A torrential rain seemed about to arrive.
It should have been noon, yet thick, ink-black clouds blocked nearly all the sunlight. The sky was as dark as midnight. The sun had not appeared once since dawn, and so the city's lights had not gone out since dawn either.
The streets and alleys of Horleta's royal capital were deserted. Although it had not begun to rain, no one had any interest in going out in such abnormal weather. Nobles and commoners alike seemed to sense some unsettling presence enveloping the world. They hid in their homes, shut their doors, closed their windows, comforted their children, and prayed for the eerie phenomenon to end as soon as possible.
Even in such weather, however, there were still people hurrying about outside. The kingdom's legendary marshal, Ofra, wore her favorite white light armor and was heading for the Radiant Grand Cathedral accompanied by several attendants. Her silver-white armor resembled a leaping white flame in the gloomy surroundings, inspiring and reassuring all who saw it. Merely watching her vigorous retreating figure was enough to calm the guards on the cathedral square.
Once Ofra entered the Radiant Grand Cathedral, the gloomy world outside seemed to be completely shut away. The cathedral was brightly lit and filled with warmth. Although the Radiant Church's rules of "asceticism" meant that there were no extravagant decorations or overly comfortable furnishings inside, simply entering such a bright and warm place was enough to lift one's spirits.
Ofra stopped before the holy portrait and raised her head to gaze at the enormous curtain that had always hung down from the cathedral's dome. Unfathomable colors intertwined across the vast cloth, forming a strange and indescribable pattern. This was the Radiant Church's depiction of the Creation Goddess they worshiped—or rather, their impression of the