Two days ago, while setting up a barrier to stop Valenos, someone called out to Ahwin.
“Ahwin! Don’t!”
It was a voice he had clearly heard somewhere before.
Before he could realize who the owner of that voice was, the power he was infusing into the barrier abruptly stopped.
He tried to regain his composure and complete the barrier, but it was in vain. Ahwin was in shock.
‘My divine power is gone.’
After awakening as a wing, divine power had always been with him, like blood flowing through his veins or air filling his lungs. The idea of that power leaving him was unimaginable.
But it had disappeared.
Staring blankly at his empty hands, he barely managed to regain his senses.
In a trembling voice, he chanted incantations, but nothing happened. Neither the natural healing power nor the power of the wind he had wielded like an extension of his body responded.
‘Could it be that the Saint has discarded me?’
That was the only hypothesis that immediately came to mind when he suddenly lost his power as a wing.
‘Why would she do this suddenly?’
A rush of anxious thoughts flooded his mind.
‘Could it be that my relationship with Noel has been exposed?’
If not, there was no reason for Josephina to suddenly discard him. As soon as he thought of that, he couldn’t stay there any longer.
Ignoring the approaching clergy, he rushed towards the temple like a madman.
If he couldn’t use the power of the Goddess, he was just an ordinary man. Even if Josephina targeted Noel, there was no way to stop her. If it had already happened, going to the temple would mean certain death. The only way to save Noel was to give up and get far away.
Even knowing that, he ran towards the temple.
Choosing any other option was unimaginable for him. He arrived at the temple fully prepared for the worst, but to his surprise, the surroundings were eerily quiet. It was as if the moment ago, Josephina had deprived him of his wings’ power was unbelievable.
“Saint Josephina is resting. What brings you here?”
“Lady Noel is patrolling the capital. She is probably in the commercial district by now.”
Both Josephina and Noel seemed as they usually were.
Ahwin was bewildered.
What in the world was happening? If it wasn’t because of Josephina, then why did his power suddenly disappear?
While he was still confused about what was going on, another surprising event occurred.
The power that had disappeared suddenly began to return.
It felt like when he had awakened as a wing a long time ago. Warm energy started to seep from his fingertips as if dry fabric was absorbing water.
However, something was off.
The power that returned was not the one he had known.
It was like river water and sea water being the same substance but completely different.
The unfamiliar yet familiar energy began to move slowly through his veins.
He was taken aback by the sudden change once again. The feeling was like dust being washed away in the wake of the passing energy.
It felt so sweet that if he could experience it for a lifetime, he would even sell his soul.
Ahwin became completely absorbed in the energy flowing through his body, momentarily forgetting about Josephina, Valenos, and even Noel.
And then, in a moment, it abruptly stopped.
It was as if someone had poured cold water over him, leaving him startled.
In his momentary confusion, Ahwin looked around desperately. It was an instinctual reaction to search for something he had lost.
Of course, he found nothing. All that lay before his eyes was the darkness of the temple, and beyond that, the city walls.
Frozen in a sense of loss, Ahwin gazed at the blackened city walls and only then remembered the situation he was in.
‘I was setting up a barrier to stop Valenos.’
The moment he thought about what he had been doing beyond those walls, another astonishing event unfolded.
During the process of setting up the barrier to stop Valenos, the goddess’s power that had disappeared gradually began to return.
“This is Josephina’s power,” he thought. The familiar energy of Josephina was returning. However, Ahwin couldn’t feel joy in this moment.
Unlike the refreshing energy he had felt earlier, Josephina’s energy was overwhelming to the point of suffocation. It felt like someone was forcibly pouring filth down his throat.
“Ugh!”
He stumbled and barely managed to brace himself against the wall, coughing up whatever was inside him.
Ahwin couldn’t understand it at all. Just an hour ago, Josephina’s power had been so natural to him. Why had it suddenly become uncomfortable? Why did it feel repulsive, like swimming through a swarm of insects?
Suppressing the urge to tear apart his veins that carried Josephina’s energy, Ahwin managed to move forward, although he had no idea where he was going. He just needed to find a place where he could breathe and feel fresh air.
Finally, he arrived at a place where Leticia was waiting, right in front of his room.
Bow to your one true master.
In front of Leticia, who was anxiously looking at him, Ahwin couldn’t say a word.
It was an overwhelmingly dominant presence, beyond gender, beyond human.
It spoke not to his ears but resonated in his mind.
Bow.
His body trembled uncontrollably. It wasn’t just his body; even the air around him seemed to tremble.
“Ahwin.”
Finally, when he heard Leticia’s call, it felt like he had been struck by lightning.
It was the voice that had stopped him; it was the voice that had made his power disappear while he was creating the barrier.
What did this fact mean?
‘In this world, there is only one being who can take away the power of the wings.’
At that moment, he recalled what Noel had said a few days ago. It was a question about another saint, and her question.
The fact that Noel seemed to have suddenly brightened up a few days ago, and that the change had occurred right after Noel met Leticia.
‘Could she be the new saint that Noel mentioned?’
A tremendous shock struck him. No, his speculation was no longer a mere guess.
The refreshing energy he felt from Leticia, the moment her wounded hand was seen, and the throbbing of his heart at the sight, all confirmed that he had reached the truth.
He knew that if he healed her, there could be traces left behind, but he couldn’t simply let her go.
No, he couldn’t just let that person go. Yet, he couldn’t show any hint of his feelings to Leticia.
Don’t be deceived. Your one true master is Josephina.
It was because of another whispered voice that penetrated his ears like a snake, making it impossible for him to show anything to Leticia.
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