Sancta Daemonium

(Author's Note:

WE STARTING FROM THE BEGINNING OF IT ALL BOIS/GALS!

Well… this had taken a rather long amount of time to make. Aside from procrastination and a sudden lack of motivation, I was also busy on figuring out what exactly I WANTED to do in this story.

Who knew DXD was actually a shared universe? I didn't. Look up SLASH/DOG if you think I'm lying. It made my research time longer because of that man, as well as made me realize the extent of what I could take this story if I wanted to… could make this a volume thing…

Either way, with the amount of planning I did at the drawing board, it made me realize that I might have to scooch some updates on other stories… don't know if I want to do that just yet…

Oh well, and yeah, this story is another MC/117 POV with some 3rd POV mix; it was something I struggled with entirely for the longest time.

Please read and review. If anyone has any questions/comments/concerns, please PM me so we could discuss it (I love interacting with all of you!).

And above all else, please enjoy the story.)

Chapter 2: Innocence of a Lamb (1/2)

99,962 Years after the Great Purification

2517, August

Eridanus II

"Welcome, my son."

I felt a deep sense of longing in my chest as I listened to the voice. No matter how much time passed, I always felt… peaceful and safe when I heard it.

I looked around curiously, only to be met with a place so tranquil, so beautiful, it had to be paradise given form. A lush green hill with a nearby valley that was filled with the soothing sound of flowing water from the river going through the heart of it, fed by a distant fall I could see in the distance. The stream made its way around the many boulders that dotted the valley and skirted around the trees that grew from the ground, alongside the endless sea of healthy, vibrant grass.

The only sounds that I could hear were the soft murmurs of the nearby stream and the gentle chirping of birds as they greeted the early sunrise. It would be enough for anyone to simply lie down and rest to bask in the sun's warm rays.

But I ignored all that as my eyes were drawn towards the dimly glowing figure in white sitting against one of the boulders.

Long ivory locks fell from their head, falling all the way down towards the small of their back, a few strands tenderly lifted by the breeze coming through them. Even though they weren't facing me, their eyes locked onto the soothing sunrise, I knew they were aware of my presence.

They turned around, revealing to me a face that felt so familiar, yet so foreign.

It's been so long since I've seen that face after all.

I did not know this person, that I knew without a doubt, but I still couldn't help the feelings of nostalgia flowing through me as I continued to take in their features. From the pair of eyes to the curve of their nose, the shape of their lips, the masculine, yet feminine structure of their face, they were all so familiar. Too familiar. They reminded me of someone who was once dear to me, who I had loved and who had loved me back and haven't heard or seen for a very, very long time.

My heart was filled with immeasurable awe, but I still couldn't hold the terrible grief from gripping it tightly. Nor could I stop the tears filling my eyes, clouding my sight before they spilled from my cheeks.

It made me want to fall on my knees, to plant my forehead onto the ground, and scream in anger but sing in praise and worship in the same breath. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why.

"Come my child." They spoke. A beautiful, open smile on their lips as they patted next to them from their seated position from on top the boulder. Those sleepy sapphire-blue eyes of theirs never left my figure as I slowly, reverently made my way up towards them, following me with a grace that should be considered inhuman.

I sat down shyly, more than a few inches away from them. They wouldn't have it though and scooted towards me before taking my head into one on their hands, before placing it on their lap to rest it.

Then they began to rake their fingers through my hair soothingly after brushing away the remnants of my tears, a gentle hum coming from the back of their throat as they did so.

It felt as if I was in the soft embrace of a parent—one who had longed entirely for my return.

I didn't feel worthy, but I stayed quiet, content to allow them to do whatever they wanted, the safe feeling never retracting.

We stayed there for a few moments longer, watching as the sun finally broke the horizon and began to lift itself high in the air, it's dazzling rays shining against the valley.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" They said. "This is what life feels like, a soothing home with people that love one another, a haven. Take a moment and feel it, my child."

Who are you?

The hand running through my hair paused for a second, before continuing its previous ministrations. "You do not know?" They sounded puzzled, and I dared to look up towards their face, only to be met with perplexion etched onto it. As if feeling my gaze, they looked down towards me, regarding me with a raised eyebrow before realization seemed to dawn on them as they nodded. "I see… it does not seem your people have taken the Mantle just yet." A slight hopeful look crossed their face. "There still may be time for them to achieve it yet…"

Mantle?

They smiled at me, and I could feel myself become breathless once more from the sheer beauty of it. "Worry not my child. It's nothing more but the rambling of someone tired. Please do not concern yourself with them. Instead," Their hand left my hair, only to caress my cheek gently. "Allow me the honor to tell you my name, for it has been so long since I've last done so."

"My name is- "

"-hn. Hey, John. Wake up, John!"

An elbow was dug into my side, surprising me out of my sleep. Startled by the unexpected touch, I jumped away from the offending appendage out of reflex.

It was only before my face met the floor that I had forgotten that I was sitting.

"Brrrhg-" Was the only sound I could make as my head reverberated off the floor with a loud thud. With a small groan, I flipped myself onto my back, staring at the white-painted ceiling from my spot on the floor. No, wait, it wasn't painted white but a light grey.

Huh, never noticed that before, I really must be out of it…

"John," I turned my head towards the direction of the voice, only to find the exasperated teacher, Mr. Wells, looking down out me. For a second, he looked as if he was going to tell me off, before he caught himself, and pinched the bridge of his nose with a small sigh. "…Just get back to your seat."

I sheepishly grinned as I pushed myself onto my feet and, while ignoring the laughter from my classmates, plopped myself back onto my seat. It took a few seconds, but the room eventually calmed down, and with a long-suffering sigh, Mr. Wells resumed his lesson.

With him distracted, I finally took the opportunity to give a swift jab with my elbow towards the still snickering Irina Shidou in the ribs. "What was that for?" I hissed at her with a small glare.

"Sorry, sorry," She whispered back, but I didn't believe her, not with the way she kept on snickering. "I didn't think you'd jump that badly."

I grumbled a bit under my breath but left it at that, grabbing my stencil from the ground and vaguely paying attention to the math lesson, jotting down notes occasionally. It wasn't my fault I kept dozing off. I really tried to get interested, but I just couldn't, as I had already figured the basics of multiplication two days ago when it was introduced and could now do multiples of up to nineteen without barely a thought. Now I was just bored as the teacher tried to teach the rest of the struggling kids in my age group, seriously, try to stay awake through that.

Of course, Mr. Wells had been more than a little unhappy with me constantly falling asleep but quickly figured out that there was nothing he could do. Making me stand in a corner for time-out had only made me even more bored, which left me with trying to figure out how to fall asleep standing. Sending me to do laps with the physical trainer was even worse when he realized I preferred to run over sitting in a stuffy class.

It took him a while before he realized that I wasn't lazy, just bored out of my mind because the lessons were way too easy for me. He even wanted to put me in some fast track program, but my dad shot that idea down immediately, with my Mom supporting his decision.

I didn't mind, as even I was against it when I found out I would have to leave my friends behind.

We eventually learned to make our peace with one another, and as long as I maintained my high grades, then he just looked the other way when I did things like fall asleep or started reading comics on my school assigned datapad. It was cool at first, but when I ended up learning the material being taught within a whole day. That left the following week with me doing nothing but twiddling my thumbs during class since I couldn't go outside to play games or go to the physical education teacher for most of the day.

Though I will admit, no matter what, he always treated me fairly, even though I was far from his favorite student. He also explained everything he taught well, which was why I was able to learn so quickly.

Ugh, still, what was that dream about anyways? Much about it was quite fuzzy to me when I tried to remember, but whatever it was about, I don't think I would have overreacted to waking up if it wasn't for that.

I yawned, rubbing my eyes a bit. "Why did you wake me?"

"Oh yeah," Irina's snickering stopped as she reached out and gave me a small holographic pamphlet. I took it curiously, only to frown a bit when the contents of the booklet popped open. "My Church is doing something special this weekend, and I was wondering-"

"I'm not going." I cut her off, my voice deadpan as I handed it back towards her.

She just pouted at me, not even attempting to take back the pamphlet. "Why not?"

"Because it's boring every time I go. It's just some guy who stands and talks about some guy and all these crazy things he did on Earth a long time ago like turn water into wine." I shrugged a bit when she looked a little put off. "Everyone knows they're just stories."

"They are not!" She scowled when I just rolled my eyes. Seeing as I wasn't going to budge, she quickly changed her methods. "It's going to be fun, I promise! They have a lot of things arranged for the kids this time!"

"Right. Last time you said that we had to sit down for two hours for 'story time' with one of the teenage pastors." I replied snidely.

That had been the worse, as we had to sit down with a bunch of toddlers who had cried almost every other five minutes. The youth pastors in training, some teenagers at the time, had been forced to change them when they went potty on themselves, always interrupting the story as we heard the adults above sing songs and listen to the sermon. Later we had helped clean up everything so we could 'serve' others. Aside from being annoying, it also felt like a waste of time at the end of the day.

Even dad had been bored, though Mom had loved it all, and soon became a weekly visitor along with Irina and her parents. Mom tried to get us to go, but Dad and I were quick to refuse. She begrudgingly accepted our choice eventually, and we had to make her favorite foods so she could stop sulking that day. While she respected our decision, she still tried every other week to get us to come with her.

"C'mon," Irina whined. "It's not like that this time I promise. They actually have something fun set up."

"If it's another bible study, then…" I was interrupted when she stamped her foot, glaring at me angrily but with no real heat, her pouting cheeks now making her look like a hamster or something. It was hard for me to take seriously.

"It's not!" She cried out, completely forgetting to whisper in her passion, her eyes to widening in realization at how loud she was being. Her hands came up to clasp themselves over her mouth in a vain attempt to take back her volume.

Of course, that's not how reality works.

We looked up when Mr. Wells cleared his throat, glaring firmly at her for the interruption. "Irina." He said coldly. "Do you have something you want to share with the class?"

With her face completely beet red to the point that her ears were the same color, she shook her head meekly in embarrassment. "N-no, Mr. Wells. S-sorry." She mumbled, her hands still covering her mouth.

He adjusted his glasses with a small 'hmph,' before glancing at his watch. He sighed as he turned off the projector. "Well, we'll stop here, anyways. Recess is about to begin in a bit, so start cleaning your desks before you kids go out, okay?"

We all nodded, mine being the most enthusiastic one of the bunch. "Yes, Mr. Wells." We all acknowledged as we began to do just that.

Finally, I was ready to go outside and do something fun. Wonder if they'll let me play gravball yet? That ban can't be forever, right?

There was always King of the Hill, though… Hm.

Decisions, decisions...

She peeked at me from the corner of her eyes, before looking away with a small pout when I looked back at her.

I frowned a bit, before looking away as the nurse took my face in her hand to brush off the remaining dirt and blood on it. The cloth in her hands rubbing roughly against my face as she did her best to get every nook and cranny.

My freshly chipped tooth ached.

After finding out that playing gravball was a bust -who knew you could get banned from being too good at it-, I quickly found myself playing my favorite game, King of the Hill. Of course, things ended up the same, with me winning, as usual.

It turns out some of the other kids still didn't like my continuous win streak every time I played this time around though. One of them even got their older brother, who was in second grade, to come, along with a few of his friends. They tried to win the hill, but I wouldn't let them, kicking, shoving, punching, all just to keep the win. Eventually, they got tired of always being beaten down by a kid a year younger than them, and just went for me, even though I've just been having fun the entire time.

There had been seven of them, and I was able to keep them down from my position on the high ground. Unfortunately, mistakes were eventually made, and I slipped. They took the advantage and jumped me, swinging and kicking as hard as they could, and I gave back as hard as I received. I had broken one of their arms, along with another kid's ankle, but for the most part, I was able to get their fingers.

Then they eventually kicked me in the face when I bit one of them, and on top of my tooth getting chipped pretty severely, I also got a bloody nose.

That was when Irina jumped in, yelling at the top of her lungs while she punched and kicked at them. Though even I had to wince when she kicked one of them in the nuts, the older boy's squeal of pain didn't help. Of course, they tried to swarm her too, and to do so; they had to ignore me for a few moments as they kicked her down. Plenty of time to come back into the fight.

By the time the school monitors had shown up, we were finishing up the little scrape between the other kids and us. Irina went along quickly enough when they took her, but I was struggling the entire time they dragged me away from the crying kids, trying desperately to get one last kick in.

I also wanted to get back on top of that hill, but, eh, I guess you can't win them all…

I'm sure dad's going to be proud of me though. Even with all the scrapes and bruises around my body, I made sure to finish what I started.

Mom, on the other hand…. Eh, I'll deal with it when I get there.

The nurse let go of my chin, and I finally stopped scrunching my face from her cleaning. I rubbed my nose a bit, before looking at the pouting Irina.

"You're still mad about what happened in class?" I asked her only to roll my eyes when she turned her body away from me too. Jeez, even after getting her butt kicked, she could still be moody. "C'mon, I said I was sorry." I groaned.

"…" She peeked at me before quickly turning away when she caught my eye. Hm, fine then, if she wanted to play that way, I could do the same. I made sure that the nurse was gone, before I crept up behind Irina, my wiggling fingers closing in on her sides.

She peeked at me again, only for her eyes to widen when she realized what I was about to do. "Wait! John! D-Don't-!"

I ignored her pleads for mercy, thrusting my hands, and beginning my full-on attack on her sides.

Immediately, she began to laugh, squealing as she tried to turn her body away from me. "PFFFT! HAHAHA! STOP IT, JOHN!" She screamed through bouts of laughter as she tried to get away from my hands.

I grinned, holding her close so she wouldn't escape my tickle attack. "Not until you forgive me~."

Irina tried, she really did, but when I began to attack her neck too, she quickly gave up from the amount of stimulation she felt. "OKAY! OKAY! I FORGIVE YOU SO PLEASE!" She squealed, and I let her go. She panted, trying to catch her breath, her face beet red as she slumped against her seat. "…You're such a jerk..." She scowled at me, glaring with her violet eyes.

I shrugged with a grin, the insult not bothering me a bit. "Made you forgive me, though." I giggled, and even though she tried to keep up the stern look on her face, she eventually joined me.

Eventually, we calmed down, all smiles as we looked at one another. That was until Irina gave me a look. "That still wasn't fair, John. You cheated." She accused.

Sighing, I gave in. "Fine, but that was because I didn't want you mad at me anymore," I admitted.

Aside from Irina, I only had three other friends. Parisa, Katrina, and Ellie. Everyone else was usually too scared of me or flat out hated me because of my intelligence or athletic ability. Only those four gave me a chance when I was all alone during kindergarten, and though Irina was the only one who went to the same primary school as me, we still found time to hang out the best we can. Even when I was better than them at something, or beat them at a game, they never got mad or upset at me. Instead, they would always laugh and play with me again. Our friendship was something I cherished deeply, as I doubted anyone else would give me a chance they did.

At my confession, Irina turned bright red, looking away from me as she began to wring her fingers nervously. "O-Oh yeah?"

"Yup." I sighed when she still wouldn't look at me in the eye. "Listen, if you're still mad about it then…" I frowned thoughtfully for a moment before I bopped my fist into an open palm as I figured it out. "I'll do anything you want. Just name one thing, and I'll do it."

Irina still looked a little doubtful, but I noticed her staring at me from the corner of her eye. "…Do you mean it?"

"Hm." I nodded.

"Then," She fidgeted a bit, hesitating before she cried out. "Please go to the event my church is having!"

"…Eh…?" And just like that, I was already regretting giving her that decision.

"Trust me! It's going to be different than the last few times! There's gonna be a concert, and there's even going to have carnival games there too!"

"Carnival games?" I muttered; my curiosity finally stoked. I've never played 'carnival games' before, but I heard they were really big in the Inner Colonies, but it was really expensive to set up. I would've never thought the little Church we had would've been able to afford something like that.

Irina excitedly nodded as she realized she had my attention. "Hm! And it's not going to be at the Church this time but at Elysium City Central Park!"

I tried to keep from showing the excitement I felt when she told me that, crossing my arms over my chest and carefully looking away from her. "O-Oh yeah? That sounds cool, I guess…" I mumbled, doing my best to look uninterested.

Irina popped back into the corner of my vision, a knowing grin on her face. "Hey, John, sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Still don't want to go?"

"W-Well, I mean, I said I'll do whatever you tell me. So," I scratched the back of my head. "I guess I have to go then."

The sunny smile she sent me back made me avert my eyes again, a hot feeling in my cheeks as I did so. Still, it was enough that even I felt my lips spread into a wide smile too.

She got me, I guess, but from the sound of it, it was going to be a lot different from the usual church stuff. Who knows? It might be fun…

I grimaced when the comb forcefully went through my hair, spikes of pain coming from my scalp and jolting down through my spine.

"Mom," I groaned as she dragged it down again, holding one side of my head as she tried to give my hair a perfect part. "I think my hair is fine now..."

My Mom gave my hair one more stroke with the comb in response, before she stopped, seemingly satisfied. "Big boys don't complain, John." She teasingly said as she patted my shoulders. "But I guess it was a bit much. I'm just excited is all, it's rare when you and your dad want to do anything with the Church." She admitted.

I shrugged. "That's because all they do is boring stuff most of the time. They're doing something fun for once." I grimaced when she suddenly pinched my cheek, giving it a little twist. "…What was that for?"

"Church isn't boring, John," Mom chidingly said as she let go. "You just have to keep an open mind for the word of God and his teachings."

I couldn't help but sulk as I rubbed my cheek. "You mean the same God that wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth like a jillion years ago?" I snorted. "I think I'll pass." Even if it might not be true, something that would destroy something as cool as the dinosaurs sounded more like a jerk to me at the end of the day, why would I want to learn stuff about the chump who killed them?

I let out a small whine when she began to dig her knuckles into my skull. "Now, don't get all big-brained on me now, kiddo," She chuckled. "Besides, aren't you the one who still wears that necklace Irina gave you for your birthday last year?" She muttered as she let go, allowing me to rub the areas she assaulted.

Though I couldn't help but flush a little, fingering the object in question that was tied around my neck underneath my tie, it was a simple silver necklace with a cross, nothing special, but it was the first present I had received from someone who wasn't my parents.

We had been in kindergarten when Irina and I initially met. I had been playing gravball alone at the time when I had noticed her defending some kids from some bullies. Things had quickly escalated, and they fell into a tangle of limbs, kicking and punching each other. Despite being pretty tough, Irina had found herself on the losing side as it dragged on, being overwhelmed by their numbers.

It only was when I came along, ramming my knee into one of the boy's face, was when she was able to take the rest on. Coupled with my height, which was about a whole head taller than everyone else, and my strength, along with her determination, we had quickly beaten down those bullies.

It was when we were at the guidance counselor's office afterward, scuffed up and getting reprimanded for our actions, was when we decided to become friends. Soon after, we had become friends with Parisa and the rest, and Irina found out about my birthday coming in a few weeks at the time. So, when it happened, she had given me the necklace as a gift.

Despite my disinterest in Christianity and the Church, I had been more than a little touched by the gesture.

It was also soon after that I found out that she was actually a girl, not a boy like I initially thought. That was a bit of an awkward realization…

I looked away from Mom, pouting. "That's because she almost began crying when I didn't wear it to school the next day," I grumbled. It wasn't my fault either, as I had been running late for school and forgot to put it back on. After that incident, though, I never took it off again.

"Right, right," She chuckled, patting me on the head. "You two are just so cute together."

I frowned, not understanding by what she meant by that. I eventually shrugged, getting off the chair and walking stiffly to the front door, where Dad was waiting for us.

Dad looked up from his datapad, looking a bit exasperated. "Finally. At this point, I felt like I would have to wait another day just for you two-" His gaze became flat when it landed on me. "Honey, why does John look like he's going for a funeral instead of a carnival?" He deadpanned.

I shifted around a bit, the suit I was wearing making any type of movement a bit harder than it should have been.

Mom pouted in response. "He's not dressed for a funeral! Look at him, see how handsome he is?" She argued while Dad rolled his eyes.

"He looks like he's about to choke on that tie if it gets any tighter," He said dryly. "Besides, it's August, which means it's still pretty warm at night. With all the stuff they're gonna have over there, he needs to wear something lighter."

"I just want him to look his best! It's not like I get a chance to bring you guys to anything related to the Church often!"

"Agh," He groaned. "The only reason why I'm even going is that I'm outnumbered here." He muttered under his breath

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Dad's response was quick. "But he needs to wear something different than that, don't you agree, John?" He asked, putting the ball in my court without an ounce of shame.

Darn it, him and his need to win arguments against Mom….

She turned towards me as well, a hopeful look on her face. "Well, John? What do you think?"

I fidgeted slightly, stuck between wanting to be truthful and not wanting to upset Mom that much.

At the same time, I really didn't want to wear a suit, and Dad taught me never to be afraid to speak my mind.

I sighed. "I want to wear something else." Dad grinned widely in response. Mom's face fell, a tad crestfallen, before she sighed tiredly, rubbing her forehead as she gave in, long used to us teaming up.

"Boys…" She muttered.

Dad just gave her a cheeky peck on the forehead in response. "It's fine honey, when I'm right, I'm right." He bragged, before waving me over. "C'mon buddy, let's get you ready."

I followed him quickly, taking off the jacket as we walked to my room. I was struggling with the tie when I made it inside, unable to get the knot out, so he helped me undo it before tossing me a polo shirt and some shorts to wear. Quickly changing and putting on a pair of sneakers, I followed him back to the front door where Mom stood, pouting a bit when she saw all her hard work go to waste.

"At least you kept the hair…" She muttered as Dad gave her a side hug.

"I'll admit, it looks good on him. We'll probably have to start beating back those Christian girls away from him when he gets older." He laughed when she slapped his chest, frowning.

"That's not funny. John's not gonna get a girlfriend anytime soon, and besides, they aren't those sort of girls."

"I dunno, one of them was able to convince him to want to go to this little event they were having, ain't that right buddy?" He told me, waggling his brows, a conspiratorially smirk on his face.

I blinked in response, a bit confused about what he meant by that.

Why would I have to beat girls away from me? Considering that my only real friends were girls…

"Irina isn't like that!" Mom was quick to protest. "Besides, they're both young, and she hasn't even been baptized yet!"

Irina? What did she have to do with anything? And what did 'baptize' mean?

What were they talking about?

Dad just smirked, letting her go and opening the door. "Who knows?" He chuckled. "What I do know is that the more time we waste, the less time we'll to play the games there!"

I nodded excitingly, grabbing Mom's hand to help tug her along towards the car faster. "C'mon." I urged her. "We gotta go before it's over!"

She shook her head at my actions, but the smile on her face was full. "I'm coming, Johnny. I'm coming. They aren't going anywhere anytime soon."

I impatiently groaned while Dad laughed as we rushed to the car, Mom following behind us at a languid pace.

It was going to take us forever to get there at this rate…

I hadn't expected much when I showed up at Elysium City Central Park with my parents. After all, the Church was known to have rather quiet and humble gatherings.

To my amazement, the peaceful atmosphere I had sort of expected was swept away by the massive energy buzzing around instead. Elysium City was usually known as being a rather quiet place, with the amount of nature surrounding us, there weren't many events that took place in the city. From the look of things, it seemed like this event was trying to change that quietness with a sort of hustle and bustle I've never seen before.

Street vendors littered the park, waving towards potential customers for attention. The sights of the games they held within their little booths, the smells of the various foods being cooked, and the loudness of everyday people going up and down the park trails left me a bit baffled. I've never seen such a thing before, as most of the residents kept to their rather quiet lives out here in our somewhat rural Outer Colony world. Looking around even further, I saw that even a few police officers and firefighters were milling about while in uniform nearby, switching between monitoring the crowd and enjoying the festivities themselves.

…So, this was an event that brought that the community together…

…It was enough to leave me quite reflective as I continued drinking in the various scenes, noises, and smells around me.

Of course, that silence didn't last.

"John! Joooohn!" I turned around to see Irina running up, waving an arm excitingly. "You showed up!"

"Hm." I nodded as she stopped next to me. "This is different…"

She nudged me on the shoulder. "Different 'good' right? I told you it was gonna be cool!"

I flashed her a brief smile, one that only got wider when Dad gave me a bunch of credits. "Don't use it all on one place, Johnny." He smiled as I nodded eagerly, giving me a firm pat on the head. "Now go have some fun, Mom and I are going to meet up with the rest of the parents."

I didn't need to be told twice, and neither did Irina, who grabbed my hand and pulled me further into the crowd as soon as I got approval. I followed as she dragged me, before meeting up with several familiar faces.

I grinned wryly. "So, she convinced you guys to come too..."

Katrina didn't answer my question, busy in the middle of some ring tossing game she was failing horribly at. Parisa just gave me a shy smile from her position next to her.

Ellie rolled her eyes at my dig, the slightly older girl giving me a firm jab on the shoulder. "Oh, shut up. You of all people shouldn't talk." She muttered, before giving me a curious look. "How did she convince you to come anyway?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but Irina beat me to the mark. "How do you think?" She giggled, gesturing around her excitedly. "He loves games!"

Ellie grinned widely at me, throwing an arm over my shoulder. "Aw, I think we know why he came in the end." She waggled her brows at me suggestively, while I just furrowed mine.

What was she talking about?

"AAARGGH!" We looked over to Katrina, who stomped her foot angrily as she lost again, not getting a single ring around the poles set out. "This game sucks! It's too hard!"

The man operating the stall rolled his eyes at the girl's antics. "Shame," He grunted, apathetic to her struggles. "That'll be another five credits to try again kiddo."

She scowled at him, but I came up before she could put more credits on the table, looking at the set up curiously. "So, you just have to get the rings on the poles?"

He glanced at me, before nodding, jerking a thumb to the many toys and stuffed animals he had to the side. "Yeah, depending on the pole, the more points you'll get, which means the bigger the prize."

I scratched my cheek. "And what do I get if I win?"

An amused look flittered his face at my question, but he indulged me. "Well, if you get all ten of your rings on the poles with the highest points," He gestured to the prizes he had. "Then, you get your pick on whatever prizes you want, up to four."

I nodded, before reaching into my pocket and putting down five of the credits Dad gave me. "Alright, I'll do it then."

The stall owner raised an eyebrow at my confidence, before shrugging nonchalantly, handing me ten silver rings. "Here you go kiddo. Good luck."

I picked them up, testing their weight as Katrina whined from behind me. "No fair," She pouted. "Now John's gonna get the prizes…"

Ellie shrugged, a curious look on her face as Parisa shot me an encouraging smile. "D-Do your best John!"

Irina nudged me on the ribs, a small smirk on her face when I turned to face her. "Bet you can't get it…" She challenged.

My lips curled in response. "You're on..."

"Sometimes," Ellie muttered as she stared at the stuffed bear in her hands. "I forget just how competitive you are…"

I just grinned, watching Katrina and Irina coo at their stuffed toys. Though I raised a brow when I saw the odd look on Parisa's face as she clenched the stuffed wolf in her hands.

Slowing down my pace, I gave her a nudge when I got close enough. "What's wrong?" I asked her when she jumped. "You don't like it?"

She flushed a bit, averting her eyes away from mine. "N-no… it's not that…" Parisa scratched her cheek a bit as she tried to figure out how to explain herself to me. "It's… you didn't take a prize for yourself…" She murmured shyly.

I raised a brow, before grinning widely. "Of course, I did." When she gave me a confused look, I jerked my thumb towards myself. "I won," I explained simply.

Katrina jumped in when Parisa still looked confused. "As long as he wins, that's all John needs." She explained with a giggle. "Besides, didn't you see the look on that guy's face when he won in one go?" Parisa still looked a little confused but nodded eagerly with her own smile at the memory.

"It's like he's got the Devils luck or something…" Ellie muttered, holding the bear firmly against her chest. "Makes it hard to win against him."

"It's not the Devil!" Irina protested the thought. "It's because God blesses him! That's why John is so good at things!"

"Eh~…" Ellie shrugged, a little baffled by Irina's intensity. "…Sure, I guess…"

I rolled my eyes, but our wandering soon led us to more stalls. We played many games, like catching goldfish, grabbing apples in a barrel with our mouth, balloon popping with darts, a game called 'cornhole,' and such. By the time we finally showed back up to our parents, our arms were full of prizes that we won, to the point that we were having a hard time waddling up to the table they were sitting.

Katrina's dad, an Elysium City Police Officer, whistled lowly as we dropped the loot on the table, satisfied grins on our faces. "Wow, you've guys have been busy."

I watched as my friends went to their parents to tell them of the games they played and show off their winnings, sitting next to mine with a small grunt as I placed my prizes down.

Dad raised an eyebrow when one of them caught his eye. "What's this?" He mumbled as he picked it up. "Never seen anything like it…"

It was a… bucket helmet. That was the only way I could explain it. It was made out of thin metals, with several holes in it. The front was covered by some decoration, some bronze cross covering it. The eyeholes on it being small slits. Add in the hefty amount of rust on it; it looked like nothing more but an ancient helmet that didn't look like it would protect all that much…

Mom glanced at it, her eyebrows rising in surprise. "Oh? It's that…?" She squinted at it as she leaned onto Dad. "…That looks like a crusader helmet."

"A crusader helmet?" I echoed, and she nodded, taking from Dad's hands and marveling at it. "What's a crusader?

"Well…" She flipped it a couple of times, taking in every nook and cranny as she continued to examine it. "They were religious warriors, holy soldiers, way back in the day on Earth. During a time when technology didn't exist." Mom smiled at me when she saw my eyes widen at that info. "That's right Johnny; these guys fought and protected their home without things like guns or even cars."

"So, what did they use then?" Even Dad looked a little interested in the information being told.

"Well… swords, bows, horses, things like that." She then tapped her head before doing it again on the left side of her chest. "They also had to rely on their wits and spirit when they went into battle and used their faith in God to guide them when things got rough."

I raised a brow. "I don't think faith works like that…" I doubt you could weaponize such a thing. Speaking of which. "What's a horse?"

I winced when she chopped me on the head. "Hush you, I'm explaining things." She cleared her throat. "If I remember correctly, they fought to reclaim a land on Earth… Jerusalem, I believe it was called, a place they deemed holy."

"Did they get it?"

"Not at first, no. The Crusaders lost, and they gave up for a while. I believe it was during the Third Terran World War that they were able to get it once more, but by then, they had technology on their side. Though, they held different titles at the time and weren't considered Crusaders then." She flipped the helmet a few times in her hands. "Still, the fact that there's a helmet so far from Earth, much less the Inner Colonies is odd; maybe it's a collectible?"

Dad hummed. "Makes sense, people love to collect ancient Earth artifacts all the time. I wouldn't doubt it if it just found its way here from switching too many hands. It doesn't look like it was maintained all that much either."

I nodded in agreement with him, but what Mom said caught my attention. "Why is it odd?" I asked her. "Aren't the churches a big thing in the Outer Colonies too?"

She smiled wryly at me. "Believe it or not, Christianity doesn't have much influence out here in the Outer Colonies compared to the Inner Colonies, especially Earth after the Third Terran World War happened. I won't bore you with the details, but the fact that we have a church so far out here in pretty surprising in itself, as the Outer Colonies are more… well, either nihilistic or someone that rejects religion and believes that life is meaningless, or they follow other lesser-known religions. Though that's because of the issues with them and UNSC." She put down the helmet and rubbed my head a bit. "You still with me, champ?"

My brows were furrowed as I tried to process the information but nodded. "Kinda, but… the Third Terran World War…" I scratched the back of my head. "I read about it on Waypoint, I think, but why did it happen again?"

She chuckled, ruffling my hair. "We'll talk about that later; we're here to have fun, not for a history lesson. So, what do you think of the carnival so far?"

I grinned, and I was soon showing them the rest of the loot I got.

Ellie and I stared at the stars quietly, my arms behind my head as I laid on my back. The blades of long grass around us swaying softly as a gentle breeze swept through them. We were taking a small break away from all the commotion of the city after the carnival ended, just outside it in the grasslands surrounding it. Even from here, I could make out the lights of our parents' cars, the sound of their laughter as we laid there.

"What a day." I softly murmured, and I heard her hum in agreement.

"Yeah, who would've thought a carnival could be so fun?"

"Especially when the Church made it too."

She chuckled. "That too. They really did their best not to make it boring as usual." Ellie stuck out her tongue. "Eugh, I just don't get how our parents go to the sermons every Sunday. I'd rather go to a lake than there, and I hate fishing."

I laughed a bit. "Sucks that you don't want to go with us next Saturday to Lake Gusev, Irina and Parisa are coming with their parents."

Ellie shrugged. "Can't swim, and besides, there's always something nasty in the water. At least, it feels gross." She shivered. "The fact that you showed me all those 'parasites' that can live in the water makes it even harder to go."

"Hey," I protested. "Those things were cool. The way they can enter the body with you drinking the water on accident or those that go into your body when you pee by-"

I stopped my explanation with a small grunt when she hit me somewhat hard on the shoulder, a disgusted look on her face. "Stop it, John. That's gross. I don't even get why or how God made things like that. What was he even thinking?"

Shrugging, I replied. "Depends, did God even make them? Or was there something else that made them?"

"That's what the pastor's say, that God made every living thing. Why? You don't think so?"

"I dunno, there's a lot of things people say what happened instead. Like a big explosion caused us to form, or how we were created by aliens or something."

"What do you think?"

"I think there's something up there." I finally stopped stargazing, craning my head to where Ellie laid next to me instead, propping myself up on one arm as she continued to stare at the sky. Her face was shrouded in shadows, the moon being our only source of light out here.

"Like what?" she asked, puzzled. She faced me, her brows furrowed as she tried to make sense of my thoughts on the matter.

I scrunched my face, trying to figure the best words to explain myself. "Maybe there's something up there that's wondering what it's like down here?" I clarified lamely, giving her a curious look as she cocked her head to the side in thought.

"…I guess. Do you think we will meet them?" I looked towards the starry night sky as I pondered her question. The stars, sparkling like gems in the pitch-black background, hiding a world full of possible mysteries that I could never fathom. I reached up, clenching the cross hanging around from my neck as I did so.

It pulsed warmly in response.

"I hope so…Don't you?"

WAYPOINT CODEX ENTRY: CHRISTIANITY

A reasonably peaceful religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. In the late 21st Century, soon after the Third Terran World War (FOR MORE INFO SEE: World War 3 [EARTH]), Jerusalem was contested from both Israeli and Palestinian Authority rule by the group known as [REDACTED], becoming the secondary headquarters of the Vatican. Afterward, the two most extensive branches of Christianity (FOR MORE INFO SEE: Catholic(Religion) /Protestant(Religion)) were subsumed into one Church, one that believed in the Holy Trinity (FOR MORE INFO SEE: God of the Bible, Jesus, The Holy Spirit).

When slipspace travel was founded in the 23rd Century, Christianity's influence quickly spread through the newly created colonies, with their main base of operations becoming Earth. When the Insurrections groups in the Outer Colonies arose, due to the strong relationship between Christianity and the Inner Colonies, they denounced the religion. Soon after doing so, several Insurrectionist groups began to prosecute those who openly followed the faith, believing it to be one of oppression. (FOR MORE INFO SEE: The November Massacre on Jerico VII/The Martyrs of Verent/The Bombings of…)

Despite its popularity in the Inner Colonies and Earth, it coexists peacefully with many other religions. (FOR MORE INFO SEE: Shinto/Norse Paganism/Hinduism…) It is also accessible within the UEG/UN Armed forces, such as…

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON (CHRISTIANITY)…

(A/N: Did you guys like this Codex segment? Let me know…)