As the sun filters through the stainless glass windows, casting kaleidoscopic patterns across the marble floors, the interior of the mansion comes to life with a symphony of elegance and sophistication.
The grand foyer welcomed the visitors with its soaring ceilings and intricately carved pillars, while a cascading crystal chandelier bathes the space in a soft, ethereal glow. Rich tapestries adorn the walls, depicting scenes of historical significance, while plush velvet armchairs beckon guests to sink into their sumptuous embrace.
A grand staircase, adorned with a wrought iron railing and adorned with floral arrangements, lead to the upper levels where ornately carved doors opened into lavishly appointed rooms.
"W-whoa." Rai said, there was simply no words that could describe the beauty of what their eyes were laid upon.
"Well I'll be damned.." Micheal mumbled as he dazzled at the beauty of the mansion from within.
"It's okay." Abigail said plainly as she proceeded into the mansion.
"What!?" Rai and Micheal exclaimed, of course it should have been obvious to them. After all Abigail is the crowned princess of the Ronowa Empire. Compared to the royal castle that she lived in, this mansion was a joke.
"Welcome.." A voice belonging to that of an elderly man spoke out, the elderly man alighted the staircase slowly as he set his eyes upon the young Essenmages who accepted his request for assistance.
This elderly man donned a pitch black suit with black leather shoes and 3 pairs of diamond entrusted rings on his fingers, his white beards complimented his white ponytail.
"It is truly an honor to be graced by her highnesses presence, please have a seat." The old man bowed displaying respect to his princess.
The three individuals took their seat at the various armchairs that were present. "Refreshments your highness?" The old man offered.
"Thank you, but that won't be necessary." Abigail declined.
"As you wish." The old man said as he took his seat, he cleared his throat to speak as it was high time they got into the business of the day.
"As you are all aware, my name is Count Deskus. One of the most influential nobles in our esteemed kingdom, pardon my intrusion princess but what are you doing with these...these people?" The old man revealed himself to be Count Deskus, the father of the prideful noble who Rai encountered some days back. However this information was unknown to him.
The source of Xeke's pride and downlook on commoners had resurfaced at last, this particular statement Count Deskus made left the two commoners annoyed.
"These people Deskus, are my teammates. I won't entertain anymore questions concerning them, can we get back to the quest?" Abigail responded slightly irritated at his words, this was part of the reason she refused to join a noble guild.
"Forgive me your majesty." Count Deskus apologized swiftly.
"Now then, why the confidentiality?" Micheal asked, given the princess was on their side he could be as crude as ever and there was nothing Deskus could do about it.
Deskus closed his eyes, attempting to overlook the fact that a mere commoner spoke to him in such a tone. "Well you see, a few weeks ago some rumors started spreading around the kingdom. Rumors that were difficult to ignore. Out of curiosity to these rumors I heard, I sent my men to dive into the origins of these rumors and when they came back. They did so with a plausible location."
"Location of what?" Abigail inquired.
"The location, of the Celestial Prism." Deskus answered as he opened his eyes.
Both Abigail and Michael's eye lids expanded in shock. "The Celestial Prism!?" Abigail exclaimed as she rose swiftly to her feet in disbelief.
Rai stared at his two teammates, he failed to understand the significance of the item Deskus mentioned, but who could blame him? He had little to no knowledge of what was happening around him.
"What's a Celestial Prism?" Rai questioned as he was totally lost.
"The Celestial Prism...it is an orb of mass destruction and peace." Micheal replied.
"I thought it was just a myth? And now you're saying it's real?" Abigail questioned.
Deskus sighed softly, their lack of belief was understandable. It was not an object to be talked about so lightly. Deskus faced Rai who had no clue as to what this Prism was, if he was going to be part of the team to complete this quest he might as well inform him.
"The Celestial Prism is an ancient artifact once utilized by Lucious in his battle against the paradoxes. It is a magical orb that grants it's host a stupendous amount of essence which explained how he was able to singlehandedly wipe out the paradoxes. However, as time went by Lucious realized that such power was not to be possessed by the likes of humanity. The amount of power it possessed was inhumane, Lucious realized that the paradoxes were after this orb for obvious reasons so he destroyed it...or so we thought." Deskus explained.
"So your saying... this prism still exists?" Rai asked.
"Yes... and if my worries are accurate, with the amount of power it emanates each passing second it won't take long before the paradoxes gets their hands on it." Deskus replied.
"What then do you want from us? And why pass this on as a D-Rank quest given the risks involved?" Abigail questioned with a stern look on his face.
"This prism is not something mankind should get entangled with, once the king gets word of this he will demand for the destruction of the prism. I want you to retrieve this prism." Deskus answered, a look of concern crippled his face.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Rai said, the destruction of the prism was actually the smartest approach in his mind and that was because as long as it existed, the paradoxes would hunt it down.
"I don't expect a lowly commoner like you to understand, the only reason Lucious was able to win was because of that prism! Without that prism humanity stands no chance against the Paradoxes! Now will you retrieve the prism or do I have to find someone else?" Deskus questioned as he stared at the faces of the perplexed individuals.