Heavenly Rule

[ translated from the Old Archzion language ]

All immortals who have been given the authority of the souls must go back to their realm after their tasks have been fulfilled. Willful failure to do the task will not be tolerated by those with high power.

Chapter 3

Sacred Grounds.

The old mortal.

Different shades of colors swiftly took over the skies as the morning came. The stars that twinkled throughout the night dimmed, slowly disappearing as light took over. The moon slowly gave way for the sun. The realm of mortals truly seemed beautiful at first look, but this child in my arms has no idea what horrors this land is hiding. I cannot fathom what she would think when she grows up—would she grow up to think that the world is kind and forgive, or would she grow with hatred residing inside of her, hating her own kind?

Well, the first problem here is if she would even grow up to an age where she could think perfectly.

The child in my arms hummed soft snores, her eyes completely shut as she travelled into her world of wonders. Oblivious of the world, she slept in my arms. She must’ve been tired after what happened last night. I also heard that young mortals sleep in order to grow, so I won’t bother her with her… process of growing.

I wrapped her with my feathers in order for the shaking and bouncing to lessen as I travelled using the rooftops and ruins. We’ve been travelling towards north of the Lower City for quite some time now so I am quite surprised she’s still asleep—my feathers must be really comfortable for her.

As our destination neared, I slowed down and went down on the ground before turning to an empty alley. I waved my hand and the child wrapped with my feathers stayed afloat as I stepped back, letting my ashy cloak cover every bit of me. As the ash disappeared, it slowly revealed my mortal human form I had picked up after seeing a lot of them.

I saw a piece of glass at the corner of my eyes and whipped my head in order to see my reflection. My skin is pale and fair, my clothing that of a human noble—black suit, red tie, white gloves, black pants, and shiny black shoes. My jet black hair finished off everything as my face is covered with my mask.

Waving my hand, the floating feather pile came to me. I scooped up the still slumbering child and went on our long walk as we are almost where we needed to be.

I came out of the alley with the child in tow. Walking out a bit further, I could immediately feel eyes staring daggers at me, but I didn’t mind. Whispers could also be heard, but I simply ignored it. Humans are such nasty creatures—is there something wrong with my disguise?

Ah.

I sighed as I remembered that those living in the Lower City of Illumi are not really in good terms with those from the Higher City—which are nobles and title holders. It really is strange for a noble to suddenly appear unguarded whilst holding a feather-covered thing. But they cannot hurt me because, one, I’m an immortal and can easily avoid them, and two—the main reason, the northern part of the Lower City is called Sacred Grounds.

There are unspoken rules here.

For that, no one would dare to shed blood here—even the war avoided the Sacred Grounds. It’s kind of ironic how they wouldn’t lay a single finger at this part of land. I heard one of the reasons the war started was because of religious reasons.

Humans think they are very clever for creating different gods, even fighting each other just because of their beliefs. Some of them even resort to massacre just because of this. There’s also these human sacrifices that brings more harm than good. They do not know that a huge percentage of souls that are being collected in these mortals’ hard times usually end up living in a much worse state than they were once in in their previous life. It is due to the fact that the wars and humans sacrificing each other fuel their souls’ sins—the greater the sins are, the rougher one’s life would become in their next life.

My footsteps echoed as I reached the place I needed to be. A door double my size loomed over me as I walked up to it, making me look up as there’s really no need for these kind of stuff—why would humans even create these? It’s a waste of resources, but if it’s for aesthetic reasons… I mean, sure. They do have great tastes.

With my gloved hands, I reached for the door and knocked. Shuffling can be heard and a single word was spoken, “Coming!” The door then clicked and opened to an old human. Her grey hair peaked through her veil and coif as she wiped her wet hands with a cotton towel. Her brown eyes lit up through her spectacles, her expressions seeming too sunny at this time of day.

“Yes, uhm…” She squinted her eyes and fixed her glasses, getting a good look at me for a couple of seconds before beaming another smile, “What can I do for you, young gentleman?”

I looked down at the pile of feathers in my arms and cleared a few feathers from the child’s face. The nun was curious and took a look, letting out a surprised squeal when the child scrunched her nose when a feather brushed her forehead.

“Oh my,” The old human then chuckled, “I really shouldn’t be surprised, shouldn’t I? Well, I’m being rude by not letting you in so,” She made way and pointed her hands towards the seats in the room, “let’s go inside, shall we?”

I followed her in and the scent of, what was it called again? Coffee? Yes, that beverage that they drink in the early hours, its scent greeted me greatly. I sat down, with the child still in my arms, and began to look around.

Their greeting room was fairly large, perhaps the size of one and a half small house. It contained several potted plants and a desk on one side of the room. The things that stood out the most were the paintings on the walls and the weird dyed-rug that covered half of the wooden floors.

All in all, the room was okay… I just hope they take care of the rug.

I realized then that the old human had gone somewhere when she came back with a tray of kettle and cups, and some human food. She placed it on the table and poured the contents of the silver kettle into the ceramic cup. She then sliced up a, if I recall correctly, pie, and served it on a small dish.

“I deeply apologize that this is only what we’ve got. We didn’t know that someone from the Higher City would come—it’s a very rare occurrence these days.” She then sat down, hands on her lap, “But I assure you, the coffee is pretty good. It’s freshly brewed.” She smiled as she continued talking.

I picked up the cup that seemed to be staring back to me. The coffee has a deep brown color and is giving a… nice aroma. It wasn’t hot enough to burn someone’s skin so, I took a sip.

The coffee is pretty nice.

“—Ah, I thought you’d like a couple of sugar cubes added, but it seems like you like your coffee plain.” She smiled, “Isn’t it nice?”

I nodded, taking another sip. ‘I must share this beverage to the others when I get back.’

“Now, pardon me for asking but,” She cleared her throat, “what is the purpose of your visit, good sir?”

I placed down the cup back to the saucer and cleared my throat. “I wish to hide this child.” I told her, and she seemed surprised. There’s no harm getting straight to the point, right?

“Is she perhaps a bastard?” She then blinked, gasping and covering mouth, “I apologize for my disrespectful mouth.”

A bastard? Isn’t a bastard an illegitimate child of nobles? I’m not even human, dear.

“No, no…” I sighed, “Actually, I do not know myself.” I told her that made her look at me with a curious face. “Something happened and this is the only place I could think of that can hide her from… danger.”

“Oh! You came at the right place!” She smiled, taking another look at the child in my arms. “What’s her name?”

I blinked as I already got the cup of coffee in my hand, “Right, her name is Azazel.”

“Azazel…? Just Azazel? Wait no, you do not have to say her house name if you do not want to. If it’s for her safety, then it’s okay if you don’t.” She smiled before realizing, “Oh dear! I’m so forgetful! I forgot to introduce myself! Pardon, me, I’m getting too old.” She laughed before placing her hand on her chest, “My name is Maerwynn, from house Iklies. You may call me Sister Maer, and I’m one of the nuns who manage this orphanage in the Lower City.”

“Sister Maer, right.” I nodded, placing the empty coffee cup on the saucer. I looked down at the child covered by feathers sleeping soundly in my arms. “You can call me… Crow.”

Upon ending my words, the… Azazel moved a bit before slowly opening her eyes, revealing her enchanting pair of eyes. I smiled and waved my hands over her eyes, making them appear the usual blue-colored eyes. She giggled and reached for my hands and started squeezing them.

“What a precious child.” Sister Maer got a glimpse of her, “May I?” She asked with hopeful eyes.

I nodded and let her hold Azazel. She smiled and stood up from her seat, cradling the child in her arms. She was making Azazel laugh by simply talking to her, as though she is her mother. I sometimes forget that humans have these connections that makes them special. It’s something that perhaps I cannot really do.

Pain suddenly struck in my head. It caught me off-guard that I held onto my head and started to grit my teeth. It seems like my mortal body reacted to something that even I do not know.

“Sir Crow?” Sister Maer was calling my name, but it was soon drowned out when this mortal body of mine suddenly lost it strength.

I was conscious enough to hear a thud.