"This Prisma Core that has been passed down among the highest leadership of the Lux Holy Land was found about a thousand years ago. It came with the very first Meteor Rain. And it is the reason why the faith in the Light had not died. We call it the Prophetic Stone."
As Prismana was continuously fed into the Prisma Core, it released a misty light that seemed to form into illusory manifestations of many things. The first was a bleak darkness that encompassed the land before being driven away by a brief flash of light. Then the misty light swirled as it emulated a quaking world, lands cracking and the sea parting.
Indeed, they were parting. The sea seemed to open a path toward something. They could barely understand what it looked like as it seemed to be coming from a very far distance away. From the depths came a rising swirling pillar of rocks that surged upward as though it intended to pierce the very skies. With its appearance, the sun, moons and stars seemed to dim.
The illusion changed once more as the misty light formed into clouds. They were thick and merciless in their tempestuous wrath, but soon, they too parted like curtains opening to a grand new stage, a new act in this dramatic play. And from beyond the heavens descended an army of foreign beings wielding powers unknown to them.
The illusion culminated with the end of a grand war. At the very heart of conflict stood the lone victor, a being of immeasurable light with stars revolving around them. They held in their hand something that could not be seen through the illusion. It seemed too powerful to be captured by whatever authority was powering these illusions, but it did not matter. What was important was that the victor took that something into their body just before the flicker of another authority tore through space ahead of them. And that was where the illusion ended.
"This is the prophecy that everyone knows. The former High Priestesses transcribed the story told by these visions into written text, filtering some of the more sensitive things for the masses."
Galeon was silently ruminating on what he had just seen. This prophecy was far more real than he believed it to be. He honestly did not know what he was expecting when he decided to come to the Holy Land, but this was definitely beyond that. And seeing it for himself, he could not undoubtedly say that it had no relation to him whatsoever. The events that were depicted by this prophecy, they have not occurred yet. Or rather, only one had already come to pass.
"The brightest light... that heralds the End."
He muttered as his thoughts returned to the battle in Vaulkeen's End, when he was surrounded by countless beasts, a tide that seemed to have no end. And yet, a single call from him lit up the world. He did not need to see it from afar to know it. He was the Bringer of Light and the Light was a part of him. Wherever the Light goes, he was present. And so he knew that his Light had reached the very ends of Corrin.
The Saintess nodded knowingly as she heard his words. That moment remained a core and vivid memory for everyone in the world, especially for the followers of the Light. This was especially the case for Shine and her Radiant Paladins who saw it happen up close. But the Saintess' recollection of it seemed to differ from theirs as she honed in on something that everyone perceived but glossed over.
"'I am the vessel through which judgement descends. I am the Light that heralds the End.' These were the words you uttered on that day. And it was in that moment that I knew the Bringer of Light has come."
Galeon looked at her strangely, seeing the confidence in her expression with a hint of pride. Was she proud that she had known so far ahead? How was she even certain that it was him? He had not known that his voice had travelled so far back then, that the authority that filled them had allowed them to reach as far as his Light. Although not many remember the words having been too absorbed with the bright light, the Saintess' blind eyes allowed her to see more than anyone.
"Now that you know the prophecy in full, allow me to convey to you the message left hidden within the Prophetic Stone. This is something that none before me had ever discovered. And it is only through my affliction that I am able to hear it."
The Saintess once again began pouring Prismana into the Prisma Core. This time, however, she was drowning it in copious amounts of Prismana that she was practically draining herself dry. As she stumbled, Shine had to catch her and help her stand, even aiding in providing the necessary amount of Prismana needed for this process. And once it reached a certain level of power, the misty lights that once formed illusory visions began moving once more.
This time, they did not form towering mountains or silhouettes of people. There was no world or war to witness. The misty light just remained floating in the air around them, quivering intermittently and rippling like waves. Shine could not understand what they were seeing. It was nothing like the visions of the prophecy earlier. Galeon, however, recognised what it was quickly. He had seen such things many times before.
"An audio recording?"
The Saintess nodded weakly. This was indeed some kind of audio recording and what they were seeing now was just the spectrogram. They could not hear the words being spoken, except for the Saintess who seemed to have to pay a price in order to do so. Galeon did not know how she discovered this, but this was nothing if not a miracle.
Whoever made this message was a shrewd person, hiding it behind a prophecy and a tall price in Prismana besides other possible requirements that may or may not exist beyond their knowledge. And after catching her breath, the Saintess began relaying the message to Galeon.
"Crowning glory, greatest shame, the heaven-reaching mountain that rises in my name.
A nail to a coffin, a cancer of worlds, the lives we do not own yet still reap.
The Trial of Ascension that sealed the Seed awakens the Heart in a moment of grief.
Eternity spins as Eternity should the Loom that tells us of the Truth.
The Seed, the Heart, the Spirit and Stars, the final bastion of the universe.
The Crucible burns ever fiercer, awaiting the End to its Eternal purpose."
The moment she finished speaking the final line of the message, the Saintess practically collapsed. Fortunately, Shine was still holding onto her and managed to keep her from falling. But she began panicking seeing the heartbreaking state that she was in. It was then that it all clicked in her mind, the reason for the Saintess' sudden incurable illness.
It was never an illness, but rather a price she had to pay for uncovering this message. Shine admonished herself for not even finding out until this very moment when she had been so close to her all this time. She wanted to hurry and bring the Saintess back to her room, but just as she was about to leave, a string of liquid light sank into the Saintess' chest. And almost instantly after that, the Saintess' complexion became better and much healthier.
She gasped in a deep breath as though having been suffocated for a long while. When she finally felt her strength returning, she stood up on her own, nodding to Shine in thanks before walking toward Galeon. And again, she knelt before him as tears began leaking from the corners of her closed eyes.
"Thank you, my Bright Master. I was ready to pay the price that the message would impose on me, but even then, it terrified me to know that I would again have to spend the rest of my life in bed. Thank you for freeing me from it. Please know that my life belongs to you alone. Whatever you wish of me, I will make it so."
The Saintess lowered her head and raised her hands toward Galeon. Even though she had already done it before, she still did it again. This act of supplication, this oblation was a sacred thing. And the Saintess was willing to go through hell and back if it meant Galeon would accept her devotion. Galeon only had a shred of attention to spare to this however. He let his hand rest upon hers, a sign of acceptance and of dominance. From this moment on, Galeon was the master and the Saintess was his servant.
The Saintess smiled in jubilee and celebration. Finally, her life's purpose truly begins. With great devotion, she leaned forward and kissed the back of his hand, a sign of submission. But Galeon could no longer pay it any mind as a set of words continued to echo in his head.
'Crowning glory, greatest shame, the heaven-reaching mountain that rises in my name....'
He did not know why, but he felt inexplicably drawn to those words, and not in a good way. He could feel something within him stirring, a dreadful omen of what was to come. He could feel it, the true beginning of the prophecy coincided with this.
And indeed, he could feel it.
They could all feel it... for the world had begun to tremble in fear. The quaking earth heralded the coming of war as the lands cracked open and the sea parted.