The distinctive smell of the grass made him open his eyes. Ciel blinked a few times as the light breaking through the gaps in the leaves dazzled his eyes. The first thing he saw was a cluster of green bushes with various berries surrounded by small white flowers. Butterflies of various colors glittered in the vicinity.
Ciel felt that this was a very familiar place. A feeling that was difficult to describe in words began to run through him. Perhaps a feeling of comfort mixed with sadness? No body knows. In his mind, he didn't know what that kind of 'feeling' was called.
As his consciousness began to gather, the shadowy figure in front of him began to take shape. A mysterious white-haired little girl with soft eyes and a pleasant look on her face. The light white hair looked similar to a dandelion reflecting the sunlight from the gaps in the leaves.
Who is it?
Ciel didn't know and couldn't find out. A red wall with 'BLOCKED' written on it prevented him from digging into his memories. The only thing he could do was to cautiously approach the figure.
When he was about to ask her identity, the figure slowly blurred. Ciel quickened his pace, but again there was a wall between the two of them. The distance between them was only five meters, but Ciel felt that there was a deep chasm separating them.
The sound of a large bell interrupted Ciel's thoughts. At the same time, the girl's form slowly faded and then disappeared like a dandelion blowing in the wind. The inexplicable feeling earlier strengthened, giving an impulse for Ciel to step up to hold the girl. However, instantly the surrounding light faded and engulfed him in endless darkness.
His breathing became labored. And amongst the darkness, Ciel saw the words 'BLOCKED' glowing red, showering him indefinitely with noises that were hard to block out. Spontaneously, Ciel closed his eyes and ears. As time passed, the noise and sparkling light of the red writing slowly subsided, and a bright white light flashed in his eyes.
Ciel was jolted awake. The white light and everything he saw earlier disappeared, giving way to the wooden ceiling of the room and the softly blowing white curtains. Ciel moved his hand and found a bed covered with a woolen blanket. His breathing gradually normalized when he saw that he was in a familiar place.
"What just happened?"
Ciel closed his eyes, trying to remember what happened before he woke up. Nothing. His head was completely empty. There was only bottomless darkness.
While he was trying to remember something, a child with light blue hair entered the room. After placing a bowl of soup and a glass of water on the table, the boy folded his hands and looked at Ciel with an annoyed look on his face.
"You really are late getting up, Ciel! Eleen's been waiting for us since earlier."
"Aren't you the one who got up too early, Ash? I woke up as usual, anyway." Ciel said that while starting to eat a bowl of soup.
While waiting for Ciel to finish breakfast, Ash made the bed of the twin brother who had such a different character from him while continuing to nag Ciel. "You should have gotten up before six in the morning. Breakfast starts at half past seven, then we have to leave immediately to help Eleen before doing our duties. Besides, Mom told us that you can't sleep past nine at night."
Ciel just nodded lazily. It wasn't that he didn't want to do things according to the schedule. It was just that something in his head kept making him do the same things over and over again.
"Look at this." Ash picked up the basket of dirty clothes at the end of the room while clucking. "You're really lazy, huh."
"Stop nagging like Mom. I'll think of you as a girl." Ciel replied without paying any attention to Ash.
Before Ash went back to nagging again, Ciel quickly finished his breakfast and then left the room to the accompaniment of his twin brother's exclamations. He quickly rushed down from the second floor of his wooden house followed by Ash. However, Ciel's steps stopped when he saw a boy the same age as them sitting in the living room that bordered the kitchen and stairs.
"Oh, you're awake already? I don't wonder Ash gets annoyed with you every morning."
The owner of the voice who was sitting while reading a book was a boy around their age. Ciel did not answer quickly but looked at Ash who was in a hurry to catch up with her.
"You guys are the ones who got up too early. Forget it, I'm going. You also just got your Holy Task yesterday, right, Eleen?"
Eleen nodded while closing his book and then stood up, following Ash and Ciel to the outside. "Yes. A little late from you guys, but my task is much easier."
All humans in this world will receive a Holy Task when they turn twelve years old. For them, the Holy Task was the purpose of life as well as a place of lifelong dedication to the ABSOLUTE that created and governed this world. For hundreds of years since the world was formed, they believed that the only reason they were born was to work on the Holy Task until death. Moreover, the Holy Tasks obtained depended on the place of residence. In this world, there is a saying 'Where you are born, there you die' because their duty will only be considered complete when they die.
They will get a Holy Task that is not much different from their ancestors. If your ancestor was an educator, you will become an educator. If your ancestor was a warrior, you will be a warrior. Similarly, if your ancestor was a farmer, you will also become a farmer. Although his parents said that this was a form of dedication to ABSOLUTE, Ciel often thought that the Holy Task was a huge wall that confined them for a lifetime.
Even after six months had passed since he and Ash got the Holy Task, Ciel still did not understand why ABSOLUTE had given them such a task.
"So, what's your Holy Task like? Can I see it?" Ash gave Eleen a twinkling look. Seeing other people's Holy Tasks was not a problem. It was just that there were some people who felt uncomfortable when they got a Holy Task that was too low-key.
Eleen smiled proudly as he reached out and formed a small sweep of air with his forefinger. A small light sparked in front of him, forming a transparent white box containing his Holy Task.
"So your task is the same as your mother's, huh." Ash read the description of Eleen's Holy Task.
Eleen nodded. "Picking herbs isn't a difficult task. Well, even if it gets boring sometimes."
As they walked side by side on the cedar-lined road of Junon City, Ciel suddenly thought of something about the Holy Task. Ciel's steps suddenly stopped and his gaze fell on the birds flying freely in the blue sky. Ciel reacted quickly. Perhaps this thought came to him because of his strange dream last night. Deep inside his head, where the walls were marked BLOCKED with red light, Ciel vaguely remembered the figure present in his dream.
However, when he tried to recall the figure further in memory, Ash's voice calling him disrupted Ciel's thoughts. He immediately ran after Ash and Eleen who were quite a distance away from him, trying to get rid of any thoughts about the dream or the girl's figure.
Ciel really didn't expect that the dream would lead him to a new path that he had never imagined.