It was still the damp and hazy world. The full moon was covered by layers of dark clouds, unable to reveal a trace of light. The cold wind invaded. The holy Dawn Cathedral stood in the darkness as usual. Occasionally, the singing of dawn hymns could be heard.
The church is brightly lit, in contrast to the darkness outside. There is no firelight inside the lampshade, but it is still bright. This is an energy lamp that can only be used by nobles. The steel that transports energy is woven into a network along the veins of the building, like It is the blood vessels of the human body that support the functioning of the church.
A knight in silver-white armor stood. In the narrow and dark confessional room, a bishop wearing a white robe and hood sat on the seat. He lowered his head and quietly knelt in front of him to confess.
There are many such people.
When he did something wrong, he came to the church to pray for God’s forgiveness.
But the gods never blamed them, and they never changed themselves.
"Father, dawn will come eventually, right?"
After a long silence, a kind and gentle voice came from under the white robe:
"Of course, as long as you sincerely repent, may Alona, the goddess of the dawn, bless you forever."
"Really? Father."
"Really, tell me, penitent, what have you done wrong?"
The man heard the priest's words and raised his head happily. The shadow of the hood covered the priest's face, making it difficult to see the priest's expression clearly.
"I was born in a small town..."
The man began to tell his story, a story that was so calm that it was boring.
“The location of the town is very remote, and the transportation is not developed, so to a certain extent, the town is closed and rarely communicates with the outside world.
But everyone in the town is a believer in the gods. They believe in the goddess of dawn, Elona, and are optimistic and live with hope.
This kind of life is happy. It is rare to see unhappy people in a small town. Everyone knows each other well and helps each other when in trouble. The old lady from my next door neighbor likes to bask in the sun in the yard every day and lean on her She sat on the chair and told the children stories about her time as a young nun in the church..."
The man was talking nonchalantly. The priest frowned slightly when he heard these irrelevant nonsense, but didn't say much.
"Father, at that time, I was really happy. I had hot meals when I came home every day, and a wife who loved me. I had such a beautiful family.
By the way, did I forget to tell you that I have a child who has just grown up. He is very good-looking and very popular in school. The girls in our small town all like to play with him.
I also bumped into him when he went shopping with a girl. After returning, I secretly stuffed some money into his pants pocket, but he discovered it.
This is dad secretly supporting you!
I told my son this, and then he laughed and said I was the best father in the world..."
At this point, the untimely ringing of the bell interrupted the penitent's narration, and the priest suddenly remembered that the secret meeting was about to begin and he needed to speak on stage.
It seems that we have to hurry up.
The priest nodded to the man and urged:
"Then what? What happened?"
"what happened……"
The man repeated the priest's words, as if recalling something, his eyes became dull and his speaking speed slowed down.
"Yes, do you have anything to confess to the Goddess of Dawn?"
The priest gave a suitable reminder.
The man came back from his memories, took a deep breath, then as if putting on a mask, restored his original calm expression, and continued to talk:
"I also love my wife very much. She is oblivious and always forgets to pick up my shirt for the next day. She also always forgets that I like saltier food and needs to put more salt in my bowl. But She is really nice, a good wife and a good mother..."
"Speak your repentance to the Dawn Goddess."
The priest couldn't help but interrupt him.
"Repent...ah, repent, yes, I want to repent to the goddess of the dawn. After I lost everything, I couldn't restrain my anger and the atrocities I committed against the doctrine."
Until then, the man's tone was no longer calm, but slightly trembling. He lowered his head and his shoulders twitched slightly, as if he was afraid or crying.
"My memory is getting worse, Father. I can't remember the time clearly. I just remember that it was dusk, when the orange light enveloped the earth, that thing happened."
"What's up?"
It seemed that he had come to the main point, and the priest was aroused with curiosity.
"That day, my son didn't come home after school. We waited for a long time. When it got dark, he hadn't come back yet. My wife was scared and hid in my arms shivering. We contacted the school The teacher told me that my child had gone home from school long ago."
At this point, the man paused, stopped shaking, and continued.
"After discussing with my wife, I decided to go out to look for him. It was very dark, so for her safety, I asked her to wait for me at home. Then, this became the decision I regret most in my life."
"Your wife?"
the priest asked tentatively.
"Yes, something happened. After I left, a group of thugs broke into my home, kicked open the locked door, and then took away my wife. But that night, I didn't find my child. , you know? Father, I have lost everything, I have lost everything!”
The man became more and more excited as he spoke. He raised his head, his eyes filled with red bloodshot eyes.
The priest looked at the man in front of him and suddenly had a strange feeling, as if he was not coming to confess to him, but to vent his anger.
"I'm telling you, Father, I followed the clues and avoided several life-and-death crises. I didn't give up! I kept checking, and kept checking, until..."
The man paused, and the confessional room instantly became quiet. The long cry of the express train could be heard in the distance, and a long silver-white snake slowly came along the track.
It's the guests who have arrived.
The priest counted the time, and it was time to end his confession. In order to maintain his solemnity, he straightened his robes that had been messed up by sitting down, and stood up slowly.
"That's all for today's confession."
"Father, where are you going?"
"Welcome the guests. I will wait for you here at the same time tomorrow."
"OK."
The man slowly stood up following the priest's movements, showing a relieved and relaxed smile.
"Father, have you heard of Ana Lopez?"
"who?"
The priest was unimpressed.
"Ana Lopez, the name of my wife, a cheerful and stubborn woman."
I don't know which word evoked the priest's memory. He stood there thinking, as if he had some impression.
Ana Lopez.
It was the woman who... refused to obey the experiment and tried to escape...
I remembered!
The priest opened his eyes wide, showing an expression of sudden realization. Then, when he looked at the man, his eyes changed and became frightened.
"It seems that you have remembered, Father."
The priest opened his mouth, but before the cry came out of his throat, the whole world was shrouded in darkness. Darkness never let anyone go.
No one knew what happened in the confessional. The white knight guarding the door heard the noise. As soon as he opened the door, he saw the holy priest standing behind the door, the shadow cast by the white hood covering everything.
"Dispose of the body."
He only left a faint and calm word, and after the white knight responded, he turned and left.
In the confession room, the man lay face down on the ground. The white knight turned the man over. He was unrecognizable and had no breath.
