[18x FEATURED]
𝘛𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺.
Born out of sadness and despair, demonic beings known as "Outcasts" seek to corrupt human souls, posing a threat to humanity's innocence. Raia Allen, a remorseless warrior and healer, joins t...
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"The angel has acknowledged you, Raia. You are now an Elysian."
Simon's voice was the last thing Raia heard from her dream before the loud knock on the door wakes her up. The faint voices from outside belong to Nathan and Raiden, and their tones suggest that they're arguing about something ludicrous.
Raia frowns, clutching the snow-white pillow between her arms, wondering if it's time for her Branding. Her heart beats faster and her stomach lurches at the thought of becoming an official disciple.
Aragon. Soon I will be an official part of this organization, she thinks, then she remembers something Simon told her before.
"That organization is like a home to me, Raia. And the people there are like family to me, just as you are to me."
"Master's home," Raia mutters to herself. "But what really is a family?"
So long as Raia could remember, she had grown up in an orphanage. She knew nothing about her parents or anyone else she could call family.
Not until Simon called her one.
It was seven years ago when he saved her from the orphanage and called her family. But when he told her that the organization was also his family, Raia began to question its true meaning. According to what she learned from the kids at the orphanage, a family is made up of people who are related to one another.
Raia has no knowledge of her family and has no idea whether they are still alive. She keeps telling herself that they are already dead, because how did she end up in the orphanage in the first place?
I wonder what it's like to have a real family. Raia's chest twists as she thinks about that, then a frown rolls over her face. My family is gone, I shouldn't waste my time on something like this.
Her gaze is drawn unintentionally to the black cloak hanging from the metal hook attached to the concrete wall.
"I wonder what is that drunkard doing now?" she mumbles to herself as her thoughts drift to her master.
She shifts in her bed, then her eyes land on the wooden cabinet standing next to the metal door. It becomes quiet. Raiden and Nathan must have assumed she was still sleeping and stopped knocking.
Her eyes flicker to the mantel clock on the mahogany side table. The long hand is pointing to the roman numeral nine. She lets out a sigh. She only slept for three hours, which she thinks isn't enough after the three-day tedious journey.
After Sonnet accompanied her to the cafeteria that night — and she couldn't deny that the food they serve is good — she assigned a room for Raia and provided clothes to change, which she's wearing now. It's a pristine white woven cotton nightgown that mirrors the bedsheet she is lying on. It feels soft against her skin and even helped to put her to sleep; not to mention the coziness of a weighted blanket around her.
