The sun shone bright overhead.
Soft fur brushed against my hand.
A smooth and pleasant feeling as the alpha carried us beneath the shade of tall trees.
Liora clung tightly to the alpha's thick fur, her gaze fixed ahead.
"What kind of place is that, Rex?" I asked, referring to the spot where he had first found Liora.
"Hmm… it was a small human settlement. The structures were built from wood and stone," Rex answered.
'So, a normal human civilization?'
'That's not very helpful…' I thought, unsatisfied with the vague answer.
"How small are we talking about, Rex?" I pressed, my tone growing tense and anxious.
"…It was about halfway from where we began walking to here." Rex replied.
"What about walls? Were there large stone gates? Humans in shining armor? Any kind of protection?" I continued, frustration edging into my voice.
"No, Master. There were no walls. It was an open space with several houses." Rex answered calmly.
'Sounds like a small village, I thought, unease crawling up my spine as my mind spun with worst-case scenarios. How did she end up in that orc camp?'
My anxiety was growing. I could feel it in the tightness of my chest, the quickening of my breath.
The alpha beneath us began moving faster, sensing my unrest.
"What about the people?" I asked again, unable to hold back my concern. "What kind of humans lived there?"
"I apologize, Master," Rex replied, sounding unsure. "I only observed from afar. When I left her there, it was night—I waited until no one would see me."
My pulse pounded in my ears. My breathing turned shallow. A hundred thoughts raced through my mind, and most of them weren't good.
'Just let it be a normal village. Please… otherwise, there won't be a village left when I'm done with it.' I thought, fury and dread brewing beneath my skin.
"But… all the people I saw were adults and elderly. They grew crops, and many of them were smiling. The place where I left her had multiple children playing. They looked happy, Master." Rex added, his voice calm but firm as he increased speed.
Those words swept away most of my fears. I exhaled deeply and tried to slow my breathing, grounding myself.
I gently patted Liora's head.
She looked up at me and flashed a wide, innocent smile.
That smile—pure and bright—erased all the shadows in my mind. My heartbeat slowed. My body relaxed.
"Thank you, Rex." I said quietly, my voice filled with genuine gratitude.
I glanced around. We were moving fast.
Liora seemed unbothered by the speed, eyes wide with wonder.
'She's fine with speed… so it's heights I should help her with next.' I thought.
[ I have adjusted the wind pressure around the Little Miss, Master. ]
'So that's why her hair wasn't flying all over the place. Her holding her hair on strong winds. That moment—it was cute.'
'Just thinking about it makes me smile… when she faced the hurricane and that berserker wolf.'
"When will we reach the place, Rex?" I asked.
"If we go at the maximum speed the pack can handle, we'll arrive in about twice the time it took to travel from where we slept." Rex replied.
"Alright. Go full throttle." I said with a grin.
"I do not fully understand that term, Master… but I feel it means 'go fast.' Understood." Rex's voice shifted from puzzled to resolute. "Please hold tight."
As the world blurred around us, my mind wandered again.
'If the village is really a good one, maybe I can help them. Maybe I could ask The Fresh Pick's staff to get in touch and start a trade route.'
I smiled at the idea.
'Maybe I'll build a playground for the kids like I did for Liora. No pool though—there won't be anyone to maintain it.'
I was getting ahead of myself, but… it felt good to think like this. To give something back.
I needed to meet them first. See it with my own eyes.
Time passed quickly.
We arrived.
There was no doubt—it was a village.
I could see the areas crops were grown.
There were no walls, building smade of wood and stone.
'It was definitely a village…'
'…before.'
Now, the sun beat down on broken rooftops.
Moss blanketed crumbling walls.
Fields once full of crops were nothing more than grass and weeds.
No voices. No laughter. No signs of life.
Only silence.
I stood there, numb, struggling to process what I saw.
"Are you sure this is the right place, Rex?" I asked, unable to hide the disbelief in my voice.
"Y-Yes, Master. I remember leaving her at the door of a church on the west side of the village. Back then, none of this ruin was here." Rex replied, his voice low. "After that night, a large orc tribe invaded the forest and began hunting us. We were forced to abandon this area."
I stared at the remnants of what once was.
'What happened in those two years…?'
I didn't have an answer.
But I felt something—a presence, near the edge of the village.
"There's someone on the other side of the village. Hide near the woods, Rex. We'll go and check it out. Meet us back here." I instructed as I jumped down from Alpha's back.
Rex crouched down beside the tree line while I picked up Liora in my arms and began walking toward the village.
The deeper we walked, the more nature seemed to reclaim the land. Tall grass brushed our legs, and ivy climbed what remained of the village walls. Whatever happened here… it wasn't recent.
The buildings around us were devastated—charred beams, collapsed roofs, crumbling stone walls. Rubble littered the ground. Blackened wood still clung to the edges of structures, as if clawing at the air in protest.
I scanned the wreckage.
'Looks like the whole place was burned. Could there be corpses here? Though… I don't smell anything.' My thoughts were conflicted and uneasy.
[ I have already searched the area using wind currents, Master. ]
[ There are no remains—no corpses, not even bones. ]
'That's good. I don't want Liora to see something like that.' I thought, glancing down.
Liora was looking around curiously—maybe something felt familiar to her.
'The presence has moved. It's coming from the west now.' I noted.
We kept walking through the wreckage. Homes, shops, even slightly larger buildings—all equally destroyed.
Eventually, we reached the source of the presence.
Ahead stood the shattered gates of what was once a church. The front yard was overgrown but still had a faint sense of order, like someone had once cared for it.
We stepped inside. There was no roof anymore—open sky poured sunlight into the hollowed ruins.
Toward the back stood what remained of a statue. Only the feet stayed mounted on a cracked pedestal. The rest—head, torso, limbs—lay in fragments across the floor, scattered among dust and debris.
This had to be the church Liora was once left at.
As I took in the ruin, my gaze shifted to Liora. She looked confused. Maybe she was trying to remember something.
"Liora, do you know this place?" I asked gently.
She tilted her head slightly and replied, "Liora can't remembwer."
The presence I sensed earlier was still nearby… behind the church.
We walked around the rear, and there—nestled among overgrown grass—stood rows of graves. And in the center of them all sat a man, older, quiet, unmoving, in front of a large headstone.
I approached slowly, stopping a few steps behind him.
"Excuse me." I said softly.
The man turned to look at us. His body was well-built despite his age—not too old, but seasoned. His white hair, much like mine, wasn't from age but something else. His sharp jaw was lined with quiet years, and his blue eyes carried a weight of sorrow.
He wore a crimson jacket, slightly faded, the synthetic fabric catching the light like a dying flare. A thick, pale tan faux fur collar wrapped around his neck.
Dark blue pants—neither fully tactical nor casual—were tucked into scuffed black boots that looked like they'd carried him through too many bad days.
"They're gone. Just accept it already." he murmured.
"What are you doing here? How can I help you?" he asked after a pause, voice still carrying the weight of mourning.
"I'm looking for the person who was taking care of the children here." I replied.
The man exhaled slowly and pointed to the grave in front of him.
John T. Robertson. Age 60.
Beneath the name, crudely carved letters read:
"Here rests a soul devoted to selfless service,
whose kindness required no recognition."
I stood in silence for a few moments before asking, "What happened here?"
"Please, come with me." the man said as he stood up and led us back into the church ruins.
We sat on a large slab of fallen pillar.
"This was once a peaceful village. A man lived here opened an orphanage for abandoned children. Years passed… then one day, he obtained divinity. Said he could hear the voice of a goddess. He began healing the sick, helping others, never asking for anything in return."
The man looked at the shattered statue at the front of the room.
"The villagers revered him. They built a statue of the goddess—Goddess Anessa: She Who Asks Nothing."
His voice grew heavy. "A year ago, people from the Church of Adessa came. They accused this place of worshipping a demon god. Told them to stop. But the villagers defended the orphanage, defended the goddess. The Church of Adessa used that resistance as an excuse. Labeled them all demon worshippers… and slaughtered them. They claimed children were being sacrificed here."
My heart sank.
'The Church of Adessa… that's the same church I visited for healing. But how did Liora survive all this? What happened after that?'
The man continued, voice lower now.
"I wasn't a local. Just an old friend who visited from time to time. I never got to see the statue much, but I remember her—standing like sunlight itself. Her hair long and flowing, her face open and serene. Her eyes… radiant like stars, and her hands always reaching out to give. She stood as a symbol of love without expectation."
Suddenly, the broken fragments of the statue began to stir.
Pieces lifted, trembled, floated into the air.
"Hearing it like this… makes me think it was a beautiful place once." I murmured.
The statue reconstructed itself piece by piece—arms, torso, head—until it stood whole again.
The man's eyes widened in disbelief.
[ Restoration completed according to the gentleman's description, Master. ]
'Great work, Sebas.'
"I would like to know more about the person who ran the church," I said, watching the man as he stared at the statue—flustered, stunned.
to be continued…