Veritas once again saw the scenario wherein the Seraphim revealed a shocking revelation to the unamused king. However, instead of seeing things from his perspective, he saw two's individual thoughts and feelings.
'This is the complete truth..'
He realized, and contemplated the secrets that the Seraphim and King had hidden deep within them.
As the Seraphim looked down on the King, his mind kept calm and blank. As if the emergency of the revelation were child's play for him. Veritas gazed in the direction of the Seraphim, hearing His mind speak with brilliance.
[Tis issue does not hinder my ascension.]
He heard the thoughts of the four-winged Seraphim, even with the dire revelation, all the Seraphim could think about was His ritual. Veritas felt frustration deep within his heart.
The King gazed at the Seraphim with surprise on the outside, yet Veritas knew that his feelings were bloodied with hatred. He despised the Seraphim, for the last 53 years of his ruling, his father's last words echoed inside him every day.
Yet, the King felt powerless, the Seraphim was always one step ahead and he could not face the Seraphim in combat, as he would lose in a one-sided annihilation.
For all the glory that he accumulated throughout the years, it was nothing when compared to the brilliance of a divine being.
Veritas once again heard the echoes of the Seraphim's mind.
[I hear thine thoughts, this emotion that thy feels must be.. hatred.]
After that, Veritas heard the instructions of the Seraphim to build 4 spires that touched the heavens. He guaranteed that the Seraphim was determined to help humanity, He was actually genuine in His words.
He felt that the Seraphim began to understand the complexity of humanity.
Meanwhile, the king thought that if what Seraphim's words were to be true, then he would use all of his power to help his people. From the start, the king lived for his people. Even way back on his days as a prince, he already felt a connection with them.
For now, he had to set his hatred aside and trust the damned Seraphim.
Thus, the development of the towers began. The towers aimed to rise to the top yet the king fell into a downward spiral.
Seeing the progress that was made, the king gazed upon the city with satisfaction. Yet felt longing somehow, he wished for his father to gaze upon the spectacle that he was seeing.
Over the years, the people and the city itself had changed. Due to the influence of the Seraphim, Solaurum's religion had switched to the belief of the Sun God. Gospels were spread, and words of the Sun God's greatness was well known.
He saw many cathedrals and churches to be built to pay homage to the Sun God. After, 40 long years, everyone in Solaurum had been converted.
On the outside, the king showed devotion to the Sun God. But inside the great city of Solaurum, there was a single individual that hadn't believed in the Sun God's greatness.
It was the king.
He had been skeptical about the whole thing. He questioned why the Sun God suddenly chose the city of Solaurum to be blessed. He questioned the descent of the Seraphim of Gold and he had questioned the sudden illness of the king. He felt that they were all related somehow.
He searched for the purpose of the Seraphim throughout the years, but He was flawless in every aspect. The king almost believed the divine being to be truly benevolent towards humans.
But he knew that the Seraphim was just a weapon for the Sun God to wield. He could feel it somehow, after 53 long years of encountering and interacting with the Seraphim, his innate Soul adapted to the nature of the Seraphim.
Pupil of Swords does not only adapt to battle, but it also adapts his mind and thinking. So, after all the years of being with the Seraphim, his mind was beginning to become similar to Him. He began to think like the Seraphim, it was almost scary to think logically every time, it was as if he was losing his touch for emotions.
However, after 53 long years of trying to figure it out, his feeble human brain could not comprehend what lies within a divine being's mind.
Upon gazing at the construction of the towers, he heard silent footsteps behind him. It was a familiar presence that he knew too well. Thus, the king spoke out and thanked the Seraphim with emptiness.
"Great Seraphim, I am forever grateful for your help. If not for you we would have succumbed to ruin.."
"Tis not a matter of great issue, for a benevolent being such as myself to grant salvation to thine people, tis is only a commonality within us Seraphims."
"My people and I will owe you a debt for generations to come.."
"Think naught of it, Great King of Solaurum."
The king felt that he was going to puke for acting so king in front of the being that he had hated. Furthermore, his words lacked the glory that his young self once had, his words now are purely logical and empty.
He hated that so much.
With that, he kept up his act and asked for the guidance of the Seraphim. After a long exchange of words, the Seraphim gestured to leave and departed the room.
Seeing the figure of the Seraphim of Gold leave the room, the king then gazed once more at the city.
Meanwhile, the Seraphim had felt satisfied with the conversation that he had with the king.
[Mine mind is steadily learning upon the brilliance of humanity..]
With an indifferent face, the Seraphim vanished into thin air, leaving only golden particles from where he once stood.
With that, Veritas saw the scene repeat itself, it was different but the situation was very much the same. The King would gaze upon his glorious city, satisfied with the fast development of the towers. Then, the Seraphim would appear and converse with the king, hoping to learn more about humanity.
Once the Seraphim had been satisfied, he left the room and vanished into golden particles.
With each passing scene, Veritas saw the king's condition getting worse. The Seraphim showed concern towards him but it was only on the outside, Veritas knew that the Seraphim had not understood the word "concern" therefore he acted as the humans normally would.
Until.. a particular scene caught Veritas' eye.
The atmosphere was dark and hazy, the king was staring at the progress of the towers as per usual. They were almost finished and they were as high as the clouds.
He gazed upon this scenery with emptiness, he felt as if his emotions had longed vanished. It had been months since the start of the construction but his entire being had changed so significantly.
Then, a figure appeared right beside him, golden particles followed with it. It was a fair skinned, golden haired, and four-winged Seraphim.
"Aurelium.."
The king called out to the Seraphim with his frail voice. This had been the first time that he had used the Seraphim's name. The Seraphim replied with the same tone.
"Sigourde.."
Then, the king's soft voice echoed across the room.
"I've.. finally figured it out."
"..."
"You were only using us.."
"..."
"To get stronger and ascend your Soul"
"..."
"And as a book, for your own interests."
"..."
"How could I have not noticed this sooner."
"..."
"You insolent winged bitch!"
His words had no emotion to them yet Veritas could feel the long-lasting hatred that the king had.
The Seraphim stared at the king with indifference, He knew that the king would find out sooner. However, after taking long years of trying to understand humans, he could still not comprehend the weight behind his words.
"You do not care for humans at all! You act as if you are so benevolent, you think you give redemption to us?! I would rather die than be saved by the likes of you. You do not understand the weight of your actions and words! You are a mere weapon for the Gods!"
The Seraphim was silent when hearing the king's words.
The Seraphim then recalled the moment that he took the previous king's brilliance. At that moment, it seemed as if it was the most logical thing to do.
He thought that by taking the king's emotions and mind, he would understand humans even better.
Kings are people who have to repress their emotions to become a beacon of humanity. Thus, with that indifference in their face, existed a great bounty of emotions. Along with that, kings understood their people the most!
They knew of their people's sorrow. They knew of their people's joy. They knew of their people's anger! They knew of their people's satisfaction. They knew of their people's fear!
The Kings are the ones that felt the most emotion out of all!
Thus, the Seraphim used him as a book, taking his brilliance away and claiming it as His own. He deemed this as the best way to understand humans. Yet it had been ineffective! His divine mind could not accept the simplicity of human brilliance.
With that, He could not understand the king's words. Was he feeling hatred? Was it despair? Was it sorrow?
The Seraphim questioned as to why his mind was so empty!
Why had he lacked emotions in those words!
It was because the king's emotions had long been gone.
The king was not speaking from his mind, rather he was speaking from the heart.
Then, the king proposed a final duel between the two.
"Face me in a duel once more, O! Treacherous Seraphim."
The Seraphim could not figure out the intentions of the king's words. A duel at a serious time like this? He could not comprehend what the king was thinking at all! His logic mind counted the losses that he would gain upon accepting the duel, he concluded that there would be none.
Thus, he accepted the duel.
The two faced off with one of the party to stand resolute and courageous, carrying their sword with pride. Then another, standing with grace and elegance, leaving no openings for an attack.
In this dark and gloomy room, a teacher and a student faced off each other in a duel.
The first to strike was the king! He rushed with the power of his frail legs, jumped with full speed and struck the Seraphim in front of him.
It was easily deflected and sparks were the result of that clash. The Seraphim immediately counter attacked, twisting the direction of the king's sword and striking at his side.
The king was taken aback by this attack, he immediately thought to sidestep but his frail body had failed him. Thus, he was stricken down by a heavy attack, he felt his ribs crack and he squealed in pain.
Immediately, the Seraphim struck down once more, this time aiming for his arms. The king then thought quickly and parried the heavy strike!
Following up with the parry, the king stabbed the abdomen of the Seraphim but it was deflected once more.
Upon deflecting the blade, the Seraphim launched an attack from below, His technique seemed so refined and graceful. The elegance of His swordplay took control of the duel. Strikes upon strikes were dealt to the King and all the King could do was deflect and dodge.
This was a one sided duel, with the Seraphim in control of battle. Thus, the king remembered his previous duels with the Seraphim. Not once did he win against the divine being and not once did he ever land a blow.
The duel continued on with both sides refusing to yield. The king was slowly adapting to the swordplay that the Seraphim was showing, but the moment that he adapted, the Seraphim would immediately change His style.
Thus, decreasing the chances of the king to win. Until, the Seraphim had finally landed a heavy blow to the king's chest.
The king was pierced and blood seeped out of the wound... However!
That did not stop the king from sending a blow towards the Seraphim, but the Seraphim saw this and tilted his body to dodge. The king then let out his frail voice and spoke to the Seraphim.
"Throughout all these years, all these duels, and all these battles that we had. I have never landed a single blow."
The Seraphim stared at him with pity, seeing the frail body of the king slowly turn lifeless within His hands. Then the king spoke softly of using up all of his strength to declare words upon the Seraphim.
"...until now."
Immediately, the Seraphim felt a drop of blood within his cheeks. He had actually been cut! Yet he felt indifferent, it was only a cut and it was not dire. He wondered why this had mattered to the king.
The Seraphim thought that He could kill the individual in front of him with a single movement of His finger. But, that would hinder His plans of ascending, His grand plan of showing brilliance to the people of Solaurum had not been achieved yet.
With the duel now over, the Seraphim left without saying a word. He vanished into thin air and golden particles were left in his place.
The king gazed upon the city's landscape with emptiness. He stared at this beauty for mere moments until he fell to the ground.
King Sigourde was dead.
*
It was a rainy day, Aurelium was standing far from Solaurum, watching it from a distance. He was in the lush green mountains near the great city.
He used his Brilliance to see from far away. Everything that was Brilliant belonged to him after all. Whether it be treasures, complex engineering, human minds, and many more. As long as He deemed it as Brilliant, it would belong to Him.
He was gazing at the Brilliance of a fallen king.
All around the luxurious coffin were people that wore a dark shade of colors. They were weeping, saddened, and empty from the scene.
The coffin was being lowered and rites of memorial were spoken by specific individuals. Then, dirt covered the luxurious coffin, hiding its radiance beneath the world.
The place where the luxurious coffin had been buried was near a golden tombstone.
With this, Aurelium felt an unknown feeling rising up deep within him. He felt a connection, a bond, and a feeling of longing.
[This be? Is this.. emotion?]
However, instead of acting along with the feeling of longing. Aurelium smiled ear to ear, then he shouted the words of:
"Brilliant! This be of Brilliance! Humans! At last, I've understood thee! Such complex beings of Brilliance and such.. emotions!"
Aurelium, for once in his life, felt emotions and he was deeply satisfied by this! The foreign feeling of emotions made him feel the Brilliance that lay inside humanity.
The mountain was radiated from Aurelium's newly found emotions.
*
Years have passed since Sigourde's death and along those years was a flood that washed away the greatness of Solaurum. Humanity now resided inside the 4 towers that King Sigourde had once ordered to be built.
Most of the city was submerged and destroyed, various creatures from the depths rose and devastated the place where humans had once resided. These creatures claimed it as their own.
There were large sharks, giant crabs, sea serpents, and many more!
However, once structure could not be damaged or pierced by the treacherous sea creatures. It was a cathedral made of cobblestone, with intricate and otherworldly patterns that showed its extravagance.
Inside, was an emptiness that echoed across the halls, atop the cathedral lay a silver bell that could touch the Souls of the people.
And underneath.. was a catacomb filled with the bodies of great figures and Pathbearers.
Amongst the rooms of catacombs was one of glory and luxury. It was where the body of King Sigourde had resided. His coffin was made with sturdy stone which was made to seal the remnants of the Pathbearer's Soul.
Atop the coffin was... a four-winged Seraphim.
The Seraphim was humming a tone of happiness. It was as if He had been satisfied by the situation.
Then, the majestic tone that came from the Seraphim suddenly stopped. The Seraphim stood tall and gazed upon the stone coffin.
He then smiled brightly and uttered the words:
"Tis time.. I bid thee farewell, old friend of mine."
Then, the surroundings exploded in a bright shade of gold. Everywhere in the city had been turned into gold! Even the tall towers that pierced through the heavens. It was a spectacle to see.
It was... Brilliance!
This was the Seraphim's grand plan all along. In his viewpoint, the Brilliance he had shown in the past was not fit to complete his ascension ritual. The Brilliance defined by the runes were not simply of human standards, but rather a simple one!
He did not have to show his Brilliance towards the humans. He had to share it with them!
Thus, the Seraphim came to a conclusion of a salvation by Brilliance by turning everyone into gold!
For the Seraphim, this is true Brilliance, His Soul could be satisfied by this!
This was the true meaning of Brilliance.
Suddenly, the Seraphim grew another pair of wings. Once, He was a four-winged Seraphim of the Hallowed rank. But now...
[Aurelium]
[Path: Brilliance of the Sun]
[Path Rank: Seraph]
[Soul Rank: Empyrean]
[Attunement: Angel of Gold]
Under His avatar were a couple of ancient texts, the Seraphim then read them carefully.
[Your Soul has ascended to Empyrean! As an Angel of Gold, your wings are the symbol of your Soul.]
[Your Brilliance spreads across the world!]
He had finally accomplished His long goal of ascending! He was now an Empyrean rank and His 3rd pair of wings was physically manifested due to it.
Satisfied, the Angel of Gold gazed upon the landscape above him. It was a city of gold, submerged by the seas, destroyed by the creatures of the depths. Even if it was ruined it was still Brilliant!
After a long campaign of trying to understand humanity, the Seraphim had finally succeeded in showing his Brilliance! Thus, the city that He had resided in for a century was changed.
This city was named as..
The Sunken Golden City of Solaurum!
*
Veritas, gazing from the sidelines, realized the complete truth of the history of the Golden City. Most of his questions had finally been answered. He knew what the Golden City once was, how it turned into gold, and who turned it into gold.
The individual capable of turning a whole city into gold was the Seraphim of Gold. Veritas recalled the fairy tales that his mother once told him, it told a story of a sorrowful Pathbearer that cried until the city turned gold.
It was accurate up until the end, however the sorrowful Pathbearer could not feel any emotions at all! He turned the city into gold for His ascension ritual!
Veritas was not satisfied by this.
The Pathbearer sacrificed millions in order to become stronger. This doesn't align with his morals at all! Veritas felt anger rising up from within his heart.
As he witnessed the complete truth, a set of runes suddenly appeared in front of him!
[You have witnessed the complete truth..]
[Your path has been determined]
[Your path is-]
Veritas' eyes gleamed in awe, his long awaited Path was finally going to be revealed!
[Visionshaper]