The pastor stood in a state of fear, his body trembling with dread. His words were frantic, barely audible, as he mumbled in terror.
Jonathan grabbed him by the collar, shaking him violently.
"What's going on?" he demanded.
"They awake!" the pastor shouted.
"Who is 'they'?" Jonathan pressed, his voice cold with anger.
"The three kings... of calamity," the pastor stammered.
In that very moment, soldiers burst into the room, their faces pale with urgency.
"My lords, creatures of sin are spotted approaching our kingdom walls," one of them reported.
Johan frowned, his face etched with disbelief.
"There haven't been creatures of sin in over thirty years."
The pastor screamed in a frenzy, "They're here for the boy! He has angered the Gods! Feed him to the creatures!"
With a swift motion, Jonathan drew his sword from a soldier's pelt and, in a flash of rage, brutally severed the pastor's tongue.
"What Gods do you speak of?" Jonathan demanded, his voice fierce.
Johan, now in command, ordered the soldiers to take their mother and newborn brother to a safe place within the palace. The queen, her face filled with concern, urged her children to come with her, but they refused. They had to take on the mantle of kings, they explained.
The pastor, his tongue severed, crawled desperately toward Johan's feet, but his words were lost in the silence of his muteness. Johan gazed at the broken man before speaking coldly,
"This will be your punishment. You will roam the streets, a man with no tongue, silent until your pitiful death."
Outside the royal palace, the people had gathered. Johan, standing before them, hesitated for a moment, then spoke with a voice that carried across the courtyard.
"Where are the churches you once served? Where are the priests you once worshiped? When times were easy, you relied on the churches, but now, in peril, you crawl back to the family you forgot."
His words were met with silence, then the murmur of realization.
"Prove to me now that you are still my people," Johan continued.
The people, hearing his words, bowed in reverence. They had found their loyalty once more.
"From this day onwards, you will serve under the royal family."
Jonathan, standing beside his brother, squeezed his hand.
"Well said, brother," he murmured.
He then turned to face his own people, raising his voice so all could hear.
"Today, we fight against the sinful beasts. We have gotten too comfortable in this hell. Have you forgotten the heaven we were promised? Today marks a new era. We will show these beasts our anger, our rage, and reclaim the home once promised to us. For Nolvastia! So I ask you, my people—who will join me in this war?"
The fire of his words stirred something deep within the hearts of the people. They had forgotten what they once fought for, but now the spark of determination burned anew. Hands began to rise, one by one, as the people pledged their support.
In the midst of the crowd, a crazy beggar laughed softly, muttering to himself,
"Nolvastia... it's been years since I heard that name. So, David... these are the children who carry on your will."
Elsewhere, in the fallen nation of Cathona, chaos reigned. The king had abandoned his people, and the beasts of evil ravaged the streets. The roads were covered with blood, the air thick with fear as the creatures feasted on the living.
Sebastian, alone in his home, had barricaded the door, guarding the slumbering chosen child. His heart was heavy with memories of comrades lost, of battles fought and abandoned. His breath quickened in panic, and for a fleeting moment, he considered fleeing, but the sight of Elizabeth's lifeless body, and the responsibility of caring for Isiah, held him in place.
He drew his sword, preparing for the worst.
"I've never been brave in my life," he thought. "I abandoned my comrades... I even thought of ending it all to make amends... How pitiful I am."
His thoughts were interrupted by a voice, soft and reassuring.
"The Lord has heard your plea, Sebastian. You have been forgiven."
In that moment, a weight lifted from his heart. The presence of the child called forth an angel, a divine messenger. Sebastian, overwhelmed, laughed and cried at once.
"Is this what it feels like to be forgiven?" he asked himself.
The child's cries ceased as Sebastian held him close, feeling the peace that washed over him. The door to his home no longer shook with the thundering approach of beasts, and the once-bloody streets were now clear.