Sinful Pride - Volume 2: Volume 2 Chapter 60 Epilogue: Chisa

Three months later, Merls.

The first bastion of defense against the Dragonborn threat. A city known for it’s sturdy defenses and battle hardened soldiers. The Arcione church was at the center of the town. A humongous building and a marvel of humanity. It’s interior, decorated with mosaics of Heroes fighting against Demons and Dragonborn. The ceiling depicting a vast mural of Alcione and her most devoted, carrying the fallen in their arms to the afterlife. The vast and complex interior also hosted the biggest library in the Human realm. That was the reason for Keita’s visit.

He found all the books he could find about the Raigon family which wasn’t many. In the end he found a mention about an estate deep into now Dragonborn territories. The records on the Raigons went back more than three millennium.

‘Then why are there so few books?’ Keita thought while he read.

There was no mention of Heroes or big achievements or even of Heaven’s Path anywhere he looked. It was suspicious for such an ancient bloodline to have such mundane history. It was like someone deliberately destroyed or concealed a part of it.

After days of studying, Keita learned everything he could. All that was left was to go to the estate and see if anything survived, as to give him a clue about Heaven’s Path.

He stretched his arms and begun standing up from his sit, when a book left on the other end caught his eye.

[Divinations of the Oracle]

Keita’s mind immediately went to Welzour’s words.

‘An enemy of all the gods… Does that mean that I wasn’t resurrected by a god? If that’s the case then who? And what about all the things Morran was saying? About Irregular and true gods?’ the more he thought about it, the more questions he had.

Keita opened the book without hesitation. There were notes with dates attached. He quickly went back to the day he was born.

“Dark days are upon us.” Keita read the Oracle’s words.

‘It’s too vague. I can’t tell if she is talking about me. I need to know more. Was I truly resurrected by Arcione or something else? Why was I even born to this world?’ Keita thought. ‘It’s time I asked directly.’

He closed the book and left his sit. As he turned he bump into someone.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.” he said, extending his hand.

‘Pretty…’ was the only world in his mind when he saw the girls face.

She had short red hair and bright blue eyes. A round face, clear skin and clean white robs. If Keita had to guess, she was the daughter of some noble, but her clothes didn’t look expensive. Her appearance though, might make one mistaken her beauty for that of a goddess.

The girl was scratching the back of her head without saying a word. The books she had in her hands were scattered around her. After she met eyes with Keita, she turned red with embarrassment. She quickly picked the books from the ground and run away without a word.

‘What’s with her? I said I’m sorry didn’t I?’ Keita thought, frowning.

He went on the opposite direction, to ask to meet with an Oracle.

Oracles were pure women who could directly commute with Arcione. For some coin, even a peasant could ask the gods for favor. Of course, the gods weren’t so easily moved and rarely spoke back. At some points, Arcione would directly commute with her Oracles and give them direction. Last time this happened, was 200 years ago, when Humans have invaded the Demons at her command.

Keita quickly made the appropriate arrangements and waited for the whole evening for his turn to ask something of Arcione. Before entering the small room, he was asked to clean his hands with water from a specific jug. The man looking after him – or staring at him more accurately – explained the significance of the water and the spring it came from but Keita was unwilling to listen. He already waited long enough so after cleaning his hands he entered the room and left the man.

It was dark inside. Only a few candles around the Oracle produced light and behind her stood a small statue of Arcione.

“You are that girl…” Keita said, recognizing the girl from the library.

The girl smiled and bowed her head. Then she took a piece of paper from a stack and turned it towards Keita.

{Please sit and ask your question.} was written on the paper.

“You can’t talk?” Keita asked with a bit of curiosity as he sat directly in front of her.

The girl smiled and nodded her head. She took a feather quill and started writing once again.

{Thank you for coming. Take care.} she wrote and waved him goodbye.

“Wait! That’s not it. I mean, I know I asked a question but…” Keita waved his hand around as he talked.

The girl silently chuckled.

{I’m sorry. It was a joke.}

Keita let out a long sigh.

“Give me a break…” he said and then started laughing as well.

‘It feels it’s been a while since I laughed.’ Keita thought, as he looked at the girl who was still silently laughing. ‘She really is pretty. Especially when she smiles.’

{What would you like to ask?} she wrote after a while.

“Why…” Keita started his question but he couldn’t finish it.

The reason he was resurrected. The reason he was born. The true identity of the one responsible. The reason Helene had to died.

His eyes started to tear.

There were a mountain of things he wanted to know. A mountain of questions left unanswered. But at this moment, there was only one he could voice.

“Is it alright that I was born?” Keita asked, his the tears wouldn’t stop.

The girl, was looking at Keita in silence. Her teasing smile was nowhere to be seen. She grabbed a bowl with some kind of herbs and dried leaves inside it. She lit them with a candle, inhaled the smoke and closed her eyes. After a moment, the Oracle started writing in another piece of paper.

Keita, still crying didn’t lift his head. The girl was done but the moment she raised the paper to show Keita the answer, Keita lowered her hand.

“It’s fine, I don’t want to know.” Keita said.

The girl’s face was full of questions.

“After crying, I feel a little better. Besides, this hasn’t been a bad day. A good answer wouldn’t make it any better but a bad one could ruin it.” he said, wiping his tears and smiling.

The girl didn’t seem satisfied with Keita’s answer.

“I got it. Instead of the divination, how about telling me your name. That would certainly make me happy.” he said.

The girl became red with embarrassment. She couldn’t meet Keita’s eyes. With shaking hands, she took the quill and wrote. She hid behind the piece of paper.

{Chisa.}

* * *

After the man left, Chisa breathed out.

A weird person. That was her impression of him. Talking with a man was already hard for her, but this was the first time anyone had treated her like that. Like she was a person. People that came to this place were usually desperate. When Arcione wouldn’t answer their prayers, they would shout and scream at her. To the Priests, she was just a commodity. She could be replaced or sold at any time. The only good thing about her, was that she couldn’t talk. That way, she could’t tell anyone of all the things that have been done to her. All the times she has been sold to some noble for the night, who were calling her Arcione while they did unspeakable things to her. Or all the times the Priests beat her so much she couldn’t move, because she didn’t give a good divination to someone important. She couldn’t speak, so no one could hear her. No one who mattered anyway.

But this person was different. He went along with her jokes and didn’t get mad, like others. He wasn’t afraid to cry in front of her and even seemed happy when she told him her name. The joke was a test of shorts. No matter how much she was beaten, r.a.p.ed and defiled, she would never tell the divination to someone she found unworthy. Someone who didn’t pass one of her tests. That was her way of honoring Arcione.

While inhaling the smoke from the herbs, everything becomes hazy. When it ends, even Chisa doesn’t know what she wrote. This time was no different. She picked up the paper and turned it around to see the answer to the man’s question, full of curiosity.

The next moment, she suddenly rose to her feet. She turned around to the statue of the goddess she held above all else. She waved her arms and opened her mouth. Letting out a scream that no one could hear. Flailing her arms up and down, left and right. She was angry. Why would the benevolent goddess answer with this, while giving blessings to men who hurt her so much? While she waved and cried, the paper slipped out of her hand. The word no, written on it.