...

𝘋𝘪𝘯𝘨...𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘨...

𝘋𝘪𝘯𝘨...𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘨...

For a moment, Jonah thought everything was going to collapse. The shaking ground, the rubble and stone falling from the shadows of the ceiling-

Instead, after a moment of waiting he felt nothing with the exception of the ringing bells clanging loudly in his ears.

Looking up, at the highest tower of the castle-temple-like building, Jonah saw a large bronze-looking bell. Slowly moving back and forth, it rang, rang, and rang.

It clearly was a bell ringing, yes, and it had the same feeling as being holy and religious as the one a month ago, but it was missing something...

Entranced, Jonah couldn't help but stare at it.

Why couldn't he look away?

As the bell continued to ring, he felt his heart become lighter and clearer. Like a bird flying through the open clear sky, he felt...free.

While the white-haired boy looked upon it-

𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘬...

Creaking loudly as though its hinges had never been oiled, the large doors that looked to be unmovable moved. Slowly, both sides of the door pushed forward, making way for a figure in the darkness.

𝘛𝘢𝘱.

𝘛𝘢𝘱.

𝘛𝘢𝘱.

Soft footsteps echoed slightly as the person emerged from the shadows. Just as the person came into view, Jonah's eyes stretched wide moment.

And everything before his eyes bloomed.

The sun had just rose beyond the horizon, lighting the gray, dim clearing the warriors were all at.

𝘋𝘪𝘯𝘨...𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘨...

𝘋𝘪𝘯𝘨...𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘨...

𝘋𝘪𝘯𝘨...𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘨...

The bells sounding similar to grand church bells continued clanging and ringing, as though they were announcing a celebration that was about to begin. The morning air was still cold, but now with the sun's warmth infused into, it felt almost magical as it breezed through the entire plaza, ruffling everyone's clothes and hair.

Through all of it, although his eyes were blinded by the bright light, even though the slight chill that sunk into his bones were abated by the sun's warmth, the white-haired boy felt his widened eyes were truly blessed.

For he saw the blue unreachable sky and the glittering vast ocean contained in one body. One small, almost frail-looking body.

"A new generation has begun," said a loud, regal, formal voice.

"From the sky, falling to the ground, through the rivers, to the ocean, and back to us, falling from the sky once more..."

"A cycle of death and rebirth, of an end and a new beginning."

"Life has a way of returning to us, and like the rain falling from the sky, so too does the Maiden return."

"With the help of the butterfly's wings, she shall carry with her our future."

"For the Goddess has blessed her."

"For the Goddess has chosen her."

"Give thanks and give praise, for the time has come for the new Maiden of Tears to be welcomed into this blessed world-!"

"Welcome the young Maiden of Tears, Dana."