Interlude 2: Sanon
In the Royal Capital of the Kingdom of Valschein, there was a tall, impressive spire that stretched towards the heavens. This spire graced the roof of the Capital’s Sanonist church, the place of worship for those who believed in the god of light. Sitting atop the narrow tower was a girl who had white hair and golden eyes. She let her legs dangle freely as she watched the people come and go throughout the city below.
Some of Sanon’s most devout followers were currently praying to her in the church. All of their prayers echoed in Sanon’s ears. Sanon listened to the prayers of her believers often enough that she knew the personalities of each and every one of her countless followers around the world. Whether the prayers expressed gratitude towards their lives, sincere wishes for the well-being of their loved ones, requests seeking personal gain, or laments of anger and unhappiness towards their god due to various misfortunes, she heard it all, and she took every prayer to heart.
Although she listened with attention, she never did anything about the prayers—she declined to respond to voices crying for salvation, nor did she secretly provide assistance to those requesting it. She didn’t get involved or interfere with people. She only watched over them and observed how their lives played out. She would witness what fate had in store for those who prayed to her, and she would burn those fates into her mind.
Sanon was acquainted with another god, one who had no followers, and they would often observe to her, “From the perspective of your followers, it doesn’t really matter whether you exist or not.”
“The sun’s light shines down onto everyone equally,” she would always respond. But Sanon knew that this was all just pointless equivocation.
Things had been different in the past. Though Sanon’s current practice was to refrain from any direct involvement with humans, there had been a time when she had regularly interacted with her believers. She recalled one young girl for whom she’d had a particular affinity.
“That girl was... I wonder what I should have done for her.”
The girl in question had been an orphan who grew up at a Sanonist orphanage, and she had been studying to become a member of the clergy. However, she wasn’t very smart, and she wasn’t very skilled at physical activities. Even the one thing she had a slight grasp on, using light magic, was something she wasn’t able to do with any great skill. But the girl’s prayers were purer and more beautiful than anyone else’s.
The girl had a naivete to her that led her to believe that Sanon was a god just because she claimed to be one, despite never providing the girl with any kind of proof. The orphan’s innocence led her to never question Sanon’s teachings. The god of light had loved this girl. But this girl she so deeply loved...had died at a young age.
As Sanon unearthed the memories of that time, tears pooled in her eyes. The girl’s end was not something so simple as death—her soul had disappeared without leaving a single trace.
This was long before the Kingdom of Valschein had been formed. The world had been facing a crisis, and if it continued, all light would have been lost, leaving the world veiled in darkness. There was only one way to save the world: the people had to sacrifice this girl. Considering it would save the entire world, it was quite a small price to pay. The girl made up her mind to go through with it, because it was for the world, and because she could save everyone around her.
“There’s no need for you to be sacrificed,” Sanon had pleaded with her.
“Thank you, God,” she had said with a serene smile. “But I’ve made my decision. I don’t mind dying, as long as everyone else gets to live.”
“You must flee here. I’ll take care of the rest. I’m Sanon, the god of light, the personification of the sun. I could use my power and solve this problem at once.”
The girl saw right through Sanon’s lie. Despite the fact that this girl never seemed to know the meaning of doubt, she had seen right through the brave front that Sanon had done her best to put up.
Sanon could have stopped the girl from sacrificing herself by force, but then the world would have ended. Saving the world meant that the girl had to die.
Trapped by such a dilemma, Sanon was, in the end, unable to do anything. Her powerlessness stung deeply. Was there any point in the existence of a god who only watched over...no, who only left people for dead?
Ever since the death of that precious girl, Sanon had stopped interacting with people. If she were to become close with another human, and she found herself in the same situation...she knew that she would be unable to do anything yet again. She couldn’t pretend that she didn’t grieve when individual people had to be hurt for the greater good of the whole, but she couldn’t prioritize individual happiness at the expense of that greater good either... It didn’t seem to matter whether she was there or not. And this was the moment when the pointless god was born.
The memory of the girl’s end replayed itself over and over in Sanon’s mind. She recalled how the girl was taken by the darkness and reduced to an immense amount of magical energy in order to save the world—and how her soul was subsumed into that grotesque magical sword.
“Please live, everyone...” Sanon whispered, repeating the girl’s final words like a mantra, one that she would never forget. She quietly repeated it over and over, “Please live, everyone...everyone, please live.”
◆◆◆
It was early in the day, as Sanon perched on the spire of the church listening to her followers’ prayers when she noted the presence of an unwanted guest.
“Why are you here?” she asked.
“I think you already know,” responded a familiar voice.
“I won’t help you.”
“Then I guess it was a waste of time to come,” the black-haired boy sighed as he appeared before her. He was Lemn, the god of darkness.
Sanon knew the reason for his visit—she had also sensed the abnormality in one of the worlds parallel to this one.
“Sanon, I’d like to implore you to assist me,” Lemn began once again, refusing to be deterred by her dismissal. “We need to work together and kill the Yumiella Dolkness of the destroyed parallel world, as well as the Yumiella Dolkness of this world. We’ll have them fight each other, and you can finish them both off when they’re weakened. If we follow this plan, we have a pretty good chance of winning.”
“Like I’ve said before, I won’t help you. I have no intention of meddling in squabbles between humans.”
“A whole world is gone. I think this is much bigger than a mere squabble.”
“No matter the scale of the crisis, my position on the matter won’t change.”
Sanon and Lemn truly didn’t get along. Lemn endlessly tried to build a better future for the collective benefit of the entire world, while Sanon watched over individual humans—their thoughts would never align.
Lemn let out a sigh, and his face twisted into a mocking look. “You do know that if you leave things the way they are, everyone will die.”
“So what? Does that mean I should kill this girl too?”
“At this rate, even the girl in this era you are so fond of will face misfortune. I have to say, I’m surprised. That girl looks exactly like her.”
“Shut your mouth...” Sanon spat, rage building, but then she took a deep breath and calmed herself down. In her mind, she saw the girl. That blonde girl, who currently lived in Yumiella’s home, was the spitting image of the other girl from Sanon’s past.
“What was her name...” Lemn feigned a thoughtful look. “Eleanora? You must not like that she’s friendly with Yumiella Dolkness.”
“I don’t mind in the least... Yumiella Dolkness is Eleanora’s only friend, after all.”
“Isn’t she usually surrounded by people? She must have a ton of friends.”
“I wouldn’t call anyone who abandoned her the moment she lost her nobility a ‘friend.’”
Lemn was trying his best to goad Sanon into action for Eleanora’s sake, but the god of light was instead refuting his claims one by one. The sinister god of darkness wanted nothing but to advance his own plans. He didn’t have any interest in Sanon’s problems.
“You’re a creature of emotion, Sanon, so just do what you think is right.”
“Are you in any position to be saying that?” she retorted. “Who was the one to stop me when I tried to help that girl escape?”
“The situation then is different from the one now. Right now, you can save both the girl and the world. Back then you could only save one or the other.”
“She won’t be saved.”
“What?”
“If we follow your plan, Yumiella Dolkness won’t be saved.”
Hearing that Sanon wanted to save even the very girl who was a threat to this world, Lemn let out a deep, theatrical sigh.
It’s because you have such impossible ideals, because you try to save everything in sight, that you feel paralyzed and unable to do anything, Lemn mused.
He opened his mouth to give voice to these thoughts, then thought better of it. It would be a waste of time to press the matter further.
“This conversation has outlived its usefulness...” he grumbled. “Just so you know, I’m planning to go see Yumiella Dolkness tomorrow.”
“Is that so.”
“Before I came here to see you, I was talking to her through her dreams. It seems like she’s onto me though, so I’m going to have to meet her in person.”
“You tend to rub people the wrong way, so be careful,” Sanon said, absentmindedly providing Lemn with considerate advice despite her habitual ambivalence towards him.
“Thank you,” Lemn responded automatically. He began to sink back into the shadows. Just as he was about to whisk himself away completely, his brain already working in the background to find a way to conceal his true reason for reaching out to Yumiella, the god of darkness volleyed off one last parting shot.
“You know, you’re much more emotional than you think you are. One day you’re going to face a situation where you’ll have to act.”
What an endlessly unpleasant god, Sanon thought. I’ve known him for so long, I thought I already knew all of his terrible traits. Clearly, I was wrong.
“I will continue to practice self-discipline,” she affirmed to herself. “I won’t interfere with anyone, not even if Eleanora’s life were to be in danger.” Then, she fell back into her reverie, listening to the prayers of her followers.
Sanon’s hearing and sight reached all over the world, and she listened and watched over anywhere the sun shone. Of course, the Dolkness estate had light pouring in through its many windows, so she could see inside the mansion as well. Sanon did her best to treat everyone equally, but she couldn’t help but check in on Eleanora a bit more frequently than others.
This morning, she had accidentally talked to her. Eleanora was excited about how she had heard the voice of a god, while Yumiella, on the other hand, was—
“What?!” Sanon recoiled in shock and horror. “Marriage?! What in the world is Yumiella Dolkness going on about?!” Sanon’s rapidly increasing anger flowed out of her and manifested as a light shining from the top of the church. “I won’t forgive her, no matter what! Be prepared, Yumiella Dolkness! Eleanora, I’ll come to save you right away!”
Overtaken by her emotions, Sanon quickly began getting ready.
Oh my, I’m going to be meeting Eleanora for the first time. What shall I do? What should I wear?
As she checked to see if there were any wrinkles on her white dress, Sanon paced back and forth around the church roof in agitation.
In the end, it took an entire day for Sanon to both physically and mentally prepare herself.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login