In the eastern part of The Holy Kingdom, lies an abandoned city called Nodnaba. It was around midnight, when two people entered the abandoned church.

"Cardinal Castel, you can't do this!"

A woman dressed in a plain dress and a veil was being dragged away by a man.

"We must do what we can, sister Ofrenda." The man said. He wore glasses with circular lenses, of which the frame was of gold. He was in a tropical white cassock⁠—A long-sleeved, hoodless garment.—trimmed in scarlet red. On top of his garment was a pellegrina—a cape-like item worn by clerics.

"We must not sully the name of The Holiness!" The woman continued, trying to free her arm from the grip of the cardinal with the other. "Violence is forbidden, by the words of the Goddess!"

"I would be grateful if we could at least sully her name, sister." The man said, throwing the woman towards an altar.

"Cardinal, I don't understand..."

"The Holiness is dead." He said, adjusting his glasses. The cardinal then proceeded to cast a spell that created a prison of light around the altar, trapping the woman within.

"No! That can't be!" The nun shouted, grabbing the bars of light that held her inside. "You're lying!"

"We must not run away from the truth, sister."

"Our Mother who art in heaven..." the nun started praying.

"She will not answer your prayers, sister," Cardinal Castel said. He proceeded to grab the bible, although any person could tell something strange had been done to alter its appearance.

The nun ignored the cardinal's words, and continued to pray.

"But don't worry, I can fix that," Castel opened his book. "You should be honored, sister Ofrenda."

"For you will be the cause of the Goddess' revival."

"And what do you mean by tha-"

When the nun opened her eyes, her pupils started shaking.

"T-that book!" She pointed her fingers towards the object in Cardinal Castel's hand. "F-father, how could you?!"

"For her revival, I would do anything."

"Even so, binding a contract with the darkness is.."

Ignoring the nun's words, Cardinal Castel started reading from his book.

"̵̣̅͗T̵̺̓͝͝u̷͉̾̕,̴̨̃̃ ̶̭͑q̸̀͜u̵̺͉͛̈́͌i̶̤͈͚͌̒ ̵̞͉̆ͅë̷̘̕͝s̶͈̲͋̔ ̴̰̿ì̴̟n̸̙͠ ̸̧̑̉͘I̴̩͌n̷̛̞̙͎̂̑f̶̜͒́̓e̶͓̤͕͑r̵͉̰͋̚͝n̷̳̔͂̈́͜u̵̬͕̳̕m̸͈̘̣̾.̵̘͍͒̂͊

̶̢̳̻̔̆͝E̸͚̞͑̒t̵̢̯͂͂̓ ̴̝̋̅r̵͓͎̓e̴̛̙̭͊͠s̶̹̭̓̈́p̵̝̚o̸͖̯̬̅̄n̵̠̽̒d̸̳̞̻͛e̷̺̼̿n̵̮̺̋͘d̵̜̞̈́u̸̳̬̘̓̄ḿ̷̡͇̭̉́ ̶̞̉̌e̸̱̞̻̽͑s̸̡̓͜t̶̖͙͍̑͊.̵̭͝

̶͎̚͝E̴̱͛ṭ̶̩͊̊͘ ̷̢̝̪̋f̶͓̾͠ä̷̞̬́̇̓c̶̠̪̈́̇͠ṭ̶̼͂̒̄u̵̲̙̎ͅm̶̛̥ ̴͚͍̈́̓ͅe̶̺̓̋̊s̷̛͙̲̯̅t̵͚̮͑ ̶̩̠̱̄̌r̸̢͌͗̿e̷̟̦͋̑̐g̸̣̘͎̏́n̵̫̻͐u̷̗̠̔m̸̖̀̀ ̴̬͕̐e̴̪͊̍j̸̙͙͊̎u̵̖͐̿̚s̷͖͍̼̈̍ ̶͖͛̓n̵͇̅o̶̦̗̦̽͠n̵̞͎͒͛͠ ̵̟̋̔e̴̥̔ͅȓ̸̡̼í̵̺ť̶͇͗̓ ̵͚̪̈͝f̵̱̟̃i̶̢̛̲͚͐n̶̗̺̲͆͗̇ḯ̷̜̩̑s̸̡͔͑ ̶̪́́̕ͅn̷̜͕̄̾̆o̸͈̹̥͊̆ṋ̶͐̚ ̶̞̱̿́̽h̵̤̼̺͒͒a̶̬̠̤͂̈b̶͔̠̑ê̸̜͛t̷͉͋͋.̵͎͊͛

̶̢̰͝Q̶̳̳̉̈́̃ư̶̟̿̓ĭ̸̛̯̤d̷̨̝̍͜ ̷̖͕̉̕̚q̷̀̔̽ͅu̵͍̖͂a̸̡͂̎͝e̶͎̻̫̓r̴̜̬͆͑͛͜i̷̲͕̣̊̑̒m̵̡̲̣͝ú̶̱̣̳s̸̰̃ ̵̫̙͚̔͑s̴̱̄i̵̠̎c̸̢̠̺̈́̈́q̷̦̾͌͜͝ͅu̵̙̟͋́e̵̹̾͠ ̸̪͌͊͠f̵̖̬̎̉̈́á̷̢͕̆ć̴͚̉i̴̼͛e̸͚̼̜͛m̴͈̦̞͗̒ȕ̵͍̦̌̽s̴͉̅̓ ̸̞̃̐̎ụ̸̞̍ṯ̷͆̿͂ ̸̻̑̿l̸̬͕̚͠ơ̷͙̘̱̂q̷̞̰̾ͅȕ̴̞̼̉̒è̵̘̺ͅr̴͕̤̱͂ḯ̷̘s̶̛͓̏̚.̴͕͊̈͝

̷̢̧̰͑t̶̡̋͑͋e̷̺̦̊͜r̵̪͔̲̆̚r̷̛̮̋e̴̛̠̍s̴͚̪͖̎t̵̝̪̟͐̚̕r̶̤̭̭̄̑i̷̩̩̣͋́u̸͚̘̔̈̚m̴̻̏̀̄ ̶̛͎̠̼̀͘u̵̧͍͖͌͝t̴̹̏̚ ̵̹̭̓í̷̢̜̿n̶̘͌̃͝ ̶͇̞͝i̸͇͆n̸͖̕f̴̘̹͖̓̆̈́é̸̙̝̰̾̌r̵̦͈͘n̶̬͍͔̔͒̾ö̴͚́.̷̫̕

̶̜͝Ę̵̞̆̌̕ť̷̹ ̶̺͐́ç̴̭̌ͅṷ̷̠̓̚͜m̴̤̈́́͝ ̴̳̙̓̒c̵͇̯͔̃̕o̴͛ͅt̴̗̔̄̕ḭ̵̯̄̚̚d̵̨̼̯́i̷̠̟͐̍ǎ̵̞̎̃n̶̦̠̤̂̋͌a̷̱̰̠͑̓ ̵̳͖̒ṣ̵͙͔̈̓à̴̱̻̉ͅṅ̸̦̠̈́̊g̷̜̥̉͑ǔ̸͍̾͘ï̵̤̈́ŝ̸̹̦̰́͝ ̸̬̩͙̊t̷́ͅu̴̼̼͊̾ͅu̶͔͍͔̓ṣ̴̋ ̴̻͘d̷̪̘̙̈́ä̶̠̫͖́͋ḇ̵̢̡̛͛̃ḭ̴̢̓t̵͖͓̎͠ ̸̧͖͓͂̂͠t̴̥̩͊̆i̶̝̓͌͜͝b̶̮̔i̵̦͚̊͜.̵̢̠̜͛̅̓

̵͈̭̠͛E̵͙̗̐͋͘ͅg̵̼͜͠ō̴̺̖̺̆͝ ̵͉̋̽͝ŕ̵̺̣̱͝e̴̮͉͋̄͗d̶̫̈́d̷̮͖̯̑ę̶́̒͒r̷͓͆e̵̮̋ ̴̛̲̰̣͛̅c̴͚̃̂ǒ̴̹̎̑n̶̝̑͛ť̸̫̗͉̽̄r̵̘̰̀̈́̒a̶̯̻͉͋c̶̱͗̀t̸̹͆ǔ̴̖̃́s̵̨̩̆ ̶̞̅̏p̵̧̞̉r̶͕̉̊ě̶̡̟̰̈́̚ṱ̴̝̿̚í̶̤͈̾ͅu̴͍̇̍m̷̬̅͂̓ ̶̡͗̕p̴̮̭̘̔r̶͍̈́́̉o̸̧̘͎͐ ̴̨̛͉n̶̺̱̙͑̏̕ô̶̰̫̒b̴͔̳̦́i̴̛͉͇͇s̸͇̘͋̈́̏.̶̢̮͓̈́͠

̵̠̇Q̷̫͠u̵͕͓͔͂i̴̗̠͎͒̎̃a̵͖̎̍̕ ̴̫̣̒͐ț̸̣͗̔͘ű̴̪̱̆͘ṷ̷͕͖̏͠m̴̧̩̀̒ ̶̨͖́͐ȅ̵̱̰ș̸̠͝t̷͕͒́ ̷͉̾͗r̴̛̯̘͐̈ë̷̮̤̥́͌̈́g̴̗͙̥̈̈́n̴̡̑͌u̶̬͂̕m̶̛͖̿̌,̴̳̱̎̈ ̵̻͎̝́͌̕e̵̼̦̽͘t̴̙̭̐ ̴̣̜̻́p̴̧͔̜̍̅̽o̸̫͆t̷͙͈͐è̴̙̒̕s̷͕͉̫̈́̔t̷͇̞̏́͝a̵͓͓̍͌̆s̸̡̓̾̃,̷́̚͝ͅ ̸̛͙́́e̵̡̖̋̓͐t̴̹͉̋̕ ̵͚̳̏g̷͚̒l̷͈̑̅̒͜ͅö̶̤́͗r̶̩͎̠͘i̷̯̰͐̽̈́ą̷̧̺͗ ̷͖̓̇̔t̷̖͛̆u̴͈̲͌̎͠ã̴̻̺.̸̲̍͂

̸̠̫́̐N̸̝͒̕̚͜ẽ̷̱̜̒͠m̸̗͌a̴̻̐̚.̷̮̭̀͘͝"̷̪͇̍̿

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The nun screamed as if she was trapped in the fiery pits of hell itself. Black spots started to appear and consume the nun's entire body. The prison of light that the cardinal had created melted into the air, unable to take the immense pressure of darkness.

She screamed, and screamed. Her hands held her head, as if to contain her sanity. Blood came out of her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

"S..op thi..-" She let out a few words, although extremely hard to make sense of.

Before she could finish her sentence, she had become lifeless.

From below, a portal to the darkness had appeared, and hundreds of hands appeared, taking away the body of the now deceased human.

Darkness now spread all over the room, and the hands now aimed themselves towards the Cardinal. But before they could touch him, he quickly slammed the book shut.

In an instant, the hands, as well as every single darkness in the room dispersed into tiny specks of dust.

A tear fell from the cardinal's eye.

"How many more must I sacrifice..?"

He wiped his tear.

"No, I must stay strong, it is for the Goddess."

He put away his book and walked away.

'What.. the.. fuck..?'

Axel Alexanders, known in-game as 'Lost', had been in the room the entire time. He had morphed into a statue prior to the frightening incident that happened a few moments before. Lost did not expect such a thing to happen.

"It seems that this is more serious than I thought." Lost removed his form as an angel's statue. He had made wings on his back by turning parts of his body into slime.

"Cardinal Castel... isn't he an NPC?"

Like everything that happened so far, it was strange.

'An NPC from The Holy Kingdom... how'd he get his hands on a demonic bible?'

"Could it be that a player is involved?" Lost scratched his head. ""

"I need to go to the capital of The Holy Kingdom, Göttinhügel'

Lost turned into a slime, and quickly fled from the area.

***

There were 7 primal gods that resided in Freedom Fantasy. Originally, there were 8, but something happened during development and it was reduced to 7 on release. A few players noticed this, but since it was something trivial they didn't care much about it.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Thea, the Goddess of Light, was the principal object of worship to the Holy Church. It was said that the land of the Kingdom of the Holy Church was once filled with an evil blight. Thea supposedly descended down from the heavens to a small hill. She spread her powers throughout the lands, exterminating all traces evil that once lived there.

The hill where she once descended was then filled with people, praying to her, and giving her thanks. Soon, a city would be built, dedicated to her name. The city would then be named Göttinhügel, or the "Goddess' Hill", and became the capital of the holy kingdom.

"This brings back memories."

When he first started playing Freedom Fantasy, Lost begun his journey on the city of Göttinhügel, as it was popular with newcomers at the time. It was relatively safer than most other locations, and so players who came here was nicknamed 'easy mode players'

Lost grabbed a monster in the shape of a white dove with his Ravenous Hand.

"Greater Devour."

Greater Devour Active Skill

By using the Ravenous Hand or inserting the corpse of a monster into your mouth, there is a fixed chance to obtain the monster's skills and/or characteristics. There is a very small chance of absorbing stats.

Can absorb any skill under the rare rating. Once a characteristic is absorbed, you can choose to equip that characteristic at any time.

Cooldown: 5 Seconds

Cost: 1 Mana

[You have obtained the characteristic 'White Dove's Wings'.]

White Dove's Wings Characteristic

Wings of the White Dove, which is considered to be a holy animal by the Holy Church. It symbolises peace, love, and hope.

"That's cool."

[You have equipped the characteristic 'White Dove's Wings'.]

Pure white wings sprout out of Lost' back, making him look like the angel he was impersonating back at the church.

Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?

-Frida Kahlo

"Guess I'll fly."

Lost bent his legs, preparing to propel into the air.

"Speed Burst."

***

Lost was having fun in the air.

"I'm having fun in the air!" He shouted loudly.

"There's Göttinhügel!"

Lost accelerated his flight.

" I just need to land..."

Lost attempted to slow down.

"Wait, how do I land?"

But he didn't.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!!"

Lost crashed face first into the pavement.

"I didn't know it was raining Lost today."

"That annoying voice, could it be?"

Lost got up, and saw the person behind the voice.

"Joshua!" Lost exclaimed.

"Well aren't you happy to see me, what brings you to Göttinhügel?"

"To see your boring IGN."

Joshua—the man with the boring In-game name (shortened to IGN), according to Lost—was the guildmaster of the guild 'Canaan', the guild which main goal is to help beginners start their adventures. Lost used to be a member of this guild, until the difference in their timezones made some things undesirable, which led to his leave months ago.

"Oh my, and what do I have this pleasure to, my majesty KingXel," said Joshua in a sarcastic tone, "former greatest player of KnB?"

"I told you, I am KingXel!"

"Yes, yes, and I am Emperoar," Joshua mocked Lost once more. "But jokes aside, why'd you come to see me?"

"Something serious has happened, we need to talk."

Joshua looked around.

"Well, this doesn't seem like a fitting place for our talk. Follow me."

Joshua led Lost somewhere.

"This doesn't seem like a familiar path, did you guys move bases?"

"Well, we had an increase in members, so we couldn't stay in that small house. The new base looks better too."

"Since when is the holy and mighty Joshua so... materialistic? Had he too, fallen to the demon of capitalism?" Lost said, as he gigled.

"You looking for a fight?" Joshua

"You think you can beat me?" Lost said.

'He can.' Lost thought

"I probably can, but we're here."

Lost whistled as he saw the base of Canaan. It was a large, two-story high building. The building, constructed in brick in a typical Baroque style, has an elliptical main façade. The building's large entrance was topped by the guild name 'Canaan' with wings on the first and last letter.

"You might be materialistic, but you weren't lying when you said it looks better."

"Of course, I never lie."

Lost became speechless at Joshua's brazen attitude.

'Wow.. this guy is really..'

Joshua entered the building, and Lost followed.

The building was empty, as everyone had already logged out. It was almost midnight where they lived, including Joshua.

'Why's this guy not sleeping?'

The building was covered in oak wood flooring, the white walls of the building lined with gold. They went to the dining area, where the guild members also use as a meeting area.

"Where'd you get all the feohs for this?"

Feoh was the global currency of Freedom Fantasy.

"The Holy Church decided to sponsor us, saying it was an honorable act to help others," Joshua replied. "Even if they didn't, I'm a high-ranked member of the Holy Church, remember?"

"If only they knew the reason you want to help others..."

"Oh wow, this knife is very sharp." Joshua grabbed a knife from the table.

"I'm sorry about my remarks, sir Joshua."

"Relax, now what were you going to tell me?"

"You have no idea..."

Lost then told Joshua everything. From the paladin and priest that almost PKed a player, to the priest who sacrificed a nun.

"A priest did what!?" Joshua stood up in surprise.

"Yeah, and I think a player is involved."

"You're right on that. An NPC from the Holy Church can't possibly have that demonic bible in their possession through normal means."

"You think the other church is behind this?"

"The Infernal Church does sound like the most obvious culprit..." Joshua hesitated slightly.

"But?"

"But even for them, killing the Goddess is... a little weird, don't you think?"

"Now that you've said it..," Lost commented, "Joshua, by the way, you seemed surprised about the priest but not-so-much about the fact that the Goddess died, does everyone know already?"

"Yep. Even the low ranking members of the church know all about it."

"How?"

"Our skills are connected to the goddess herself," Joshua answered. "One day a notification just popped up."

"A notification?"

"'The Goddess' Light has diminished, all restrictions has been lifted' it said."

"That doesn't explain why players from the Holy Church started PKing though."

"Actually, there's been a.. I'm not sure what to call it, really," Joshua uttered. "It's some kind of.. movement?"

"What are you talking about."

"There's a movement between the members of the Holy Church," Joshua said. "Someday, someone spread that the Goddess will be revived if we collect enough 'souls'."

"Cardinal Castel.." Lost said.

"Yeah, I think he's behind this too," Joshua agreed. "These 'souls' need to be specifically player character's souls."

"Why's that?"

"Nobody knows why. But there's something odd about the method of collecting these souls," Joshua added. "I'm sure you've noticed with the case of Ofrenda."

"All of the PKing was ended with the usage of an altered skill," said Joshua, taking out a book from his inventory. "For example, the skill the priest used was actually the skill 'Hands of Blessing'."

Joshua chanted a prayer, and hands of light appeared around Lost, healing him and giving him a boost in all stats.

"I'm sure the Holy Smite skill the player Präst was about to use was of an altered version as well." Joshua said.

"But wait, didn't you say only player characters' 'souls' were being collected, wasn't the nun an NPC?"

"Oh, Ofrenda?" Joshua put away the book in his inventory. "She was a high ranking player within church, known for her dedication to roleplaying as an NPC." Joshua explained.

"Huh. I couldn't see the difference between her and the nun NPCs, she's good."

"I know right? But there is one more anomaly I haven't explained."

"And what's that?"

"I'm sure you've noticed, that after Castel used his skill on Ofrenda, spots started to appear on her body?"

"What about it, isn't it just a skill's effect?"

"That's what we all thought, but it doesn't affect only the victim of the skill."

"Once, a PKer used an altered skill to their victim, and didn't properly dispose of them, like the priest did."

"He touched his victim, and he black spots appeared on his player character too."

"Huh?! And what happened next?"

"Whoever touches these spots, I'm afraid..," Joshua sighed. "Falls into a coma in the real world."