"Come," Ivory said, "Follow me,"
Seven took an awkward glance at Leon, skeptical of whether he should touch him. But then again, it's not like he had a choice. Even if Rey wasn't here to threaten him, someone still has to drag Leon around. So, like he'd seen Rey done a million times, he grabbed Leon by the wrist and took a step forward.
PLONK!
.
.
.
Leon fell.
His entire body lay limply on the ground, unmoving.
Seven, who was still holding onto Leon's wrist, tried pulling him up. It was to no avail.
"L-Leon?" Seven helplessly called, "Leon, please get up,"
There was no answer. Not even a single movement.
Seven cried inwardly, 'Why does he look more dead now than before?!'
Seven had no choice but to carry him.
It was at this moment that he realized how much bigger Leon was compared to him. Next to Rey, Leon's wasn't all that tall or amazing. Other than his lifeless look, he looked just like any other human. But now that it's just Leon alone, Seven suddenly realizes that Leon is definitely not like other humans. He was sure that if Leon just took care of himself, he would be just as cool as Rey.
'Maybe he is a swordsman?'
Anyway, it took all of Seven's strength just to pull Leon up. But even so, he ended up half dragging and half carrying him. Leon was just too big for an ordinary person to carry.
'How are you so heavy?!' Seven huffed, 'You barely eat!'
Ivory led the group quite far into the grounds of the church, but eventually they made it to an empty, abandoned area. There were cracked marble benches and weeds growing at every corner. There was nowhere the sun could touch, shrouding everything in shadow. At the center was a kneeling statue covered in layers of vines.
Seven plopped Leon down on a nearby bench and began catching his breath. But upon seeing a tilting Leon, Seven had to quickly lay him down on the bench instead.
'What?! Now that Rey isn't around, you think it's okay to stop working?!' Seven inwardly scolded, poking Leon's forehead as punishment.
It was a good thing Rey wasn't here; that finger would have no longer existed.
"We have a large statue of Alia at the front," Alia stated, catching Seven's attention, "While that is a true statue of Alia, this is our actual statue,"
Seven gasped, "So you ARE aware of the fake statues?!"
"Of course I'm a high priestess!"
"But you worship fake statues!"
"You can't hear the voice of the gods from fake statues," Ivory muttered as she touched the base of the statue, "What I do out there is obviously pretend, it is to pacify the three kings and the people living here,"
"What?! Then how exactly are you healing people?!"
Ivory laughed, "We have doctors, or we send them out of the city to normal churches! Worse case scenario, we do it secretly,"
". . . Then what exactly is your job then?"
"Like I said, I pacify the three kings and the people living here. Let me tell you a story," Ivory said as she kneeled down before her goddess.
Ura, the human land of Terole, was made up of three kingdoms, the Rubellite, the Sapphirous, and the Garnettes Kingdoms. The three kingdoms were in constant conflict with each other. Even when their enemy, the demon king, came to take their land, they would not work together. The war went on for many years, and it was a losing battle for the humans. But one day, a mysterious hero named Tevalon suddenly appeared. He united the three kingdoms, took control of lost territory, and fought against the demon king himself. Like this, the humans were victorious, and the three kingdoms lived as one. In order to thank the hero, the three kings built a magnificent city by the ocean. That is today's City of Tevalon.
Seven sighed, "We all know that story, everyone in Ura knows that story,"
"Yes, that is how the story should have ended," Ivory solemnly replied, "It is always the after that people don't know,"
After the war, there were still some demon stragglers left, and they were hunted down like no other. The hero, who decided to live peacefully outside the city, met one of the stragglers and fell in love. He kept her safe and hidden, and he even built a safe haven to protect other demons. It went on long enough that he was even able to start a family of his own. Once his daughter was of age, he felt that maybe the humans resentment for demons had finally settled down and it was time to unite them.
Oh, how wrong he was.
He was betrayed and murdered by his own companions. His body was ripped apart and hung onto the very walls of the city built for him, portrayed for everyone to witness. The three kings even built their own palaces in the City of Tevalon to showcase their power and control. The king of Rubellite took control of the judicial and lawmaking side, the king of Sapphirous took control of military power, and the king of Garnettes took over the religious side. This fully unified the three kingdoms.
Without the hero, the safe haven he built was raided and destroyed. It was then that the king of Sapphirous found the hero's daughter. She was a beauty like nothing he'd ever seen before, but before the king could even get a taste, she killed herself. Unable to bear with it, the king decided to massively produce half-demons. He sold the ones he didn't like and kept those that resembled the hero's daughter.
"And like that, half-demons became a growing market till this very day, to the point that even our own fellow humans and other species are captured and sold. The Rubellite king approved of it, which is why you see them openly sold. The Garnettes king decided to change all the churches to control the citizens. And the Sapphirous king hid spies in every corner of the city, he has eyes and ears everywhere. This City of Tevalon is not about the victory of a great hero, but the fall of one,"
Ivory swiftly turned towards Seven and said, "The eyes of Alia are the worshippers in this church, even I have to stay in line if I don't want the kings coming after me. However, I can-"
"-Why're you telling me this?" Seven interrupted as he stared at her incredulously.
Ivory was dumbfounded for a bit, "Didn't your friend get captured? I thought you wanted to save him,"
The words 'I do' couldn't come out of Seven's mouth, because he also just wanted to return home, where everything was normal, where he didn't have any problems, and where he could live peacefully away from everyone's eyes.
Ivory continued talking with sparkles in her eyes, "Days ago, my goddess Alia informed me that a hero has come to Ura, he wears Alia's blessing of protection. I could not miss it, it was definitely your friend. He's the hero who will save the City of Tevalon!"
"Your goddess didn't say anything 'bout me, right?"
". . . I don't think so?"
"Good," Seven breathed a sigh of relief, "Well, take good care of Leon. I'm gonna go home now,"
"What?! Wait, aren't you the hero's friend?! He protected you!"
"Listen, even if I wanted to help, there's nothing I can do. I'm a normal human being, I don't have any powers or special abilities, I can't even run to save my life. Besides, whenever there was any trouble, Rey always told me to just stay put-SHIT!"
Ivory jumped at the sudden yell, confused.
'That's right!' Seven cried, 'He always said to stay put! Is he talking about it right now too?! Does that mean I can't go home yet?!! Why doesn't he tell me anything?!!!'
"Please house us for a while," Seven mumbled, feeling sorry for himself.
"Of course," Ivory smiled, "So, what's the plan?! I want to help-"
"-The plan is to stay out of Rey's way," Seven answered, "We just have to lie low and not do anything,"
". . . Really? Are you sure?"
"Listen, I've only known Rey for a short period of time, but he's strong enough to do anything alone. We'll only be in his way,"
"Oh,"
Seven saw how Ivory's head hung low, a bit sad and disappointed. But Seven knew that it was better to just let Rey do whatever Rey pleases. Just don't get in his way.
Seven turned towards Leon. Leon was still awake, staring into nothingness.
'Was it so dangerous that Rey even had to leave Leon here?' Seven wondered, 'He even made a contract . . .'
Seven froze, 'A contract to protect Leon from the church,'
For some reason, he felt like something was amiss, 'but the high priestess wants to help Rey . . .'
Suddenly, Ivory's eyes met his. They stared at each other for a while.
'Actually, why was she telling me a story?'
Ivory's eyes trembled.
'The three kings . . . the eyes of Alia . . . the high priestess has to stay in line . . . There must be something holding her back,'
He caught Ivory's quick glance at Leon.
Seven looked back at Leon, 'Is there something about Leon I'm missing?'
He stared at Leon and kept staring. There was something about him. He knew it. It was at the tip of his tongue. He just couldn't grasp it.
He looked back at Ivory. She seemed to be sweating, worried. She looked like she wanted to say something, but her mouth only kept opening and closing.
He felt a cold shiver run down his spine, 'Why did she lead us here?'
He observed the area closer. It was empty and abandoned, with overgrown weeds and a kneeling statue of Alia in the center. The kneeling Alia meant that this church was actually built during hard times-
'No, I'm wrong,' Seven took a hesitant step towards the statue covered in weeds, 'She never said this was a statue of Alia,'
He grabbed a handful of weeds and ripped them off the statue.
With every weed he took off, he could feel a heavy weight grow in his chest.
'Shit, shit, shit,' he cursed as he tore through the weeds.
Ivory only watched silently from the side with saddened eyes.
The statue was none other than Tevalon, the hero from the story. He was kneeling like a knight would. One hand on his chest, above his heart, and the other hand gripping his sword. His head was proudly held high and a soft smile graced his face. He was as gallant and angelic as the stories said he was.
Seven immediately grabbed Leon's hand, 'Shit!'
It was no wonder the high priestess knew so much about the hero. This was his memorial site.
But worse than that, Seven finally remembered the thing he couldn't grasp. The thing that was at the tip of his tongue.
Leon was always lifeless. His eyes held no light, and his aura was always dull. Because of that, no one bothered to actually look at him. Even he himself didn't watch Leon that closely. And Rey wouldn't know anything about this because he's not even from here!
Leon had blond hair.
That was normal to have.
Leon also had blue eyes.
That was also normal to have.
But it was not normal to have both blond hair and blue eyes at the same time in Ura. The only person who ever existed in those colors was the hero Tevalon. Though this statue had no color, everyone knew the description of the hero, it was what made him mysterious. How did god carve such a beautiful man?!
Seven tightened his grip on Leon's wrist, 'You made the wrong contract, Rey!'
It was no wonder why they met the high priestess so easily and why the high priestess so easily agreed to sign the contract. The contract won't hurt her in any way.
The churches work for the Garnettes King. The high priestess works for the church, making her the Garnettes King's puppet. Ivory wasn't sad that she couldn't help Rey, she was sad for Leon's fate.
Seven glared, "You're all sick,"
"I'm sorry," Ivory muttered, eyes downcast.
She raised her hands, and out came guards surrounding him and Leon.
"Leon!" Seven yelled as he shook him, "Leon! Come on, wake up!"
As the guards came closer, Seven panicked, "Leon, you're a swordsman, aren't you?! Rey said you were! That means you're strong, right? So fight! Fight!"
Leon made no response, dead to the world as always.
"Leon!" Seven yelled, even though he knew it was hopeless, "Leon!!"
The guards grabbed him, forcefully separating him from Leon. Even if Seven tried, he couldn't fight back. He was just too weak. He was easily wrestled down and beaten, and he could only watch as they took Leon away.
It was the first time he hated being a normal human being so much.
He laid on the cracked ground. This time, he was not feeling sad about himself but angry at how useless he was.
Ivory hesitantly walked over to him and began chanting a prayer to heal him.
Seven scoffed and pushed her aside, "Whose side are you on?! You tell me a story, make me think you want to help Rey, and then have Leon taken away?!"
"I-"
"-As I thought, this city has never changed,"
Ivory bit her lip, "I do want to help. I do. I want to freely worship my goddess! I want to free all those who are enslaved! I want to help the common people! But it's easier said than done-"
"-You're a high priestess! You have the love of the people-"
"-exactly, I have to protect them! If I disobey the king-"
"So you do work for the king," Sevens scoffed and grabbed her by the robe, "There are dead in the streets and people openly being sold, so tell me, how exactly are you protecting the people? You can't even do your job right! You're a sorry excuse for a high priestess,"
"You're just as guilty," Ivory spat, "Your plan was to just sit aside and let your half-demon friend take care of everything, you even planned to go home as if none of this affected you!"
As if a sudden calm took over, Seven let her go, "You're right, I'm no different,"
He looked down at Ivory, his brown eyes glowing gold, "But at least I'll change,"
"Come," Ivory said, "Follow me,"
Seven took an awkward glance at Leon, skeptical of whether he should touch him. But then again, it's not like he had a choice. Even if Rey wasn't here to threaten him, someone still has to drag Leon around. So, like he'd seen Rey done a million times, he grabbed Leon by the wrist and took a step forward.
PLONK!
.
.
.
Leon fell.
His entire body lay limply on the ground, unmoving.
Seven, who was still holding onto Leon's wrist, tried pulling him up. It was to no avail.
"L-Leon?" Seven helplessly called, "Leon, please get up,"
There was no answer. Not even a single movement.
Seven cried inwardly, 'Why does he look more dead now than before?!'
Seven had no choice but to carry him.
It was at this moment that he realized how much bigger Leon was compared to him. Next to Rey, Leon's wasn't all that tall or amazing. Other than his lifeless look, he looked just like any other human. But now that it's just Leon alone, Seven suddenly realizes that Leon is definitely not like other humans. He was sure that if Leon just took care of himself, he would be just as cool as Rey.
'Maybe he is a swordsman?'
Anyway, it took all of Seven's strength just to pull Leon up. But even so, he ended up half dragging and half carrying him. Leon was just too big for an ordinary person to carry.
'How are you so heavy?!' Seven huffed, 'You barely eat!'
Ivory led the group quite far into the grounds of the church, but eventually they made it to an empty, abandoned area. There were cracked marble benches and weeds growing at every corner. There was nowhere the sun could touch, shrouding everything in shadow. At the center was a kneeling statue covered in layers of vines.
Seven plopped Leon down on a nearby bench and began catching his breath. But upon seeing a tilting Leon, Seven had to quickly lay him down on the bench instead.
'What?! Now that Rey isn't around, you think it's okay to stop working?!' Seven inwardly scolded, poking Leon's forehead as punishment.
It was a good thing Rey wasn't here; that finger would have no longer existed.
"We have a large statue of Alia at the front," Alia stated, catching Seven's attention, "While that is a true statue of Alia, this is our actual statue,"
Seven gasped, "So you ARE aware of the fake statues?!"
"Of course I'm a high priestess!"
"But you worship fake statues!"
"You can't hear the voice of the gods from fake statues," Ivory muttered as she touched the base of the statue, "What I do out there is obviously pretend, it is to pacify the three kings and the people living here,"
"What?! Then how exactly are you healing people?!"
Ivory laughed, "We have doctors, or we send them out of the city to normal churches! Worse case scenario, we do it secretly,"
". . . Then what exactly is your job then?"
"Like I said, I pacify the three kings and the people living here. Let me tell you a story," Ivory said as she kneeled down before her goddess.
Ura, the human land of Terole, was made up of three kingdoms, the Rubellite, the Sapphirous, and the Garnettes Kingdoms. The three kingdoms were in constant conflict with each other. Even when their enemy, the demon king, came to take their land, they would not work together. The war went on for many years, and it was a losing battle for the humans. But one day, a mysterious hero named Tevalon suddenly appeared. He united the three kingdoms, took control of lost territory, and fought against the demon king himself. Like this, the humans were victorious, and the three kingdoms lived as one. In order to thank the hero, the three kings built a magnificent city by the ocean. That is today's City of Tevalon.
Seven sighed, "We all know that story, everyone in Ura knows that story,"
"Yes, that is how the story should have ended," Ivory solemnly replied, "It is always the after that people don't know,"
After the war, there were still some demon stragglers left, and they were hunted down like no other. The hero, who decided to live peacefully outside the city, met one of the stragglers and fell in love. He kept her safe and hidden, and he even built a safe haven to protect other demons. It went on long enough that he was even able to start a family of his own. Once his daughter was of age, he felt that maybe the humans resentment for demons had finally settled down and it was time to unite them.
Oh, how wrong he was.
He was betrayed and murdered by his own companions. His body was ripped apart and hung onto the very walls of the city built for him, portrayed for everyone to witness. The three kings even built their own palaces in the City of Tevalon to showcase their power and control. The king of Rubellite took control of the judicial and lawmaking side, the king of Sapphirous took control of military power, and the king of Garnettes took over the religious side. This fully unified the three kingdoms.
Without the hero, the safe haven he built was raided and destroyed. It was then that the king of Sapphirous found the hero's daughter. She was a beauty like nothing he'd ever seen before, but before the king could even get a taste, she killed herself. Unable to bear with it, the king decided to massively produce half-demons. He sold the ones he didn't like and kept those that resembled the hero's daughter.
"And like that, half-demons became a growing market till this very day, to the point that even our own fellow humans and other species are captured and sold. The Rubellite king approved of it, which is why you see them openly sold. The Garnettes king decided to change all the churches to control the citizens. And the Sapphirous king hid spies in every corner of the city, he has eyes and ears everywhere. This City of Tevalon is not about the victory of a great hero, but the fall of one,"
Ivory swiftly turned towards Seven and said, "The eyes of Alia are the worshippers in this church, even I have to stay in line if I don't want the kings coming after me. However, I can-"
"-Why're you telling me this?" Seven interrupted as he stared at her incredulously.
Ivory was dumbfounded for a bit, "Didn't your friend get captured? I thought you wanted to save him,"
The words 'I do' couldn't come out of Seven's mouth, because he also just wanted to return home, where everything was normal, where he didn't have any problems, and where he could live peacefully away from everyone's eyes.
Ivory continued talking with sparkles in her eyes, "Days ago, my goddess Alia informed me that a hero has come to Ura, he wears Alia's blessing of protection. I could not miss it, it was definitely your friend. He's the hero who will save the City of Tevalon!"
"Your goddess didn't say anything 'bout me, right?"
". . . I don't think so?"
"Good," Seven breathed a sigh of relief, "Well, take good care of Leon. I'm gonna go home now,"
"What?! Wait, aren't you the hero's friend?! He protected you!"
"Listen, even if I wanted to help, there's nothing I can do. I'm a normal human being, I don't have any powers or special abilities, I can't even run to save my life. Besides, whenever there was any trouble, Rey always told me to just stay put-SHIT!"
Ivory jumped at the sudden yell, confused.
'That's right!' Seven cried, 'He always said to stay put! Is he talking about it right now too?! Does that mean I can't go home yet?!! Why doesn't he tell me anything?!!!'
"Please house us for a while," Seven mumbled, feeling sorry for himself.
"Of course," Ivory smiled, "So, what's the plan?! I want to help-"
"-The plan is to stay out of Rey's way," Seven answered, "We just have to lie low and not do anything,"
". . . Really? Are you sure?"
"Listen, I've only known Rey for a short period of time, but he's strong enough to do anything alone. We'll only be in his way,"
"Oh,"
Seven saw how Ivory's head hung low, a bit sad and disappointed. But Seven knew that it was better to just let Rey do whatever Rey pleases. Just don't get in his way.
Seven turned towards Leon. Leon was still awake, staring into nothingness.
'Was it so dangerous that Rey even had to leave Leon here?' Seven wondered, 'He even made a contract . . .'
Seven froze, 'A contract to protect Leon from the church,'
For some reason, he felt like something was amiss, 'but the high priestess wants to help Rey . . .'
Suddenly, Ivory's eyes met his. They stared at each other for a while.
'Actually, why was she telling me a story?'
Ivory's eyes trembled.
'The three kings . . . the eyes of Alia . . . the high priestess has to stay in line . . . There must be something holding her back,'
He caught Ivory's quick glance at Leon.
Seven looked back at Leon, 'Is there something about Leon I'm missing?'
He stared at Leon and kept staring. There was something about him. He knew it. It was at the tip of his tongue. He just couldn't grasp it.
He looked back at Ivory. She seemed to be sweating, worried. She looked like she wanted to say something, but her mouth only kept opening and closing.
He felt a cold shiver run down his spine, 'Why did she lead us here?'
He observed the area closer. It was empty and abandoned, with overgrown weeds and a kneeling statue of Alia in the center. The kneeling Alia meant that this church was actually built during hard times-
'No, I'm wrong,' Seven took a hesitant step towards the statue covered in weeds, 'She never said this was a statue of Alia,'
He grabbed a handful of weeds and ripped them off the statue.
With every weed he took off, he could feel a heavy weight grow in his chest.
'Shit, shit, shit,' he cursed as he tore through the weeds.
Ivory only watched silently from the side with saddened eyes.
The statue was none other than Tevalon, the hero from the story. He was kneeling like a knight would. One hand on his chest, above his heart, and the other hand gripping his sword. His head was proudly held high and a soft smile graced his face. He was as gallant and angelic as the stories said he was.
Seven immediately grabbed Leon's hand, 'Shit!'
It was no wonder the high priestess knew so much about the hero. This was his memorial site.
But worse than that, Seven finally remembered the thing he couldn't grasp. The thing that was at the tip of his tongue.
Leon was always lifeless. His eyes held no light, and his aura was always dull. Because of that, no one bothered to actually look at him. Even he himself didn't watch Leon that closely. And Rey wouldn't know anything about this because he's not even from here!
Leon had blond hair.
That was normal to have.
Leon also had blue eyes.
That was also normal to have.
But it was not normal to have both blond hair and blue eyes at the same time in Ura. The only person who ever existed in those colors was the hero Tevalon. Though this statue had no color, everyone knew the description of the hero, it was what made him mysterious. How did god carve such a beautiful man?!
Seven tightened his grip on Leon's wrist, 'You made the wrong contract, Rey!'
It was no wonder why they met the high priestess so easily and why the high priestess so easily agreed to sign the contract. The contract won't hurt her in any way.
The churches work for the Garnettes King. The high priestess works for the church, making her the Garnettes King's puppet. Ivory wasn't sad that she couldn't help Rey, she was sad for Leon's fate.
Seven glared, "You're all sick,"
"I'm sorry," Ivory muttered, eyes downcast.
She raised her hands, and out came guards surrounding him and Leon.
"Leon!" Seven yelled as he shook him, "Leon! Come on, wake up!"
As the guards came closer, Seven panicked, "Leon, you're a swordsman, aren't you?! Rey said you were! That means you're strong, right? So fight! Fight!"
Leon made no response, dead to the world as always.
"Leon!" Seven yelled, even though he knew it was hopeless, "Leon!!"
The guards grabbed him, forcefully separating him from Leon. Even if Seven tried, he couldn't fight back. He was just too weak. He was easily wrestled down and beaten, and he could only watch as they took Leon away.
It was the first time he hated being a normal human being so much.
He laid on the cracked ground. This time, he was not feeling sad about himself but angry at how useless he was.
Ivory hesitantly walked over to him and began chanting a prayer to heal him.
Seven scoffed and pushed her aside, "Whose side are you on?! You tell me a story, make me think you want to help Rey, and then have Leon taken away?!"
"I-"
"-As I thought, this city has never changed,"
Ivory bit her lip, "I do want to help. I do. I want to freely worship my goddess! I want to free all those who are enslaved! I want to help the common people! But it's easier said than done-"
"-You're a high priestess! You have the love of the people-"
"-exactly, I have to protect them! If I disobey the king-"
"So you do work for the king," Sevens scoffed and grabbed her by the robe, "There are dead in the streets and people openly being sold, so tell me, how exactly are you protecting the people? You can't even do your job right! You're a sorry excuse for a high priestess,"
"You're just as guilty," Ivory spat, "Your plan was to just sit aside and let your half-demon friend take care of everything, you even planned to go home as if none of this affected you!"
As if a sudden calm took over, Seven let her go, "You're right, I'm no different,"
He looked down at Ivory, his brown eyes glowing gold, "But at least I'll change,"
