Chapter 56 : Echoes of the Divine

There are countless gods in Artera.

In various natural terrains such as rivers, lakes, mountains, and canyons, local gods take their place and govern those areas.

Alternatively, guardian deities who have made contracts with a single village, family, or kingdom take care of them.

There are also conceptual gods who control abstract ideas such as anger, justice, and death, occasionally infiltrating human lives.

Finally, transcendental gods, symbolizing a single nature like light, look down on the world.

In the end, civilization and humanity in Artera were bound to be close to the gods.

The gods, in turn, revealed their presence by forming relationships with human civilizations, which would become their power and territory.

Humans and gods sometimes display their relationships in their own way—through rituals.

“Lady Aria, you will be going up soon.”

“Yes, yes.”

Rituals come in countless methods and forms, no matter how much the same god is served by different religions.

Depending on the meaning attributed to the ritual, a religion could create dozens of rituals and present them to the world.

“·······.”

“You seem to be very worried. But there is no need to worry.”

“Miss Mirey.”

Among such rituals, the ‘ritual of serving and meeting God’ is by far the most important.

Especially when it’s being performed for the first time.

The burden weighing on Aria came from there.

The blue and white jewels, reminiscent of water and wind, and the white dress with blue embroidery, created by the best tailors day and night, trembled slightly.

“You worked hard for this day, didn’t you?”

Aria worked hard.

In less than a week, she learned all the virtues and actions expected of someone who serves a god.

It was a tough schedule for a 7-year-old child, but there was no one who could oppose it because Aria herself wanted it.

Mirey knew Aria’s efforts, so she held Aria’s anxious hand.

“And no matter what mistake you make, God will not be angry. I know that.”

“When you appeared in the sky before, I saw the gaze that God directed toward Lady Aria and Rachel. That gaze was very······.”

It was warm.

Mirey’s words relaxed Aria’s stiff body and mind a little.

Tap tap tap tap!

“And you will be with Rachel, so you will be a little less nervous.”

“Sister!!!”

“Rachel······!”

At Mirey’s words, Rachel, who had run across the hallway, wore an outfit different from usual.

Overall, it was similar in shape to Aria’s dress, but it had a hood that could be pulled over the head.

Also, upon closer inspection, the embroidery was simpler than Aria’s.

“Sister, you’re pretty!”

“Uh, um. Thank you. You’re pretty too.”

“Hehe.”

As Mirey said, Aria was not performing the ritual alone. This had been decided after a long meeting about the rituals.

[No matter how much we try to hide it, we can’t prevent her from participating in the first ritual.]

The reason was simple. Because Rachel was the true Miko of the Dragon God.

To be precise, Aria could also be seen as a Miko, but the symbolism of the first was very significant.

In addition, Aria’s position was precisely that of a ‘Miko’s proxy,’ so if Rachel didn’t participate, strange rumors about the Miko could spread in many ways.

“······Rachel, are you not nervous?”

When the ritual begins, Rachel, not Aria, will be standing in front. Aria would assist Rachel to ensure the ritual was completed successfully.

But since Aria, the assistant, was nervous, while Rachel wasn’t, Aria couldn’t help but be curious.

“Yes!”

“Re, really? I heard that there are a lot of people outside now······.”

The battle between the Dragon God and Rakallushad had already spread to the surrounding territories. As a result, nobles, merchants, and others from neighboring territories had come and were waiting for their appearance.

Aria, who had never attended an official event, had to struggle to stop her hiccups when the maid told her this information earlier.

But Rachel just smiled brightly and fluttered the hem of her robe.

“Because the Dragon won’t be angry!”

“Ah······.”

Rachel repeated the same words Mirey had said to her a little while ago.

Mirey, who was listening to the two’s conversation from the side, also smiled happily. Aria felt her tension easing more and more with the smiles of the two.

“Aria, and Miko. It’s time to go out.”

Mirey, who had received a signal from a soldier far away, slowly got up and said.

Mirey placed the hood of Rachel’s robe over her head and held the hands of both girls.

Creak.

The door to the Count’s residence opened, and the cool wind swirled around them.

The sun in the clear sky, without a single cloud, shone brightly on their path. Soldiers from the Count’s residence stood in regular formation, holding swords and spears along the road between the Count’s residence and the gate.

“When you cross the gate, the Count will be waiting for you. This old woman will watch from behind.”

With those words, Mirey released the two young girls’ hands.

Now, there was nothing more for the old maid, who had taken care of the two Mikos of the Cheongnyongsingyo, to do.

The rest was up to the two children.

“······Let’s go, Rachel.”

“Yes!”

Aria, feeling responsible for being two years older than Rachel, held her hand and strode forward.

She glanced at the soldiers. Unlike when they usually greeted her warmly, they stood in a stern formation.

‘We’re going to stand next to Daddy after passing through the door.’

Creak.

“Rachel, Lady.”

“Daddy!”

When they reached the inside of the gate, Jonan, dressed like a knight, was waiting for the two.

Rachel, who had to participate, and Jonan, who didn’t need to show himself, waited behind.

“Our daughter is cute.”

“Yes!”

“I believe our daughter is smart and will do well.”

“Hehe.”

“······Lady. Please take care of our immature Rachel. She doesn’t know anything, so she might make a mistake just by smiling brightly.”

“Daddy?”

“Yes, yes!”

“Then, I will open the door.”

With Jonan’s words, the tightly closed iron gate slowly began to open.

At the same time, Aria and Rachel heard a massive cheer that seemed to pierce their ears.

Waaaaaaaaah!!

The crowd was so packed that it felt as though their eyes were filled with people. Count Arnus Craystist was waiting for them next to the white altar built in the square located a little further away from the gate.

Unlike a moment ago, this time, knights blocked the way to the altar.

Rachel and Aria held hands tightly and slowly walked toward the altar.

As they moved forward, the shouts grew louder, and the crowd’s gazes followed them.

Finally, when they arrived in front of the altar, Count Arnus knelt before them.

Normally, a father would hug his daughter warmly, and the daughter would be happy, but now they were a Miko of a god and a believer.

Aria also understood that, so she steeled herself and passed by Count Arnus.

Now, all that remained was the white staircase. Here, Aria released Rachel’s hand.

“Rachel, let’s go up now. I’ll go up with you from behind.”

“Huh? We’re not going up together?”

Clearly, Aria had explained this earlier, but Rachel tilted her head as if she hadn’t heard it.

“If you go up first, then I······.”

“Just go up together!”

“Uh, uh?”

So Aria, who had tried to explain to Rachel, began climbing the stairs together because Rachel, not caring about the plan, grabbed her hand roughly.

‘I have to walk behind!’

Even though she was only showing her face, Rachel was the main character of this ritual.

The Count explained this to Aria, and Aria understood it clearly.

But as it was now, the main characters were divided into two.

Moreover, due to Rachel’s face being covered, she was receiving more attention.

As the plan went awry, Aria’s head throbbed. But the culprit, Rachel, was humming and climbing the stairs bravely.

Of course, she didn’t let go of Aria’s arm.

“Ra, Rachel. Even now, you have to go up first···.”

“No!”

“Ugh······.”

In the end, Aria was dragged by Rachel and arrived in front of the altar at the same time.

Because of their awkward posture climbing the stairs, some people tilted their heads and whispered.

“Why is the Lady like that···.”

“But that child is the Miko the Count mentioned? Why is she covering her face?”

“She seems younger than the Lady······.”

Fortunately, there was a wide gap between the altar and the crowd, so their voices didn’t reach the girls.

Aria, standing in front of the altar, held the platinum cup on the altar and repeated the final instruction in her head.

‘Now, when Rachel holds the cup filled with water and uses the power she received from the Dragon together with Rachel······.’

“Sister, clouds!”

“The ritual is over······ uh, uh?”

Aria’s concentration broke instantly at Rachel’s voice. Aria quickly glanced up at the sky, where Rachel’s finger pointed.

“Cl, clouds?”

“It wasn’t clear just a moment ago?”

“But it’s suddenly getting dark?”

Dark clouds gathered rapidly in the clear sky, quickly covering the barony. People began to feel uneasy.

“Is the Dragon God angry?”

“Clearly, when he fought that monster, there were dark clouds······.”

People murmured uneasily, and their words reached Aria’s ears.

She thought she needed to calm them down somehow, but Rachel shouted again.

“Dragon!!”

And God answered the Miko’s cry.

Rumble······

The dark clouds, which had suddenly covered the sky, began to break apart, releasing white clouds.

A little rain fell from the dark clouds and soon spread across the clear sky, which then turned to sunlight.

The rain transformed into a rainbow, and the clouds turned golden.

At the same time, the sunlight that pierced through the clouds became golden spears, illuminating various parts of the barony.

It was as though the sky itself was blessing the ritual.

The world was beautiful.

Then, the Dragon God slowly revealed himself from beyond the clouds, beyond the rainbow.

His massive body couldn’t even fit within the vast clouds.

Even the rainbow’s beautiful colors couldn’t cover his blue scales.

The blue god gently stirred the sky with noble gestures.

His body sparkled like the sea receiving sunlight. When the god’s body entered the shadow of the clouds, it shone brilliantly like the Milky Way.

Each time the god bent, a faint wind wrapped gently around the city.

Each time the god’s claws cut through the clouds, the golden sunlight scattered like dust.

The Dragon God’s movements were more relaxed than anyone else’s, but in an instant, they captured everyone’s hearts.

The Dragon God’s body rippled like a wave as he slowly approached the altar.

Finally, when the Dragon God came close to the altar, no one could move.

Except for one person—Rachel.

“Dragon!”

The Dragon God looked softly at his Miko, who was jumping with joy. At the same time, he glanced at the other girl, who stood stiffly next to her.

Whether he noticed the look, Rachel frowned and grabbed Aria’s hand, who was hesitating to step back.

“Sister! Why are you running away?”

“Uh? No, I—”

But before Aria could finish her sentence, she was pulled toward Rachel and stood beside her in front of the altar.

“Hehe.”

“·········.”

Aria no longer knew what to do.

In the end, she forgot all the orders she had been repeating in her head and decided to leave it all to Rachel.

From the beginning, this was something unplanned, especially since the Dragon God had appeared in person.

Count Arnus and Jonan, who were under the altar, quickly knelt down and bowed their heads.

Then, the Dragon God’s voice was heard in everyone’s mind.

[I am the one who looks down on the water, and at the same time, the being who encompasses the sky.]

The Dragon God’s body slowly rose. Aria and Rachel’s bodies also lifted with him.

[The suffering earth and mountains cried out for salvation, and my wind achieved it.]

Everyone recalled Rakallushad’s existence. He had been pierced by the sword the Dragon God made with the storm and died.

[The dry plains quenched their thirst, and the angry forest regained stability.]

Estel Village and the forest had barely been harmed by the red demons, and at the same time, the adjacent large plains were blessed with a good harvest.

[This is the salvation and mercy I give to you. I will continue to give salvation to those who follow me.]

As a result, Estel Village was freed from its crisis, and the Craystist family regained life.

[Also, these children will be the string that connects me and you, and at the same time, they will be a lighthouse.]

The sunlight shining through the clouds illuminated Rachel and Aria, who were rising into the sky.

The rainbow-colored particles shattered by the rain surrounded them, and their divine powers began to radiate.

[If you want to follow me, you must respect them.]

“Ah······.”

“God······.”

Seeing the two children enveloped in God’s pure power, everyone instinctively knelt down and worshiped.

Status, position, gender, and age were no longer relevant.

This was a natural action for those who had God before them and those who received God’s love.

[I am the blue dragon, Cheongnyong. Revere, worship. I am your god.]

No one dared to oppose God’s declaration.

And with this declaration, the Cheongnyongsingyo officially revealed itself.

“······How?”