15th of Glace, Year 1023

Renee emerged on the other side, thankfully stepping onto solid ground and not thin air again. Sprawled on the ground before her, Lirion glared at her as best as he could in his fallen position. 

They had emerged through another large mirror in the Court of Saints, in one of the common rooms. A good distance away were the other saints sitting around a large table, clearly interrupted in the middle of a meal by Lirion and Renee’s unexpected presences. 

Judging by their curious and wary gazes, none of the other saints recognized her. This must have been before her past self joined the saints. This makes things both more and less complicated.

“Hello!” Renee waved to the other saints, feigning confidence that she doesn’t feel. She glanced down at her outfit and was a little pleased to see that the flowers didn’t disappear from her dress when she stepped through the doorway. She bent down to help Lirion up, and he begrudgingly took her hand. “Does anyone have a first-aid kit? Lirion’s arm is injured.”

“A what?” Someone asked.

Renee rolled her eyes and tried to remember the phrases that would have been used in the past. “Do we have a healer here?”

“I can treat him.” Surprisingly, it was Jareth, who had always struck Renee as a timid person, that stepped up. 

“I wouldn’t go into the aether plane for a while if I were the next watcher.” Lirion warned the other saints. “I may have used my mana in a fight with some nythrals.”

Renee was slightly taken aback that Lirion would take the blame for her careless mistake instead of exposing her. Why did he help her?

“Lirion, welcome back.” Matthias was the first to greet them back. “And who’s this?”

“You don’t know her?” Lirion’s expression became full of suspicions again as he turned to look back at Renee. “She told me she was the eleventh saint.”

“I am!” Renee crossed her arms. “My name is Renee Arlinus. You can ask Eislyn to corroborate my words.”

She desperately hoped that either Eislyn backs her up or is unreachable at the moment. What does a goddess even do in her free time anyway?

“What do we do about this?” Matthias asked the others. It took a moment for Renee to realize that he had switched to the ancient language, thinking that Renee doesn’t understand it.

Renee decided to play dumb for now to see what else they would say.

“Kick her out.” Ardien shrugged. “There hasn’t been a female saint, ever. I’m sure she’s a fraud. We had some of those before, didn't we?”

“I found her in the aether plane.” Lirion informed the others. “She insisted that she accidentally fell through a mirror. She can use mana quite well. She’s definitely not a normal mortal.”

“I can’t speak the ancient language!” Kayden whispered to the others in Selanic.

“What did he say?” Zethis asked, not understanding Selanic.

“He said he can’t speak the ancient language.” Cassius, who was also from Selanis, translated.

“Not our problem.” Ardien replied. “He had about a decade to learn it.” 

“And we don’t need our biggest eavesdropper here to learn another language.” Zethis added. 

“We’re getting off topic. I think we should definitely contact Eislyn about the new saint.” Cassius pointed out.

“We shouldn’t disturb the goddess arbitrarily!” Feiyi insisted.

“Where’s Shen?” Zethis asked. “Is he still lazing around in his quarters? He’s the first saint. He should weigh in on this.”

Cassius noticed Renee staring at all them, and—thinking she was oblivious to what they were saying—gestured to an empty chair across the table from him with a warm smile. “Do have a seat, miss. Would you like some tea?”

She noticed that the saints were sitting in order of ascension, with Ardien being the one next to her as he was the tenth saint.

“Yes.” Renee draped Lirion’s coat over the back of her chair before sitting down. Once she was seated, Kayden pushed an empty plate and an empty tea cup in her direction. 

“Just think of whatever you want to eat or drink, then insert some mana into the utensils, and the food will appear. The magic here in the Court of Saints provides for all of us.” Cassius told her.

Renee nodded, then did as she was told. As Cassius had said, some tea did appear in the cup, followed by some scones on the plates.

Some of the saints had mixed expressions as they watched her try out the magic in the Court of Saints.

Jareth finally finished bandaging Lirion’s arm and both of them took their seat at the table as well.

Then, Renee had a fun idea. She tried to think of some modern food that would not have existed in the eleventh century. Instantly, the tea was replaced by milk tea and the scones turned into sushi. She suppressed a laugh of delight as she picked up a pair of chopsticks that materialized along with the sushi and popped a sushi in her mouth.

They were really good sushi.

“...What is that?” Feiyi leaned in to get a closer look at her food. “That’s not a Lianese dish I recognize.”

Renee couldn’t suppress a grin of amusement as she dipped another sushi in a small dish of soy sauce that accompanied her food. “It’s food of the future,” she told him evasively.

“I’m assuming you’re another representative of Lianru?” Matthias asked.

“No, I may be mostly of Lianese descent, but I am a representative of Elysia.” Renee answered.

“Elysia? Who is she fooling?” Ardien sneered. “I’m sure Kayden is the last saint. There are now ten of us, two from each kingdom. Isn’t that the perfect balance?”

“If Renee is telling the truth, then her presence shouldn’t upset the balance in any way.” Lirion pointed out. “Don’t forget, there are twelve seats here, not ten. Stop jumping to conclusions.”

Renee felt somewhat grateful to Lirion for defending her. What was Ardien’s problem anyway? 

“Have you awakened as a saint yet?” Matthias asked.

The transformation of a human to a saint is referred to as the awakening or the ascendance. Once a saint is awakened, they become immortal and can start tapping into the divine powers granted by Eislyn. 

“Yes,” Renee answered. It wasn’t a lie. She felt herself undergoing the awakening when the second seal broke.

“What’s your domain?” 

“I am the Saintess of Time.”

None of the saints know what comment to make about her statement.

“I apologize for the interrogation, but it’s not common for someone to appear out of nowhere, claiming to be a saint.” Cassius tried to apologize for the other saints’ rudeness. “Normally, there is a ceremony of sorts, involving an oath, and Eislyn would be there to formalize everything.” 

“Cassius is right. I mean, are there any other witnesses to corroborate your words?” Ardien asked.

Renee suppressed the feelings of anxiety and dread that were building in her heart. This is not going in the direction she wanted. She was going to get exposed, and they were never going to believe her if she were to tell the truth now.

That was until Renee detected a new presence appearing from behind her. She could tell who it was by the way the saints’ stood up from their seats and changed their attitude into one of reverence. She held her breath and slowly turned around.

Standing between her and the mirror was a tall woman with dark skin and long white hair that flowed like water. Her golden eyes were both warm and cold. She had a timeless beauty and seemed young, but there was an oldness in her expression and eyes. She was wearing a flowing white dress adorned with gold accessories. Most noticeable of all was the way she glowed, radiating divinity and magic.

Renee wasn’t sure where she came from, but the goddess’s presence filled her with even more dread and anxiety than before. She was now absolutely certain that her not-lie was going to unravel and backfire in her face.

“Hello, Renee.” Eislyn gave her a serene and welcoming smile. “I’m so glad you’re back.”

Renee swallowed, unsure of how to react. How does one behave around a goddess? And what did Eislyn mean by her words? Did she know about her being from the future?

“Today, a new saint joins your rank.” Eislyn continued. “Please welcome Renee as the eleventh saint, the Saintess of Time.”

Suddenly, from outside of the Court of Saints, Renee heard a bell chiming. The other saints all start whispering to each other with wide eyes. From what Renee remembered, once a new saint joined the order of saints, every bell in the world rang to celebrate, adding an additional chime with each new saint. Now, the bell rang eleven times in honor of the eleventh saint.

“Please don’t punish Lirion for breaking his exile.” Renee blurted out. “I made him come back.”

“It’s alright.” Eislyn replied. “His exile ended earlier today. Even if you hadn’t forced him back just now, I would have sent someone after him.”

“My exile… ended today?” Lirion asked hesitantly. His face turned hard. “I see.”

“Come with me,” Eislyn beckoned to Renee. “I will show you to your room.”

Despite Renee having already seen her room before, she rose from her chair and prepared to follow the goddess out of the dining area. Just before she went through the door, Renee turned back to the other saints.

Plastering on the brightest smile she can, she spoke to them in the ancient language flawlessly. “It’s good to meet you all as well! Please take care of me in the future!”

The stunned expressions on their faces were priceless. She gave one look at their wide eyes and slack jaws before flouncing away after Eislyn, her dress scattering flower petals in her wake.