Chapter One: The Orphanage

"Dung… Dung… Dung…"

The monthly chime of the Mundanian Church misted again throughout Avevia. Unchangingly, a slight of the repercussion ever stroke my ears such strongly. This had never changed since that tragic incident, as if the chime intrinsically was in secrecy, struggling not to unveil something terrible.

I woke up as the chime's reverberation struck my mind. Above me was an old ceiling with greyish stains and hardback beetles. Swiftly, I hopped down my double-deck bed, opened the curtains and stretched my tiresome body. Within a split second, the brightness of the daylight superseded the opaqueness of the room.

I heard conspicuous footsteps upon the door. The limp suggested that they were from Sister Mornie.

"Time to wake, time to wake," she canted, as she pushed open the bedroom door. I nodded obediently as she smiled warmly. "Good. I'll wait you downstairs," she smiled.

I hurried down the wooden stairs as they creaked. The stairs were pretty much unmaintained throughout the eight years I had been in the orphanage. At the dinner table, there were six mortals as usual: the ever-friendly Sister, Davide, Sofia, Master Gordon, Elise and me. Davide and Sofia were the eldest orphans amongst us - they had been here since birth. They were like the older siblings of a well-planned family, maintaining and instructing everything in accord. As for Elise and me, we both lost our parents and got transferred from far away. As Elise was two months older than me, she was like a older sibling to me, protecting me from harm and caring out for me. I, in response, too assisted her in different respects, either washing her muddy clothes after the long day or tidying up the mattresses and rugs. As for Master Gordon, only did the Sister understand him. To us, he was like a mysterious existence. Rarely did he talk, and when he did, it was about nonsense and spiritual stuff. Quite a boring man, frankly speaking. Natheless, he constructed this orphanage and brought us all in. That was why we never disobey him and saw him as our Master. We were always grateful and did our best to keep this orphanage going.

"Nice loaves," exclaimed Elise.

"Well," replied the Sister, "we bought these from a high-end bakery. Of course do they taste good."

"It's Master's birthday, after all," said Davide.

"You do not have to spend your own expenses for my birthday, Mother," said the Master, awkwardly and in a whispering way.

"Why so, darling," replied the Sister, "we do not have much chance to enjoy good food. Just see this as an exceptional day."

"That's right, Master. Smile! It's your birthday!" said Sofia, pulling up the Master's lips.

"Argh! Stop it!" cried the Master in fury.

"No fun," shouted everyone else in unison.

The days were pretty much the same, no matter filled with laughter or sorrow. However, not every person in Avevia was lucky like us. Outside the orphanage, there was a phenomenon where a person would go missing every night as the bell of the Mundanian Church would sound. In the orphanage, fortunately, there seemed to be a spiritual energy that protected the beings inside from being affected by the mysterious power. We all did not know how it worked, though.

"Today was also the day Ledon entered this orphanage eight years ago," smiled the Sister.

"Happy Orphanage-entering Day, Ledon." said Elisa mockingly.

That was right. I nearly forgot. The night I got taken into the orphanage. The night where my life twisted completely. The night a beloved one vanished.