I looked down at my shadow, still unable to speak from what I just saw. My avatar had killed itself after I gave it my humanity; or a replication of it.
Was my sense of humanity twisted? Or was my envisioning flawed to a degree? Am I too weak to accomplish anything like that to a degree of success?
I instantly thought back to the time I had killed Anthony Salvin in his office, the strange rush of pleasure I felt to have a gun at my head, only to turn it back at him and plant a bullet in his cranium.
I had ultimately grown to forget that incident, to call that something of the past and never to be resurfaced. Was that very incident a stain to my humanity? Was it being my true self…who am I? Apocalypse or someone greater? Someone who should push past their given destiny and ascend higher and greater than they could previously imagine?
Or…am I a victim to my own destiny, am I really destined to destroy the world I care so much about?
I began to contemplate those thoughts. I'm just a 15 year old boy, a boy who should have known the horrors and truths of the world by now. I've learned how impure the world is, how much it needs love and purity.
Is it natural for a being destined for chaos to hate their destruction? Crodio told me it was beautiful, very beautiful for destruction to happen.
I descended from my throne room and divined myself onto a rooftop. I chose this particular spot not because I needed to hide from anyone, but because I simply wanted to watch humanity and its loveliness.
It was one of the tallest buildings here, one that stretched above the large, round wall that surrounded the kingdom. I watched silently as the empty streets remained desolate, and the street lights began to finally dim until the entire area below my feet was shrouded in darkness.
I took a heavy sigh as I leaned back and stared up into the sky. In the sky there were little to no clouds now, allowing the stars to shine though. Back home there was an absence of light pollution, which didn't allow me to view the distant cosmos from beyond the close range of the atmosphere.
But up here where steam-engine technology hadn't evolved past the train, it was enchanting to be able to look up into the starry night sky and see all the stars and nebulas in the distant, unreachable horizon.
The moon remained still, motionless; a massive heap of nature floating in the cosmos. I looked towards it and recalled the vision I had with the figure on the moon, and the numerous pairs of eyes that pried at the earth's destruction.
Suddenly, I felt a cold, dominating and terrifying sensation fill my body, a bleak contrast to the peacefulness I'd previously felt. In the distant sky I could see something illusory and blue.
It stretched as far as the eyes could see, and it appeared almost chromatic. I stood up slowly and continued to stare at this blue anomaly in the sky with these sudden emotions.
This barrier that seemed forged from starlight and the essence of the cosmos began to glow brighter. Soon, it was at the point where the entire kingdom was suddenly engulfed in a bright blue light.
I could finally see what it was. It was a barrier. I froze in my tracks on the roof. A barrier? Why would there be a barrier that extends beyond the kingdom?
Suddenly, a tiny area of the barrier began to crack like glass, the area directly above me! I took a few steps back, almost falling off the edge of the roof. Why was this particular area of the barrier breaking? Is this barrier keeping something out, or holding something in?
I suddenly turned my head and looked beyond this barrier, and I saw numerous stars in the sky had turned crimson red, burning brightly in the cosmos. Suddenly, all the attention from the cosmos shrank back! The strange force field's cracks were sealed, and the illusory red dots disappeared into the night sky.
It then hit me…that barrier was the same one that Crodio was referring to…it was the barrier that kept the Outer Lords out! But why would they cower away when I looked at them? Were they scared of being noticed, or were they scared of…something else? Could it be that they too are aware of what I'm supposed to be?
Even after all the illusory stars had disappeared, I felt one gaze lingering on me, a gaze that felt powerful and terrifying. I turned back around and noticed that one of the crimson stars had remained, and it was glowing brighter than the previous ones. I felt a strange temptation to reach towards the illusory star, the same feeling calling inside me when I saw the illusory branded figure on the moon. But before I could even think of making contact, the star retracted into the cold and indifferent cosmos.
Why had that Outer Lord stared at me longer?
…
The next day I changed back into my casual clothing and headed outside, my mind still reminiscing on the night's events. Last night when I entered the apartment Hitoshi was sleeping as if nothing had occurred, which I found strange.
When I asked him about it he questioned if I'd gotten enough sleep lately. Ever since Mr. Debois's death I'd felt this strange rush of worry consume me wherever I went. If I was supposed to be looking for the cards just like Ian, then I'd probably suffer the same fate as him.
I only got about 2 hours of sleep, so what I saw last night might have actually been an illusion or a figment of my imagination. When I gave my avatar my "humanity" I also felt tired, so it wasn't a bad surmission to claim that it was an illusion.
Perhaps I could borrow a book on sealed relics and see if they contain anything about the 37 Cards of Replication. I'd already checked the Silencers library, but the sealed relics book was brief and had some pages ripped out.
When I entered the historical society and rapped on the vault, the same old woman greeted me with a smile. Beside her stood 2 other people. One was a teenage boy of about 13 years, and the other was a teenage girl of 14 years.
Something told me they were her grandchildren, but I figured it would be rude to ask. I looked on both of their chests and noticed the identical badges above their breasts, indicating they worked here.
I could see their names clearly now. The boy was named Arden Stiener and the girl was Cosette Stiener. Arden was about 5 foot 3 inches and had neatly combed black hair with golden roots. Cosette was 5 foot 1 inches, and had long black hair going down to her neck, with the same golden roots.
The woman's identity badge read Adriana Taylor, so she wasn't their grandmother. I would have been quite awkward asking! I looked towards the old woman and smiled softly. "Hello, I'm here for any possible resources regarding Sealed Relics."
Adriana fell silent for a few moments before shooting Cosette and Arden a quick glance. "We don't have any in the vault, but I suppose my fellow coworkers could be able to assist you?"
Cosette and Arden took a stop forward and shook my hand. "I'm glad to help, my name's Arden." His voice was high and cheerful. Cosette also shook my hand. "My name's Cosette, pleasure to accommodate you."
After I greeted them Cosette looked beyond me and towards the other end of the historical society to the left of the entrance. After a few moments she looked back at me. "Books regarding such a subject would be found in the informational gathering section, right this way." Cosette said politely as she led me and Arden down the hallway.
"Luckily it's almost our lunch break, so I suppose we should get you your information quickly." Arden chirped up. The information section of the society building was the tallest section of the building, and its bookshelves stretched to the ceiling.
"So you work here with Mrs. Adriana?" I asked as I watched Cosette begin to fish through the bookshelves. She pushed aside her black bangs and nodded. "We do, Mrs. Adriana pays us well; or the historical society does."
I nodded before looking over to Arden, who leaned against a pillar while watching Cosette work. "Aren't you going to help her, she can't do that on her own…" I said blatantly. Arden sighed with a smile. "My sister has a special talent of finding information quickly. We both got the job because we're both Seekers of the Astral Routeway, and at Order 8 it allows us to gather and remember things more quickly."
"You're seekers?" I asked in astonishment and a little curiosity. Arden nodded. Suddenly, Cosette descended from a tall ladder and handed me a pile of dusty books that looked untouched for years. "Here's your information, sir." She said with a smile.
I took the books with a thank you before looking back to Cosette and Arden, who had curious expressions. "How long until your lunch break?" I asked.
Cosette looked down at her watch and sighed. "About 2 minutes, but Mrs. Adriana doesn't mind if we leave early. It looks like this place won't get that many visitors considering it's only about 12:00 in the afternoon."
I nodded, taking in that information. Arden suddenly took a step towards me. "Wanna join us?" He asked. I was taken aback by the question. The only time I'd really been invited to a place to eat was from Hitoshi, but I figured eating with people I'd just met was a feasible way to gain their trust and admiration. "Sure."
…
Arden, Cosette, and I walked into the Infuser et Musé cafe and sat down. The walk was about 10 minutes, considering the historical society was located in the middle of the wealthy part of town, and it cost about 5 copper Lumin to rent a carriage in the wealthy parts of town.
After we all ordered our food Arden began speaking to Cosette. "I hope we'll be able to promote to Order 7 soon with the help of the Silver Snake Committee, although their current stock of potion ingredients is something I don't know much about…"
I perked up. "Silver Snake Committee?"
Arden and Cosette immediately fell silent. Their reactions and now changed expressions made me think this organization was something they didn't want me knowing about. But I think it's Arden's lack of social awareness that rendered me now in this current discussion.
"It's a Seeker gathering held under the Pan Marché de Bolivar complex downtown. It consists of a group of Seekers who are all of the Astral, Vitality, Divinity and Guardian Routeways. Our leader; Sir Dwane Konstantine, is the most powerful Seeker there, at the level of an Order 4 of the Vitality Routeway!"
A secret Seeker gathering? Could there be a possible way I could find the 37 Cards of Replication? "Are you open to new members?" I asked. Cosette and Arden exchanged glances for a few moments before speaking up. "Its questionable, we'll have to ask Mr. Dwane first. He's a nice man so I suppose he'd be able to accommodate you."
After we finished our lunch Arden, Cosette and I began to walk back to the historical society building when Cosette suddenly froze as she looked towards the advertisement board posted near the staircase. "A material exchange committee?"
She was eyeing my ad! I cleared my throat and nodded. "Yes, and I made that ad; because It's my business…" I spoke up hesitantly.
Cosette and her brother looked back at me in curiosity. "Why would you need to start one?"
"Well, there's a group of artifacts I'm looking for…The Cards of Replication, and I'm hoping you'd be able to help me?"