Prologue + Blessing Ceremony

Town of Bika, the outskirts of Leoso Principality.

Two robed figures, one of whom carried a basket stood at the entrance, their dark clothes making them disappear into the darkness.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes. Bika is a small town in a remote country on a Lesser Island. It is a peaceful place without any signs of war for the next century. Here, he will have a chance to live a normal life. He won't have to fight for his life every waking moment or struggle to escape a destiny too heavy for the shoulders of a young boy."

"What if…—"

"Don't jinx it."

The person with the basket set it down at the entrance to the town before taking off a necklace and putting it in the young, white-haired baby's hand.

"Isn't that risky?"

"It's payment if the townspeople so wish. I can't leave him with nothing."

"Alright. Let's go. We're running out of time."

Without saying anything further, the two robed figures disappeared without leaving a single trace of themselves. They vanished as if they had never been there in the first place.

***

"It's finally your turn. You scared?"

Margie ruffled Lu's white hair as they looked up at the Red Dragon's Church with a stone statue of that Red Dragon snaking around it.

"Honestly...I was a little worried before. But now that I can see the church, I can tell that I will be getting a better Blessing than you. I don't need to worry—"

Margie smacked the back of Lu's head. His thick hair did nothing to soften the blow.

"If you use your Blessing to...continue your nightly activities, I'm stuffing you in the cellar."

Lu glanced at Margie on his right.

"First of all, I have no idea what you're talking about. Secondly, I won't make any promises I can't keep."

Margie sighed and patted her forehead with her fingers.

"As long as you know what's coming for you. That won't stop me from catching you, though."

"Good thing you won't catch me, then."

Lu smirked teasingly before bounding up the stairs and into the church before Margie could say anything else regarding that stuff. Or so he thought.

"I can't wait to see you try."

Margie reached out and smacked the back of Lu's white head as soon as he tried to run off.

Margie looked at Lu as he disappeared into the grand church that seemed to swallow him whole. The dragon figure snaking around the church with its head above the doors didn't help. But at least the sun shone on the doors, chasing away the darkness inside.

Lu walked through the almost empty church, unnerved by his echoing footsteps. He was so used to walking without a sound that he couldn't shake the feeling of someone walking alongside him.

Eventually, Lu ended up in the center of the church, where a person dressed in red robes with a deep red emblem of a dragon on their chest.

"Welcome, Lu Mittens, to your Blessing Ceremony."

"Thank you."

"Have you heard from anyone about how this works?"

"No? I thought I wasn't supposed to."

"Good."

The priest, with their face hidden by a mask of red scales, nodded. They then gave Lu a chalice of light blue water that seemed to shine and sparkle under the church's chandeliers.

"Drink this."

Lu looked at the chalice with enough suspicion to dye his fingertips green.

"...Okay."

He then sent the entire drink down his throat in one big gulp.

A paradoxically cool heat spread from his mouth down his throat and through his torso before settling in his belly. The blue water was both tasteless and rich in flavor. The contrasting sensation of the drink made Lu too confused to worry about the growing heat spreading from his stomach and filling his body.

Before he knew it, the priest took the chalice from his hand and patted him on the shoulder.

"How are you feeling, Lu?"

"A little funny. You didn't drug me, did you?"

"Of course not. Well, maybe a little, but only to make it easier on you."

"I see. What now?"

"'What now?' We're done. You've received the World's Blessing, and you will have the answer you seek in your mind anytime now."

"Are you sure?"

"As sure as can be. Now, remember to take it easy on your way home, and don't tell anyone about the Blessing Ceremony you've experienced."

"Sure. What was it I drank, by the way?"

"Ah, that was a crushed-up world crystal fragment mixed with well-water and a mild painkiller."

"'World crystal fragment'?"

The priest waved their hand.

"Meh. That's not important. Don't sweat the small stuff. Focus on yourself for now. That will make your Blessing appear quicker, or so I've heard. If you don't realize anything after three days, come back here, and we'll try again."

"What if it doesn't work?"

The priest shrugged.

"Then you're Damned. It's an exciting lifestyle. Or so I've heard."

Lu didn't like the sound of that, but he was feeling pretty woozy and not in the mood to continue talking with this worryingly unserious priest.

"Bye, Priest."

"Bye, Lu."

Lu left the church on weak legs and, with Margie's help, returned to their home. Mister and Missus Mittens had prepared an afternoon feast to celebrate Lu's fifteenth birthday and Blessing Ceremony, but he was too drowsy to fully appreciate it. And before he knew it, he was already in his bed.

Lu slept like a hardworking baby. If he had slept that well in any other case, he would have slept for at least half a day. But this time, he woke up, clear-headed and sharp-minded as an owl, in the middle of the night, the full moon shining through his window and on his face.

"Moonlight Stroll…"

Lu sat up, not leaving the moon with his eyes for even a moment.

"Sounds lame."

After realizing the name of his Blessing, Lu got up and got dressed, still looking at the moon. 

"Margie! I'm trying out my Blessing!"

Lu didn't wait for an answer as he bumbled down the stairs. But he did hear Margie fall out of her bed as she also got up and hurried out while falling into her clothes down the stairs.

"Cellar-time if you start before I catch up."

"No promises!"

Lu giggled as he sprinted out.

The Mittens' house was already on the edge of town, but Lu still ran like a madman until he made it to a clearing right at the edge of the nearby forest. It was close enough to be safe from the wild beasts but far enough from town that his first time using his Blessing wouldn't cause personal or infrastructural damage.

Lu panted like a dog on a warm day, but his face was all smiles as he closed his eyes and bathed in the moonlight.

He felt free. Refreshed. Reborn.

The moonlight reinvigorated Lu and subdued his labored breathing in moments.

"You alright, Lu?"

"I'm perfectly fine—Better than fine, actually. I feel great!"

"You're not just high?"

"High on life, maybe!"

Margie sighed and crossed her arms. Maybe shorts and a tank top wasn't the optimal outfit for a late-night outing, even if it was summer. She got goosebumps just looking at Lu's shorts. But Lu didn't even seem to feel the cold winds rustling the leaves.

"Are you gonna start anytime soon?"

"Oh, I didn't wait for you. This is my Blessing?"

"Exhibitionism at Night?"

"No! Moonlight Stroll!"

"Sounds lame."

"As lame as Grab?"

"Feeling brave today, Lu?" Margie glared and walked toward Lu while massaging her palm with her fist.

"Yes!" Lu shouted and stretched his arm to the skies, only to feel a chill run down his spine.

Lu turned around and found Margie's hand already on its way to grab his face. He had an all-too-late realization that maybe unfounded bravery wasn't something great. But he had blundered, and he had too much experience with Margie's Blessing to know he couldn't escape.

Lu resigned himself to his fate.

However, Margie's eyes widened in surprise as something happened to Lu's face.