On an unusually bright summer afternoon, a thin man wearing robes too heavy for the weather sat on top of an illusory clocktower, one leg over the other. He nudged the gold-cased crystal monocle on his left eye with the joint of his left index finger, revealing a thin silver ring with a small black gem. "How interesting." The man sounded strangely amused, considering he was overlooking a small village almost too poor to sustain itself. It was as though he had just encountered a wandering jester who played him a funny routine. A slight smile danced across his face, the corners of his lips curling upward ever so slightly. He raised his hand again and tipped his large, typical mage hat back slightly, tilting his head back and looking at the Sun.
"I'll be honest, that wasn't the route I expected you to take. You must really be desperate, old man." He spoke in a soft voice, as though he were speaking casually to someone he had known his whole life and wasn't threatened by in the slightest.
A small shard fell from the sky, landing somewhere off in the distance, metamorphosing into a newborn baby boy. The newborn boy was gently held by a tall man clad in white robes and bare feet. The man had an amiable smile on his face, as if he were holding his own son. His long white hair blew in the wind coming from the Church's open window, occasionally hiding his visage.
The man with the monocle lept deftly from his illusory clocktower, over 50 meters tall, and landed soundlessly outside of the large city's main gates, which was well over 30 kilometres away from his original position overlooking the small village. He had stolen the space between him and the main gate of Heliopolis, the city that believes in the Sun.
The tall man inside the pure-white cathedral handed the crying newborn to a maidservant of the Church, who carried the child off to a spare room for him to sleep. He ushered another man clad in thick white robes with gold trimmings and a white and gold papal tiara on his bald head over to him, "'He' is here already. 'He' may not be the only one. We must hurry. Authorize activation of Sealed Relic 0-06."
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The two men appeared outside the tall white gates of Heliopolis, a black-haired man roughly 170cm tall with a large mage's hat and a gold-rimmed monocle on his left eye. Without waiting for any verbal confrontation, the two men in white robes conjured their respective weapons. The bald man with the papal tiara conjured an ornamental yellow staff formed from light, the tips of the staff burning with white-hot fire. The man with long flowing white hair touched the golden brooch around his neck and recited a spell under his breath, forming a long sabre of iridescent light littered with yellow-golden specks. Four figures materialised behind the two, standing atop the lookout posts of the thick white border wall.
"We haven't seen each other in how many centuries, and this is how you greet me? How heartless, Ouroboros." The man with the monocle spoke in feigned offence, nudging his monocle with the crook of his finger. He took a step back, his foot landing on the top of a still-forming illusory clocktower growing from the ground. The two ascetics clad in white robes vanished from their places and appeared on either side of the man with the monocle, attempting to stab into his torso and finish the fight before it started.
Suddenly, both of the men in white robes ceased their attack, as if their will to kill and train of thought had been stolen from them. Shaking off their delusion, the two resumed their offensive. Reaching into his robe and pulling out a small, aged clock, the man with the monocle voiced in a calm tone, "Revert."
The scene around him changed to what it had been minutes ago. In front of him stood two tall men in white robes, one with a golden brooch around his neck, the other with a white and gold papal tiara. "Shall we try again? I've given you another chance to be kind to me. I suggest you take it, you two." The man with the monocle taunted the two men in front of him, a small grin playing on his face.
The man with the papal tiara brought his hand high and clenched his fist, giving a signal to the people standing high behind him. The four figures, also in white robes with gold trimmings, vanished from their places and retreated into the city. The man with the papal tiara brought his hands together, formed a bridge with his knuckles and extended his thumbs and pinkies towards the sky.
"Nascent Divine Realm; Cathedral of Bones."
The scene around them changed, as though they had been transported to a different dimension. The three men were now standing on opposite ends of a large cathedral crafted from bones of light. The candles scattered around the cathedral were burning with an eternal white fire. The man with the monocle transformed into a tall grandfather clock well over 70 meters tall. The face of the clock had 12 segments, each painted a different shade of grey. The clock had no hands, and it was impossible to tell what time the clock was showing. The man with flowing white hair and a golden brooch around his neck transformed into a massive white snake with yellow eyes and numerous unreadable grey rune-like tattoos of unknown nature covering the majority of his white skin. Following the transformation of the other two, the man with the papal tiara transformed into a large phoenix of golden light, its feathers burning with white flames. The snake and phoenix prepared to attack the large clock, the phoenix spewing white flames at the clock's face, and the snake coiled up ready to shoot toward the clock. The snake suddenly caught sight of a thin string connected from the base of the clock and grasped the fate of the man with the monocle. The man with the monocle, previously destined to defeat these two forces, had now lost his ability to triumph. It was as though his loss had been predetermined. His transformation ended, and upon catching sight of the two mythical creatures, his body began to break down. Blood leaked from his eyes, his nose and the corners of his mouth. His muscles shut down and his breath caught in his lungs. He had no time to open a Realm of his own, as the snake would simply open his own too, making the clash of Realms 2 to 1. The man with the monocle failed to find any solution to his predicament and chanted something under his breath. An illusory clock formed behind him, and the hands snapped anti-clockwise, rewinding the time. The man with the monocle vanished from his place on the floor of the cathedral, and the two remaining figures reverted to their original appearances. The man with the golden brooch pulled out a vial from his robes and filled it with as much of the blood on the floor as he could. The cathedral vanished around them and they found themselves outside the white walls of Heliopolis.
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"He will not try something like that again for a while. I'll contact the Popes of the other Churches and brief them on the situation, if they haven't already realised, that is." The man with the papal tiara, Pope Aurum, told the man next to him, his ally, Ouroboros.
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The two men returned to the Holy Cathedral in the middle of the city, and Ouroboros held a newborn baby boy in his arms. He placed his index finger on the baby's right chest, and a white marking in the shape of a snake eating its own tail formed across the baby's breast. "I will take him under my care. This is the responsibility the Lord has placed upon me, and I shall accept such an honour gracefully.
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In a teaching room near the back of the large Church, the Cathedral of the Sun, 20 orphans from Heliopolis were receiving free education from a nun dressed in white robes with gold trimmings with a gold sun charm hanging from a necklace she wore. Orphans of Heliopolis were given free education at the Holy Cathedral and were taught how various things like past world events, names of world leaders, the places of the world like the continent they lived on, Artir, the continents surrounding us, Balta to our right and Heida in front, and the Dead Sea the separates the three continents, followed by the Sea of Mist to our left. Students of the Church also learn how to pray to the Sun, and when they are required to.
"Now, children. Repeat after me.
The Holy Sun,
The Eternal Fire,
The Embodiment of Light,
The King of Opulence,
The Spirit of the Sky
The God of the Day."
The students repeated line after line from their teacher, Sister Francesca. One boy in particular began to writhe in pain after completing the prayer, a faint yellow glow emanating from his chest. A priest with slicked-back golden hair entered the room, earning a bow from everyone present, and picked up the child before exiting the classroom and vanishing.
The man dressed in white robes with golden accents and a golden cane in his right hand, Bishop Crestet, threw the boy on the grass and stood over him. As the boy screamed in pain, not really caring that there was someone next to him, Bishop Crestes drew a small book from his robe and began to read. Blood poured from the eyes and nose of the young boy, who was no older than 5 or 6, yet the Bishop did nothing but read.
After minutes of the young boy's tortured moans and screams, the Bishop picked up the unconscious child and held him in his arms gently. He lowered his head to look at the sleeping boy, and spoke with a proud tone, "Congratulations on your awakening, young master. We have all been eagerly awaiting this moment.
Pope Aurum did say it would happen soon... Was it triggered by your first prayer? Did the Lord discreetly answer your prayer and allow you to awaken? How fascinating..."
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In a long room at the top of the Cathedral of the Sun, Pope Aurum sat at his desk. A knock on his door drew his attention away from the various herbs and strange organs displayed on his desk. "Come in," He spoke in a deep and authoritative voice. A nun of the Cathedral entered his office and bowed before the desk. "Bishop Crestet has requested I inform you that young master Solis has just awakened."
"I'm aware. Thank you, Mary. You may leave."
"Yes, my Lord." She gave a final bow before walking through the doorway and quietly shutting the wooden door.
After she had closed the door, another woman walked in, this time not bothering to knock. She did, however, at least give a slight curtsy. "Aurum. It's been a while. I hope you have been well." The woman wore green and brown robes, a belt of tree bark around her waist, and a muted-green papal tiara on her head. She was roughly 50 years of age, the wrinkles around her mouth and eyes giving away her lack of youth. She was the Matriarch of the Cathedral of Earth, the Pope of the Church of Mother Earth, Pope Loretta.
"I have, thank you, Loretta. To what do I owe the pleasure." The Pope motioned with his hand to the seat in front of his desk.
"I've come to inquire more about the sudden attack from 'Him'. I find it hard to believe He would suddenly show up after years of invisibility. Oh, and please don't bother hiding anything; the Mother has already briefed me on what She knows." She spoke in a gentle, non-condescending voice that made it hard to reject her inquiry.
"I cannot tell you everything, but he came looking for something."
"Something? Not someone?"
"In this case, both words would work the same."
"Hmm.. I don't understand. However, seeing as you don't seem to be willing to tell me, I will not press you any further. Goodbye, Aurum."
"Goodbye, Loretta. Thanks for stopping by. Sorry I can't tell you what you want to know, it is incredibly secretive. Only the higher-ups of our Church and the Lord Himself know."
After saying goodbye to each other, the Pope of the Church of Mother Earth exited the office, walked down the spiral stairs and exited from the main entrance of the Cathedral, before slowly phasing into the dirt and disappearing.
Pope Aurum examined the alchemic ingredients before him and brought out a pot from under his desk. He dropped the ingredients in one by one, adding the liquid last.
The liver of a 'Fire Hound'
The Heart of a 'Sun Wasp'
15 drops of 'Sun Wasp' blood
25 grams of 'Yellowroot flower' seeds
and finally, 150 mL of 'Yellowroot' extract.
He ignited a fire underneath the pot and the ingredients began to boil, eventually turning into a drink. This was the complete stage 10 potion of the Sun channel, Lightwalker.
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