81. It’s Calling Me

He gazed endlessly at the grand doors, locked shut, with the symbol of Demia—the one true god of the Kazel Empire—partially visible through the vines. As if drawn by something, he couldn’t take his eyes off the door for a long time. Then, suddenly, the vines began to twist and move in a strange way, and soon they started to slither toward him like a snake.

Joy’s eyes widened and he let out a startled sound as he hurriedly stepped back. As he retreated, the vines simply returned to covering the door as before. There was no sign of them reaching out to him.

‘Did I just see an illusion?’

Joy frowned. Thinking there was no way, he approached the door again. The vines remained unchanged. Their calm appearance sent an odd chill down his spine. Joy was not easily startled by anything, but what had just happened was truly hard for even him to accept.

He had watched his dying master suffer from hallucinations after taking medicinal herbs for pain. For him, seeing hallucinations meant death was near. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

Joy turned and started running back to where Larael was. Suddenly, he felt suffocated and overwhelmed with fear. He was certain that if he could just get to her side, he would be able to breathe again. In an instant, he arrived in front of Larael. Seeing him running, Dean quickly stepped in front of her.

Dean’s heart pounded when he saw Joy running at such a tremendous speed. It was impossible for an ordinary person to move like that. Instinctively, he stood in front of Larael to shield her.

“What’s wrong?”

Joy, breathing heavily and looking anxious, stared at Larael standing behind Dean. Dean asked in a voice tinged with anger.

“I saw something strange in front of the temple. It scared me.”

Joy spoke sincerely. He wasn’t lying to seek sympathy.

He just wanted to hear Larael say that he must have imagined it, that everything was fine. When he said this, Dean’s whole body relaxed and he let out a laugh of disbelief. He laughed so hard he had to bend over.

Joy didn’t care whether Dean laughed or not. His attention was solely on Larael’s red lips.

“Joy, it’s all right. You must have imagined it.”

Larael said gently, smiling. How did Larael always know exactly what he wanted to hear? At that, all of Joy’s tension melted away, and he felt at ease. He let out a deep sigh and smiled along with Larael. At that moment, someone grabbed his shoulder firmly.

“Didn’t I tell you not to get close to Her Highness?”

Sasha said firmly, glaring at him. Joy stopped smiling when he saw Sasha. He drooped his shoulders and lowered his head.

“Sasha, why are you doing that to Joy? Why are you trying to make him lose confidence?”

Larael scolded Sasha. Sasha tried to explain herself, but when Larael glared at her, she clamped her mouth shut with a sigh.

At Larael’s words, Joy lifted his head, his face once again full of life.

“By the way, whose temple is that?”

Kali asked Larael as she looked at the temple. Kazel now worshipped Demia as the sole deity, but it had once been a country of many gods. Larael also turned her gaze to the temple.

“It’s the Temple of Demia. Even in this small temple, people fought for power, killing each other in terrible strife. In the end, the high temple shut this place down. It’s truly a shame. If the temple hadn’t been closed, our estate could have flourished even more.”

Larael started walking toward the temple. Dean and Kali followed her. Nora stayed behind, looking out over the view from the hill.

“It’s always such a beautiful estate. Kid, why didn’t you go with Her Highness?”

As Joy stood next to Nora, she turned and asked him.

“It just gives me the creeps.”

“Maybe it’s calling out to you?”

Nora said with a laugh. Joy stared blankly at her sparkling almond-colored eyes for a moment.

“What nonsense.”

Joy snorted, and Nora burst out laughing.

“You’re a funny kid. If you want to stay by Her Highness’s side for a long time, you’d better fix that rude way of speaking and your impudent expression.”

Feeling a bit offended by Nora’s words, Joy nonetheless ran toward the temple. Nora watched him fondly and looked up at the sky. The sky warmly embraced the hill. Nora had been listening carefully to what Joy had said to Larael.

A guardian’s duty is to follow the will of the gods. In this temple, that boy would realize his calling. A flock of birds soared vigorously across the languid sky.

“I thought it would be eerie and ugly, since I’d only heard it was an old, ruined temple, but covered in vines, it looks mysterious and beautiful. I can see why people love this place.”

Kali’s words made Dean nod in agreement.

Joy, who had joined the group late, peeked carefully from behind them. The vines showed no sign of movement. He was now convinced that he had simply imagined it and let out a small laugh, shaking his head.

“Your Highness, I’ll prepare lunch.”

“All right. We’ll just take one more walk around here and then go.”

Sasha and Joanna returned to where Nora was to set up the lunch they had prepared.

“I used to play hide-and-seek here with my mother. Come this way.”

Larael led them to the back of the temple.

“One time, I found a small window open here and went inside.”

Larael reached into the vines and pulled them aside. There really was a window at about a child’s height.

Larael pushed the window open with some effort. It creaked with age. When the others looked at her in surprise, Larael gave them a playful nod.

“There’s nothing inside, it’s completely empty. If you want to go in, you can.”

But everyone shook their heads.

“I don’t feel the need to go in.”

Apparently, Larael also had no intention of going in now that she was grown; when they declined, she smiled, closed the window, and covered it with vines again.

On their way back to eat the lunch Sasha and Joanna had set up, Joy quietly slipped away. As he slowly widened the distance from the group, he quickly made his way behind the temple to the hidden window that Larael had shown them.

When Larael had opened the hidden window, Joy had clearly heard a voice calling him from inside. After hearing it, he checked the others’ faces, but it was clear only he had heard it. It wasn’t a hallucination. But unlike when the vines reached out to him, he didn’t feel afraid.

He wanted to find out the source of that familiar voice calling him. Carefully, he brushed aside the vines and opened the window. Deep darkness awaited him. He bent down and slowly stepped inside.

Even though it was midday, the inside was very dark because the window was covered by vines. Only a thin beam of light shone through a small skylight, illuminating the far wall. That must have been where the statue of Demia once stood. Now, as Larael had said, it was completely empty.

Joy’s eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness. He wandered around the empty temple, looking around.

“Call me again!!”

When no sound came, Joy shouted desperately. He wanted to confirm that he hadn’t imagined hearing that voice. He hoped the voice would call him again.

“Joy!”

A clear voice rang in his mind, as if waking him up. It was indeed a familiar voice. Without realizing it, Joy fell to his knees. His nose tingled, and his vision blurred.

“Master…”

It was unmistakably his master’s voice. There was no way he could forget the voice of his master, who had been like a father to him. As he called out to his master, a faint image of him appeared, as if in answer.