Chapter 71(Part 02)
Rain, Silence, and a God Who Listens
Rain arrived without warning.
Not a storm no thunder, no rage just a steady, deliberate fall, as though the sky itself had decided to observe rather than interfere.
Ceya stood at the edge of KUA Girls' High School, watching students scatter beneath umbrellas and hoods. The school bell had already rung its final echo, leaving behind an uncomfortable stillness.
She reached into her bag.
Empty.
No umbrella.
She hesitated.
The rain thickened.
Cold droplets slid down her sleeves, soaking into her uniform, darkening the fabric inch by inch. She inhaled sharply and began to run.
Footsteps slapped against wet pavement.
Her breath grew uneven.
Why did the road feel longer than it should?
Why did every step feel… delayed?
The world seemed slightly off like a dream that refused to sharpen.
Then it happened.
Her foot slipped.
The ground vanished beneath her.
Pain flared briefly before the rain swallowed it.
Ceya sat there for a moment, stunned, rain dripping from her hair, her palms pressed against the road.
She lifted her head.
And froze.
Across the street stood a building she hadn't noticed before.
Old stone walls.
Tall, narrow windows.
A cross worn smooth by time.
A church.
Its doors stood slightly open.
As if waiting.
The Church of Quiet Breath
Ceya staggered to her feet and ran.
The moment she crossed the threshold, the rain's sound vanished as though the world outside had been sealed away.
Silence embraced her.
Not empty silence.
Living silence.
Candles burned without flicker. Dust floated lazily in beams of pale light filtering through stained glass. The air smelled faintly of wax and old prayers.
Her heartbeat slowed.
"I'm… safe," she whispered.
She sat in the nearest pew, hands trembling, water dripping onto the stone floor.
Why did this place feel familiar?
As if she had been here before but in another life.
Ceya clasped her hands.
She wasn't particularly religious.
But right now, words came naturally.
"If there is a god… please protect my family."
Her voice echoed softly, then faded.
For several seconds nothing happened.
Then
Light descended.
Not blinding.
Not violent.
A gentle radiance gathered before the altar, shaping itself into something that was not quite human.
A woman.
Her presence alone bent the air.
Golden hair flowed like threads of sunlight. Her eyes were deep, reflective, as if holding entire skies within them.
Ceya's breath caught.
The goddess spoke calmly.
"Do you know the Chosen One?"
The words were not loud.
Yet they pressed directly against Ceya's mind.
"I…" Ceya swallowed.
"I don't know."
The goddess stared.
Her gaze sharpened.
"You are lying."
Ceya shook her head frantically.
"I swear. I don't know. Please"
The light pulsed.
The church trembled.
"Your soul carries traces of him."
Ceya gasped, clutching her chest.
"I don't understand!"
The goddess stepped forward.
Her shadow stretched unnaturally long.
"You don't need to understand."
The Goddess Lisa
"My name is Lisa."
The name itself carried authority.
"And your ignorance… is inconvenient."
Before Ceya could react, pain exploded behind her eyes.
Memories surfaced.
Not hers.
A boy standing alone.
A pendant glowing faintly.
A world layered beneath the world.
Ceya screamed.
"Stop!"
But Lisa did not stop.
She entered.
Not physically.
Mentally.
Ceya felt something slide into her thoughts cold, precise, invasive.
Her resistance shattered like thin glass.
"Your mind is fragile," Lisa murmured.
"But useful."
Ceya's vision blurred.
Her pupils dilated.
For a brief, terrifying moment
She was no longer alone in her own body.
Lisa's voice echoed inside her.
Observe.
Remember.
Report.
Then
Silence.
The light withdrew.
The goddess vanished as if she had never existed.
Ceya collapsed forward, gasping.
Her forehead touched the cold stone floor.
Tears streamed down her face.
She didn't know why she was crying.
She only knew something had been taken.
Alok's The Pendant Reacts
At the same time
Alok sat bolt upright in his bed.
The pendant burned against his chest.
Not warmth.
Warning.
His breath came fast.
"…Ceya."
A distant pressure coiled around his heart.
Something had touched her.
Something powerful.
Something divine.
He clenched his fists.
"I don't know what you are," he whispered to the pendant,
"but I swear… I'll find her."
The glow dimmed.
As if acknowledging the vow.
Feilw Land After the Prayer
Ceya walked home later that evening, rain-soaked and silent.
Her mother asked if she was okay.
Ceya smiled.
"I'm fine."
The lie came easily.
Too easily.
That night, she dreamed of golden eyes watching from beyond the sky.
And somewhere far away
A god smiled.