Little Athena who was lying down on the ground with a bruised back felt his heart sinking deeper and deeper.
People walked by her side but none of them pitied her.
Rather than trying to help the little girl, they tried to maintain as much distance as possible from her as they feared that helping her might provoke the Priest and they would suffer his wrath just like her.
With a bloodied back and torn clothes at the back, she tried to look for her parents who she left a bit, after renting a room near the slums.
For a moment, she thought that it was good that she didn't bring them with her otherwise they might be beaten like her or may die due to heartache seeing her getting beaten.
She wiped off the tears from her face to avoid worrying about her parents.
Her parents were already on deathbeds, and if they saw her current look their hearts might not be able to tolerate that.
As she reached the slums she could see a crowd gathered at the edge and her heart tightened subconsciously.
She ran towards the crowd and after a tug of war, she came out of the front but her body stopped moving as she heard the people's voices.
"Tsk!What a cruel world."
"Leaving parents to die on the road."
"What a black-hearted child!"
'It can't be. They are lying.'
'I didn't leave them to die. I want to ask for help.'
'I also made them sleep in their room.'
'They can't be my parents.'
Athena tried to calm herself but in the end, the brutal reality struck her and finally, her body succumbed to despair seeing two lifeless bodies lying on the road.
The owner of the place threw them out after seeing their diseased body and being unable to tolerate it anymore, both of them passed out in each other's embrace.
Athena ran and laid herself on her parent's and sobbed loudly letting all her sadness out.
The water rippled through her pupils. Tears ran down her cheeks, sweeping through the dirt and draining her face leaving cooked marks.
Everything came to stand still except the sight of the girl ten years of age weeping in agony.
The sadness, the agony and the misery seemed to burst out of her heart.
Thousands of questions rang in her mind.
A deep resentment sprouted from inside and the question of why this happened to her. Why did no one help her, and why did the servant of God leave her?
She felt as if she had been betrayed by the whole world. Even the people who were watching didn't offer her hand nor asked about her.
That day, she was shown the harsh reality of the world. A world where everyone is in for themself.
Woo...Woo...Woo...
A heart-wrenching scream resounded and everything turned dark again leaving behind Athena with a look of loneliness and forlornness.
Her body was shivering and she felt as if she was going to freeze to death.
There were some memories which shouldn't be remembered, some wounds which shouldn't be scratched as no matter how mature one became or how big one grows some events were so painful that they etched deep inside one's heart.
Tears trickled down her cheeks and Athena fell to the ground as she watched the scene from afar.
Seeing it far and looking at her lonely desolate back, hurt her more.
She wanted to rush ahead and help herself. She wanted to see her parents once again and spend some time with them again and became that naive, innocent Athena who was only confined to the village without knowing anything about the world.
The more she thought about it, the more she despaired and lost control of her emotions and even of herself.
She had already sensed that something was wrong but her brain had been clouded by rage, hatred, empathy, sorrow, despair and misery to the point that she wasn't able to think straight.
Even though it was a trap designed to make her fall, she couldn't help but let herself fall and sink further.
She felt powerless and helpless to defy everything.
Everything became chaotic and blurry.
"Except my grace Athena."
"Become my servant and you will find peace."
"You will be reborn. This pathetic world doesn't need your kindness."
"Let the world burn in pain and suffer. How can everyone laugh happily when you are crying?"
"Athena, let yourself drown in darkness and you will find peace for eternity."
Whispers started to ring in her ears.
She wanted to deny it but she knew the scene was real, a true description of cruelty.
She could feel herself drowning in darkness. Even if she wanted to swim her way out, she was pulled back forcefully, unable to get out from the clutch of an unknown being who was eroding and corrupting her mind to let go of pathetic righteousness and accept reality.
Athena found herself standing in front of a black door that her mind told her to open but her heart warned her not to.
"He would be sad."
Athena's lips opened and she blurted out unconsciously.
"Huh! Who would be sad?"
"Who is he?"
"It feels like forgetting someone important."
"Someone very close to me."
"Some who have always been with me through my ups and downs."
"Someone who had pulled me out of my despair and saved my life."
Athena felt a strong headache assaulting him and her heart seemed to tear up. She felt her memories getting eroded and going blank all of a sudden.
Even though her expression was blank, tears seemed to be tossed out from her cheeks.
It came straight from the torn bleeding heart which had been beating faster and faster as if it was screaming asking Athena to come to her senses otherwise it would be too late.
Athena with a blank expression filled with hopelessness tried to open the door, but her hands stopped as she gritted her teeth to the point, blood trickled from it and finally another distant memory resurfaced in her mind.
A memory that flashed like the sun before her enveloping her in warmth and shaking away the darkness covering her.
It was the memory after the event of losing her parents and being left alone.
With nowhere to go, no one to rely on and a situation forcing her to die as a poor beggar on the street, she was forced to mature.
She wanted revenge and she thought that if she complained at the highest Church in Holy Capital, maybe she could stop such an unfortunate event from happening in the future.
And even if it wasn't possible. She wanted to ask the Goddess why this happened.
She had heard that people could directly talk with Goddess in the Holy Capital of Kinley, The City of Chelsea.
There was still hope inside her, that there may be someone filled with righteousness existing out there.
Someone who would listen to her pleas.
There may be many rotten apples in the Church but she hoped that there might be one, just one good apple among them who could help her to gain justice.
She didn't know what was the need to suffer anymore, by going to Church to ask for help and exposing the Priest. She didn't know why but she only knew that she must do it.
Maybe she was trying to lessen her guilt for not being able to save her parents from dying.
Maybe it was a false hope, that the Goddess hadn't left her or maybe there was a tiny chance that this was all a fleeting dream, a recurring nightmare that she had been trapped in.
But it was not as easy as it sounds as she was in a remote corner of a small nation which wasn't even part of Kinley.
She didn't even know the way nor did she know whether she could enter Kinley but she persisted and began her arduous journey.
Little did she know that this journey was going to change her life positively and make her what she was today.
In her life, it was the best decision she had ever made even though the decision looked utterly foolish at first glance and many would even laugh at the thought of a girl going against the Church.
With great difficulty and walking barefoot, after two years of bitter struggle, she finally arrived at Chelsea, with the hope of getting her wish granted.
She heard that everyone was treated equally and no one can fight others.
Everyone had to maintain a minimum decorum here and no one can provoke another.
Athena took a deep breath and tried to harden her wavering heart.
With great expectations, she finally stepped into the door of the Holy Place where everyone was treated equally but it didn't take too much time for her to realise that this was just in name and there was nothing different here.
As soon as she stepped, the sight of the guards frowning at her reflected in her eyes.
There was the same contempt, the same disgust towards her as the Priest who threw her out.
The guards refused to allow her to enter.
She didn't hold their knees and begged like before and decided to wait and try
She decided to kneel at the side and declare that she would kneel there unless they allowed her to enter.
The guards along with everyone turned a blind eye towards her and let her do as she pleased as long as she didn't disturb anyone.
It went on for days and Athena sat there motionless showing her immersed preference and persistence until the guards decided to do something.
