♦Chapter 116: From The Sidelines (1)♦
[]Third Person's POV []
Jeremiah Atlas was born as the second child and first son of the De Clemente household.
Whether it was great luck or misfortune, as he was given birth carrying the blood of his family, he was to follow the traditions of the holy temple that his ancestors held onto till the approach of this day.
To follow what was to be passed on according to the scriptures with bound restrictions of confidentiality based on one's position, he was told to possess the obligation to give birth to the next descendants of the house with his very own wife in the future, considering that the God they worshipped only chose women of the bloodline to have the ability to hear His voice.
Evangeline Cia De Clemente, Jeremiah's elder sister took upon that role and carried out her duties for the few, earlier years, even before he was born or given of the consciousness to be alive.
Nevertheless, despite taking their roles into account within the family, it wasn't like they were at odds with one another. Rather, they got along very pleasantly as they were children raised to honor the white temple's ways, taught of morals aside from the lessons to be known as fellow nobles who were renowned to be close to equal in terms of standing, to the Imperial Family.
Both were gentle-hearted yet firm to their parts, by all means at nature. But never have they known back then...
That this tranquility was slowly but surely beginning to have cracks, behind their backs...
There was once a day that began very peaceful as per usual. Around eight in the morning, the nine-year-old Jeremiah pumped himself up with spirits before the mirror in his room, preparing for the arrival of his tutor for that period, as soon as he finished breakfast with his family downstairs.
Amid his studies, he moved his pen while having short breaks after a while for a resupply of energy, and kept things to proceed very smoothly like it used to be till it was time for lunch.
It was not long after those moments that strange events began to happen then, only from his perspective.
"Well then, I'll get going from here. May God's blessing be upon your side for the rest of today as well, Jeremy.", a certain mint green-haired lady patted the young boy's head.
"Likewise, to you. Sister.", Jeremiah responded to the young Priestess of an age of five years older than himself, and to the sweet words mixed on her formalities.
After reaching the age of sixteen where youths were to be labelled a semi-adult, his sister would finally and officially become a certified head, or Priestess of the sacred temple and the De Clementes.
Thinking how two years would pass by in a blink of an eye than expected, he smiled from ear to ear out of the excitement of the arrival of that specific moment. He could even imagine the dazzling sight of his sister's outstanding features, suiting the white uniform that she would wear during and forever after the ceremony, as he watched the back that parted from his figure.
[ You seem to be enjoying yourself, human. ]
The lad could feel the chills right down his spine from the abrupt twists of events that welcomed the astonishment on his profile.
A woman-like voice to his unfamiliarity, suddenly reached his sense of hearing.
Normally, he would've thought that someone such as a maid have spoken those words from somewhere nearby, like from behind his physique for example. However, he could tell that this one was different from the natural after looking around at his surroundings from the center of that ghostly hallway.
There was not a singe presence to be found. What's more was that it seemed as if the hallway has gone longer than how it usually was. And that fact made him have the intuition that help wouldn't come, even if he yelled for it.
The eerie atmosphere and developments made him panic as he was never exposed to danger for once, other than whenever he had his brief sword trainings.
His legs could give in at any moment from the way it trembled despite his brave-looking act on the surface.
"W-Who are you?! What did you do to me?!!", he stuttered.
[ How entertaining. The ewe has been much strong-witted than the ram. ]
'Why is she suddenly talking about lambs...?', when he thought of that situationally, an unexpected statement followed like it seemed to have answered the question.
[ Weak creatures like humans such as yourself are no different from lambs, much less in the Goddess' eyes. ]
While processing the meaning to be discovered from the unknown voice's sentence, Jeremiah gradually got to calm himself down as he temporarily decided to keep his guard up, being aware of how it was yet to be determined whether the opponent was truly someone that would bring harm to him or not.
"Seeing that you can hear my thoughts, why don't you directly answer the questions in my mind?"
[ Good point. It's not like I can keep you trapped in this space forever. ]
The voice has spoken, however not completely. Still, it was a matter of truth that it pointed out the most important things that Jeremiah had to know at the time, for the least;
-That it wasn't the Goddess that their temple worshiped, in the flesh, but a greater vessel amongst all of the creation in this world, in charge of delivering the Goddess' divine messages; That it was to be addressed as 'Arnina' through his lips from here and then...
And that he was chosen as what they, humans of the De Clementes, referred to as 'receivers', which was the role that his elder sister supposedly had taken on for a long time.
The young male was about to question why the Goddess bore such decisions during his talk with the greater vessel, Arnina. But before he could even ask, the communication between themselves has been cut off, as though it was done on purpose.
Being transported back into the real world, he began to have doubts toward the many, different factors around himself, including the same Evangeline that he frequently adored around the sidelines.
First of all, he was relieved that it wasn't highly possible that his sister feigned to be a legitimate 'receiver' all this time, considering that the prophesies she spoke of have been spot on so far. He was sure that there wasn't anything to be suspected on that area.
So then, why has he been chosen?
The same question continuously bothered the youthful Jeremiah, hoping that all of it was but a hallucination. However, the fact that the voice reached his ears once more the next morning made things very clear, allowing him to thoroughly give in to reality.
Multiple theories could be drawn out from the issue. And amongst all of what he could speculate despite the lack of clues, he couldn't accept the potential danger that could arrive to his sister if ever he was destined to be her replacement after a certain event, foreseen by the Goddess they revere with utmost trust.
At any rate, he couldn't fathom the thoughts of those from the above. Thus, with things left in uncertainty, he decided to hide this matter from anyone other than himself, supposing that it was the best course of action to take.
More than anything else, he didn't wish for sparks of conflict to sprout between him and his elder sister, after all.
Soon enough or in a blink of an eye, two years have passed at the glorious Empire of Asquith.
The time has come for Evangeline Cia de Clemente to inherit her respective title and receive complete dominance toward her role.
The fact that her younger brother could smirk with suppressed, extreme joy for the sake of this occasion proved how he managed to successfully hide his secret from his surroundings, throughout those years.
His sister's appearance that day lived up to his assumptions, to have made him wear such a reaction since the beginning of the ceremony. He was all so proud with the inner desire of bragging about everything he could gush right there, even if it would turn out into something that would embarrass their name.
[ I believe, the way you're acting right now exactly suits the term, 'degenerate'. ]
'I'd be delighted to become even the lowest being, if it's for my sister.', he thought as a response to the greater one's insult, flexing his insanity without much concern, behind the face he wore on the outside.
He paid no heed to his conversation partner's silence toward his reply, and focused his attention toward the woman with the same hair color as his as she briefly climbed the stairs to do the final step to be done by the altar.
The maiden then stood from above with her body facing the audience down the stairs, and said;
"Glory be upon the great temple of De Clemente."
In the eyes of the others who have witnessed that moment, Evangeline might've looked so dignified and firm, expressing the befitting features of someone who would become the Head Priestess starting from that very moment. But for some reason, Jeremiah saw things different at the time.
That's right. At the end of the ceremony...
-His sister's demeanor seemed rather dispirited than delighted.