‘…Vinea?’

The God of Life, Vinea.

Vinea nurtures all living things and brings forth new life.

While Vinea presides over life, it is the role of Morsina, the God of Death, to bring decline and death to that which Vinea governs.

The life that dies thus decays by Morsina’s power and becomes part of the world again― while the soul is gathered by Vinea to be reborn with new life.

Life and death are thus formed by the cycle of these two gods, Life and Death…

This was one of the doctrines of the Lavinian religion that Vanessa had heard countless times since childhood.

‘Why would God Vinea give me an oracle…?’

Learning the identity of the god who gave the oracle only raised more questions.

Vinea was known as a god who held purity, nobility, and chastity as the highest virtues, and she had heard that all the priests of life who served Vinea were such people.

Vanessa, by her own admission, was not at all the type of person who could be called pure or noble.

Her personality, to put it kindly, was that she had fortitude, never gave up, and was tenacious; to put it unkindly, she was stubborn, fierce, and never forgot a grudge once she held one.

What kind of oracle would God Vinea give to someone like her… She couldn’t even guess. Perhaps it would be an oracle saying ‘Live more virtuously’?

As she pondered this blankly, a priest wearing a white sash over blue priestly robes approached Vanessa.

White was Vinea’s symbol, so this priest was undoubtedly a priest of life. He handed Vanessa a white lily and said,

“Before receiving the divine presence, you must undergo a simple purification ritual. Please take this flower and come this way.”

The High Priest smiled gently as if urging her on, and Vanessa, nodding instead of answering, carefully followed the priest of life.

The place they arrived at was right near Vinea’s statue. The statue, carved from marble so white it was almost blinding, emanated an ineffable mysterious aura. It felt like holiness, like pressure, and paradoxically, like kindness all at once.

Vanessa felt as if Vinea’s statue’s eyes were looking down at her lovingly. It must have been because of the smile. As if watching over all life with love, Vinea’s statue wore an incredibly benevolent smile.

“Please hold the flower close to your heart, stay still, and close your eyes.”

The priest of life instructed, and Vanessa obediently complied. Soon after, she felt something flowing over her crown. Vanessa thought it must be holy water.

A droplet flowed down her nose bridge, brushed her lips, and gathered at the tip of her chin. Other than that, she felt nothing. So much so that she wondered if purification rituals were always this anticlimactic.

“It’s done, you may open your eyes now.”

Following those words, Vanessa slowly opened her eyes. Since her head was bowed, the lily flower she was holding almost like an embrace came into view first. However, for some reason, the white petals had withered to a dark color.

‘What…? What happened?’

As Vanessa widened her eyes in surprise, the priest of life extended his hand as if asking for the lily. Vanessa handed over the flower while blinking in bewilderment.

Seemingly reading her confusion, the priest of life explained with a gentle smile.

“The lily absorbed the impure energy within Your Highness. That’s why it suddenly withered like this.”

“I… I see…”

…What exactly was this impure energy? How did the lily absorb it? Questions kept piling up, but she kept quiet for now. The person before her was too intimidating to ask such trivial questions.

“Don’t you feel lighter in your heart, or clearer in your mind? The purification ritual has such effects.”

“Hmm… I suppose so…”

Actually, she couldn’t really feel any difference, but having seen the flower wither instantly with her own eyes, she had no choice but to accept that ‘purification rituals really do exist.’

The priest of life nodded with a satisfied expression, put away the withered flower and holy water, and gave Vanessa further instructions.

“Now then, please wear this crown and stand straight before God Vinea’s statue.”

As Vanessa lowered herself compliantly, the priest placed a crown made of woven grapevine branches and leaves on her head.

Grapevines and their fruit were also symbols of Vinea, and were known as sacred objects that could communicate with Vinea.

“Next, close your eyes… and clasp your hands together.”

Vanessa assumed the hand position used for prayer in the Lavinian religion and quietly closed her eyes. While wondering if God Vinea would really answer her, she heard the priest’s voice continue.

“Now, earnestly call out to God Vinea in your heart…”

Though ‘earnestly’ might be impossible, Vanessa nevertheless called out to God Vinea with her best effort.

After calling about seven times, suddenly, she felt an eerily profound silence descend around her.

Vanessa frowned in confusion and slightly opened her eyes. At that very moment, all sorts of sensations crashed over her like a wave.

“……!”

First, the scene of a green forest entered her vision. A deep, dark forest― where ancient trees stood densely packed.

Following that, various sounds contained within the forest penetrated her hearing. The sound of insects chirping, small birds twittering, leaves rustling in the wind…

Finally, the smell. The vivid scent of grass and the earthy smell of soil struck her nose sharply.

‘What… is this? What’s going on?’

Vanessa looked around in confusion.

She was now in the middle of an unknown forest.

‘Was I suddenly transported? Or is this a hallucination?’

As she turned her head around bewildered by the inexplicable situation, she heard a whisper like wind brushing past her ear.

【……】

It was… undoubtedly ‘speech.’ However, it was the divine language that humans could not fully comprehend.

Yet the meaning was clearly conveyed. As if drilling directly into her mind… It was nothing short of extraordinary.

The voice was saying:
‘I shall bestow my blessing upon you.’

“A blessing… to me?”

When she asked, unable to believe it, that voice― God Vinea seemed to laugh softly.

【……】

It was such a gentle whisper. Filled with endless affection and mercy… To the point where one might wonder how such great love could exist.

With the meaning ‘you are the right person’ as its last message, the whisper was heard no more. Instead, she felt a transparent hand stroking her head. An incorporeal― or perhaps a massive presence that humans couldn’t perceive, gently caressed Vanessa.

That touch made her somehow sleepy and her eyes grew heavy. This comfort and warmth was an irresistible temptation. So much so that she thought it would be fine to sleep here forever…

Just as she was about to succumb to the temptation and fall asleep, suddenly her vision began spinning and she snapped back to consciousness. Startled, Vanessa stumbled while standing awkwardly and looked around in a daze.

“……?”

The forest that had existed so vividly until just now was gone, and she was back in the Pantheon’s sanctuary.

‘What… happened? Was it really a hallucination?’

But everything had been too clear to be a hallucination. Even the voice that whispered in an incomprehensible language… Yes, the voice. She had definitely met its owner, God Vinea. Moreover…

‘She said she would bestow Her blessing upon me…’

A tingling sensation on the back of her right hand. Vanessa blankly lowered her head to look at her right hand. On the back of her hand, several circular symbols formed a pattern like a fully bloomed lotus.

“……!”

Vanessa’s eyes widened in surprise. This pattern… was undoubtedly a stigmata.

A pure white and incredibly beautiful stigmata that suited God Vinea well. It was shining on the back of Vanessa’s hand.

“Oh my, this is…!”

A moved voice was heard nearby. The High Priest and the priest of life were staring at Vanessa with eyes full of reverence, their hands clasped together.

“To think…! That God Vinea would really bestow Her blessing! This is the first time in 50 years! This is cause for celebration, truly a celebration!”

‘First time in 50 years…? That long?’

Vanessa was in such a dazed state that her mind wasn’t working well, but she nodded mechanically while vaguely catching the High Priest’s excited words.

So― according to the High Priest, those who receive the blessing of life are very rare, and the last ‘divine word user’ appeared 50 years ago.

Come to think of it, although Vanessa had seen divine word users a few times in her life, she had never seen a ‘life divine word user.’

“The reason why those blessed with life’s power are rare is because the power of life can change people’s fate depending on how it’s used. Healing and saving those destined to die from injuries, curing those destined to die from illness… Especially ‘power users’… are said to possess the power to resurrect the dead.”

“……”

Hearing this, Vanessa wasn’t sure if she could handle such tremendous power.

However, she did seem to be… a ‘divine word user.’ Countless words appeared in her mind as if someone was whispering them.

The language of the gods who created the world. She unconsciously tries one of them.

[Let my blessing descend upon living things.]

The moment she silently recited that line, the stigmata on the back of her right hand briefly shone brightly before quieting down.

Startled, Vanessa felt her heart drop and froze stiff.

Since she hadn’t spoken it aloud, no phenomenon occurred, but… just now, clearly, some enormous power had moved within her.

‘Good heavens… really…’

Only now did it feel real, and Vanessa was struck by belated shock.

I really… received a god’s blessing.