Light of the Holy Maiden

Hypocritical Church (3)

Bishop Nathan was semi-blind since birth. His vision was hazy and blurry, so he always depended on his other senses to maneuver around. He was brought out by his family from the Star Country when he was young. He did retain some memories about this area, though the only memories he had of Star County were those fuzzy childhood memories.

When he was brought to the capital more than sixty years ago, he was immediately tested for his light element. Fu Xing was in chaos due to the demon invasion. Although his light element was not much, it was relatively higher than the other children his age. He and some other selected children were trained to be Bishops. They would be sent over to various locations once they finished their studies.

Only after he entered the academy within the main church did he find out that the demons almost took over Star County. The County was in a mess and the government had ran away. It was not as prosper as before, only a tenth of its wealth and its glory from the past was left. There were barely any merchants who dared to sell in the area left. It changed from the safest area to the most dangerous area.

He finally understood why his parents put him on a boat and sailed along the river away from Star County. At first, as a little child, he was puzzled. Right now, he fully understood why his parents said nothing. It was horrific and a little child shouldn't know of it.

In the academy, he found out that humans were more disgusting than those demons. Those demons...were actually fallen people. People with bad things inside their hearts, which caused them to transform. Even the pure elves couldn't escape from the clutches of their desires, becoming drows, becoming dark elves. The only race which wasn't affected by this scuffle was the dragon race. They isolated themselves far in the fiery mountains, not connected to any realms, their own realm. They never came out ever since.

Bishop Nathan's father was a textile merchant, that was why he had enough money to take care of the semi-blind Nathan so easily. Before he was brought to the capital, trained to become a Bishop, he had a happy life. Everyone was nice to him, they were loving, caring, and honest. He had several friends, but during the incident, most of them died in the hands of demons. He had several caring neighbors, but after the incident, they rarely talked. It was as if they had become different people overnight.

One day, his parent disappeared. Nathan didn't know about it, as he lived in the academy's dormitories. He just found out after his exams. Their new neighbor, Uncle Li, told him that they went out to several different counties and prefectures to seek fortune. Nathan's heart was broken, his parents didn't tell him anything, as if intending to leave him out of everything. However, instead of wallowing in sorrow, he worked harder. He hoped that when he became a Bishop, his parents would come to him themselves. Perhaps, at that time...he could have his happiness...and simple honesty with his parents.

As he expected, his parents did come back after he became a certified Bishop. However, he didn't know what happened to his parents that they changed. He couldn't recognize the honest and simple merchants in them anymore. They were overcome by greed, lusting for money here and there. If they were not swimming in a pool of money or flying with printed dollar wings, they wouldn't be satisfied. His father was no longer the father he once knew. At first, he thought that he was seeing things as his eyes were almost blind but...

His father's smile...wasn't as kind and simple like before. He had become the mammon's* slave. It was filled with malice, schemes, lies. He was afraid to look at his own birth father. It was as if he could see a demon inside his father's heart.

Through this, he became afraid, disgusted by humans. Seeing the abandoned Star County on the list, Nathan chose to be a Bishop there. He became detached from the social circle, and slowly diminished from the human populace.