Tranquil.
Peace and quiet.
Steps… footsteps.
The robed man exhaled in annoyance and looked back. "I told you not to disturb me when I'm praying." Golden robes with little embroidery. It sparkled with the holy light emanating from the walls.
Glass dome above, colored in thousands of colors and shapes. A statue of a half dragon, half human in front. And a hallway behind. An empty hallway… no, this place was a room. Just a large room with a lot of empty space.
"I understand but I believe we've found that boy."
"Which Boy? I believe you were looking for quite a few." He didn't look back. His eyes were closed, and yet he spoke nonchalantly.
"True. True." The man agreed. Footsteps… then there was silence, as he casually bowed before the robed man. "The one that killed a priest in that backwater village."
"Ah. That one from the … which one again?"
The man chuckled. White hair, two earrings on each ear. A fur coat of sorts yet… yet he was so thin, even with the coat he couldn't be compared to someone normal. "The boy whom you sent Azura after."
"Ah, yes, yes."
He doesn't remember at all… The man snickered within. "We've found him. He was fairly close."
"Then Azura is coming back?" The robed man said with a twinge of expectation in his voice.
"I'm afraid not, she failed to identify his proper location and is currently in the realm of the demons. Though I have sent word to her and she should be making back to Sun port within a month."
"Good. Send her straight to me once she gets back," his face contorted to a smile. Ah, how long had it been since he last felt her touch? Since he last felt her embrace. Her smell… her delight-
Her.
"Of course, but what of the boy?"
"What of him?"
"He has been recently identified as a deity bearer. He could also be an apostle, though we doubt that's the case. Duke Alzania of East Siran supports him and plans to make him the next Paladin."
"He needs royal blood for that," the robed man shrugged. "But a deity you say. Which one?"
"Rex."
"Rex?"
"Yes."
There were 108 known deities. Some of them were gods. Some of them were dead. But none of them were as complicated as Rex, or so the teachings went. No one knew this deity's real name and in history, no one had been said to have any relationship with them. No, that wasn't quite true. No one could tolerate a relationship with them as their bodies slowly morphed to that of a lizard and their God Insignia spread like a thorny vine all over their body, crippling them from within. All beings who'd come into contact with Rex, had died.
The robed man snorted. "Then let the boy be. He'll die within a few days." He laughed loud.
"But you see, the boy did die. And the deity brought him back to life."
"Huh?" Finally, he opened his eyes. Large forehead, a plump face. Actually, his body was plump as well.
Rex was a complicated deity but among the deities they were almost at the rock bottom. They shouldn't no, couldn't bring anyone back from the dead. They just weren't that powerful with the divine arts.
"And according to my sources, the boy might have already been contracted with Rex for longer than three weeks at this point. Yet, he has survived."
"That is impossible. Even Saint Julifer only lasted two weeks. Three? Just how much mana does that boy have!?"
"My sources state, he doesn't possess much of any mana. Yet he can manifest the wind to do this bidding. He has successfully stopped individuals from breathing and knocked them out, a feat even the old hero Rombrandt achieved only with great difficulty. Speaking of Rombrandt, he was done it by Rex and would have died, if the boy hadn't merely spared him."
Silence.
Rombrandt, one of the few true heroes. He was old, he was senile, he was a church toe kisser. But he did possess immense strength in his youth. And this boy, this young boy was being compared to him?
"We can't get rid of him," The robed man paced. "You can't let him be either…"
Things were finally going the right way. Almost all pieces were set in place. Yet-
"Yes, and at this rate he'll be the next Paladin. Lord Albatros won't sit by idly if we let that happen. Our heads will roll."
"You don't have to remind me that!" He exhaled. "And I told you, he needs royal blood-" He stopped abruptly. "The duke… he's married to-"
"Yes… and his daughter… bears the blood. And they're engaged."
"Kill them."
"The Ducal Family my lord?"
"Yes."
"Don't be so hasty," another voice. Another robed man. This one however wore way plainer clothes and wasn't as thin. Long white hair, white beard; rather old, yet he didn't look old at all. "We shouldn't wage war with three families and a Deity bearer. Besides, that Alustur fellow has now changed sides. And Headmaster Rombrandt has decreed Schalion will remain free of the church's influence anew."
"Blasphemy!" the other robed man grumbled. "After everything we've done for him!"
"Perhaps," the long-haired man said. "But it is still unwise to be hasty. It's better to invite them over. And slowly…" his lips curved, albeit slightly.
Was it a smile?
***
Meanwhile, in a particular corner of the room, where the adults weren't looking, there were two kids. Slouched.
Both small and maybe five in age. They were identical in appearance but one of them was a boy. The other, a girl.
"So, he might be just like us," the boy said.
"No, maybe he has suffered worse."
"His parents didn't sell him to the church, I'm sure he hasn't suffered worse."
"What if he doesn't like his family?"
"Oh right, a lot of kids don't like their families, I forgot."
"What if he's not like us though?"
"Then… we'll just make him understand."
"Yes. We'll make him understand."