Although she had walked through Ichor Sanctuary countless times, it now felt far grander. One could feel the gravitas of it now. As Julia strolled down the hallway, her hands reached out and slid them along the icy obsidian walls. Gently she traced the gold and silver runes of the mana arrays carved into the walls. Braziers hung at regular intervals, shining and flickering with a warm but eerie purple light. Which, when reflected off the floors, made them seem as if you were walking on a trail of countless glittering stars. For Julia, it made her feel as if she was walking on top of the universe, like some god looking down on all creation.
This! I cannot believe I helped design and build this! And now it is right in front of me! It came out better than I imagined! Julia gushed internally as she made her way down the hallway.
No matter how well the AI and video game graphics were. They could never replace the real thing. The sanctuary now had a sense of true majesty!
A warm, tingling sensation surged down her spine and spread across her entire body. Julia suppressed the urge to scream in delight and run around the sanctuary, taking in all its splendor! However, she had an image to keep. Ophelia could never act like that! Abruptly she stopped in the middle of the corridor, taking a sideways glance, eyeing the "guards" who were still silently following her. These were not just any guards. One was the leader of the Sanguine Knights Order, Rose Reborn. While the other was Lisandra Vilemara, the leader of the Crimson Mage Order.
These two were in the top 15 strongest beings in the entire sanctuary! Why were they guarding her!? At first, she thought they were heading in the same direction as her. But they always kept a respectful distance and always stopped when she did. It did not take long for her to figure out someone sent them to watch over her.
Rose was a Dragonborn. Just as the name suggests, their appearance resembled a humanoid dragon. Like most of her race, Rose was an imposing two meters in height. With a powerful but slender, muscular build, that was protected by a tough leathery hide covered in scarlet and ebony scales. Her feet ended with three black razor-like talons with a fourth near the rear. Rose's head was like that of a dragon, with two horns, golden-hued eyes with black vertical slits. With her crimson red plate armor, the design mimicking muscle tissues; she looked formidable and sinister.
Julia remembered that Rose's back story was tragic and cruel. Her father trained her from a young age to slaughter without conscience. When her father died, she became a walking natural disaster, slaughtering her way across the game. Players had called her the "draconic typhoon" and several attempted to kill her. Luckily, Julia had overwhelmed Rose in a duel and recruited her. Over the years Julia had poured countless resources into Roses, eventually turning her into a vampire. When the AI took over Rose, she had a cold and pragmatic personality. To her enemies, she was ruthless, willing to use vicious tactics to win without hesitation. However, when she spoke to Ophelia, she was always respectful.
Now Lisandra was a human, with straight jet-black hair and beautifully tanned skin. She wore a black a gold veil that covered the lower part of her face. A thin and revealing robe made of black, gold, and red hung from her body. Only the finest jewelry graced her body. Emerald green eyes, thin arched eyebrows, and long, lush eyelashes enticed any man or woman. She was like the avatar of seduction. The only thing that broke her sultry image was her hands. They were pitch black and were longer than normal humans. Her nails were more like claws that were painted gold.
Underneath that tempting beauty was a cunning and manipulative sadist. She had little empathy for those she deemed unworthy. Pain was something she loved to inflict upon others, especially those who bragged about their strength or honor. Julia saw her as a woman that would do anything if it meant achieving her goals or desires. Despite her nasty personality, she had a lot of charisma, easily convincing others to follow and fight for her.
Lisandra also had somewhat of an unfortunate backstory. She used to be a normal terra wizard who found it impossible to achieve her goals. The magical order she belonged to was ruthless and those in influential positions kept those wizards underneath them on a tight leash. It was not unheard of for a young, promising wizard to be found dead if they shone too brightly. However, in secret, Lisandra sought forbidden knowledge and power. As part of a minor quest, Julia met Lisandra and completed the quest with the wizard's help. It took little for Julia to tempt the young woman to join her. Especially when Ophelia promised to turn her into a vampire.
Julia took in a deep breath, while she closed her eyes before letting out a sigh. She turned around and looked at the two of them.
"May I ask who ordered you to follow me?" Her right brow arching.
They both flinched at her words but quickly recovered themselves. Rose put her right hand over her chest and gave a deep bow. While Lisandra gave a graceful curtsy as lowering her head.
"Please, rise, there is no need for such formalities." Julia's lips curled upward, showing off her fangs, as she crossed her arms over her chest. Although a tad bit embarrassing, Julia loved to be treated like this.
Rose stood up from her bow, and with her husky voice, said. "Your highness, it was Chancellor Leon."
Julia watched how rose handled herself with grace and pride. She is a true knight. She thought to herself.
"Is our presence bothering you, your highness?" Lisandra's honeyed words drew Julia's eyes to her.
Taking a few steps towards the two. "You are fine." Julia stopped in front of them. "I was just wondering if an escort inside the sanctuary is necessary?"
Rose rested her hand on the hilt of her sword. "Your majesty, although the Ichor Sanctuary is safe, we cannot be too certain of your safety."
Lisandra's emerald eyes surveyed every inch of Ophelia. "Please, your highness. Know that we are deeply worried about you."
"Do not worry, I am not mad at either of you, nor the chancellor. Given the current circumstances, we cannot be too cautious at the moment."
"Thank you, your highness, for understanding." Rose bowed slightly.
Julia nodded before turning around and heading back down the hallway. "No thanks, needed."
I should stop wasting time. She thought to herself before picking up the pace. Although she wanted to examine every splendid corner of the sanctuary, she had important matters to attend to. Although this was a dream come true. The sanctuary was in crisis mode. She could already think of several things that would need to be handled.
After several minutes of navigating through the labyrinth-like hallways and corridors of the sanctuary, Julia and her escorts finally arrive at the entrance to the Oracle's quarters. Although she had seen the door countless times. It felt different in person. A golden phoenix and silver dragon coiled around the edges of two massive jade doors. Carved into them were complex magical runes and a mana-gathering array. A chill ran down her spine.
Julia put her hand on the doors before turning her head. "You two wait outside for me."
Rosse stepped forward. "Your highness, I do not think…"
"That was not a request." Julia calmly looked Roses in the eye, before the latter stepped back.
Lisandra gracefully lowered her head. "We apologize, your Majesty, we will wait here until you return."
"Thank you, I will not be long." Julia pushed the doors open and slipped inside before closing them behind her.
The smell of burning sage and incense filled the large room. A veil of smoke lazily swirled around the room. The floor was mostly white marble, with streaks of gold running through it. Several long, red silk banners hung from the ceiling. In front of these banners were polished marble pedestals with gold statues portraying naked men and women from various races. There in the center of the room was a large oval bed made from rare sanguine wood with a white canopy. It was a lavish room that any merchant would burn with envy to own.
In the center of the bed, behind the concealing canopy, was the Oracle. He was a special existence, a celestial. An angel, to be exact. But he was not just any ordinary angel, he used to be an ophanim! In the game, there were several types of celestials. Among them was a race called angels, who usually pledged and served a specific deity. Within a deity's domain, angels usually made up the bulk of their forces. Like vampires, angels had a hierarchy. The higher the rank, the more powerful and greater authority over others of their kind they had.
The lowest sphere or rank was the third tier; this is where angels, archangels, and principalities were. They acted as the messengers and protectors of their deity's domain. The second sphere mainly oversaw the celestial domain and comprised virtues, dominations, and authorities. Finally, the first sphere and highest-ranked angels, the ophanim, cherubim, and seraphim, were the strongest and most trusted in a deity's domain. They usually acted as attendants, overseers, and stewards.
The oracle used to serve a powerful deity named Tempus, a human god of time and fate. Who had a powerful following in the southern human kingdoms. Julia did not quite remember the backstory of the oracle. She only remembered he had incurred the wrath of Tempus and was sentenced to death. However, he escaped and fled to the mortal realm. Since he broke his pledge, Tempus cursed him. Most of the oracle's power vanished. The curse also wiped his name from existence and prevented him from ever having a true name.
She had found him by accident while she was a noble vampire. Julia had been going down the rabbit hole of side quests when she stumbled upon him. In a nameless cavern in the depths of the northern mountains, there he was. Of course, it took her three months to complete his legendary quest. As a reward, she had the chance to recruit him as a follower.
A sad, soothing voice snapped her back to the present. "I would offer you a seat, empress, but I already know you will decline the offer."
"Ah, yes." Julia stepped forward.
Behind the veil of the canopy, she saw the shadowy outline of the oracle. Out of respect, she stopped about two meters from the bed. Smoke gently billowed out of the bed, dancing around her. The air was now filled with a rustic and sweet smell of tobacco. Julia cleared her throat and was about to ask something, but the answer came first.
"I am doing fine, your majesty."
She crossed her arms in front of her chest. Caught off balance by the oracle. "That's good to hear."
An awkward silence descended upon the room. "I am sure you know why I am here, then?"
Another pause ensued as she heard the oracle take a long drag on his pipe. "I can guess. There are many questions which you wish to know."
"Do you know what caused this?"
"No, I, like others, lost consciousness." The oracle took another long drag on his pipe before exhaling. "Whatever caused this is far beyond my ability to see or understand."
"I see." Julia rubbed her temples. "Are you able to tell me what will happen from now on?"
Another pause. "No."
His answer caused Julia to worry. In the game, his information stated that he could glimpse into the future. How that worked in the game, Julia did not know. However, when Julia lost her way in a quest, the oracle always pointed her in the right direction. He also provided helpful quests to Julia when she requested them. These features gave her a tremendous advantage over other players. She could complete quests and find hidden ones far faster and better than her rivals. Since they were no longer in the game, Julia figured she needed to learn more about how the oracle's power functioned.
"How does your power work, exactly?" Julia stared at his shadow against the veil.
"Before… It was like a rope. With strands in which I could examine and share with you and others." The Oracle stood up and walked closer to the veil covering his image.
"Now… It is as if I'm looking at a grand tapestry of such gorgeous colors and complexities. Unlike before, I must actively search the tapestry, and that requires a lot of energy from me." She could hear the vulnerability and excitement in his voice.
The oracle put his pipe down on a pedestal beside him. "The future is no longer the certainty of the rope. At most, I can only see options now. Potential outcomes of actions those around me take."
"For example, the threads of possibility showed me you were unlikely to sit. However, some strands showed you would sit. I can only obverse the weave and guess the most likely outcome." She could feel his powerful gaze on her.
"I see." Julia nodded, trying to make sense of it.
His power seemed to have grown as well as become less powerful. It would not be wise to fully rely on the Oracle as she had planned. He was now more of an advisor in her eyes now. At most, she would only ask for his insight on choices she was on the fence about. But his ability was still useful. It just needed to be taken with a grain of salt.
"Then what are the most likely outcomes for the sanctuary as of now?"
"My Empress, a warning to you. The further one looks into the future, the harder it is to see it clearly. However, I can tell you the most likely future I see for you and the sanctuary." The Oracle grabbed the veil and pushed threw it to the side, showing himself.
Julia had seen the Oracle countless times in the game, but to see him in person was a novel experience. The man had an athletic but slender body with flawless white skin that resembled freshly fallen snow. A pair of ebony pantaloons hung from his slim waist with a matching hip scarf. Beads and coins of gold hung from his waist. He wore a scarlet choli top, with gold coins and ruby beads adorning it. A thin black veil with golden trim covered his lower face. His entire outfit would remind anyone of a belly dancer.
But that was not the most striking feature about the man. Where his eyes should have been, a set of wings replaced them. Six angel wings, to be exact. Each wing had three eyes. Which could independently look around the room. At first, it was jarring to look at.
"Let me begin." At that moment, the Oracle's eyes went red. Each one twitched and jerk around the room as if trying to find an invisible enemy. The smoke in the room swirled around him like he was in the eye of a storm. Then everything just abruptly stopped.
As the smoke cleared, the man before her looked haggard. He leaned against the pedestal, taking in deep breaths. His skin glistened with sweat. The Oracle quickly picked up his pipe and took a long drag. Before returning to the center of his bed and sitting down. After exhaling a long plume of smoke. His eyes focused on her.
"I have three answers to the question you seek. However, these are only just a few of the potential outcomes. The future is always in flux."
Julia's arms crossed in front of her chest. "What are they?"
The Oracle held up a single finger, and all of his eyes focused on Julia. "The first future I saw was of you sealing the doors of the sanctuary. Over time, those within its walls die one by one. Until you, my empress, are the last remaining. The sanctuary becomes your prison."
A visible frown shone on her face. She could not believe that this was a choice she would make. As if reading her mind, the Oracle shook his head and held up an additional finger.
"The second future I witnessed is that of a great army descending upon the sanctuary. They slaughter all within these grand halls before destroying it. The only thing that remains is you. These walls become a hellish tomb for you."
A chill ran down Julia's spine as she listened to his words. She had never considered that something like that could happen. A crushing anxiety overcame her mind. The reality of what could happen if she did not make the right choices just occurred to her. For all her life, she had only taken care of herself.
Just as Julia was losing herself in her own thoughts. The Oracle held up a third finger. "The last future I could observe was the sanctuary becoming the heart of a kingdom. You will build the nation upon the deaths of countless beings. It will be a nightmare for some, and a ray of salvation by others."
With those words, the oracle sat down on his mattress and enjoyed his pipe. His eyes never left her. He could see that Ophelia was digesting the words he had said. Although he was not sure what, something had changed about the fearsome woman.
"I see." Was the only thing that could leave Julia's lips after listening to him. What was she supposed to say? Everything he said was depressing! Even the one good outcome had negative elements to them. Building a kingdom on the corpses of others? She had never killed before! Yes, in the game, but that wasn't real!
A pit formed in Julia's stomach. As she looked at the oracle leisurely smoking his pipe. "Ah, thank you."
Not wanting to hear any more about the future. She turned around and began quickly walking towards the door.
"If at any time you need my services, please stop by again." The Oracle spoke as he watched Ophelia quickly walk away. By the way she acted, he guessed the empress must have been excited to hear his last prophecy. He guessed she was probably in a rush to make preparations. As she reached the door and quickly disappeared on the other side. The oracle took his pipe and turned it upside down, gently tapping it against a golden tray. Ash fell from the pipe before he sat it down on the table next to him.
"Things are going to be a lot more interesting around here."