In the temple of Zaryel, a ceremony occurs. Newly appointed padins are currently being blessed by the Pope himself.

  "My dear, children of God. As you all have walked the path of the sword, with your hearts devoted to the King of the Gods, Zaryel, may you never lose sight of your purpose and may you use your might for the glory of our lord."

  He announced, ending the ceremony with a shower of magic, granting the padins the blessing of God.

  * * * * * * * * * *

  "You called for me, your holiness?"

  In the Pope's office stood one of the new Padins. Eustaqia Demiouza. The youngest to ever become a sword of God. Knights normally get assigned as padins around the age of 25, yet at the ripe age of 21 she climbed the ranks and became one of God's servants.

  People assumed it was due to her blood. The Demiouza Lineage. Although she was born out of wedlock, it was clear she was the child of the Emperor, albeit she had no cim to the throne. Rumors were spread by her competitors, yet she proved them wrong.

  Many have admired her for this. She was strong, no doubt. She did not climb the ranks due to her father, but from her pure strength and dedication alone.

  "Ah. Eustaqia. Just the padin I was hoping to see. I have a mission for you, ordered by the God himself." The Pope said, looking up at the young padin.

  She freezes. Her first mission as a padin. She will be lying if she said she was not excited. This was her life's goal— to serve the King of the Gods. She was unwelcomed in the royal court, so in order to live she had to connect with the one power the Emperor would not dare oppose— The Gods.

  "Head to the Mystic Forests. Up in the north dwells a bunch of Vampiric Vermin. You must purge of them from the nds. Send them back to their maker." The Pope muttered with disdain. It was normal, after all Zaryel does not approve of intelligence that are not human.

  Eustaqia never understood. Why does the God of Life not like Life outside of men? Why do other intelligent species exist if he loathes them all?

  She understood vampires— they we're monsters who feed on blood of creatures. But the church discriminates against others as well, including elves, dwarves, and beastmen. She did not understand, so she simply ignored it.

  She did not try to question those above her. She needed them to live after all.

  "Is that all your holiness? If so I shall leave immediately and carry out the will of the Lord." She bowed and left the office. She needed to make preparations. Travel to the Mystic Forests are harsh as it is.

  But she was confident. Vampires were easy prey. She was strong after all.

  * * * * * * * * * *

  After weeks of riding on horseback, she finally arrived. She was accompanied by a senior priest, the Pope could not let her depart alone after all.

  Unmounting her steed, she looked around. She could see signs of those Vampiric beasts. It was part of the training to hunt monsters after all.

  She followed their tracks. It took days, but they finally found the vampires dwelling.

  "Eustaqia, perhaps it's better we wait. You must rest after all. We can't have you fighting those vermin when you are fatigued. You may be strong, but you are still mortal."

  She sighed. The priest had a point. They made camp and made sure not to make any indication that they were there. One she has rested up, she unsheathed her sword and prepared to rid of the 'vermin'.

  "Before you go, drink this." The priest handed her a potion. She didn't hesitate to drink it. She trusted the church after all. But she shouldn't have trusted them so blindly.

  As she charged towards the vampires, the priest didn't follow. She didn't think much of it, but when her body started aching, she knew something was wrong.

  'Curses. He drugged me.' she thought. The vampires began to swarm her. What she thought was an easy mission soon became a struggle as the potion kicked in.

  "Why?!" She yelled at the priest while trying her hardest to behead the vermin aiming to kill her.

  "The Emperor... He fears you. The pope ordered it as well. The Emperor did promise the church unlimited support if we get rid of you." The priest said, before going away.

  Eustaqia despaired. She thought she was safe— the Empire had no control over the church after all. She was wrong. She thought the church would value God over Gold. She was wrong as well.

  She was dumb to assume she would be safe just by proving herself to the church. Her blind loyalty backfired at her.

  She managed to sy the vampires swarming her, but she could no longer move. She was exhausted. She would be doomed if there were more monsters nearby.

  'I must find shelter.' she thought to herself. She immediately got moving.

  She was thankful she knew of some minor healing spells. That seemed to seal up a few of her wounds. She was still weak however.

  However, a different issue pgued her. It was well known that if you were to be bitten by a vampire, you either die or turn into one. And she was bitten multiple times.

  You would think by having armor she would have at least some decent defense, but the potion had made her sluggish, allowing the vampires to bite her in pces unprotected.

  She was unsure if she could survive this predicament. Very few manages to do that after all. But she wished to Zaryel that he help her get through this.

  It's funny. Despite being betrayed by the church that follows him, she still decided to pce her faith in the King of the Gods.

  She walked for hours, unsure of the actual time. While she walked, she could feel herself turning.

  'Ah. It seems that the Lord has abandoned me.' she thought.

  Suddenly, she discovers a structure. A stone pilr engraved with symbols she could not decipher. She rested against the pilr and prayed.

  She was on the brink of death after all. Despite being turned into a bloodthirsty fiend. A vampire can only heal through blood, but she could not spot a single animal within the area.

  'I have been abandoned by Zaryel, but there must be someone out there... God, Angel, or Demon... Please whatever it might be... I just want to live.'

  Immediately, as if her prayers were being answered, the pilr glowed red. A voice then echoed within her mind.

  [ Young mortal... What is your name? ]

  "I am Eustaqia— *cough*— Demiouza... Who are you?"

  [ I am Varelya... You seem to be on the verge of death, young mortal. I will assist you, but you must do something for me. ]

  "Anything! I'll do anything! I just want to live!" She yells despite coughing up blood.

  [ Very well. ]

  Immediately, Eustaqia was covered by fmes. She screamed, thinking she was getting burned. Has she been tricked? However, she calmed down upon noticing that not only does the fmes not hurt, they seem to be healing her.

  However, the fmes doesn't seem to do anything about her newly acquired Vampiric form.

  "Looks like I've turned into a vampire." She whispers. She wasn't distressed or anything. She didn't really hate the blood-sucking species that much. She understood that was what they needed to live after all. But it was ironic. The youngest padin turned into a vampire. One of the many races the church despise.

  [ How do you feel, Eustaqia? ]

  "I feel wonderful. As if I wasn't on the verge of death... However it seems I'm no longer human."

  [ I'm afraid I can't assist with that. I'm weak as I am. I could help you if I was in my full power, however I cannot right now. ]

  The voice— or rather Varelya— sounded pretty grim. Eustaqia didn't know her circumstances, but she pitied her... Whatever she was.

  "Where are you anyways?"

  [ Mhm? Oh. I am stuck within the Obelisk you y upon. ]

  "Oh... I should probably stop doing that then." Eustaqia prepared to stand up, but was immediately stopped.

  [ Don't. You still are recovering. I don't really mind. ]

  "I see." She sighs and sat back down. "So what are you?"

  [ Hmm? ]

  "Are you human? Elf? Vampire? What are you?"

  [ Hmm... Well I suppose I am what you'd call a 'God'. ]

  Eustaqia raised an eyebrow. She was aware that Zaryel was not the only God— he was the King of them after all— but she had never heard of a God named Varelya.

  "I've never heard of your name before." She whispered, curious.

  [ Well that's a given. I was locked up here after all. Imprisoned if you may. Of course those that sealed me here had tried to erase my name... ]

  Varelya sighed, annoyed. Eustaqia didn't really know what to say. So she remained quiet... Until she remembered something.

  "Oh yeah. What was it that you wanted me to do in exchange for helping me?" She asked. She didn't really know what to expect.

  [ Oh. I was gonna ask for you to unseal me. ]

  "How do I do that?" Eustaqia was confused. She never really learned any magic about seals or whatnot. She did not know how to assist the God.

  [ Just destroy the Obelisk. Only beings of immense power can destroy it though... I doubt a mortal like you can, However I have a feeling you might just exceed my expectations. ]

  Eustaqia hummed. That she could probably do. Once she felt she could bance herself, she stood up and grabbed her sword. She then took some deep breaths and swung it to the obelisk as hard as she can.

  It broke. But shattered her sword in the process.

  Red mist seeped out of the fragments of the structure. And soon, those mist gathered into one spot until they formed a seemingly humanoid figure.

  A beautiful human emerged. Dressed with white and gold garments, she possessed long dark red hair and devil-ish red eyes.

  "Wow" Eustaqia was in shock. She's never seen someone as beautiful before. She's heard rumors that elves were of incomparable beauty, she feels like this woman would be simir to that... Minus her eyes. And ears. The woman's sclera were pitch bck, and her ears were that of a human.

  The woman looked at her body, moves some limbs around, and smiled. She stared at Eustaqia with happiness. "I didn't expect you to actually be able to do it... But thank you. You don't know how long I've been stuck in that stone... I don't know how to repay you, young mortal."

  "I think you saving my life is repayment enough." Eustaqia said, feeling a little shy. "Plus I would have tried to help even without you saving me... I still wouldn't have asked for a repayment though."

  Eustaqia was kind. She had a genuine need to help others. Another reason why she became a padin other than for shelter... Which obviously didn't work out as intended.

  "I have been trapped there for thousands of years. You have no idea how grateful I am to you right now, young mortal. Speak whatever you wish... I'll try to grant it with the best of my abilities."

  Eustaqia pondered. She wasn't a fan of rewards or gifts, but if the woman insisted... She couldn't really say no. She looked at what she was wearing- padins armor with the church's symbol engraved into it.

  She felt repulsed by it now. Especially since that church attempted to take her life.

  "Then... Do you have anything that I can wear apart from this armor?"

  Hiatus_Ashborne