Reverse of the Rain

Wearing a church robe like a priest, Rain adorned himself with silver star and tower symbols. He tied his hair into a ponytail and wore circular glasses. However, because of his short stature, the tip of his robe touched the floor, causing it to become a little dirty and torn.

Rain placed his right hand on his chest and spoke, “The power of the holy still resides in you, Lord Knight of Hope Chest.”

The knight stared at him, his curiosity piqued. With lowered eyebrows, he had never seen this priest before. Although Rain wore the same attire and holy amulet as other priests, there was something strange about him. He appeared youthful, like a teenager, and had several flaws and imperfections. However, in the name of the holy tower, the knight withheld judgment.

“Who are you?” the knight asked sternly.

The children behind Rain trembled, frightened by the loud voice. They huddled closer to him and clung tightly to his robe. Rain noticed their fear and waved his hand to reassure them.

Despite their fear, he managed to handle the situation. Rain gently touched the rosary around his neck and spoke. “Lord Knight, we both serve under the same God tower. The light shines upon us. I am Follower Rain.”

The knight remained in the same position, his gaze fixed on Rain’s blue eyes. Nothing seemed to sway him, as if this kind of conversation was his norm. He glanced around at the children nearby. “Who are these children?” the knight asked.

Rain placed his hand on the children’s shoulders and replied, “They are all lost souls, lingering around in search of guidance. I found them in various places and brought them here to receive our protection and light.”

The knight listened attentively, observing the children, who dressed in different types of clothing, some made of fabric and others of leather. All of them wore tattered and dirt-covered clothing. “Where did you find them, Priest? How many are there? And why do they all look like this?” the knight questioned, his stern gaze fixed on the children.

Rain looked around, the children’s eyes fixed on him, their hands still trembling. Some had tears in their eyes, while others softly whispered, “b-brother R-rain”

Rain gently swept tears on kid face, then slowly opened his mouth to speak. “Do not worry,” he whispered. He turned his head and looked at the knight standing beside him. “We have twenty children, lord knight.”

The knight furrowed his brow, perplexed. “I asked you where—”

Rain waved his hand towards the young girl standing next to him. “This girl named Ivara. She is twelve years old and lost her true parents. She was in the care of a hunter group before getting lost during the transition to town. Despite being lost, she has a strong will, help and care another children. So she followed me here.” Ivara looked at Rain with surprise, her eyes wide.

Rain then pointed to the boy standing beside him. “This boy is Lucas. He is nine years old. Though he may appear weak, he is actually quite fast and tough. He dreams of becoming a knight in the royal palace one day. He loves swords and birds.” Lucas stared at Rain in awe, his mouth hanging open.

“And this girl is Rosa. She is seven years old. I found her to the north of this place. She used to be a servant in the lord’s castle in the east, but she got separated from her group. She aspires to be an artist and enjoys painting pictures of animals. Her taste is unique, as she particularly likes dragons. She wants to be strong like a dragon so she can protect the ones she loves.” Rosa shyly grabbed Rain’s robe and hid her flushed face with her dirty hand.

Rain continued introducing the other children without pausing. “This is Ken, who wants to be a woodworker... This is Nevin, a little rebel who dreams of becoming a wizard... And this is Loren, who aspires to be a dressmaker...” Rain’s words flowed effortlessly.

The knight looked at Rain, his grip on his sword loosening. The surrounding people listened closely, their hearts touched by the stories of these lost children. Whispers and murmurs filled the air as they sympathized with Rain’s tale.

“These children have all lost something, but can we not help them regain their light under our holy tower’s guidance?” Rain said.

The knight looked at Rain, then at the children surrounding them. His hand slowly released its grip on the sword handle. The surrounding people began to speak softly, sharing their thoughts on the children’s stories.

“They are all lost children, wandering aimlessly. It is our duty to help them find their way, beneath the protection of our holy tower,” Rain said, his words resolute. Rain touched his chest, his voice filled with determination. “Is that not our duty, noble knight?”

“Yes, that is our duty, may holy light of tower shine upon father,” the knight said.

Rain made the sign of the cross in front of him. “May the holy light of the tower shine upon you, Lord Knight.”

The knight waited for a moment, then nodded his head and knocked his sword on the floor, Clank! “Let them into the green zone,” he commanded. A navigating soldier came forward and cleared a path for them.

The children had smiles on their faces as they held hands and made their way into the town, finally finding their acquaintances. They started moving forward.

But suddenly there was a loud sound. “Stop right there!”

A large, imposing figure dressed in black knight attire emerged, casting a tall shadow over the children. He had black hair and a scar on his face, adding to the eerie atmosphere surrounding him.

The knight at the gate stepped aside and bowed his head. “Greetings, Lord Damacus.”

People around instinctively stepped back, allowing only the group of children and Rain to face the black knight lord. Some whispered, “That’s Lord Damacus, the head of the knights in this town. He is fierce and unwavering in his devotion to the holy order. They say that if he is on duty at the checkpoint, only half can pass through.” The people moved away, hoping they could come back another time when the atmosphere was more favorable.

Damacus noticed the people stepping back but didn’t seem to care. He headed towards the gate and addressed the knight. “I have come to inspect the area. This west gate seems to fall behind schedule.”

“Yes, Lord Damacus. It is our own fault for not completing our tasks on time. We will take more time for duty rounds at night,” the knight replied.

Damacus nodded at the knight and then turned his attention to the group of children. “And who are these children?” he asked

The knight reported, “They are a group of lost children. The priest in the center brought them to our town, Lord Damacus.”

“Ah, that’s good,” Damacus said, looking at Rain. Rain was still in the pose of touching his chest and had a smile on his face, showing no fear despite the situation.

This lord is going to make things difficult for our group. Why did you have to come at this time? Rain panicked, small beads of sweat forming on his forehead. I have to focus on the children. “May the light shine upon you, Lord Damacus,” Rain do the priest smiled.

“Yes, may the light shine upon you too,” Damacus replied, but his aura grew darker. Those around him could feel the pressure, causing their legs and hands to tremble. “Are you really a priest? I have never seen you before, especially not with such a youthful face and your attire. I won’t mistake you for someone else, that’s for sure,” Damacus said, looking at the old priest’s worn-out robe.

Knight Gate also noticed this, but he didn’t raise his voice. He doesn’t want to have any problems with the Holy Tower men.

Rain has a sweat bead on his hand. Are you not going to let us pass? Have you not seen the children? Their faces are already pale. I shouldn’t delay any longer, Rain says. “Yes, I am,” he replied.

“So if you insist, let’s test your identity,” Knight Gate says as he grabs a book at the gate and sends it in front of Rain. “Do not think that I am being rude. We have to test if you are inside the Holy light or not,”

Rain signs and says. “This is a futile process, Lord Damacus. Have you not trusted our will of light and our efforts to help people? Have you not seen that these kids need our light?” Rain slowly sweeps his hand back.

Dark Knight in the corner mounts lifts a little. “Do not play with words, Priest. We do not have much time. I am not forcing you, but your kids will not make it past this day if you stay out. Will you do it or not?” He moved the book closer to Rain.

Damn old bastard, are you warning me that you’ll come after me if I do not do the test? Sick of these fanatic church men. “Okay, I will do the test.” I have to focus. I have already done this a million times when I was at End land Prison. Just send some information thought.

He closes his eyes, takes a second, and then slowly opens his eyes. The surrounding aura suddenly turns cold, and the light in his eyes fades away, leaving only black irises in the center. He looks at the book and slowly touches it. Damacus and Knight Gate can sense the cold presence and stand firm in their spots.

Ten seconds pass, but nothing happens. Knight Gate looks at Rain’s hand. “He is still in contact with the book. I can sense the connection of book. But why is it not finishing the calculation?”

Thirty seconds pass. Damacus wonders, Why is it taking so long? This has never happened before. Is our book broken? No, I can feel the mana of the book still gathering information from him. This only happens if a higher-status person contacts this grade of the book. Only a higher priest can do such a long calculation. “Kid, Are yo—”

“Evaluation complete. No sin,” a monotonous sound comes out of the book.

That should be enough, I think? The rain stopped and information cleared from his head. Light came back to his eyes. Huh, but again, ‘no sin.’ I have given you much good work and fortune that I have accumulated. And all this low-grade book does is give me ‘no sin.’ Are you just praising me a little? That would make the situation better.

Damacus stepped back a little, Schwing! swiftly drawing his sword. “Who are you?” the knights around him did the same. Schwing! Schwing!

Rain smacked his forehead in thought. I knew it.

kids can’t hold back their tears any longer and started sobbing.

“Calm down, Lord Damacus. Kids and people around us are getting scared. That’s not good for our reputation. The holy light of the tower can bring warmth to everybody.” Rain reached his hand out to calm down the situation.

“I said don’t play with words! No one can evaluate for that long without any result. especially with 'No sin.' That is not normal people.” Two hands grabbed the sword, preparing to slash. Mana gathered around his arm, thick enough to be seen with the naked eye.

Rain looked at the people behind him and knelt down on the floor, praying for forgiveness. The kids gathered close to his robe. “Okay, okay, calm down, Lord Knight.” How can you go that far? Using such a huge amount of mana? We are weak humans, not dinosaurs. Do you really want to cut us all down with that? Do you want to destroy all the gate? Do you even realize that your slash will kill us all? “You leave me no choice, Lord Damacus. I don’t want to do this at all.”

Rain’s hand moved inside his robe.

“What are you doing?” thundered the sound. The gate stone cracked.

“Do not be angry, Lord— Ah, I found it.” Rain took out a small square rectangle amulet. It made of silver plate, with the sign of the tower piercing the sky engraved in the center. The left rim of the amulet featured decorative twisted blue lines.

Lord Damacus’s eyes widened when he saw what was inside Rain’s hand. But because he was a veteran knight who had trained year after year, he quickly regained his focus, his face growing darker as he stared at Rain.

“Don’t stare at me like that. I already told you, that I don’t want to. You ask who I am, right?” I’m so sorry Aria. I don’t want to use your name at all, but my priority is to protect people. Please don’t be angry with me, okay? “My name is Rain, and I am a follower of Saint Aria of the Blue River, who adhering to the Vow of Temperance. According to the Codex of the Ten God Whisperer, as her follower, it is my duty to protect all of these lost children. So, Lord Knight, I kindly request a place where we can provide warmth and light to these people.” He showed the follower’s badge up front. it glowing slightly.