“Ohhh, ohhhhh!!!”

Huh?

“Oh, High Father! We did it, we really did it! Look! The summoning, it was definitely successful! Look, High Father! Look, Father! We told you we could do it!”

What? What the fu—

“Sister Marie, take a look! This man, this man will definitely be our savior! I can tell just from looking at him! His blank stare, his thin eyebrows, his mangy hair! He’s just like the heroes we read of in the stories in the Cathedral’s library!”

No. Okay, what is this?

From all around me, I could hear voices chattering to each other. I was a bit clueless, but I wasn’t daft. My memory wasn’t bad. I had been in this situation before. In fact, I’m pretty sure I was in this exact situation before.

“Ohhh! Look, Cleo! His pupils are shaking! I remember reading about that! It happens often during these summonings, right? He looks scared! I mean, we should try to calm him down, right?”

“No, wait! Heira, wait! Think for a moment, we don’t know anything about this man, he could be dangerous. We should wait for one of the boys to approach him first, we have no idea what he might do.”

Fuck. I really wanted to rest in peace.. I was all fine and dandy going out a failure. It really didn’t matter that much to me personally.

I looked around at the people surrounding me. In total, there were fifteen people standing in what I could only describe as traditional Verusian clergy’s cloth. For just a second, I felt a painful throb on my forehead. I really… really did not want to have to deal with something like this ever again.

Fifteen people surrounded me. There was nothing more I needed to think about. I stood up slowly, trying not to startle any of the young watchers, the older gentlemen, or the general priests. Several of them took a step back from me as I got up, however. I really wasn’t that scary, I promise.

“A-ah! Sir, please don’t be cross with us! Or, please at least listen to what we have to say!” One of the girls in front of me took an extra step back and began quickly speaking. I held up my hand at her while covering my face with the other, choosing to peer between my fingers for a moment, acting as though I was confused. Well, despite my current composure, it wasn’t entirely an act.

I was in the past. Something I was somewhat familiar with the idea of, from books back on Earth, but that I had never thought would happen to me. I had returned to the day I ended up in the Church of Prayer and Hope. The headquarters of the Church of Verus. Once again, my forehead throbbed.

“Umm… Yes… Well…” One of the two older gentlemen began to speak. “Young man, we welcome you to our humble church.” His voice was soft, yet powerful, as if he were speaking to a child. It had been a while since anyone referred to me as ‘young man’, it almost felt nostalgic for a moment. I uncovered my head and set my gaze upon him.

High Father Teres, the head of the Church of Verus. He oversaw everything from his seat at the top. Absolutely nothing with any importance got done without some form of input or oversight from him. I always thought he had some obsessive-compulsive disorder that made it to where he couldn’t trust others when I was younger, but now I couldn’t help but understand where he came from. He was a humble man who only wanted to see the happiness that his church brought others with his own eyes, rather than simply hearing about it himself. At least, that was the vibe I got from him after three years in the Church. His thinning white hair revealed much of his head on top, but he never chose to cover it. His bearded face was covered in wrinkles and scars, clearly displaying his growing age and the countless challenges he faced over the years for all to see. His white robe was clean and embroidered with gold around the sleeves and neck, and displayed a depiction of Verus on the back in that same embroidery.

I could only feel shame as I looked at him. I was a pathetic failure in a lot of ways, only showing my unsightly side for a long time after arriving here. Yet, in all my failures, he continued to place belief in my ability to do good under the banner of his church. I held nothing but respect for Teres. He was someone who led the followers of Verus with all his heart, showering them with the love and compassion he believed Verus would show them were He to descend.

“I…” I started to speak, but couldn’t entirely find the words. The last time I had seen him was a year and a half ago, when we tried to find a way to prevent the creatures from the chasm from breaking into the Church of Prayer and Hope.

Obviously, we failed.

“I’m… Not entirely sure what’s going on. Who are all of you? Where am I? This is all a bit… Much, I hope you understand.” I wasn’t entirely sure how to react seeing them again after so long, but it was obvious that I should at least pretend to not understand what’s going on. I needed to be a blank slate for now, I couldn’t alarm them in any way, lest it cause issues with what I felt I needed to do immediately.

“Of course I understand, my child. Yhan, would you please bring a glass of cold water for our guest?” The High Father looked to one of the older boys as he asked. He gave an enthusiastic ‘of course, High Father,’ before High Father Teres continued. “We will be heading to my office, so please bring it there. “Young man, I have much to discuss with you. Please be at ease, however. I promise nothing untoward will be done to you in these hallowed halls.” High Father Teres spoke with a gentle smile on his face. He was trying his best to keep me calm, so I wouldn’t panic. Whether it was for my good, or the good of the others that crowded me, I wasn’t sure.

“Yeah, sure. Just lead the way… Sir?”

“Ah, please just refer to me as Teres for now. Formalities between strangers of different worlds so soon would simply be too much to ask. We will work through it all together, I swear to you.” Damn. Was he always this polite? I wanted to slap the old me for having ever distrusted this man. Though, I couldn’t exactly blame myself. I’m sure I’d be even less trusting if the current me was brought here for the first time.

“Children, please make way. I’m sure you all are excited to speak with him, but there are many things to take care of first. And it’s almost time for your lessons, I believe? Father, if you would.” With a nod, the other older gentleman in the audience began ushering the saints out, their footsteps sprinkled with various complaints about wanting to speak with me. Jealousy rang from their voice, wishing they were given the chance to speak with me before leaving. I already knew most of those kids wouldn’t bother listening during his lessons. He… Eh… I wonder what his name was, now that I think about it? He didn’t leave much of an impression on me in the past.

“Please, if you’ll follow me. My office is upstairs on the second floor, at the end of the hall. It would be good to remember.” I gave a quick nod before we started walking off. His pace was a little slow, probably due to his age, but I can’t say it really bothered me.

Umm… Teres, right…?” I quietly asked.

“Yes, young man?”

“You… No, I mean…” I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to say. I felt weird. I shouldn’t have any trouble speaking with High Father Teres, out of all people. I knew his kindness. There would be no issue no matter what I said, so long as it wasn’t blasphemous. Yet I couldn’t find the words I wanted to say. I wanted to behave as if I had no idea what was going on, but… Maybe I was being a little too natural about it. I didn’t need to behave like I did when I first came here, all shy and foolish. Yet when words made it to the tip of my tongue, they always fell off before I could speak them.

What did I even want to say? There was no point. He would explain everything in his office, just like before. He would put me in training to become an asset to the Church, just like before.

The only thing that would change is my behavior. My skill. I could tell my body was much smaller, I lacked the muscle I had built up over the years. My hair was short, barely reaching my neck, unlike when I had died. I knew I had gone back.

I knew he had already died. The agony I saw on his face that day overlapped with the kind smile he wore now. As he disappeared in front of me, his tears that fell during the creatures’ siege on the church had left him far more vulnerable than I had ever seen him. Watching as he faded into nothing, I—

I closed my eyes for a moment, then reopened them. Longer than a blink, but not too long for someone else to notice the difference..

And I saw his smile again. I was in the past. I think I understood what was wrong with me right now. I cleared my throat a bit, and tried to speak again. Loud and clear this time. “I wanted to ask, Teres. Who were the others with you?” My voice came through just fine. I just needed to adjust to the situation a bit. I couldn’t deny that I had been startled by the turn of events, but it was time to throw that aside. I needed to begin anew.

“Ah, there’s no need to worry about that for now. You’ll be introduced to everyone once you settle in, so please don’t worry too much. For now, just focus on your breathing. I’m sure you’re quite concerned with what’s happened to you, but I promise there is no need. I swear on Verus.” He held his hands together as he made his vow to me. Truly, honest to a fault.

The halls of the Church of Prayer and Hope weren’t much to look at in reality. Despite the somewhat grandiose name, it was a pretty bland place. A three-story wooden building that served both as the headquarters of the religion, as well as an orphanage for children who lost their parents in the Rust War seven years ago. You’d expect the headquarters of a holy Church to be far more opulent. And depending on which Church you visited, you’d be right. I had been to many in the time I spent on this world, and yet the Church of Prayer and Hope was the most unseemly of them all. While the building was kept as clean as the priests could manage, it was hard to actually take care of everything.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Very few people actually lived following the teachings of the Church of Verus. If you were to hold a poll for the population of the continent of Eastern Balan, you’d find that maybe a percent of a percent of people were faithful believers. In a way, it almost felt absurd to even consider them a real religion, rather than a cult that followed some miscellaneous lost god. However, their organization was real. It was acknowledged by the Greater Association of Faith as a real religion. Its stringent requirements were what separated a cult from a true religion: A God’s power had been manifested in tangible ways to the benefit of its believers. Thanks to this, they were given the right to practice their belief without fear of being hunted as cultists seeking to harm others.

Walking past various paintings, most made up of others' interpretations of Verus, we made it to the second floor and entered High Father Teres’ office. He gestured to the couch off to the left side of the room, and I nodded back, taking a seat. He sat behind his desk and began to scrutinize my appearance. I didn’t think he’d be able to make out much considering he was a fair distance away, but I let him continue in silence.

“Let’s begin with introductions. My name is Teres, and I serve as the High Father of the Church of Verus. This is the Church of Prayer and Hope, the most important building in our humble religion. You can compare it to- ah. My apologies, you wouldn’t be familiar with the other religions of our world. Hmm… Well, just know that it’s a very important place for our beliefs and believers. I’m sure you’ll learn more over time on your own anyways.” Not like I didn’t know what a religious organization was, but whatever.

Ignoring his somewhat lax explanation, I nodded. “What about you? Oh, and if you have any questions for me before I begin explaining why you’re here, please do share. I do apologize, but I’m afraid it’ll take a while. I hope it isn’t too burdensome for you.”

“No, not at all. But, you can save the explanation. I kind of get the gist of what’s going on, at least to an extent.” I didn’t really want to sit through that long explanation when I already understood what was going on. I’ll just lean into the important bits to try and get it over with. “You, somehow, brought me here from my world. I don’t really want to question it, it’d probably just hurt my head to think about right now. The situation is crazy enough as is.” A simple explanation to skip all the long bits. And now, to throw out the bait to get to what matters.

“If you and yours bothered with whatever preparations you needed to bring someone here from an entirely different world, then I have to assume that there was a good reason for it. Though, I can’t really just infer that reason on my own I feel…” I trailed off at the end, trying to naturally lead into the topic that mattered the most right now.

“Ohohoho! Goodness, how astute of you! Well, I suppose it wouldn’t be the hardest to guess, but to keep your calm after having your entire life upended… it would appear I’ve stumbled upon a true treasure! No, I apologize. Referring to a person as a treasure, that would be demeaning. A true talent!” His hearty laugh resounded around the room, probably due to his deep voice. He seemed truly happy about my relaxed deduction of the situation I was in.

Can’t help but wonder if he was a bit disappointed by how much I was panicking the first time around now, but I guess it is what it is. He started again, his hands clasped together, raised by his elbows seated against the table, “Normally, you’d be right. However, if I’m to be honest with you… There really isn’t any sort of issue! Well, it would be nice to have someone strong to help us protect our people, but… Hohoho! I’m sorry to burst your bubble like this, but it was just the whims of our Saints that brought you here! I hope you can understand!”

“…”

Silence. Even though I already knew all of this… Shit. I really can’t help but be a bit infuriated hearing it again. How could he be so flippant about kidnapping someone from an entirely different world just because the kids he was raising wanted to do some fabled ‘hero summoning’? Hell, they didn’t even manage to summon a hero, you know that right? And yet…

I couldn’t really be mad. I wanted to try feigning it, or at least a look of surprise, but honestly… Wouldn’t a deadpan stare in silence be better?

“…”

“...”

“...”

Despite being the one who thought of it, I was starting to get a bit uncomfortable…

“…”

“...”

I mean, this is where he should speak up, right?

“...”

“... I see. Well, thank you for letting me know so candidly, sir.” I finally caved. I wasn’t good with nerves like these. Do you even know how much I’ve talked in the last few years? It really wasn’t that much. I couldn’t help but become quieter as the people around me…

I left my thoughts there. No reason to dredge up the past right now.

“Well, if there’s nothing you really need me for, do you think you could just send me back to my world?” I inquired about something the previous me wished to know as well. Honestly, I’m kind of just curious to hear his response at this point.

“Nope!” Yeah. Okay. Thanks. Shit, was it like this the first time around? Did I do something weird? How the hell did he manage to get me so inside my head when I already knew everything? Was he a secret master of mind games? This is ridiculous…

“Okay… I guess that’s fine. I didn’t really care that much about going back anyways. In that case, what exactly do you need from me then?”

“Well, I was hoping that you could play with the young saints. Growing up in this orphanage, they’ve only been around those of the priesthood and those who share our beliefs. And, as embarrassing as it is for me to admit, Father Korrinn and I have a lot on our plates at the moment. The children get very lonely when we aren’t here to play with them! Not to mention the other priests are always so busy with maintenance and correspondence with nearby settlements. I mean goodness, have you seen the state of this b—”

knock knock. The door to the office opened, revealing a boy who looked to be in his mid-to-late teens. He stepped in and brought a small cup of water to the High Father, then me. “High Father, the water you requested.”

“Thank you, Yhan. I don’t say this to reprimand you, but…” after a brief silence, he continued, “You took a bit longer than I expected. Nothing happened, I hope?”

“No, High Father. Sister Cleo was just asking me a few things while I was heading out to draw the water. I’m sorry for the delay.” He bowed deeply to the High Father.

“It’s nothing to be sorry for, Yhan. I was only worried that something may have happened, please don’t pay any mind to it. Was something troubling Cleo?”

“I wouldn’t say troubling, but she was… deathly curious about our new guest.” He glanced over at me, before turning his attention back to the High Father. “Well, everyone is, I’m sure. It can’t be helped, no one actually expected to summon a person! We really thought it was just a joke, you know?”

A joke… Man… Was my whole fate just a joke to you? Hey, would you laugh knowing how I… Shit. Getting too worked up again. Despite their fancy silk robes, they’re just kids, dumbass. They couldn’t help themselves.

“None of us could have expected it to work. That is simply the power that you have been granted by our Lord. Make sure to thank Him for His grace in granting you a new friend in life at the evening prayer.” The old man had an obvious smile on his face. He was someone who couldn’t help but dote on these silly kids, even when their antics ended up with… unintended consequences.

“Yes, High Father! Thank you so much! I’ll, I’ll take my leave now. I’m sure the others are buzzing about, waiting for your discussion to end so they can meet our new guest! Again, thank you sir!” With that, he gave a deep bow and quickly scurried out of the room, not forgetting to quietly close the door on his way out however.

“Ohohoho. Apologies— Ah. Hmm...”

I never liked when he started thinking to himself.

“I forgot, we were supposed to be doing introductions, no? And yet we completely skipped over you! I’m terribly sorry about that, young man. Would you care to introduce yourself for me? I can’t help but admit, I am incredibly curious about the one those kids managed to summon!”

Now that I think about it… Did we get too off-topic, or too on-topic? It was my bad in the end. Sorry for reprimanding your habits, sir.

“Ah, yes. My name is…”

My name is…?

Shit, how long has it been? No, it was only a couple of years, and yet I couldn’t remember my name already? My name…

“Young man? Is something the matter? If you’re having issues with your memory, would you like to rest? I—”

Honestly, who could blame me for forgetting? I didn’t really need it for the longest time, after all. It’s only natural to forget some things while in the pursuit of saving the world, right?. A name is nothing but a way to identify another in the end. I can just come up with something new, it wasn’t important so long as they had something to call me.

So I began to look around. Quickly, like a thief scanning the room in anticipation of finding a treasure hidden in the corner. Book… Lamp… Sofa… High Fa- no, let’s not. Window. Uhh…

There’s no way I can come up with a name so quickly, damn it! Nothing caught my eye, and nothing triggered some spontaneous eureka-like reaction in my brain. What idiot forgets his own name? Come on, come on, there has to be something up there. Look, the High Father is starting to give me a weird look. Just come up with something, please?

“Umm? If you truly can’t remember, then maybe you could let me name you?” My thoughts came to a screeching halt. A solution, presented to me on a silver platter. How grateful I was at this moment. I don’t think I could find a way to express it with words.

“Hmm? Well, you’re not wrong… I seem to have forgotten. Maybe it has something to do with the… Method of arrival. If you can come up with a suitable name, then I’d be happy to take it, sir. I’m not picky.”

“Oh good, how fun! Just give me a minute, I’ll come up with a name in no time!”

And with that, silence. His head tilted down to face his desk as he placed his hand on his chin and rubbed his beard. I was deathly curious about what my new name would end up being in this life. It needed to be something that I wouldn’t feel immense embarrassment hearing in everyday conversation, at least. I was curious.

I was curious, but I started to notice an issue.

I can see your eyes darting around, you know…? I watched, a tinge of worry in my heart, as beads of sweat started to drip from my forehead. There’s no way he was using the same method as me, right?

Nah, no way. Am I going to be named Cup? Window? Please, anything but Book at least. No, wait, just don’t name me anything if this is the method… Well, in the first place, you’re supposed to combine the things you see, so maybe it’ll end up fine? Right?? So suddenly, I had found myself desiring to pray for the second time in my twenty-six years alive. As I started to consider how best to ask for forgiveness for years of apathy to His existence—

“How does Rain sound? I apologize that it may be a little simple and lacking in meaning, but I feel as though,” He hesitated for a second,“well, I can’t help but feel that it suits you. I hope my lacking explanation doesn’t deter you from thinking of the name in a positive light. I’m sure at your age, you’d rather have something a bit more magnificent. But no matter how I think, I come back to that name. Rain.” He cleared his throat after he finished speaking. Was he feeling embarrassed?

“Well, I don’t have any particular feelings about it. I’ll accept it gratefully, sir. May I ask how you decided on it though?” It’s all for the best in the end. It’d take a bit to adjust to being called something I wasn’t used to, but it can’t be worse than ‘that bastard’ or ‘heartless bastard’. Come to think of it, I was called a bastard a lot. I’d probably respond better to that than any normal name.

“Well, if you look over to the bookshelf there…”

Huh? Pardon?

“One of Marie’s favorite books when she was much smaller is there on the top shelf! ‘The Rainman’s Meteorology Survey’, despite its simple name, is actually quite the thriller, especially for young kids! Why, Marie used to ask me to read it every day to her when she was just reaching up to my knees! Ohohoho, I can’t help but remember how she would...”

On he droned. On, and on, and on, detailing not only how I was named after a children’s book, but even going so far as to now just… gush about one of the young saints. I’ll just choose to let it slide, I guess.

Nothing could be worse than being called ‘stupid bastard’ all the time at least.