"The hour doth arrive at last..."

The soft murmur echoed through the vast cathedral like a prayer carried on sacred winds.

Golden hair caught the filtered light streaming through stained glass windows as she moved with graceful purpose between towering marble statues.

Each deity stood in silent majesty, their carved faces bearing expressions of wisdom, power, and divine judgment that had watched over countless souls throughout the ages.

But her steps slowed as she approached one particular statue.

"..."

But unlike the others that gleamed with polished perfection, this one was different…

It was broken and headless.

Time had worn away its divine radiance, leaving behind weathered stone that spoke of forgotten glory.

Yet in the statue's arms rested an ornate staff embedded with gems that still pulsed faintly with holy power.

But despite the missing pieces, one could appreciate its ancient allure and surmise that it used to be a status of a beautiful goddess… one that is now forgotten and abandoned.

"..."

The cathedral fell into profound silence as she stood before the damaged figure.

Her normally serene expression wavered for just a moment, half-closed eyes trembling as some deep emotion stirred within.

"Alas, sweet goddess... thy fate mirrors mine own sorrow," she whispered in tones that carried centuries of melancholy. "We both art destined to lose our crowns for the salvation of others..."

Her fingers found the golden pendant hanging around her neck, clutching it like a lifeline as she sank gracefully to her knees.

Hands pressed together in prayer, she bowed her head before the broken goddess.

"..."

A memory flickered through her consciousness like sunlight through storm clouds.

A faint image of a person she can't make out of, howling in the sky with agony.

One who would break the chains of damnation through his own suffering and bring salvation to all who had been forsaken.

But the world, now broken into pieces, seems to tremble in this person's wrath, as his hatred and pain seems to transmit into her very soul.

And in order to stop that…

"..."

A single tear traced down her cheek as she continued her silent prayer.

The weight of destiny pressed down upon her shoulders like a mountain, but she bore it with the same gentle grace that had defined her entire existence.

*Step... step... step...*

The sound of approaching footsteps broke her reverie.

"Saintess... It's time."

She raised her head slowly, golden hair cascading like liquid sunlight as she turned toward the voice.

"Bishop Lucian..."

Her tone carried the same serene warmth it always had, but there was something final about it now.

The man before her wore pristine white ceremonial robes that marked his high station, but his kind face was marred by worry lines that had deepened over recent days.

As she rose to her feet and walked past him with measured steps, he couldn't remain silent.

"Are you sure about this, Saintess...?"

His voice cracked with barely contained anguish.

She didn't pause in her movement, her answer floating back like a gentle breeze.

"Aye. If it doth mean to break free from the destiny we art fated to endure... 'tis but a small price for me to pay."

"B-But! For the Saintess to seal yourself for the sake of—!"

"Cian."

The single word stopped his protests completely.

Her voice had shifted to something infinitely gentle, the kind of tone a mother might use to comfort a frightened child.

Bishop Lucian's troubled expression deepened as he watched her turn to face him fully, those half-closed eyes radiating a peace that somehow made everything worse.

"All is well," she said with a soft smile that could have melted the coldest hearts.

But instead of providing comfort, that beautiful expression only made Lucian look away in silence.

His teeth ground together as frustration warred with helplessness in his chest.

***

"Are you okay, Saintess...?"

Another voice, younger and more uncertain, broke through the sacred atmosphere.

She now lay within an ornate standing coffin, its interior lined with silk and carved with protective runes that glowed faintly in the candlelight.

Around her stood the people who had become her family over the years.

Priests and priestesses who had learned from her wisdom.

Nuns who had found purpose through her guidance.

All of them wearing expressions barely contained grief and frustration.

"Yes," she answered simply, her voice carrying the same tranquil certainty it always had.

But the faces surrounding her told a different story.

"..."

No one met her eyes directly.

Several were openly weeping.

Others stood with clenched fists, clearly struggling with complex emotions of what was about to happen.

Sensing their pain, she tried to lift their spirits one final time.

"Pray, do not despair... This is not the end of all things. I shall not perish, but merely return my spirit unto the deities who did grant it unto me..."

"..."

Her words hung in the air like incense, but no one responded.

Every head remained bowed.

Every heart remained heavy.

Finally, a small figure approached the coffin with hesitant steps.

The Pope, despite her authority over the entire church, looked almost childlike in her distress.

Tears streamed down her face as she raised trembling hands.

"I-I'm sealing you..." she whispered through her restrained sobs.

"Yes," came the gentle acknowledgement.

The Saintess reached out briefly, her fingertips brushing against the Pope's hand in a gesture of comfort.

"Take care of thyself, little one."

The Pope's composure finally cracked completely.

"This is always you..." she muttered between clenched teeth, her voice thick with grief and rage. "Being so selfless... even selling your future for the tragedy of the world."

She had wished, prayed even, that the Saintess would be more selfish just once.

That she would choose her own happiness over the needs of others.

But she knew better.

The woman lying serenely in the coffin was the noblest and gentlest soul she had ever encountered.

Selflessness wasn't just her choice - it was her very nature.

Without further delay, she raised her hands and began the incantation.

""O lumen aeternum… guide us through shadow, may you bless thy soul…""

The entire choir joined in, their voices rising in harmonious prayer as golden light began to emanate from the coffin.

The radiance grew brighter and brighter until it was almost blinding.

*Flash!*

Ancient runes began appearing across the Saintess's body, each one glowing like captured starlight as the sealing magic took hold.

As consciousness began to fade, she kept her gentle smile fixed in place.

Her half-closed eyes swept across the weeping faces of her family one final time, memorizing every detail.

'Farewell, my beloved ones...'

The thought drifted through her mind like a prayer.

'Until we meet again by the grace of the deities...'

Her final wish was a simple one.

A prayer for herself and for the prophesied Savior who would one day come.

That somehow, someday, the sacrifices they both made would not be in vain.

And then...

Darkness claimed her.

***

Time became meaningless in the void between consciousness.

Minutes, hours, years, centuries - they all blurred together in the space between heartbeats.

But eventually, inevitably, awareness began to return.

"..."

Her eyes opened slowly, perhaps hoping to find the familiar stone ceiling of her sealed coffin.

But instead, she found herself looking up at shocked faces she didn't recognize.

"..."

A hint of confusion filled her as she took in her surroundings.

This wasn't the grand cathedral where she had been sealed.

This was some kind of crude stone shelter with rough-hewn walls and simple furnishings.

The people around her - men and women in strange clothing - were all staring at her with expressions of pure amazement.

Looking down at her own hands, she then found her own condition.

Her entire body was bathed in holy golden light that seemed to pour from her very being.

The same radiance that crowned her flowing hair, making her look like a living embodiment of divine power.

Several seconds passed in stunned silence.

And only then did the golden light radiating around her body disappear.

But still,

"..."

Nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

Everyone seemed frozen in place by what they were witnessing.

But then she turned her head and saw him.

"...!"

Her breath was caught in her throat as her gaze settled on the figure standing closest to her.

He looked utterly ordinary by most standards.

Average height, dark hair, normal features that wouldn't stand out in any crowd.

But her lips parted slightly in shock as she registered his figure and recognized that presence.

There was no doubt about it.

This was him.

The one she saw from her dreams and visions.

Without hesitation, she moved with fluid grace despite having just awakened from eons of slumber.

*Thud!*

Her knees hit the stone floor as she knelt before him with perfect reverence.

Before anyone could react, she had taken his hand in both of hers and pressed her lips to his knuckles in a gesture of absolute devotion.

"My Savior."

The words came out as a reverent whisper filled with centuries of hope and faith finally fulfilled.

But the man whose hand she was kissing could only stare at her in confusion as he blinked his eyes…

"...Eh?"

Nero Walker's brain had officially short-circuited as he tried to process what was happening.

A literal blonde beauty was kneeling before him, calling him her savior, and everyone in the medical wing was watching like they'd just witnessed the second coming.

"..."

This was definitely not what he had been expecting when he'd decided to summon a healer.

Not at all.

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