Deep within the capital of the Northern Empire, at the mansion of the Grand Marshall, a beautiful figure was seated on the bed of one of the upper floor rooms. The skylight allowed the rays of the sun to fall gloriously upon the marbled floor and it served as the source of light in this secluded room, highlighting the beautiful figure of the woman who sat on the bed. She sat cross legged with her eyes closed. Her breathing was rhythmic and calm, and with the rising of her chest the small objects in the room rose as well. Suddenly her eyes snapped open and her lips curled into a smirk. She smiled cockily and looked at the door. Yet her gaze wasn't on the door, it went beyond it. She seemed to gaze into space and see what no one else could see.
"I didn't think that he would send a heaven realmer on such a small mission" she spoke to herself. The fate of an entire empire was seen as a small mission in her eyes. But it wasn't because she was contemptuous of the mortals, rather she felt Seth was going overboard by sending a heaven realmer to lead an assault on mortal realmers. This woman was Alexis.
Just moments ago she felt her barrier shatter before it was supposed to. Her barrier wasn't strong. Barriers made by runes were stronger when they covered a small area. So if she made a barrier around this room, it would be so strong that even gods would have a hard time breaking into it. However, the barrier she made covered an entire kingdom and its strength was spread in several areas. So it wasn't as thick as it would have been. The barrier was thin and weak and because she made it hastily, it didn't have the strength to hold back the attack of a heaven realmer. And that was the one thing she didn't anticipate.
"At least the barrier I made around the capital isn't focused on strength" Alexis commented. Unlike the barrier around the Kingdom of Aira, the one she had erected around the capital was an illusion barrier and was done properly. Although it covered a wide area, because she had the time and resources to do it properly, it was effective against anyone below the level of an ascender. So she wasn't worried about anyone infiltrating the capital. They would be lucky if they didn't die from starvation after wondering around the borders of the capital for ages.
"I am still far from Forseti's level" she thought about her cousin and friend who was an expert of rune knowledge. Forseti was one of the Asgardians who had superior knowledge in runes. Alexis knew a lot about runes but she wasn't an expert at combining them so they produce the best effects. Maybe two rune combinations she would be able to manage. But three or four runes combinations were far beyond her. But for Forseti, that would be simple. If he was the one who made the barrier, even a few minutes would have been enough to erect a barrier that would keep all who weren't ascenders out.
"But it doesn't matter. It is done" Alexis maintained the smile on her face and was still looking into space like she was speaking to someone in particular. When the barrier was broken, even before she had the time to worry she felt the strong auras at the border of the Kingdom of Aira plummet to the mortal realm. Even the heaven realmer was no exception. And that was why she was smiling. That was the reason why she had such a cocky look on her face. She knew that her son had succeeded. Now all that was left for Mane and his friends would be to escape successfully. Although escaping would be more difficult than infiltrating, Alexis tried her best not to worry too much. After all, worrying would do her no good. She would only fall into a pit of depression. All she could do was look on the bright side of things. Now she couldn't help but wonder whether Mane had destroyed the Tool of Blessing or if his crazy plan to have Frederick tweak it worked out.
"It is almost impossible for anyone other than a God Artificer to successfully dismantle it without destroying it or alerting the owner" she didn't have a lot of faith in Frederick. It was true that the boy was uncharacteristically talented with artefacts, but she felt that handling a Tool of Blessing was out of his league. However her son didn't share her concerns; and that was mostly because he didn't know enough about the Tool of Blessing.
"Maybe his ignorance paid off" if Mane didn't know enough about it, then Frederick also wouldn't know a lot about it. So maybe in his ignorance, he had successfully taken control of the device for Mane.
"What are you going to do now Dark One? It pains me that I'm not there to see you go crazy. And it hurts even more that I cannot lord it over you"
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Within a dark cave, in an unknown territory on the planet of Zandor, the piercing scream of a man was heard
"AHHHHHH! Who dares! Who dares to antagonize me!" the cave shook from the fury of the hidden figure and several fist sized stones fell from its walls.
"Please calm yourself My Lord" the melodious voice of a woman sounded from within the cave. It was impossible to tell whether she was a beauty or not because the place was so dark, but if one was to judge by the voice, even if she wasn't a beauty, her elegance could be felt from the tone of her voice alone.
"How can I be calm?! Tell me Lina, how many Tools of Blessings are in the universe currently?" the raging man asked
"Less than ten, My Lord" although his voice was rude, Lina answered elegantly and without any fear.
"But My Lord is the Dark God. Although you have lost a tool, you have gained something more valuable" she continued. The angry man was none other than the Dark God Seth whom Alexis and Ray were searching for.
"Speak. I'm listening" Seth gradually calmed down and asked.
"None of the Gods made a move so we know none of them did this. But this person may be affiliated with them. Some weeks ago someone infiltrated the East and killed three good chess pieces, including a peak earth realmer." Lina started before Seth cut in.
"I'm aware of the happenings in the East, Lina. Get to the point. You're saying it is the same person aren't you?" Seth snapped.
"I'm My Lord. My Lord, the evidence isn't enough to prove it but I feel that is highly likely." Lina didn't mind his temper. She knew that her master wasn't in a good mood. No one would be after losing an instrument that was as valuable as the Tool of Blessings. Because of that his usually sharp mind was slightly dull. But that was why she was here. She was his voice of reason whenever rage threatened to take over.
"So you're saying that we could get the Tool back if we track him down?" Seth understood what she was saying. The tool wasn't destroyed; rather, his connection to it was severed, so it was likely in the person's possession. Maybe this person was even a God Artificer. Not only would he get the tool back, he would also see who this genius was. And his favorite hobby was snatching geniuses from the arms of another.
"I am My Lord"
"Alright." Seth's voice sounded optimistic after Lina's cajoling.
"Now contact that idiot for me. He dares lose the Tool of Blessing" his voice quickly grew colder when he talked about Dominic. There was no way he would pardon him for losing such a vital instrument.