"Do you know about the goddess Lucia?"
The lady asked quietly, her gaze fixed on the ground.
"Goddess Lucia?" Rick frowned. "Who is she?"
For a moment, the woman said nothing. Then she spoke slowly, as if choosing each word with care.
"You know… there are many gods in this world. Every species—every people—believes in their own. But currently, the god worshipped by most of the population of our continent is Goddess Rubiana."
She paused.
"Yet Rubiana was never the first."
Rick listened, his confusion deepening.
"Before Goddess Rubiana—before even the great demon–human war—everyone worshipped Goddess Lucia."
The lady stopped speaking again, her silence heavy.
Rick hesitated, then asked, "Then… what happened to Goddess Lucia?"
She lifted her head slightly.
"Do you know how holy knights use holy mana?" she asked. "It is a power born from faith—belief and worship. If people believe in you, pray for you, anyone can use holy mana. But many people cannot directly receive prayers from other people. So they receive their holy power through trials, through their chosen Gods."
She continued, her voice calm but grim.
"A holy knight's strength is decided by how many people believe in their god. That is also why every religion tries so desperately to convert others."
She fell silent once more.
Rick frowned. "But how is that related to my question?"
The lady exhaled slowly.
"You can easily become a transcendent using holy mana," she said. "But if a god loses their footing—if they lose their believers—then every trace of that holy mana disappears from the world."
Rick's eyes widened.
"That," she said softly, "is what happened during the great demon–human war."
Her gaze dropped to the ground.
"When the war had just begun, when everyone was fighting… Goddess Lucia suddenly disappeared. In that moment, all her saints, all her followers, lost the holy power they had received from her."
The alley felt colder.
"And from that day on," the lady whispered, "Goddess Lucia was no more."
"And because of that, humanity lost its first war.
The blame did not fall upon kings or generals—it fell upon the religion of Goddess Lucia.
Faith began to crumble.
The small amount of holy mana people still possessed vanished, one by one, like dying embers. As Lucia's light faded, another rose in its place. Goddess Rubiana's religion surged forward, gathering believers, growing powerful—while Lucia's followers dwindled into nothing.
Meanwhile, Goddess Lucia's religion collapsed completely."
The lady inhaled slowly.
"Now," she said, "you may be wondering why I am telling you all this."
Her eyes sharpened.
"Before Goddess Lucia disappeared… the pope received a message from her."
Rick's breath caught.
"In that message, she said: My child, a being has stepped foot into our world. A being that should not exist."
The words pressed down on the air itself.
"I can only hope that you may emerge victorious. My blessing will always be with you."
The lady's voice dropped to a whisper.
"That message was delivered… and then she vanished."
She stared at the ground.
"No one knew the true meaning of her words. No one knew what kind of being she was warning us about."
Slowly, she lifted her gaze—to Rick.
"But maybe," she said softly, "now I know."
Rick stiffened. "Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, his voice tense.
"A normal person cannot see faith," the lady replied calmly.
She stepped closer.
"But the first pope received a blessing from Goddess Lucia. Because of that blessing, our generation began to see faith—not as an abstract belief, but as something real. Something visible."
She touched her chest lightly.
"I am her descendant. I can see the faith people direct toward others. Toward gods. Toward ideals. But i can also see the dark faith."
Her eyes did not leave Rick.
"In my entire life, I have seen countless humans—humans covered in dark faith, proof of their hatred, their cruelty, their fear, and their pain toward one another."
Her voice trembled—not with fear, but certainty.
"But never," she said, "have I seen a being like you."
Rick felt his skin crawl.
"You are covered in faith so dark," she whispered, "that it looks as if even the world itself rejects you."
Silence fell between them.
Rick stood frozen, his mind struggling to grasp her words—until a memory surfaced.
His conversation with Ragnarok.
Slowly, unconsciously, Rick clenched his teeth.
After sitting there in silence for a while, Rick finally stood up.
"Thank you… so much," he said quietly, placing a gold coin on the ground.
He turned and began to walk away.
"But then," the lady spoke again, her voice gentle, almost pleading, "kid… I don't know why you exist, or what kind of being you are. But please—try to live a better life."
She reached down to pick up the coin.
Rick did not respond.
Without looking back, he left the alley.
As he walked, the lady's words echoed endlessly in his mind.
A being that should not exist.
The sentence repeated over and over, refusing to fade.
"What… am I?" Rick muttered, clenching his teeth. "Is my existence really a sin?"
First Ragnarok.
Then that lady.
"What is wrong with me…?"
Rick lifted his tired face toward the sky, his expression worn and hollow.
He wandered through the streets with slow steps, his body heavy with exhaustion and his heart sinking deeper into despair—until he heard someone singing.
The sound stopped him.
Following the gentle hum, Rick found himself standing before a woman who was softly singing a song. He didn't know why he stopped. He didn't know why he listened.
His feet simply refused to move.
And before he realized it, the song had begun.
A woman's voice—low, sweet, and achingly beautiful.
When the song ended, Rick approached her.
"That was… a lovely song," he said quietly. "You have a beautiful voice."
"Thank you," the woman replied warmly.
Rick noticed her unfocused gaze, the way her eyes didn't quite meet his.
"Are you… by any chance blind?" he asked carefully.
She smiled faintly. "Yes. I lost my sight in an accident."
"I'm sorry," Rick said, his voice low.
"Oh, don't worry about that," the lady said with a soft smile. "By the way… what did you think of my song?"
"It was beautiful," Rick replied honestly. "But I don't think anyone could truly understand its meaning."
She tilted her head slightly.
"May I… touch your face?" she asked gently.
Rick hesitated for only a moment. "Yes. Of course."
He guided her hand to his face.
As her fingers traced his features, her expression slowly changed. Her smile faded into something quieter—something thoughtful.
She understood.
"What a beautiful face," she whispered.
"No… I'm not beautiful," Rick said softly, remembering the woman from the dark alley. "I'm not."
"You are," she replied without hesitation. "Just being alive is beautiful."
Though she could not see him, gratitude filled her face as she spoke. A faint smile bloomed on her lips.
"Then, Are you happy with your life?" Rick asked looking at her, his eyes heavy and tired.
"I… want to say I'm happy," she said slowly. "But I also get angry. I want to see. I want to feel normal. Sometimes… I even want to kill the people responsible for my condition."
Her voice trembled, but she didn't stop.
"But even then… I still want to live. As long as I'm alive—as long as I exist, I can do anything."
Her words echoed through the street, loud and heavy.
Hearing this, Rick's chaotic thoughts began to settle.
She's right.
"If I'm alive… then I can do anything," he realized. "If my existence is a sin… then I'll atone for it."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Thank you," Rick said, his voice calm now.
He dropped to one knee on the ground.
People passing by stared, wondering why he knelt so suddenly. But they didn't understand.
For Rick, kneeling was not submission.
It was respect.
Gratitude.
Acknowledgment.
Every time Rick knelt, it was because he had learned something—something worth carrying forward.
And from that moment on, whenever Rick felt true gratitude, he would kneel… just like this.
Rick paused, then gently placed a gold coin into the lady's hand.
She felt its weight and smiled faintly.
Rick turned away and began walking—this time with a smile on his face.
"What an unusual kid," the lady murmured softly, her fingers closing around the coin.
After that conversation, Rick did not wander aimlessly.
He walked straight toward inn but this time Rick did not leave untill Eve forgave him and in the end Eve had no choice but to forgive him. And just like that Rick's life began to take turn little by little.
Meanwhile, at the Academy—
Beneath the academy grounds lay a secret chamber, sealed and guarded heavily.
Inside that chamber was a room.
And within that room, a man stood silently before a massive projection carved into the wall. The image showed the King, Grey Von Asther, and the Seven Dukes of the Kingdom.
"That concludes my report."
Nuel closed the file on the table with a sharp motion.
"I can't believe they had the nerve to do this," Nyxar Van Hilden, Duke of Hilden territory growled. "Wink Kingdom or not—this crosses a line."
"Whether they had guts or not is irrelevant," Valerin Van Klein, Duke of Klein Territory, replied coldly. "What matters is that Wink Kingdom has joined hands with the Spiders."
The room grew tense.
Zephyr Von Dister, Duke of Dister Territory, leaned forward.
"That," he said, "is exactly why we must show them our power."
Everyone nodded,
Murmurs filled the chamber—agreement spreading like fire.
"Enough."
Grey's voice cut through the room.
Instantly, silence fell.
"Whether it is Wink Kingdom or the Spiders," the King said, his voice calm yet absolute, "they will pay the price."
He rose to his feet.
"In my name—Grey Van Asther—I command you: wipe out every last member of the Spider faction."
The air itself seemed to tremble.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the Dukes answered in unison.
And just like that, the hunt for the Spiders began.
But at the very same moment—
Somewhere unknown…
"We sacrificed so many people… for nothing."
Mroth slammed her fist against the stone wall, the sound echoing through the chamber.
"Calm down, Moth," Roy said quietly, though his own voice was strained.
"I told you many times—we shouldn't have trusted that bastard. And now look. This is the first time our plan has failed."Mroth turned toward him, rage burning in her eyes.
"Is there a problem with my plan?" Madrok demanded as he appeared at the center of the chamber, his presence alone forcing the others to their knees as mana flooded the space making Mroth fell on her knees.
"I didn't… mean that…" Mroth gasped, struggling under the weight. She dropped fully to one knee. "I am sorry."
Madrok withdrew his pressure slightly.
"I almost died," she said while clenching her fists, trying to steady her breathing.
"What's next, I don't think Grey will leave us alone now," Roy said, his voice tense. "Not after we attacked them openly."
For a moment, Madrok said nothing.
Then—
"Destroy this base."
Roy's eyes widened. "You don't mean—"
"Send a message to every other member," Madrok continued, his voice cold and commanding. "Tell them to gather at the border of Wink Kingdom."
He turned away.
"We are going to Wink Kingdom."
Silence filled the chamber.
And just like that, the wheels of history began to turn—one by one.
And soon… Rick would stand at the very center of it all.