"Is there a problem?" Evangelin’s quiet voice echoed in the hallway, breaking the brief silence that had formed after the door opened.
Daniel just looked at her for a few seconds.
The golden light of the mana lamps in the hallway shone on Evangelin’s hair, casting a soft shadow on her face. Without her veil, her face looked very different; not because of her unusual beauty, but because for the first time, there was no distance between her and the world.
She no longer looked like an untouchable saint. Just Evangelin.
"No... I’m just not used to seeing your face without a veil." Daniel finally said.
In the tower, he had also seen Evangelin without a veil the entire time, but that young Evangelin was very different from this mature Evangelin. Two completely different auras and temperaments.
And this one seemed otherworldly.
Evangelin was silent for a few moments.
"If it bothers you, I can put it back on." Then she said quietly.
"No, that’s not what I meant." Daniel answered almost immediately.
Something like a smile passed over Evangelin’s lips, as if she was pleased with the answer she had heard.
"Good."
"So shall we go?"
Daniel nodded.
"Of course."
"Do you have a particular restaurant in mind?" Evangelin took a few steps toward the door. She thought they were going to a restaurant again, like that time in the dragon realm.
"We have to go somewhere else." Daniel smiled.
Before Evangelin could ask anything, the space around them sank into a wave of pressure. The world faded, and the next moment, the sea breeze touched their faces.
The smell of salt was in the air, and the quiet sound of waves hitting the shore could be heard in the distance.
Evangelin took a step forward and suddenly stopped. Her eyes slowly widened.
Silence. For a few seconds, no sound was heard. Not from her, not from Daniel.
Before them stood the Church of Eternity. The same church, the same white towers, the same stone walls, the same tall windows, the same courtyard, the same domes, the same paved paths.
As if thousands of years had never passed, as if that dark day had never happened, as if the Gulf of Sumer had never fallen.
The night breeze moved among the white columns, the moonlight shone on the church’s roof, and its reflection on the calm waters of the gulf created a dreamlike image.
Evangelin made no movement, just looked. For the first time since Daniel had known her, she was completely speechless.
Her eyes moved over the walls, over the windows, over the bell tower, over the courtyard, and then over a bench in the corner of the yard.
An old, simple, forgotten bench. But seeing it made her lips tremble slightly, and she involuntarily moved toward it.
Daniel said nothing, just followed her from a distance. Evangelin ran her hand over the wooden bench.
And suddenly, an image came alive in her mind: a little girl in simple clothes, a book almost larger than herself, the sound of children’s laughter, sunlight, and the sound of church bells.
She walked a few steps further, reached the church’s entrance, placed her hand on it, and another image appeared.
A cold winter night, her first prayer in life.
Fear.
Loneliness.
And a voice that had given her hope for the first time: the voice of the Prophet, who was like a father to her.
Evangelin quietly closed her eyes. A moment later, she walked again, inside the church, among the rows of seats, by the altar, by the place where her master once stood.
The place where her life’s path had first changed, where her destiny had begun.
Daniel remained silent. He didn’t want to ruin this moment. This place belonged to Evangelin, to the girl who had lived here thousands of years ago.
He had rebuilt this place based on the memories of the Eternity church he had, and it should be quite accurate.
A long time passed. Finally, Evangelin returned, her gaze fixed on Daniel.
"You built all of this... for tonight?"
"I thought you’d like it." Daniel shrugged.
For a few seconds, no answer came, but something changed in Evangelin’s gaze. Something she usually hid.
"I did like it..." She finally just said.
"Good." Daniel smiled and then walked toward the courtyard.
"Dinner is still waiting."
When they reached the table, Evangelin noticed the food on it for the first time, and then she completely stopped. Her gaze shifted between the dishes.
Then she looked at Daniel, again at the dishes, and again at Daniel.
"You hunted a Leviathan for dinner?" She could easily recognize the meat here.
"Two of them." Daniel pulled out the chair.
"Two?"
"One wasn’t enough for two people, and I wanted to be sure."
For the first time, the sound of Evangelin’s genuine laughter echoed in the space. Not a formal smile, not a polite smile, but a short, real laugh.
"I don’t think anyone in history has ever hunted two high-level monsters for a simple dinner."
Daniel sat down.
"There’s a first time for everything. And I thought it was normal among powerhouses."
"Powerhouses don’t spend their time eating and cooking."
The full moon shone above the gulf, the gentle waves hit the shore, and a cool breeze flowed through the church courtyard.
For a while, they just ate. Without hurry, without talking about war, without talking about religion. Just an ordinary, trouble-free dinner.
"How did you become a saint? And have you ever thought about what you wanted to be besides a saint?" After a while, Daniel suddenly asked. He was curious about this, and even in the tower, he hadn’t understood how this girl had joined the church and become a saint.
Evangelin stopped. Completely stopped. A few seconds passed. Ten seconds, twenty seconds... as if no one had asked her such a question for centuries.
"I don’t remember." She finally said quietly.
"Really?" Daniel raised an eyebrow.
"It’s been a very long time."
Of course, Daniel didn’t believe that, but he didn’t ask further, because there must have been a reason she wasn’t saying anything.
"And I think I wanted to travel if I hadn’t become a saint." Then after a moment of silence, the saint continued.
Daniel was surprised.
"Travel?"
"Yes." Evangelin nodded, her gaze fixed on the horizon.
"Back then, I thought the world was very big." A small smile appeared on her face.
"Then I realized it really is big. After the religion was destroyed, I spent centuries traveling across the entire world."
The conversation continued. About the past, about memories, about things that had nothing to do with the fate of the world.
And Daniel gradually realized something. Evangelin was laughing more than ever, talking more than ever, and for the first time, she seemed like an ordinary human.
This reminded him of the young Evangelin he had seen in the tower. He thought that part of this woman was dead, but it seemed he was wrong. It was still there, just needed to be brought out.
Time passed slowly, until finally they stood by the shore. The moon was reflected on the water.
The sea stretched like a silver mirror to the horizon. The night breeze moved Evangelin’s hair.
And a quiet silence flowed between them.
"Thank you." Evangelin finally said.
"For dinner?" Daniel looked at her.
The saint shook her head, her gaze fixed on the rebuilt church. Tonight had truly made her feel peace and freedom again after a long time.
Much of the pressure that was always on her to rebuild the Eternity religion had disappeared, and now tonight, realizing she was truly not alone, all the pressure vanished.
"I thought no one remembered this place anymore. Thank you for showing me I’m not alone."
A few moments later, she continued.
"Thousands of years have passed, and no one should remember this place. So how do you know this place?"
Daniel looked at the church.
"In the tower, I saw the true glory of the Eternity religion."
"So you were just chosen as the heir of the Eternity religion like that?" Evangelin looked at him.
Daniel smiled.
"Your master is a god. You should know about the power of the gods. The version I saw in the tower had its own true consciousness."
"And it chose me."
Evangelin was silent for a long while.
"I understand why it chose you." Then she said quietly.
Daniel said nothing, just stared at the horizon. He didn’t need to answer. Was there a better candidate than him? As far as he knew, there were four other candidates, and two of them were traitors.
A little later, they both returned to the holy city. In the blink of an eye, they were back, and they were silent the entire way.
When they reached the church, Evangelin stopped at the hallway leading to her room.
She looked at Daniel for a moment, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she just gave a very small smile and left without a word.
Daniel watched until she disappeared around the corner, then he himself returned to his room.
Night had fully fallen. The holy city had sunk into silence. When he entered his room, he sat on the chair by the window.
He stared at the moon for a few moments.
"Rynor... did you need something?" And then he whispered quietly.
Almost immediately, a voice echoed in his mind.
"Lady Ilaris is here and wants to see you, my Lord."