“I cannot stop you if healing is what you want,” said Grandma Mo as she took another step forward. “You can accompany me if you want.”
“Grandma, she is the right-hand of Arthur Silvera,” said Layla to explain the situation. Grandma Mo was silent before she grunted in response. “This is also a part of his plan.”
Grandma Mo could see where that man was heading. He wanted the people to follow someone he trusted to turn the tides when the emperor was dethroned. After all, it was meaningless to free people who hate you. It would cause instability, nothing else.
The woman who called herself Ai seemed sweet and caring, but Grandma Mo didn’t trust her. After all, she learned that there was more below the surface of beauty and sweet smiles.
Layla seemed to explain everything along their way to Ai, who acknowledged it with words of awe. Finally, Grandma Mo reached the first house on her list, making her drop the firewood on the ground before taking several pieces from the pile to give.
“Let me carry them, Grandma,” volunteered Layla, and Grandma Mo didn’t mind. After knocking on the door, a pair of mother and daughter received them with pale, smiling faces.
“Grandma!” shouted the teenage girl with glee as she ran to hug Grandma Mo. “You weren’t here yesterday, so we worried!”
“I might be old, but my time has yet to come,” said Grandma Mo before patting the girl’s head. “If I die, all of these families will starve.”
“I will distribute the firewood for you,” said the girl before noticing that Layla was also there. “Ah, Sister Night! It has been so long since I last saw you!”
“I had a lot going on,” said Layla as she carried the firewood inside. The house inside was empty, except for junk lying around. The kitchen was empty, and the fireplace had black ashes and a pot above it. “How are you now?”
“She stopped going outside as you instructed,” said the mother with a weak smile while holding her daughter’s shoulders. “We will never forget how you saved her, Night.”
“I only wanted to teach those bastards a lesson,” smiled Layla before she placed the firewood on the ground, choosing to ignite a few. “It might be boring, but you are safer inside the house.”
Grandma Mo took a few pieces of wood to place on the side, but Ai was quick to grab them and help her. In the end, she went inside with nothing to do. As soon as the two women saw Ai, they were mesmerized.
“Ah, is she also someone the Mansell Gang kidnapped?” asked the teenage girl because all would covet Ai’s beauty. “There are many women who escaped, but all of them joined the rebellion.”
“The rebellion?” asked Grandma Mo with a frown. “How did you learn about that?”
“The women visited their families before disappearing, saying that Arthur Silvera saved them, so they wanted to join the rebellion. As a result, many people have been leaving the city using the river and the night.”
“It explains the empty houses,” said Grandma Mo with a frown. “A rebellion might be needed, but war sacrifices the troops before the leaders. Do not participate, alright?”
“We are afraid that staying here can be dangerous,” worried the mother. “After all, the knights don’t patrol these streets. If anyone attacks, then we cannot defend ourselves against them.”
“You will not be harmed,” said Ai as she stepped forward to place the firewood on the ground. “I am building a shelter inside the city, using earth magic. There will also be fire and clean water, so worry not.”
“…who are you?” asked the mother with worry. After all, such an offer from a stranger was no different than the Mansell Gang incident striking them again.
“I am…” said Ai while raising her hands, creating four elements in front of their eyes, “the Elemental Saint. I came to this city to heal and save the citizens from the upcoming war.”
“Elemental Saint?” muttered the woman with fear and confusion, but her apprehension seemed less than before. “Are you the one who has been visiting the ancient temples? I heard the knights would arrest anyone who follows you.”
“Ai is the true master of elements, not just one like the emperor. Haven’t we grown up believing that she would one day appear?” said Layla beside the fireplace, making the mother silent.
Grandma Mo stared at the scene with equal silence. After all, she knew that this woman was not a real saint. However, what is a saint other than someone who saves people?
Arthur Silvera was a man they could trust because he was the enemy of the cruel imperial family. He didn’t strike her as a manipulator because he didn’t need underhanded methods to win. Thus, she wouldn’t mind lying if it meant saving the weak.
? “I will be there too, in her shelter,” said Grandma Mo, surprising all those present. Her wrinkled face stared at the mother with a grim expression. “There is no other option for us than to trust the legend.”
The mother nodded after a few seconds because she knew Grandma Mo wouldn’t harm her. Thus, the family agreed that when the city bells started ringing, they would head toward the shelter on the city’s edge.<.com>
“How do you know the knights wouldn’t sniff out your hideout?” asked Grandma Mo as she tried to carry the firewood, but Layla beat her to it. “The empire has spies everywhere.”
“We know, but we have no other choice. I will fight whoever tries to invade our shelter once the battle breaks out. The executions are tomorrow, so we need to spread the word.”
Grandma Mo grunted in response and allowed the two to tour the district with her. Before night came, every house knew about the shelter on the city’s edge.
The two women walked Grandma Mo back to her inn, which looked almost haunted. She allowed them inside and cooked supper, which might be the last they had inside this place.
“A storm is brewing in the distance, and I have been hearing voices infiltrating the city,” said Grandma Mo as she placed the food in front of the two. “They are angry, hateful cries for justice. Blood will be shed tomorrow throughout the city.”
“Every change starts with blood,” said Layla before eating, but Grandma Mo disagreed. Then, as she was about to voice out her thoughts, Ai shook her head and answered.
“War is never the answer, but sometimes, it’s the only option we have left. The girl we met earlier is one of the victims you told me about, right?”
“I saved her from the Mansell Gang.”
“We met countless people today who had wounds because of the gangs that have been allowed to run rampant in the lower districts. War is never the answer, but neither is surrender.”
“You seem to be more than just a puppet,” said Grandma Mo with a rare smile. “What have you been before following Arthur Silvera?”
“I was a priest in a faraway religion, but I left it to follow the Seika,” said Ai with a smile. “He saved me from the darkness I was imprisoned in and gave me a new body to love.”
“A new body?” muttered Grandma Mo with confusion. “Has he cured you of some illness?”
“He gave me the power to heal scars that tormented me,” said Ai as she touched her face. “This skin has seen blood more than anyone, Grandma Mo. I understand your fears and vow to protect the people you love.”
“I don’t doubt you,” said Grandma Mo as she tried to stand, but then a memory appeared in her mind. She turned toward Ai with puzzlement and confusion as she repeated the words from earlier. “You said you were a priest?”
“I was,” said Ai with a nod.
“And your name is Ai,” said Grandma Mo as she sat in her chair with trembling lips. “However, it doesn’t make sense. I’ve seen an ancient statue that resembled you in Halin, and it cured people.”
Ai seemed confused, but Grandma Mo was sure of it. After she was teleported out of the Light Prison, she appeared in Halin. Her limps were mangled, and her face was shredded, but she survived because of the temple where she found herself. It had a statue of a saint named Ai.
“It was written in Yalveran Language that the statue belonged to the Healer Saint Ai. However, it seemed ancient, with vegetation covering it. How can it be you?”
“Grandma Mo, you must be mistaken,” said Layla with confusion as she wiped her mouth clean. “Ai is as old as I am, so even if a statue resembled her, it should look younger.”
“That might not be the case,” said Ai with her big, curious eyes. “I have created such statues throughout Alka, in temples that belonged to a new religion that I have founded with others.”
“You founded a religion?” asked Layla with a speechless face.
“It was the only way to control the unrest throughout Alka,” Ai sighed. “After memories started appearing throughout the continent, many people believed they were possessed. I had intact memories of my other life, so I had to explain the situation.”
“And that created a religion? Based around what?”
“…the Seika of Living Beings. I created the healing statue in several temples, and since Alka has a different timeline from Earth, it might have ended up here after a fissure struck it.”
“Seika of Living Beings? Does that refer to Arthur Silvera?” asked Grandma Mo with a frown, and Ai nodded. “Then, in a twist of fate, I was saved by that youngster.”
