Death comes at the will of the heavens. It is something that those suffering anticipate, and those privileged detest. To the former, death is a guardian who leads them to salvation. To the latter, it is a thief who steals all their fortune. Truthfully, it is swift in its pursuit of the souls of its victims. But, at the very least, after the ordeal, it is over, and one does not have to experience its ruthlessness again.
Not long after her parents' disappearance came the downfall of their kingdom, Laetus, and her first encounter with death. She laid on the snow, shivering from both the frigid wind nipping at her skin and from starvation. Then, for a moment, it was as though everything went still. Amidst the sound of her own labored breathing, she swore that she heard an otherworldly, yet sinister sound as she looked up at the blurry gray skies.
Ah, I can finally rest. She thought.
As the wind howled and the cold grew harsher, Valora laid still with a smile plastered on her face, convinced that she was saved.
CLING! Valora blinked. Bewildered and confused, she frantically scanned her surroundings. What was before her was not the frosted landscape of Laetus, but a palace made of the most pristine marble. In the sun, it glowed an ethereal shade of yellow, which was accentuated by the glistening, meticulous, gold detailing along its walls. It sat atop a sea of clouds, only reachable through a long series of steps that led up to it. Down the stairs ran an enchanted stream of lustrous blue liquid inhabited by white and translucent, jellyfish-like wisps. Valora gulped. She had only ever heard of a place like this in stories from the Scroll. The Scroll is a collection of stories written by the god of Ecegonia, often referred to as the Holy Entity or the Entity, and passed down to the four rulers of the kingdoms in the land: Halatia, Demitraea, Noedia, and Laetus. It goes into detail on the creation of the land, its first inhabitants as well as the spirits, and heavens. If she recalled correctly, the scene before her was definitely the palace of the Holy Entity. There was no doubt about it. As for why she was summoned to such a sacred place she knows not about.
Suddenly, a set of frantic steps jolt Valora away from her thoughts.
"Valora, Valora Wencelsaus– right?", called out the brunette.
"Uh yes. That's me."
"Oh great, you're just on time. Follow me. Quickly."
Valora followed as the man guided her up the steps. The man was dressed in the most luxurious, white, silk cloak adorned with numerous gold medals and pendants. Though he looked young, it was evident in his medals, stride, and prim posture that he was a man of distinction within the palace's court.
"Um… may I ask why I'm here?" Valora attempts to break the silence between the two of them. Although she was nervous about what this stranger would do, she would have to admit that she was more concerned about her own feelings of awkwardness in the situation.
"I'm afraid that it is not my place to answer that."
"Well, can I at least know where you are taking me?"
"I'm pretty sure you are well aware of where we are headed."
He was not wrong. Valora had already come to her own conclusion with the observations that she had made not long ago. But, she couldn't help but ask for the sake of conversation. Confirming that he really did not care to indulge in idle chatter, she decided to keep to herself for the rest of the trip.
—
Upon arrival, Valora and the man were greeted with a golden gate that stretched 20-feet high.
"Stand back," said the man as he pulled out his hands from the long, bellowed sleeves of his cloak. Sensing danger, Valora took a couple steps back and observed as the man brought his hands forward. Soon, a ball of glowing light formed at the palms of his hand. He then pressed his palms against the golden gate, to which the energy flowed from his hands to the pattern at the gate. Once the pattern glowed, a rumble came as the man began to pull open the gate. Then, with a click, the latch that held the gate gave way, releasing a strong gust of wind that blew straight at them. Though she considered herself fairly strong, she could not deny that she was no match for such a herculean force. She strained every muscle in her body to keep herself stable and tried blocking the wind with her arms. She clenched her teeth and shut her eyes as she prayed not to get hurt.
"Ramus, have you brought the girl?" the voice cut through the gusting wind.
"Yes, your Holiness," Ramus shouted.
Just like that, the wind had stopped, giving permission for them to enter. Valora lowered her arms and looked up. Noticing that Ramus had started walking, she followed behind him as he walked towards the throne. There It was. Amidst the clouds, sat the Holy Entity decked in gold. Smoke escaped through the gold fringe that veiled over Its face. Valora unconsciously straightened her posture and cleared her throat.
"Very well. You may continue with your duties." The Entity motioned at Ramus to leave, to which he obliged. It looked over at Valora, who was visibly shaken.
"You may speak."
"Greetings, your Holiness. Although I am grateful to have witnessed such a grandiose sight, I would like to ask why I was brought here." Valora curtsied and kept her head low, too nervous to stare at the figure before her.
"I thought it would have been quite obvious to you why. But, since you insist on me telling you, then I will." It cleared Its throat.
"Valora. Valora Wencelsaus. You– well, moreso your parents, have caused quite a stir on my land." The Entity said bitterly. With the wave of Its hand, a scroll manifested from thin air. It, then, tossed the scroll at her. It consisted of a long list of offenses that the Wencelsauses committed. Valora's eyes widened in horror as she reached to hold a part of it.
"The '20-year Purge' that your oh-so foolish parents decided to instigate took away thousands of innocent lives, destroyed many villages, harmed the natural environment– honestly, I could go on. To tell you the truth, I was glad that those traitors and your kingdom had fallen. It insulted me— the things your parents did." The Entity tapped Its fingers in annoyance. It inhaled another mouthful of smoke as It tried to calm Itself. Valora, on the other hand, stood there frozen as she continued to read the list.
"So, I decided that it would only be fair for someone to pay for their mistakes. However, I could not get a hold of those bastards. Luckily you died, so you could do so in their place, instead." Valora felt her heart drop. She slowly looked up at the Entity and, with a shaky voice, let out a "What do you mean?". The Entity huffed out another puff of smoke before finally looking at her direction and saying, "I'm going to have you relive your suffering."
No. Valora's eyes felt as though they were going to pop out of her sockets. Her hands started shaking as she gripped the scroll tightly. "R-relive?"
In float four crystals, each glowing their own distinctive color. "These are the Holy Crystals." The Entity motioned at the objects in front of it. "They were offered by each ruler of the four kingdoms as a sign of devotion and loyalty to me. It acts as a sort of lifeline for each kingdom and is regenerated by the power of the citizens' belief."
The Entity raised three of the four crystals up: a green, herb crystal, a yellow, helmet crystal, and a blue box crystal with electricity in it. "These three, as you can see, have no problem with that." It then brings up a violet, heart-shaped crystal. "This, however, has."
"Wait, that's–"
"Yes, this is Laetus's, your kingdom's crystal. Since your kingdom is no more, this crystal is, essentially, useless. It can no longer be regenerated unless the kingdom can be rebuilt, which I doubt will happen soon." The Entity took the crystal in one hand and tossed it up and down as though it were a toy. "Although I can be heartless at times, I am not the type to let things go to waste. So, I have decided against breaking the crystal myself." Valora lets out a huge sigh of relief. This relief, however, was only short-lived.
"Instead, you will be using up all the energy left in the crystal until it decays."
"And how would I do that?"
"Well, the energy can be used to resurrect a person back to life." The Entity smiled at her. Valora clenched her jaw and balled up her hands into a fist. She lowered her gaze as she felt the tears welling up in her eyes. She had to relive it again, the hell that she experienced on Earth and all because of what her parents did. Valora felt as though the Entity's punishment was unjustified, but, what could she do other than bite her tongue and obey?
"Hmm. No violent reactions? You're much more devout than I thought. Well then, why don't we start now?" Valora looked up in shock. So soon? The Entity chuckled and said, "Now, now, we'll be seeing more of each other soon. I just can't wait to witness you break as you suffer again. It's the price you have to pay as Laetus's remaining child." The Entity walked up to her and pressed a palm to her forehead. Valora looked up in fear as the Entity pushed her head back, pushing her body into a vat of liquid.
GASP. A sharp pain panged through Valora's lungs as she felt the air rush in through her nose. She coughed and choked, as she gasped at the air. She opened her eyes and… there it was, the familiar gray sky, the frigid wind, the noise it made as it howled, and the cold, brutal snow that she died on. She really was alive again. At the thought of that, Valora's chest rose up and down rapidly, her hands grabbed at the snow, and her eyes welled up. Then, she lets out a gut-wrenching scream.
She slams her fist on the ground as the tears roll down her face and freeze from the cold. "WHY? WHY? WHY ME? GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!" She grabs the snow and buries her face in it, hoping that she could kill herself right then and there. But, she knew it was useless, she was stuck in a perpetual doom. She continued to throw a fit even though her voice rasped from the abuse. The corpse that had once lied still on the snow had suddenly come back to life by the will of the heavens.
— end of ch. 1—