Caelum stared at his reflection in the mirror. The custom suit he was given fit his body perfectly to the point that it might even look like a skin-tight costume.
It was clearly different from the standard gear worn by Halo's Chosen which was also highly ranked. His custom suit was built more for ease of movement as a main priority, but its defence was just as great as the bulkier standard model.
The black ceramic-like texture made from alloying certain monster bones and the toughest metals that Halo could get their hands on made him look like a futuristic special forces soldier. It only reinforced the image of an Angel of Slaughter. As he was groaning in embarrassment, Erta appeared beside him.
"Well, how do I look? It's pretty, right?"
Unlike his, Erta's custom suit seemed to have prioritised aesthetic over everything else starting with how she even had skin showing in some parts. The ceramic-like material was rather lighter than one would expect and it fit perfectly in the design choice for Erta's suit.
White with black and gold accents plus a short skirt made of the same material, Erta's suit made her look like a Valkyrie straight out of Norse mythology. Her hair, which she liked to tie up into a ponytail since the time the servants taught her how, flowed down her back and gave her a refreshing feeling.
"You look very beautiful."
"Thanks! You look very handsome too!"
Erta was happy with his sincere compliment and looked at her reflection as well. She spun around, admiring every part of her suit.
Caelum saw her back which was mostly open as part of the design taking into consideration her wings. On it was a golden stigmata that radiated a faint light. At the centre was a circle surrounded by four pillars forming a cross.
Caelum thought it looked more like a compass with the silvery diamond shapes in between each pillar. He knew why there was a difference in colour, and he couldn't help but be in awe.
He stretched out his hand to feel the power from her stigmata only to find himself touching her skin.
"Do you like it? My stigmata transformed as a result of the Life Covenant. Yours as well, last I saw. It's proof that we're connected."
"It's beautiful…. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."
"It's fine. We're a shared existence now. My everything is yours just as your everything is mine."
Erta turned around and held his hand. Her smile was so lovely that Caelum felt his heart tremble. He understood just how terrifying the Life Covenant was.
He accepted thinking it was just like a marriage on paper with no real love, but the experience of sharing everything together, even their thoughts and emotions, was quickly breaking his defences.
It seemed Erta was the same as she just stared into his eyes longingly. The long silence continued until a ringing startled them. It was Caelum's phone which received Reynor's message notifying him of the completion of his assignment.
"Looks like we have a full party waiting for us. Come on, let's go."
Caelum had already gotten over the sudden awkwardness and stretched a hand out to Erta. She grabbed it bashfully, her face bright red.
She quickly calmed herself down as they left their house and flew away. The sun was just setting so they decided not to hurry. Caelum took the opportunity to interrogate Erta about some of the things she previously said.
"Alright, Erta. Tell me what you know. Why is Earth abnormal?"
"Right. Then starting from the beginning, the last time a world emerged into the Great War was over a thousand years ago. No one expected that a new world would emerge and that's why everyone is eyeing Earth. Which leads to my next point."
Erta sent an image to Caelum through their connection. It was a model of a world with a natural barrier around it.
"Do you see it? That's what a world that has just emerged into the Great War looks like. The natural barrier will slowly weaken until a different world punches a tiny hole on it to use as a pathway. Over time it grows, until..."
The model world's barrier was slowly tearing open. Caelum found it uncanny that it looked like how scientists described the holes in the Earth's atmosphere. The hole on the barrier grew large enough to allow masses of enemies to pass through and cover nearly half of the world.
"This is what Sanctuary is currently facing. However, Earth is different. Despite having just emerged, you've already been invaded multiple times. Even we in Sanctuary were shocked when the gate that would bring me to Earth was formed so easily.
If I had to say, it's like the barrier on Earth has unnaturally weakened, like it's been poked by needles beforehand. Otherwise, there's no way for gates to easily form. The pathway to Earth is already wider than it should be."
Caelum nodded seriously to her words. His understanding of the mechanics of the Great War was only at the basics so Erta's explanation was a great help. He grimaced at the implications of her words, however, Erta was not yet finished.
"Next is the strength of the avatars on Earth. Excluding you, they are all too weak. Even in this weakened state from helping cast the magical array of Sanctuary, I'm still stronger than most of Earth's avatars.
And like I said, I'm the youngest and weakest of the Avatars of the Divine Obelisk. And I know this may sound silly, but it makes me think that perhaps Earth wasn't even intended to emerge and join the Great War."
"What do you mean?"
"It's clear that Earth's avatars have only recently become able to notice and wield mana. When was it exactly?"
"Three years ago when the Imaginary Tree appeared."
"I see. Then that's another thing to add. Earth had no idea of the existence of its Anchor before it showed itself. In fact, even now I hear people calling it a different name than you do."
"Yeah. They call it the World Tree. The people of Earth don't know anything about it or the nature of their powers. And of course, they don't know about the Great War."
"It's much graver than I thought. Before Sanctuary had even emerged, mana was already an important part of civilization. The magical array that our ancestors created had once been made to serve a different purpose entirely.
They only modified it at the time of the emergence to be what it is now. But the point is that we knew of mana even before the emergence, and that is because we already recognized the existence of the Divine Obelisk, our world's Anchor.
And the moment that Sanctuary emerged into the Great War, the Divine Obelisk gave us the knowledge we needed to survive. I don't know what's going on, but there is definitely something wrong with Earth and the Imaginary Tree both."
"Then do you think I should tell the world about it?"
"At this point, nothing will change even if they knew. The most important thing is that they must get stronger in preparation for the real battles ahead. What you've been facing until now were just the scouting units meant to test the strength of the avatars. The demons would have likely understood your world's strength by now after sending the bulimeus and sower."
"Then the plan remains the same. I have no idea how to get the others stronger though. I can only focus on myself then."
"Don't worry, they will grow on their own by killing the monsters on Earth and the invading enemies. They will have to or else they will die. Which leads me to my final point."
Erta pointed toward their destination. They were only a few minutes away from the Watchtower now. At its base, they could see a small gathering of people. Caelum confirmed that it was the Chosen he had asked to come. Among them was Reynor and a team from Halo. Erta held onto his hand while speaking with a serious expression.
"Earth is evolving in a way unlike any other world. If our suspicion is correct, then I can only say that the dungeons on Earth will continue to grow more unpredictable and dangerous. In fact, this is the first time I've encountered a dungeon that could not be perceived."
Erta looked at Caelum. Her face was showing how nervous she was. Caelum could feel how much she worried for his safety, but they knew that there was no other choice. It had to be him who would lead the avatars on Earth. He held her hand tightly to reassure her.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to die, no matter what happens."
"I know. Because I'll be there to protect you. If you dare die on me, then I'll bring you back to life and kill you again myself."
With such terrifying words, Erta smiled beautifully. Caelum cursed himself for thinking it would be fine for him to die just to see her smile like that all the time. He did not want to admit it, but he was starting to sink into the rabbit hole.
With such thoughts filling his head, the two landed before the gathered group of Chosen. The sun had now completely set and the sky was turning dark. Soon, the moon shall shed its light upon the world.