"Luther Vas Hermington—This won't absolve you."

Luther froze in his place, too shaken by the strange entity. Fear jolted him out of his stupor, and he screamed as his death had arrived. He tried to retreat away from the shining figure, crawling backward and off the edge of the tree branch. Yet, he didn't fall, and his body simply floated in the air.

That panicked him even more, his shrills echoing. Yet, they seemed to travel no further than where his lips were, unable to even hear it himself.

The figure slowly took a more refined shape, and a human began to form from within that golden light. His skin was pale, his hair golden and long, a tall and broad frame. Yet, the bright halo behind the head continued to force Luther to squint his eyes.

"W-Who are you? Did you…" Luther glanced at the ash pot. "Come to take my sister?"

"She was gone the moment she took the poison."

"I-Is she in a good place?"

The human, or perhaps something greater, didn't reply to him directly. "Why don't you find out yourself?"

Luther looked at the knife he had left at the tree, forgetting his body was still hovering in the air.

"That is the path of a sinner, a weakling, a coward. That will lead you nowhere close to where your sister is." The being added, every word from him containing a thousand strikes at his mind and heart, yet they felt warm. "You have lived your life in ignorance, running away from responsibilities, lusting for wealth and power."

Luther fell into yet another bout of depression, tears flooding his eyes. "I know… I know, I'm evil… I'm a failure."

"Then prove otherwise. With your actions, with your heart and soul, give your life to the ultimate prize. Open your eyes, Luther Vas Hermington, you have a destiny to fulfill, but to know it, you must rise and realize."

"Who are you?" Asked Luther, unable to make sense of the words as a mere thirteen-year-old, mostly illiterate boy. "What do you want?"

"Your commitment, your soul, your life, your mind, your fate! Part ways from your earthly vice, hold my hand, for I won't ask twice." The entity extended its arm towards Luther. "I write the reality, I am the origin, I rule the laws. In this grand story, do you have the heart to play the greatest part? The progenitor of the faith that shall unite the world, the solace that shall be born off Solis?"

Luther stared at the hand extended towards him. No malice, no evil, no fear—he felt only warmth from this unknown being before him. As if… it were a god. Solis? He didn't know which god it was.

Without realizing it, his arm started to rise. "C-Can I see my sister if I follow you?"

"You must become worthy of such first. Your sins and vices must be reversed."

Luther nodded and finally clasped the godly being's hand. The instant he felt the warmth seep into his veins, something woke up within his body. Something unlocked, unclogged, his young teenage body transformed from inside.

"W-What's happening!" he cried.

"Reminding your body of what you're capable of." The being answered, feeding the godly energy to the boy's body. "This is the power, the might of Solarium, the building block of this world, the base of all the power!"

As time passed, Luther fell to his knees. He knew he was still weak, yet he could feel something else in his body. As if an unknown energy waiting to be let out.

Eventually, he fell unconscious once the same unknown energy reached his mind and made changes. Like a sudden prick of a needle, he felt immense pain and passed out right there.

####

Luther didn't know how much time had passed. When he woke up, it was still morning. He looked around, and other than himself and the pot of ash, there was nothing else on the massive branch.

Yet, he felt clear-headed. He grabbed the pot of ash, got down from the tree, and walked back toward the town. He failed to have any troubling thoughts or even normal thoughts. With an empty mind, he walked to the wooden house he had set on fire.

It's gone? He noticed the place was torched to the ground. A day passed?

He never realized how easily he comprehended and judged situations. Without knowing, he easily read every single face around. Their body language, their voices, it all felt natural.

But he didn't stay at the torched house and continued to walk towards the sea. Eventually, he reached the beach, and ignoring the men fishing there, he walked straight into the water. Both his arms remained high, holding the pot of ashes.

Further and further, he only stopped when the waves didn't throw him back to the shore so roughly. There, he silently opened the pot of ashes and sprinkled them into the seawater. The waves were particularly gentle that day, but enough to coat his eyes, which shed some silent tears.

He didn't know why he did it, but it just felt logical. Like a man taken over by instincts, he did whatever his heart told him to.

I'll see you again… someday.

"You will."

Luther didn't jolt around in shock anymore. He silently gazed towards the bright sun that had seemingly spoken to him. The voice had come directly from there.

"What are you?"

"I am everything, everywhere, every time," the sun replied. "You have a long journey ahead, young one, a perilous mountain to climb."

Luther hummed in reply and accepted everything.

It wasn't a dream. This version is sourced from MV3L3MPYR.

He was sure of it.

####

It doesn't take too long for a man of ordinary origin to unite an entire continent under one rule and faith—Just three hundred years.

Starting from the bottom, becoming a soldier of a town elder, then usurping that elder, expanding territory, winning wars, preaching, expanding, preaching, preaching, more preaching, and eventually winning kingdoms merely by the fact that the religion had spread too far already, and every ruler followed the same god.

And Luther? He became a world-renowned figure, the highest authority in the Faith of Solis. The voice of the sun guided him throughout his life, teaching him magic, martial arts, and the ways to win hearts.

With his own faith in Solis unwavering, he laid the foundation of the Holy Land right where the town he was born in existed. With his very own magic, he sliced the land and created peninsulas, dividing lands and making the Soul Tree a peninsula of its own.

The day he laid the first brick of the Pope's Palace, ten thousand priests joined his side. Starting from just himself, the faith of Solis spread like wildfire and overtook the continent of Sol, followed by the Sand Continent and Central Continent.

The teachings of Luther were compiled as the word of Solis. Once the Pope's Palace finally finished its construction, the first ever ceremony took place in it—The coronation of Luther Vas Hermington as the 1st Pope, a Supreme Wizard that protected the land of humans from the dangers of the East.

With the blessing of Pope Hermington, the Green Tribe became the Green Empire, spreading all the way to the bottom of the Eastern Sol continent. At last, Peace had arrived, order in the lives of all.

All attributed to one man and one god—Pope Hermington and Solis.

But as with the spring, the peace and prosperity never last forever. On one ominous day, a curse disguised as a blessing descended from the sky. A white orb made of pure energy, spewing nothing but Solarium.

The Holy Land became even holier with that. The increased Solarium concentration helped plenty to break through their magical and knight ranks. However, once the Solarium increased too much, the priests and the dwellers started falling.

Not long after, deaths occurred. Innocent people died in their sleep as their veins carrying Solarium exploded overnight. An immediate evacuation of the Holy Land followed, leaving behind Pope Hermington as only he could withstand the orb's effects.

Like a dense fog, Solarium materialized visibility for the first time in history. Inside, Pope Hermington struggled to reach the orb and do something about it. The pushback he received broke him physically and tested his mind.

Even for a Supreme Wizard of the second highest level, he failed to overcome the pain. Every single step forward took him days, and in return, he received backlash that broke his bones apart. But by channeling the Solarium, he maintained himself to a degree.

"You can overcome this."

Luther gritted his teeth. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"Is that how you speak to Solis?"

Grunting, Luther took yet another step. "Pardon me, Solis… I can either kneel to you right now or fight this thing… What is this even?"

Luther saw Solis taking the humanoid form again for the second time since his childhood. But, as if a mere specter, unaffected by the orb, Solis' body walked around him.

"This thing was sent by the beings called Primordial Gods. There are two of them, and they battle to claim ownership of this world. They seem to have lost their patience with you and want to take over the faith of Solis with a pawn of their own," Solis explained.

Luther continued to struggle. "C-Can't you… stop them?"

"I already have, but in the time that is yet to come," Solis revealed in the usual mysterious manner. "This responsibility now lies on your shoulders, Luther."

"B-But I don't think I can make it… This thing destroyed the Holy Land… If I die here, all that I built will be lost. I'm yet to harmonize the East and West Sol… I—"

Luther stopped speaking as he felt the heaviness of a palm on his shoulder. A boost of energy surged through his body, which helped him step forward.

"The only choice you have is to fight, or not to fight. But the result is not in your control, Luther. The fruits of your labor are not in your control. Your right to choose ends on whether you will raise your arms or not." Solis advised him softly, the voice itself somehow made him feel stronger. "Think like this, Luther—Be it victory or defeat, you are only fighting because it is your obligation. In that case, the delight of victory and the sorrow of defeat don't concern you."

Luther gritted his teeth and realized the deeper meaning. "This is it? This is where I die?"

"In the flesh, yes," Solis answered. "Victory and defeat, life and death, happiness and sorrow—don't be tempted by these questions. Just fight, and resist—if you win, not only this world, but all of existence's blessings shall be yours. And even if you lose, you will still be a martyr who died with honor, respected by all. So forget everything and fight, that is the meaning of your life. That is the reason you were born for. That is your destiny."

With some struggles, Luther felt better when taking further steps now. But his heart was in turmoil. "Don't mind me, Solis, but… Fuck! Just when I was so close to my goal of unification!"

"Your legacy shall be fulfilled by another in the distant future. You will be able to see him and speak with him someday." Solis gave him some solace.

Luther grunted hard and accepted his oncoming death. If this was his fate, so be it. "I hope I can see Emily after this."

"You will," Solis affirmed.

That was enough for Luther to pour all of his life into the final push. As soon as he touched the Orb of Purity, he found himself sucked into the orb itself. Inside, the pressure came from all sides, trying to crush him into a pulp.

But Luther knew what needed to be done and began absorbing the Solarium of the orb itself. Reducing its effects on the surroundings, making the mist fade away from the entire region. It was painful, mind-breaking, and took him a long time, months upon months of torture.

"Now!"

At Luther's command, his most loyal subordinates, the first Guardians of Light, approached the Holy Land again and aided the construction of the Golden Temple so the Orb could be sealed within it.

As Luther's last moments approached, stuck inside the orb, Solis bid him farewell and welcomed him to the other side while disappearing, allowing the Ten Guardians to converse.

From a distance, atop the highest branch of the Soul Tree, Solis continued to watch the final events unfold. But no longer a shining, godly being, just a human—Sylvester Maximilian.

"So many lives lost to save this world," Sylvester mumbled while seeing the dimming shine of the Orb of Purity. "I alone can never take the credit for this moment."

Woosh!

Finally, the Orb was sealed fully, and its shine was lost. The Holy Land, ruined under the intense energy of Solarium, became accessible.

The first Pope broke through the limit of might in his final moments, becoming a man above a mortal and yet below a god.

Sylvester saw it all happen at the same time, in all iterations of that said time. He was still getting used to this strange state of existence of himself. Nothing felt shocking, exciting, or confusing anymore, for he saw every outcome, all at the same time.

"Time to head home," Sylvester muttered.

"Prrrr… Meow-Meow?"

Sylvester suddenly looked down, truly shocked for he failed to see this white, chubby, furry creature approach his legs. He failed to see its existence across space and time through his omniscience.

"A cat?!"