Prologue: The Beginning of the Legend
I want to be a Saint.
Only one reason lay behind Yuffie Abisus’s deepest desire.
“Yuffie, you’re always alone.”
To erase those infuriating words from her life.
Roughly a thousand people lived in the village of Millil. Its singular distinctive feature was that it produced mountains of burdock. Otherwise, its presence in the magical Kingdom of Elvador was as weak as that of Yuffie herself.
And Yuffie was a resident of said village. She’d been born lighter than most other children, growing up with an appetite below average, and ended up with a body as frail as burdock root. She was pale and spindly, her hair a dull gray.
When she turned three years old, her parents sent her off to the village’s sole place of learning—the church. “Goodness, I hope you can make lots of friends, sweetheart.” Those words her mother uttered might as well have been a curse because her peers quickly christened her with the nickname “Ghost.”
While it definitely bothered her to be treated the same as some F-rank monster living a quiet life in a cave, her coloring, plus her tendency to fade into the background, meant she didn’t have a comeback either. Besides, she wasn’t close enough to anyone to talk to them, so it was physically impossible for her to argue back. Neither her small frame nor her timidity helped her case; she always stared at the ground with her back hunched over. Additionally, she struggled to communicate with others and genuinely enjoyed being independent. Before she realized it, the people around her often said this one thing to Yuffie.
“Yuffie, you’re always alone.”
Mom, I’m sorry… I couldn’t make any friends.
Her only “friend” in school was the nun, whom she paired up with any time an activity required a partner, such as eating lunches on field trips. Otherwise, she always sat alone in a corner of the classroom. That was the girl named Yuffie Abisus.
The turning point in her life came when she was six years old. With the church closed that day, she had nothing to do, so she just lazed around at home.
“Welcome, Saint, welcome!”
“Lady Saint! Look this way!”
“It’s the Saint! It’s the Saint!”
A sort of commotion had erupted outside. Curious, she quietly poked her head out the window to take a peek. A crowd had gathered in the square in front of the house. Her eyes were drawn to a woman in the middle of the throng, a mix of people of all ages.
“She’s so pretty…” The murmur fell naturally from Yuffie’s lips.
Even through the water-stained window, the woman looked incredibly radiant. Yuffie’s innocent, childlike mind thought of her as an enormous jewel. The Saint’s figure was slender, and her skin was white and smooth as porcelain. Her silver hair, which reached down to her back, shone like silk. In her right hand, she held a staff adorned with a blue jewel. The habit she wore was similar to those worn by the nuns at church, but hers was much more luxurious and fine, like the feathery robes of an angel. The woman’s expression was calm and so kind that it made her smile. She seemed to possess a compassion capable of encompassing all the sadness and suffering of the world.
“Oh my, the Saint is here.”
Yuffie’s mother had been standing next to her for a while, her gaze gentle.
“The Saint?”
“Yes. She’s an amazing person who can use magic.”
“Magic…”
At the time, she didn’t know much about magic, so she didn’t really understand what a Saint was or how amazing she could be. There was no one in the village who could use magic, and the church never taught her about the subject either. It was much later when Yuffie learned that magic in this world was rare, and only nobles who lived in cities, such as the royal capital, could use it.
All of a sudden, a man walked up to the Saint. It was hard to distinguish the faces of the people crowding around her, but she immediately knew it was Mr. Ed because of his missing arm. Mr. Ed ran a produce shop with his wife, and apparently lost his right arm in a monster attack in the forest a long time ago. Yuffie had met him a few times. Each time, she hid behind her mother out of shyness, so she’d never actually spoken to him.
The Saint raised her staff to the sky and chanted something at him. At that moment, Mr. Ed’s right arm began to shine brightly.
“Wow…”
For the first time in her life, Yuffie witnessed magic. His right arm, which he should have never been able to touch or see again, appeared whole and well—like nothing had ever happened.
The crowd erupted in excitement.
“It’s a miracle!!”
“As expected of the Saint!!”
As everyone shouted words of praise for the Saint, Mr. Ed stared at his hand long and hard. He stroked it with his other hand with an expression of disbelief, and eventually, tears spilled from his eyes as emotion overcame him. He wrapped his newly born arm, created by the Saint’s miracle, firmly around his wife’s back. Tears welled up in her eyes, too.
The villagers all gazed at the Saint with admiration and respect. The eyes of Yuffie’s classmates, who always looked at her like she was a withered weed, also glowed.
She’s…amazing… A shiver wracked her body. Deep in her mind, Yuffie thought how incredible it was to see the power that had restored Mr. Ed’s lost arm in an instant. But she had another thought too. I’m jealous…
When her very existence wasn’t much different from that of a rock lying around, it was inevitable that she would admire the Saint, surrounded and adored by so many people.
I want to…use magic, too!
Without even realizing it, she had run out of the house.
“Oh my goodness! Yuffie, wait!”
She heard her mother’s surprised voice from behind, but kept running.
I need to use it! Fast!
Her body moved before she could think it through.
If Yuffie had just asked her mother about magic at that moment, the fate of the world wouldn’t have been decided by one girl.
And so, she set foot in the forest on the outskirts of the village. She ran, letting her excitement get the better of her. Unfortunately, exercise wasn’t part of her daily routine, so exhaustion hit quickly. She felt like she’d throw up if she weren’t careful. In fact, she did vomit a little.
But Yuffie quickly recovered. She was going to use magic now. At the thought, an uncontrollable sense of elation whirled in her chest.
“I hope…I can use magic like the Saint…”
She clenched her fist tightly. Her gaze, always pointed down at the ground thanks to her hunched posture, now faced forward.
“And then I’ll be popular too…!”
An image of a new world bloomed in her mind.
“You can use such wonderful magic! You’re amazing, Yuffie!”
“That’s incredible, Yuffie! Show me more!”
“Eeek! Look this way, Lady Yuffie!”
“Heh… Heh heh heh…”
Uh-oh, she was drooling. She wiped at her wet mouth and fantasized about using magic adroitly to become popular. Then she closed her eyes, held out both hands in front of her, and imagined it. The magic the Saint used. That sparkling, beautiful magic that made it possible to achieve things that could only be thought of as miracles. She concentrated hard and visualized. And then, gradually, a gentle warmth began to envelop both of her palms.
On that day, a crater of unknown origin appeared in the forest on the outskirts of the village of Millil.