Zion’s voice was icy, quite different from the gentle tone he had used with Leah moments before. The coldness in his words, coupled with his sharp, penetrating gaze, made him seem like a completely different person. 

“Tell me,” he demanded, his voice deep and dangerous. “Did you really want to r*pe my sister?” 

“You said we could do whatever we wanted!”

“Yes, you’re the one who told us to have fun with her, Father.”

“We didn’t know she was your sister!” 

“She seemed to enjoy it when we kissed her,” a third said with a nervous laugh. 

“Exactly,” the fourth chimed in. “She even spread her legs when we touched her…” 

As they spoke, Zion’s expression grew darker, his features contorted with rage. His eyes burned with menacing fury, and the atmosphere around him seemed to grow heavier with each passing moment. 

“Here is the money I promised you.”

Zion pulled gold coins from his pocket and threw them at the men.

As the men bent down to pick up the handful of gold coins, Zion drew the knife he had tucked behind his waist and stabbed them in the neck.

“Argh!”

“W-What are you doing?!”

Two of them collapsed to the ground, blood gushing from their necks, while the other two stumbled backwards in terror.

Zion, his eyes fixed on the terrified men, smiled coldly.

“You have committed a crime, so you must pay for it. Don’t you agree?”

“W-We just did what you told us to…”

“Yes, you followed my orders. But that doesn’t absolve you of your sins, does it? You’re a novice priest, surely you understand that much. A sin is a sin, no matter who gives the order.” 

Zion stepped closer to the remaining two men, his cold and unrelenting presence suffocating. 

“You think I’m just going to let you kill me?” one of the men shouted, lunging at him. 

Zion moved with ease, sidestepping the attack and slashing the man’s neck in one swift motion. 

“Urgh!” 

The man let out a choked cry before collapsing to the ground, blood gushing from his throat. 

The last man, frozen in terror, lost all will to resist. His knees buckled and he sank to the ground, shaking uncontrollably. 

Zion knelt before the terrified man, a cold smile playing on his lips as he pressed the blade of his knife against the man’s face. 

“Don’t worry,” he said softly. “Everyone dies sooner or later.” 

With these last words, Zion drove the knife deep into the man’s throat, ending his life in an instant. 

As Zion drew back the blade, crimson blood spurted forth and the man’s body collapsed lifelessly to the ground. 

“Death comes to everyone eventually. You just met it a little sooner.”

Zion muttered, his cold gaze falling on the four lifeless bodies lying before him. He picked up a nearby lantern and threw it at a pile of hay in the corner. 

The flames caught immediately and spread with alarming speed as the hay ignited. Watching the fire grow into an inferno, Zion casually dropped the knife from his hand. 

Dipping his fingers into the pooling blood, he deliberately smeared it over his hands, face and clothes. 

“What a nuisance,” he muttered under his breath. “If you’d just told me you needed me, Leah, I wouldn’t have had to go this far.” 

Without another glance at the scene behind him, Zion stepped out of the stable. 

The fire roared in his wake, devouring everything in its path, heat and smoke rising into the night sky. 

***

“Brother!”

Leah ran to Zion and caught him as he staggered out of the burning stable. 

His whole body was soaked in blood. 

“Brother! Have you been stabbed? Are you hurt?”

“That’s not my blood, Leah… it’s not mine…”

Zion gasped, breathing heavily. He leaned heavily against her for support before collapsing to the floor. 

“I killed her… Leah…” 

His wide eyes stared at the blood on his trembling hands before he buried his face in them, the weight of his actions sinking in. 

Seeing his shoulders shake with silent sobs, Leah wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. 

“I killed them, Leah… but if I couldn’t not kill them… They wanted to hurt you…” 

“It’s all my fault,” Leah whispered through her tears. “It’s not your fault, brother… it’s my fault…” 

As Zion cried, Leah clung to him, her own tears streaming down her face. 

Because of her, Zion’s life was in ruins. 

He had killed people – what would happen to him now? 

“Brother, the fire will draw people here. We must leave before they come.

“I must atone for my sins, Leah.”

“No, you can’t,” Leah insisted. “You shouldn’t have to pay. Those men deserve to die.”

“No one deserves to die, Leah,” Zion said quietly. “Thinking like that means I’m unfit to be a priest.”

“But brother, you have done nothing wrong,” Leah argued, her voice breaking. “If there’s blame to go around, I’ll take it.”

Zion shook his head. “My little sister, I can’t let you suffer because of me.”

How could he be so kind? Leah thought bitterly. 

This brother who would do anything to protect her, even commit unspeakable acts – how could she have had such impure thoughts about him? 

It was all her fault. 

It was because of her that Zion had to endure this nightmare. 

It was her responsibility to make things right. 

“We need to get out of here first, brother.”

She helped Zion to his feet, supporting his weight as they left the burning stables behind, the flames roaring into the night. 

The stable was quickly engulfed in flames, the fiery blaze casting a bright red glow across the dark night. 

By the time others arrived, the place was deserted. 

There was no one there – just the raging inferno consuming what was left of the stable. 

*** 

“It’s okay, brother… It’s going to be all right…” 

Leah took Zion into her room and carefully wiped the blood from his hands and face with a damp cloth. Her voice was soft and soothing as she repeated the words, trying to comfort him. 

After a long silence, Zion finally spoke.

“I have to leave the monastery.” 

Leah froze, unable to answer at first. 

“I can no longer serve God with bloodstained hands.”

“Then… I’ll go with you.”

That was all she could offer him. 

There was no way she could truly undo the damage he had suffered. Everything that had happened to Zion was her fault. 

His life had been torn apart because of her. 

She had to take responsibility. She had to stay by his side no matter what – even if it meant walking with him for the rest of her life. 

“You should continue to serve God.”

“No, I’ve sinned too. That’s why I’m going with you.”

“Leah…”

“Wherever you go, I’ll go with you,” Leah continued. “I will not leave your side until you no longer need me.”

“Are you sure? Is this really okay? Won’t you regret it?”

“You sacrificed everything for me, brother. So I can give my life for you.”

“Leah…”

Zion’s eyes glistened with unshed tears, and as he looked at her, Leah’s own tears began to fall.

“I will live with you from now on.”

“Yes, Leah. Let’s live together, just the two of us.”

Zion said softly, pulling her into his arms.

“Just the two of us, Leah. You and me. That’s all I need.”

“Okay… Brother….”

As Zion held Leah close, feeling her light tremble in his embrace, a small smile formed on his lips. 

Without a word, his gaze shifted to the sacred symbol hanging on the wall. 

He had taken his sister from God. 

The sister who had remained unwavering in her devotion, steadfast in her faith – he had finally claimed her as his own. 

‘Now you’re mine.’

Having taken her into his hands, Zion resolved that he would never let her go again. 

Not for eternity. 

Not from anyone. 

Not even from God.