ReThree: sisterhood

We entered through the large door of the shrine, which was open most of the time. A spacious hall with chairs arranged for worshippers awaited us. The reflection of large chandeliers was visible on the marble floor. At the end of the hall was a sanctuary, flanked by statues of mythological figures. Above the sanctuary were reliefs, and large stained glass windows on both sides illuminated the interior. Like in Christianity, there was a statue for worship above the sanctuary, but instead of a representation of the Absolute Creator, it depicted a sacred being said to watch over worshippers. It was a white bear with spiky fur resembling that of a hedgehog, elongated tusks like those of a wild boar, and a tail that similar to that of an anteater. Stranger than all of it, were the eyes that according to the courier and scriptures were containing galaxies. Therefore, stones with galaxy-like colors were used to adorn its eyes. The statue in this shrine only showed the upper half of the Gaubear or the sacred bear figure attached to the upper wall as if it had emerged from within it. Its fierce face displayed bared teeth that will instill teror in anybody's heart.

As I suspected, today there were only two people inside the shrine who might be considered homeless by Aldous's definition. Each was lounging in a corner and dozing off.

 "Ha ha ha! Countess eager to meet!"

 We all nodded our heads in respect. 

"It seems you had a good week, Courier." 

"Oh yes! This week God's grace has been more abundant than ever," Courier said with a smile

He ruffled Aldous's hair. "You've grown so much." Aldous pushed Courier's hand away and took a step back. 

"You're saying that every week." "Aldous!" Mom said angrily. 

"Ha ha ha! Sorry, but you grow taller every week; one can't help but mention it."

 "Really?" Aldous said excitedly.

'Like always he's easily fooled.'

Courier was a middle-aged man with white stubble wearing a white robe and red cloak. He held a metal staff twice his height topped with what looked like a bear's head roaring fiercely. A large polished greenish-blue stone floated between its jaws and spun around; "That stone is too big to be magical."

 He wore a hat looking like toilet paper rolls adorned with fur fabric featuring symbols representing two complementary halves of the moon—this world's religious emblem.

According to my studies, this world once had two moons rotating in opposite directions around Earth. When these moons aligned once, a woman with completely white hair was born—her whiteness made everything around her appear colorful.

 After her birth, one moon disappeared; hence people believed she had stolen it. However, wherever she went she brought blessings and prosperity; she claimed she hadn't stolen the moon but rather embodied it herself—"The absolute God created me this way to guide you towards Him." 

With help from Sin (the name referring to an exalted individual), people's lives transformed over 200 years: new spells and magical stones flooded into existence; new skills emerged in farming and industry.

Most importantly, she explained about sponsors and distinguished them using terms for good and evil—before that people struggled to identify usable spells through specific signs within their magic systems without knowing about sponsors' existence or how to recognize their identities within magic itself.

Sin wrote books about their names totaling over 50 volumes before suddenly disappearing after 200 years without any trace or memory left behind—no one knows where Sin is or what state she is in now; some believe she's still alive somewhere watching us while others say she transcended material existence into goodness.

There are many theories about this; you might ask which I believe in: 'Currently none of them.'

No matter how I think about it, this story has many contradictions. for instance according to our current understanding we are still discovering new names for good and evil. isn't that an indication Sin lacked information about others? 

'Perhaps if she hadn't disappeared she would have continued her work. There's a lot of theories afterall.'

"Oh, I forgot. Here is our donation to the shrine..." My mother took a money bag out of her purse and handed it to Jack.

"Hahaha! This generosity of yours is appreciated, Mrs. Bazz. You donate to our shrine every week. The Almighty Creator must be pleased with your deeds."

"For now, it seems your God is laughing at us," Aldous muttered under his breath. I nudged him lightly, which made him straighten up.

Mom, upon seeing the preparations laid out on the table in front of the sanctuary, asked, "Do you have a special ceremony coming up?"

"Oh yes! This is the great blessing that the Almighty Creator has bestowed upon us. Today, a child is going to dedicate himself to the Lord."

"Do you still employ servants?" my mom asked curiously.

"No, with our youthful and sufficient workforce for this small shrine, we don't need new servants. However, this time, a noble is going to join the servants of God. It is rare for a noble to give up all their wealth and fully dedicate themselves to a shrine at such young age. We didn't want to disregard their request, so we agreed to this idea. They might move to another shrine later…"

I raised an eyebrow. 

"A noble becoming a servant in such a remote and inaccessible place?"

It's truly unhinged because I rarely see a noble who believes in the Almighty God, let alone someone who wants to serve Him. Most nobles, especially the new generation, only believe in good and evil because it has been proven. However, they don't think about the idea of someone being the creator of good and evil. I'm an exception among them due to the grace God has shown me. That's why I personally wanted to become a servant. But no matter what I did, I couldn't leave Arina and the idea of staying by her side.

"I hope God understands me."