Prayer

Year 4623.

Severn Mountain, in the southern district of Tan Yi City, the Third Major Region.

On the winding mountain path, more than twenty children from Saint Anne Abbey, dressed in gray linen robes, followed a stern-faced nun to pick wild vegetables by the roadside.

The nun was around fifty years old, her hair already streaked with white. The skin on her cheeks was aged and loose, hanging slightly. Even when expressionless, she exuded a fearsome severity.

The picking group was stretched out long. The nun stood at the very front, while the children were scattered, forming small groups. Occasionally, they would bring vegetables to the nun, asking if they were edible.

At the end of the line, a girl with short red hair followed a black-haired boy. Her light blue eyes were like two crystals submerged in stream water. At this moment, she was looking at the surrounding grass with a hint of alertness.

"Jane, come here!" the boy called to her, his expression filled with surprise. "Look what I found!"

The girl approached and squatted down. She saw a dark brown mushroom growing on the ground. This caused her expression to change rapidly, and she instinctively took a step back.

"Don't be afraid," Boheng said softly. "This isn't Chelating Fungus, it's just an ordinary mushroom, the edible kind. Look..."

The girl approached, half-believing, half-doubting.

The boy took out a small knife and pried the entire mushroom from the ground.

Its cap was brown, and the root was covered in a bit of soil. The boy quickly swung his short knife, trimming off the soil-covered root, and then quickly blew away the dust particles that had landed on it.

Beneath the mushroom cap, the color was milky white.

"This is a Morel Mushroom. It looks like it's already releasing spores. Many people used to dislike these overripe mushrooms—but compared to ordinary fungi, it's still very delicious."

As he spoke, Boheng inverted the Morel Mushroom in his hand.

"See these puffed-up parts under its cap... We need to scrape them off now, at least remove the spores. They'll fall to the ground and regrow after a while."

The girl squatted beside him, hugging her knees, watching. "Is it the same for Chelating Fungus?"

"Since they're both fungi, it should be the same," Boheng said, standing up and putting the processed Morel Mushroom into his cloth bag. "We'll have an extra dish tonight."

As the two of them straightened up, a hurried ringing of bells sounded from ahead—it was Sister Gurdin's signal. All the children who heard the bell quickly put down their work and ran towards Sister Gurdin's location.

Eleven-year-old Hesta was still quite frail. The boy held her hand as they walked forward. The more than twenty children soon formed a circle around Sister Gurdin.

"Flosang found a poor squirrel," Sister Gurdin said with a stern expression. "Flosang, tell us about it."

A girl, who looked about the same age as Hesta, timidly held a bloody squirrel.

The squirrel was still alive, but its entire body was riddled with bloody holes.

"I saw a vulture circling in the distance just now, so I went to take a look, and I found this squirrel. I think it... its eyes must have been pecked out by the vulture... and it had several bloody holes pecked into its body too. I couldn't save it..."

"I think this is a good opportunity," Sister Gurdin said softly. "Let us all pray for this poor little creature, may it rest in peace—I taught you how to pray a few days ago, didn't I?"

"Yes, Sister Gurdin," the children replied in unison.

"Then, let's begin."

Everyone put down the cloth bags or baskets holding vegetables. They clasped their hands together and began to recite prayers in soft voices.

"Jane, what are you doing?"

A cold voice came from above, startling the eleven-year-old Hesta.

She looked up. The solemn Sister Gurdin was gazing at her. The nun, her hands clasped in front of her chest with white gloves on, her gaze held a hint of anger.

Several children around them secretly opened their eyes and looked towards Hesta.

"Everyone else close your eyes," the nun said sternly.

A shiver ran through all the kneeling children. They quickly clasped their hands and resumed their praying posture.

"Everyone is praying attentively, and you are the only one with your eyes open," Sister Gurdin's voice echoed over the foothills. "Miss Hesta, answer me, what are you doing?"

"I was looking at the dead squirrel... Sister Gurdin," Hesta replied softly.

"Is that so," Sister Gurdin's voice softened slightly. "But you should close your eyes when you pray, Hesta."

"...I don't quite understand."

"Don't understand what?"

"Are we going to bury it in the ground like this?"

"Yes," Sister Gurdin replied with a pious tone. "My flesh returns to dust, but our souls come from heaven. If we can devoutly pray for the deceased, then when this prayer reaches the Holy Spirit, the mercy He bestows will cleanse your souls...

"And a pure soul is less likely to be parasitized by Chelating Fungus, Miss Hesta, do you understand?"

Hesta frowned and remained silent.

Sister Gurdin frowned again. "What are you thinking about now?"

"I was thinking... why don't we 'devoutly' eat it right away."

In an instant, everyone around them stopped breathing. The boy Boheng, who had been kneeling beside Hesta, couldn't help but open his eyes and look at his friend with concern.

Sister Gurdin's face immediately turned ashen. "Wh-what..."

"It just died, it's still afternoon, still fresh. If we skin and marinate it now—"

"Jane Hesta." Sister Gurdin's voice was so serious it was chilling. She spoke with disbelief, "What are you talking about..."

"We don't have to eat it ourselves," Hesta quickly added. "We just need to process it like this and hang it outside for those who need it to take. Although this little bit of meat might not be much for an adult, it could save a life for someone starving. Burying it like this would be too wasteful—"

Before Hesta could finish speaking, the nun lifted her as if an eagle snatching a chick and carried her to the dead squirrel.

"Look at it," the nun commanded, her voice laced with a mournful cry. "Look at this poor little thing. I can hardly believe my ears, Miss Hesta—how have I always taught you?"

"...Not to kill living things," Hesta looked at the nun. "But we didn't kill it, and we aren't eating it ourselves—"

Slap—

A slap landed on top of Hesta's head.

"Boheng! Take Jane Hesta to the confinement room at the summit right now..." the nun's voice trembled. "Her mind is possessed by evil spirits! She needs a few days of confinement to clear her head!"

Late at night, in the confinement room of Saint Anne Abbey, Hesta was curled up in an iron cage.

Her red hair fell across her face, and she slept lightly.

"Jane, Jane..." a voice woke her. Hesta opened her eyes and saw Boheng's face outside the iron cage.

"Sister Gurdin is asleep. I brought you something from the kitchen, come out and eat."

Hesta's eyes lit up immediately.

Boheng moved the heavy lock on the iron cage. It looked intricately wound, as if it had secured the cage tightly, but in reality, it was just a ruse—the lock dangled from the cage, not actually securing it.