As his sister's bloody corpse lied to his side, Lucius returned his gaze to the Fortuna Grimoire floating in front of him. He then produced a small dagger from under his suit and proceeded to slice his palm with it.
Lucius hovered his injured palm over the grimoire and let the blood pouring out from the wound to drip onto the book's cover.
As soon as Lucius's blood made contact with the grimoire, his body glowed with the same crimson radiance the grimoire was emitting. It was then the book flew to his hands and opened itself to its first page. A single sentence was written on it in red ink.
[Journey to the capital of Terraluna and offer my guidance to the Little Sun who would bring the entire world to a grand new age.]
"Then it shall happen as You will it, Great Fortuna…" said Lucius after he read the line on the page.
The crimson radiance on both Lucius and the grimoire dissipated. The book then vanished into Lucius's magic pocket space, signifying the success of his appointment as Fortuna's apostle.
Lucius turned around and made his way to the door. Right before he left the catacomb, he stole a glance toward his sister's corpse.
He snorted a chuckle at the sight of Luciana's blood-drenched body.
"Heh! As if that would've stopped you."
Lucius then traced his trail back outside and found his father waiting for him at the edelweiss field. The family head put on a surprised face once he saw Lucius coming out from the temple.
"Oh? You didn't expect me to become the apostle? Is that why you're so shocked, father?" asked Lucius with a sly grin on his face.
"Honestly, yes, son!" replied Desmond frankly without feeling any remorse. "The two of you are, indeed, terrifyingly equal. But I just had this hunch that it would be your sister who would come out on top."
"Why would you say that?"
"I suppose your sister had this…tenacity." said Desmond. "Like no matter how many odds were stacked against her, she would always end up triumphant. I've seen it happened all the time while I was training both of you."
"Well I can't really blame you for feeling that way." said Lucius with a sigh. "Even though I managed to kill her and her corpse was staring right at me, I got this lingering feeling that she would rise back from the dead and stab me in the back when I'm not looking."
"Hahaha! Well, if there's anyone who can defy death itself, it would be your sister!" said Desmond. "So, anything interesting happened while the two of you were duking it out?"
Lucius was then reminded of Luciana's words about Goddess Fortuna. The mention about Her true name being the Goddess of Chaos, Kali, and the fact that Her guidance and blessings would only bring the world to ruination.
"No…" replied Lucius shaking his head. "Nothing worth mentioning."
"Very well! Then let's begin our mission, shall we?" said the Edelweiss family head. "What did the grimoire tell you to do?"
The Fortuna Grimoire appeared on Lucius's palm once more and he opened the book to its first page.
"The goddess is telling us to go to the capital and visit the Little Sun that I think is the prophesied one to bring the entire world to a grand new age."
"And? Which of the seven Little Suns do you think is the one, Lucius?" asked Desmond.
Lucius immediately chuckled at his father's question.
"Need you ask, father? There is only one of them who is perfectly fit the criteria." said Lucius. "The child of the Emperor who became an aura master at the age of six. The one who joined the Imperial Knight order at the age of 10. The talented prodigy who became a division general of the Imperial Army at the age of 14. The one of a kind warrior who defended the Empire from the demon invasion at the age of 17."
Desmond's smile grew wider as Lucius described the person.
"The eldest child of Emperor Arturos and the daughter of the Empress." introduced Lucius. "Her Highness the First Princess, Titania Arturian Doulosaima!"
"Excellent!" shouted Desmond with joy. He snapped his fingers and caused a golden magic circle to appear underneath them. "Well then, let's not keep Her Highness waiting!"
A golden magic circle under the two men glowed up and caused them to vanish into thin air. Teleporting themselves elsewhere.
Meanwhile, back in the depths of Fortuna Temple, where the goddess's grimoire used to be kept in... Luciana's bloody corpse lying inside the catacomb suddenly shined with purple light. The radiance engulfed the body whole and the light vanish into nothingness along with Luciana.
"Well, between the two of us, it was I who was better at illusion magic."
A portion of the catacomb's wall became distorted. It was as if there was a creature who disguised itself to look the same as the wall and now had decided to move around and caused its appearance to be out of place from the rest of the background. Only it wasn't a creature. The humanoid silhouette suggested it was a female human.
[Dark Arts, Bat's Cloak, Disable]
The silhouette shined and when the light subsided, it revealed Luciana Edelweiss. All well and sound. There was no scratch nor wound on her body. In fact, she was never injured in the first place for the Luciana who was talking to Lucius earlier was just merely a projection created by the woman through magic.
Luciana then stared at the spot where the Fortuna Grimoire used to be floating at.
"I have done it. I've changed the past." stated Luciana. "Instead of I, it is Lucius who became the Apostle of Fortuna."
A sharp pain was suddenly felt inside Luciana's chest. The sensation was so torturing it made her collapse to the ground.
Fortunately for Luciana, the pain only lasted for a few seconds. She slowly rose herself back up.
"Dear Alpha… That goddess wasn't...kidding...about the price!"
Luciana recalled the moment when she was speaking to the shining woman. Right after Luciana was presented with the questions.
"I will. I'll do it. I'll accept your offer!" replied Luciana. She leaned down on the dead man below her and gave his forehead a soft kiss. "Wait for me, Your Highness. I'll reunite with you and fix everything."
She stared at his ice-cold face for one last time.
"I promise it will be different this time, my prince!"
Luciana lifted the man's head from her lap and laid him on the ground. She proceeded to walk to the portal the shining woman created.
"Before you go, let me give you one warning, Luciana Edelweiss." said the shining woman, stopping Luciana on her track. "Just because you went back in time, it doesn't mean everything you've done in this life will be forgotten."
Luciana turned her gaze toward the ruined surroundings.
"You're referring to my sins, aren't you?"
"The lives you've ruined. The havocs you wrought. All the evil deeds you committed." nodded the shining woman. "You will still have to pay the price for those actions after you go back."
"How exactly will I redeem myself?"
"Each time you change a moment of your past, the universe will grant you your penalty. As it is the cost of your sin." said the shining woman. "The bigger the change you made, the bigger the price you'll pay."
"Goodness… It's as if you're discouraging me to do good." replied Luciana with a teasing smile.
"It is up to you to change the past or not. You're free to do exactly the same as you did in this life but you already know what'll happen in the end." said the shining woman. "It all depends on your willingness to pay for your sins for the sake of the future you desired. The future you wished for that man whose corpse you just laid rest on the ground."
Luciana smiled after hearing the woman. Right after hearing what it would take for her to achieve what she really wanted.
"Then I shall pay the universe back in full. For I'm not going to let this horrifying future happen for the second time."
The shining woman smiled at Luciana's reaction.
"In that case, I shall bid you safe travel." said the higher being. She pointed to the portal. "And once you go back, make your way to my only temple in Terraluna and find my grimoire. The me from back then will guide you."
"The you from back then? You mean you won't remember everything that happened up to this point?"
"Nobody will. Only you, Luciana." said the shining woman. Though her face was blurry, but it was clear her expression had turned darkened. "That being said, though your omniscient trait might seem useful, you'll still have a rough path ahead of your journey. Don't underestimate the challenges that awaits you to fulfill the ancient prophecy."
"I won't." said Luciana. She began to step into the portal. "Well then, I'll see you in the bygone days."
"See you in the bygone days…"
As she finished recalling that young memory, Luciana snapped her fingers and caused a golden magic circle to appear under her.
"Just as Lucius has begun his journey, it is now time to begin mine." said Luciana. She recalled the face of the man on her lap. "Don't you worry, my prince. I won't let you down this time!"
The golden magic circle glowed up and made Luciana vanished into thin air.