A Hawk's Appearance

"Be good, Lumi."

Lumi sat still on the carriage, playing with a doll designed to look like her. She caressed the doll's blond hair, and then stared at its blue eyes, oblivious of her mother's expression.

"Don't anger the priest. Always be obedient. Don't ever defy anyone at the temple. Got it?"

Lumi looked up, only to see a faceless woman looking back at her.

"Do you understand, Lumi?"

Lumi parted her lips to speak, but then suddenly the place warped until she was no longer in the carriage but in her cell. Blood was being taken from her while concoctions were shoved into her throat.

'She's gaining consciousness. It means she can handle more drug,'

'But head priest... she's going to break, at this rate.'

'The goddess is in hour side. She would not let the catalyst die! Don't dilute it anymore - just give it to her!'

'Y-yes, head priest...'

She stared blankly at the head priest as she let the pain spread into her body to the point of numbness.

'The pain. Is this what it means to be loved by the Goddess?' Lumi thought.

'Does the pain mean the Goddess is watching over me, and this is just her way to teach me to survive hardships and obstacles...?'

A tear fell from her eye.

'If I have to bear this much pain,' Lumi's tears fell nonstop. 'Then I would gladly be on the devil's side. Not you.'

"Wake up, child."

--

A gasp escaped from the young priestess' mouth as she awoke from her short slumber. She then sat down, realizing that her hands were tied behind her back. Immediately, she looked around, struck by a realization that it hasn't been long since she collapsed.

"You're really something, aren't you?"

The man ambled towards her, alarmed; he was still holding his axe, vigilant of her. "How are you able to wake up? You should be—"

Lumi didn't waste any second. All at once, she concentrated her divine power on the ropes in her hand.

Divinity.

Not everyone is blessed with such power. Those who are granted this power at birth are called the children of the Empyrean Goddess—immediately after birth, they will be given the temple's protection, an advantage not anyone can have.

However, like anything else in life, this certain power is not at all fairly given.

There are those born with strong divinity, and those with weak divinity. The ones with stronger divinity are the ones believed to be the closest to the Empyrean Goddess. Those with strong divine powers are immediately sent to the temple to be raised and trained as high priests.

Those with strong divine powers can use divinity for combat, while those with weaker power can only heal.

In Lumi's case… her powers had more capabilities than combat.

The rope then burned and vanished into thin air. She then walked towards the man who now fell to his knees.

Who was this girl?

Throughout his lifetime as the underdog of a slave merchant, he encountered several clerics buried in debt. They were then reduced to slavery—but those clerics only had the capacity to heal, meaning their divine power is weak.

Those with strong divine powers are much desired in the market. It's unusual, after all, to see divinity in the slavery business. In fact, the more diverse a person is, the more desirable they are. Clerics are no exception to this business.

The man gritted his teeth as he felt his entire body burn. His ears were ringing, and he felt as if he was going blind. All possible pain he could feel was transmigrating to his body like he was being punished for his sins.

"You see," the girl mouthed calmly.

"I'm both blessed and cursed." She said, "I'm blessed because the Empyrean Goddess granted me divinity,"

A pause.

"But I'm also cursed. You know why?"

The man couldn't answer. He only grunted in pain like a mindless beast being tortured. His companions… did they suffer like this too?

"I'm cursed because of this."

Lumi watched as the man die a slow, painful death. The moment she snapped a certain invisible thread holding her power, the man convulsed and twitched, limbs dislocating. Bones cracked and snapped. Eyes bulged and burst. The man's complexion was going paler by the second, while his animalistic grunts turned into whimpers.

It was almost too easy to do, but watching it was too much for Lumi, so she chose to hasten the process until there was only silence.

"Well, well, well!"

Lumi blinked in surprise before her brows furrowed to a scowl. Slow claps echoed across the abandoned building. She looked around, searching for the source of that voice.

"I can't believe it, even though I witnessed it with my own eyes."

The door in the abandoned building sealed shut with a loud slam.

"It was an amazing sight, really! I've never seen anything like it before. Such power. Such elegance. You didn't even bat an eye."

"Who are you?" She remembered the men talking about a 'boss'. Was this person the boss they were talking about?

Lumi turned around and finally saw him.

A man, who had a lean body appeared a distance before her. He had brown hair which fell to his shoulder. He also wore a rather frivolous outfit—a purple vest paired with a frilled long-sleeved shirt that was puffy on the arms. His trousers also had intricate patterns sewn into them, and there was no exception for his lower extremities, as his leather boots were shiny and polished.

He ambled his way forward. Behind him were several burly men, like the ones who lured her into the building.

"My intel told me that 'A priestess from Estela and a terrorist are now in Aclaria. The priestess harbors rather special divine powers that's why she's kidnapped…'" The man exclaimed as if he was reciting a phrase that he was told. "Here, I was expecting a helpless girl cowering in fear…"

The man's snake-like green eyes met Lumi's blue ones.

"Who would've thought that I'd see a ruthless murderer instead?"