The things that Athelei learned from eavesdropping in the discussions could be arranged in bullets.
=o=o=o=o=
● The Church's main priority these days was the collection of relics, Mystic Artifacts, and records related to Libra.
● The Nightwalkers aren't the only groups causing havoc around the Holy Nation of Illyas. There were rogue Exiled appearing within many of the cities, as well as assassins making it rich due to successful hits.
● A technique used by a few havoc-causers involved leaving behind dangerous items for Adventurers to 'uncover' or for civilians to accidentally come across.
● The Vistas Family was quite powerful but only because of the lands they controlled.
● The Flower Families that Thallium Yan came from had issued many missions for their clan members to fulfil and execute. It was related to the Holy Crown's predictions for future events.
=o=o=o=o=
Athelei glanced away from his notes and watched as many administrative officials discussed and argued. A lot of the people who had been eating in the garden earlier had returned to see the Guard Master and priestess in an intense debate.
From there, people began drizzling in one by one. Even Thallium Yan was there as an honourable guest.
It was near midnight now, and Irene was sipping on a cup of hot tea served by the butlers and maids. The topics for the discussion had changed multiple times and Irene no longer had many opportunities to speak. She ended up meditating and training her Tangible Will in silence.
Suddenly, the topic shifted back towards the Mystical Weighing Pan.
"Coming back to this," An official was speaking as of this moment, "Madame Vistas, how had you come across the information you provided?"
Irene had been wrenched out of her calm, meditative state when her last name had been singled out. She blinked as sight returned to her and she registered the question asked.
"I used a special technique," Irene replied with a smile, and with a soft gesture, she conjured a grey-gold stream of energy that crept towards the Mystical Weighing Pan. "A friend of mine taught me this technique, and it has to do with Examine's requirements and going to the extremes with it."
The administrative officials watched as the grey-gold energy stream encircled the Mystical Weighing Pan and seeped into the cracks present in its indestructible form.
"Executing Analysis Skill, Examine," Irene spoke, alerting the table of her actions clearly and concisely.
A cyan Cosmic Interface then flickered to life before her face, just as people expected.
"Here is the information I mentioned earlier..." She said, but her voice trailed off mid-sentence. Irene suddenly creased her brows. "Weird,"
Her sudden change of rhythm made the administrative officials wonder what occurred. The previous speaker saw that no one was speaking up and thus decided to continue his speech, "Madame Vistas? Is something wrong?"
Irene bit her lip, "No... Well, yes. Kind of."
"What do you mean?" the official leaned forward, also intrigued.
"See for yourselves," Irene answered, her brows still knit as she considered the meanings behind the descriptions.
"Share info,"
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Mystical Weighing Pan
[ "Heart Weigher" ]
- One part of a whole.
- Ancient.
- [Title: Weight of One's Sins]
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
"This... this isn't something of Libra's." Priestess Haille quickly answered, worry spreading across her face, "But why were the energies so similar? Is it because of the scales? No, that's impossible. That does not make sense at all..."
The Lord of Aren alternated his gaze between the screen and the Mystical Weighing Pan. His thoughts were unknown to the people at the table.
"...So it's used to weigh someone's heart to measure their sins? Is that what these clues imply?" An administrative official piped in with her calm voice failing to hide her interest in the topic.
Another discussion was about to erupt, if not for a very bright Mystic Pattern.
It lit up in a deep, deep blue at the centre of the long table. The shine was audible as power hummed with its radiance. It was made even more apparent as the entire room fell silent.
Irene's confused face was instantly brought to seriousness.
Many of the administrative officials held their breath and looked to the Lord of Aren.
"...It seems like it was inevitable after all." He sighed and rose from his seat.
His long white hair spilt over his broad shoulders, as his robe flowed down his rising stature. A shadow was cast, one as long as the table that the Lord of Aren sat at the head of.
A 2.15-metre tall warrior stood, his back straight and his expression cold.
"All discussions shall be put on hold for now." He announced, knocking on the table thrice.
Three Mystic Artifacts appeared beside the glowing patterns.
"Madame Vistas, I believe you're familiar with the use of Javiexis' Concrupture, yes?" The Lord of Aren met Irene's eyes.
"Yes, my Lord." She answered dimly. Her excitement was befuddled by what was to come.
"Master Wes, Priestess Haille, you two will be taking the usual." The Lord of Aren flicked his wrist, and all three Mystic Artifacts flew towards the names he had mentioned.
The Lord of Aren then made a long sigh.
"Everyone," He said.
"Prepare Aren for combat. In a few months, the flames of war will be lit. We are now the nearest city to Illum, and so we will make our home a fortress." The Lord of Aren scanned his subordinates one by one, "Make sure to prepare for the long haul, my brothers and sisters. This war will start cold."
"May we all hang in the balance." The Lord of Aren bowed his head.
"Now and forever," Every person in the room followed as the blue pattern lit up in full strength.
H u m m m m m m m
The low vibrations of energy shook the Parthenon as if it was playing a bass note.
The Mystic Pattern's resplendent form began to coalesce. It slowly formed the shape of a human. From the limbs, torso, head, and long, long hair that reached the figure's thighs.
"It's the Blessed Princess!" Irene gasped, recognizing the appearance of the young lady forged out of blue light.
The young lady who Irene identified as the Blessed Princess looked around the room with a serene look on her face. She spun a full 360, before locking eyes with the Lord of Aren.
"It seems like my parents have caught you all in the midst of a meeting," The Blessed Princess smiled lovingly, letting every person in the Parthenon experience a voice that spoke as if every word was a song.
And sing she did, bringing a melody that rang against the heartstrings of all those who heard it.
=o=o=o=o=
"Two children fight for the sun,
Where the flames of green and blue appeal to one.
Seek the meddlers; scour the world for the gifted.
For ruin shall bless the rivers,
And glory shall curse the inquisitive.
The defeated love songs are those who insisted,
The sole victor are those thought to be givers,
And the forgotten shall be ye children of the stars,
Oh, sad cries, wrathful and vindictive."
=o=o=o=o=
A Prophecy of War has been sung, cementing the looming presence of bloodshed in the hearts of the officials.
.
.
.
Athelei and Irene once again sat opposite each other in the latter's home.
They did so in silence, with the two holding their own respective thoughts. The Mystic Artifact, "Javiexis' Concrupture" was held in the angel's hands as flashes of cyan rapidly displayed the results of Examine.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Clay Man's Terrarium
[ "Javiexis' Concrupture" ]
- [Active Effect: Spirit Seed] Imbues the user's soul with a spiritual lotus seed.
- [Bonus Active Effect: Javiexis' Atonement] Grants a Spirit Lotus one chance to be grown a certain percentage of its growth period. The growth is dependent on the user.
- [Title: A Spirit's Origin]
- [Title: Spiritual Grandeur]
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Athelei's Inspect grew to 9/15 experience points when he secretly mixed in an actual execution of Inspect in the rapid appearance and reappearance of his Cosmic Interface. He was happy to get his hands on these rare items to use his Analysis Skills on. He wondered how he could get a hand on the ones held by the Guard Master and the priestess.
On the other hand, Irene was meditating. She was preparing herself to bring her Spirit Lotus to maturity. She recalled the studies she made on others' use of the Mystic Artifact and knew that a Spirit Lotus at 75% of its growth would maximize the effects of the Mystic Artifact.
Many used the artefact at 75% simply because of how tedious it got to grow it from that point on. But Irene's Spirit Lotus was, in fact, at 99% growth due to spiritual treasures she had fought for and consumed. It helped that her Tangible Will was incredibly pure as well, making growing the Spirit Lotus a much easier task for Irene.
There was only one reason she waited this long:
She was hoping for that slim possibility of a bonus effect. An old notebook she had found deep in a ruin she had explored told her of the possibility. And now, when she listened to Athelei's analysis of the item, she felt even more confident of the chance encounter to occur.
"Irene, is it okay for me to run an Analysis Skill on you?" Athelei suddenly spoke up.
Irene kept her eyes closed, but she nodded. The familiar chill ran through her right after she did while Athelei was suddenly incredibly intrigued.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Irene Vistas
- Luck: Avaricious
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
'What could that possibly mean? Is her Luck some conscious being?' He thought to himself, rubbing his chin. It seemed like accompanying Irene would be a lot more interesting than he initially thought, which was amazing news.
Then, as Athelei closed his tri-coloured interface, Irene's eyelids fluttered open.
"I'm ready to advance," She said as her entire body began glowing in resplendent gold and the faint outline of a lotus appeared in her pupils.
Athelei smiled, "May Libra bless you, Irene. With a war knocking on our doorsteps, power is indeed a beautiful thing to pursue."
'I have to hurry as well, else I miss the endings of many a story...'