"Enough of that."
I clapped my hands once and stopped whatever was going on. Imdiately, all attention focused on once more as I shifted my focus onto An’as.
"...I’ll get straight to the point. I need you to help reach out to the Goddess. I need to speak to her."
"What?"
An’as’s expression changed subtly. The sa was for Anne as they both looked at in shock and confusion.
"You want to et with the Goddess? Why?"
"There’s sothing that I need to ask her."
I didn’t elaborate any further, but the two seed to understand what I ant as they exchanged a brief glance. Eventually, An’as’s expression shifted, a complicated look spreading across his face.
"Had you asked a while back, I could’ve probably have done sothing, but the situation right now is a little bit tough. The entire church has been shut down, and those from the Seat of Solas are hard to reach."
"Is sothing happening?"
"Yes."
An’as didn’t hold back any information. He inford of everything that he knew. Or perhaps, he inford of everything that he was allowed to share.
But it was good enough.
"There’s been a strange substance spreading throughout the region. It helps people gain strength, but at the sa ti, it drives them mad. I don’t know much about it, since only those from the Seat of Solas seem to have a clear grasp of the situation, but from what I’ve heard, it’s not just happening here. The sa thing is occurring in other territories as well. We’re starting to lose control, and because of that, it’s beco nearly impossible for to et with the current Living Saint or anyone from the Seat of Solas."
The more I listened to An’as’s words, the more I frowned.
This situation was becoming less and less ideal.
’What is the substance that he’s talking about? Why is it spreading? Other territories, too? Is this done by a god or sothing else?’
My curiosity got the better of , and I was just about to ask for more details about the strange substance when An’as reached out and placed a small glass bottle and a candle on the table.
"Here."
He pushed the items my way.
"These are the items that I’ve just recently managed to get my hands on. Check them out and see."
Curious, I picked up the bottle and examined its contents, but the instant my fingers brushed against the glass, a searing heat coursed through my veins. My blood seed to boil, and a sharp wave of realization struck almost imdiately.
"This...!"
I opened my mouth, examining the bottle closely.
"This is the blood of——"
The words faded from my mouth the mont I was about to speak them, my eyes widening as a result. I tried again, but the result was no different.
"The blood of what?"
"Spit it out."
"Why aren’t you finishing your sentence?"
I could clearly see the frustration etched across the faces of everyone in the room as their eyes settled on . Their expressions said more than words ever could, and seeing them, all I could do was offer a bitter smile.
Thankfully, Leon was there to cover for .
"Sothing is blocking him from saying the words."
"Huh?"
"That’s a thing?"
Without saying a word, I simply nodded and set the bottle back on the table before reaching for the candle. The mont my fingers brushed against it, the sa sensation coursed through .
My blood roared as though set ablaze.
Grimacing faintly, I placed the candle down once more.
’This is a lot more troubleso than I expected.’
It also raised a lot of questions. Why was the blood being distributed? What was causing this? Were the Outer Beings finally making a move? Is this also the reason why Panthea isn’t making a move?
’...Just what in the world is going on?
The more I thought about the situation, the stranger it felt to .
"I take it that you have so sort of idea as to what this strange substance is, but you’re not allowed to say it."
Looking back at An’as, and then Anne, I opened my mouth but ultimately closed it before nodding.
I was indeed not allowed to talk about. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I couldn’t.
"I see."
An’as leaned back against his seat, his gaze lingered on the items laid out on the table, his expression unreadable, as though he were trying to piece together sothing only he could see.
Eventually, he looked back at .
"Since you already seem to have so understanding of what’s going on, it would be best if you could speak with the Goddess directly. Unfortunately, I wasn’t lying when I said I can’t arrange a eting with her. Still," An’as paused for a mont, his tone evening out a little bit, "it’s not entirely impossible for to help you et soone from the Seat of Solas."
"You can?"
My eyes lit up.
I just needed to reach soone with enough clearance to contact the Goddess directly. As long as she beca aware of my presence, I was confident I could secure a eting with her.
’I’m sure she knows sothing about Noel. Given how he had saved her life in the past, I don’t think their relationship is bad. There’s no way the two would’ve worked together if their relationship was horrible. Haha... Maybe the two of them even have a special relationship.’
I almost laughed at the thought. I couldn’t think of Noel ever getting with anyone, but then, thinking about Julien’s mother, I felt my expression twitch.
Surely...
"Let see if I can arrange sothing. There’s an important eting between the Seats soon. I can try to see if I can get a spot there."
Standing up, An’as took out a strange device and left the room shortly after. I stared at his parting back before turning towards Anne.
She was staring at and then everyone else in the room.
"You guys..."
"We’re all the sa age."
Her face deflated as she similarly stood up, mumbling things like, ’kids these days are scary. I can’t believe they’re all this strong when they’re so young. What did their families feed them?’
She left the room shortly after.
What followed after her departure was a brief mont of silence. One that was inevitably broken by Kiera as she looked at .
"How did you et these people, exactly?"
"I’m also a little bit curious."
Evelyn chid in.
Turning my head and seeing Leon and Aoife also looking at , I gave them a brief explanation.
"It was during the ti when I was in the Mirror Dinsion, when I technically died."
"Oh, right. The mont you went ahead and ’died’ and appeared again. That makes sense."
I noticed hints of sarcasm in Kiera’s tone. Aoife joined from the side.
"Right, right... It’s not like that’s strange or anything. We should already be used to Julien leaving, just like how he left for three whole years."
"....."
I didn’t actually leave...
"Did you et anyone in the three years you were gone?"
I looked at Leon.
His face scrunched up as he looked at .
"He probably didn’t."
Looks like they were all still holding a grudge...
I sighed.
Fine, fine. I’ll accept it.
While it wasn’t my fault, and it had to be done, I could still see why they were angry. The entire world had shifted considerably since my departure, and a lot of things had happened as a result of ’Julien’s’ actions.
With that being said—
"I wasn’t actually gone for very long. I was only gone for like a da—"
"Alright, it can be done."
An’as’s voice cut through mine as he entered the room once more, holding onto a strange device. He looked around the room before settling his gaze on .
"...There’s going to be a gathering soon between the Seats of Solas. While I can’t promise you I can get you a eting with them, I can get you to attend the gathering. Whatever happens from that point will be up to you. Is that okay?"
I looked at An’as and stood up from my seat.
"That’ll do."
All I needed was a eting.
That was all I needed.
***
"...It appears that Julien has been dealt with."
A soft voice whispered within a soft chamber where a man appeared. He sat with his legs crossed, his entire body humming in the silence as a faint glow enveloped his body.
Elizabeth stood a couple of steps from him as she reported the entire situation to him.
"He disappeared shortly after the forces from the grail family surrounded him. We’ve tried getting in contact with him, but it’s been to no avail. We’ve even tried to use our spies in the grail forces to get an idea of his current whereabouts, but we’ve got nothing. The Princess also appears to have gone missing."
Elizabeth’s voice continued to drift silently across the chambers as the figure remained seated without making a single sound.
Pursing her lips, Elizabeth was about to continue when the figure sat opened his eyes, revealing a pair of golden orbs that sucked in all the darkness within the room.
A powerful pressure enveloped the entire surroundings, causing Elizabeth’s chest to stiffen under the pressure.
Nevertheless, she kept her posture straight as the figure turned his attention towards her.
"He’s gone missing?"
Atlas’s voice ca out softly.
Feeling his gaze, Elizabeth lowered her head and nodded.
"Yes. He’s gone missing."
"Mhm, I see."
There was no fluctuation in Atlas’s gaze upon receiving the piece of news. It had to be known that Julien was Atlas’s disciple. For him to show little to no emotion at his apparent ’disappearance’...
"There’s no need to concern ourselves with such matters. I’ve already gotten a good grasp of his current location. He’s in Panthea’s territory. He’s not missing."
"....!?"
"It’s also very likely that the Julien we know is gone."
Atlas’s eyes narrowed slightly, the hum emitting from his body growing louder as his joints started to crack, and he started to move.
"However, that can be dealt with later. There are more pressing matters at hand."
Cra Crack!
Pops and cracks echoed with each second as Atlas stood up from his spot and focused his attention on the door of the room.
Without saying a single word, he moved towards the door and opened it, revealing a haggard, chained-up figure, his face pale and clothes torn.
Atlas stared in Noel’s direction before opening his mouth.
"They’ve grown impatient."
By ’they’, he ant the ’Outer Beings’.
"...Although not obvious, I can see through their sches. They’re trying to take complete control of the world, creating a second Mirror Dinsion in the process."
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