"The Kingdom of Elris shall perform the rite of summoning on the seventh day of the first month during the Year of Darkness.

This world will find salvation, for the spirits will return and aid in bringing peace to the future days of chaos."

The Oracle of the Temple of the Seven Spirits finally received the long-awaited message. She tried to blow away the hallucinogenic fog that numbed her senses by waving her palm back and forth in front of her face, but it took more than a few seconds for her thoughts to return to reality.

As soon as she regained control of her body, she hurriedly called out in a hoarse voice for a nearby assistant. “Alphine, quickly pass this to…”

As she could no longer talk, the priestess swiftly wrote down the crucial message delivered by the spirits, whom she and many others regarded as deities, and passed the paper to a girl who stood in wait. After skimming its contents, the young woman hurried out of the room since she knew what she had to do.

Alphine pushed the doors aside with considerable force and swiftly cast a barrier and a light orb with magic before descending the stairs leading down from the highest point of the continent's largest mountain. The young priestess continued running, unconcerned by the pitch-blackness of the night or the snowflakes that periodically crept through the barrier and gave her numbness in all her extremities.

The cardinal was in the lower temple, where she was heading.

Inhaling heavily, she finally arrived at the lower temple's gates and pounded on the heavy, ostentatious metal doors. The door was quickly opened by two strong, two-meter soldiers with stern expressions, but the priestess raced as she had before, disregarding any warnings that were shouted in her direction.

Alphine eventually made it to the vast monastery's center chamber, where it is known that the Cardinal spends his time in prayer. She was fortunate to find the elder there, who was meditating in front of the seven statues that stood for each of the spirits they revered.

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The elderly man, who was praying and was dressed in an exquisite white robe, didn't appear to be the least bit upset by the sudden commotion that the young priestess had brought about; instead, he mumbled a few prayers before rising to hear what she had to say.

"I humbly apologize for my abrupt intrusion, but Miss Ermeya, the Oracle, provided this message for you, Cardinal Hesvalt." The girl lowered her face as she handed over the paper that had been given to her and waited for the elder to finish reading.

"Um, what is...this about?" While first appearing calm, his expression gradually altered as he continued to read the letter. Now, much like the girl who had hurried here to deliver the message to him, it was his job to pick up the pace and immediately deliver the word to the kingdoms under the church's influence.

He was ecstatic that the time had come to confront the demons since it meant that believers would once again reign this world.

Several months had passed since then.

The day of prophecy, which had been eagerly anticipated by humanity, had finally arrived.

Its main protagonist, the Kingdom of Elris, was a nation far from the demon-battling front lines, but it was the one chosen to call the hero, and it had everything ready for this momentous occasion.

A king was pacing back and forth in a luxurious room by himself throughout this entire ordeal, his face as sweaty as his palms. He looked disheveled as he considered all the obligations he had to fulfill because, by summoning a hero, his country gained not just the greatest strength but also the enmity of the other countries on the continent.

“Why should I be the one to receive the hero out of all the rulers in this age?” He murmurs to himself before placing the crown on his head.

He reflected on what he had been entrusted with and resolved to guide the new hero and nurture him to be humanity's savior, because he, too, had something to lose, a son who was already involved in the war.

Everything is set: the summoning room is ready, the magicians are in place, the guards are waiting, and his daughters have been dispatched to calm the upcoming situation.

The king draws in one more long breath before opening the door that will take him to the throne room, which contained the largest crowd he has ever encountered.