Embers of the Holy War

Enshrined in Glass and Stone

The storm raged on longer than they expected. With nothing to do, Guang decided to observe the enchanting infrastructure of the church. It was the first time he had been in one, after all. The ceiling of the church stretched high and above, overlooking the many rows of benches that faced a podium at the very front. Behind the podium was a giant, colourful glass mural of a redheaded man smiling serenely. Wild and fluttering was his hair, but he stood strong and anchored with a sword planted into the ground.

Without his noticing, Guang was before the glass mural, reaching a hand out to the man embodied in glass. The man who looked so much like him.

"Hero Rayler," he whispered under his breath.

"This glass mural symbolises Hero Rayler's protection over us. For many years, he has been a symbol of hope and courage. Now that the demon king has awoken, his presence over us is all the more important."

Guang turned to his right, where Rachel was also staring at the glass mural. However, when she noticed Guang was looking in her direction, she suddenly became a bundle of nerves. Like a metronome at presto, she started bowing rapidly, startling Guang. "I'm sorry if I interrupted you! I didn't mean to!"

Guang was equally jittery with getting Rachel to stop bowing. "It's OK! Really! You didn't interrupt anything!"

"Are you interested in hearing about our lord and saviour Hero Rayler?"

Something in her eyes told Guang that she knew Guang was the reincarnated hero. Guang nodded. What better way to pass the time? Additionally, it was a good opportunity to learn more of his past as well.

Rachel beckoned him through a door leading off from the hall. "Follow me."

Guang was about to follow her when he remembered. "I almost forgot. Jin! I'm going to follow Rachel for a bit!"

Jin, who had been laying down on one of the church benches trying to nap, instantly snapped up and strided to his side. There wasn't even an ounce of sleepiness as he robotically declared, "I'm following you."

"Are you that concerned about me?" Guang teased, lightly elbowing Jin.

Jin feigned deafness and stayed silent. Guang pouted. Boo, party pooper.

Led by Rachel, the two of them ventured into the next hall. Upon emerging into the hall, Guang's mouth fell open. This place was large, but in a different sense compared to the previous hall. It was tall and circular, with two floors to go. On both floors, the walls were lined by numerous doors. In the centre of the hall, a bright, towering statue of Hero Rayler stood in all of its glory.

Compared to the previous glass mural of Hero Rayler, this statue of Hero Rayler was more elegant and dynamic. He was leaning to his left, with his left, lower arm curved downwards while the other was angled upwards.

His expression, though, was what Guang lingered on the most. That expression of fond softness, that natural quirk of his lips that formed a loving smile. It all felt too real. That brimming sensation of deep affection that could only be directed at one's true love.

As a noble, Guang had attended dancing classes since he was little. He recognised that Hero Rayler was doing the dip, a popular move amongst noble men to sway ladies in a dance. Which was why this statue, while magnificent and soul-stirring, was extremely strange.

There was no one else alongside Hero Rayler's statue. It was only him, dancing to his own tune.

Before Guang could ponder more on it, he was swarmed from all angles by tiny, squealing children. Surprised by the new, unexpected company, Guang could only make some odd, strangled sounds. Aside from Jin, he never had any experience dealing with children. What was he supposed to do in this situation?

Apparently, it was to become a literal, living toy. One of the kids had climbed him like a monkey, screaming victory as he mounted his shoulders. A few of them playfully pulled at his pants, demanding for candy. Even Jin was not spared from this special treatment. For some reason, two kids had taken a liking to punching Jin's knees. If it weren't for them being children, the Jin Guang knew would have snapped at them a long time ago. Guang could see that Jin was trying to hold it in, considering how his face was slowly becoming redder and redder by the second.

In an enlightened state, Guang wondered if this was hell.

"Kids!" Rachel exclaimed horrifically. "Jason, please get down from Guang's head! It's dangerous! Jamie and Wendy, stop doing that to Jin's knees!"

A boy who had been quietly digging his nose pointed a sticky finger at Guang. "Isn't that the man who was flirting with Sister Rachel?"

In dramatic unison, the kids all gasped. They quickly scurried away like ants, huddling up as a group behind the booger boy and eyeing Guang with disdain.

Embarrassed, Rachel clarified, "He wasn't flirting with me! Please mind your manners, David!"

"You were flirting with Rachel?" Jin questioned monotonically. He appeared more dead inside than usual.

"No, I wasn't," Guang said curtly. Doesn't Jin have any faith in him?

After a half-hearted lecture, Rachel instructed the children to return to their rooms. Each of them waddled away like penguins to a door lining the circular hall, which piqued Guang's interest. Were all of them rooms for the children?

"Is this church an orphanage of some sort?" Guang asked.

"Yes, we take in children who have nowhere to go," Rachel replied, a little tired. "I'm sorry for their poor manners. They often get too excited whenever guests come over."

Guang chuckled. "It's fine."

Was what he said, but he doesn't want to live through that experience again. Children are scary. Even though the children had returned to their rooms, he still felt their judging little eyes burrowing into his back as Rachel led them to the door opposite of the hall. However, when opened, instead of a children's room, they found themselves inside a small library. Bookshelves lined the walls, and the floor and table that stood in the centre of the room were stacked with precarious mountains of books.

"Ah, I'm sorry for the messy appearance of the library! The holy scriptures are on the bookshelf on the right. You can look through them in the meantime while I clean up!"

"You don't have to, Rachel-" Guang started, but Rachel was already on all fours, collecting the books strewn on the floor in a panic.

Stumped, Guang scratched his head. Well, it was kind of awkward to watch Rachel work herself off while he didn't contribute, so after making up his mind, he bent down to help Rachel too.

When she found Guang picking up books like she did, Rachel gasped, "Guang, you don't have to-"

"The same I could say for you," Guang chuckled. Jin had silently followed his stead, picking up and replacing the books onto the bookshelf. "Let's clean up together, alright?"

Embarrassed, Rachel could only fix her gaze on the floor. When he's so nice like that, how could she refuse?

"Yes," she mumbled.