Chapter 70 - Faith of the Faithful (1)

The black cosmic expanse was silent. Its vacuum seemed empty, but many knew just how devastating it was to remain standing within it. Even the the countless cosmic debris floating in space were constantly being weathered down, chipped away chunk after chunk for every single moment. That was how dangerous it was. It may seem at peace now, but it was only a few hours ago when a battle had occurred here. A battle between powerful beings whose energies and auras lingered longer than they should, reducing most things to dust over time.

And in this place, atop one of the larger asteroids that seemed protected from the ravages of the lingering energies, a woman in a white sleeveless gown stood silently, observing the distant depths of space. She stood motionlessly, her eyes sharp and cold as though fully ready to fight at any moment. In her arms was a sheathed blade, nestled against her body like a darling child she dared not leave alone. Her long black and white hair flowed gently down her waist giving her a strange sense of mystique.

The soldiers in the distance looked toward her with admiration and reverence. Most of them could not even step close to that volatile space without being injured, and yet that woman remained completely still, not a single wound on her beautiful fair skin nor a single tear on her pristine white gown. The soldiers, especially the men, all admired her. She was the epitome of beauty and power. But more than that, she was a renowned pillar of humanity.

The human race of Dominion were race that had been ostracised since time immemorial. They were slaves and cattle to the noblesse. This would not have been much of a problem if there were other races to share the burden with them, which there are. In the entirety of Dominion, there were no less than a hundred different races including the noblesse and humans. But the problem was that humanity was the greatest in number despite being among the weakest. The strongest race in Dominion, the noblesse, used humans for literally everything their depraved minds could think of.

But in the history of humanity, there existed heroes who stood against the oppression of the noblesse despite the unending failures. They were known as the Saints. And in the history of humanity, the Saints were the ones who carried the burden of humanity's survival while also shouldering the curse of the worst fates. One example was Saint of Foresight, an exemplary leader of the human race who led rebellions across universe, all of which had resulted in victory. She gave hope to humanity to finally rise from the muddy ground to topple the golden boots of their masters. But calamity befell her.

The Saint of Foresight had foreseen the retaliation of the noblesse led by their very own Emperor. This time, it was not a battle they could win. The Divine Noblesse Empire was furious and wanted to show humanity the consequences of defiance. The Saint of Foresight foresaw the slaughter that would ensue and she begged her people to leave. But none of them listened. They remained with her, meeting the enemy army.

The Saint of Foresight was forced to watch her people die gruesome deaths as she remained powerless in the hands of the Divine Noblesse Emperor. After the battle, as though to further humiliate humanity, the Emperor raped the Saint of Foresight who later gave birth to a prince. Indeed, the Saint of Foresight was the mother of Chrysos. But she never hated nor blamed her son. She cherished him more than anything in the universe and even left a message for her people. A message that found its way to a new Saint.

Years after the birth of Chrysos, the Saint of Foresight died. All that was left behind in her tiny abode in an isolated and barren corner of the Imperial Palace was her grieving son and his personal attendant, a girl of roughly the same age as him. With black and white hair that seemed dazzlingly flowing like illusory flames. She was raised to not only attend to the Human Prince, but also to protect him.

She was the Saint of Faith.

She was the Faithful Blade.

[A loyal follower heeds your call: Serena, The Heart]

It was in that moment of grieving silence that the young Chrysos first saw and heard such a thing. In the moment that he lost his only true family, he gained another. He looked to his side where the girl looked at him in tears. She too was grieving. The Saint of Foresight was not just a mother to Chrysos. She was a mother to the Saint of Faith as well, raising her as though they were of the same blood. And in that moment, they both understood that the only people in the universe that mattered to them was each other. Yes, the Saint of Faith had forsaken humanity for a single person.

She sighed as she continued staring at the depths of space. It had been too long since she last felt the warmth of company. She did not even know how long it had been. She had continued to breathe and live for so long that time seemed to no longer matter as much. After all, what could she do with all that time when the one she wanted to spend it with was taken from her.

She did consider returning to humanity, to continue her role as Saint, but she honestly never wanted to be a Saint. She had seen how her mother, the Saint of Foresight, had lived and died. She did not want to suffer the same fate. It was selfish indeed, but only those who truly understood the weight of responsibility would understand why she chose to be selfish. After all, her other half always told her the same words, the lesson he learned from watching how their mother lived and died.

'Faith is a fickle thing. Faith is a surrender of oneself to another. But they do not understand that for one to receive the faith of others is to carry the weight of their very existence. It is a selfless and thankless servitude, a torture to one's soul. Because in the end, to meet their faith becomes a responsibility, a duty. It is expected of you. Thus it becomes the chain that binds you, the nail that seals your coffin.'

It was because of these words that the Saint of Faith turned her back on humanity. She chose to live only for herself and for him. The human race may have been her people, but the two of them were the only family they had. And so she chose. And so she waited. Even as new Saints emerged from humanity, even as they called to her, she never once looked back.

She continued waiting and searching for her family. Until one day, she finally heard whispers of something. The half-blood prince was being sent to the frontlines. And at that moment, the Saint of Faith finally returned to the human race, not because she wished to return to her duty, but because they were the only ones who could bring her to the new war.

"Raina..."

The voice sounded quite weak and soft, lacking any sort of power or authority within it. It quivered noticeably as though it would break at any moment and return to silence. But the one who spoke held on. The emotions flooding out from his chest seemed to get caught in his throat. The lump formed made it ache and difficult to breathe. But his eyes stared ahead as he landed on the other side of the asteroid.

There was a distance between them. It was not just the physical distance that they had to walk through, but rather an mental and spiritual gap that spanned countless years, cycles. And as the woman in the distance turned to look at him, the cold sharpness in her clear moonlit eyes became lit with an unknowable passion.

"Chrys..."

The silence between them was thick with a dense cloud of a myriad emotions chaotically mixing and swirling like a maelstrom. But even in that environment, where others would find themselves suffocated and unable to move, the two only stared at each other in silence... and began walking toward each other.

It was a painfully slow walk, like a procession of thoughts barely concealed amidst the torrent of emotions bursting out of them. It felt like several hours or perhaps days for them to even make a progress, but it did not bother them. This walk may simply be that in others' eyes, but to them, they were crossing through time, breaching its inviolable laws to finally reach each other. Their only goal was meeting in the middle, and they did.

After who knew how long, the two finally stood in front of each other with barely a finger's length of space separating them. Their faces were so close that they could feel each others' breaths, but they only stared at each others' eyes, silently reading what others failed to even see. Or rather, perhaps no one really knew what was there to see. After all, what the two were reading were vows of ancient past held dear in the depths of their beings. What they were seeing were reflections... of struggles, of triumphs, of union, of joy, of Freedom.

And as though finally remembering in each others' presence that they were alive, they both took their first breaths in a long while. But soon enough, it was drawn out of them as their lips pressed against each others', sealing them from the rest of the world. In that moment, the tumultuous cloud of emotions swirling chaotically around them suddenly burst into a calm state dominated by just a few: sadness, joy, and love.

Chrysos' arms pulled his long-lost friend, sister, companion and lover, holding her tightly against his trembling body. Serena held his head, pushing him even closer to her as though wanting to merge with him, to never be parted again.