Special thanks to Neshi for editing
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On top of a mountain on the edges of the continent, a temple was built. It was to attract those who wished to stay away from the power of the kingdom, or those who wanted to be isolated from other powers. A couple of men, one a fierce warrior, the other a monk who cherished all forms of life, built the temple in hopes of gathering people with like mind sets.
The result was much better than they thought and they soon gathered enough people to make a village. The sheer amount of warriors who gathered hearing about the famous fierce warrior settling down, they all joined in hopes of becoming disciples.
Hundreds of years passed by and the soon small temple turned into a sacred land for monks and warriors alike. Both living in harmony with one another; the monks would heal the wounds of the warriors and the warriors would protect the temple from beasts and bandits. It later became so powerful that even the neighbouring country avoided angering this force. However, the temple throughout its entire history refused to give itself a name. As if giving itself a name would cause it to lose its true purpose. Names are only needed for those who need to be known. For such an isolated existence it was only means not the end.
However, to their surprise being highly elevated on the mountain they were one of the first to see the rocks descend.
“Wh…. What is that?!”
“Quickly get the headmaster!”
“Are the gods forsaking us?!”
The shouts of worry erupted the once peaceful square. The monks started to pray and kneel, while the warriors couldn’t help but shiver and show fear. All but one person showed fear. This one person was still sitting near a flower bed calmly pouring water onto the Lilium speciosum. He was wearing a old looking brown robe that showed hints of weathering. His short brown hair was barely long enough for the wind cause it to sway. His skin was a darker tan colour showing how much time he spent basking in the sunlight. Even still, his hands were taken care of and soft, not fitting the image of a man; he was neither built looking or manly as his face showed signs weak frail boy. Although he was frail looking, underneath the robe he was incredibly toned and every muscle worked perfectly in sync with one another. When the shouting started he didn’t even stop his actions and continued to water the plants.
He could hear everyone shouting and crying. but what did that have to do with him? He was blind. He couldn’t see and because of this Owen adopted the mentality, ‘if I can’t see it I can’t fear it’. To him, worrying about something he couldn’t change was just plain tiring, more so because he couldn’t see the worrisome object which would lead to an even more stressful result.
This caused Owen to learn quite fast that not everything can be changed. The heavens would fall and Owen would use his lasts moments to water the flowers. He couldn’t help but think to himself while he doing so as well.
‘I am like the flowers, because they can’t stop it, they continue to sway back in forth in the wind accepting their fate. I am the same. I can not hold the heavens so why should I worry about it? I will go continue to be the way I am till my final moments.’
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As Owen continued to water the flowers, the droplets continued to fall softly on the petals and drip down the stem. The water reaching the dirt was quickly sucked in and the dirt became as dry as it was before. Owen couldn’t see the result but after carefully listening to the sounds of the droplets hitting the dirt with a heavy plop he would stop the water and continue onto the next flower.
It can be said that being blind was a disability, but Owen never thought so. By being blind he was able to heighten the rest of his senses to their peak. He was able to hear the difference when the dirt was saturated from the drops of water, after which he would turn to the next flower and water it. Each action was done perfectly, and because of this meticulous action, the headmaster appointed him the flower caretaker. With Owen being in charge of all the plants, their brilliance spiked and the temple was filled with numerous colours that gave a scent unique only to the nameless temple.
Even with his talent in watering, none of the other warriors or monks were jealous of him. None of them would be able to say that they would live as happily as Owen could while being blind. But that didn’t stop them from admiring him. After all because Owen didn’t look at people’s faces, he never judged them because of this. He only used his heightened hearing to hear the differences in tones and knew exactly the mood from that and drove any fights back to laughter.
Owen was also the only one fit be called a monk and a warrior. Although it could be said that Owen was weak because he couldn’t win fights even with his heightened hearing, he still trained his body day and night. Owen even started to wear a bell on his ear that would ring as he tried to listen for the sounds that would echo back to him. It wasn’t good enough to be called successful, but at the very least it helped him last a few more hits than normal. Though no one would ever voice the words ‘weak’ to describe Owen, as no matter how much he was beaten he would stand up and ask for more. His will was stronger than most. He knew that and because Owen knew that, it was the only benefit he had over others.
Just as Owen finished watering the last lily, the headmaster rushed outside. He was about to yell for the people to calm down, but suddenly a calm unhuman like voice echoed in their minds.
“Humans, We are the gods and have heard your prayers. As such We will bestow you a chance. A way to change the fate of growing old and dying. After today, you may take the first step into becoming gods yourselves.”
Hearing this even Owen stopped doing what he was doing. He was unable to hold back his curiosity when these words were mentioned in his mind. Shortly after, words echoed in their minds once again.
“We will be changing the layout of this world, therefore do not resist as We will have those who are in the way of destruction gather in one place. Keep in mind, humans if you resist a slight deviation can be the death of you.”
Hearing the words of the god the people couldn’t help but stand there dumbfounded. They simply had no idea how to react. But for once, Owen’s soft and concise actions twitched causing him to feel anxious for the first time in his life.