Cule sat outside the building, marveling at how grand the whole thing was. While they built it, the carvations had started calling it The Temple. Between The Village and The Temple, it was clear that they were a simple people. This though, was bigger than anything they’d had to make before. The Temple was made of white marble, and was built carefully. Exactly how The Great Magic had instructed.
She had to give a speech, but was dreading it. Nobody wanted to tell a group of people that tradition was being broken. Cule took a stroll inside The Temple and advanced to the back corner of the room. She carefully lifted a loose tile in the wall and took a look at a small book inside. It was her journal that she had documented her travels through the dimensions with The Great Magic.
“Where is she?” she heard a man outside call.
Cule took a deep breath. Doing this might not make her popular, and very well might make some people question her. Cule knew this was for the betterment of her people though, and was willing to go through with it. She flew out of The Temple and landed on its steps.
“Everyone,” she said, calling out to the large assemblage of carvations in front of The Temple. “The Great Magic and I have been talking about how to make all of your lives better and we’ve come to a conclusion. There will be no more hosts for The Great Magic!”
There was a stunning amount of silence throughout the crowd. Everyone just stared at her, which made Cule feel the heat.
“Um, The Great Magic will now reside inside The Temple and use the magic to sustain The Village and keep everyone safe. Using its magic, it’ll keep everyone, not just champions, immortal until they have their firstborn!”
“Why until we have our firstborn?” someone asked.
“That… is the will of The Magic,” Cule said back, not quite sure why herself. “Any more questions?”
“So no champion?” called out another. “So who’ll protect us?”
“The Temple will,” she explained. “It’s infinite magic, so it’ll be able to protect everyone if anything really bad happens. But nothing’s going to get us up here.”
Cule turned around and started walking into The Temple.
“I’ll see you all later,” she waved. “I won’t be your champion anymore. Just a regular carvation!”
Cule walked into The Temple and readied herself. She knelt in the back of the building, putting her hands together and closing her eyes. Though The Temple was large, Cule couldn’t help but regret how barren the whole thing was.
“Magic, take your new host,” she called out. “Reside in The Temple!”
Cule felt something leave her, like a wave of energy she never knew was there sucking itself out of her. When the feeling stopped, Cule smiled and looked up. Then, she saw it. She saw the true form of magic as it ascended into The Temple. She thought it was beautiful. The carvation reached up for it, then collapsed to the ground.
Cule’s body felt cold, and she felt her strength completely drained out of her. She hadn’t realized how much of her strength came from The Great Magic. When was the last time she ate? How much energy was hers and how much was the magic? Why did she feel so lightheaded…
“Cule, thank you for your service,” The Temple called out in her mind as she closed her eyes. “You were a faithful servant.”
“I… They’re safe…”
“Rest now. Your work is done. You will help from beyond your life.”
“All I need… is to help…” she whispered. “I have to be… their champion…”
“You have been a suitable champion,” The Temple said with a pause. “You have been one of the best champions. Let your spirit come to eternal peace.”
* * * * *
A Few Years Later
“The harvest is amazing this year!” a woman cheered, carrying a whole basket of fruit and vegetables.
After The Temple had been made The Village suitable for all the carvations to live in peacefully, everyone had started living in harmony. Tribes that had once been suspicious of each other were laughing side-by-side. Even some carvations that had stayed behind in The Living had come to The Village, and had been accepted with open arms.
One day, two carvations had been summoned to The Temple with their recently laid eggs. The mother, a devil variant, the father, an angel variant. They stepped inside the imposing temple and looked around. At the very back of The Temple stood a large statue that nobody had remembered putting there. One that resembled their last champion who had gone missing.
“You have been chosen,” The Temple rang out to the parents.
“Chosen?” asked the father while the woman cradled her eggs. “Chosen for what?”
“Your children shall be the guardians of death. They shall look after the emerging humans after their lives are done.”
“…can I still raise them?” the mother asked.
“They shall be raised in the afterlife to guard it. They have to be raised outside of The Village to know their duties.”
“We can’t,” the father pleaded. “They’re our ownly children, and-”
“I have one condition,” the mother declared firmly, knowing they couldn’t refuse a power that great. The Temple thought for a minute.
“Name your terms.”
“I want you to make them keep the names I gave them,” she said fondly.
“What shall their names be?”
The mother cradled the eggs close, kissing them both before looking up.
“Iris and Lisha.”
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