Lucian stirred, the chill of water seeping through his robes as he lay sprawled on a vast, shallow expanse.

  His fingers brushed the smooth surface beneath him, feeling the cool, almost glass-like texture.

  Slowly, his eyes fluttered open, squinting at the unfamiliar scene around him.

  He pushed himself upright, his movements sluggish as he rose to his feet, disoriented and drenched.

  *Where am I?*

  Around him stretched an endless expanse of shallow water, Eachs fragment pulsed faintly, casting a gentle light.

  All around him stretched an endless plain of water, no deeper than his ankles.

  Its stillness broken only by his own reflection and the glimmering fragments of floating lights hovering above, creating an illusion of a star-filled void beneath his feet.

  It was eerily silent, the only sound the soft ripple of water as he shifted.

  Lucian turned in place, searching for some point of reference. But the horizon didn't exist.

  Instead, the water seemed to bend upward in the distance, defying all logic, curving toward the heavens meeting distant continents hung suspended.

  He froze as the realization struck him.

  An inverted world.

  A hollow Earth.

  Lucian turned his gaze upward and froze, mesmerized by the sight.

  Above him hung an otherworldly sky.

  Floating islands draped in waterfalls, their surfaces adorned with sprawling ruins and towering spires.

  Beyond them, moon-like structures hovered, orbiting larger landmasses. Small, planet-like spheres drifted lazily in the ethereal void.

  At the very center of this inverted microcosmos, a radiant sphere pulses, emanating tendrils of golden auroras that danced across the heavens.

  Around it spun concentric rings of colossal golden structures, gleaming with otherworldly brilliance.

  It was a city—a golden metropolis perched atop the rings of a false sun.

  "This place seemed to defy all laws of physics."

  It was as though the heavens had folded inward, creating a world contained within itself.

  "You're here," a voice called softly, cutting through the silence.

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  Lucian spun around, his eyes narrowing as he spotted a figure crouched in the water some distance away.

  His heart skipped a beat.

  The figure was a man— a man with his face, his body.

  It was the same visage Lucian had glimpsed in reflective surfaces.

  But there was something different about him, an air of quiet authority and an otherworldly serenity.

  The figure was interacting with one of the glimmering fragments that floated just above the water's surface. His fingers gently brushing against its light.

  Lucian hesitated before stepping closer. "Are you… Lucian? The true Lucian?"

  The figure glanced up, offering a faint smile. "I was."

  Lucian's brows furrowed. "Was?"

  "I am no longer bound to the name," the man said simply, standing. "You have taken that mantle now."

  Lucian's throat tightened. "Where is this place?"

  "The end," came the cryptic reply.

  Lucian felt his chest tighten. "You mean the afterlife?"

  The figure tilted his head. "I suppose that's one way to describe it."

  "I see," Lucian muttered, his shoulders fell. "So I died."

  The man—Lucian, or what was once Lucian—nodded. "You did. And yet, you did not."

  Lucian blinked, confusion clouding his mind. "What do you mean?"

  The other Lucian didn't answer, his smile cryptic.

  After a moment, Lucian pressed on. "Did you… bring me to this world?"

  "No," the figure replied simply. "It is beyond my capacity to do that. If you wish for answers, perhaps you should ask our God."

  "Our God?" Lucian repeated.

  The figure nodded. "The source of our powers. God."

  Lucian's jaw tightened. "How do I speak to Him? How do I find Him?"

  "Call," the original Lucian said, his voice calm, "and you shall be answered."

  Lucian's fists clenched. "The people… your people. They're dying. I need to know—how do I return to them?"

  For a moment, the original Lucian said nothing. Just silently staring at the void, as if listening to something far away.

  Then, with deliberate slowness, he crouched and dipped his hands into the water.

  "Finally. I found you." he murmured, pulling out a single glowing fragment from the depths. It was far brighter than all the others floating in the shallow expanse.

  "Take this," the original Lucian said, extending it toward him.

  "What… is it?" Lucian hesitated before reaching out. The fragment was warm to the touch, its light pulsating like a heartbeat.

  "It's God," the original Lucian said simply.

  Lucian frowned as he analyzed the glowing fragment. "This thing is God?"

  When he looked up again, the original Lucian was gone.

  The world around him shifted violently, the golden city and endless water fracturing like shattered glass.

  Light consumed his vision.

  ---

  Lucian gasped awake, his body aching as though he'd been trampled by a hundred horses.

  He blinked at the familiar ceiling of the convent and realized he was lying on his bed.

  "Father!"

  Marcus's voice broke through the haze, and suddenly the boy was on him, hugging him tightly. Tears streamed down his face, mixing with snot and relief.

  "You're alive!" Marcus sobbed. "You're alive! I thought—" His voice cracked, and he buried his face in Lucian's chest.

  Lucian groaned, the pain in his body sharp and unforgiving. He tried to sit up, but Marcus pushed him back down.

  "Don't move, Father!" Marcus cried. "You'll hurt yourself!"

  Lucian reached out weakly, patting the boy's back. "Marcus… I'm fine."

  "You're not fine!" Marcus protested. "You were bleeding everywhere! I thought I'd lose you! I—" He broke down into uncontrollable sobs.

  Lucian's chest tightened as he looked at the boy. For all his manipulative tendencies, for all his cynicism, the raw emotion in Marcus's voice struck a chord deep within him.

  The sound of hurried footsteps filled the chapel, and moments later, villagers flooded in.

  Old Agnes clutched her husband, both of them smiling through tears. Barret stood near the door, his face uncharacteristically soft. Others followed, their voices overlapping as they expressed relief and joy.

  "Father Lucian, you're awake!"

  "We thought you wouldn't make it!"

  "Thank God!"

  "You saved us!"

  Lucian tried to keep up with the torrent of emotions flooding the room, but his mind was still reeling. Then, a memory struck him like a thunderclap.

  "The monster!" he exclaimed, trying to sit up again. Pain shot through his torso, forcing him back down with a groan.

  "Don't worry," Barret said firmly, stepping forward. "It's over."

  Lucian looked up at him, confused. "Over?"

  Barret nodded. "The monster was defeated. The light you summoned—it destroyed everything that threatened us."

  Lucian stared at him. "It… did?"

  "You did it, Father Lucian," Agnes said softly. "You saved us."

  Another boy chimed in. "But you nearly died. Thankfully, a traveling Paladin was nearby and healed you."

  "A Paladin?" Lucian repeated, his eyebrows raised.

  Behind the crowd, he noticed a tall figure standing silently. The man's black hair shimmered faintly, resembling a starry night sky, and his golden eyes seemed to glow beneath the shadow of his hood.

  The crowd parted as the figure stepped forward, revealing armor of glowing white metal that radiated an almost divine presence.

  Lucian's breath caught as the man approached his bedside. The stranger moved with a grace that seemed unnatural, his every step deliberate.

  Before Lucian could speak, the Paladin knelt beside him, lowering his hood to reveal a strikingly regal face.

  "Your Grace," the man said softly, his deep voice resonating through the room.

  Lucian blinked in confusion. *What is he doing? Is he going to heal me again?*

  But then, to his utter shock, the Paladin gently took Lucian's hand and pressed his lips to it in reverence.

  "What the hell?!" Lucian screamed internally.

  The room fell silent, all eyes on the Paladin.