The fact never changes. Where there's light, there's life.

Without a light bulb in the night sky, we wouldn't survive a minute on the cold pebble that would be Earth. The same is true for all life on every planet, solar system, galaxy, or universe.

Life needs light to thrive. Even those blind creatures that live all their lives in the depths of caverns could not have been, be it not for the Sun.

The Sun.

The most majestic item in the sky. Even under the veil of night, she creeps onto the surface of the moon to shine light while we sleep.

A beautiful ball of force that may one day be harvested by the wonders of technology. The Sun brought humanity onto the first frontier and it may lead us into the last.

Isn't she delightful? Stare at her too long and her beauty might blind you. Our human eyes are simply unworthy to understand her charm.

But what if that wasn't the case?

What if, just to humor this theory, the Sun would allow one to witness her truth? The form that humans failed to comprehend millennium after millennia?

Those in the Sect of the Light know the answer. They have each witnessed the monument behind the celestial and gained a blessing of light in their blood.

The Sect of Light consists of four elders and twenty followers. They remain mostly in the shadows, acting as wandering priests throughout the lands.

Most of their identities are unknown. Though they've been said to possess beautiful eyes that are like gentle suns, members of the sect dress in heavy robes that conceal all but their lips and hands.

Their temples have been deemed private territory by the King, giving them his unspoken support. This is important because so long the King does not outright ban their activities, the Sect of the Light is part of the "tolerated religions" by the law.

This was not always the case. Not so long ago the sect was frowned upon by society, its members chased and leaders jailed for various “theological crimes”.

And what brought a change to their relationship with Astria? A little girl, that one day the guards brought to King Jonathan's castle.

"My lord!" Bowed the captain of the march. "We've apprehended another follower of the Sect of the Light. However, this one's different. I think your highness should witness it firsthand."

The little girl was only eight at the time. She had light blonde hair that reflected the sun and yellow eyes that were as pure as a ball of gold.

Despite that, her state of being looked horrible. She was suffering from malnourishment, signs of abuse showed on her flesh, and worst of all, she seemed to possess a puppy’s mental capacity.

When the king asked her name, she did not respond.

When he asked how old was she, no response.

Any question he had remained unanswered. After a while, the king started to lose his patience.

"What exactly is so special about this brat?" He asked with frustration in his voice.

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

One of the guards approached the girl with a glass jar. Inside was a tiny butterfly.

The tiny wings flapped out of the glass as the lid came off. The insect flew high up in the sky, dancing around the summer winds.

The little girl looked up at the butterfly. An excited smile grew on her lips and she clapped her hands gently with excitement.

The butterfly flew to a nearby flower. The girl followed, giggling playfully after each step.

This adorable display did not amuse the king.

"Hmph!" He raised his head. "What now? Will she cast a healing spell on the flower to make it bloom?"

The little girl did just that. Her golden eyes began to shine and a golden aura surrounded her fingertips. As she touched the flower, its petals gained color and a sweet scent filled up the room.

While this was a talent in itself, it was not enough to surpass anything the king has seen before.

But what happened next surprised even his majesty.

The golden aura remained on her fingertips even as she pulled her hands away, drawing sparkling lines in the sky as she moved. These lines began to take shape as the girl moved, forming something coherent.

When she was done, the girl laid her finger one last time upon her creation. The glittering shape began to move, flying into the sky with the wings of a butterfly.

The king was amused. This was a kind of magic he has never seen from any member of the sect. Nor from those who deemed themselves pioneers of magic.

Bending mana with sunlight was something the professors at high universities said to be impossible. But there was an antithesis, and she stood right before the king.

The butterfly shape flew high above, then with a flicker of light exploded into a hundred tiny butterflies. The glittering shapes rained down upon the king and his guards, painting them in golden shades of glittering light.

"What a talent…” Wondered the king aloud as a butterfly landed on his nose.

Needless to say, he was impressed by the girl's abilities.

Shortly after this event, the king released all leaders and followers of the sect. He promised to cease all persecutions and grant them temples across the land.

He had but one condition for all of this:

The girl must join the heroes' guild.

This is the story of how the Sect of the Light gained its feet in Astria and how the hero named “Sola” was born.

And as the shady-looking businessman explained this to Gabriel, he had but one question:

“Where am I?”

The walls around him were white and clean. He was the only person in the room, sitting on a small bed. There were tubes attached to his wrist and a weird machine beeped rhythmically on his right.

The businessman adjusted his tie and quickly cleared his throat.

“Ahem! You’re currently in the care of Neustadt’s most expensive hospital. But worry not, for our company will fund all expenses of your recovery.”

A hospital. Though Gabriel has heard of them before, he never had the pleasure to witness any. When he was still in the care of Lord Lazar, his regeneration took care of any wounds.

Glancing over the unfriendly machines, the cold white walls, and the bedside commode in the corner, he quickly learned why humans don’t like this place.

“You see,” The businessman continued. “The monster she fought appeared without a sign. She was called into action as an emergency, so the guards did not have any time to evacuate the area. The reason you’re here is because you were so close to Sola when she used her magic. I presume you do not know, but she possesses some abilities that have mild effects on those in the near vicinity.”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

“Is that why we all passed out? Now that I think of it, there was also this man who seemed unaffected by the magic. He tried to inject us with some sort of liquid.”

“Ah, that would be Professor Nucleus! Yes, he is a sort of side-kick figure for Sola. He’s also a master of science! That liquid he tried to inject you with contains a special formula that resists symptoms of the poison.”

“Poison? He mentioned it too, though I don’t think our opponent was venomous.”

The businessman’s smile sunk for a second. But as a true professional, he forced on his façade and continued the damage control.

“Have you heard about acute radiation syndrome? It’s nothing scary, just your body met some high amounts of radiation caused by the incredible force of the sun, and maybe you were in a bit of a life-threatening danger that would have caused your body to kill itself, but hey! You’re still alive!”

Gabriel gazed at the man with wide eyes. He was in utter shock.

“But I’m safe, right?” He asked after a tad recollection.

“Correct! And it’s all thanks to Professor Nucleus and our generous organization!”

“Are there any side effects?”

“Maybe just a few. Namely nausea, headache, heart attacks… Oh, and by the way, maybe you should consider refraining from heavy exercise!”

Gabriel felt a chill. He had a bad feeling about what this may imply, so he quickly opened the status screen of his Sigil.

What awaited him there would change his future drastically.