830 Saint of Shon

The moment that she awakened from the coma, Rae was no longer herself. Instead, she was Red, the fighter against darkness in Paradise City. It took her a few minutes to remember herself, and then she started the confusion.

“Which one am I?”

The two people were not connected except for their appearance. Red lost her memories, which made her someone different, calmer, and more collected than she was. Yet, her rage remained, haunting her even there.

The ability that Alexie Linan used against Arlo Starli was eerily similar to the one Arthur Silvera used in her long dream. However, by the time she woke up from her coma, he was there, announcing to the world the truth about the seven families.

Rae stared at the broadcast and the face she once labeled a threat. Then, after her initial shock, she remembered the memories sealed within her, the same memories that Arthur had told her about.

Those memories were the source of her rage, and she remembered what her father had done to her. Rae never asked questions about the origin of her powers, a.s.suming that her father gave them to her.

The seal became unsealed, as Arthur wanted, driving her insane. Rae was not only two people now, but three. The memories that came alongside her powers, the source of her rage, were now as clear as day.

At first, Rae hated Arthur more than anything in this world. The fate he cursed her with was a cruel one since she had chosen to forget about those memories haunting her.

Rae remembered why her hair had turned white, even though it had been black. She remembered how her father stole the bloodline of a different woman and placed it inside her and how cruel the process was.

And she remembered the darkness eviscerating her soul and destroying her ability. Her father called her a perfect container before placing someone’s else bloodline within her. That was his real ident.i.ty, a stealer of bloodlines who used his children as experiments.

Her whole world collapsed, and Rae hated her father more than she hated Arthur Silvera, who showed her the truth. Rae had no desire to leave her room, even after waking up and seeing the fight against Amelio.

Nation of Common Blood.

That was what the world knew Shon as, an escape from n.o.bility, where everyone is equal in the eyes of their G.o.d. The theocracy was built around the idea that their ruler was just and kind, while he was a cruel and heartless man.

“What do I have to do today?” Rae asked her priest, who was a.s.signed to her by her father after he summoned her back to Shon.

“After the morning prayer in the public square, you are expected at the Flowers Chapel, where you will meet the Holy Father.”

The priest cleared the table, and Rae sat there with an expressionless face. Since she always looked mad, no one could tell when she got upset.

The morning prayer and her father were her current most hated things, so she knew this day would be going bad. Rae stood from her chair and jumped atop the balcony, letting the cold September wind cool her anger.

“Please get down, Saint Rae,” said the priest with shock. “If the citizens see you, it would cause a commotion.”

“You are not here to lecture me, priest,” said Rae without looking at him. “Tell my father I’m ill and cannot have the honor of meeting him.”

“Awakeners don’t get ill, Saint,” said the priest with confusion, and Rae clicked her tongue. Even excuses were useless because of her strength. “If you feel unwell, it might be due to poisoning….”

“Are you trying to put the Church on lockdown?” asked Rae as she jumped from the rails to the balcony and walked back inside. “I will meet him once I’m done with the prayers.”

“Understood, My Saint!” bowed the priest as Rae left her room and walked through the sun-kissed hallways. The lights fell in segments through the mirrors, making the shadows fall in neat, separated lines.

For that reason, when Rae saw one of the lines swirl, she stopped walking and glared at the rising shadow. She thought it was an enemy, but the shadow offered her a letter before she could say anything.

Then, it did nothing. Rae stared at it with a frown before s.n.a.t.c.hing the letter, and the shadow dissolved. She stared at the ground for a moment before looking at the letter.

“This emblem…” muttered Rae with a frown, as the arrow pointing upward, which looked like the letter A, belonged to one guild only. Rae stared at it for a few seconds before ripping the envelope apart and taking out the letter.

“Dear Rae,” it read as if the speaker was someone intimate with her. “Or should I call you Red?” she confirmed his ident.i.ty with the second line.

Rae never expected Arthur Silvera to contact her, and it made her heart thump in her chest. What did this man want more of her after awakening memories that ruined her life and purpose?

“I am sure you hate me now, and I can understand why. However, our last conversation was about the truth, and you are strong enough to face it. Of course, that does not mean you cannot hate me, but I hope you understand my reasons.”

“You have no reasons other than turning me against my people,” Rae thought inwardly, scoffing at his hypocrisy. Although he bragged about the truth, Rae knew he wanted her alongside him.

“You must be scoffing at me,” he wrote, exposing her. “And you must think I did this for my interest. I did. Does it change the truth now that I confessed?”

Rae couldn’t help but smile. The letter was a joke before, but after that last paragraph, she realized he wasn’t treating her like an idiot. Both wanted things, and he was not ashamed of what he wanted.

“As the next part of my diabolical plan to turn you to my side, I came here with an invitation. Come and join Ascent and lead one of my sub-guilds. Let the world realize the terror known as Rae of Shon. Does that appeal to you?”

Rae expected this invitation, which wasn’t the first time he had invited her. However, she was a different person from before, and Arthur Silvera made sure of that. This brought a question to her mind: can the memories be false?

“We fought against each other in this timeline and another. I know what a cynic you are, and I know that you still doubt the memories you awakened. If so, prove them right, and join me.”

Instead of pushing to impose his desire upon her, Arthur asked her to find her answer. The last line was his name, as if she couldn’t tell who he was, and a single sentence that made her silent for a long time.

“I will be waiting.”

Rae sighed and closed the letter, returning it to the envelope before pocketing it. She resumed walking through the hallway as if nothing had happened, but in truth, everything had changed.

After the morning prayer, where Rae a.s.sured the people of their safety and blessed them, she headed straight toward the Flowers Chapel. Flocks of priests went in and out, telling her that the man known as Strongest Commoner was there.

The priests parted ways for her, and Rae entered the Chapel of Flowers. As the name implied, it was filled with flowers and the statue of the Great White Dragon. At the base of the dragon was a table, where a single man sat, with a single empty chair opposite him.

“Saint Rae is here to meet the Father of Shon,” announced Rae to the guards, making them part ways for her. Then, her father turned toward her and nodded.

Rae sat opposite him, letting her eyes take in the man who manipulated her all of her life. He told her that she was exceptional and his dearest child, but that love came with many conditions.

“Greetings, Father,” said Rae as she stared at the old man wearing a white crown of the draconic gla.s.s. His face was full of wrinkles, and his hair was thin, as white as the crown. His narrow yellow eyes stared at the scroll before him.

“You are late, child,” said Father without raising his head, and Rae could tell he was angry. “Your careless att.i.tude started a month ago after you woke up from that mysterious coma. Did you dream of something?”

As he asked the last question, her father raised his narrow eyes toward her. Again, Rae could feel her fear awaken, like a dormant beast that only her father could summon.

“Only a dream of our prosperous future, father,” replied Rae, hoping he did not realize her lies. This would be the first time she met her father after returning to Shon, and if he found the letter in her pocket, the Saint of Shon might be executed.