Distant...?

" ... I guess this is how I die." Max shrugged, closing his eyes as he indulge to the dim light of the two moons, falling off in the middle of a cliff, secretly enjoying himself.

[SAVE YOURSELF.]

"..." Max didn't budge, he was ready to die, ready to quit everything. ' If I can no longer meet my family again, I might as well meet my end.' Max muttered as he smile bitterly.

[YOUR FEAR IS LOOSING YOUR FAMILY, ALONG WITH YOUR SANITY. THE CLOUD MAY RAIN; THE SUN REMAINED SHINING.]

"Tch,"

Max clicked his tongue. Knowing what the voice meant.

"How mean~" Max sighed as he stand on air. "Hold on, why am I naked??" He looked at himself. ' What would other people think if they saw a naked person standing on air...?' he thought to himself as he try to find a place to hide.

' Not even a single object was transferred with me, even the hair dye that hides my real hair color was gone,' he continued analyzing himself and his surroundings. ' If I'm right, it's 20 Celsius.'

[ SHAMEFUL.]

"... What's with that?, Where am I?" Max continued asking, leaning back on a tree where he hides, quite tired.

[ COVER UP. IN A PLACE YOU ARE NEEDED.]

" Aren't I needed more by Sis and Dad's side?"

[....]

The Goddess remained silent, letting Max hear the pained groans of the people below him. Max who knew about the two's existence and the Goddess's intention was left with no choice but to follow the unspoken rule, sighing to himself as he stared down to the two people that cries together, the other suffering the pain on his eye where an arrow has strucked, while the other, holding the bow was crying in regret.

"Aargh...!"

" I...(sobs) I'm sorry....(sobs)" the cries of the lady was quiet and restrained, not letting others know where they are, be it their enemy or allies, they were hiding.

"Where is he hurt?" Max asked. His voice echoed all around the place, making it hard to tell where he is, also making them nervous if there was an enemy to hear how loud he was. " Ah, sorry," Max apologized for more than one reason. He appeared in front of them, well, only his human shaped shadow did.

"I.... understand that this is not the right time to ask, but do you uh... Perhaps have spare clothes I could borrow?" Max asked politely with hints of shyness within his voice. Covering his naked body with the darkness of the night. Using one of his hands to hide a part of his naked body despite not being seen.

The two looked at him in disbelief, then awe, then respect. They were acting weird and being outrageous to suddenly bow at the boy they only met and two times' younger than them, but why they are doing so, they weren't sure themselves either. The girl gave him the spare clothe they had. Max was cold, not that he's feeling cold, but he made those two feel cold and distant, like a land splitting up the water, he stood higher; like a rock, he remained unbudged by the water. He was like a sun, blinding and unapproachable.

The hands that the lady extended to offer the clothes shook a little from the thin hand that reached out to grab them. She felt like she's so wrong if she ever touch the pale skin of Max.

"Thank you." Gratefully, Max put on the piece of clothe that he can barely fit himself on. It was too big compared to his skinny body that it loosened itself down. The clothe was made of leather, making it hard for Max to figure out how to make it fit him. But alas, he gave up. There is something far more important than a clothe not fitting him. He came closer to the man who had his eye strucked by an arrow, the arrow has been taken out already and the the only problem now is that the blood seems to have no plans on stopping, the cotton clothe that was pressed hard to his bleeding eye has now been completely soaked in his blood, the man was already feeling cold and numb from that much lost of blood that he started having thoughts on giving up, he was closing his eyes, preparing for his life's end. Max took away the cotton clothe and gently caresses the the man's bleeding-closed eyes. The man's eye has began to heal, and the man knew it as well, when he felt the pain ease. His once cold-feeling body has began rising into normal temperature in the matter of seconds as well, completely healing him. The lady behind them watched in awe.

"You can open your eyes now." Max said and gently pulled away his hand. The man stared for quite some time to Max's face, Max only smiled genuinely to accept and as a reply to the man's unspoken gratitude. After, as he was walking away from them, planning to leave quietly, a rough big hand stopped him, holding on to his upper arm. The grip tightened.

"What did you do?!" The man questioned him like he must be guilty of some grave crime. Making Max feel stunned was his motive for saying something that does not make sense.

"Pardo-" before Max could ask, a knife went through his stomach. 'ah.... Ouch.'

'What is happening...?' Max asked himself, confused of the sudden turn of event.

"There's plenty of wanted posters of your face going around in town. You're wanted dead or alive with a bounty enough to buy an island(doesn't matter how big, it's just big) Thanks for saving my eye, but the price of your body is too high to deny." The man who seemed to be a great fighter said after catcing Max to his arm. "The name's Ben." The man added.

Ben was a famous thief, whether it be your pig in the hog house, corn in its cornstalk, chicken in their poultry, foods in your table, horses in town, carriages moving, you name it, he could steal it without a sweat nor remorse. That makes him a wanted man too, though his bounty is lower compared to what it should have been according to the amount of crimes he had done, mostly the reason was because he was hardly caught in the act. Still, that does not mean he is off the hook, many hold grudges against him, mostly men, as he steal wives too. (Stealing wives was what he was always caught in the act of.) The appearance of a young lad in front of him might change his ways, is what he thought. Because if Max did make him rich through the bounty, he would no longer hide in fear of his life and fear of hunger. So with no hesitation, he signalled the lady to stab Max in the stomach and then take him to the church where his bounty awaits to be exchanged.

Max passed out, though blood did not pour out even once, even after the lady aggressively retracted her blade out of his stomach, not one drop escaped him.

"...." They were both quiet, in their heart they were feeling a little bit of repentance. 'what have we done...?' yet with their thoughts, they ignored it and focused on what's to come—a large sum of golden coins!

***

They arrived at the church right at the center of the town. It was Monday, the church was only filled with people that has come there to pray, so the amount of people is not as much of a problem for them to pass through undetected.

An old woman in white, with her whole body covered in silk clothing, she walked down the marble stairs to meet with the two criminals walking suspiciously in her church. She noticed a great presence coming to the church, which was the reason why she came out to check, but to witness the great presence to be treated like a luggage by those two criminals, she could not help but step in.

To where the confession room is, is where the two criminals entered, in which the old woman followed. In the confession room, only one human-sized box is present, so that only one can hear one's confession. The two criminals who was pretending to be a follower kneeled down and laid the unconscious Max in front of them, in front of the human-sized box where the priest is supposed to be present. The old woman walked in on a door unbeknownst to others other than the three priests. She sat down inside the human-sized box after she entered.

"The confession room only allows one listener at a time." The priestess informed. Her voice welcoming, yet covered in warnings.

"We are not here to confess, Priestess. The lad the church has been searching for has been found!" The lady who was with Ben, named Zane spoke first.

"We found him lying in the middle of the Forrest with a stab on his stomach. We assumed he was dead and covered him to be taken to this sacred place." Ben added, lying as easily as breathing, eyes filled with sincerity, yet mouth spouting lies for his heart full of greed for money.

The old woman, the only Priestess, stunned by their shamelessness has become speechless.

"For the insolence of what you two did, and lying inside the sacred space, You shall only receive half the amount of reward and will never be able to set foot in this sacred place again!" She expressed her anger with her voice so firm, outraged, and steaming. Her eyes were red to see the state of their long awaited messiah, not only was the lad naked, a see though hole can be seen on his stomach.

"Unforgivable! The bounty said a billion gold coins, and now you tell us it's half because of an INSOLENCE we did not do?! This is stupid! That is why I don't believe in cults like yours!" Zane snapped.

"Holy Guards!" The priestess called and two men in white armor walked in to arrest the two criminals, they knew beforehand that the two were criminals, they were ready to apprehend the two but was stopped by the Priestess.

"Take the Messiah to the empty room at the highest peak of the church. Handle him with care." The Priestess said, rather than an authorative voice, it was a pained and broken one.

The other knight who has his hands free gently carried the unconscious Max in his arms after removing the hands and arms' part of the armor as to not hurt the Messiah.

Both knight lined and bowed before the box before leaving and fulfill their duty. In their hands are a new change for the future—a better one.