"What the…" Rakna muttered as Flavia led him to the highest floor of a very lavish hotel. If he had to compare it to Earth standards, he would probably need more than five stars to properly rate it.
"You three have been spending your nights here? On the highest floor?"
She nodded.
"How much does it even cost?"
"Hm? I don't know," Flavia tilted her head with her hand on her chin. "Vera just gave it to us as a gift for joining the Wiccan Guild."
"…how happy was that woman to have recruited you?" Rakna deadpanned. "Alexa, do you have the prices for this place?" He asked as they entered an elevator.
[Affirmative. But you can look them up yourself on your HL if you wish so. They should be present on the website of the hotel.]
"Black Steel has internet?" The therian blinked and opened the menu of his HL. With just a thought, the device immediately connected to a hotspot and opened a navigation tab. "…I don't know what to say anymore. The fantasy just vanished," he muttered blankly as he inputted the name of the hotel.
Once the results were in, his eye twitched.
"{Hm, the typical price is about 35 000 Talys per night,}" Fray commented. "{The highest floor is VIP only. The fixed cost for a night is… 100 000 Talys per night. Quite expensive.}"
"…out of pure curiosity, for how long did Vera rent the room?"
"She said it was good for 1 year."
Rakna nearly choked. '36 500 000 Talys… the rich will always be the rich, huh?'
"{It's not that much. My home in Old Eden was worth two billion back in the day. I wonder if they preserved it after my death…}"
'…I don't want to hear about how wealthy you were… Rather, why didn't you give me some when we went through your test?'
"{I see your priorities are as pertinent as always,}" Fray retorted. "{What? Was the Heavenly Chaos Box not enough for you.}"
'If you were going to be that generous for just listening to three of your silly fables, it wouldn't have mattered if you had gone a bit further, no?' Rakna retorted shamelessly as the elevator stopped.
"{…I am now wondering if I should have just waited a few additional centuries in my oasis instead of subjecting myself to one such as you.}"
Rakna ignored Fray's existential crisis and followed Flavia into a luxurious hallway. It was also very spacious. In fact, the building itself seemed to have a surface area of around ten thousand square meters; quite a bit more than Earth's norms.
"It's this one," Flavia said as she stopped next to a door labeled '907'. She pulled out an ID card and swiped it in front of a scanner on the wall. The entrance opened automatically after and when they went inside, Rakna sighed.
"This is more of an apartment than anything," he muttered as he looked at the literal living room and the small kitchen. Everything was looking like the cutting edge of technology and the view of outside through the window was enchanting.
"Oh, you're back…" Evelyn said as she came out of a room wearing a dressing gown. "How did the Dunge-!" She quickly stopped herself when she finally took a proper look at the entrance and who was standing there. Her face flushed and she unconsciously glanced at her attire before rushing back inside the room with a muffled yep.
When the door slammed closed behind her, Rakna blinked and Flavia sighed. "I did tell them you were coming…" She muttered and walked further inside.
At the same time, Nyx came out from the room as well, and unlike her forerunner, she was wearing proper clothes and she quickly noticed their guest. "So, that's why Evelyn ran in like she was being chased by the devil itself," she jested.
"That's an exaggeration!" The succubus' outraged voice sounded from the other side of the wall.
Nyx chuckled then her eyes returned to Flavia and her smile dropped nearly instantly. She scowled quite heavily. "What happened to you?"
"Eh?" The Chaos Witch was taken aback. "What do you…"
"I'm asking you what is wrong with your soul."
Flavia opened her eyes wide at that and Rakna raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I didn't know you were that good at sensing souls," he commented rather curiously.
"As I said before, I'm accustoming to my old skills. But the nature of this whole place simply makes it a lot slower than it should be. My soul power isn't growing as quickly as yours but in the last few days, I finally managed to form a Soul Heart," Nyx said and gestured to Flavia to give out her hand.
"Please don't move for a minute," she instructed and her friend nodded slowly.
Then, as she injected a strand of soul power, Nyx continued her explanation, "It seems that within the boundaries of the System, everything works differently from outside. Even magic theory and elemental affinity are atypical. Generally, even if you don't have any talent for them, it should be possible to use all elements. You are not supposed to be locked with only one."
"What does that imply?" Rakna asked back as he watched her examine Flavia's condition.
"Simply put, it seems the System changes you to fit the most optimal conditions. It's not a bad thing actually. I've noticed that, while we give up on all other elements, the ones that we awakened with are proportionally easier to master and also more powerful."
"In contrast, there is one negative aspect that I've discovered. Our level; it is the equivalent of what we would call life force," Nyx said and let out a sigh as she sensed the anomalies in Flavia's soul.
"Life force?"
"Yes, it is essentially the exact same thing as levels. It is used as a way to measure strength. Eternal Night, for example, was a Life Hunter, so he could absorb life force from others by killing. That is how he became so strong."
"Alexa told me about that," Rakna said thoughtfully. "In System terms, it would mean that the guy could add up the level of his enemies to his own. That would definitely be a game-changer."
"Which brings me to the second point; our life force is limited and regulated. Normally, it should be a lot quicker to accumulate it than how we are doing now by collecting 'experience'. Truthfully, if it were you, Rakna… I would say that without the System, you would already be at least ten to a hundred times stronger."
Rakna snickered silently at that and Nyx let go of Flavia afterward.
"All right… two foreign signatures. One is invasive and the other is isolating," she said. "I assume someone tried to initiate a full-resonance, a possession, on you. Then Rakna attacked him or her with his soul power and someone else sealed the person completely."
Flavia nodded dazedly. "You got everything right…"
"Can you do something about it?" Rakna inquired.
"Yes and no. In my current state, I wouldn't even be able to make a seal. However, if my soul was stronger, I could have forced the intruder out then replaced the damaged part with a fragment of mine. Based on my current understanding of the System, I would say that I will be strong enough when I'm about level 400. Earlier; if you and I work together."
Rakna snorted. "I guess that means you're better than a dragon."
"A dragon?" She repeated surprised. "Is this seal the work of a dragon?"
Rakna nodded and she hummed thoughtfully.
"How interesting… this soul signature is unlike any dragon I've ever met before."
"Say… can we stop talking about this?" Flavia almost pleaded. "I'd like not to be reminded of the evil witch trying to possess me."
Nyx giggled and Evelyn came back into the living room with a small blush. She was now wearing a pajama a few sizes higher than hers. She also had Sonata wrapped around her neck. "I agree with that. It made it quite hard to come out while you were in that topic…"
The night goddess settled into a faint smile, balancing her aloof self with a more relaxed demeanor before answering, "Sorry about that."
"By the way…" Evelyn trailed off and walked to a small table where she pressed on a hidden button installed in the material. A pad popped up and she pressed on it a few times before a holographic screen appeared on the wall of the room. "What is this?" She asked blankly whilst pointing at an image of 'Obsidian' standing in front of the mayor.
Nyx and Flavia were amused to see it on television while Rakna fell silent for a moment. He mused on what his answer should be and he eventually replied.
"That is… what I would call a powermove."
⠀
* * *
⠀
Half an hour later, the four of them were chatting in a comfortable mood. Nyx, Evelyn, and Rakna sat on the couches while Flavia worked on the kitchen's appliances to cook dinner.
"So, what did you do after we separated?" Nyx asked Evelyn whilst sipping on a cup of tea.
"Well, I returned to the Nymph village to visit an alchemy reagent shop. I originally wanted to buy a few ingredients there to practice my family's craft. I told the owner about it and she offered to teach me the basics. I spent the day there… and I lost a few zeros in my balance," Evelyn cried a figurative tear. "It wasn't really because she asked a lot to teach me but more because I had to buy all the equipment and material I needed."
Nyx smiled. "That certainly explains the boxes scattered on your bed."
"Don't even get me started on it…" The succubus replied gloomily.
Rakna snorted. "What about you, Nyx? O'Gram brought you to the Basilica, did he not?"
The night goddess made a complicated expression. "A few things happened... Firstly, the Basilica confirmed that I was their so-called 'Eternal Maiden' and the System gave me the corresponding title; it gives me authority in their organization among other things. They also gifted me two Aeter Spell Cards."
"That's quite a boon…"
Nyx shrugged. "Apparently, you now have in front of you one of the most influential figures of the Basilica. Though I have not even officially joined them…"
"Will that be fine?" Flavia asked. "You obviously are important to them. Won't it be a problem later on if you are not part of their group?"
She shook her head. "Regardless, I will not join them any soon. In your case, during the Initiation, I decided to tag along with you because you seemed trustworthy and Rakna was the strongest of the batch. It was a logical decision. However, right now we're talking about an organization with thousands of members as well as an even higher number of followers that see me as a messiah."
Flavia smiled wryly. "That is indeed a bit too much..."
"But most importantly," Nyx continued. "I still am not comfortable with the idea of being linked to the God of Eternal Night."
"That's understandable," Rakna said. "I certainly wouldn't like to be hallowed by the followers of the one who defeated me and deprived me of everything I had."
Nyx laughed lightly and a small silence followed, which was soon broken by Evelyn, "What about the rewards the Church and the Basilica gave you, Rakna?"
"Well, they are good overall but at the same time, they're not anything that will suddenly make me stronger," he replied and nudged his spatial ring. Promptly, the beautiful Holy Sword appeared in his hand.
This was the first time he actually held it since Fray had been impersonating him previously. That's why he wasn't prepared when the weapon abruptly began to vibrate and produce a blinking light.
"This…?" He scowled at the blade and held the handle tighter. He could feel an energy similar but distinctive from mana inside of it but the most disturbing thing was the smell… He could actually discern a certain emotion from it.
"{Fear,}" Fray uttered. "{I am thoroughly impressed. A Holy Sword is scared of you for just being held in your hands.}"
Rakna's eyebrow twitched. 'How is that even possible? Is this thing sentient?'
[Not exactly,] Alexa intervened. [But it is not incorrect to think so. The Church's Holy Items are all forged with Holy Mana and are blessed by a priest. They are receptacles of faith and are egoless spirits that possess a concept of holiness. That is why they cannot be wielded nefariously.]
'Hm…' The therian pondered as the blade was still vibrating. 'I wonder what would happen if this were to be assimilated by Sonata. But then again, it would be slightly annoying if the 'cannot be used for evil' carries over. It is too broad and unreliable.'
"Is something wrong?" Nyx asked as she noticed his long silence after he grabbed the sword.
"Not really… it seems this sword is a bit touchy," Rakna replied and used his mana to coat the Holy Sword and the vibrations gradually died down. He swung it lightly and sensed how balanced it was whilst listening to the sound of the edge cutting through the air.
"This is 750 attack power, huh? Not bad," he commented.
"That sword will probably be very useful when fighting creatures vulnerable to it," Nyx remarked.
"I agree," Rakna affirmed and stored the sword back; he would have to wait to test the perks. He then focused on the second reward he had gotten. With a single thought, the cross flashed into his grasp.
Rakna closely inspected the chain and squinted his eyes. 'This familiar feeling again…' He thought and glanced at Nyx who was a bit uneasy at the sight of the cross. He was about to put it away in consideration of her but before he could, he saw the skull on the cross light up.
Its eyes sockets flared with a blue light and the sound of metal clanking invaded his ears. Rakna immediately wanted to throw the item away but for some reason, his entire body was frozen. Even worse, he couldn't see anything else other than the cross anymore.
The sounds worsened by the second and the originally small object now looked gigantic to him. It was as if he had been pulled into a lucid nightmare. Before long; he inevitably blacked out.