Not God Chosen People

An uncomfortable silence filled the carriage for what felt like an eternity, broken only by the steady rhythm of the horses' hooves and the creak of the wheels. Kerina and Elina weren't looking at me anymore; they were staring at the spot where the light had been, their faces pale with shock and awe. I, on the other hand, was quietly assessing the new, strength humming in my muscles.

Finally, after a long five minutes, Kerina slowly turned her head, her eyes wide as she looked at me. Her voice was a strained whisper. "What... was that?"

"Was that a god?" Elina immediately followed up, her voice full of reverence. "A divine messenger?"

I let out a long, tired sigh and rubbed my temples. "No. It wasn't a god."

I leaned my head back against the seat. "That was just Azakiel. She claims to be the 'Angel of Death' or something like that." I said it with the same weary tone you'd use for an annoying acquaintance who shows up at your house uninvited.

My casual dismissal of a divine being was apparently the last straw for Kerina. Her eyes flashed with indignation.

"What do you mean 'just Azakiel'? That was a celestial being! You can't just— Wait!" she yelled, shooting up from her seat to confront me.

THUMP.

Her head connected squarely with the wooden roof of the carriage. With a pained yelp, she immediately slumped back down into her seat, one hand flying up to clutch the top of her head.

"Sister, are you okay?" Elina asked, leaning forward with a worried expression.

I watched Kerina wincing, a small, ironic smile on my lips. "I thought you were supposed to be Rank-A strong…"

"I am!" she snapped, glaring at me through fingers pressed against her skull. "But I'm not in a fight right now! I don't keep my full protective aura active just to sit in a carriage... Ow... ow..."

While Kerina was still rubbing her head, Elina turned to me, her expression full of a soft, wondering curiosity.

"Hayato, does that angel... does she visit you often? I couldn't understand what she was saying, not really. It was like hearing whispers of a beautiful song."

I thought for a moment. "Not often," I said, which was technically true. "But more frequently lately, yes. As for what she said... she was just asking for my forgiveness."

The statement dropped into the carriage with the weight of a stone. Both sisters stared at me in a new kind of shocked silence. It was one thing to be blessed by a divine being; it was another thing entirely for that being to be asking a mortal for forgiveness.

It was Kerina who broke the silence, her earlier annoyance completely gone, replaced by a grave seriousness. "Hayato," she said, her voice low. "When we arrive in the capital, you're coming with me to the Grand Cathedral. I need to ask the high priest about something."

***

The carriage rumbled to a stop on a paved stone street. The sounds from outside were different now.

Before the driver could even open the door, Kerina slid it open herself and stepped out. Immediately, a small crowd on the street noticed her.

"Lady Kerina, welcome back!" a man in a guild uniform called out. A few younger onlookers pointed with excited whispers. She was clearly a well-known figure here.

Kerina, however, completely ignored them. Her focus was singular. She reached back into the carriage, her hand closing firmly around my forearm.

"You're with me," she said, her voice leaving no room for argument.

She pulled me out of the carriage and began striding purposefully through the street, dragging me along with her. People parted before her, their greetings dying on their lips as they saw her intense expression. We were heading directly for a massive, white-stone building that dominated the city skyline, the Grand Cathedral.

"Sister, wait!" Elina called out, scrambling out of the carriage behind us with her bicycle. "Slow down!"

Kerina didn't slow down, pulling me past stunned onlookers and through the massive, ornate doors of the Grand Cathedral. The air inside was cool, quiet, and smelled of old stone and incense. She bypassed the few scattered worshippers and strode directly towards a serene-looking, elderly priest in white and gold robes who was reading from a heavy tome.

"Father," Kerina said, her voice urgent and cutting through the silence. "I need a divine scan. On him." She shoved me forward slightly.

The priest looked up, his calm eyes taking in my rough clothes and Kerina's intensity. I looked from the priest's holy symbol to the towering, unfamiliar statues lining the walls. The whole situation felt utterly surreal.

"You know, I'm not even Christian," I said to the priest with deadpan sincerity.

Kerina made a sharp "Tsk! ignore him, just scan him. Now."

The old priest held up a hand, his expression calm but firm. He addressed Kerina, ignoring my comment entirely. "Lady Kerina, you know I cannot perform a full divine scan on just any random person you bring in off the street. There are protocols. It requires a significant amount of focus and energy."

Just as Kerina's face began to tighten with impatience, Elina arrived, slightly out of breath from hurrying after us.

"Father Michael, hello!" she said with a cheerful wave, standing beside her sister.

The priest's stern expression softened immediately. "Ah, Elina," he said, giving a small, kind wave in return. "It is good to see you."

"Father," Elina said, her tone becoming more serious. "Please, you need to listen. What Kerina says is true. We were in the carriage, and a divine messenger appeared directly to Hayato." She gestured to me. "It spoke of him being 'reforged.' It bestowed a blessing upon him. We both witnessed it. We thought... you could help us understand what we saw."

The priest's gaze shifted from the earnest Elina to me. He looked at me differently now, his eyes filled with a profound, searching seriousness. He saw a man who had, according to a credible witness, been touched by the divine. He was waiting for me to say something, to confirm the miracle.

"I don't like that incompetent angel," I stated.

A collective gasp came from Elina and Kerina. Father Michael's serene eyes widened in pure, unadulterated shock. His calm demeanor vanished, replaced by a deep, righteous indignation. He didn't raise his voice, but when he spoke, each word was sharp and heavy with anger.

"You will hold your tongue, you do not speak of a celestial messenger in such a way. They are not 'incompetent.' They are creatures of divine will, extensions of God's own light. To question their nature is to question God himself."

Kerina, seeing she was about to lose the priest's cooperation, quickly stepped forward.

"Father Michael, please, forgive his words," she said, bowing her head slightly in a gesture of respect. "We only wish for your wisdom. We need you to see the divine power within him. He... he might not know what he is yet. A hero, or something chosen. He doesn't understand the proper way to speak of these things."

The priest looked from Kerina's earnest face to my own indifferent one. Her explanation, that I was some kind of ignorant, newly-chosen vessel, seemed to soothe his religious offense. It provided a context for my blasphemy that he could accept.

He let out a long, slow breath, his composure returning. He gave a solemn nod.

"Very well," he said, his voice now calm and clerical once more. He gestured toward an ornate, high-backed chair sitting in the center of the chamber. "Come, son. Sit."

I walked towards the ornate chair, the sound of my footsteps echoing softly in the vast, silent chamber. As I reached it, the priest's word echoed in my mind. 'Son.'

"The last time someone called me 'son,' he disappeared," I whispered to no one in particular, the words barely audible.

I said it like it was a simple statement of fact, a stray thought given voice, and then I sat down in the chair without any further ceremony, my back straight, my hands resting on my knees.

The whispered comment, dark and strange, was clearly heard by all three of them in the cathedral's heavy silence. But no one reacted. Elina looked momentarily sad, Kerina's expression didn't change, and the priest simply raised his hands, preparing for the ritual. They were all too focused on the impending divine scan to question yet another mystery about the strange man in front of them.

With me seated, Father Michael took a deep, centering breath and raised his hands, palms facing me. A soft, warm, golden light began to emanate from his hands, casting a holy glow across the chamber. He closed his eyes, and his voice, which had been conversational moments before, dropped into a low, resonant chant.

"Anima sancta, donum revela, lumen ostende, voluntatem Dei narra."

The light from his hands intensified, flowing outwards and enveloping me in a warm, probing aura. It wasn't painful, but I felt a strange, tingling sensation across my entire body, as if my very existence was being weighed and measured.

I sat perfectly still, enduring the bizarre sensation. Kerina and Elina watched with rapt attention, their faces filled with a mixture of hope and anxiety, waiting for the priest to give a name to the miracle they had witnessed. The priest continued his chant, his brow furrowed in deep concentration as he tried to read the nature of the "divine" power within me.

The golden light around me pulsed in time with the priest's chanting. He leaned forward, beads of sweat forming on his brow as he focused all of his energy on the scan. The air grew heavy, and the warmth intensified.

Then, abruptly, it all stopped.

The light vanished. The chanting died in the priest's throat. He stumbled back a step, his eyes flying open, wide with disbelief and confusion. He stared at me not as a holy vessel, but as an impossible paradox.

"Father, what is it?" Kerina demanded, stepping forward impatiently. "What did you see?"

The priest shook his head slowly, his voice a strained whisper. "Impossible... It simply cannot be."

He looked from me to Kerina, his face pale. "I saw the blessing," he said, his voice trembling slightly. "It is truly divine. Immense. The signature of the power he holds is like staring into a piece of the sun."

He paused, taking a shaky breath. "But there is nothing else there. He has no mana. No spiritual vessel to contain such a gift. It's like trying to pour the entire ocean into an empty cup. The power is real, but the man... the man is an empty void. It shouldn't exist."

The priest's words, "the man is an empty void," hung in the sacred air. Kerina and Elina stared at me, their minds struggling to grasp the holy contradiction I represented. I, however, finally understood the punchline to this cosmic joke.

I let out a tired sigh, the sound echoing slightly in the vast chamber. All three of them looked at me as I spoke, my voice flat and devoid of any awe.

"It's probably the angel's fault," I said, as if discussing a poorly filed report. "It's because they're all incompetent and unprofessional."

To Be Continued.