Chapter 05
Amy dressed me up in the image of a sacred saint, but to my eyes, my younger self felt a little unfamiliar.
The white hair that had grown dull after I lost my divine power, and the eyes whose light had faded, were now filled with life again.
After finishing my preparations and leaving the room, I stopped at the end of a shadowed corridor.
Every moment right now matched the memory of this day from my childhood—only my emotions were different.
Below, countless people were bowing their heads.
It was more than ten years in the past. Just like my distant, hazy face back then, this place too appeared as though it were a scene from long ago.
After all, this was before the temple had even come to be called a Holy Nation.
There was only one god in this world—Gloria.
And the greatest temple that served the one and only god, Gloria, was the Melissa Temple.
The Melissa Temple was a sanctuary that belonged to no nation, located between the Kingdom of Helen and the Kingdom of Nicholas.
In the future that only I knew, this place would become the opening stage of a war.
The temple would present, in each era, a saint known as the Daughter of the god Gloria.
A saint bestowed blessings upon many through sacred power, divine power. And when a saint exhausted all her divine power, a revelation concerning the next saint would descend.
“Saint, Lady Shallen Melissa, enters.”
My name was called. The past that had been flowing before my eyes faded away, and the present moment filled my vision.
As I took a step forward, warm sunlight shone upon my face.
Click, click.
The murmuring voices scattered, and my footsteps became the only sound echoing through the space.
I slowly walked toward the head of the temple, who stood in for the pope.
Cardinal Fabivan.
With the pope confined to his sickbed for a long time now, he was the true power holder of the Melissa Temple.
Once the pope’s closest aide, he had gradually expanded his influence.
The moment the pope collapsed, Fabivan barred anyone from entering under the pretext that he would personally attend to him.
In truth, it was likely to prevent anyone from pouring divine power into the pope.
The next pope.
The man who sought to turn the Melissa Temple into a Holy Nation and rule as king under the name of pope.
Once, walking toward Fabivan like this had felt thrilling and overwhelming.
Yet now, he smiled without a shred of guilt, despite having driven the previous saints to such miserable deaths.
“I greet you, Saint. May the grace of the god reach you.”
I briefly bowed my head in response.
“I greet you as well. May the mercy of the god Gloria descend upon you.”
At my greeting, the kindly smiling expression of the temple head stiffened for a moment.
As if he had been waiting for our exchange to end, a high-ranking priest cautiously presented something to him.
Forcing his stiff lips upward, Fabivan placed a silver tiara—worn only by saints—upon my head.
“Congratulations on becoming a saint by the will of the god. Please, take good care of us.”
I merely lifted my head and offered him a faint smile.
Seeing that I gave no reply, the temple head forced another benevolent smile and addressed those below.
“By the will of the god, a new saint of the Melissa Temple has been born.”
As soon as he finished speaking, I turned my body and addressed the people bowing below.
“I am Saint Shallen Melissa. Please, lift your heads.”
At my words, everyone raised their heads at once, as though perfectly coordinated, and turned their gazes toward me.
In the front row stood the cardinals, behind them the priests, and at the very back, the holy knights who guarded this place.
My gaze shifted to the former saint standing beside the cardinals.
There had been a gap of two years between the time she lost all her divine power and the moment I became a saint. She must have lived through hell for those long two years.
So thin. She looks utterly exhausted.
Just because she had eaten a proper meal for a few days—could that really hide the signs of prolonged starvation?
How foolish. It’s so obvious. How could they not notice?
My past self was foolish too.
Back then, I didn’t know. I only looked at her with eyes full of respect.
What is she thinking as she looks at me now? Does she pity me? Or does she harbor even the slightest bit of hope?
I gave a brief bow toward the former saint, deciding on my own to believe it was the latter.
She answered only with a faint smile.
I withdrew my gaze from her and slowly swept my eyes over the many people gathered here.
Among all these people, who created that hell? And who allowed it to happen?
I had once intended to accept death as fate—but I must change it. This hell.
From this moment on, before all these people, I would speak a lie in the name of the one and only god of this world—Gloria.
“Gloria has spoken. As the daughter of the god, I convey her words to you all.”
The crowd murmured. Until now, Gloria had never delivered any message through a saint.
“The Melissa Temple must always maintain neutrality in times of war and remain a temple that eternally protects people with purity and integrity. Furthermore, the Melissa Temple is merely a place that serves the god—it is not a nation. Remember this.”
As I spoke lies as though they were truth, my voice was, ironically, more serious and confident than ever before.
I used my overflowing divine power to create an invisible dome that surrounded them.
Some would feel protected; others would feel imprisoned.
Is the god I believe in truly merciful? Was granting me several lives a blessing?
Yet within that time, I felt pain.
Because I never felt my god to be merciful, speaking these lies under her name does not prick my conscience.
I believe I have already received punishment enough.
Using my divine power, I raised my voice even louder. Now, my voice would ring inside their heads.
“Those who seek the god’s grace, those who believed me to be a merciful god—listen well. Those who abandon their conscience and take greed into their hands shall be punished. Mercy is granted only to the righteous. Remember that I am not a god who bestows mercy upon everyone. Now choose and walk your path. You know better than anyone what stands at the end of the path you choose. Remember— I am an unfair god.”
As I withdrew the invisible dome that had surrounded them, I spoke once more.
“Saint Shallen Melissa. In accordance with Gloria’s words, I vow to grant blessings to those worthy of mercy, and severe punishment to those who are not. I will not distribute my divine power equally to all. May you be among those who receive the god’s mercy.”
After finishing my words, I smiled gently. Whether it felt gentle to those with guilty consciences, I could not say.
Today, I borrowed the name of the god to speak lies—and those lies were my fierce warning to this place.
