Prayer. What significance does it hold?
In truth, ever since Siara ceased her training, Adandito had made efforts to abandon his prayers as well. However, he had failed.
It had been a lifelong practice, and he couldn’t overcome the fear that something significant might happen if he didn’t train properly. He didn’t even know if he would continue to exist as a High Priest.
With his entire life devoted to serving Eora, he lacked the courage to let go of everything.
“…Haah.”
Suddenly overcome with exhaustion, Adandito covered his face with his hands. Then, he exhaled a breath and took another deep breath. After regaining some composure, he mumbled quietly.
“There’s probably no need to worry, but still…”
Avoiding prayer for a few days wouldn’t cause any major problems. Above all, the current situation involved Siara losing consciousness. And while Hierian accessed the realm of consciousness, he had to protect their hiding place from any intruders.
Adandito had to conjure up various reasons to gather the courage to make up his mind.
In the underground prayer room, only known to a few high-ranking priests, the abducted healers, Hierian, and Siara resided.
To reach that place, Adandito had to go deep into the prayer room.
Step by step, as he walked, he could hear the voices of the praying priests from all directions. The sound of confessions, recitations of prayers, and the various sounds of individual practitioners pierced Adandito’s ears.
An organ composition, composed with a soothing melody, resonated in the space.
Sacred power emanated from the bodies of the priests playing the organ. Perhaps due to his mood, it felt like the golden divine power was directed toward Adandito. Unconsciously, he clenched his fist tightly and quickened his pace.
He passed the hall with the organ and crossed the corridors of the prayer room. As the music gradually faded, Adandito’s mind also relaxed a bit. It was then that he realized how tense he had been, keeping his body rigid.
‘To be so nervous about something like this…’
As Adandito exhaled, a passing priest bowed deeply in his presence.
“Greetings, High Priest.”
Adandito simply nodded his head in response and continued walking. Just as he was about to pass the priest, another priest standing nearby asked curiously.
“High Priest, aren’t you praying today?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, I happened to be the designated priest today, and since your place was empty a while ago–“
“I had some business today, so I performed a shortened prayer.”
“I see. That makes sense. I’ve never seen you skip prayer before… I misspoke.”
Adandito remained silent. It was true. He hadn’t said a word.
He had been helping Siara with her training, and on the days when he unintentionally skipped prayer due to that, he would make up for it by staying up all night to fulfill the usual training regimen. Even during his time in the subjugation force, he made sure to vacate his seat periodically for prayer.
But now, he was lying and deceiving others.
The moment he realized this, his chest tightened. Adandito closed his eyes tightly, enduring the vague pain that gripped him, and continued walking forward with determination.
As Adandito walked to the bedroom where Siara had fallen asleep, he was consumed by incessant thoughts.
‘Is everything okay?’
‘I even lied to the priest. I resorted to lying to avoid a momentary crisis.’
‘Perhaps it would have been better to be completely honest.’
Amidst numerous deliberations, he stood in front of the bedroom where Siara was sleeping. Inside the room, Siara was lying on the bed, with Hierian sitting beside her, also asleep.
Adandito remained seated on the chair, continuing to contemplate, until the sunset and prayer time passed swiftly.
* * *
Hierian entered Siara’s conscious world. Her consciousness world remained unchanged from the previous time he had visited. The warm sunlight still bathed the world, and the ground was dry with nothing around.
Hierian looked around the empty plain with a vacant expression. He thought he would easily find Siara since there was nothing else, but the strong sunlight made it difficult to see into the distance.
“…It’s dazzling.”
Frowning, Hierian glanced around. There was not a trace of life, let alone a blade of grass. Moreover, the sunlight was so intense that sweat dripped from his forehead. Hierian furrowed his brows and then sat down absentmindedly.
Was it because of the gentle sunlight, or because he was in Siara’s conscious world? He felt his body relax, and drowsiness washed over him. Unknowingly, he blinked and woke up, then smirked.
“To dream within a dream.”
If he continued like this, he felt like he would fall asleep forever. Hierian stood up from his seat. In his right hand, he held several rocks that were on the ground.
Hierian extended his hand into the air and threw the rocks. The rocks flew out of his hand, scattering dust in all directions.
“Let’s see.”
Hierian quietly watched the rocks floating in the air before moving in the direction where the sun was rising.
“To the east, it seems.”
He walked leisurely, step by step. Since one person’s dream was as vast and immense as the existing world, he couldn’t know when he would find his host even if he walked in the right direction.
If it were someone else’s dream, he could search for landmarks and navigate, but here, where there was nothing, it was of no use. It was a faint possibility anyway, and Hierian had no intention of exerting effort on it.
Days passed like that. There was no sweat, no hunger. Moreover, the sun never set in this world, so he couldn’t tell how much time had passed.
His eyes, which faced only the sunlight, pleaded for rest. Hierian continued to walk absentmindedly until something caught his attention. He tightly closed his eyes when he was caught by something in his sight. However, even when he opened his eyes, something didn’t disappear.
“…What is it?”
Hierian blinked. Only then did he see a very tiny presence in front of him. It was a fairy. The fairy floated in the air with its wings folded, seemingly asleep.
Hierian quickly realized the identity of the fairy.
“Siara!”
Carefully, Hierian placed Siara in the palm of his hand. Then he stared at her intently.
Siara was smaller than his pinky finger. It seemed like she could fly away with a single breath.
Although there was no wind here, the changes in the conscious world were faster than reality. If the wind blew at any moment, Siara would fly far away, and it wouldn’t be surprising.
So, Hierian put his hands together and cradled Siara gently, whispering.
“Siara, are you asleep?”
“….”
“Even in a dream, you’re still asleep. You must be really tired.”
A smile formed on Hierian’s lips. He gazed at Siara without blinking and then let out a sigh.
“Ah! You’re so adorable.”
Not knowing what to do, he excitedly pressed his face against the back of his hand. As he did, he felt a small breath tickling his hand, like the touch of a cotton swab. His heart trembled at the subtle movement.
Hierian quietly enjoyed that sensation and unknowingly slipped into a deep sleep. In that dream, he frolicked through the field as Siara turned into a fairy.
* * *
Siara flew away from Hierian’s hand, and she looked down at him with a satisfied smile. He had joyful laughter on his lips, and his expression clearly showed that he was having a pleasant dream.
Siara, who possessed all her abilities and memories as a savior in the conscious world, looked at Hierian intently.
Siara muttered something to herself.
“Isn’t he truly adorable? It’s thanks to your virtues that he’s been able to maintain such a pure heart for such a long time, Anakilabatus.”
In the empty air, as if someone had been watching, a voice immediately resounded.
“…I’m grateful that you view my son favorably.”
“There’s no need for such reverence towards me, Ana. Above all, he wasn’t even born back then. I’m sure Eora didn’t want to sacrifice a small, innocent soul who knows nothing.”
Siara sat on Hierian’s forehead just as she was. It tickled, causing Hierian’s eyelashes to flutter. Siara lightly touched his thin, elongated, emerald-green eyelashes and whispered.
“You were lucky. This child was supposed to be the first soul to be born at that time, and yet, he hadn’t been born…”
“That’s why he can live like this. But I worry because he’s still so young and innocent.”
“You are guiding him well, so he will mature quickly. In my eyes, he’s already mature enough.”
“He has a certain level of maturity compared to his soul’s age. But he’s still young. It’s because the savior has given him too much attention and affection.”
“Oh, are you blaming me?”
“There have been times when you didn’t even listen to me, no matter how close I followed you.”
Siara smiled calmly. Her verdant eyes gazed into the distance as if reminiscing.
“…There were such times. Of course, now Hierian will grow as he pleases. Even Dianel and Adandito have started to change, so there’s no way to avoid this flow with this child.”
“Are you regretful?”
“Very much so. But these children must grow for my world to change as well.”
After a moment of silence, Siara stood up.
“I should go now. I wish both you and this child good fortune.”
“I hope the savior finds peaceful sunlight. Next time… I’ll see you when the rain falls.”
Siara nodded gently. As the sunlight scattered around her, the ground began to shake.
Earth and rocks floated up into the air, and the foundation crumbled. Amid the desolate emptiness, Siara looked at the sleeping Hierian and whispered.
“Now I shall dream, and it is time for this child to awaken from the dream.”
At that moment, Hierian woke up from his sleep.
