"A special ceremony?" Irene picked up the bowl wherein the Preserved Labyrinth Spider Heart had been stored.
"It could be a part of their culture," Athelei threw out an idea, "As for what the ceremony does or is for, we would have to watch one to figure it out. They don't seem too literate, after all. Most of their knowledge is likely passed through word of mouth."
The angel then pointed at a book that was used as a building material after he had spoken. The book was in no state to be read, being surrounded by dried mud and used to keep a wall standing.
Irene used her Tangible Will to retrieve the book from inside the wall. The cover was much too worn to read, and so she flipped through the brittle pages that crumbled wherever she touched. Only by reinforcing the entire book with her Will was she able to preserve the item enough to actually initiate the process of flipping pages.
"It's written in Acivis," Irene muttered as Athelei sat on her shoulder. "It looks like some kind of learning material and there are several words I don't understand."
Gruuuuuu!
A low moan suddenly echoed out from the darkness, making Irene stiffen as she sent out her Tangible Will to sense the area.
"What was that?" Irene narrowed her eyes as she closed the deteriorating book and gingerly placed it on the ground.
"Angel, are you able to use the Goblin Shaman's Staff?" She asked as she continued to monitor the situation.
"I am. Would you like me to use it when the situation requires it?" Athelei answered.
Irene nodded, placing the Preserved Labyrinth Spider Heart, Silver Necklace, and Crude Ring into the bag slung over her shoulder. She then recalled the two objects she was told not to tamper with. Said objects were still lying among the ruins of the goblin camp.
"What's wrong with those two objects?" She asked as she handed the Golbin Shaman's Staff to Athelei.
"They're cursed." Athelei answered simply, "Specifically harmful to humans, similar to the requiem I sang to you before."
Irene had a shiver when she remembered the song Athelei mentioned. It was a simple tune with lyrics, and yet she, a Rank 3 Dictator was injured by it. Sure, she hadn't protected herself, but such an existence was quite concerning. What if humans composed a similar song by accident? Would they be killed? Would they suffer from their own composition?
In the first place, how was a simple song able to damage her?
She had yet to figure out how exactly it did and thus was even warier of the two items. Theories were present in her mind, but she had yet to find time to ask for Athelei's help in testing them. She could not sniff out the core of the requiem. Was it the spite? The hate?
"Is it possible to bring them with us somehow?" Irene glanced at those two cursed objects while she checked which of her own abilities and treasures would be effective in taking them.
"If you can isolate or seal them, then you theoretically should be able to. It's just that, the curse is some kind of [Mark]—something that might attract unwanted attention. If you make a mistake, I have no idea what you can do to avoid being affected unless we use this chance to experiment."
"A mark?" Irene scrunched her brows as a few memories returned to her.
There was a time when she was a lot cockier than today, having just advanced to Rank 2 at a young age. She had rushed into one of the Vistas family's territories, and there she found a rune-engraved pebble.
The Vistas family dubbed that pebble the [Mountain Challenger] because all who held it in their hands would then be bound to it for twenty-four hours. They would then face a barrage of natural calamities as they hiked up the mountain. Avalanches, landslides, and lightning storms were three examples of what force of nature they would have to face.
If they abandoned the hike, they would be cursed and forced to linger between life and death.
If they could not make it to the peak, they would die to the final hour of calamity.
It had been a wild experience for Irene, to say the least. One that had taught her a lesson she remembered until this day.
As such, Irene reached into her bag and produced a box that was only the size of her palm. The box was a perfect cube with sharp edges and corners. A flat, circular button sat on only one of its dark green sides.
"This should work like a seal," Irene tossed the box-cube at Athelei who promptly caught the item. She smiled, "I'll let you do the honours, my non-human friend."
With a gleam of curiosity in his eye, Athelei used Inspect,
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Chalcedony Cube
Durability: 302/320
- "I am betting my entire life savings inside one tiny object... How ironic my life has become..."
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Athelei's nonexistent eye involuntarily twitched when he read through the inventor's intent when the item was brought into the world. Because of such a thought, he was vaguely amused as he floated towards the crest and the mechanical weapon. A small smile lingered on his nonexistent lips as he recalled the details of the two cursed objects.
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Crest of the Viarchs
Durability: 3/10
- [Extra Effect: Mark] Any human under the Zodiacs who comes into contact with the item will have a mark on their bodies, making them easy to find.
=o=o=o=o=
Mechanical Prototype (Gun-like)
Durability: 21/35
- [Extra Effect: Mark] Any human under the Zodiac who comes into contact with the item will have a mark on their bodies, making them easy to find.
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He used a very small amount of his fog-body to use the Chalcedony Cube. Just to be safe. He kept as large a distance as possible, in case he, as an Endbringer, still fell into the scope of targets.
Click! Click!
Athelei had pressed the button twice using the fog of his wings, and he had watched as two separate lights flashed to consume one item each. Those small flashes of light entered the suddenly enlarged Chalcedony Cube, becoming one with the cryptocrystalline material.
He then waited for a moment as the cube shrunk into its original size before picking it up from the ground. With a similar toss, he passed on the Chalcedony Cube to Irene and asked,
"Have you found what made that weird sound?"
Irene nodded after catching the Chalcedony Cube and stashing it away. "I have... but perhaps you would have the words to describe it. All I can say is that it is weird."
She then allowed her golden armour to shine.
Her goal had been to bring light to the darkness just beyond the goblin camp's rickety walls... But the shadows refused to recede.
'The torches,' Irene briefly recalled Athelei's earlier words and walked towards one of the tall torches. These torches stood at the height of around one-and-a-half metres. It was as tall as the goblin huts had been before she had flattened them.
Irene wrapped the shaft of the torch with a golden hand made out of Tangible Will and plucked it out of the stone cracks it had been fitted into. With a wave of her hand, she brought the torch into the darkness and saw how the shadows receded to its light.
Irene nodded to herself as she picked up all the other torches with solid hands of Tangible Will and commanded them all to float around her.
'How extravagant,' Athelei inwardly chuckled when he saw the parade of torches. Without another word, he followed after the greedy lady, eager to see what made the darkness so special. His Inspect had gifted him with a very straightforward answer.
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Shadow Veil
- Impedes all sensory abilities except for hearing. Appears as darkness to any onlooker.
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'What lies behind the veil?' Athelei quoted one of the stories he had fallen asleep to in the past.