Chapter 1261: Leia
1023
After delaying the start of the project for a day, Chaos handed 'Shiro' a miniature planet.
"You just need to place your consciousness within this orb. Your power will be limited since it may cause it to collapse as it's not ready to receive your unrestricted mana. You can choose what era you want to experience so you can observe how each generation acts." Chaos explained as 'Shiro' nodded her head.
Seeing the curiosity on her daughter's face, Chaos couldn't help but chuckle as she allowed 'Shiro' to play with the new toy.
Once Chaos left, 'Shiro' placed the orb on the table and observed it for a short moment.
She was looking at the planet as a whole, seeing how the lands would shift slightly, how certain countries changed from a landscape of greenery to a desert wasteland.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and inserted her consciousness into the world.
The scene flickered as Shiro followed 'Shiro's' consciousness into the miniature world. Just from what she could see, it was similar to her world before technology took over. Magic still existed but everything seemed more primitive. Shabby outfits and poorly built houses.
Thinking to herself, 'Shiro' decided to disguise herself as an orphan so that she could observe the world from the perspective of someone needing help to survive.
Placing herself on the doorstep of the church, 'Shiro' let out a few cries to get the attention of the people inside. It didn't take long for hurried footsteps to be heard as an old woman opened the door and looked at 'Shiro' in shock.
She didn't know who placed a baby down on the doorstep with nothing except a blanket and basket but she couldn't just leave her there.
Taking the child inside, the woman closed the door.
Acting her part as a baby, 'Shiro' could see that there were quite a few orphans within the church while four adults attended to them. The old woman that picked her up, a middle aged lady, an old man who was praying by the altar and a young woman who seemed to be the child of the middle aged lady.
Each of them looked at 'Shiro' with curious eyes. While it wasn't uncommon for a child to be left at their doorstep, having it done in the middle of the day was strange to say the least.
Time skipped forward as information flowed into Shiro's mind. 'Shiro' was eventually named Leia by the old lady. Life was difficult at the church but it wasn't the worse. They got food regularly from a kind hunter who had lost his child to the woods years ago. So in memory of his child, he would hunt animals for the orphans.
Leia grew up to be rather silent compared to the other kids, constantly observing her surroundings and not talking unless needed.
The adults of the church felt that it was strange but understood that it was just how Leia was.
The god that the orphanage worshipped was a god of light. They say that he created everything with a snap of his finger and gave warmth to the world. But Leia knew that this was incorrect as it was Chaos who created everything as an experiment. But that was a crude way of putting things and she knew that they would be unhappy hearing this.
What interested her was the fact that they were worshipping something they never saw with their own eyes. Something they didn't know existed.
So she asked the old lady who picked her up.
"Yasha." Leia called out as the old lady paused her prayers and glanced back with a smile.
"What is it Leia?"
"Why are we praying to God Pyre? We never saw him before and only read about him in the books." Leia asked as Yasha gestured for her to sit on her lap.
Following the instructions, Leia sat on Yasha's lap while she patted her head.
"Well, we pray in hopes that a higher being is watching us and gives us their blessings. Life is difficult, more so for everyone here than the children outside. Hence why we pray in hopes that life will become easier for you." Yasha explained.
"If we want help then can't we pray to people like hunter Aaron?"
"That's a little different. We can ask for help from people like mister Aaron and we can pray FOR mister Aaron in hopes that he returns to us safely."
"So praying is just asking a higher power to help?" Leia asked as it didn't make sense for her. Why should they pray to a higher power and gamble for their help instead of trying to solve it themselves. While rudimentary, the world was still blessed with mana.
"To put it lightly, yes. Though praying is also to thank the higher being in bringing us to this world."
Eventually Leia ran out of questions. She gained an understanding of how Yasha viewed the higher power and understood why they would pray. They wanted to gain hope of a better life. Hope that things turn out well. There is only so much a person can do so they pray for hope that someone gives them an extra hand.
Still, her main question wasn't answered. Naturally, she wouldn't get an answer to something she didn't ask them. But the question of what life and death means to them was something best witnessed by her own eyes. Compared to these fleeting lifeforms, she was immortal so she couldn't comprehend why they were okay with such short lives.
Each person in this village was like a candle, a single misstep and the candle extinguishes.
Time passed once more and Leia began helping around the village to see the purpose of such acts in a short life. She showed some small talent with magic to help the village with daily acts but nothing destructive. It was just to make their day to day life easier.
Naturally, the potency of her spells were stronger than the average magic user hence why they started to call her saint. Illnesses and injuries were cured in a blink of an eye and people in this village started to rely on her spells.
One day, the father of the church showed signs of an incurable illness along with old age. While Leia could cure his illness without issues, old age was different.
No one asked her to prolong his life, instead they asked to make sure he was comfortable so that he could pass on in peace. A question surfaced on her mind once more.
At the end of one's life, wouldn't they want to survive no matter what? In which case why don't they ask to prolong his life? It was possible for her. Despite her abilities to destroy, she was still able to do something as easily as prolonging the life of a fleeting being.
In the dead of night, Leia approached the father's room alone. She had taken over the role of caring for him in his last moments and sat next to his bed.
As the father woke up momentarily, he could see Leia reading books next to him with a neutral expression that she always carried. But after seeing her for many years, he understood that she was confused.
"What's on your mind Leia?" He asked with a soft smile. Despite the weakness that he was feeling, he wanted to help the saint of their church. The young woman who helped without any complaints.
Pausing for a short while, Leia opened her mouth.
"Why does everyone ask me to make your passing peaceful? I can probably prolong your life if I tried. Aren't you afraid of death? People make sure they don't die while growing up. So what's the difference now?" Leia asked as the father laid in silence.
"A tough question hahaha." He chuckled softly while trying to organise his thoughts.
"Let me ask you a question instead, Leia. If you continue to prolong a life, they can be called immortal. But what do you need to do that requires you to be immortal?" The father asked.
"Anything. If you're immortal you can do anything you want can't you?"
"Yes, but there is a time for everything. When you have done everything, what will you do with your remaining time? I can't imagine the loneliness that comes with the blessing of immortality. I wish to pass on peacefully because I have done all I want in my life. Granted there are moments where I wasn't able to accomplish what I sought out to do, I don't regret how I lived."
"But doesn't death scare you?"
"Oh it does. But that's only because of what I must leave behind. However, I know that you're here. I know that Yasha and everyone else will take care of this church after I leave. It simply means my time has come and it's someone else's turn to take on my mantle." The father chuckled while holding Leia's hand.
"Listen to me, Leia. You are a curious child, and I know not of what you can accomplish. It is my personal belief that we humans are granted a short life so we think carefully about what we do. A question posed to us of how we want to immortalise our legacy. But there are bad people in the world, who will jump at the thought of immortality without consequences. Death is a guardian that maintains order in this world."
Hearing this, Leia nodded her head.