A young boy no less than thirteen years old, sat along one of the many benches. Many sat besides him, all of them have their eyes losed and heads lowered. All chanting the same words.

"Hail the God.."

The young boy was no exception. He and the many others listened to the messenger of god, the master of the temple. 

The mass was boring as always, but the young boy kept on attending. He was praying for something—someone like everyone else after all.

He prays for her ill sister that laid bedridden to their home. Her sickness was something curable but they cannot do so. They were one of the lower class and cannot afford the cure.

So all he could do was pray for the God to save his sister.

The mass ended after a shortwhile with a seeking of donation.

Well it could be hardly called a donation. It was more asking those who prayed to the God for payment. Even the young boy in the lower class had to 'donate' despite barely having any money.

The master had said once that in order for their prayers to be heard, they must giving something in return.

Everyone believed the master. Everyone believed him. And so, may it ne poor or rich. All of them donate.

***

Walking back home, the young boy's stomach growled. He was hungry. He would've bought a piece of bread on one of the bakeries, but he had already given his money to the church.

So all he could do was endure for a little while until he got home.

He entered their home, greeting his father and went straight to their small and unorganized kitchen. The long mass and walk made him quite hungry. So he was hoping to eat some late supper.

Unfortunately for him, there was no food left. But that was okay. He was already accustomed to days—nights like this. His parents barely makes a living so it was normal to skip dinner for them.

His mother was only a server in the temple. One the many server that serve the masters. That was also one of the many reason why he came to the temple afterall.

His father on the other hand, was a writer. The young boy loved reading his father's works but the people outside didn't paid it much attention. 

Bot of his parents income combined barely sustain their family of four. 

He entered a room and then laid beside his sister in the thin but spacious bed that all of them shared.

In the young boy's eyes, her sister was someone he must protect. So seeing her safely in their home, asleep, made him happy. 

They were close when they were younger. They played in the fields with their friends and read their father's works together. But when his sister turned nine, she caught a disease. The disease made those whom infected unable to move and slowly lose their mind.

Thinking of the happy past, he quickly fell asleep.

That night, he dreamt of a field devoided of warmth.

***

A week passed and he was again in the temple, he was praying once more, and donating all of his money.

He had been doing the same thing for years with no results whatsoever, but despite that, he remained hopeful and faithful to the God that he seeks for help.

Although he remained hopeful and faithful, a small spark of doubt dwell in his heart. 

He had been praying for years now, listening to the teachings of the so called God through the master of the temple.

He had been giving his money so that his prayers could be heard.

He thought that the reason why his prayers had not been answered yet was maybe there just way too much people praying and asking for help.

But he still prayed.

***

A few months passed, and the day for an festival came. The festival was for their god. In this festival, twelve maidens would be picked by the temple. Those maidens would then become helpers of the temple master himself.

And on this same day, was the young boy's birthday.

But despite it being his birthday, his parents prioritized celebrating the festival. 

"I'm sorry Nero but the temple may be offended if we celebrate your birthday instead of the festival..." his mother spoke softly whilst embracing him.

Nero had long been accustomed to this fact as well. For the past thirteen—fourteen years of his life, he has not celebrated his birthday, not even once.

The family of four wore their festival attires. The festival consisted of praying in the town square, giving blessings, and healing those with sickness. 

The twelve maiden ritual would also be done that night.

The twelve maiden ritual is for those with pure souls.. and bodies.

Those under the age of seventeen are laid infront of the Temple Master. Then those that he picks would be personally healed by them, and become his servants.

The purpose of the ritual was to supposedly please the god.

Since Nero's sister was only sixteen, she was also to attend the ritual.

Their mother dressed her up in formal attire, which made the bedridden lady look seemingly normal. She even wore make up.

"I'm sure you'll be picked this time sister!" Nero spoke joyfully. Seeing his sister look healthy and fine, albeit only due to cheap cosmetics, made him happy.

His sister tried speaking but her condition had already paralyzed even her mouth. In the end she could only mutter a few sounds that resembled the sound of Nero's name when spoken aloud.

His father prepared a stretcher for his sister to lay on, so that she could be carried to the town square by the two of them. "Help me carry your sister."

Since he and his father grew in the same quality of life, both their heights were similar, which helped stabilize the stretcher on their shoulders.

They reached the town square after a while of walking. By the time they arrived it was already nearing dusk. 

They were just in perfect timing for the twelve maiden ritual.

"Followers of Remi! The God had spoken to me! He asks for twelve maidens, both of pure soul and body. Those ranging from eight to seventeen will be given a chance to be examined by me and my direct servants." The Temple Master's voice echoed in the entire town square.

Parents became frantic, eagerly pushing their daughter towards the  space in between the crowd and the master, all of them wanted their daughters to be picked by the master and became a servant of the God. And a chance like that only comes every three years made this parents more eager.

After a short while, the crowd was already settling, and nearly one hundred and thirty young lady stood in front of the master.

They varied in age, some only six, some are nine, but mostly are twelve and fifteen. Only Nero's sister and a few other were sixteen years old. 

"Quite the number I see... great... this is great! Your faith to our God Remi had not decreased!" The master laughed in joy with tears in his eyes. Everybody loves his reaction and began cheering with him. And all at the same time, they chanted the name of their God.

Except Nero remained still. He was sensing something wrong. He felt a sinister thoufht behind the laugh of the master. He felt disturbed and wanted to pull his sister away immediately.

But he couldn't do it. Half a thousand people currently stood in every side. And pulling her sister away would be like spatting to the master's face. 

And he could not do that. The master was a powerful man, able to transform into a creature made out of water. Offending someone like that would get him killed. But he would be killed by the followers before the master could even get to him.

Realizing that fact, another thing came to his mind. Doubt, he began doubting everything he believed in.

The cheering became silent, and the master moved. He is about to pick the twelve maidens. He went to the first lady in line. She came from a rich family and had already awoken. She excels in sword combat and is able to slay tier two enemies alone. Her body was like that of an warrior, but her face was like that of an barbaric angel. 

The master then moved on to the next lady. She cam from a poor family but her face and body made her equal to royalty in terms of beauty. The people was shocked that they haven't noticed such lady, a face and figure like that was hard to ignore afterall. Turns out that was her ability, the ability to be pleasent to the eye.

The master continued to move on from one lady to another, examining each of them thoroughly. Then it was Nero's sister turn tl be examined. 

Everyone was silent. They knew in their hearts that it was near impossible for the crippled girl to be picked. But, none of them ridiculed the cripple for even trying. Because nobody knows what the criteria is for picking, all of them remained silent.

The cripple lay in a makeshit stretcher. She wore a modest red dress and wore make light make up, which helped give contrast to her naturally red lips. 

The master gave a silent nod after examining her for a while, then moved on to the next lady.

It took hours of waiting before all of the lady was examined. And now it was time for the master to pick. 

Everyone awaited for this moment, all of them eager to know who will become the twelve maidens. The master coughed, silencing everyone muttering.

"I had made my choice, the twelve maidens that will be guided by me towards the will of God Remi, Reveal yourselves!"

With a wave of his hand 12 orbs of lights appeared and immediately went to twelve maidens.

Everybody was shocked, even Nero couldn't believe it. Her sister was amongst the chosen maidens. 

The spark of doubt in his heart a few hours ago was almost shadowed by the joy and shock he was feeling. 

He turned to look at his father, and all of the joy he was feeling was replaced by ominous fear. The spark of doubt grew bigger than ever.

His father's expression was serious, a little too serious. He expected his father to be happy. Her sister becoming one of the twelve maidens meant her being healed afterall. But why does his father looked rather displeased? 

"The Twelve Maiden Ritual had concluded!" One of the temple servant shouted breaking the daze out of Nero.