Chapter 1: Rebirth

A girl stood by herself in a cold and dark garden, its source of life coming two rows of dimmed candle lanterns sharing their rows with lush plants cut in the shape of a square. 

Between the rows stood a narrow and wide pond with the lanterns reflecting the ripples of the water. The girl stood in front of it all. She could see her breath merge with the cold air as she walked around the surrounding pavement of the pond. 

There were no stars above, clouds, nor even the moon or the beads of stars, on the other side of the garden; large, tall pine trees that were rustling heavily, giving the air a smoky scent of pine cones. 

She approached the pond to see the water clear, she saw her own reflection and realised she wore a long, white sundress, and the girl had short, black hair and brown eyes.

"Right... that's me..." 

She watched the water reflecting everything she does as the cold airbrushed her body. She noticed large flowers with the colour of blood settling on the bushes beside the pond. She extended her hand onto the height, curious to see what kind of flower it was. 

But as she got closer to the flower, she started hearing whispers from an unknown voice, a voice she thought that was familiar. 

She didn't understand what it was saying as it continued to grow louder only started getting louder. She looked at her reflection to see something glowing behind her. Turning around, she saw a bright golden sphere of light. It shook the girl, yet its presence, for some reason, did not feel alarming. 

The girl just stood there, watching the light as the flowers behind her started to light up as well. Soon they became as bright as the sphere of light, illuminating the garden as rays of sunlight touched even the darkest of corners.

The whispers in her became a lot more present. Her heart started to pound faster, and her breathing started to hasten. Still, ultimately, she was unable to move, not even her with her own mouth. 

With all her strength, she shut her eyes, hoping it would all disappear. The whispers in her head loomed all over her mind, but she could only understand one word, her name.

"Isuzu..."

"Isuzu..."

"Isuzu..."

The whispers chanted her name as they simultaneously barraged words she could not understand. She felt the light inside her vision as her mind tried to take her out of the situation. 

She tried to talk to herself in her mind, telling herself it is all in her head and that hopefully, it was just a dream.

Eventually, she got her senses back and tried to open her eyes again, and as she slowly opened them, she saw the sphere had grown stems. Long, luminous lines that spanned as far as her eyes can see. 

The whispers started to project a low-pitched tone. But the girl got closer; it became a cluster of voices. Eventually becoming a long note of deep voices echoing continuously in her mind, but the chanting of her name continued. 

She placed her fears aside and put the palm of her hand on the light. In an instant, it started to combust bright rays, pushing the girl away as she covered her eyes. Before she knew it, the light consumed everything, and the whispers and chants disappeared as soon as the blinding light engulfed her vision.

"Isuzu..."

"Isuzu..."

"Isuzu..!"

The girl took a deep breath as she suddenly opened her eyes on a beach.

"It was a dream... huh."

The waves were far from her reach as she slowly stood up and brushed all the sand away from her back.

 But as she finished brushing off all the sand, she saw a small envelope laid out beside her. Curious, she picked it up and checked on who it was for, but the letter was not addressed to anyone.

"Who would leave their mail here?" wondered the girl as she flipped the envelope around, looking for clues. 

"Well, it couldn't probably be anything too serious." she placed her thumb on the seal, slowly taking it off to open it. Still, before she could, she felt something tickling her feet. 

She looked down and saw a crab trying to get to her. 

"Ahh! No!" she kicked sand on the crab, brushing it away as she thought it was going to pinch her. She then heard someone call her name. 

"Isuzu!" 

She was small and wore the same clothes as her, a white shirt and a skirt. She hid the letter in her pocket as she recognised the person's voice. It was her friend, Eleya, running towards her.

"Oh, it's you Eleya", said Isuzu as she waved to her running friend half-asleep. As soon as the short girl got close enough to Isuzu. She rested her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. 

"Don't just 'it's you' me! Where have you been?!" Eleya asked, having to catch air in between words. 

"Calm down", Isuzu replied, trying to hide her laughter as she bent to watch Eleya try to catch her breath. 

"Didn't I told you to not fall asleep in the beach again?" yelled Eleya as she finally calmed down.

"Eh? You did?" said Isuzu with a touch of sarcasm, trying to get away with it. But Eleya wouldn't have it, 

"Let's just go home before the nuns' notice we're not there!" she grabbed Isuzu's hand and dragged her away. 

"Ouch! I can walk, don't worry!" Isuzu exclaimed as she got out of Eleya's tight grip. The two of them walked away from the beach, passing the crab that Isuzu encountered a few minutes ago, and with the envelope hidden in her pocket.

Eleya saw the crab as well and watched as it raised its claws before looking back at the road, conveying some sort of message.

Isuzu and Eleya are lifelong friends who are living in an orphanage called the Holy Infant Orphanage located near the neutral town of Glenn Vista. 

It is an orphanage that housed children who were once parents of sailors and colonists who never came back. 

Isuzu Harukawa is a sixteen-year-old half-Japanese girl who was brought in at the age of just ten months; she is the oldest orphan in the orphanage. She has short dark hair, brown eyes, and yellowish skin. And Eleya, just like Isuzu, was also brought in at the age of ten months and is the second oldest orphan at the age of fifteen. She was brought in three years later after Isuzu and has black hair with dark skin and brown eyes.

Isuzu was brought in after her parents were lost to an expedition, but Eleya's story was mysterious. Neither she nor the nuns knew who her parents were as she was brought in mysteriously one night.

For most of the time, Isuzu always took care of Eleya. During their childhood, she read her stories and taught her how to play games. The two of them ever helped out the nuns with their daily duties and never felt the need to rebel or run away.

The town of Glenn Vista is in its liveliest during the morning. The lines beside shops already full before vendors and butchers opened them. The road was ruled by horses, delivering goods and calesas that carried nobles from the colonies looking to see the beautiful beaches of the Unknown Sea in the humble town. Cobblestone sidewalks were filled with people on their way to work in mines, fisheries, and their own workshops.

They arrived at a flight of stairs that led to the orphanage. They heard the bell on top of a tower beside the orphanage rang, telling everyone it is time for breakfast. 

"Oh, no! They're going to find out we aren't there!" said Isuzu as she started running. 

"And whose fault do you think it is?" Eleya replied as she followed Isuzu's lead. 

As the two got to the entrance, Eleya stopped Isuzu before she opened the door, 

"Wait not here," whispered Eleya, "We'd definitely get scolded." 

Isuzu giggled and smirked at the short girl, "Now who's the disobedient one?" asked Isuzu as she chuckled, accidentally knocking the door as she banged it while laughing. 

Silence loomed over them as they realised what had just happened. Eleya pulled Isuzu's hand, and the two of them hid in a large bush in front of the door. A nun opened the door looked around the porch to find the doorstep empty. 

The two watched as they were concealed by the bushes. The nun entered the house and closed the door. The two took a sigh of relief, and as they stood up and looked to their right, they saw the head nun right in front of them. 

"Isuzu! Eleya! Both of you! Where have you been?!" shouted the head nun, 

"Eh! Sisterthe bushes concealed theologised, bowing her head in front of the furious nun. The angry nun looked at the girl beside Isuzu, Eleya, straight in the eye, causing her to apologise as best as she can. 

"S-sorry..." She said as she tried to imitate Isuzu's bow.

"Kitchen, the two of you, now!" said sister Maya as she walked away with the two following her. They went inside to the backdoor of the orphanage where it directly led to the kitchen. 

Isuzu saw the frustration of the head nun as she walked with her fists clenched and black long hair tied.

They entered inside and waited for their punishment. Nervous, Isuzu thought of the many punishments sister could give her while Eleya stood calmly. The younger nuns didn't want to look because they didn't want to get involved in any way. 

But as tensions between them got to a boiling point, Eleya's stomach let off a large growl that was heard by the entire kitchen.

Isuzu suddenly faced Eleya in a confused reaction, 'Oh no, we're going to skip breakfast."

The two looked at the head nun as they heard her let off a sigh which made the two even more worried about how disappointed she felt about them. 

But then, in a soft and blue voice, "I'm not mad."  

"Eh?" wondered Isuzu as the nun looked back at them in a gloomy expression.

"Are you feeling well?" Isuzu asked, not knowing what to say. The sister shook her head and gave them a sweet smile. 

The head nun sighed and closed her eyes. She then opened them as she held their hands. "I know you two are getting older now. But you have to understand that you shouldn't wander around at a place we haven't even seen the entirety of." said sister Maya as she looked at the two of them in the eye. 

"Weird things have been happening lately, and I just can't think about losing the girls I love the most." added the worried nun.  

Isuzu got closer to Sister Maya to give her a hug. "It's OK sister Maya... We'll always be there for you..." They hugged like a mother and daughter. 

Sister Maya is a very strict nun. Everyone often feared her, yet in that strong face housed once a mother that didn't want to lose anyone. That's why she started the orphanage. 

It was rumoured that her son was lost to the heart of the continent, not being able to return. So in her remaining years, she has committed her life to save the children deprived of their parents.

A new continent meant new discoveries to be seen, and more importantly a much-needed route back to the old continents. Colonies would send their finest explorers to dig deeper into the heart of the vast continent and venture far to look for a route to their original homes. Most of them settling and starting families here. 

The explorers had little chances of getting back. However, children would be left alone in their homes with no one to call as their "mother" or "father."

The head nun nodded, "Now the two of you head to the mess hall to eat." as she went back to work. The two of them took plates and walked to the trays of food for breakfast. "Oh, would you look at that, potatoes!" 

Eleya exclaimed as she took the tongs and stuffed her plate with potatoes in rapid succession. 

"You're not intimidating at all!" Isuzu laughed as she placed pancakes on her plate. Eleya pouted and shrugged Isuzu off as she looked for an empty table. 

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" Isuzu said as she followed her. 

The two of them ate together. And after that, Eleya and Isuzu went on with their daily routine, feeding, teaching, and playing with the children. They also helped the nuns with all the laundry, cooking, and storing. 

Isuzu mostly took care of the toddlers while Eleya took care of the babies in the nursery. They could finally catch their breath when the nuns let the kids outside to play, including them.

As the sun was on its peak, the two of them sat down at a hill beside the orphanage, relaxing. In the background, they could hear the children play, laughing, and shouting. 

The wind blew a relaxing wave of air on them as they gazed upon the town, business as usual. 

"Hey, Isuzu?" asked Eleya, "What did Sister Maya mean by 'weird things'? Do you think it is a sign of something?" 

"I don't know... but surely there is a reason on why it happened", answered Isuzu as she reached her hand in the sky, feeling the wind fly across it.

"Do you think there is something out-of-this-world out there like the ones I read on the books in the library? Someone that might've caused it?" asked Eleya as she watched Isuzu's hand fight the current of the wind. 

"Who knows? Maybe sister Maya has an answer." Isuzu said as she chuckled. 

"There is so much out there that hasn't been discovered yet or even publicly confirmed yet. Who knows what is actually out there!" said Isuzu as she stared at the sky as the large, puffy clouds covered the sun. 

"I guess so..." Before Eleya could ask anything else, Isuzu pointed out something odd she noticed on the other side of the town. Eleya followed her pointed finger and was shocked about what she saw.

They noticed a group of people in red with rifles, lined together at the edge of the town! Eleya immediately realised who they were.

"Colonials... South British too. What are they doing here?" Asked Eleya, trying to come up with a guess. 

"What do you think?" asked Isuzu. 

"It's probably about what sister Maya told us", said Eleya. 

"Those weird events?" 

She rested her head on her knees with her arms wrapped around her legs. She planted down her face and started to breathe slowly. "Hey, are you OK?" Isuzu asked, Eleya let off a yawn, stood up, and stretched her arms. 

"I'm going to take a nap..." said Eleya.

"Right now? You should go to the clinic just in case." Isuzu replied as she watched Eleya walk away and into the orphanage. 

As she saw Eleya enter her door, she sighed and looked back at the far away colonials. 

"Maybe I should go back to my room as well." she stood up, and as she walked back to the house, her mind started to flicker. She began to see the dark pond once more, and then flashes of the sphere of light. 

She felt tremors down her spine. She struck her pocket and felt a sense of relief as soon as she heard the crumbling of paper inside. She rushed to the house, reaching for her room as quickly as possible. 

She entered her room and locked it quickly. She took out the opened envelope in her pocket and placed it on a table. She sat down the chair and took out the paper inside the envelope. 

She felt anxious, thinking if the dream is somehow connected to the letter as she slowly took it out. She unfolded it to see a white piece of paper with only the text being a Roman numeral twelve (XII).

Isuzu was dumbfounded on what she found. She didn't understand what it meant. She inspected every inch of the paper, she flipped and turned it around, but all it really just said was a twelve. 

"What does it mean?" she wondered as she slid the piece of paperback in the envelope.

As random as it may all seem, however, she felt an uneasy presence lingering around as soon as she saw the contents of the paper. This made her keep it as a secret for herself until she finds out the meaning behind it. She closed the envelope and hid it in her drawer.

She was then called by one of the sisters to help her in hanging the wet clothes. She left the room, hoping she would figure it all out before anyone knew.

Meanwhile, Eleya had already entered her own room before Isuzu did. She sat down on her bed, thinking deeply. Her mind drowned in thoughts and her hands clenched from all the stress. She started reminding herself of the crab that got close to Isuzu earlier.

She then fell silent. Her eyes shut, and her mind, separated from her body. She started hearing whispers, as it got louder, she decoded each word, and as she concluded on what it is on her mind, it slowly went away. She opened her eyes. She stood up and looked at the sky from her window. She then told herself that something had begun, something she wouldn't desire...

The town was filled with questions about the arrival of South British colonial soldiers in their village. In command was a captain with braided blonde hair. Ever since the secret golden shooting star roamed the area, the town had been filled with unexpected events. The weird things happening, soldiers arriving, and an event only one person had ever witnessed, 

The dreams of Isuzu...