373 Tale Of The Sun Maiden
I safely landed my hoverbike on the sidewalk of a busy street, dismounted, and placed it on the stand before taking a few steps back to admire my mechanical beauty.
The sleek black hoverbike had a single robust tire at the front. It was there in case the propellers ever malfunctioned and I’d have to travel on land.
And yes, it was equipped with eight propellers which were all powered by the user’s mana output.
Using those propellers, it could take to the skies as long as I supplied it with mana.
Unlike regular hoverbikes, this one could endure altitudes even high above the clouds.
It could even convert the user’s mana into energy and shoot laser bullets from the blasters installed on both sides of its huge tire at the front.
When supplied with enough mana, it could also generate an energy bubble and take a deep dive under sea waters.
It had a streamlined and futuristic design that was built for top speed. It is the first of its kind in the world right now, giving unparalleled versatility and style.
It was made as a prototype for the real thing by the Military.
Leo managed to get his hands on it through his connections and gifted it to me. Ah~ Truly, what a generous master I have.
As a satisfied smile bloomed on my face, I stored my hoverbike in the dimensional ring Leo had given me.
Yes, he also gifted me this dimensional ring. Now I have two of them – the other one is the ring I got from Reina.
I couldn’t show Reina’s ring to anyone, though. It has vampiric runes all over it. One detailed look and anyone would tell that it’s a vampire’s ring.
Obviously, I don’t want that.
Sighing, I turned around and walked into a church building situated at the end of the street I was on.
Taking in the gentle aroma of burning incense, I made my way to one of the vacant pews and took a seat.
The evening sunlight came filtering through the stained glass windows, casting a soft, multicolored glow inside the sanctuary.
A Preacher draped in vivid red and white robes was reading religious scriptures out loud to the devout crowd of people present here.
As always, I could mostly only see Elves sitting here. There were also dwarves and humans, but not as many in the number.
To be honest, I just wanted to head underground.
But the thing is… to get through the doors of the hideout below, I needed an entrance plaque. Kai gave me one but unfortunately, I left it in my apartment back in Global City.
At this point, all I could do was wait for either Hugh or Kai to arrive before I lost my mind from sheer boredom.
“Lucas?”
As I was on the brink of dozing off, a crisp voice called my name, causing me to frown and turn my head in its direction.
To my right stood a black-haired girl, her deep, intricate golden eyes fixed upon me.
My frown deepened, but I easily kept my composure. “Anastasia?”
“It is you,” she remarked with a gentle clap and took a seat beside me. “I saw you from over there and thought it must be Lucas. You look really different with long hair now!”
I smiled and nodded, but before I could speak, she continued speaking. “So you come here often too? I never knew you were a follower of the Sun God.”
Obviously not. Didn’t you see me almost nodding off to sleep?
Shaking my head slightly, I lied:
“Yeah, my mother and sister are elves, as you may know. Throughout my childhood, I saw them worship the Sun God and I sort of picked it up myself.”
“Is that so,” Anastasia said, nodding in response.
“I didn’t know you frequented this church either,” I remarked.
“Well, yes. I’m a devotee of the Sun religion,” Anastasia replied. “And since the orphanage is nearby, I often come here whenever I visit.”
“Is that so,” I nodded back in response. “By the way, I heard about what happened to you guys. How is Nero doing?”
Anastasia’s face paled at the mention of that incident. It must’ve been a harrowing experience for her.
Taking a deep breath, she answered, “He’s doing good. He’s training more than ever. I worry about him sometimes. But he’ll be fine.”
“I see. I’m glad that all of you are fine.”
“Thank you,” Anastasia said with a smile. “So, will you be returning to the academy? I heard you were training at Mount Hua.”
“Yes, I’ll be back tomorrow. Just in time before the final exams.”
“That’s good.”
With nothing more to talk about anymore, both of us directed our attention back to the Preacher at the altar.
The silence wasn’t awkward since we were supposed to stay quiet at the church.
But it struck me only now that Anastasia Bigod was the only main character I hadn’t interacted with much until now. Well, she and Aster.
In the novel, out of all the main characters, Anastasia was shrouded in mystery the most.
For a large part of the story, we knew nothing about her. It wasn’t until the third arc that we found out about her origins.
Anastasia was an orphan. She grew up in the Bigod orphanage and her goal was to provide a good life for her siblings there.
What a noble goal, isn’t it?
But that wasn’t the complete story.
In the next instant, Anastasia called out to me once more. “By the way, do you know about the Tale of the Sun Maiden, Lucas?”
A frown appeared on my face again as I shook my head. “I’m afraid I do not.” 𝑂𝑣𝑳xt.𝗇𝓔t
Anastasia leaned back on the pew and drew a deep breath.
“Long ago, in the Elven world, there was a girl named Lyra, born as a Sun Maiden. She was said to possess an ethereal beauty that rivaled the dawn itself.”
“What is a Sun Maiden?” I asked, interrupting her story.
Anastasia paused to think a little before responding, “Sun Maidens were elven girls born with the mark of the Sun. They had the power to use mana in its purest form – the Golden Mana.”
“Oh? What did the mark of the Sun look like?” I asked again.
Anastasia shrugged. “It manifested in the eyes of girls, turning them golden. Elves used to refer to them as… God’s Eyes.”
After a short moment of heavy silence, she resumed her story.
“Lyra’s tale began long ago when she lost her family to a plague that killed her family and village when she was twelve. Alone and terrified, she sought refuge in the church of the Moon God. It became her sanctuary. She found solace and purpose within the divine glow of the night. The Church became her family.”
Anastasia took a deep breath as if the story ahead was not very pleasant.
“But she was a Sun Maiden. She wasn’t meant to worship the Moon God. When the Church of the Sun came to claim her when she came of age, she refused to abandon her family. She refused to forsake her faith. Her piety angered the ruling council, who dismissed the worship of the Moon God as heresy in favor of the Sun God.”
“What happened next?” I inquired, my curiosity piqued.
“The Church of the Moon also refused to surrender Lyra. The situation escalated, sparking a war between the two churches. While the Empire’s ruling council favored the Church of the Sun, the devotees of the Moon proved to be too strong. The war was locked in a deadly stalemate.”
Anastasia’s gaze turned distant and somber, as if she was recalling something that went down before her eyes.
“The elven community was thrown into chaos and disarray because of the war between the two great religions. Neighbor turned against neighbor, and kin killed their kindred as the followers of the Sun and the Moon began to murder each other. Lyra couldn’t withstand that horrid sight. She implored her Church elders to hand her over to the Church of the Sun and put an end to the senseless bloodshed. But her pleas were ignored by the Church of the Moon.”
“Why?” I asked, confused. “Why didn’t they want to stop the bloodshed?”
Anastasia let out another weary sigh.
“Lyra also had that very same question. After pressing for answers, she found out that there was a legend proclaiming the birth of a Sun Maiden who would worship the moon. By combining her radiance with the teachings of the night, she would become the Bringer of Eclipse. Her existence would ensure that only one religion would remain in the world.”
I gasped and widened my eyes. “So Lyra… she was fated to be the Bringer of Eclipse?”
Anastasia nodded solemnly.
“Yes. When she found out that the Church of the Moon was not protecting her for her own sake, but because they wanted to wipe out the Church of the Sun, she felt utterly heartbroken. All this time… they knew about her destiny. All this time they were using her. The only people she thought were her family betrayed her.”
“What did she do then?” I inquired.
“What could she do? She saw the state the world was in. The mad war between the two religions was tearing her world apart. Streets were painted red with blood, towns and villages were burned to ashes, and people were ruthlessly slaughtering each other in the name of faith.”
“The war was showing no signs of ending. Lyra knew that by the time the war would end, the world would be in ruins. It was all happening because of her. If only she had died along with her village and family back when she was a kid, none of this would’ve happened. Why was her fate so cruel?”
Anastasia crossed her legs and rested her head on the bench. Letting out a deep breath, she continued.
“In the end, Lyra made a tough choice. She knew that the war, which was killing countless innocents, would go on until one of the two Churches was annihilated. And so, that’s precisely what she did.”
My head dropped as I realized how this story was going to end. Seeing the pale look on my face, Anastasia smiled.
“One night, she went to the head cathedral of the Moon God for dinner and poisoned everyone there. She butchered those whom she couldn’t poison. She was the Sun Maiden, after all. She was strong.”
Anastasia took a brief pause before closing her eyes.
“To save the world, she killed the people who were the closest thing to a family for her. Many powerful popes, nuns, and saints died that night – a feat that was sure to shift the balance of the war in favor of the Sun God’s Church.”
“And what happened to Lyra?” I asked.
“Lyra was captured by the Sun’s followers. She was bathed in the blood of her victims when they dragged her out, her golden hair trailing behind her like a silken shroud. She didn’t fight back. She had no will to live anymore. Spurred by zealotry, they brought her to the town square where a pyre was waiting for her. With hollow eyes, she looked at the people who were cheering when she was set on fire and whispered a last prayer with her dying breath.”
“What did she pray for?” I inquired.
“…Another life. A peaceful life. A life she could live happily. A life where she could make friends and have a family. A life where she wouldn’t have to kill the ones she loved.”
Anastasia exhaled softly and turned to face me, and in that moment, I couldn’t help but stare deep into her jewel-like golden eyes.
“It’s a tale that reminds us we can’t escape our fate. Lyra’s fate was that her life would bring an end to one of the two great religions. And now, the Moon’s Church is dead.”
I shook my head. “Nah, I don’t buy it.”
Anastasia’s expression clouded. “What do you mean?”
“Lyra’s destiny was indeed cruel, I agree. But her story, tragic as it is, doesn’t show us that fate wins in the end. It tells us that sometimes, valiant sacrifices are necessary. When the whole world is too blinded to set apart good and evil, one must do what’s righteous, even at the cost of everything one holds dear.”
Anastasia gave me a puzzled look. “But what’s the point? The world would never remember her.”
“She didn’t do it for fame, did she?” I retorted. “Lyra surrendered to her fate, sacrificed the people she loved, and fulfilled her destiny because she wanted to do what was right in a world gone mad. Frankly, I admire her for that because I could never do what she did.”
Anastasia’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Really?”
“Yeah,” I affirmed with a nod. “I would let the world burn down before sacrificing the people I hold dear.”
A faint smile graced Anastasia’s lips as she nodded. “I see.”
Just then, I saw Hugh entering the altar room. He spotted me and he waved in my direction, gesturing for me to come over.
Finally.
Letting out a sigh, I rose to my feet. “Well, I should be going now. It was nice to talk with you, Anastasia.”
The golden-eyed beauty nodded. “Sure, see you back at the academy.”
I returned the nod and turned around. But before I could walk away, I remembered something and looked back at Anastasia.
“By the way, do you think Lyra is at peace now?”
Anastasia’s smile widened as she shrugged.
“I don’t know. But I bet if she was reborn, she’d be living a good life, making a lot of friends and enjoying every moment.”
“I see,” I replied, spinning away and walking off. “I’d be glad if she found happiness in her new life.”
Because her life won’t be peaceful for long.
[End of Volume: Den Of The Wolves]