Chapter Text
The sound of water dripping into a puddle is heard. The dew on the dying tree and its leaves fall into small puddles atop the stone. The ground is entirely stone. The sky above is full of dreary rain clouds. Everything is cast in a depressing gloom onto this grey landscape. The sole exception is this tree that grew despite the unfavorable conditions, yet now that tree is dying.
It was unbearably familiar to the man sitting under the tree, the puddles of cold water soaked into his clothes as he lay there panting. The man should be used to it by now yet his body still shivers and shakes. He looks down into the puddle at the face that isn't his. A handsome face with Raven black hair and even darker eyes. Cold breath can be seen escaping the lips.
‘Who are you?’
Knowing it was futile, he still tried to ask to no avail. The body didn't move, it merely moved according to this script he was dreadfully familiar with.
‘You're going to get caught again at this rate.’
Even though he had experienced this dream more times than he could count, he still wished that just once, it would end differently. Though he should've grown desensitized and bored with this repeating cycle…
‘I still feel this sadness.’
A dull ache and sadness as if shared through a veil, he had begun to suspect it was part of the dream and not his own.
In the distance, shouts are heard and a warm yellow light peaks over the grey landscape.
“We need…find him!”
“He……burned….nothing left!”
“… betrayal… . he… . helped them!”
The man's ear pricked up from the noise. The sound of his heartbeat increasing as it drew closer. The only thing on this plateau is the dying tree and the puddles filling the eroded rock. The man seemed to pause and weigh his options.
‘Don't choose the cliff… ’
“The cliffside is the only chance of escape.”
The spectator inside the man's body inwardly sighed. It seemed this dream would end the same way as the past 332 times.
The unknown man sprinted toward the cliff side. However, he misjudged how fast the pursuers would reach the top of the plateau. They had already spotted him.
“There!”
“I see him! Get him!”
The man darted as fast as his damaged body could go to reach the cliffside. It seemed even falling to death would be a better fate than what the mob behind him had planned.
‘But, in your urgency you failed to think of the consequences of running full speed on this wet uneven ground.’
Shortly after his mad dash the man slipped and slid across the eroded stone, he had fallen headfirst on the smooth-yet hard stone. The surroundings slowly faded to black, the last thing being seen is the reflection of the man staring at his own tense face, with the angry expressions of villagers around him.
‘The same ending aga-’
The spectators thoughts were cut off as an anomaly in this repeating dream was heard. A weary voice echoed as if right next to his ears. The same voice of the unknown man.
“Who are you?”
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Park Minseong shot up from his dream gasping. The cold sweat soaking his body just like every time he had this dream. The only difference was his utter loss of composure. He sat in his bed clutching his chest, his dilated pupils staring at the dim light shining through his window, the scene outside it could not be seen due to the pouring rain.
Just like the previous times, he could not recall what he had dreamt about, he had gotten quite used to waking up with foggy memories of a dream and his body drenched in sweat. As he was checking his condition and location, trying to pinpoint the cause for his loss of composure and slight trembling, he subconsciously slid a hand to rub his ear. A faint memory of a weary, dreamy voice was all that remained of his memory from the dream.
“Should I finally go see one of the priests after two years?”
It was quite common to see the priests at the city's cathedral for treatment of physical and spiritual injuries. The average citizen visited at least 3 times a week in this holy city, even his siblings used to visit weekly before they moved abroad for their studies. Rather, Park Minseong was the anomaly for not visiting in so long.
‘Has it really been 2 years since that day? Today also marks 2 years since those dreams…’
He faintly touched the midline of his chest, rubbing the scarred flesh there as he got up and headed to the washroom to wash the sweat off. Though it was still very early in the morning, more sleep seemed unfeasible at the moment.
It was July 10th, 1487. The first day of the long storm.
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Park Minseong put on his rain cloak, he would not let the rain deter him from his first trip to the cathedral in years. He paused just after grasping the door knob. The unsightly mark on the back of his palm seemed to be wriggling and stinging his vision. He quickly hid the hand from his sight and knocked on his head.
“I nearly forgot the glove again, hahaha…”
He slipped on a glove to his right hand, leaving the left ungloved. A voice from the past and his dream mixed and echoed in his head as he closed the door behind him.
“The left hand is riddled with sin and now the right hand has been tainted.”
“Who are you?”
“You must hide this contamination from the world.”
“Who are you?”
“Continuing to use the right hand and diverting more energy into it should prove positive for your condition.”
“Who are you?”
“Otherwise the only way to handle this is cutting it off entirely.”
“Who are you?”
“You can handle this, right, Minseong?”
“Who.are.you.”
A quiet thud sounded on the sparsely populated street. His forehead faintly stung from the impact of his own hit but the echoes of the past faded away with the pain. Though many shops were closed due to the sudden downpour, there were still many businessmen charging down the street in their rain cloaks to their early morning jobs.
‘I heard the neighboring country has enchanted items and magic to shield from the rain, it would be nice to have that right now.’
The cold rain soaked into the cloak and slid down it, wetting his face and a bit of his legs peeking out of the cloak.
The wet footsteps of his merged with those of the businessmen and women passing by. As he walked past a porch free of rain he heard the small talk of two children cutting through the rainwater and entering his ears.
“Hey, did'ya know that a long long time ago this place was full o' monsters?”
“Duhh, everyone knows that, that's why the knights venture outside the city everyday, Monsters are still out there.”
“No! You don't get it, I mean, my dad told me that this used to be a kingdom of monsters until the priests came!”
“huh?!”
The small talk quickly came to an end as the gossiping little boy's father came out and scolded him. The other little girl's mother came out and brought her inside. As Minseong walked past the house he caught one last thing the father said.
“You're not supposed to tell anyone that! If someone reports us, daddy could go away for a long long time.”
Shortly after, the rain stopped, though the clouds did not depart from this city of secrets.
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The creaking of dull, hundred year stone crackled as the beast atop the Cathedral turned its head to a familiar presence walking up the stairs into the main building. The stone arm cracked from pressure as it tried to move once more. It took all its energy to merely turn its head in the direction of the familiar energy, yet even using all it had it was still too slow to catch a glimpse of the man walking up the steps to this place for the first time in two years.
It was the start of another day of painstaking existence.
Today marked the 79'205th attempt at breaking free from this prison.
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Minseong stepped through the large open doors of the Cathedral. The smell of holy power and incense flooded his senses, drowning the unclean smell of the city and the rainwater outside. It should've brought relaxation and comfort to any who smelled it, but it just made him tense up, his right hand twitched as he felt an invisible pressure press down on it.
He did not bother taking off his rain cloak right away as he walked in. The rainwater quickly evaporated from the cloak, instantly drying it. The pure energy emanating from this gothic building stripped all exhaustion and filth from the person. He strolled to the cloak rack near the main entrance and neatly hooked it on the rack.
“Good Morning, it has been long since I saw you last, Mr. Park. Perhaps HIS blessing is to thank for granting us this reunion after so many years.”
An old priest stood solemnly behind Minseong with his hands clasped as if in constant prayer and reverence. The priest was an old one who had been stationed at this city's Cathedral for six years. Like all the staff of this church they are nameless, when they are indoctrinated they forfeit their name to their god. Still, despite his dislike for this place, seeing a familiar and friendly face as soon as he came here made Minseong smile.
“Good evening, Mr. Priest.”
He bowed to them and they returned it shortly after.
“What brings you here to this Cathedral after so long, Mr. Park, I doubt you've come here just for morning prayer?”
“I wanted to seek guidance on a spiritual matter, I think it may be related to That Day.”
The priest's demeanor became serious after hearing that. They turned around, their long brown hair swishing behind them like a waterfall. As they smoothly gestured to follow them.
As the two passed through and by the public prayer rooms, they stood in front of two dark redwood doors. The priest dipped their hands twice in the small basin of holy water by the door, Minseong dipped their left hand in twice and entered together with the priest.
Inside the dimly lit private prayer room was a small altar with few dried offerings and two floor cushions. Upon the altar beside the offerings were two basins, one of holy water and the other of clean water, as well as a curved dagger. The room was nearly an exact replica from Park Minseong's memory. As if it had its time paused until now, waiting for him to enter through those doors. There was only one window in the room, a red stained glass crescent moon, bathing the room in a dim red light. The priest took their seat on the grey floor cushion and Minseong took the civilians seat on the red cushion.
Silence permeated the room as they both sat there bathed in red light, as if they were unable to talk till the light purified any possible contamination that could have followed from outside the room.
“Tell me, Mr. Park. What seems to be the issue plaguing you now?”
The priest's voice spoke, slightly distant as if talking with a thin curtain veil between the two of them. It was only now, in the faint light of this private prayer room,did Minseong feel at ease.
“I have been experiencing recurring dreams since that day, dreams I can't remember. The kind that leave me waking up in a cold sweat. I noticed these only happen on nights that rain. It was only today that I was able to remember a fragment of one of these dreams….”
“Continue, if you find yourself too overwhelmed we may take a recess at any time.”
“… I heard a tired voice call out to me, it asked me who I was. When I think of that voice, I feel agitated… I feel my right hand and the scar on my chest ache faintly. I feel a sadness that cannot be explained when I hear that voice.”
“Give me your hands, Mr. Park.”
The priest's neat long hair slipped over their shoulder as they looked down at the hands in their grasp.
“Due to the nature of holy power and your current condition, you may feel a sting as I search for the issue.”
Minseong weakly nodded his head as an unfamiliar energy coursed through his body from his hands. The feeling of needles pricking the skin and bones throbbed from his hand and chest. Beads of sweat formed on the priest's forehead as he increased the output. Just as the pain in his hands and chest were reaching a point he couldn't bear, the energy receded.
“Mr. Park.”
“Yes? Were you able to find the issue?”
“From what I can feel with my energy and the treatment right now there is no issue with the spiritual or mental parts of your being. The issue lies within your physical body.”
“Yes?”
“I can sense a foreign energy in the physical plane of your being resting near your head. I am unsure if it has always existed with you but it seems that since That Day, it reacts to rainwater and temporarily spreads through your physical body into the mental plane.”
“Is it a big issue? Will this affect my… current condition?”
He glanced at his gloved right hand.
“Worry not, Mr. Park, the way to solve this anomaly is quite simple and should we begin treatment soon, you could wish it farewell in just a few weeks.”
Minseong paused at that word. Treatment.
‘Rent has been tight recently and I don't have much funds at the moment… if the treatment costs too much, will I fall into debt?’
He had been missing from the work field until just recently when his condition stabilized, living solely on the help of family and his savings before That Day. Since his condition stabilized he couldn't dare impose any further on his family for help as they've already been putting up with him for over a year.
The relief at learning there was a solution washed away as he thought of possible treatment fees. Seeing this the priest suddenly chuckled.
“I can already tell what you're worried about Mr. Park. You need not fret, the treatment is free and you can even gain some small wages from it.”
“H-huh?”
“Mr. Park has only just recently stabilized his condition, so he has not yet properly been employed yet, correct?”
“Thats right.”
“What your body currently needs is natural holy energy, the amount needed is quite meager but it needs to be entirely pure and untainted by a person. In other words, you need the natural energy emanating from the Cathedral. Our Cathedral is currently looking for night patrol guards. If Mr. Park wishes, we can hire you and solve both our problems. Of course, if you don't have the time just make sure you visit this Cathedral a few hours a day.”
“Uhm… How much is the pay.”
Minseong was very delighted at the prospect of knocking two birds with one stone like this but he also had to focus on his own monetary issues as well as his condition. Minseong lightly scratched his cheek as the Priest suddenly pulled out a paper from their robes. The sound of coins seemed to jingle in his head seeing the “meager amount” the priest mentioned.
Shortly after changing rooms to the reception room with proper ink, they signed the work contract and saw each other off at the Cathedrals main entrance.
“Mr.Park the hours are from the Moon's first glow to the day's first sliver of sun!”
The priest cheerfully waved at Minseong goodbye. Minseong also waved back, thinking of the day he first met them, before they entered the church and gave up their name.
‘Goodbye, Mr. Heoun.’