Chapter 22: The Priest’s Revelation

Bang!

Fearing someone might see, he hastily shut the door and entered the room. Emil flinched involuntarily. He had been overly excited, unable to control his strength.

Emil swallowed dryly, surveying the room. The ice clinging to the ceiling had already vanished. The icicles and the ice walls that had covered the surfaces of the room were gone without a trace, as if nothing had ever happened.

Cautiously, he reopened the door and peered into the hallway. The corridor floor remained a sheet of ice, and icicles still hung before Emil’s door.

“Was it a dream?”

‘Was the pain so intense that he was hallucinating? He couldn’t comprehend it himself.’

Emil hesitated for a long moment before leaning his hand against the wall. Immediately, the spot where his hand touched began to slowly freeze.

“Gasp!”

He quickly pulled his hand away and took a step back, but the ice remained.

“Oh, no….”

He clung to the wall, desperately trying to scrape off the ice, yet it remained immobile, as if fused with the surface.

While all the ice within the room had vanished, this particular patch persisted.

He pounded his clenched fist against it, only then realizing it was still the dead of night. If people heard the noise and came, an even greater problem would arise.

Emil stepped back into the corridor. Amazingly, the hallway had been perfectly restored to its original state, as if by magic.

“Haa.”

‘At least for tonight… the priest wouldn’t shiver from the cold in his sleep.’ That was Emil’s sole source of relief. The thought that he had been creating such things every night without his own awareness was horrifying. ‘How had no one known? Why hadn’t he suspected himself?’

“Why, just why?”

‘Why, of all people, was he the only one burdened with such trials?’

“Lord, if it was you who called me….”

It was the God he believed in who had etched a mark upon Emil’s body and demanded his devotion. Yet, far from believing in God, Emil merely endured a grueling life.

An Esper without a Guide, unable to control his own abilities, and the son of a widow raising a child alone without a husband.

These were the labels that defined Emil.

“Why, why, why…!”

Emil collapsed onto the floor, sobbing. Hot tears streamed down his face. Something warm still remained within him.

Even as his tears soaked the floor, Emil flinched, glancing around. ‘He was terrified he might freeze the room without realizing it.’

Weeping and tormented alone, Emil crawled to his bed and pulled the covers over himself. ‘He had to resolve this predicament. But how?’

“….”

Someone with extensive knowledge of Espers and sufficient ability to manage them.

Yanis’s face came to mind.

****

After attending dawn mass, Emil ate breakfast in the dining hall.

“I slept so well last night.”

“You too, Sister? So did I. Usually, I get chills, but last night was fine.”

“Perhaps the weather has warmed up. Lately, the temperature difference between day and night has been severe, but it didn’t seem to be the case last night.”

Listening to the people’s words, Emil despaired once more. To think that his nightly actions had ultimately affected others! Perhaps it was a blessing that he had found out now. Had he realized any later, the priest’s life would truly have been in peril.

After eating, Emil returned to his room and opened the book he had received from Yanis.

In truth, he had never properly read the book since receiving it from Yanis. Emil hastily skimmed its contents.

[…The abilities of Espers and Guides typically appear across generations. Considering that most Espers and Guides who have imprinted form families through marriage, their children have a high probability of becoming either an Esper or a Guide. When abilities manifest across generations, the individuals possess stronger powers than first-generation Espers or Guides and can control them skillfully.]

According to the book, his mother being an Esper was relevant to his own condition.

‘Had his mother’s mother also been an Esper?’

Emil had never met any relatives other than his mother and father.

‘Would anything have been different if he had known whether his mother was the first Esper in their family, or if her power had also been inherited from her bloodline?’

Having skipped lunch and read the book continuously, Emil sought out the priest’s bedroom before Yanis arrived.

“Oh, Raphael. It’s been a long time.”

“I apologize for my long absence, Father.”

The priest welcomed Emil warmly. He wore thick clothes unsuited for the weather and was covered with several layers of blankets. His complexion seemed worse than when Emil had last seen him.

Despite this, he still greeted Emil with a kind and gentle smile. Facing him only deepened Emil’s sense of guilt. ‘Considering that he was the cause of the priest’s deteriorating health, the corners of his mouth, which he had forced into a smile, kept falling.’

“How are you feeling?”

“Much better. Thanks to a skilled doctor. I even slept soundly last night.”

“That’s a relief. I’ve been praying for you.”

At Emil’s words, the priest was deeply impressed and made the sign of the cross. Seeing his unwavering piety, Emil offered a silent, bitter smile.

“I am truly grateful you came to our church. If it weren’t for Raphael, these people would still be rejecting that skilled doctor. Simply for being a Guide.”

“Ah….”

Emil was well aware of the congregation’s rejection. Even in seminary, conservative priests insisted that Espers and Guides should undergo inquisitions for heresy. These were meaningless words, as physical force was utterly ineffective against them.

Though only a few vehemently called for their execution, the majority agreed with their sentiment, differing only in degree. They believed judgment was necessary for them. Only Emil, due to his family’s connection, completely disagreed with their views.

“I believe Raphael is a miracle. You are the only one who can become a bridge between them and us, a relationship that has long been severed.”

“….”

Emil suddenly fell silent at the priest’s abrupt declaration. There was no pretense in his words; the priest spoke from the heart.

Even in Emil’s childhood, before the mark was etched upon his body, the priest had been the only one to show him kindness. During the time when Emil faced everyone’s cold shoulder simply for being an Esper’s child, the priest had reached out, proclaiming, ‘My God loves all people equally.’

Though his actions were later revealed by chance, preventing him from offering direct aid, he never openly ostracized Emil either.

Even as his own life flickered, he spoke such words, encouraging Emil. ‘Could a saint truly possess such boundless love?’

“I vividly remember that day five years ago. The day you came to me, saying a strange mark had appeared on your back.”

“I cannot express how happy I was to see the cross on your back. I thanked the Lord of Souls who extended a hand of salvation to you.”

“I praised him continuously even as I personally wrote your seminary recommendation. You will undoubtedly become a good priest.”

“…Could I truly?”

“Of course, Raphael. I, too, received a mark and entered the priesthood.”

“You too, Father?”

“Indeed.”

Emil had never heard such a story. As a flicker of curiosity appeared in Emil’s eyes, the priest chuckled, a sound like air escaping.

“Where… is your mark?”

“A mark isn’t always something visible. We tend to think that only what can be seen counts as proof.”

“There is no mark anywhere on my body.”

‘He had no visible mark, yet he had received one.’ Those words sounded utterly contradictory. Emil waited for the priest to continue, offering no further questions. Slowly, the priest raised a hand and reverently covered his own ear.

“I heard the voice of God.”

“…You can hear it?”

“So it seems.”

After a brief pause, the priest continued his story. “When I was a child, I was baptized and went to church with my mother. Of course, back then, I intended to follow in my father’s footsteps and become a fisherman.”

“But one day, I woke up to a voice I’d never heard before whispering in my ear. My mother, my father—no one else could hear that voice.”

“My mother took me to the church, saying I kept telling strange stories. Our village priest listened quietly to my account, then simply wrote it down.”

“And what I had said came true exactly a week later.”

“Wow….”

“That happened when I was twenty-three.”

“So, even now… can you still hear it?”

At Emil’s question, the priest readily nodded.

“Yes, indeed. I can hear it.”

“Wow….”

“However, I don’t always hear it. Your cross never vanishes from your back, but my Father isn’t much of a chatterbox, you see.”

As the priest added playfully, Emil nodded in understanding. The Lord of infinite power bore witness to Himself through each individual in distinct ways. Thus, it was not unusual for the voice of God not to be heard constantly.

“When I entered seminary, there was no one with a mark like mine. A mark usually had to be visible, after all.”

“I was treated as a heretic for a long time even after entering seminary. Of course, once I became a priest after graduation, all such disagreements vanished.”

“So, Raphael, I fully understand the hardships you’ve endured.”

“….”

The priest raised his hand and firmly grasped Emil’s. The warmth inexplicably stirred a lump in Emil’s throat. With his other hand, the priest gently stroked the back of Emil’s hand.

“You can become a good priest.”

“…I truly wish to.”

As Emil replied with fervent sincerity, the priest offered a weak but benevolent smile. Emil genuinely desired to become a priest. ‘And to do so, he had to eliminate this cursed ability.’

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