Elior lay face-down in the dust of the city square, the smell of smoke still thick in his nose.
Rebecca was gone.
The crowd was already drifting away, chatting like they had just watched a play.
Tears flooded his eyes. He couldn't move.
Swoosh.
The golden panel floated into his blurred vision.
╠═ Heavenly System ═╣
Herald's heart is weary.
Someone dear to you has been lost…
(Awakening Quest Available)
Tap to unlock
Elior stared at it with pure disgust.
His fists clenched. Why didn't You stop it? What was the point of any of this?
He forced himself up, voice dead.
"Peter… let's go."
He walked through the crowd like a ghost, Peter trailing silently behind.
Back in his tiny room he collapsed on the bed.
Memories of Rebecca's bruised smile tore through him.
One sentence kept circling, sharp as a blade,what peter said:
"…she admitted to it too."
"Why…?" he whispered to the dark.
Swoosh.
The system appeared again
╠═ Heavenly System ═╣
Notification¹
Daily Quest "Abide in Me" failed
You'll be taking to the Penalty Zone in 3…
Elior didn't even flinch. Lost in despair.
2…
1…
Swoosh!
Suddenly he stood in a crimson desert under a blood-red sky.
Sand like dried blood. Broken pillars. No sign of life anywhere.
The panel appeared this time the color turned crimson.
╠═ Heavenly System ═╣
Penalty Zone: Valley of the Shadow
Objective: Survive 6 hours
Demons lurk in the ruins. Be vigilant.
Current time: 06:00:00
…START!
05:59:57
A guttural roar echoed behind him.
Elior spun. A hulking thing on all fours was already charging, body of a man, head a blooming black flower dripping saliva, tongue lashing like a whip.
"Shit—!"
He ran.
For six brutal hours he ran, hid, climbed broken towers, heart hammering, lungs burning, the monster always seconds behind.
When the timer hit 00:00:01-
Swoosh.
He slammed back onto his bed, drenched in sweat, gasping like he had drown.
╠═ Heavenly System ═╣
Penalty Zone cleared
(No rewards granted for failure of Daily Quest)
Status
Name: Elior Wright
Rank: Saint (E) – Level 1
HP: 10 │ Exp: 6
Skill: Discernment (Lv.1)
Reward Points: +5
Stats Unlocked
Faith △ Wisdom △△ Courage △△
Understanding △△ Battle Power △△
??? ????
Notification¹
Elior was shocked seeing that his Experience points increased on it's own, and the fact that stats were now unlocked..After a short while, he tapped on the Notification with shaking fingers.
╠═ Heavenly System ═╣
Awakening Quest – Stage 1
"Pilgrimage"
Leave the borders of Volradis.
Begin the journey beyond.
Something snapped loose inside his chest; grief, rage, and a strange, steady pull all at once.
Before he knew it, his hands were packing the few things he owned.
A spare shirt. The wooden cross that became a sword. A waterskin.
He didn't question it anymore.
Late that night he wrote a short letter, slid it under Peter's door.
Peter,
I don't know what's come over me.
But I trust Him now. His will, not mine.
Take care of yourself.
—Elior
He walked through the sleeping quarters, footsteps silent.
At the great gate of Volradis he stopped one last time looked back.
The city that had chewed him up and spat him out stank of smoke and lies.
Tears rolled hot down his cheeks, not for fear, not even for Rebecca alone, but for the ruin of a place that had once been called glorious.
He turned his back on it.
Elior's POV
I took the first step past the border stones.
The night wind hit my face, clean and cold.
I have no map.
I have no idea where I'm going.
But there is something within, like a promise keeping pace with my heart.
For the first time in my life I wasn't running away from something.
I was walking toward it.
As an Herald....
this is where my journey truly begins.
Behind me, Volradis faded into darkness.
I didn't look back again.