The sound of horses running through wet dirt path collided with the sounds of rain and thunder. There were at least 30 men riding the horses and a white and red wagon at the back of the parade. One was wearing nothing but a white rain coat over his sleeping garments while the others were full of iron armour.

The white rain coat man looked like he was just woke up and dragged his body to the west side of the Holy Forest of Amlug. He looked very troubled. The muscles beneath his fair skin seemed to reject his command to stay calm under the touch of cold rain drops.

It was past midnight. Most people in The Orienterra Imperium had already fallen asleep. The sky was cloudy. Not a single light was present in the Holy Forest. Through the darkness, the parade accelerated without a care to the raging storm. It seemed like the parade was well aware of the layout that a little dark didn't bother them.

One of the iron armoured guy shouted to the white coated man, "My Prince! Slow down a bit. We're nearing Yoro River."

"Where is the gate again?" The man didn’t slow down despite the plea.

"350 meters south of Yoro River." A subtle voice answered from behind. Unexpectedly, a woman had catch up to the front row.

The armoured guy looking shocked, "Ah, priestess! Why would you get out of the wagon?"

The priest girl didn't reply. Instead, she threw her eyes to the sky above her. Water dropped on her dark skin like rains of stone, yet she didn’t budge.

"It's strange. But it looks like my hunch is right. Your highness, the gate is moving." The priest said with shimmering blue eyes looking up to the distance neither the Prince nor the armoured guy could see.

"What?"

"It's above us."

The armoured guy shouted, "Everyone stops!"

Collectively, the lead rope tied around the horses’ neck were pulled. The horses cried. Their voice overlapped with each other. The parade then came to a full stop.

The priest came closer to the armoured guy. It seemed like she was not fond of speaking in a loud volume.

"Commander, prepare the formation."

Soon the commander or the armoured guy was busy with formation preparation. The priest stayed beside the prince. The prince was clearly agitated while looking at the sky, although he possessed no ability to sense the gate at all.

As if the Prince didn't already know, the priest took it upon herself to announce the Prince, "Your highness, your soul, it’s unstable."

"Of course it is. The 17th Sakka is coming. How could I be stable?"

The priest didn't answer nor did the prince expect any. She continued, "Let me chant a calming song to you."

With both hands up on the level of the prince's chest, green light was produced, enveloping the priest and the prince. A gust of wind circulated around them. A sensation of calm hugged the prince. He felt like a cooling breeze was blown to his body's cavities.

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After some seconds, "It's enough."

The priest lowered her hands.

In a hurry, the commander approached the prince, "Everyone's on their position, my prince."

The other soldiers surrounded the priest and the prince, making a full circle. All of them kneeled with the palm of their hands pressing the ground.

"Layla, let's began the ceremony of Sakka's soul."

Seeing that the prince was calmed, and the preparation was done, the priest kneeled on the ground exactly at the center of the circle. She then began chanting in her heart. No one knew what she was chanting other than herself.

Sakka's soul ceremony was a sacred ceremony which can only be performed by the ultimate priest. It was a ceremony to catch the soul of Sakka, a being sent by the heaven or at least that was what the people believed.

After the priest finished one cycle of Sakka's song, symmetrical summoning magic circle appeared and glowed on the ground.

When the prince was still in his education day, his teacher taught him that when a mark appeared during Sakka's soul ceremony, a soul and/or its body was commuting through the flow of universe. What is it? A body? A soul? Or both? He thought to himself.

Sakka's soul ceremony was a tiring process. Maintaining the gate of universe to open required a huge amount of mana. Yet, after rounds and rounds of Sakka's song chanted by the priest, there was no sign of anyone passing through the gate.

“Is there any gate at all?” There was no answer. Everybody was in agony. The circle drain their mana and life force. They had no time to open their mouth. This was not the case for the Imperial Prince, Riga Yugenheim, the son of the Emperor Orion Yugenheim and the Imperial Consort Aquila Lunara. He was born with exceptional mana capacity. Over the years, it had only gotten better. In fact, his mana was the ultimate fuel to maintain the gate. He, more than anyone, believed that his mana alone would be enough.

Yet…

After hours of performing the ceremony, nothing had descended from the sky. They started when the sky was all cloudy and dark. Currently, the sun was slowly peaking on the horizon. A smudge of warm yellowish light tinted the sky. The storm clouds were gone, and the rain had stopped. It was a peaceful morning after an all-night storm. Yet, not a single one of the prince Riga's party had the luxury to enjoy such morning, including the prince himself. No matter how many mana Riga had in his pocket, it seemed like he also struggled.

“Stop.” One word from the prince, and everyone had stop concentrating to the ceremony.

Riga spun his head around, trying to stretch his aching neck. All this time, he kept his head up facing the sky, hoping to see a glimpse of something. He should have known, but he let his neck sore for looking up far too long. If only Layla wasn’t so busy with her chanting, she would have begged Riga to lower his head.

Riga was always like that, a stubborn and strong-minded fella. He was even famous for his stubbornness in the neighbouring countries far away from the Empire. People would say, ‘that stubborn prince…’ and everybody would know who it was about. While Riga saw it as an achievement, Layla was devastated. Being with Riga was a torment for her. Yet there she was, loyally accompanied her beloved prince anywhere.

“I remember. If a gate appears in a certain time, it will be gone before the sunrise.” Riga then turned to the east. Now, the sun was rising.

Layla stood up, wiping mud from her priest cloak which was white and red just like the wagon, “Indeed, my prince. The gate is closed. The result is not obtain. I believe this is due to my incompetent. I shall over myself to the imperial court board for punishment.” She lowered her body in front of the soaking wet Riga.

Riga waved his hand, “Don't worry, this is under my command. I am at fault.”

Hearing that, all the other armoured warriors, especially the commander, whined.

“My prince, such words from the royal. We'll receive the punishment, it's our mana who is insufficient.'

Riga let out one long sigh, “You all-”

Thud! Something just crashed the wet land. So fast, no one noticed it before it hit.

Riga fell silent. Studying his subordinates’ expression, he knew what had happened. Turning his head towards the direction where all eyes were locked, there it was, a body.

The 17th Sacred Sakka had fallen to Orrientera Imperium straight from heaven. From this day onward, a fierce storm would slowly boil itself on the horizon, and nobody on this planet would know it.

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