4 Pandora’s Box

By the time Elias regained his vision, he was on the floor, toppled from the force of what, or whoever had barged into his room. He felt the weight of five small figures on top of him, which elicited a sigh of resignation to escape from his lips.

While squinting in pain, he attempted to say something to these room intruders but was abruptly cut off by their happy, little voices echoing a single greeting in perfect harmony.

"Good morning, Elias!"

As Elias slowly sat up, the enthusiastic faces of five children slowly appeared in his view, causing him to offer a light smile in return. "Good morning, everyone."

"Was barging into my room like that really necessary?"

The five children seemed to detect a trace of seriousness and annoyance in their elder brother's voice, causing them to tense up as they realized the fault of their actions with sorry expressions on their faces. The tallest, and presumably the eldest of the group, stepped forward to try to take responsibility for the situation. "We are sorry, brother. We heard you mumbling to yourself and wanted to surprise you."

"We didn't know that you would lose your footing and fall over that easily."

The image of the little child taking such a mature approach to apologize was quite amusing to Elias, causing him to smile in satisfaction. He wasn't actually mad; he just wanted to tease them and make sure they knew their wrongs!

His eyes slowly drifted over the five children, who were now standing in a row with adept concentration similar to military officers, as he stood up slowly. "It's alright. It's also my fault for not paying attention to my surroundings. I know you all meant well."

Mia, who was the tallest and oldest in the group, was around 146 centimeters tall and 10 years of age. She was one year older than the rest of the children and had bright blue eyes which radiated enthusiasm and childhood charm, causing Elias to smile as he gazed at her. Running his hand through her dull, flaxen-colored hair, Elias asked in a gentle voice, "But why are you guys up so early? Did Sister Marie wake you up again today?"

At the mention of Sister Marie, the shoulders of all the children seemed to drop, their faces taking on an ashen hue. This time the voice of a little boy, which carried a soft and timid tone, offered a response to Elias's question. "Yes, brother. She said we have to conclude with the exercises we didn't finish yesterday, today before breakfast. It wasn't our fault that we couldn't finish; she made us attend to the gardens all evening. Brother, we feel wronged!"

The boy, whose name was Otto, had dark golden hair and soft facial features which made him appear much more feminine than masculine. The aggrieved expression on his soft face almost made Elias, who currently had a straight face, burst out laughing. Before Elias could offer a response, a dark looming shadow seemed to appear in front of the door at some point in time, causing the five children to scamper to the back of Elias with urgency while shivering in fear.

Elias, after observing this spectacle, seemed to reminisce about the time when it was he who would always run away at the sight of the person at the door, causing him to shake his head with a light smile. As the image of the person at the door became clearer, Elias lightly bowed his head, offering a respectful greeting which was in accordance with the norms of the church. "Good morning, Sister Marie. From grass to grace, the Mother's love prevails."

Sister Marie lightly nodded, a solemn expression appearing on her soft face as she replied with the same gesture, "Good morning to you too, Elias, and Her affection is showered equally to all."

The gesture of the Grace Church is shown by the subject of the greeting folding their arms around their chest, in a manner reminiscent of a mother cuddling her child, while the receiver spreads their arms enthusiastically, as if awaiting an incoming hug. Sister Marie's eyes slowly scanned the room, her brows furrowing in slight annoyance at the sight of the five shaking children. "Did they come to complain to you again? I've told you to stop pampering these children, Elias."

Sister Marie was a young lady, presumably in her early 30s, who was the current presiding Reverend Sister of the Lowe Church of Grace. She was garbed in a green nun attire which was embroidered with numerous floral designs, the official attire of the Reverend Sisters of the Grace Church. She had soft and gentle facial features, which could compel onlookers to fantasize about how pretty she must have been in her youth.

"In my defense, I wasn't going to help them this time." As Elias said this, he turned to the five shaking children and slowly squatted down to meet their eyes. His tone, which was soft and gentle, also took on a serious demeanor. "The five of you know that Sister Marie is doing this for your own good. She wants the best for you, which starts with you gaining basic education at your age."

"Look at my table. I was studying into the night even after coming back from work battered and tired. Even if it's taxing, I have to do it, at least for our tomorrow to be better than our today." Elias then pulled his five siblings closer, whispering in a gentle voice, "We have to make Father Bernard proud."

At the mention of this, the five children seemed to gain some newfound determination, causing them to straighten up and stop their shivering. Sister Marie watched all this without interrupting, a subtle smile adorning her soft face.

"Mia and Otto, you two are doing well. I checked your progress when I got back yesterday and it seems like you two are almost done with basic reading and writing. If you keep up with this pace, you might be able to enter a community school in two years or less."

Community schools and colleges are educational institutions which were set up by the kingdom's aristocrats and nobles in the past two to three years, in a bid to increase the support they get from the lower class citizens and commoners in order to increase their political standing and influence.

They are relatively cheaper than their private counterparts, which gives the commoners the ability to gain access to primary basic education. Elias wasn't able to benefit from this service since by the time it was set up, he was already 15, which was three years older than the set admissible age.

After they heard the encouragement from their brother, Mia and Otto's faces seemed to brighten up into flashy smiles, causing Sister Marie to nod her head in approval. Elias, after offering both of them a soft smile, shifted his gaze to the three identical faces beside them, who were scrunching their arms and looking down at the room's floor in dejection.

"Now, as for you three, care to explain why your progress seems to be slower than last week?"

Even if Elias said that with a serious tone, his face still displayed a soft expression, lessening the apprehension they seemed to feel. The triplets, Lily, Sophia, and Liam, still seemed hesitant to respond but ultimately gave in as they felt like if they didn't, Sister Marie, who was still watching, would double their study workload for the day.

Lily, the youngest of the triplets, pursed her lips in a cute manner. "You haven't been

spending as much time with us as you used to, brother. You know how much we love studying and spending time with you." Sophia and Liam both nodded in agreement, causing Sister Marie to chuckle slightly as she said to herself, "It's not easy being an older brother to these kids. I honestly pity him sometimes."

Elias, oblivious to the inner musings of his guardian, took on a guilty expression as he gently rubbed the heads of the triplets before him. "I'm sorry, I have been so busy with work and studying lately that it honestly slipped my mind." He then thought for a bit and said with an obvious smile, "How about this, I will work less than I usually do tomorrow since it's a weekend and spend the rest of the time studying and playing with you guys. Does that work?"

The faces of the five children seemed to instantly light up as they jumped up and down in excitement, "Thank you, brother! You are the best."

"Okay, okay, that's enough of that. Elias needs to prepare for work. Tell your brother goodbye and go start your exercises."

The five of them then slightly bowed their heads as they said with beaming smiles, "See you later, brother, and have a good day!"

After saying this, they didn't even wait for a response as they attempted to dart out of the room. As they were about to cross the threshold of the door, Sister Marie blocked it, her intense gaze landing on them. This caused them to jerk back and hurriedly turn to face Elias, as they said in an urgent and uneven tone, "From grass to grace, the Mother's love prevails!"

"And Her affection is showered equally to all," said Elias in a hushed response as he watched his siblings hurriedly walk out of his room.

After making sure that the children went back into their rooms, Sister Marie then turned to face Elias, a worried expression creeping onto her soft face. Before she said anything, however, Elias walked over to her, holding her hands affectionately. "I know what you want to say, sister, and… I'm alright. I've just been a bit more tired than usual lately."

Sister Marie studied him for a brief moment, then smiled and turned to walk out of the door. As Elias was about to turn away and start getting ready for his day, her voice, which carried a hint of care and concern, softly resounded in his ears. "I hope you know that you can always talk to me, Eli…"

"Don't forget to pray and eat your breakfast before you leave for work."

Elias paused halfway, a guilty smile appearing on his face.

"Why don't you just tell her about your dream? She might know something we don't.

"She is a reverend, you know."

Instead of instantly replying to Lars who had abruptly spoken up after Sister Marie left, Elias reached for his worn-down suspenders which were positioned at the side of his bed. "Until we know more about that dream, I don't think it's best to directly involve more people…"

Elias then walked to his window, basking in the gentle rays of the sun. "Besides… Her position within the church's clergy was already strained enough after Father Bernard's death and me developing the ability to see spirits. I don't want to make things more difficult for her…"

Lars, opting not to agree or disagree, went silent once again.

Elias, who was used to his brother's usual antics, didn't take offense to the silent treatment and calmly reached for his eye drops which were seated at the side of his window. He then walked out of his room with brisk steps, as if welcoming the trials that followed the rise of a new day!

…

Western Seaport of Estica, The Island of Neutrality.

The soft patter of raindrops could be heard resounding all over the port. The dark sky was devoid of stars on this rainy night, with nothing but periodic streaks of lightning and the beautiful silver moon hanging overhead.

A large passenger ship could be seen in the distance, slowly and steadily pulling into the terminal of the seaport. The ivory-colored ship glided gracefully through the azure waters, its sleek form cutting through the waves with relative ease. Its hull gleamed in the moonlight, creating an enchanting backdrop with the clear blue sea. The ship continued to approach the terminal at a steady pace and successfully docked after some time, allowing the passengers to disembark with their items and numerous pieces of luggage.

All of a sudden, a thunderous streak of lightning flashed through the sky, the sound accompanying it bringing an end to the peaceful ambiance of the night as the rain intensified.

"Damn it… why did the weather suddenly change like this? Isn't it a bit too dramatic?" said a short and plump man in a decent suit and coat as he pulled out his umbrella and tried to navigate through the line of departing passengers.

"Welcome to Estica, the island of Neutrality and Research!" said the ship's steward to the man with a warm smile, which made it seem like he was used to abnormal occurrences like this throughout his naval journeys.

The short man gave a scoff in response as he concentrated on navigating through the crowd, offering no candid response to the weird-looking ship steward.

…

On the other side of the ship, five individuals could be seen silently stepping out through an isolated entrance in an organized and calm manner.

These individuals were garbed in ash-colored clergy robes adorned with crimson embroidery in the form of spiraling flames. Each of them wore a cross on their neck, symbolized by a flaming red torch held in an ash-colored hand suspended by two great swords at the center of the cross.

They were Ember Clerics, the official clergymen of the Prye Church!

The Ember Cleric at the front of the group was cautiously holding a small purple box that gave off an unsettling and gloomy feeling. It was adorned with numerous mystical symbols and calligraphs, while the other four were cautiously focused on their environment.

Upon closer inspection, a title plate could be seen plastered on the front of the box in the language of Berlin, which described a beautiful yet eerie name:

Pandora's Box!