King Eldran sat upon his throne, sunlight streaming through the great hall's tall windows, illuminating his presence. Shun noticed that the King's eyes appeared brighter than usual, an unexpected sight given the dire circumstances surrounding them. Unlike Vergil Killer, King Eldran exuded a far greater sense of hope regarding the upcoming war.
"Back so soon?" King Eldran remarked, his gaze fixed ahead rather than directly on them.
Everyone knelt before the King, except for Shun. Dharma Leyndra had not followed them through the portal; instead, he had returned to the SIGMA academy graduates' mansion. Though he remained seen as a servant, Shun knew it was time to reveal the truth to his companions.
"Your Majesty, Shun, as the possessor of both 0th complete ethereal arms, has harvested Noah Heeden's ethereal arm from one of the enemies," Elysia explained with steady resolve. A glimmer of sadness flitted across King Eldran's face at the mention of Noah's name. Despite his recklessness and sometimes even disrespect, it was a tragedy that such a young warrior had lost his life.
As Elysia and Kael detailed the events leading to this moment, Otto occasionally interjected with extra information about their experiences.
Throughout the conversation, Shun stood awkwardly among the kneeling figures. Kael occasionally shot him stern looks to express his disapproval of Shun's apparent disrespect.
Shun dismissed the stares with contempt; there was no reason for a 0th complete ethereal warrior to bow to a 1st. While Alfred Eldran retained his title as King, Lordrixis classified individuals based solely on their ethereal arms. In Shun's view, he was being respectful enough not to demand that the King kneel before him.
After understanding the situation, King Eldran furrowed his brows. "Leaving aside the Prime Advisor's strange decisions, what exactly is this 'Creator?' The moment the Crusader King received the ethereal arms, the Harvester and the Distributor were separated."
Shun's heart tightened slightly. The Creator was described as a means to permit the materialization of other ethereal arms in the world. If it had never existed, how had the other ethereal arms formed? Furthermore, if the two 0th complete ethereal arms could be merged, why had Nathaniel Heaven not kept it for himself instead of splitting it and passing one to Sirius Xshasi? Did the Crusader King harbour even more secrets?
For a brief moment, silence enveloped the hall as both King Eldran and Shun processed the new information. The King was convinced that the two 0th complete ethereal arms could not be combined. As the manipulator of everybody's memories, he was certain he hadn't altered his own. The emergence of this new 0th complete ethereal arm felt fundamentally wrong.
Ultimately, King Eldran reached a conclusion. "Shun, there must be something unique about you regarding the 0th complete ethereal arms," he stated thoughtfully, his tone solemn. "I never understood why the Crusader King chose you as the Harvester's possessor; he never divulged even the slightest detail of his plan. But if you truly have what it takes, then it all begins to make sense."
Otto seemed less preoccupied with the reasons behind it and instead raised his head to address the King. "Your Majesty, I have a humble suggestion regarding the upcoming war."
All eyes shifted to Otto, and King Eldran raised his eyebrows, prompting him to continue.
Determination filled Otto's eyes as he spoke with conviction. "Your Majesty, it is time to deploy our ultimate weapon."
A stir of confusion rippled through the Great Hall; Shun and Silver exchanged puzzled glances. Ultimate weapon? Wasn't the 0th complete ethereal arm already their ultimate weapon? Shun quickly rifled through his memories to find the answer.
ECLIPSE, the deadliest MEA, was said to have the capability to devastate an entire city, if not an entire country, with just one strike.
"Absolutely not!" Kael Franklin exclaimed, rising in agitation. "It was a grave mistake to create that nightmare in the first place! Even if it could ensure our victory, Lordrixis will never return to what it once was!"
King Eldran nodded solemnly. "That isn't even the fundamental issue. Your name is Otto Morphy, correct?"
Otto replied in the affirmative, unfazed by the negativity emanating from his peers.
"Otto, the officers in Haven are not fools; they would not overlook such a fundamental detail. If you've thought of this, then so have they," King Eldran explained softly, though his tone lacked friendliness. "However, do not forget that components of ECLIPSE was divided among the three factions. Even if the Eternal Dynasty deems this an emergency and decides to use it, remember that the Cult of Luca Azoria has already fallen into Antonio Valdis's hands."
"We could always attempt to steal it," Shun suggested instinctively, not contemplating the reality of his words. With the fourth complete ethereal arm in hand, fetching the component back to Lordrixis didn't seem entirely impossible. Yet, all three factions had hidden the components of ECLIPSE in the most secure locations; the possessor of the World Walker could not access places they hadn't already seen.
"We could if we tried."
A gentle voice chimed in from behind, contrasting sharply with the earlier debate. Shun turned to see a young servant entering the Great Hall, her tone and stance affecting an unusual maturity for her age.
"Who are you to speak?" Kael Franklin scorned. "And why did you enter the Great Hall without the King's permission?"
The girl ignored him and continued, "Antonio is a careful man, he will likely deploy the majority of his forces in the assault, leaving few to defend the Cult of Luca Azoria. Therefore, we have a genuine chance if we send the right people." Her words were cold and steady. "However, the ECLIPSE component in the Cult of Luca Azoria is already gone, stolen by others."
King Eldran leaned forward, intrigued. "Where did you obtain that information?" He recalled the girl vaguely among the servants. In his memory, she was colder and more emotionless than the others. That aside, she was merely an instrument-class ethereal warrior lacking any extraordinary traits.
Once again, she disregarded his inquiry, "We must take care to protect our ECLIPSE component. If it falls into the wrong hands, it could wreak destruction as great as Antonio's invasion." Her tone dripped with hatred.
Shun stared at her in disbelief. "Who are you?"
This time, she answered without hesitation.
Lifting her chin, she declared her name, causing an eerie silence to envelop the great hall.
"My name is Kylainn Esmira."
"Or rather, one of the Kylainn Esmiras."