Ceridwen Magmell 

My name is Ceridwen Magmell.
I am a daughter of the Mamnagi, a nomadic tribe.
My people wander the wild lands on the fringes of the Utohanmyula Continent.
We offer prayers to the morning sun, tend to our livestock, and give thanks to God as the sun sets… Our clan has lived this way since ancient times.

To us, the earth is as precious as a mother, and the creatures that live alongside us are like brothers and sisters.
I, too, grew up alongside the hawk Marinelis and the wolf Egrit from a young age.

As the granddaughter of our clan’s leader, I have been taught this since childhood:

“Magmell, the God of the Earth always grants us just the blessings we need. We must not ask for more. And we must give something back to the earth, to the creatures, and to the people in return for what we’ve been given… Every person has a mission they were born with.”

…It wasn’t until I participated in a ritual to honor the God of the Earth that I clearly understood the meaning of my grandfather’s words.

When I was still a child, an important ritual was held, one that takes place only once every thirty years. It was made to offer thanks to the God of the Earth, heal the spirits of our ancestors, and divine the future of our clan by borrowing their power.
Just then, a caravan had visited my clan to report that there were signs of unrest in the central region of the Laurel Continent… the Brilldaria Empire. My grandfather, determined to ensure our safety, passionately urged me that we must make this ritual a success at all costs, just before it began.

Perhaps his prayers were answered, for the ritual proceeded without a hitch. But at the very end, when fire was set to the tower made of evergreen ash branches, a miracle occurred.
The flames of prayer turned into a pale blue glow, and within them appeared a divine figure… God.

“…O Clan of the Summer Night, listen. In the near future, this land will be engulfed in the flames of war.”

Then God spoke. “That war will be sparked by an evil God who has emerged from the depths of Purgatory,” he said. “The land will be stained red with fire and blood, and an age of darkness will dawn…”

My grandfather and the other adults, having received God’s revelation, trembled with fear.
“O God… what are we to do?”
But God did not answer my grandfather’s question; instead, he slowly pointed at me.
Then, his form wavered like the wind and vanished, as if being drawn into me.

From that day on, I became a priestess.

As a priestess of God, a mysterious power had awakened within me.
The sound of the horn I blew could now stir and heal life.
Furthermore, while our clan had always been skilled at reading the voice of nature, I had come to understand the voices of all animals and plants.
Thanks to that, I was overjoyed to be able to talk with Egrit and Marinelis, who had grown up with me since childhood.

God was always within me. I could feel this not just in words, but literally with my whole body.
It filled me with great pride, and everyone in my clan began to revere me as a priestess.

…But with pride and great power comes great responsibility.
I must protect the land, nature, and people from the coming war and the calamities brought by the evil God.

To that end, I devoted myself to rigorous training as a priestess under my grandfather’s guidance.
Even when children my age were running through the fields and playing in the river, I was always studying and training.
But I didn’t mind.
(I have a mission… the important mission of carrying out the will of God…)
I had naturally come to accept that I was prepared to devote myself to God and the earth.

Before long… just as God had foretold, the continent was engulfed in the flames of war.
Among the nations, the might of the great Brilldaria Empire was formidable; it seemed to be dominating other countries with its overwhelming military power.
Fortunately, the area around Laurel Forest, where I live, has not yet suffered direct damage.
However, with men from the village being forcibly conscripted while out peddling goods, the footsteps of war were undeniably drawing closer to us.

(Oh… So this moment has finally come. But I still haven’t heard the voice of God. God, what should I do? How can I save the people suffering in this terrible war?)

I began to spend even more time in prayer.
Then, one day, I had a dream.
In the dream, I was enveloped in a blue and white light. Then, a solemn voice resounded from within the light.
“Magmell. The evil God of Purgatory will finally appear. The earth will be scorched by his wicked flames, and all living creatures will perish. Before that happens, you must slay him.”
After that, a giant bearing a fierce flame on his back and a place resembling a mysterious ruin were revealed within the light.
(This must surely be a divine revelation!)

The next day, I immediately told my grandfather what had happened. Then, with the whole clan seeing me off, I set out on a journey to destroy the evil God, accompanied by my faithful Egrit and Marinelis.

Having grown up as a nomad, I was used to traveling, but this was my first time journeying so far on my own.
However, interacting with other villagers was thrilling, and encountering technologies and cultures I’d never seen before in the big cities was incredibly stimulating for someone like me, who had grown up in an isolated clan.
(Wow! I had no idea the world was this vast!)
I was amazed by the diversity of humanity and delighted by the beauty of the world.
However, my joy gradually faded as we drew closer to the battlefield.

Forest animals driven from their homes by the flames that had stripped the land of its greenery. Houses collapsed by direct cannon fire. People breaking down in tears after losing loved ones and their possessions…
I did my best to heal people with my powers.
Even so, I found it difficult to bring smiles to their faces. Their hearts had grown cold and frozen.
(How terrible… So this is war! Such tragedy is just another thing humanity has created.)

According to what I heard in a village I stopped at, the war situation had worsened because Princess Stellalius, the youngest princess of the Brilldaria Empire, had personally joined the battle.
I was shocked by the fact that a girl about my own age was standing on the battlefield.
(We have to put a stop to this horror as soon as possible!)
I made up my mind to head to the front lines of the war myself.
Kind people who learned of my destination worried for my safety, but I kept walking for the sake of my mission.

The closer I got to the city, the more the horrors of war became apparent.
The eyes of the people wandering through the streets, now reduced to piles of rubble, were either clouded or filled with uncontrollable rage and hatred.
(…I cannot heal this sorrow with my own power.)
I bit down on my own helplessness and continued my journey.
And so, I finally set foot in the Brilldaria Empire… but what awaited me was an unexpected sight.

The Brilldaria Empire has been winning war after war, constantly expanding its territory. So I had assumed its people would be intoxicated with victory… that’s what I thought.
But although the scars of war were fewer than in the defeated nations, the people’s faces were very somber, and all smiles had vanished.
Everyone seemed utterly exhausted.

(…What on earth is going on here?)
Puzzled, I asked the innkeeper where I was staying about the situation. He then told me in a subdued voice.
“…Princess Stellalius hasn’t stopped the war. All the young men were conscripted, and the town’s workforce was almost completely wiped out… On top of that, the nation’s resources were requisitioned for the Princess’s weapon development. At this rate, we won’t make it through the winter.”
“No way…”
It was then that I realized.

(It’s not enough to just slay the evil God. To alleviate even a little of the suffering right before my eyes, I must meet with the Princess in person and speak with her…)

I pressed forward across the battlefield to meet Princess Stellalius. Along the way, I witnessed countless tragedies.
A child, face covered in soot, clinging to his mother’s corpse.
Soldiers who had lost limbs, writhing in agony… Faced with these heart-wrenching scenes, I could not stop my tears.
What pained me most of all was that the soldiers marching toward the battlefield believed their actions were entirely righteous and would lead to the protection of their families and their homeland.
“All Hail Brilldaria!!”
…They shouted this as they fell one after another on the battlefield.
It was saddening that, even though everyone must have hoped for a happy future, their actions were causing someone else to shed tears.
(This war must be stopped as soon as possible!)
While I felt I had to meet the princess quickly, I couldn’t just leave the wounded people lying before me.
I healed them to the best of my ability.
“…There, you’re all healed now.”
“…Which country’s priestess are you?”
“…Countries mean nothing to me. Before God, we all are equal, and I am simply following that teaching.”

Before I knew it, refugees wounded in the war had begun gathering before me, transcending their countries and social standing.
That day, as I was treating villagers who had been driven from their homes by fire behind the front lines… suddenly, the sky split open. And from that rift, a giant shrouded in ominous flames appeared.
Instinctively, I realized that this giant was the very being God had once commanded me to destroy, and I trembled at its overwhelming presence.
“That is… the evil God released from Purgatory!”

As the giant who appeared from the sky played the mysterious instrument in his hands, a heart-unsettling sound echoed across the battlefield.
(Ugh…!? What!? What is this ominous melody!?)
The power of that sound was terrifying; with just a single performance by the giant, the earth split open and shattered.
Chaos erupted on the battlefield, and even from a distance, I could see many soldiers being swallowed up by the fissures.
And then, those fissures and the shockwaves struck us as well, even though we were far behind the front lines.

(No… if this continues, everyone here will be swallowed by the earth!)
I prayed to God with every fiber of my being.
(Dwell within me, within my body, my voice, my song… grant me the divine sign now!)
Then my body grew hot and I felt power welling up from deep within.
(This… must surely be the will of God!)
I offered a prayer song to the heavens with all my soul.
“…O land where the wind blows. O eden of twilight… Play, a miracle!”
In response to my prayer song, the surrounding trees, which had been burned and withered by the war, quickly recovered and began to grow. They spread their roots firmly into the cracks in the earth, covering the land completely, and the people were saved.
“Ooooh… It’s a miracle. A miracle of God’s priestess.”
As I listened to the people’s voices filled with emotion, I gave thanks to God.
(God… Everything is thanks to you. I am grateful.)
But… having exhausted my power there, I collapsed.

Carried to the village where the refugees lived, I lay bedridden for three days and three nights. And when I woke up, I realized something was wrong with me.
(No way… I can’t feel the will of God!)
As proof that the divine sign was gone, I had lost all my powers as a priestess. I was overcome with immense anxiety.
But the villagers spoke gently to me, saying:
“Priestess, even without your special powers, your kindness heals us. Please, stay here with us.”
I decided to accept their kindness. And for the first time since I was a child, I spent my days not as a priestess, but as an “ordinary” girl.
(Maybe… maybe I’m allowed to live as an ordinary girl now? Since I can’t hear God’s voice anymore, I’m of no use to anyone…)

Before I knew it, I had started thinking that way.
But then, one day, a new group of wounded refugees arrived in the village. Their injuries were severe and required immediate treatment.
(…The old me could have healed these wounds easily, but now, I can’t even heal a single scratch on these refugees.)
I was crushed by my own helplessness. But I soon realized that was a mistake.
(I may no longer be a priestess. I may never be able to hear the will of God again. But surely there must still be something I can do. After all, it is my own will that I wish to end this war… And to do that, I must stop that evil God of Purgatory!)
And so, I decided to continue my journey once more.

To confront the evil God, I headed for the ancient ruins that God had once shown me in a dream as a revelation.
(Does that ancient ruin really exist? …I don’t know, but I can’t stop now.)
For me, having lost my powers as a priestess, the journey through the war-torn lands was endlessly arduous. Yet I kept walking, step by step, using my own life as fuel.
Perhaps I no longer have the power to go directly to the battlefield and stop Princess Stellalius. Still, I should be able to extend a helping hand to the people.
If I found someone starving, I gave them my own food; if I found someone wounded, I tended to them as best I could.
Some people call me by the grand title of “Priestess of Sacred Sound,” but I’m just doing what I can.

…Eventually, I learned that the war had come to an end with the Brilldaria Empire conquering the entire continent, but I had no intention of stopping.
(…If I leave that evil God alone, who knows when conflict will break out again! I cannot allow that!)

And so I continued my journey, until finally…
“…I can finally see the ancient ruins. The evil God must be there!”
But just then, the sky was covered by a black shadow.
“Is that… an imperial airship? And it bears the royal crest… Could it be heading for that ancient ruin!?”
Princess Stellalius has come to be known as the “Queen of Destructive Sound.” If she were to come into contact with that evil God of Purgatory… who knows what might happen! I hurried toward the ancient ruin.

Upon reaching the ancient ruins, I couldn’t help but let out a cry of surprise. The ruins looked exactly like the ones I had once seen in my dreams.
(There’s no mistake… the evil God is here…)
But no matter how hard I searched, there was no sign of anyone in the ancient ruins, let alone the evil God.
(No way… does that mean I’m already too late?)
It seemed Princess Stellalius had already set out for the evil God before I had.
I knelt where I stood and offered a prayer to Gd.
(God… grant me your power. Into my body, my voice, my song, now!)
In that instant… my chest grew warm, and I felt the power of God returning to me. More than that, an unprecedented surge of power welled up within me, spreading to every corner of my body.
“God… I thank you! I will banish that evil God of Purgatory of my own volition!”
I blew the horn I held in my hand loudly, declaring my resolve to God.
Then… a hole that hadn’t been there a moment ago suddenly appeared in the ancient ruins. Inside the hole were stairs that seemed to lead down endlessly, deeper and deeper.
Feeling the ominous aura pouring out from the hole, I was certain that the evil God of Purgatory lay beyond.

“Now is the time to fulfill my mission as a priestess bearing the divine sign. To bring peace to this land, to the sky… and to the hearts of the people!”
…Without fear, I stepped onto the stairs leading to Purgatory.