THE CHILD OF THE PROPHECY [EDITED]

CHAPTER 21

21 : Flashback.

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15 YEARS AGO | AVARICIA EMPIRE, YEAR 593.

A MYSTERIOUS PROPHECY BROUGHT the Aristocrat Faction and the followers of Irini together. They were shaken upon receiving a damning prophecy from their Irini that the empire's end was near. They were worried, a few Cardinals were even shaking upon hearing the news. The only meaning behind this was the complete destruction and disappearance of their beloved empire.

What made them panic even more was the fact that they could not think of any possible way to escape their impending fate. Even the commendable and elusive Head Cardinal that led the Holy Temple fell ill after hearing the words of their Irini.

But who could become the reason for their empire's destruction?

It couldn't be them, the empire's faithful people who only yearned for their empire's prosperity. Then could it possibly be the Imperial House of Avaricia who shows extreme thirst for power and hostility towards the Church?

That's what they wanted to believe. That's what they told themselves every day. The people of the Avarician Empire who openly showed faithfulness to their Irini are a bunch of hypocrites, denying every dark wish their greedy heart desired and pretended that none of it existed.

A week has passed since they received the prophecy. Then a month came.

Hopelessness loomed over them. Their meek hearts slowly ran out of hope to cling on to. Then the Darkness whispered against their wavering souls, igniting their desperation to survive.

"Two exceptional children were blessed by Irini. Find them, offer them to me, and I shall bless you with the power to prevent destruction."

Even the Cardinal who has lost his faith headed out of his chambers. He, who was bestowed with the deities' powerful glory, the Holicrux, led the search to find the children that the Darkness desires.

One punished by the Irini for her family's greed, and the other blessed by Irini but carries a twisted fate.

With the help of the Lord of Hell's dark stone, they were able to check if the children they were taking underground were the prophetic children. The dark stone will emit a dark lightning and if the children they brought were the ones they needed then the children will only be surrounded by the dark lightning, but if they got the wrong one then the children will be electrocuted.

The first child was unexpectedly the hidden child of the Head Cardinal and the Empress, and the other child was the unwanted child of the vigorous household of the Belladonnas, both sharing the same age as the other.

It took the holy temple and noble faction a couple of children's deaths before they could finally find the right ones. It was a pity that those innocent children had to die a wasteful death just because of their wrong calculations. Though as they say, victory cannot be achieved without a few sacrifices.

The night of the ritual came, the two children felt too scared as they were surrounded with selfish adults. They corrupted them first, ruining their purity before finally offering them to the Lord of Hell.

The Lord of Hell that everyone treated as a dark seducer felt the urge to help their Empire. He knew what the future awaited them because of the blessed child of their Irini. He didn't want to start a fight with the ones above, but he wanted to prevent the attack of Irini's holy soldiers.

He was aware that only one of them was blessed with the real divinity that would ruin the empire and the other one with the lesser divinity was the one who would help to rebuild the empire. But before they can even do that, the holy soldiers, the real destroyers from the prophecy, might force them into submission or worse, they might take their divinity from them and use it for their own plans.

A cold, deep voice echoed within the underground church as the Lord of Hell appeared. Everyone felt petrified yet they managed to stay still, proving how desperate they are for his help.

"I shall bless this child with the power that can make even the highest man in this empire kneel. The other child will be blessed with misfortune to support the power of the first child. And I shall honor them with the names Luan and Soleil."

A thunderous noise filled the room and in a blink of an eye, the Lord of Hell disappeared, leaving the unconscious children on the altar.

From then on, the two girls lived separately, away from one another as per the Lord of Hell's orders. They made sure that no one else would know about the offer and sacrifice they had to make. The Cardinals killed the nobles they could not trust and allowed the rest to live.

The Belladonnas were unaware of what happened to their youngest child after she was abducted by mysterious men. However, they were faced with great disgrace as rumors about his daughter spread across the Empire. The Duke of Belladonna paid a lot to hide the abduction of his daughter and to kill the rumors. He even signed a contract with the church, allowing his daughter to serve the church because of the prophecy entwined with her and in return, the church will heal Eris.

The Cardinals believed the Lord of Hell's words without any doubts lingering on their hearts. They believed him without knowing who their real enemy was. That their enemies were the holy soldiers of their Irini.

ASIDE FROM THE PROTECTION of the Avarician Empire, the Empress also wanted to secure the revival of the Holy Empire. So, she prayed and prayed and prayed until she received an answer from their Irini in her dreams. She did every instruction she remembered from her dreams; it was still as vivid as the sun's morning rays.

The Empress bought several slaves from the slave trading that the Head Cardinal owns. She wrote the ritual and prayer that she had remembered from her dreams and proceeded with it in the same underground of the church. They cut off the throats of the slaves and placed their bodies around the stone altar. A golden chalice was filled with the blood of these slaves and was put on the altar. Before the altar, the Empress knelt and chanted the ritual as loud as she could.

The sky was getting darker, and lightning was starting to paint the gloomy sky. The rituals that the Empress was doing were affecting the balance of the human and divine realms, but she wasn't aware of that. She only thought that doing the rituals will bless them with protectors from above, and so it did.

Three holy creatures appeared in front of her, only wearing white satin-like clothing. Their white wings fluttered as they landed on top of the altar. The ritual was gruesome and bloody, but it was successful.

"You did well, dear mortal," one of the holy creatures said.

They introduced themselves as Gabriel, Abaddon, and Sariel, the three holy soldiers from above. They claimed that the three of them will help the Empress in reviving the Holy Empire. They made it clear that her desire requires patience and devotion, and so she offered everything to them.

Every night, the Empress' trusted knights and the trusted knights of the Church will take out countless lifeless bodies wrapped in a sack to be piled in a wagon. Then they transferred them to the Forest of Spruce to be buried. The three holy soldiers require human souls for them to consume, so they can remain on Earth. It was a small price for the huge request from the empress. So, they always purchased slaves from the slave trading auction and offered it to them.

As a part of their plan, the three remained in the Church. They were introduced as the new Cardinals sent by a neighboring country. No one doubted them because of how good they were acting.

Although the truth was Gabriel, one of the holy soldiers, was only using the empress and the Church to fulfill his own goals. He believed that no humans deserve to continue breathing on this world that their Irini created. He believes that the only creatures deserving a place in this world are the holy creatures above and the ones under them.

It was a hundred-year goal that the holy soldier wanted to fulfill. He knew that Irini was aware of his plans which is why He sent a prophetic message to this empire to give them a warning for their future. The Lord of Hell even helped them. It's thanks to the empire people's naturally feeble minds that they didn't doubt any of the three of them.

Gabriel was now a step ahead of everyone. All he needed now was complete control of the prophetic children's powers and his plan will soon bear the fruits he needed.