Delight was in a dimly lit room, slowly sipping a cup of blood-red tea. After waiting silently for several minutes, the door suddenly opened, and a swaying figure entered. As he walked, pale blue lights gradually appeared on the walls.

Delight glanced at those “lights,” realizing that they were lamps embedded in the walls, their pale blue flames burning from human-shaped wicks. Vague figures flickered within the flames.

Sighing, Delight turned and said,

“Don’t you think you should redecorate your house? If I didn’t know this was your place, I’d think I was in some kind of soul-devouring beast’s lair.”

The newcomer shakily sat down opposite him, his voice hazy and indistinct.

“It’s all the same… I’m a vampire, after all.”

“Your kin don’t think so,” Delight looked at the pointed ears at the back of his head, his expression darkening. “They’re still looking for the vampire duke who attacked you…”

The newcomer waved his hand listlessly.

“Don’t bother. Also, I have the results of that divination you asked me to perform.”

Delight didn’t continue on that topic but turned to his commission.

“What did the divination reveal? You’re a superhuman astrologer. You should understand this better than I do…”

“The answer to your first question is yes. Selene is indeed the ‘Shinten Saintess.’ As for the second… I can’t say,” the self-proclaimed vampire tried to sit up straight, then tapped the table. A blank sheet of paper appeared there. “I can’t even remember the results of the divination. A deity warned me… Don’t worry, it was just a small punishment. It erased those dangerous memories… The rest of what I remember is on this paper.”

Delight took the paper but didn’t look at it. He carefully put it away.

He stood up, walked to the door, and reached for the handle, but his companion suddenly called out,

“Delight, where are you going?”

Delight turned, a nostalgic smile on his face.

“To see some old friends.”

...

“I implore you. You are one of the four Primal Gods, the Lord of Light and Heat, the guide of all beings, the great and glorious Lord of Radiance. I implore you…”

The paladin, clad in heavy armor, stood before the monument, silently praying, his upper body leaning slightly forward. His griffin stood quietly beside him, head bowed, paying respect to the Lord of Radiance in its own way.

A faint golden glow emanated from the paladin, permeating the surroundings. The glow enveloped them both. A holy aura descended.

“…I pray that the noble soul ascends to your kingdom, I pray that your envoy overcomes this difficulty, I pray that you will forever watch over your people… This monument commemorates the many pioneers who stood in the final years of the Fourth Era. May you forgive their sins. Even in those dark times, there was still a faint light of humanity. It was because the pioneers were the fire…”

The prayer ended. The paladin sighed with relief, standing tall before the monument. Seeing this, the griffin lifted its large head and let out a solemn cry. The solemn atmosphere was instantly broken.

“Caw caw caw caw!”

“How dare you speak so disrespectfully!” The paladin struck his companion on the head, “Why are you cursing from the sky? What did your ancestors teach you?!”

“Caw caw caw caw!”

“You’re saying that’s what they taught you?”

Delight turned a corner, and saw a man and a griffin interacting before a large monument. The bizarre scene made him pause, then the intense magical energy emanating from the two snapped him back to attention.

He twitched his lips and deliberately made some noise as he slowly approached them.

The paladin immediately snapped to attention. Seeing that the newcomer was a friendly-looking old man, the muscles under his armor relaxed, and the griffin tilted its head, its small eyes darting around.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Caw caw!”

Delight asked curiously,

“What did it say?”

The paladin, incredibly embarrassed, still answered,

“It said that your direct descendants… uh… have all ascended to the Heavenly Kingdom…”

That’s true.

Delight thought for a moment, then shook his head and put this slightly hellish thought aside, instead asking,

“Were you the Papal Knight who was flying around earlier? Your griffin seems to have made quite a commotion.”

The paladin became even more embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. This griffin is a bit… aggressive. I haven’t really paid attention to it…”

“Is it some kind of church assignment? You seem to be in a hurry,” Delight asked, unconcerned about being suspected. The clerics of the Divine Glory Church were known for being gentle and friendly, unlike the stern clerics of other churches. Many people liked to interact with the priests of the Divine Glory Church.

Speaking of the church, the paladin immediately became serious.

“Yes. Sir, something’s happened in the Holy City. Members of the Church of True Light and the Omniscient Assembly were discovered within the city. The Pope and Duke Weinstein have ordered the city to be sealed off. I’m here to inform Lord Duquesne to close the trade route to the Holy City. Alorn will be under curfew immediately.” He reassured Delight, “Don’t worry. The church will handle everything.”

Delight was so shocked that he almost pulled his beard out.

This reaction was normal for an ordinary old man hearing such news. He chatted with the paladin for a moment, noticing that he seemed very concerned about the situation in the Holy City, before the paladin took his leave.

Delight watched silently as the paladin rode his griffin into the sky.

Less than an hour had passed since the paladin arrived.

His plans were disrupted again. Delight sighed softly and went to the large monument, muttering to himself. The information he’d received from the paladin was worrying.

“Members of the Church of True Light were able to enter the Holy City, which is under the Lord of Glory’s protection… And the Omniscient Assembly, those obsessed with historical secrets, were also involved.” The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became. More and more questions arose.

“Those crazy believers of the True Light wouldn’t have been able to infiltrate the Holy City without the help of the Omniscient Assembly. But what were the Assembly’s motives? They’re obsessed with uncovering secrets. The Saints from Wilmoth would definitely have piqued their interest. But they usually only gather information in secret. What made them act? For such a large-scale operation, they must have obtained reliable information… What’s under the Great Light Hall is a secret known to very few people—the Empress, me, the Pope, and one or two Cardinals, and at most… at most, a Saintess who has received a blessing and is trusted by the church.

“Selene is the Shinten Saintess. She was kidnapped by members of the Church of True Light and taken to the Forest of Divine Punishment. She must have learned something during that time, such as their goals. But then she conveniently lost her memory…

“She’s a Regressor. But did she really lose her memory? Regressors do have memory problems, but hers was severe, almost complete. When did she become a Regressor? Before she became a Saintess, or after? Or… before she met us? That’s… too coincidental.”

Delight’s eyes flickered. He circled the monument, his gaze passing over the shimmering names. Old memories surged within him—

The flames engulfing the world seemed to rise from the void. A sharp boom echoed from the sky. He ascended, trying to find the source of the boom. It was late at night… He found nothing and drifted in the air, but then, unexpectedly, witnessed the arrival of the “meteor.”

The meteor was a flat disc, kilometers in diameter. On either side of the meteor were transparent glass walls. Inside, endless winding corridors were visible. In the center of the meteor was a well of dazzling light, providing the meteor with energy. The countless flames across the Divine Construct were merely leftover energy. The gravity around the meteor fluctuated, and space warped. It was as if invisible bubbles surrounded the meteor, separating it from the material world, allowing it to appear directly in the Divine Construct’s atmosphere, transcending reality.

Empress Orantes later told him that those bubbles were created by a device called a warp drive.

She told him that the meteor required tens of thousands of people to operate. After the meteor fell, the dozen saints from Wilmoth were merely the surviving “second-level managers.”

She told him that the meteor was meant to destroy the world, but the people on board, the ones like him and the saints, had changed that.

She told him that the meteor was still slumbering beneath the Holy City.

Delight quietly walked to the front of the monument. He looked up and found the names of his old friends among the inscriptions.

He looked at the names of those who had fought alongside him, and suddenly laughed. A booming, exaggerated laugh erupted from his thin, aged frame, making one worry that his body might crumble at any moment. He laughed until his sides ached, until the sun began to set.

He pulled several vials of wine from his robe, opened them, and poured the wine onto the ground at the base of the monument. A strong scent of alcohol permeated the air. After pouring all the wine, he sat up and looked at the monument.

“I’m the only one left. I’m so sorry.”

Finally, he waved his hand at the monument.

“Go.”

...

Next to the monument in the east of the city was Alorn cemetery. The countless tombstones basked quietly in the sunlight, as if in accordance with the Lord of Glory’s teachings—the glory guides everyone, both the living and the dead, to find their place under the light.

Delight walked past the cemetery, the names on the newer tombstones entering his vision.

“Harry… Ron Hast… Malfoy Kurou… Celina Dan… Selene Bjorda… Miles Craig… Thomas Duquesne…”

Delight casually scanned the names, those who had been, in life, either humble or prominent, but who were now all bathed in the same sunlight. He pondered how to approach the amnesiac Saintess.

He suddenly stopped and quickly turned back.

A small tombstone stood there. The wind had swept away the dust, and the sunlight illuminated the inscription.

“Selene Bjorda (1438-1445)”

“Here rests Selene, whose spirit once belonged to two.”

“September, 1445, Fifth Era.”

It was a tombstone erected a year ago.