Part 1
Before the Void, before the judgment, before Yamato there was a small village high atop a mountain.
Yusetsu.
A peaceful land blanketed in snow, where silence seemed to sing invisible prayers.
There lived artisans, healers, farmers. Children who still believed in miracles. Humble believers who worshipped Celestia, the goddess of light the only divine being who demanded neither tithes nor blood.
They raised sheep and cows, and grew what few vegetables the cold would allow.
They shared what little they had.
They laughed modestly.
They dreamed… of the impossible.
And her.
She wasn't a nun back then.
Just a little girl with too many questions and a faith that didn't hurt yet.
The Church of Yoru came unannounced. Like a brutal snowstorm that carried death on its back.
First, they took the life of the village leader.
Then the acolytes of Celestia.
Then the villagers who refused to embrace Yoru's faith.
One by one, they were slaughtered without mercy.
Her parents… and then her little brother.
They said it was "to preserve the sacred balance."
They said it was "a divine decree from Yoru."
But the sky gave no answer.
Nor the statues. Nor the prayers.
Only the fire remained.
The screams.
The blood of the innocent spilled.
When Lina was dragged before the altar, she did not cry.
She didn't even blink.
They had killed everything she loved in this world.
And she was still alive only because her hair was white.
The priests stripped her of her name.
She was no longer Lina.
Only a body to be purified.
They branded her a "bearer of sinful faith."
Said her devotion had been tainted by a false god.
Celestia, the deity her village had worshipped was now heresy to the kingdom.
"The only true god… is Yoru," the high priest declared.
And so, the purification was to begin.
They bound her to a cross.
Gagged her.
Lifted her up.
Offered her.
"We offer this heretic as tribute to Yoru," proclaimed the high priest, his voice filled with fervor.
"May her impure soul sink into the depths of darkness!"
A dark circle opened beneath her feet.
Claws of shadowy energy began to pull her downward into the same abyss where, according to doctrine, Yoru had cast his oldest enemies.
The Pit.
A place the Church did not revere as a prison… but as an altar.
A well of the condemned, turned into perpetual tribute. To offer a soul there was not a punishment. It was worship.
And Lina… was their offering.
She then appeared in a place without form an abyss where darkness didn't begin… because it had never ended.
There, Lina understood that the world no longer wanted her.
And she… no longer wanted the world.
She accepted her fate to die.
After everything she had seen… Neighbors executed. Friends crucified. And other horrors too vile to name.
But most of all her entire family, slaughtered before her very eyes. Screaming her name until their throats gave out.
It was then that the darkness moved.
"What's the matter, little girl? Are you not afraid of death?" said a voice—deep, like an echo with no source.
Nebel appeared.
Humanoid.
Faceless.
A figure made of void… and judgment.
Lina looked him straight in the eyes.
There were no tears.
No pleading.
Only resignation.
"If you're going to kill me… make it quick," she said, her voice dry. "I'm tired of this world… and its corruption."
"Interesting," Nebel murmured, tilting his head slightly. "Aren't you a bit too young to speak like that?"
"I don't care what others think anymore. My family… my village… they no longer exist."
Nebel stayed silent for a moment.
Then he raised a hand the same motion one might use to close a book.
"Very well. If that is your wish… I'll end your misery."
There was no mockery.
No regret.
Lina closed her eyes.
Not out of fear.
But relief.
Awaiting the inevitable.
Or perhaps… the last thing the world had left to offer her.
…
As she slept, those memories lingered in her mind etched like unbreakable runes in her soul.
She felt a gentle jolt. Someone was trying to wake her.
"Lina, are you okay?" said Yamato, in his usual tone. His expression showed no concern but his presence… said otherwise.
"Good morning, Yamato," she replied, sitting up slowly. "I didn't realize I had fallen asleep."
The fire crackled in the center of Room 450.
The Heralds remained busy, each absorbed in their own affairs.
"Sorry… but it looked like you were having a nightmare," he said, softly wiping away a tear trailing down her cheek. "And… it seemed like you were in pain."
Lina gave him a smile. Not forced just tired.
"Sorry to worry you. I was dreaming about something from the past."
"It's fine," Yamato replied, turning his gaze back to the fire. "Just checking that it wasn't some curse… or exposure to the darkness."
Silence returned but this time, it didn't feel heavy. Only present.
A few meters away, Eliza stood with her arms crossed, her expression as cold as the room.
She stared at Lina with clear disdain.
"Filthy human… thinks she's better than us," she muttered at last.
"Hahaha!" laughed Satirus, flipping a jester card between his fingers. "Who would've guessed? The vampire's jealous. What a sublime little scene."
"Shut it, low-tier demon," Eliza snapped, not even sparing him a glance.
"Fascinating… vampires can feel jealousy," Darwin noted calmly in his notebook. "I'll document that."
"Look at it from her perspective," Zero chimed in, voice neutral. "She was the only woman here. Now she has competition."
"So what?!" Eliza snapped. "Hey, Seiryu, say something!"
But the strategist didn't answer. Seiryu looked worse off than she did.
His face, usually unreadable… showed something else.
A tight jaw.
Averted eyes.
Was it… envy?
"Hey, Sei… you okay?"
Seiryu raised his voice with an unusual gravity.
"We must not allow our master to be seduced in such a way."
An uncomfortable silence followed for a second… until Satirus spoke again, grinning with malice.
"Well, well… You're more rotten than I thought."
Lina walked slowly toward the group, as if she hadn't heard a word.
But everyone knew she had.
The way her footsteps echoed on the stone was too precise.
Too deliberate.
She stopped in front of Eliza.
Not at a threatening distance but at one that demanded to be seen.
The vampire did not back down but her arrogant smile thinned ever so slightly.
"I know you don't like me," Lina said softly. "And you don't trust me. But don't try to measure me by the yardstick of your immortality… because I too have seen centuries of darkness."
Eliza narrowed her eyes.
For the first time, she didn't reply with words.
"You bled to become who you are," Lina continued, without raising her voice. "I was sacrificed. Buried alive. Sealed away by a system you serve… and I've already surpassed it."
"I didn't come here to compete or replace any of you. But if you think I'm going to lower my head out of courtesy… you're mistaken."
She turned gracefully, expecting no reply.
"But if one day you want to speak woman to woman I'll be here with you."
Lina then turned to face the rest of the Heralds.
Her eyes did not seek confrontation.
Only to be seen.
"I know you don't like me because I'm human… or because of my light-based powers but I assure you this: I've looked into the eyes of darkness just as much as any of you."
Seiryu was the first to respond.
In his usual firm tone.
Unembellished.
"We're sorry. It's not personal. Humans and demons have been enemies for decades. It's not easy getting used to your presence."
Lina nodded.
"I understand. But I've also seen that Yamato didn't choose any of you by accident."
"There's more humanity in all of you… than in many humans who think they're saints."
"And how would you know that?" Satirus asked, grinning, eyes gleaming with intrigue.
Lina raised her hand and pointed at Eliza.
Not aggressively.
Just as one stating a truth.
"One of my abilities… is understanding the nature of beings. For instance, someone who hides behind a mask but knows death better than anyone."
Eliza didn't reply.
Didn't growl.
Didn't snap.
She simply looked away.
But something in her chest… trembled.
Because she knew it was true.
She was the last of her race.
And Lina… had read her
as if her soul were still speaking.
A few meters away, Yamato sat on a rock, reviewing his virtual screens. The fire crackled before him, casting shadows that could never quite reach him.
"Aren't you going to say something?" Nebel asked in his usual tone a mix of mockery and genuine curiosity.
"They can handle it themselves," Yamato replied, without looking away. "I'm not interested in their arguments… unless they interfere with my plans."
"You could use a vacation," Nebel suggested, like someone casually offering nonsense. "You know… a beach… warm water… a picnic, maybe."
Yamato closed the screens.
He sighed and lay back on the ground, closing his eyes for the first time in months.
"I don't have time for games. I'm more interested in what the outside world is like…"
"Have you thought about where you'll go once you're out?"
"Let's just say… I have a plan but first, I need to finish my analysis and evaluate the final three Herald candidates."
"They won't disappoint you. I can guarantee that," said Nebel, with a certainty bordering on faith.
"Yeah, yeah… now let me rest for a moment. I'm tired."
And so he did.
For the first time in a long time,
Yamato closed his eyes without fear.
Without calculation.
Just rest.