Year 725
"I'm bored. Why can't we decide their missions ourselves?"
"Please, not again. You know very well that it's the command that decides where we send the kids."
This was a recurring discussion between Tamo and Tile, the two guards of nursery 42 on planet Vegeta. It had to be said that there wasn't much to do, the babies were managed by machines. Their only job was to prepare them for missions or intervene manually in case of a problem. And given the low number of missions assigned to second-rate warriors lately, they spent most of their time sitting at their desks playing cards or dozing. After their 35th card game of the day, Tamo had collapsed on the table to try to sleep while Tile read the latest news on his tablet.
"Come on, there are dozens of kids here, if we send one to a quiet planet, he can raze it in a single full moon. Then we can sell it on the sly and that gives us a little bonus on the payroll." Tamo said, raising his head.
"I don't want to get pulverized by an angry father because you decided to send his kid without permission to get 10,000 credits." Tile sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Relax, we just have to send #23. I heard from Tapate that her parents have been missing for 6 months and that the credits left in advance to keep her are almost exhausted. No one will come to claim her if she doesn't come back." Tamo said, straightening up, looking more motivated.
Sensing his colleague was about to give in, Tamo added another layer: "Imagine the beautiful gift you could give your sweetheart with this little bonus."
"Okay, do you have a planet in sight?" Tile relented.
"A new planet has been discovered, T493. Experts say it could sell for a pretty sum, but not enough to interest hunters. Based on the estimated strength of the inhabitants, even a baby could clear it in a few months. "
"Alright. I 'll take care of the kid, you prepare a shuttle discreetly."
A few hours later, baby #23 left for planet T493, carrying with her the hope of Tamo and Tile. Unfortunately for them, the two friends were finally sent on a mission to another planet , with no way to get news of their investment. In the absence of official mission archives, baby #23 was reported missing...
Three months later
In a cotton field, a figure could be seen working the land, the setting sun casting its shadow behind him. This farmer, named Mig, was a well-built man with rosy skin, like all Corasians. The harvest was approaching and according to him, it would be fruitful. His prayers to Shala, goddess of the harvest were heard. Part of the harvest would of course be intended for the temple, in order to thank the priests for their prayers and their teachings.
"Phew, that's it for today." Mig breathed out, satisfied but exhausted as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Looking up, he noticed a star brighter than the others in the constellation of Amonkira. Besides, come to think of it, he didn't remember having seen this star before in the bow of the God of Hunters.
Is this star moving or what? A shooting star or a divine sign? Mig thought.
The star was getting closer and closer to him. Squinting, he made out that it was a spherical object that was going to crash into my field! Oh no! He threw himself to the ground and the sphere passed over his head then crashed not far from there with a deafening crash, raising an enormous cloud of dust and earth.
Hopefully my field won't be hit. Mig thought as he cautiously approached the crater. At the bottom of it was a white, motionless metal sphere, still smoking slightly after the impact. As Mig advanced towards the sphere, it suddenly opened. Mig jumped back and fell to the ground. After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, he decided to move: nothing was happening.
Mig stood up and approached the open part of the sphere. Inside, a naked baby was sleeping peacefully. This baby was very different from the Corasian babies. Their skin was whiter, they had black hair in two pigtails and a strange fur belt around their waist. He examined the baby more closely and noticed two things: first it was a girl, if the morphology was similar to that of his people, and second what he took for a belt was in reality a tail similar to that of the monkeys living on the planet. Mig was torn between the desire to take care of the baby and the fear of this strange alien.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by a call from outside the crater.
"Hey! Is there anyone in there?"
Recognizing the voice of Jun, one of the temple guards, Mig answered him "Yes, down here. It's me, Mig. Jun, come help me."
"Praise the goddess, you're fine, Mig. When we saw the meteorite crash into your field, we thought the worst." Jun told him, jumping into the bottom of the crater. Jun was a 16-year-old Corasian boy with a shaved head, purple eyes, and well-defined muscles from his training as a temple guard.
"This strange sphere flew over me closely but I'm fine. I came down out of curiosity. Look inside Jun, there's a strange baby sleeping. I think it 's an alien."
As he approached, with more confidence than Mig, Jun observed the baby with a look that mixed compassion and distrust. This was, to his knowledge, the first time an alien had landed on their planet. And what kind of people would send a baby alone to another planet.
Approaching closer, he grabbed the child to take her out of her strange sphere. The moment he touched her, he felt a strange sensation coming from the baby, as if he had dipped his hand in iced water. Yet, the baby's skin was warm. He had never felt this before.
Corasians possessed an innate ability that allowed them to "feel" a person's heart. The sacred texts of Ishtar, the goddess of love and compassion, even spoke of a technique that could draw evil from a heart. However, only the high priests of Ishtar possessed the skills to perform it. According to the texts, the goddess Ishtar used this technique to drive evil from the hearts of the Corasians and thus put an end to the war raging on the planet more than 500 years ago . Since that day, the malevolence had completely disappeared from the planet Cora, so much that the police and armies had been dismantled. Guards like him still existed, however it was more by tradition than by real necessity. Now, they assisted the population by carrying out various tasks such as moving heavy loads or repelling predators.
This cold feeling when touching the child, could it be due to the presence of darkness in her heart? But how could such a young child already be evil? Jun thought.
"This is beyond me," Jun confessed. "I have to take her to the temple. I think Father will know what to do."
Mig nodded, after all Cal, Jun's father, was a high priest of the goddess Ishtar and the most important person in the region, sent by the council of elders of the capital themselves. He would surely know what to do. Jun floated gently out of the crater then quickly headed towards the temple, splitting the skies.
It took Jun only a few minutes to reach the temple. He went without delay to find his father in his quarters, under the intrigued gaze of the priests and the faithful present in the temple. He knocked on the door then entered after receiving his father's permission.
Inside was an imposing Corasian : pink skin, 1m90, wearing the blue tunic of the high priests of Ishtar. Despite these loose clothings, one could easily see the priest's bulging muscles. Most priests practiced martial arts, not to fight but rather to achieve serenity and self-control. However the smile and warmth present in the eyes of the man in front of him softened his intimidating look.
The walls of the round room were covered with bookcases. A table stood in the center of the room, allowing the study of the many books and sacred texts stored inside. Jun knew this room well, having followed his father's teachings there for a long time before joining the temple guard. The little girl in his arms made him wonder if the goddess Ishtar's technique of purifying evil was detailed in one of the many books in the room.
"My son, what was the cause of that noise you heard a while ago?" Cal asked. "And was it related to the child you are carrying? I don't remember a recent birth in the village?"
"Father, the noise was caused by a strange ship crashing into Mig's field. Only this child was inside."
"A ship falling from the sky?" Cal asked in surprise. After all, nothing like this had happened before. Was it a divine message?
"I think so. I've never seen anything like it. It looks like a white metallic sphere. I thought it would be best to bring the child back to you. Besides..." Jun trailed off, searching for words to describe the strange feeling he had felt when he touched the child.
"Well, talk Jun." Cal said reassuringly, sensing his son was troubled.
Taking a breath to calm himself, Jun continued: "This child is not Corasian,. As you can see, her skin is whiter than ours and she has a strange tail similar to that of a monkey. And I felt a strange sensation when I touched her, as if my hand had frozen at the touch." At these words, Cal paled slightly and his eyes widened.
"Let me examine her, son." Cal said authoritatively, before gently taking the child into his arms. The moment he touched her, he felt the numb sensation his son had described.
It's impossible, Cal thought, according to the sacred texts, only completely malevolent beings can generate such a strong physical reaction. Who is this child? I have to test her to be sure.
Before he could examine the child in more detail, she opened her eyes. She stared at him with eyes as black as her hair. Then, with a force far greater than that of a child so young, she struck him in the face with one of her feet.
Surprised by the shock, he almost let go of the child. Such strength! he thought, an ordinary man would have been stunned by such a blow. The child struggled in his arms but could not free herself from Cal's strong but gentle hold.
He felt sorry for this child, lost, the only representative of her species, on an unknown planet and surrounded by people different from her. Anyone would panic in this situation.
He absolutely had to check the child's heart and for that, make sure she would stay still. Pressing lightly on the base of her neck, he managed to knock her out without making her suffer or risking injury. He placed her on the table, then began to chant the incantation allowing one to observe the purity of a heart. He hoped that the technique would work on the alien because to his knowledge it had never been used on any other species than a Corasian.
At the end of his incantation, a black spot appeared on the child's chest. "By Ishtar! I never thought I'd see such a black heart." Cal cried. Jun approached and, seeing the darkness of the spot, prayed to Ishtar to save this child. How could such a young being carry so much evil within her.
"I need to gather the other priests quickly," Cal announced, "The purification ritual must be performed as soon as possible. According to the texts, the sooner it is performed, the greater the chance of success."
The ritual must work or she must be disposed of. Cal thought, his heart heavy at the thought of harming such a young child. Still, it would be necessary to kill her if the ritual failed. He couldn't let the evil return to Cora.
The day after
"Brothers, I thank you for moving so quickly," Cal announced to the four priests in his office.
"Unfortunately the situation is serious. Yesterday, a sphere from the stars crashed not far from here. Inside was an alien child, given her size I think she is less than a year old if her development is similar to ours." said Cal. The other priests remained speechless... A child from the stars, what a surprise!
"But why was she sent here ? Did you find anything else in this sphere?" asked Rol, one of the priests.
"No, the ship contained no comprehensible information. The papers found inside are in an alien language. Nothing appears to have been transmitted to aid translation. Furthermore, this ship is unlike anything known, filled with buttons and lights that flash strangely behind small glass windows."
The priests were increasingly intrigued by this new situation. What mysteries could possibly exist among the stars?
"This is all very strange, but let's get back to your message. You said you had to perform the purification ritual quickly? Is the child that bad?" Cha, the only priestess in the group, asked him.
"Unfortunately yes." Cal sighed, thinking back to the previous evening. After examining her, he had entrusted the child to the temple servants who had placed her in one of the reception rooms. Knocked out, she should have remained unconscious until at least the morning. However, only two hours later, she had woken up and started destroying everything around the room. The maids were frightened by the child. He had to knock her out a second time, then give her powerful sedatives to keep her asleep.
"This child is extremely violent. It is impossible to know if it is because of trauma or if it is in the nature of her species. If you are ready, I would like to begin the ritual as soon as possible." Cal asked them. They all nodded.
"Then let's go without further delay. I've already prepared the room and my son is with her." Cal said as he stood up.
In the ritual room
Everything was ready. The girl was placed on an altar, in the center of a circle drawn with a mixture of milk and fruit juice, symbolizing the purity of nature and the benevolence of the goddess Ishtar.
Around the altar, the five priests began their incantations after a short prayer to the goddess to grant her blessing to the child.
The circle grew brighter and brighter . The ritual had begun.
The purification ritual removes evil from a person's heart. It is said to have been created by Ishtar herself and passed on to the Corasians in order to end the Great Unification War. The subject of the ritual must be placed in the center of a circle drawn with elements related to the richness of nature and fertility. For the ritual to be most effective, an odd number of priests are required: three, five, or seven. The priest leading the ceremony then begins the prayer of Ishtar's Blessing (see Chapter 4, Part 2), which is repeated successively by the other priests in canon in a clockwise direction around the circle.
The ritual takes between 30 and 45 minutes in most cases. If no results are obtained after an hour, it is because the evil is too installed in the heart of the victim.
It is not recommended to extend the ritual beyond 90 minutes because this could have serious consequences on the subject as well as on the priests: injuries, permanent loss of sensation in the limbs up to the death of the participants.
"Cal, it's been over an hour and the ritual isn't taking," Cha cried. "We need to stop now before it's too late."
"No way, I refuse to give up. I'm sure we can do this." Cal replied, his face tight with concentration. However, he too was beginning to doubt the success of the ritual.
"We have no choice, we must proceed to the evil containment ritual." Rol shouted from the other side of the circle. "It's either that or death awaits us all!"
The confinement ritual is much more dangerous but it's true that it's the only chance I have left to save the little girl, Cal thought.
"Alright, now we move on to the containment ritual. Prepare to start the new incantations after me." Cal announced to the other priests. They nodded decisively.
If the purification ritual fails, it is possible to perform the ritual of containment of evil. Unlike the purification ritual which removes the darkness from a heart by the Blessing of Ishtar, the containment ritual calls upon the Blessing of Arashu, goddess of protection and motherhood, in order to imprison the evil in the heart of the subject. This ritual is more powerful but also more dangerous because it requires more power from the priests. In addition, the darkness can be released from the heart of the subject following a violent trauma. This ritual should therefore only be used as a last resort. In the last 500 years, it has only been used once and cost the life of one of the priests involved in the ritual.
"This book hasn't been updated in a while, at least 12 years, although the descriptions of the rituals remain correct. Luckily no one died during my ritual, I don't think I could have forgiven myself for that." a female voice said as she closed the book she was reading.
The reader had pale skin, much whiter than the pink usually present among Corasians, black eyes filled with warmth and long black hair tied in two pigtails on either side of her face.
The baby found in Mig's field had grown up quite a bit over the past 12 years. Her adoptive father, Cal, had named her Estrella, or star in old Corasian, but she preferred to be called Trella.
She was still small compared to other children her age, but she didn't despair of growing up. After all, maybe girls of her kind grew up later than Corasians. At least that's what she told herself when Jun, her big brother, teased her about her height. According to her father, she even had a tail when she arrived on the planet. She was glad to have lost it after the ritual. Even if the children at her school never made fun of her differences, she wondered if a tail wouldn't have been too weird for them.
She had celebrated her 12th birthday last week. Her birthday had been chosen on the day of the ritual, the day she was reborn as a Corasian. She was quickly adopted by Cal and his wife Macha. She adored her parents, even knowing that they were not her biological parents. When she was 8 years old, she had asked them in tears why she was so different from the others. They had then revealed to her everything they knew about her origins, how she had been found in a strange sphere from the stars as well as the confinement ritual that had been performed.
She was a little sad not knowing where it came from. Despite the efforts of various priests, no information could be extracted from her strange vessel and it had ended up being kept at the Great Temple of Ishtar in the capital. She had seen it for the first time during her first pilgrimage to the Temple with her father and Jun but had not been able to approach it. And it was not for lack of trying… During the two weeks spent at the Great Temple during each pilgrimage, she had tried to enter the vessel many times. But each time, Cha was there to stop her. It had become a game, she would come up with new ways to sneak into the vessel, only Cha was always several steps ahead. She always ended up catching her, with a small amused smile, before taking her back to her room or showing her new places in the capital. These little adventures had brought them closer and she now considered Cha like an aunt.
On the other hand, if she was already filled with darkness when she was young, she wasn't really sure if she wanted to know her family. That was one of the things that terrified her, had she been cast out of her home planet because she was too evil or were all members of her species, if they still existed, like her?
She had long been terrified that one day, the containment of the evil in her heart would disappear and she would become a monster. It was for this reason that she had chosen to join the order of Ishtar at a very young age, in order to become a priestess of the goddess of love, like her father.
She was very gifted, the best of her age in the temple school. She did everything to make her parents proud of her. The meditation techniques she had learned allowed her to calm her anxieties and clear her mind.
But, the subject in which she excelled was Fura, the combat technique of the priests of Ishtar. Fura was taught in addition to meditation techniques because it allowed the priests to have a robust body and a calm mind, which was necessary to perform the various rituals of communion with the gods.
"She's a prodigy like I've never seen. You'd think she had fighting in her blood," her instructor had told her father. She could have even become a priestess of Beerus, the god of destruction, if the Corasians had continued to honor the cat god. But her cult had disappeared at the end of the Great War, abandoned for other, less aggressive cults.
At 8 years old, she was already on par with Jun. She trained constantly in the hopes of becoming powerful enough to become a high priestess and protect as many people as possible. The Corasians had welcomed her with open arms, never making fun of her or treating her differently even though she was not born on this planet. She wanted to thank them by protecting them, at the risk of her life if necessary. Of course, there was not much danger on Cora but she felt that it was her duty.
On her last birthday, she had finally managed to beat her father. When he hugged her to congratulate her, he told her in a low voice that he was proud of her and that she would be able to become a great priestess.
Having finished her studies for the day, she skipped out of the temple and headed towards the hill where she used to train. Her life was perfect and she thanked the gods for it.
She had no idea that her paradise would soon turn into a nightmare.
On Planet Vegeta
"Lord Frieza is angry, he wants more planets. Send more warriors, even to planets considered insignificant. We need results, and fast!"
That day, several dozen Saiyans left on a mission, including two to the planet T493, Cora.
Hello, welcome to the English version of Kalahira, Goddess of Justice, the translation of my French story. It'll be the same story, just translated.