The central district was in a bit of an uproar after the Gordon family incident that ended with an entire noble house being wiped out.
It reminded the detached nobles that they weren't above death and if pushed too far, the parasites and dogs they looked down on could bite back and without mercy, nonetheless.
An unusual wave of fear permeated the nobles' houses as they upped their security while looking for ways to employ supernatural help away from the prying eyes of the D.O.D.
Of course, the D.O.D. was privy to their acts and under normal circumstances, would have penalized the unregistered Mystics but considering the state of affairs, they couldn't be bothered with such petty things.
Two evil gods were on the loose and it seemed at any moment, they could strike.
Unfortunately, they weren't helping matters with their recent actions of arresting several well-known individuals in the western district, leading to a flurry of protests that slowly but surely grew more violent each time the commoners and the Royal Blues passed.
BoneHaven at this point was a pressure pot waiting to explode and from the looks of it, it wouldn't be long before that happened.
***
Alex disembarked from the private carriage he chattered and after paying his fare, made his way into the wine store he was familiar with.
Dressed in a black suit with a red bowtie and a pocket watch alongside a top hat and a black cane, he looked quite dashing, causing a few noble ladies passing by to glance in his direction.
Of course, he paid them no heed as he strolled into the building.
Unfortunately, Arnold wasn't at the counter causing him to contemplate going down himself but then again, knowing he wasn't an authorized staff member, he couldn't help but toss that idea away.
Just as he was considering leaving and coming back later, he felt a presence approaching from behind.
"Ah, Sir Regulus, you are here.",
Alex turned to face Arnold who was dressed in a simple bartender attire. "Glad to see you again, Arnold."
"To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I came for Lady Ana… is she available?"
Arnold shook his head. "She isn't here but you can see her at her manor on Henry Park."
"I see." Alex nodded. "Then I guess I'll be taking my leave."
"Mn, that's fine."
Alex made to leave only to pause as he noticed Arnold's gaze.
"Do you have something to ask?"
Arnold pursed his lips. "... The incident with the Gordon family…"
"I have nothing to say about it unfortunately."
"... Is that so?"
"Indeed. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd have to take my leave."
With that, Alex said no more as he made his way out of the building, leaving Arnold in awe of his presence.
"A strange man…" Arnold muttered. "Lady Ana, is it right to be with such a secretive person?"
However, despite his apprehensions, Arnold chose to believe her judgment.
***
Ana sat in the library, casually flipping through a book while indulging in a serving of lamb stew placed on the table.
"Glad to see you are indulging in your favorite pastime." A voice remarked from beside her.
Ana didn't bother looking up from her book as she replied. "I knew you'd come."
"Oh?"
"I attempted to divine how my day would go but turned up blank."
As footsteps approached, she added. "I know why you are here."
"Are you sure?"
"It's about the Apostle you clashed with yesterday, am I right?"
Pausing in his tracks, Alex remarked. "Indeed."
"Would you believe me if I told you that yesterday was the first time I had seen such a man?"
Alex remained silent for a moment before replying. "It's possible."
He didn't dare to disparage Basar's ocular prowess.
Being able to distort the vision of anyone that saw him, completely erasing his existence, even a great dragon would find it difficult to locate him, especially since his powers were from a powerful Evil god.
Ana turned away from her book and glanced at Alex as he stood a few meters away from her.
"You fought him?"
"He was stronger than I expected."
Ana revealed a wry smile. "Leave it to an Ancient to face off against an Apostle while still being at his Origin."
"I nearly died."
"But you fought him which is quite incredible but I am curious to know why you looked different during the confrontation."
"..." Maintaining silence, Alex met Ana's gaze while recalling Adam's words.
The silence persisted for a moment before Ana came to a realization.
"Ah... So that's how it is. No need to say anything."
"Have you found out anything about him?"
"In the brief moment I saw him, I saw a bit about his true identity but the rest is covered in a great deal of fog, most likely as a result of the Eye of Truth."
"Tell me what you know."
Ana sighed. "Basar is the High Priest of a cult known as the Evil Eye brotherhood. Based on what I saw, they have their origins in the City of Popolis though they were said to have been wiped out roughly 2 years ago."
"City of Popolis?" Alex furrowed his brows as the city name sounded familiar to him.
Pondering for a moment, he quickly recalled where he had seen it.
It was in the book written on the Branches of the Absolute, one of the Branches, the Mantle of Darkness, located in the Labyrinth of Dread, a forbidden area not too far from the City of Popolis.
"Yeah." Ana nodded. "Apparently, Basar survived and found himself here in BoneHaven where he has been secretly proselytizing amongst those situated in the Western district.
"The cult he created believes in the Eye of Truth and claim the eye to be the most important aspect of the body. Because of human sins, they say most people are unfit to see, thus only the chosen ones are allowed to see and lead the rest of humanity toward utopia."
"Quite a lofty ideal," Alex remarked thoughtfully. "What about the Eye of Truth?... Anything about it?"
"No idea but I can deduce that it's most likely not an evil god."
"How so?"
"The divinity of evil gods are yin based but the divinity I saw from Basar was… yang based albeit tainted by the abyss."
"... So it might not be an evil god after all."
Ana nodded while revealing a worried gaze. "If it is indeed not an evil god but a fallen angel as is mentioned in legends, it's understandable why the destruction of BoneHaven will happen."
Curious about the destructive capabilities of an evil god but also not willing to make himself seem too unreliable, Alex was forced to push down his curiosity and focused on something else.
"At this point, it seems more as if BoneHaven would destroy itself before the fallen angel arrives."
"I agree," Ana said.
"I tried tracking him down and the traces ended up in the underground tunnels, unfortunately, he saw through my tracer and destroyed it so though the general location is known… the scope is still too large to move about in."
Ana met Alex's gaze and momentarily found herself speechless upon understanding Alex's intention.
"You want me to come with you?"
Revealing a sly smile, Alex replied. "You hoped for excitement, right?... So let's go get him."
Ana's eyes flashed with excitement as she jumped to her feet. "Right now?"
"Any reason to dawdle?"
"None."
"Then…" Alex trailed off as he removed his top hat and with a slight bow, continued. "Shall we?"