An early monday morning would be no different in Teregonza's highly esteemed church with its high pillars and polished windows, than the early sundays Lolita would experience waking up at sunrise to get ready to go serve at her local city's church. Except in this one particular sunday, high pillars and expensive churches did not exist in any area nearby where she lived. And most specifically, no one in the world would possess magical powers and recite incantations like these folks did on a daily basis. As far as she recalled, the priests she worked with did not cast magic circles nor did their relics ever emit some glowing light in every ritual. So in highsight, no. This was not another monday pfor Lolita. This was more akin to a long dream.
But this wasn't a dream at all.
The young girl strode through the church's cold, marble white floors with her pale and bare feet echoing a quiet noise through the aisle. A basin clutched in her hands as she poured purely cleansed holy water gently into the crystal sunstone bowl in front of the church's closed doors, occasionally a strand of her long black hair would fall in front of her face and block her view before she would tuck it behind her ear. Her dark eyes were no common color in Teregonza as opposed to her ordinary complection back home. In Teregonza, Lolita would stand out because of her appearance, which seemed really unusual because- on top of her head- she could name a million people in the world who look just like her. But then again, Lolita Vanderhugh wasn't in her world at all.
"Ah," She softly gasped, inching the basin away from the bowl before it spilled on the floor, "I almost spilled it. Keep it together, Lolita." Her voice faded into a whisper within the church walls. Her furrowed brows glanced up at the high ceilings of painted angels and gods but she wasn't looking at the angel reaching out to people, nor the angels laying on soft clouds. Her mind drifted seemlessly into the life she had before she transmigrated into this world.
Ten months ago, people who died on January 27, 20XX were unsuspectingly transmigrated into Teregonza. Children, elderly, everyone unfortunate enough to meet death on that fateful day awoke in Teregonza. One of them had been Lolita Vanderhugh. Died no younger than 19 in an unfortunate incident.
Lolita shook off whatever thought clouded her mind. When she first awoke in Teregonza, she found herself curled into a ball huddled in some corner in an abandoned ruins with no other person in sight. She felt ecstatic. Perhaps she hadn't actually died and was stuck in some weird dream. Perhaps she still has not woken up and dreamt of walking out her house that day to head to the nursing home where she worked. But the daunting feeling of indeniable mishap never left as it heaved her chest. A heavy rock burdening the little bit of hope she had. Then it happened. In the middle of that abandoned ruins, in the dark shadow where she curled, a bright holographic screen appeared in front of her. The bold lettered words still burned in the back of her head to this day:
MISSION:
"APPRAISAL OF GOD"
TASK FULFILLED: INCOMPLETE
STATUS: ON-GOING
MERIT: 500
"CLEAR THE STAIN SOWN TO GODS NAME. A GIFT, A SACRIFICE, A SALVATION. SEEK TO RETURN THEE"
Lolita had no idea what these words meant but she wandered the forest days on end with bare and swollen feet and dirty clothes until she managed to find a village where she continued to reside for the next few days. To her luck, they welcomed her with open arms and provided her with enough basic needs to get by. It took a while to get used to their living style but Lolita, young and with no other options left to her had to adjust quickly. She offered every form of help she could, from harvesting vegetables to repairing rooftops and carrying heavy equipment. One day, as she helped one of the village elderly carry buckets of water from the river back to the village, they came across a woman passed out on the side of the road. Lolita knew then and there this woman had come from the same world as her from the outfit she wore. Everyone in this world had worn those historical outfits she'd seen in books and movies. It was only natural for Lolita to care for this woman as the villagers had for when she first stumbled in. And in that act of kindness, the woman gave her the information she needed to get back to their own world.
"There are more of us here!?" Lolita couldn't believe what she was hearing, dark eyes threatening to pop out of their sockets at any word that comes out of the other woman's mouth which giggled as she sipped tea. "Yes. I've met a lot of people like us while I was doing the mission this status bar gave me. No one knows who or how this started but already many of us finished the mission and got sent back into our world."
So it was like that. You finish the quest and boom- You get a second chance in life. Lolita found this all to be unbelievable but then again, there were other people in the same situation as her. This set up was basically like watching an ad in a game to earn an extra life. So she just has to finish her mission. But that could not have been an easy wishy washy dream. Regardless of the information she had now, the mission itself was a riddle to be solved. The bold letters of the screen flashed in her mind: Clear the stain sown to god's name.
How was she to do that? Things did not become less troublesome.
"Some people had very obnoxious missions to complete too. A few days back, I'd met a couple digging a hole on the ground with their bare hands as a mission, it was atleast 10 feet deep. Another one had to jump across a lake, as far as I know, he's still going at it to this day. I don't think he knows he can buy these magic potions in this world to enhance his abilities." This woman laughed. Lolita couldn't help the tiny laugh coming out of her lips. This was the first time she finally felt closer to her home in days. As cruel as it sounded, she felt good to know she wasn't alone. That night, the two women spent the majority of their evening talking about other people's missions. Ria would talk about the dangerous ones who almost died mid quest. Then there were those whose dignity were ripped off their souls when they had to do embarrassing things to succeed. Then there were those who had stepping on a puddle as a mission, just to add salt to the wound for those other transmigrators. The night flew by much like drifting clouds in twilight and soon the morning came where Ria had to say goodbye to finish off her own quest.
"I wish you good luck to your own quest!" Ria said, her figure fading gradually into the distance with waving hands from where she sat behind the carriage. Lolita could only smile and wave back at the tiny figure. That same day, she too bid her own farewell to the villagers before setting off to find a starting point for her own mission.
That day had been a distant once upon a time. Since entering the church, Lolita had pretty much isolated herself from the world. She barely knew if there were still transmigrators with unfinished quests around to keep her company. Regardless, staying at the church was not as bad as it seemed. Before Lolita transmigrated, she had been a very religious person, holding to nothing but her faith to get by in life. She had been content. She was comfortable. She was settled. Then with her sudden death it was all taken away from her. Lolita was determined to go back home. During her stay at the church, she cleaned, served in morning services, and joined to listen to preachers. Everything flowed perfectly without a bump, so why would the mission tell her to get rid of a stain? What stain was there to get rid off?
Lolita could wander days on end and still not find the so called stain. Could the game possibly had given her an unachievable mission? Lolita thought before she busied herself scanning throughly the holographic screen looking for a help button. Unfortunately, she found nothing. She would just have to keep serving god until the stain would disappear by itself. But how long will that be?
A heavy chill clouded her chest like a mist through an abandoned town. In this heavily misty town, will she even find a way out? What if she could never finish the quest? Her life before...her friends, the elderly at the nursing home she worked in... What happens then?
I need to find a way back home. Lolita thought as the angels on ceilings gazed at her with their melancholic eyes. Almost mocking her. But within these white walls and stained glasses, these paintings and sculptures were the only ones to keep her company. The priests and nuns in the monastery were not mean, but a flower is pretty enough to ignore their sharp leaves. In fact, the church people in Teregonza greatly differed the ones Lolita was used to back in her world. In Teregonza, the church focused more on expelling dark magic and demons using magical relics. Because in Teregonza, demons and monsters exist. Teregonza churches excelled in exorcing demons amongst all the other continents of this world, with it came their high fame and reputation for hundreds of years. At least this was what Lolita found in the books of the monastery library which she was told to study in, "That reminds me, I still have to compile a research for the new relics the priest found. I should go get them sorted."
"You here, Lolita?" A mellow voice called from behind Lolita whose back faced the church's double doors, waking her from her thoughts as she turned to the voice by the opening doors of the church. Emerging from behind those double doors was a young, skinny man. His brown curls tucked inside his worn out hat made way for his earthy eyes to be seen in full view. This man was Michael, a friend Lolita made during her journey to the monastery where both of them joined in at the same time for their own reasons where one had to fulfill a mission and the other turned to god as a way of life to get off the streets. Still, Michael was someone Lolita had come to cherish as a good friend through thick and thin. When Lolita gave him her last bit of food, Michael gave her the shirt on his back in return. Michael had become the brother Lolita never had through all weather changes. Needless to say, even though life in the monastery was passive, Lolita could always rely on having someone have her back at all times.
"Michael! What brings you here?" The giddy joy in her voice echoed in the aisle as Michael's shoes clicked the floor until he was near Lolita. The mischievous grin on his immature features widening as if the first blossoms of spring had bloomed. "Is there a need for a reason for me to come here? I just wanted to see how you were struggling since I haven't been carrying your weight recently," He said with a bit of as a matter of fact. Yet behind his worry concealed in unbearable insult carried the weightless banter of an insufferable brother struggling with honesty. Lolita could only stare at the taller man's jaw as he turned away from her judging eyes, and replied "I see, you didn't have any friends to spend your free time with," she feigned empathy for her brotherly friend "You can spend time here in the church as much as you like." Lolita wiped the nonexistent tear from her eye and this action urged a sense of embarrassment from the man standing before her.
"I...I have friends other than you! I just—!" The embarrassed man roared yet no words came forward to defend himself any further, the tips of his ears turned into a shade of pink flowers in full bloom. Deciding to spare him from his sheepish response, Lolita didn't comment on his demeanor. She didn't expect he would come here to tease her only to be hit by the other end of the stick that he waved.
"A-Anyways.... Guess who got promoted to preach on his first gathering next week!" Michael enthusiastically announced, calloused hands placed on his hips as his chest puffed out filled with pride. Lolita thought for a moment, she adjusted the basin on her hands before she said "The corn boy with pretty siren eyes?"
The answer provoked a twitch of an eye from the older man, it was clear he was irritated at the mention of this corn boy but more so at the cheeky girl who clearly knew the correct answer. Still, Michael was akin to a fish in a tiny pond. Bait was bait, and he bit onto it without a second thought. "Obviously not! Do you really think that guy has what it takes to preach to people when he's so...so...!"
"So what?" Lolita asked.
"So apathetic!" Michael said. "How do you expect to empathize with people if you're so detached from them!"
Corn boy Siren eyes, or else he was named Lesion but Michael spared no courtesy to even memorize his name. Lesion had been known by many people due to his startling sharp siren shaped eyes. Lesion caught many people's attention with his pretty face. In fact, the church would be filled during gatherings despite it not being a sunday morning due to people hoping to sneak a peep at the young man. Lesion would even receive marriage proposals from esteemed families but turned them all away to carry on his duties in the church. To add salt to the wound— Michael's wounds, Lesion would act like none of them mattered which ticked off Michael more. So Michael did the only mature and reasonable thing for someone of his position and deemed Lesion—
"He's corn guy now, Lolita. You're not allowed to refer to him anything other than that from now on!" Michael, at that time, proclaimed as he dragged Lolita away from Lesion when they all first met at the monastery. Lolita didn't argue with a low tempered, empy stomach Michael and simply let herself be dragged away to their table at the corner.
"Why Corn Guy?" She asked, biting into her sandwich. "Because he has these very freakishly long ears like corn, that's why! Don't get close to him, men like him are only trouble." Michael said, earth-like eyes glaring into Lesions own siren eyes hoping to bury him with his glare.
His ears don't even look that long. Lolita simply thought.
From then onwards, Lesion and Michael's relationship were anything but friendly...in any case, it looked more like a one sided rivalry of a tiny dog barking aggressively at a leisurely Great Dane.
"The one in charge of preaching this next week is me!" Michael proudly jabbed his thumb to his chest, "The priest said I was ready to take on my first gathering. I can't wait enough for it!"
"That's great!" Lolita placed down the basin on a nearby bench before she happily congratulated him, "I'm so happy for you!" Lolita knew better than anyone else how much Michael wanted to one day preach his beliefs in front of so many people, now his dreams were finally starting to bear fruit. It genuinely made her feel for her friend that he was finally getting the recognition he deserved.
"As you should be!" Michael said, "This is how amazing your older brother can be, you should praise me more." He threw his head back as he erupted into gratified laughter.
"You're not my blood," Lolita pointed out the obvious fact as she shook her head in resignation. It seemed Michael always took pride in acting as her older brother because as soon as he heard those words, he acted oblivious and quickly told her to "shut up " a number of times.
"Did you only come here to brag then?" Lolita said, walking to the staff room at the back of the altar, empty basin in hand as Michael tailed behind her. The church she served in was only a branch of the monastery located in a small city in Teregonza, so it was much understandable to call it a chapel than a church since its only use were the occasional individual prayers from old folks, and occasionally troubled kids looking for shelter. No one wanted to cater to this small church due to it's remote location but Lolita found this as the perfect opportunity to spread the religion further in some remote city. So it surprised her even more of why Michael would go all the way here from the monastery. She could still hear his disapproval ringing in her ears when he first heard she would be sent away from the main church. In the end, he couldn't stop her either. Otherwise what else could she do if she couldn't disagree with the priests. Yet a church from the monastery was still a church, despite the lack of usage of this chapel, it didn't lack in showing the Bishop's influence. She stepped into a tiny room, from across the room only held one window, a bed, a shelf of books on one side and a singular bed made for one person right next to it. On the other side held a little table with scattered papers in what Michael presumed to be the report Lolita gathered for the new relics.
"You live like this?" Michael gazed around the small room, brown eyes judging every crevice of the old interior. When he stepped in, the floorboards creaked from old wood and lack of maintenance, provoking his face to twist into a sour expression in concern. Dark eyes stared back at him from where he ran his fingers on the old shelf in silent contempt, "You gonna act like that?" she said.
"I just don't get why they'd need to send you all the way here to make a stupid study on their new toys," Michael said, "That's why the Priest sent me to bring you back to the monastery!" He exclaimed, in his joy he grabbed Lolita's shoulder shaking her in disbelief as if he himself hadn't believed the news itself. As if he hadn't known about this news first. The words slipped through Lolita's ears as her world spun like tires on a semi-trailer truck that completey went off track before it crashed her out of her senses.
"I'll be pulled back to the monastery? But what about the chapel?" She held her dazed head as her eyes tried to locate Michael's face in the blur of colors. The muddy puddle of colors said "Forget about that! Let's leave now!" before packing her stuff and practically carrying her like a luggage on one hand. They both quickly went out the chapel doors towards the carriage awaiting them outside and rushed towards the Capital where the Monastery resided.
Lolita sat in a daze. This had all been decided so fast. The carriage felt cozy, emitting a sense of elegance and humble display. Lolita's bags sat beside her as she watched Michael from across, looking pleased with himself as ever. With his hat discarded beside him, his rich brown locks flew freely in the air.
It looks very much like a lion's mane fluffed on his head. She bore in her mind, knowing for a fact that Michael would never let her hear the end of it if he ever heard those words spoken out from one's mouth. They arrived at the Monastery soon enough before the sun began to set. Lolita stepped out, her shoes clicking against cobble stones. The monastery had been the same as when she had first arrived. If not, she thought it had become a teeny bit shinier than before. With its tall building, angel sculptures rested window sills and rooftops. The stained glass windows could easily be seen from a thousand miles as they shone through the setting rays of the sun, cascading a blanket of colors throughout the entire premise of the monastery. Teregonza's Church had been known to be the most popular church in the world. Lolita had only known now as to why- It was beautiful.
"Lolita," Michael said, "There's still some things I need to work out down the office but I'll catch up with you soon once I'm done. Good luck with the Bishops!"
"Hey wait-!" Lolita hadn't the time to ask more. The carriage began to move again and left out of sight, leaving Lolita clueless as to why the Monastery would be interested of her all of the sudden.
Pull yourself together, Lolita! This might be good for you. Lolita took a deep breath, her heart racing in her chest, her clenched hand held closely to her beating heart. More than ten months had already passed since her transmigration into this world. Who knew how much she had already missed out on? Would everything still be the same as when she left? Lolita needed to go back home soon. Whatever the monastery needed, she would help as much as she can. All she needed was faith in her god!
But there was one problem.
When they arrived at the monastery, they had stopped at the church before she got down but the church was already closed for the day which meant...
"I need to go through the backdoor," which happened to be a whole yard away considering how big the church was. Lolita could barely squint at the door from all the way there. Looks like she was going to have to start her journey with circling around a whole yard church. How thrilling.