"Truthe Holy Laaddy!
T''s really her! It''s Holy Lady Serenity!"
"Thank the heavens Mr. Valencia really brought her here!"
A wave of disbelief turned to overwhelming joy. The quarantined townspeople,
pale and feverish, lit up like dawn breaking through fog
"Holy Lady" someone sobbed from the crowd, "we''re infected... can we still be saved?"
"You can,” Eliza replied firmly, her gaze steady as it swept across every desperate face. "This gue isn''t unbeatable. As long as you follow the instructions, cooperate with treatment, and don''t give up-there is hope."
"Thank you. Your Grace!"
"Thank you, Holy Lady!"
One by one, the infected dropped to their knees. It wasn''t desperation-it was reverence.
Startled, Eliza immediately tried to rise, wanting to stop them.
But behind her, Nn gently pressed down on her shoulder. Take it," he said softly. This faith... belongs to you."
Eliza froze, then turned and looked again at those kneeling before her. In their faces, she saw something flicker back to life- hope.
For a long moment, she said nothing. Then she turned forward again, closed her eyes, and resumed her chanting.
Her voice-calm, ethereal, and unwavering-rippled across the infected zone like the wind through prayer gs
Everyone within earshot-patients and guards alike-was swept into the solemn peace of her blessing.
When Eliza finally left by carriage, some townsfolk who had just arrived toote stood outside the gates, disheartened.
"She''s already gone!"
"Damn... I just missed her."
But then someone noticed something odd.
"Hey... why''s it so quiet in there today?"
"You don''t think they''re all dead, do you?"
"No way. Look, the guards are still posted.
I heard the Holy Lady came to bless the gue zone."
"What? What''s the point of blessing a bunch of dying people?"
ayers are going to fix that?"
"This is the gue we''re talking about. You think some prayers a
"Even if they don''t, at least she came. Who else has the guts to step foot near this
ce? Besides Mr. Valencia, not a single official''s dared toe close."
10:47 Sat, 19 Apr A
"That''s true. Even you wouldn''t get within fifty feet, let''s be honest."
"Hmph. I still say she''s fake. That whole Plutonville miracle just two dumb coincidences, and you lot are out here building
shrines,"
"Not a coincidence. It was a miracle! Just wait and ser-she''ll bring blessings to Nogandul ton"
Fine, fine. I''ll believe it when I see it. If that Holy Lady actually cures even half of those two hundred gue victims in there, I''ll chop my own head off and let you kick it like a ball!"
The very next day, the city exploded with news,
"It''s working! The treatments are working!"
"The symptoms have stopped getting worse-they''re stabilizing!"
"The Holy Lady''s words were true. As long as we follow orders and stick to treatment, we can survive.
"Thank the heavens... we''re going to live."
"It''s her-if''s the Holy Lady. She saved us."
"Praise the Holy Lady! Thank you, Holy Lady!"
That day, the first quarantine zone delivered the first miracle..
Doctors reported the prescriptions had sessfully halted the disease''s
progression. For the first time in weeks, not a single patient worsened.
People who had already given up on living clung to their beds in tears, repeating Eliza''s words over and over:
If you
follow the instructions and cooperate with treatment....
you will be saved."
She hadn''t hed.
That miracle marked the first day. Eliza didn''t rest-she had seven gue zones to cover, not counting the catastrophic Caslig County.
On day one, she covered three-the closest and least severe. On day two, she pushed through two more, though by then, patient counts had doubled in each area, now over five hundred each.
Thest two zones had passed a thousand. When she arrived, she was nearly swallowed by the desperate crowd.
Thankfully, Nn had anticipated trouble. This time, he brought two hundred more ck g soldiers, plus the aid of local guards. Their presence quickly quelled the chaos,
Onlyter did they learn the cause of the uproar-and it was almost funny,
ws from the first zone had spread like wildfire. Even from within the quarantined walls, patients with family outside had caught wind of it. One particrly loud family member had shouted the news through the barriers
His voice carried further than expected. Soon, everyone inside knew,
So by the time Eliza arrived, the people were beside themselves with hope and anticipation.
"Now that you all know what happened in the first zone, the local county magistrate addressed the crowd, "all the more
to stay calm. After the Holy Lady blesses this ce, cooperate with treatment. You can be saved."
reason
He was one of the few county officials who had chosen to remain in the gue zone, living and treating alongside the
10:47 Sat, 19 Apr AD
infected.
95%1 950
His words settled the chaos. As always, Eliza ced a flower crown-sprinkled with diluted spirit water-atop her head and stepped into the crowd.
In every pair of wide, anxious eyes, she saw desperate belief.
With her clear voice, she began the sacred chant. The ritual unfolded like all the others-but each one felt heavier, more urgent. After it ended and she stepped out, something caught her eye and brought her to a sudden halt.
County Magistrate Tommy Woodward, who had apanied her the whole time, followed her gaze and gave a bitter smile. "I failed," he said quietly. Too many fell ill overnight. We couldn''t save them all"
A handful of bodies were being carried out from the back-silent, still, bundled in cloth.
"Caslig County''s impact?" Eliza asked, her voice low
Tommy sighed. "Yes. We were only partially affected... and we''ve already lost so many. Caslig County must be far worse."
That disaster-the cascade of corruption, cover-up, and vengeance-had now
rippled through half the region.
"Such needless suffering. Tommy murmured. "It''s a sin."
Three days passed. Elizapleted rituals for all seven gue zones.
One by one, reports from zones One, Two, and Three came back with good news.
have time to celebrate.
But she and Nn didn''t h
On the morning of the fourth day, they finally arrived at thest and most
devastated zone: Caslig County