Many things were still settling in for me. Even now, I couldn’t believe that I had gone back in time. Despite the fact that everything felt the same, that it was all so clear, it still didn’t ring true just yet. I felt like at any moment all of this could be taken away from me, like someone or something could snatch me from this moment in time, joking about the relief I felt seeing so many of my old acquaintances again.

Once again, I was sitting at the desk in my room. After some more push-ups and sit-ups, I had exhausted all I was physically capable of for the meantime. In exchange, I focused instead on what my brain could manage. There were still a few hours left until the morning — last I checked, it was only around four — so I wanted to sort a few more things out in my head before I tackled my second day in the church.

I’ll admit, I hadn’t expected things to change for me immediately upon waking up in the past. When the High Father called me to his office, I was pretty uninterested in everything going on since I thought I would simply end up being sent off to the paladin barracks out in the middle of nowhere. I couldn’t help but wonder where things changed?

Was it really just because I wasn’t causing trouble immediately? In my head, it made sense. It was dangerous to have someone like the old me around, thrashing about without care for those around me. Lashing out at everyone around me in anger of my life being upended for no good reason. I couldn’t blame myself for my reaction, looking back, but I still felt a tinge of embarrassment at how uncouth my behavior had been.

I hadn’t lived the worst life, looking back. But I couldn’t stand proud either. My memories as I reminisce are filled with nothing but a collage of failures. They were framed in my mind, taking up so much space that it left me little else to think about. And the clarity each memory held for me, I could almost recall my senses from that time. The taste of ash in the air when the Church of Prayer and Hope was burned down by cultists, the searing pain in my eyes from flashing lights as numerous clergymen cast their spells in an attempt to cause even an iota of harm on the abyss creatures. Everything remained, branded in my soul so I’d never forget as years passed.

I could say it was just the past, but my past was all I had now. It was my guide for how I should work towards a future that others would be able to live happily in.

What did it say about my future, that I couldn’t see a single step hadn’t been manufactured carefully by my crumbling lucidity?

Leaning back in my chair, my mind began to empty. I had spent so much of my time today in thought, so it wasn’t unreasonable for me to have run out of thoughts to have by now. What was even left to do before I met with Father Korrinn in the morning?

Ah. I guess I could think of one thing.

***

The structure of the church was fairly simple. There were three floors, each dedicated to different things. The first floor was a general space. On it resided the living room that everyone relaxed in throughout the day, the kitchen, a library, workout room, and a small prayer room with a quaint altar to Verus. Coincidentally, the prayer room would also happen to be where I was summoned yesterday. There was also a bathroom for guests or those attending sermons to use just outside the prayer room on its right.

The second floor was where the living quarters were for all those living within the church, or guest rooms for important guests that came to visit, though they were generally only used by really important clergymen from other churches or government officials. The second floor branched into two sections, one for the normal workers and priests, and one for the higher-ups. There wasn’t really much to it. There was also the office of the High Father where the two halls met, and bathrooms in the middle of both halls. These bathrooms also held showers for us to use, powered by crystals charged with water mana.

The third floor wasn’t really a floor, admittedly, but it was still important. The staircase continued up leading to the attic, a single room that was only used for storage of old boxes containing clothes and sentimental items. Things that one couldn’t bear to part with just yet.

That attic had become my destination. While the general understanding of the attic was that it was just used for storage, I knew what its current purpose really was.

At the top of the staircase was a single door. As I tried to turn the doorknob, I heard a distinct rattling noise coming from it. I wasn’t actually expecting to just waltz right in, but I couldn’t help myself from trying. Though I admit, going in there right now would just spell trouble for me.

“Hmm. Why’s this locked?” I outwardly pondered, my voice barely above a whisper. I fiddled with the handle a little more before giving up and walking back downstairs. For now, this would be enough. A simple gesture to inspire a bit of thought in the attic’s current occupant. It was impossible to know what she would think, but it was important for me to work fast right now. I couldn’t worry too much about what the exact outcome might be, only that I get my desired response.

I only had so much time. Four years might sound like a lot, but after experiencing the end once I could only rush myself as much as possible. If I started to relax, then when I next woke I would only hear the eerie silence and see the empty cities left behind at the end of conquest. I did not want to fail again.

No matter what it took, I had to push forward, to find the root cause of everything and tear its existence apart. All so it couldn’t cause any more harm.

It was a little strange. I wasn’t altruistic or anything like that. I knew that my desires were rooted heavily in selfishness, but that didn’t make what I was doing any less important. As far as I knew, no one else was aware of our impending doom. Unless my fellow otherworlders ended up regressing when I killed them, I was currently alone in this struggle.

I hoped they didn’t, out of fear of resistance or resentment in the future.

Back on the second floor, I was stumped on what else I could do with the remaining time ‘till morning came. Having not been assigned any work, I was left without anything in particular to kill time with. Having exhausted my body, I couldn’t exercise to my heart’s content. Having finished everything I needed to take care of for now, I…

Yep, I’m stumped. Stumped, stumped, stumped. Checking the hallway clock, the time was only around five in the morning. There was still another two hours or so before the sun rose, but it should be about time for Father Korrinn to wake up. While I only had guesses to go on, he seemed fairly hard-working. It was hard to imagine a man like that wouldn’t be the first to wake. Acknowledging the time, I decided to spend the rest of my night in the common room.

On the sofa I waited. Silently, with hands clasped, I laid my head back.

***

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick

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As the clock in the room hit seven, a man’s eyelids slowly began to open. Letting out a small groan, he removed the sheet covering his body and sat up on the edge of the bed. He put his hands together and uttered a short prayer under his breath before standing up.

Father Korrinn was a man of impeccable rigidity and punctuality. His ability to wake up exactly on time was second-to-none in the church, and his work ethic left nothing to be desired for his peers and superior. Every aspect of his job was completed to the best of his abilities. He took great pride in that fact.

In less than a minute, he had changed out of his sleepwear — a simple white shirt and white cloth pants — and was now in his traditional silky priest robe. His room was bare, holding only the necessary amenities for his daily life: His bed, desk, a lamp, quill and ink, and stacks of papers. They were all assignments he needed to look over from the previous day, handed in by the saints during his class. While he preferred only teaching theology, he also handled a few other subjects that they could not find a volunteer teacher for. Mathematics, Language, and History assignments were all stacked neatly side-by-side. He looked out the window beside his bed, taking a glance at the rising sun, before heading out the bedroom door.

Even as he woke, there were a few things he needed to take care of before the others joined him. He looked around the second floor, checking for anything that may’ve been immediately amiss. His foremost concern was always the care of the saints, so he took it upon himself to make sure that there were no obvious signs of problematic activity on the second floor first. Signs of pranks, playing, lollygagging, tomfoolery, or anything that would denote that one of the kids had been up when they should’ve been in bed. While they were usually well behaved, there were some days where they simply couldn’t help themselves. With the recent rumors of a ghost hiding out in the church, it couldn’t be helped that they might want to go out and do something ridiculous in an attempt to prove its existence.

Finding nothing out of the ordinary, Korrinn then descended to the first floor, though not without checking each painting on the way for any sort of graffiti or the like. On the first floor, his routine was largely the same. While it was less common for the more troublesome saints to come down here to play at night, it was surely not out of the realm of possibility. He could vividly remember the time he caught Heira and Cleo scrounging through the food storage trying to make some sort of sandwich they heard one of the parishioners talking about. It was something that was massively popular in R’am’s capital, so they really wanted to try it for themselves.

Reminiscing, he continued down the hallway until he entered the prayer room. As it would be time for morning prayer in a few hours, he brought out a light cloth hidden in his robe and began to gently wipe the dust off the pulpit the High Father would later be standing at. While the rest of the room had been cleaned last night by the other priests, Korrinn couldn’t help but make sure that this one spot was absolutely spotless in the morning before the service. When he was satisfied with his work, he took a brief glance at the few pews lined on both sides of the room, checking for anything that may have been left over from the ritual yesterday, or if they were improperly placed back in their positions. Once content, he headed out, continuing down the hall.

As he turned the corner into the common room, a curious sight caught his eyes. On the couch was a young man, his head leaned back against it with his eyes closed. His hands were held together. Korrinn immediately recognized it was Rain, the one that was summoned yesterday by the young Saints in their excitement.

Rain seemed a little strange yesterday to Korrinn. It looked like he was treading on ice the entire time. It seemed like he was completely on guard. Against what, it was hard to say, but it gave Father Korrinn the impression that Rain was a fairly cautious man.

The quick way which he calmed down after the summoning ritual also struck him as a bit off. Perhaps he had already lived a strange life back in his world, but in Korrinn’s eyes, he couldn’t imagine being surprised for such a small amount of time. It only took a moment for him to shrug off his initial shock and start taking in his surroundings with a keen eye. The way his eyes darted around felt peculiar.

However, in actual conversation he was a completely respectful young man. His tone when talking to both him and the saints was nothing short of commendable, in all honesty. Despite the brief bustle about him last night, he kept calm and gave a brief introduction without a hint of concern. His speech was riddled with respect for the recipient, to a point where it was hard to imagine just what sort of life he lived to prepare him for this outlandish situation.

After a moment spent observing Rain, Korrinn approached him. He reached out to his shoulder and gently shook him before speaking. “Sir Rain, please wake up. May I ask why you’re sleeping on the couch?”

“Hmm? Ah…” He seemed a little groggy as his eyes opened. His lifeless green eyes immediately met mine as he registered my presence. Korrinn unconsciously shivered. “Father Korrinn…? I apologize, I think I fell asleep waiting for you. I woke up a bit ago and came down here to wait, since we were meant to meet here.”

“Ahh, I understand. Well, good morning to you, sir Rain. Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah. I got plenty of rest, thanks for asking. How about you?” Rain’s mouth stiffened up a bit as he asked. Korrinn had seen this a few times when speaking with him yesterday. It must’ve been a strange habit he had, so he tried to pay it no mind.

“I, as well, rested up plenty. It’s doubly important for me to be well rested, considering the upcoming meeting our church must attend.”

“Ah, right. I heard a bit about that. You’re going to some important meeting between a bunch of religious sects or something, right?” Rain began to eye an apple on the table. His dull green eyes didn’t show any sort of emotion in them. It should’ve been obvious, he was hungry. And yet, looking into those eyes…

A chill ran down Korrinn’s spine. What gave him that gaze? While Korrinn stood in thought, Rain reached out and grabbed an apple from the basket. He bit into it, briefly chewing before swallowing. In the end, it was only hunger. So why did Korrinn feel there was something else to his gaze at that moment?

Korrinn blinked his eyes, washing the memory from his mind. It wasn’t important for now, he had plenty of time to dwell on these things in the future.

“Yes, a very important meeting. Every major religion recognized by the continental committee will be meeting to discuss recent events in the territories they preside in. While we are a small group, barely numbering over five-hundred believers, it’s still important for us to present ourselves. Recognition means everything for a religion.” Korrinn tried to explain things to Rain in simple terms, but there was so much more going on. A meeting being held at the Seat of the Holy Ark could only mean a matter of continental importance would be discussed. What that would be, it was impossible to say.

“I see. Will it be dangerous at all? How long will you be gone for?” Was he trying to show concern? It was nearly impossible for Korrinn to judge the intent behind his words. His voice stayed consistently morose throughout their conversation.

“Not at all. It should only take two or three weeks, based on my own estimation. A week to ride to the nearest city by carriage, where we can arrange to be teleported to Tuluva. From there, we should only stay a few days at most before we begin our return trip. Does something concern you?” Korrinn felt it necessary to ask why he was so interested in the time they were leaving.

“Ah… It’s a bit longer than I expected. I was told I would be in charge of general maintenance while your group is gone, so I’m a little worried about my ability to work properly with so little time for instruction. I’m sure it’s obvious, but,” Rain patted his chest before continuing, “I’m not exactly the fittest guy. I’ll do what I can to help, but my body is basically a package of skin filled with bones. I don’t think that I’ll be much help.”

“Hmm.” Korrinn thought to himself, What Rain said wasn’t inaccurate.. Leaving a man as obviously weak as him to handle many of the chores for several weeks wasn’t the best idea. “What do you think we should do,” he asked?

“I just need to be shown what exactly I need to do. I can push myself hard enough, but if I’m lost on what to do I’m worried I’ll just end up taking a break to rest, forgetting what I was doing in the process.” Korrinn nodded. Rain’s request was reasonable, it would be cruel not to give him some instruction when he would be left as one of the few people working. However, the way Rain questioned Korrinn about the time they would be gone left him a bit apprehensive.

Korrinn wanted to show Rain the utmost courtesy he could, but it was hard not to suspect him with his strange demeanor. The way he acted continued to strike him as odd. He was impossibly hard to read, and yet he still felt like there were no ulterior motives hidden in Rain’s words. Was he that conniving? Or was Korrinn just thinking too much?

“Would a written guideline be enough?” Throwing aside his worries for now, he focused on what needed to be done. Reasonably speaking, Rain had only just been summoned here. Would there be any reason for him to cause trouble for them?

“That’d be perfect, though a small tour to accompany the guide would be helpful as well. If you can find the time, that is. I don’t want to burden you.”

“It’s no burden at all. How about we begin the tour now? It’d be better to have you get familiar with all our facilities immediately, wouldn’t it? Not to mention, doing it before the others awake would be for the best, to remove any possibility of interruption.”

“That sounds good then, thanks.” The two had struck a small accord. Korrinn began planning his explanation in his mind as they began their unplanned tour of the church.