[Player Athalia has been killed by ■■■■]
[Patron’s Celestial Reincarnation skill activated]
[Commencing soul data retrieval]
[1% retrieved]
[2% retrieved]
[Error detected - incoming data corrupted]
[Generating new vessel with safely retrieved data]
[Generating vessel…]
[Welcome back, Player Athalia]
When Athalia first spawned into this world, she appeared in the middle of the night as a pillar of black light descending from the moon. This magnificent beam of light landed with a rumble inside the quiet village of Highvale. More specifically, it landed on a platform in front of a statue in the local temple’s courtyard. The pillar of light was short lived, but when its energies dissipated and the dust cleared, a disoriented, groaning young woman was on the ground where the beam landed. The first one to find her laying on the platform was the head priestess, who’d been up taking a late-night stroll. She was quick to approach the elven woman that had magically appeared inside her temple.
The elf groaned, her palms pressed firmly against her eyes. Her body was curled into a fetal position. The priestess bent down to give her a hand.
“Outsider, what happened?” asked the priestess, glancing at the elf's status window.
[Name: ■■■■]
[Lvl: 1]
[HP: 100%]
[MP: 100%]
[Status: OK ]
“P-please help, e-everything hurts so much.” The elf managed to reply in between whimpers. Her voice was hoarse like she’d been screaming for days on end.
The priestess's approach was quick, Athalia heard heels clicking in the distance and one breath later they clacked right next to her.
“Drink this, you’ll be alright.” The priestess produced a small corked vial of red elixir from inside her white robes.
The elf wasted no time. She grabbed the vial off the priestess's hand, bit the cork lid off and downed the red elixir like a shot of liquor. The liquid burnt like lightning as it traveled down her throat. In a matter of seconds, her body aches were gone and her mind fog cleared. The first face she saw as she pulled both her hands away from her body and leaned up was that of a beautiful priestess illuminated by the full moon. She had long eyelashes, braided black hair, plump lips, high cheekbones and smooth dark skin.
“Do you feel alright, dear? You looked like you were in a lot of pain. More so than the last ones. What’s your name?”
The elf kept staring at her for a few seconds before the words got through to her.
“Oh! Um, yes, I feel a lot better. I’m Athalia. Thank you for that medicine, miss…”
“Joanne.” replied the priestess. “I’m the caretaker of this temple. Follow me, miss Athalia. I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but it’s quite late. You can stay here for the night.”
Athalia wasn’t quite sure what she meant, but she opted to follow the pretty lady. It sure beat staying outside at night on the cold stone floor. Athalia rubbed her eyes and looked around properly for the first time tonight. She noticed she was sitting on a platform at the base of a silver statue. Depicted was a woman in flowing robes reaching out to the sky. The statue itself was a little taller than her, and seemed oddly… familiar. She’d seen this statue before, but she couldn’t recall when, or where.
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
She couldn’t recall much of anything, now that she thought about it. She knew her name was Athalia and…
And…
Before she could start spiraling, a voice pulled her attention back.
“You coming, dear?”, asked Joanne with an outstretched hand, "I don’t want you getting lost.”
“Yes, sorry!” Athalia gently grabbed her hand and together they walked away from the statue. She tried not to think too much about it right now, she’d have time for that tomorrow.
Connected to the platform was a set of stone stairs that led down to an open courtyard. The cobblestone walls of the courtyard were lined with similar platforms, but each platform had different statues made of different materials. She didn’t get a clear view of the different individuals being depicted as she was quickly led away from the courtyard. She was going up a set of creaky steps to the main compound, her head still turned towards the statues, when, as she turned around, a pair of blue boxes appeared right in front of her with a d-ding.
[Permission needed to enter Hallowed Ground]
[Permission granted by Joanne and ■■■■]
She almost screamed and fell backwards down the steps. Thankfully, Joanne was still firmly holding on to her. Athalia heard the priestess stifle a laugh. She could feel her cheeks burn with embarrassment.
“It’s alright, it’s just a notification from the system. Ah, don’t worry”, she said as Athalia opened her mouth, “We’ll explain what that is soon. Heads up, there might be another notification soon.”
Joanne winked as she said that and then continued leading her into the main compound. All Athalia could muster up was a quiet nod in response. The main compound was entirely made of wood, with polished, creaking floors and flowing white curtains where doors should be. The sweet, gentle scent of incense filled the air. A handful of white-robed priestesses sat inside in open rooms, praying or talking among themselves. They always suddenly stopped what they were doing to bow whenever she and Joanne passed. Athalia noted the priestesses kept bowing once they passed, and they remained doing so until she lost sight of them.
She led Athalia past the only set of doors she’d seen inside this building - tall double doors made of white quartz, engraved top to bottom with runes. The moment she laid eyes on it, Athalia felt something tug at her spirit. That’s when she saw a silver-framed blue notification box appear in front of her with a ding. She muffled a yelp with her hands. Joanne smirked at her reaction.
[The Moonlit Domain is reaching out to you. Do you accept its invitation?]
“Joanne, w-what is this?”
“Ah, it looks like our Fair Lady is inviting you into her chambers. I’ll prepare your room in the meantime. Go on,” Said Joanne, “It’d be rude to keep her waiting, dear.”
Athalia took a step back. In response, Joanne tenderly placed her hand on Athalia’s shoulder. The scent of incense flared up for a second. Athalia felt her breathing slow down, and her previously tense muscles relaxed.
“You can trust us, dear. This is sacred ground; we cannot harm you here or we risk breaking our oaths.” Said Joanne from behind her.
Athalia thought about it for a moment. Could she trust her? The priestess did heal her, a total stranger, knowing full well she had nothing to give. And that pull she felt towards the door was still present. But why was she so hesitant to begin with? All she knew was-
“Our Fair Lady might be able to tell you more about your missing memories.” Joanne said, smirking at Athalia’s wide-eyed reaction, ”You’re not the first one to pass by like you did, and I doubt you’ll be the last. Go on now, dear.”
With a gulp and a nod, Athalia reached out to the white doors; they rumbled open. Her body dissipated into white light and beamed through the narrow gap into the starry void beyond.
[Entering The Moonlit Domain]