Davey opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was a wooden ceiling on which the grainy patterns faintly illuminated by soft daylight streaming in from a nearby window.

It took him a moment to realize that he wasn't in pain.

His body, which had been through what felt like a storm of destruction and rebirth, felt unnaturally… comfortable.

Although he couldn't move.

His limbs were leaden, his muscles were unresponsive.

He tried again and again, straining his muscles slightly, but his body ignored him completely.

As he wrestled with his helplessness, a soft, melodic voice broke through the haze.

"Oh my! The Saint is awake!"

His blurry vision caught the outline of a figure... a girl, dressed in white robes that shimmered faintly in the light.

She moved closer with movements that could only be labelled as 'graceful', while her voice trembled with both excitement and reverence.

Davey blinked continuously, to sharpen his vision slightly.

He saw her face now... a beautiful girl, perhaps eighteen, with gentle features that seemed sculpted by divinity itself.

Her large... kind eyes looked down at him with a mix of awe and relief.

Her attire was immaculate, lined with intricate golden embroidery.

She wore a soft veil that framed her face like a halo.

She was, in every sense of the word, what the people called a "Saintess."

But to Davey, she was just… a stranger.

"Where am I?" he asked in a hoarse but steady voice, completely bypassing her beauty or the situation's grandeur.

To him, she was just another human being... a fact which made all the more natural sense by the fact that he was still a child.

The saintess paused, seemingly taken aback by his straightforwardness.

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But she quickly regained her composure, her lips curved into a serene smile.

"You're in the Holy Kingdom of Light, my Saint. This is the main temple of our Goddess, Aria."

She continued speaking, explaining everything with a gentle tone, but Davey's attention wavered.

His head felt heavy while his vision remained blurry, so all he could do was listen passively as she spoke.

After finishing her explanation, she bowed politely and excused herself, leaving the room with a hurried grace to inform someone... presumably the pope... of his awakening.

As the door clicked shut, Davey took a moment to process everything he'd heard by narrating it mentally in the only way he could as his body refused to cooperate.

"So..." he thought.

"...apparently this is the main temple of the Goddess of Light, Aria. And according to her, a divine revelation told their pope that their new saint... me... was surviving in the outskirts of Welton, in the land plagued by death miasma."

"After some grand search effort, they found me. Or rather, they found a giant crater filled with blood and divine energy, and at the center of it, they found me, unconscious but alive. They carried me all the way here, and now I'm apparently their saint.

"Oh, and by the way, I've been asleep for an entire month. So… yeah."

His narration trailed off as he exhaled deeply. He wasn't sure how to feel about any of this.

When the saintess returned, she wasn't alone.

Beside her stood an elderly man, dressed in elaborate white and gold robes that radiated authority.

His long beard and wrinkled face gave away his age, likely in his late sixties or seventies, but his posture remained upright.

"The Saint has awakened." the old man said in a voice filled with something akin to relief.

He lowered his head slightly... a respectful bow directed toward Davey.

The sight of the pope of the Goddess of Light bowing to him made Davey's mind stumble.

"Wait. A pope... a literal pope... bowing to me? Is this normal?!" he thought.

The man straightened and spoke again in warm but reverent voice.

"Saint Davey, welcome to the Holy Kingdom. You are the beacon of hope for us all, chosen by the Goddess herself. Rest assured, you will be treated with the highest respect and care."

Davey remained silent as his thoughts raced. He nodded faintly as his body was still too weak to fully react.

The pope turned to the saintess.

"Ensure that our Saint is well taken care of. Tomorrow, we will conduct the baptism ceremony in the presence of the Goddess."

The next day arrived quickly, the sun climbed high into the sky as Davey was carried... since he was still too weak to walk... into the grand main temple of the Goddess of Light.

The temple was massive, more a sanctuary than a building as its towering columns and complex architecture spoke about the devotion of those who had built it.

At its center stood a colossal statue of the Goddess Aria, her arms outstretched as if to embrace all who entered.

Hundreds of thousands of priests, believers, and dignitaries gathered to witness the baptism of the new saint.

Their collective gazes bore into Davey as he was brought forward while their eyes were filled with a mix of awe, curiosity, and reverence.

At the altar, under the shadow of the statue, the ceremony began.

The pope recited the holy texts in voice that boomed through the sacred space.

Davey, despite his reservations, followed along, repeating the verses with surprising ease.

When the time came, the pope handed him a small ceremonial dagger.

"This, Saint Davey, is your blood offering." the pope explained.

"A symbol of your willingness to serve the Goddess, even at the cost of your own life."

Davey didn't hesitate.

He took the blade and with a steady hand, sliced his palm.

The pain was sharp but fleeting as his blood dripped onto the altar.

The moment the first drop hit the altar, the air shifted.

A blinding light erupted from the statue, enveloping Davey completely.

The divine energy was overwhelming, its warmth washing over him like a tidal wave.

The crowd gasped as they witnessed what could only be described as a miracle.

Golden light rained down from the heavens, illuminating the entire temple.

The energy spread outward, touching every temple of light across the world.

Bells rang out in celebration, their chimes echoing far and wide.

The baptism was complete.

Davey stood there, bathed in golden light, his heart racing in his chest.

For the first time in his life, he felt something he'd never thought he would experience.

Acceptance.

The priests and believers cheered with their voices filled with unbridled joy.

They called his name, sang praises to the Goddess, and showered him with reverence.

In that moment, Davey smiled... a small, genuine smile.

He wasn't the cursed child anymore.

He wasn't the boy abandoned by his own father.

He was Saint Davey, the chosen of the Goddess of Light.

And for all of it, he gave the credit to one name alone.

"Thank you, Aria." he thought.

"For making me feel human again."