A night like any other. The moon shines through the trees that have ridden close together. A crowd of people walking down a layered path. What they hope to find at the end of this path? A shrine. The greatest shrine in the city. It is said that in return for a donation to god, one receives power.
Every night, people go to a shrine to give their wealth to God. Some even go as far as donating their food or belongings. Our God loves good alcohol, so there are many people who make some themselves, only to donate it to him in the end. These people are addicted to power. However, they do not understand. We shouldn’t donate to get, but to prove our belief.
I, however, understand it. I don’t donate to get power, but to find fulfillment. The feeling of receiving a blessing is amazing. That is the reason why I visit a shrine every night. I already donated all my money, food, and possessions. I even gave most of my memories and today I have come to make the largest possible donation.
People say this is a human life, but that’s not true. Murder without the permission of God is a sin. I’m going to donate something far bigger: half of my soul.
They say you shouldn’t ruin yourself with the donations. That’s why I’m only donating half. How should I continue to donate if I am nothing more than an empty shell?
When we got to the shrine, everyone was standing in a row. That’s the way it should be. However, today I ignored this rule for the first time. I went straight on, onto the donation plate. You should deposit your donations here. I heard an angry mob behind me. They weren’t angry because I stepped on the holy slab with my dirty feet, but because I pushed myself in front of them. A shame.
I stretched out my arms and looked up at the sky. The surrounding people froze and watched.
With a big smile on my lips, I spoke the words, “O God. Again I went to your shrine to donate something to you.” It felt like someone was looking down at me with a smirk. “I offer you half of my soul! You can do whatever you want with it.” The people behind me whispered. They didn’t understand the situation. Of course not. They are not believers. All they want is power.
At the sight of their faces, I laughed. I laughed and laughed until lightning struck me. The flash had no temperature, but I still had the feeling of being wrapped in a warm blanket. Instead of yellow, white, or blue as we usually describe them, this one was pink and black, maybe even a little red.
At that moment, I felt all sorts of emotions. Still, I focused on a single thing, the feeling of satisfaction. It was different from usual. Even though I gave half of myself, in that moment, for the very first time, I felt ... complete.
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“Are you all right?” A woman ran up to me. I didn’t feel like interacting with others, so I just stood up and walked away.
I went down the stairs, past the long line of people. Whatever happened changed my life. Every time I leave the shrine I felt empty, but today I couldn’t help but laugh. Laughing, I hopped my way back. The light of the moon looked much brighter than usual.
I left the shrine and walked down the streets. Everything was quiet, no cars, no people, just me. “Are you sure?” A voice that sounded exactly like mine spoke in my head.
You might think that this happened by sharing my soul, but this is not the first time. It first appeared 3 weeks ago when I was donating some of my memories. It is probably one of the blessings I received from God.
“Are you listening to me?” I have no use for her, so I ignore her all the time. The same goes for most of the other blessings I have received. The only one I actively use is the one I got for donating my home. With this I no longer need sleep, which is very helpful as a woman who lives on the streets.
People use their blessings for all sorts of things. Some even abuse them for crimes and, of course, there are also people who hunt such criminals with their own blessings. Even if they pursue a noble goal, they do not have the right to judge people. The people who hunt these criminals dare to play god. That’s why I donated half of my soul to God. Now that half of me belongs to God, he can judge sinners through me! However, that depends on whether he wants to do it at all.
“Why don’t you just do it? God recognizes your intentions. If he wanted you not to, he would tell you, wouldn’t he? You are, after all ... his most loyal follower.” As usual, I ignored the voice and kept walking.
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After a while, I passed a convenience store and saw something suspicious. A man, his face hidden under a hood, aimed a finger pistol at the cashier. “Do it.” I watched what was happening and saw the cashier clearing the cash register and handing the money over to the man. “Do it.” He put the money in his pocket and looked around. “Do it.” The louder and louder voice in my head gave me a headache. “Do it!” Without understanding it, I started running. I was faster than the door could open, so I jumped through. Hiding my face behind my arms to protect myself from the splinters of glass, I kicked the man in the face.
A bright beam passed me and left a hole in the ceiling. I covered the man’s mouth with my hand and let a purple liquid run down his throat. It was one of my blessings that made people lose consciousness.
“T-Thank you! You saved me.” The cashier fell to the floor with relief. I took the stolen money and gave it back to him. “Are you a member of Eden?” Completely overwhelmed, he put the money back in the till.
“No. I’m not one of those self-appointed angels.” I picked up the unconscious man by the collar.
“Say it!”
I guess I got carried away with the situation. “I am God’s apostle.” Maybe it was because of the voice in my head that I said these words. “I am here to punish these sinners.” There is also the possibility that God spoke his judgment through me. “I will show mankind what true belief is!” However, it is certain that this moment gave my life meaning.