Chapter 1 – Memento Vita
During one night, Morto hears a voice
in the night that wakes him up saying, “I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have
heard my people cry. Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send?”
Getting up, he answers the call, “I
will go, Lord. If You lead me, I will hold Your people in my heart.”
He then goes back to sleep thinking
that it was a dream, however, when he wakes up, the village mystic comes to his
house and informs his parents that God has called Morto to life. The mystic
tries to talk to Morto but doesn’t find him in his bed. Instead, the mystic
finds Morto near the road he must take to be born. Morto stands motionless as
if waiting for the voice to lead him as he said.
“What are you waiting for, Morto?”
the mystic asks.
“I don’t know, sir. The Lord called
out to me, but I don’t know what to do.”
“Part of you already does know what
to do. Our belief is a belief of death. God
kills men's sin so they may be brought to life while those who cling to sin die
once then twice along with the world. So it is so it shall forever be. You must
walk the path God has laid before you to be born.”
Looking back at his village, he
sees the people who have been called to be born. These people who refused the call
are rotting skeletons whose bones slowly turn to ash as their body decomposes
and falls apart. He is a skeleton like them though his bones are strong. No one
in his village has been born except for the mystic who has leathery skin that he
has to restore every now and then to keep his humanity and to keep the skin on
his skeleton. The village is a rotting and decomposing place where crops and
livestock struggle to stay alive as the ashes from the people’s skeletons poison
everything around them.
“You don’t think it was a dream, do
you? Why would I be called out of everyone here?” Morto asks.
“God sees you in something that no
one else here has. You aren’t as dead as everyone else here.”
“What about you? Why can’t you save
us?”
“Well, you see-”
As the mystic puts his arm on Morto,
it falls off. Seeing this, Morto heads off on the path God has put him on.
“I see now. I’ll be going off then,”
Morto says while walking off.
The mystic puts his arm back on and
smiles as he is confident that Morto will achieve his call. As Morto walks through
the forest, he tries to ignore distant sounds of something that sounds inhuman
and other sounds of distress. He eventually makes it to a bridge with a living
cross at the top of an arch that towers over a gate.
This living cross says, “God has
informed me that you will be passing through here. Listen to what I have to say
and you will safely continue on your journey.”
“Aren’t you Saint Patior? I’ve
heard about you before. What is it painful when you made your body into a
cross?”
“It wasn’t as painful as the moment
I learned the cost of my sins. This pain I suffer is comforting as it is my penance
for the sins of the world and those who have yet to be fully born. Be thankful
that your fate isn’t mine, but it will be terrible if you do not listen to what
I have to say. The so-called Saint Aurum wanders the dead forest ahead of you. If
he chases you, run back to me and I will take care of him.”
“Wasn’t Saint Aurum one of the most
virtuous knights who rode on a unicorn and disappeared after he tried to erase
his pride, which was the last only sin he struggled with?”
“Not everyone who answers God’s
call will become a saint especially if they choose to walk the path in their
own way. Do not be fooled by people who call themselves saints.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll do as you say.”
The dead forest that Morto enters
is full of skeletal trees with trunks that are broken apart and filled with insects
that feed on it and make it their home. It appears as if a battle happened in
the forest because of how much is broken, however, that isn’t the case. A sound
in this dead place gets Morto to turn to it as he finds a unicorn that
approaches him.
“Aren’t you Saint Aurum’s unicorn?
What are you doing here? Where’s your owner?” Morto says to it.
Once the unicorn gets closer to Morto,
it tilts its head then violently shakes before the skeletal hands and feet of a
man pop out of the unicorn. A head with an elongated spine comes out of the
skeleton’s mouth and curiously looks at Morto as it circles him.
“Ah, you’re a rare sight. Your
bones don’t rot or have clear signs of damage. Have you recently come to life or
are you on the road to life now? Oh, but first, where are my manners? My name
is Saint Aurum. What is yours?”
“My name is Morto, and I am on the
road to life.”
“Where are you going specifically?
A church? A town? A forest or a mountain?”
“I don’t know actually. God just
got me up and gave me a direction to go in.”
“Simple directions for a simple
boy. I’d say you were lost and a bit stupid, but no boy is stupid when he trusts
God. Truly, it takes great faith to trust in such vague directions. It’s no
wonder why your skeleton hardly has any decomposition on it.”
“Thank you for your compliments.”
“To be honest, I’m a little
jealous. You’re in better condition than I was before I got my skin.”
“Why do you have a horse’s skin
anyway?”
“Because I have been blessed for my
virtue that is greater than most men.”
“That can’t be right. Man is made
in the image of God. What could be better than looking human?”
“Are you doubting my virtue, boy?”
“No, I’m just saying what
everything gets when they come to life. They become human not horse.”
“You are mocking me! I knew it!”
Saint Aurum says as he attacks Morto with the horn on his head. “I am more than
human! My virtue has allowed me to ascend beyond it!”
Morto starts running away as Saint
Aurum chases him in a rage. In his attempt to slow the mad saint down, Morto
snakes through the decaying trees only for the saint to tear through the trees
as if they were made of simple wood. The bridge is in sight; however, Saint
Aurum catches up to Morto and tosses him up in the air with his horn and sends
him flying across the bride. Feeling nothing, Morto gets up and waits for Saint
Patior to spring his trap.
“You’re nothing but bones, and yet,
you aren’t damaged at all. What makes you so special?” Saint Aurum says before
charging at Morto.
Saint Patior slams the gates down
on Saint Aurum to crush him in two to bring an end to the mad saint.
“Poor soul, blinded by pride, I
hope God grants you mercy,” Saint Patior says as Saint Aurum’s body turns to
ash.
“Did he really wear the skin of his
unicorn?” Morto asks.
“Yes, he did. He was dissatisfied with
obtaining human skin after his many callings to life, so he tore off his
humanity and wore the skin of his unicorn as a way of showing people his virtue,
but he showed his insanity instead.”
“Thank you for your help.”
“Thank the Lord as well. You are
safe to continue forward, and even though I do not know what dangers lie ahead of
you, I can see that your future is bright.”
Saint Patior opens the gate and
lets Morto through as he continues his journey to life undeterred and naive of what’s
next for him.
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