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Chapter 1 - chapter 1:chosen

In this world, players are warriors of faith. Each belongs to a religion.

Back in 2025, Christianity was the dominant faith.

But over the next 40 years, everything changed.

Christians were persecuted, harassed, murdered, and sold as slaves. Prayers for miracles went unanswered. Hope faded. Millions abandoned the faith and converted to other rising religions.

Now, only 49 Christians remain—the last active representatives. Some of them are conflicted believers, like Solomon Minjin, the 23rd-ranked Player, who has a covenant with Ira, yet claims he is a Christian at heart.

The fall of Christianity was no accident. It was orchestrated by Satan himself—the beautiful fallen angel, the father of lies, the destroyer, the thief.

Mukhutar Alex Potelo, lost his mother six years ago. She died protecting him from the persecutors, and as a child, Alex was taught to be proud of his faith in Jesus….

He preached, stood firm, and even became infamous as "The fool who still believes in a dead God."

Sunday, 6:39 PM – Evening

After church, Mr. Dave Potelo received a devastating call—his house was on fire. He dragged his son, Alex, out of the church, opened the car door as he shed tears, "This is nothing, Satan, I will never curse my god like Job, I will conquer this. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray."

Alex, who is 14 years old, was terrified and sad to see his father shed tears. "Dad, don't cry. Remember, he plans to prosper us, not to harm us…" said Alex, with a smiling face but fear in his eyes.

All there was was an eerie silence.

Dave starts the car…

"What could have happened to Pops? Wait a minute, I forgot to greet her, my future wife Thando, can't wait for the next church service … to see her.". From a distance huge fire was visible to see, making Dave's heart grieve more and more.

Firefighters arrived at the scene.

This fire was no ordinary fire; it couldn't be stopped by water or extinguishers. Their attempts to put it out only made it burn hotter and grow larger.

Firefighters stood frozen and watched as Alex's sibling screamed for help. They bowed their heads, apologizing for their failure to help.

Dave dropped to the ground.

"GOD, are you seeing this? Are you listening? Why? W-why?!"

Alex, hearing his sibling's voice crying: "Help! Alex, brother, help me! Brother, help!"

Alex ran toward the fire, reaching for the door, the excessive heat burning through his pants. Without thinking, he took off his pants, risking life-threatening burns.

But, the knob wouldn't twist…

"No, no, no-" he whispered to himself. "You have to believe that they will be okay."

Alex went to the front window, tried to break it, but failed.

"We tried everything—from windows to walls. Unfortunately, boy, it's the end for your sister," said one of the firefighters.

"Thembi, you could fit through, right ?" asked Alex.

Thembi, Alex's younger sister, responded, "I tried before the firefighters arrived, even after they came, and still failed."

A firefighter approached Alex With a forced smile and said, "Good news, kid, your sister is getting out of there. Our guy rushed to fetch some tools to crack open this window,".

Alex didn't want to get excited for no reason, so he went to comfort and wait with his father, Dave.

19:34…20:23

Nothing happened. Everyone was on edge, waiting for the firefighter to come with the tools.

A voice screamed, "Daddy! Brother!"

Dave, fighting his grief and heart, didn't hear anything—a man with his mind needing to be comforted.

Thembi, sitting down behind the door. Alex sat on the other side, avoiding all the flames.

"Themba is missing," said Thembi.

Alex felt hopeless and powerless.

"Am I going to die, brother? Am I going to Heaven?"

His eyes widened.

"Thembi, I don't know what to tell you right now, but it hurts to lose a family member. I don't want to go through it again. Let's believe…"

"Brother, the fire is getting close to me. I'm scared to…"

"I know I will die, but God can perform a miracle—or use you as a testimony to prove He exists. Like Mom used to say, don't be…"

"No, brother! I'm scared to hurt you."

Alex tore off his T-shirt as it caught fire. Thembi walked from the door to the window, tears streaming down her face.

She sang her favorite song, written by Alex on her 9th birthday:

"You are the best sister anyone could ask for.

Before, you were just a brat—

Behaved like one, looked like a rat—

But clearly, I wasn't seeing,

Because you are beautiful, my princess,

My princess with a heart so pure, it heals…"

Alex stood up and walked to the window, wiping tears from his face.

"I wrote that song as a last resort, since I forgot your birthday. I knew that without a present, you'd make a fuss… Is this our last conversation? Because I thought we'd talk about this when we were both parents, married, not when you're kicking the bucket. It's sad how this dream is dying."

"You never told me 'I love you.' Since it's our last time… do you mind?"

"Hey, big bro, remember me when you're alone… hehe. Be the best you can be. Always know, even though we fight every day, I will always be your little princess. Love you."

She thought, I can hear Mom's voice… Big bro, even if I were given a chance to be reborn, I would still—maybe—choose a rich life… actually, no. I would choose to be your little sister every time.

A crack.

The roof collapsed.

A mysterious note appeared on the neighbor's wall:

"Soul for soul. Find me at Monster's Lair. We will be waiting."

Alex saw it and called his father to come and see.

For the next two years, Alex searched dungeon after dungeon, chasing that one lead. He never found it.

One day, other players cornered him.

"Do you really think your sister is still alive after six years? Come on."

Alex clenched his fists.

"Yes. I believe my God—Jesus Christ, the only true God—has kept her safe."

They burst out laughing, their faces red with mockery.

"Alex, you know I love you, right?" one player said.

Alex flinched. "No. You don't. You hate me."

The player's smile dropped.

"It's done for me. Haven't I struggled enough?"

He slapped Alex so hard that the boy flew through two dungeon walls. Blood burst from his nose, painting his clothes red.

"Maybe I should give up. What if they're right? She's dead… in some dungeon where demons roam free."

Alex's thoughts spiraled. "Maybe… there's no… God."

Bruised and broken, he lay there—motionless, hollow. Silence wrapped around him like a shroud.

Then, suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind.

It was unfamiliar, yet soothing. He had never heard it before, but somehow… it felt known.

Warm. Gentle. Comforting.

As if someone were beside him—watching, caring. As if he weren't alone anymore.

"Wake up, my son. I have heard from you many times, but I couldn't give you what you wanted… because you weren't ready."

Alex gritted his teeth. "Why don't you unleash your wrath on those who curse your followers? Why don't you give us power—like the false gods do?!"

"Truly I tell you: I love the good and the bad.

Those with faith will be rewarded.

Those who repay evil with evil… are no different than murderers.

The power you seek is already within you. Just have faith."

Then—silence. The voice of God faded from Alex's ears.

The Players returned, laughing.

"Let's kill him. Nobody will know."

Alex, bleeding, eyes wide with fear, stood and ran.

They just watched, laughing, as the powerless boy limped away from death.

But on that day, something shifted in Heaven.

The Jesus Guild was born.

After 46 years of silence, God gave ten Christians divine gifts.

In every religion, gods grant their Players supernatural powers—teleportation, invisibility, and more.

But Christianity was… different.

They had nothing until now.

Alex was one of the chosen ten.

As he ran, praying desperately to be delivered, a mysterious man descended from above—a Player exploring the dungeon.

He saw Alex and called out, "Are you Mukhutar?"

Alex hesitated. Should I say yes? Wouldn't that bring even more trouble?

But deep down, he knew.

"Yeah," Alex replied.

The man smiled and dropped from the air, slamming one of the attacking Players into the ground.

He flashed a glowing badge in the shape of a cross. The man said, "Welcome."

A Christian Guild badge.

"You're lucky," the man said, turning to Alex. "You're one of us."

Alex's eyes widened. "A Jesus Guild? Does it exist?"

Then a voice echoed in Alex's soul, with a mysterious and irritating tone:

"Pass this test, and we will choose you."

But he didn't know that the Devil was the one behind the test.

Was Alex truly chosen by God—or by Satan?

[LORE FILE #034 – JESUS GUILD

Founded in 2065 by Michael Johnson—the last living man to have received a divine vision from God. A former atheist scientist turned prophet, he claimed to have seen "The Throne Room of the Almighty" after surviving a Vorvax massacre that wiped out his entire family.

The Jesus Guild is the only faction of Christian Players who possess supernatural gifts. These powers are not elemental or demonic but are rooted in biblical faith, virtue, and divine authority.

Their abilities are unpredictable and unreplicable.

Guild Status: Extremely rare. Only ten active members exist globally.

Notable Powers:

Divine Creation: Ability to create anything—from souls to entire new worlds.

Divine Tongue: Ability to manipulate anything through words.

Divine Territory Art: Ability that unleashes Heaven and Hell on Earth.

Divine Eye: An eye that sees the future movements of its user and opponents.

Objective: Not domination. Not revenge. Just one thing, prepare the way for Christ's return.]

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