On January 1st, 9753 of the Radiant Calendar, more than two hundred thousand members of the First Legion assembled on the parade ground of Ades Barracks.
As the advance force of the Expeditionary Army, they would be the first troops to enter the Nangexia Continent of the Metagea Plane.
On the reviewing stand, Velin wore armor and Anansi's Sword at his waist. Like the nobles of the other legions, he silently watched the sky.
Atop the thirty-three-tiered platform, Saintess Anastasia stood at the prayer altar and began chanting the scriptures of the Church of Life, communicating with the Goddess of Life far away in God Space.
Below the stairs, thirty-six Soul Intent grade priests stood around the platform, chanting the scriptures of the Church of Life alongside Saintess Anastasia.
Their voices were magnificent, scattering the clouds overhead.
A gentle force spread outward from the prayer altar across the earth, soothing the hearts of everyone present.
In the royal capital a hundred kilometers away, Belgrav Silvis, King of the Ilia Kingdom, stood atop the city wall with his thirty-six Soul Intent grade guards.
Unlike his usual splendid attire, Belgrave had donned the armor he had worn before ascending the throne.
"In the blink of an eye, three hundred years have passed. I still remember that time, when I stood beside my father and first beheld the goddess within the Life Church."
Belgrave's eyes were full of memories, and his heart, silent for many years, stirred with excitement.
Three hundred years ago, the sixth Saintess had reached the end of her lifespan. The incarnation of the Goddess of Life crossed the barrier between God Space and the real world, received her soul into her divine kingdom, and appointed Saintess Anastasia as the seventh Saintess of the Church of Life in the Ilia