“*sob* *sob* ……. Grandpa.” A girl about 15 year old sobbed while sitting near a bed.

Around the bed, there were also several people standing there, all with a sad expression. Men of all age just stood there in solemn. Some with their eyes closed reminisced the treasured memory. The women were more expressive. Several were shedding tears with handkerchief  on their faces. Some buried their faces on the bed sheet, covering their tears and emotions.

From the expression of those surrounding the bed, one can imagine how respected and important the man lying on the bed was to everyone here.

Outside the building, there was a whole crowd of more than thousands of people there, and the things that kept them in order were two rows of army men donned in high class armors. They belonged to the royal guard army, the most elite force in the whole country that was responsible for protecting the capital and royal family.

Normally, a normal person could not even see a royal guard armor if he had never been to the capital. In a countryside province here, the sight of the royal guard was one of the impossible things that could happen. However, today was an exception as the death of the man inside that building deserved that much attention.

“Mother, will the Saint no longer be with us?” A child tugged his mother’s hem.

“He has ascended to heaven, to unify with god.” The mother caressed her son’s head “It is already time for him to retire his service in our mortal world and return to where he should be.”

“Is heaven a good place?” The child asked.

“Uh. It is the utopia of mankind. A place without war, hunger, disease. No demon, no monster, no more fighting for survival. A place where the angels reside and protect the soul of good people. Shhh. Be quiet now. It’s already time.” The mother stopped her child from asking anymore question.

……..

“Welcome to the after life, Saint Jeora McLuther.” A woman with white bird wings on the back said in a heart warming voice.

The man in front of her became surprised with her appearance. He looked around the surrounding then at his feet. At the same time, he checked his body with his hand.

The surrounding was a completely white space without any object, except for the two persons. As he checked his body, he realized that he could stand on two feet and move around with vigor. The heavy weight on his muscle and tiredness in his mind a while ago disappeared. Brown patches and wrinkles on the skin, the symbols of old age, also went away without any trace left. Moreover, he felt the hardness inside his mouth, the presence of two lines teeth he had lost yeas ago.

The wing woman just stood there, looking at the man examining everything around him patiently. Her expression seemed natural like she expected his behavior.

“Although I received the title of the Saint, I have never believed in the existence of god, nor the concept of the afterlife. I don’t even believe the existence of heaven in the first place.” Jeora chuckled for a moment “But with what happens before my eyes, I guess I am pretty much a failure for a saint.”

“Though you did not believe in our god, you are the one who adheres to his teaching the most. In fact, your deeds are more praise worthy and stay true to his teaching than those who claimed themselves the direct messengers of god.” The wing woman held him in high esteem.

“If so, I shall gratefully accept the praise from an angel.” Jeora bowed to the woman in front of him.

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“Please stand up. You do not need to pay respect to me. It is me that needs to do that.” The angel raised him up in hurry “Your rank is actually higher than me.”

“No way, how is that possible?” The man said in confusion. In his knowledge, angels were the first direct creatures of the god. Their standing in hierarchy stood above all the other species, even the dragons. How could a human position be higher than an angel?

“Listen, what I am going to say is very important. You have to prepare your mind for what is going to come.” The angel said with a serious expression.

Realizing how severe the topic is, Jeora steeled himself and calmed his mind down. He deeply breathed a few times to clear his thought. It was a technique that helped him many time in his life.

“I am ready.” Jeora nodded.

“The god of our world, Aurora, has fallen for a long time already.”

“Wh-WHAT?  Then the reason for the appearance of demons and the corruption of the church?” Jeora shouted with disbelief.

“That’s right. Our god is no longer here to manage the world anymore. Thus, those misfortune events happened in the mortal world.” The angel sadly said.

“Then the heaven right now is?”

“It is only an empty place without any function. I am the only angel here.”

“What happened to the souls of the good people?” Jeora worriedly asked.

“Many of them are sent back to the mortal world, joining the reincarnation cycle without being able to free from it. Only a few with exceptional quality, like you, reached here and accepted an important quest, along with the other angels.”

“Quest?”

“Yes, and my mission here is to bring people like you to the heaven and give you this quest. Only humans with exceptional quality like you can have a chance to complete it.” The angel then created a scroll out of thin air.

“Saint Jeora McLuther!” She shouted out with a dignified voice.

“I, Angel Linda Ford, Sergeant of the Inter Dimensional Alliance Force (IDAF), manager of God Aurora’s world, now promote Saint Jeora McLuther, a human Aurorarian, to member of the IDAF.”

“Yes, Angel.” Jeora stood straight with serious expression. Although he did not fully understand what she was saying, he could gasp that she was bestowing an important right.

“Your mission is to join the army of IDAF, receive training there, and work together with our fellow worldmates. Our utmost objective is to get back the remnant of our god Aurora back and ascend to the rank of god. Our world cannot tolerate the state of godless forever.” Angel Linda conveyed the mission to him.

The man unconsciously had his jaw opened wide as he heard the content of the quest. Not mentioning the first part, so the objective of the other angels and those like him was to retrieve the remnant from a god. Just what kind of battlefield was the place be that could kill even a god? And his job was to join the god rank too. Was god not an almighty being? Why did she say that god was something like a rank? Many questions kept popping up in his mind.

“I understand that you are very confused right now. But do not worry, the receptionist there will answer your question.” Linda assured him “For now, I wish you good luck with your journey.”

Realizing how unsightly he was, Jeora quickly closed his mouth and adjusted his pose “May I ask one question before I go?”

“You have the right to”

“What will happen if I reject this assignment?” Jeroa asked.

“I will send you back to the reincarnation cycle and let you reborn back in the mortal world. But by the time you are born, the world will be harsher than any moment in the history.”

“Are you making a threat?” He asked with a frown eyebrows.

“Nope. Whether you accept this quest or not, the mortal world will become harsher eventually.”

“Why is that?”

“Without the god, this world will develop naturally without any god intervention. In which case, the demon race will start to evolve and develop with better potential than the human. War becomes fiercer as time progresses and more tragedy will occur.”

“Can’t you do something about that?”

“I do not have access to the world management system. The best I can do is to give some individual blessings and guidance. In addition, the war becoming more intensified is what I need.”

Jeora looked at Linda in disbelief.

“This world needs to become stronger, both the demon and human. War is the best drive to increase the power for both side. If they are in peace and start slacking off, they will be weak when the real disaster comes.”

“What on earth are you saying? And why are you, an angel, talking about promoting war?” Jeroa angrily said.

“This is the time of urgent, Saint Jeroa McLuther. Haiz, you may not understand it even if I explain it to you. You have to experience it by yourself. Time is over. I will send you over there immediately.” Linda shook her head then opened the scroll in her hand.

“Wait. We haven’t finished talking yet. Wait……..” Jeroa’s voice stopped as a flash of light engulfed him.

“I also do not want to resort to this, but we do not have much time left.” Linda said with apologetic expression.