“Father.”

A clear crisp voice rang out. The room, cold and lifeless, came bustling to life as if infuse with new vitality.

A young boy, about ten or so, sat atop a large oak desk, a pair of thin legs dangling playfully in the air. The child’s stature, though rather average with peers his age, radiates a lively and captivating aura, charming all onlookers.

“Father, father! Are you done yet?” An innocent smile spread across the child’s cheeks as he calls out. His shiny silver hair, neatly combed behind his ears, framed his face in a soft cherubic light. “Hurry up father, I’m hungry!”

“Yes, yes.” A lower gentle voice tenderly began coaxing the child, “I’m almost ready, see. Be patient and wait a bit more.” The voice was accompanied by the pleasant crisp sound of a gliding pen on paper.

Stretching his back, the young child leans forward on the desk, his nose nearly touching the scribbling pen, “What are you doing? It looks boring.”

“Hahaha I’m working, and one day you’ll be too.” A light chuckled rang out, warm like the sun. “The work may not be very fun, in fact, it’s quite boring. But, with certain things…” The sound of the pen momentarily pauses, “you’ll be begging to do it yourself.”

The child stares blankly in confusion. He did not understand why he would want to do such task. Surely his father must be wrong.

“Enough. Go and see if your sister is ready yet.” After speaking, the older voice seemingly retreated and disappeared behind the desk. Afterward, no matter how much the child spoke, he did not receive a reply.

The child pouted.

His soft silky lips, two delicate thin pink blossoms, pressed together in dissatisfaction, revealing two little dimples adorning smooth glowing white cheeks.

“Ok,” with a quiet assent, the child slid off the desk and quickly ran out of the office, into the hallway.

After turning a few corners, the child stopped, finally found his target.

Below a stone high relief, a young teenage girl stood. She possesses beautiful features, elegant forms, and an exemplary air of sophistication. Her serene expressions, couples with long blond curls swaying in the sunlight, made her no less eye-catching than the marble statues that stood beside her.

The girl was apparently lost in thoughts. Her eyebrows creased in contemplation.

The young boy slowly approaches, his footsteps light as feathers. “Whatcha lookin’ at?”

“Just some carving.” Without turning back her head, the girl pointed to a relief above her head, “See this? This here depicts a legend about an ancient goddess, the Goddess of the Sun.”

“The sun, huh. Doesn’t she ever get hot?” The child, ever curious, moves closer to the depiction, almost until he was flat against the wall.

“Haha goodness no,” a melodic laugh drifts out through the long corridor. Smiling wide, the girl explains, “Actually, the Goddess doesn’t actually live on the Sun. They just called Her that because the Light of Her Heart was so radiant, even more than the Sun itself.”

Hearing this, the young boy tilted his head, confused, “…light of …heart?”

Finally turning around, the girl places her hand on top of the child’s head, patting that airy silver hair, “It means that she was kind, extremely kind. She was always trying to help others and sacrificed herself for it in the end. It couldn’t be help that she was very beautiful as well.”

The boy’s eyes became wider, “Kind…and…beautiful…?”

Seeing her little brother that rarely cares about history got so excited about something for the first time, the girl herself was also quite giddy. Before she was able to continue on with her lecture, the boy jumped up and clings to her arm.

“Kind and beautiful! Kind and beautiful! That’s you, Teresa. You’re both kind and beautiful, so they’re going to call you the Goddess of the Sun too, right?”

Teresa stood frozen for a few seconds, not knowing if she should laugh or cry, before lowering her head and looked into her little brother’s eyes.

“No Vali, I can’t be called a Goddess. I just don’t have the qualification.” Teresa smiled, her brother was acting so cute, and while it immensely warms her heart, she still needs to teach him properly.

Evidently, this was not the answer the boy wanted, “Why not? Why? You’re the kindest and most beautiful person I know! Hmph!” Stomping his foot, the boy seemed determined with his conviction.

“Being kind and beautiful is good, but it’s not enough. There’s still one thing I’m lacking.” Although Teresa’s smile was still gentle, somewhere deep in there was a hint of self-reproach.

“What is it? Maybe we can find it?” The child wanted to help his sister no matter what.

“Hm, rather than an object it’s more like a sort of knowledge.” Teresa’s eyes began to grow unfocused, her gaze drifts into the distant as if searching for something. “What I’m lacking is an understanding…

…an understanding of what True Sacrifice is.”

“You know what you’ve done, father.”

As the words slipped out of Heise’s mouth, he had a surreal sort of feeling.

Heise had always imagined, fantasized, dreamed of the moment where that single word would pass between his lips. It was supposed to be the beginning of his victory, his vindication, his moment of triumph! He was supposed to feel elated and jovial as if the very bells of heaven were ringing above his head.

Alas, reality is much too different from any fantasy.

Where are those damned bells?

And feathers and wine and ribbons…?

Why do I just feel so…?

Did I do it wrong? Should I deliver that line again? What’s wrong with this?

Heise seemed to be at a loss.

While Heise was so caught up in his own delusions, he failed to notice a trace of irregularity flashing across Vali’s face. For a split of a second, a single crack appeared on that cold indifferent expression before quickly vanishing.

Vali continued to sit there silently, like a hunter eyeing its prey, calculating and patient.

“Well? Have you nothing to say?” Not giving up on his special little ‘moment,’ Heise tried to continue pushing his target, “Do you really don’t know, or are you pretending to have forgotten? No, you must have known, since you did all those things for all those horrible years…

Well, either way it doesn’t really matter. Now that you know why I’m here, what are you going to do?”

Although the corner of Heise’s mouth curved unnaturally upward in a sneer, his clenched hands betrayed his emotions.

A short moment of silent passed before Vali stood up. His previous domineering aura quickly withdrawn, returning to that of lazy silver cat.

“It’s time for dinner.”

With a single sentence, as if nothing had ever happened, Vali calmly walked out of the study, never turning back once.

As he walked down the stairs, Vali’s gaze suddenly softened. Certain unfathomable emotions swirls in his eyes for a while before a single wet spot stained his collar.

“Well, sister, you’ve got your wish.” Vali’s words were fleeting and quiet, as if hoping his whispers would be carry by the winds. “You’ve finally understands the true meaning of the word Sacrifice.”