The room was decorated with a massive bed—large enough for four—its golden fra filling the space with warmth. To its right was a window, and beside that, a door leading to the washroom.
On the left wall hung nothing but a portrait of the King. His eyes mirrored Astara’s—the sa confident gaze—but his black hair differentiated them. The divine flag stood beside him.
Directly opposite the bed was a desk, adorned with his uniform, books, a small mirror, and a seat. To its right stood a wardrobe.
dora’s room was right next to Daylan’s, on the right.
"You guys must rest—it’s a direct order from Captain Alucard. Since it’s almost nightfall, your als will be brought to you," Rodger said, then excused himself.
Daylan and dora stood at their entrance, shrugged at each other, and then headed into their rooms. The mont he stepped inside, Daylan shut the door behind him, placed the cat on the desk, and hurled himself onto the bed.
It didn’t take long before his expression turned cold. He rushed to the washroom imdiately. He still wasn’t fully recovered from the seasickness—and he’d forgotten to ask dora to heal him. He had been holding it in all this ti, but at that mont, he couldn’t anymore.
By the ti he returned from the washroom, he was the very definition of weak. The cat was resting on his bed, and the mont he joined it, he pulled it into a hug. What followed was a long, deep sleep.
He missed his al, but that didn’t matter. The next ti he woke up, it was to a strike from dora—directly to his chin.
She was neatly dressed in her uniform but had refused to untie her ponytail. Instead, it was bound with a red banner—the one she’d gotten from Artist.
The mont she saw his face, she healed him without hesitation and told him to get ready to et the Divine Arches.
He dragged himself to his feet, while dora sat on his bed with the cat, stubbornly refusing to give him even a little space.
He hadn’t realized there was so much white in the uniform, but it was safe to say he owned it. The fabric rested gently on his body—in total submission. The whiteness complented both his hair and eyes, making him stand out and easy to spot.
Daylan was in front of the mirror, teasing dora with his incredible looks, when a knock ca at the door—it was Rodger.
"I didn’t expect you two to look this good in uniform—especially you, dora," he added, bowing with a smile.
Daylan opened his mouth in shock. "How?!"
No matter how many tis he asked, Rodger ignored him—and then it was dora’s turn to tease. They descended the stairs into the hall where they had seen the Divine Arches celebrating the day before.
This ti, they were all gathered—on Captain Alucard’s orders. Fifteen Divine Arches stood in the hall, and before them was Captain Alucard.
The mont they arrived, everyone turned to look—not because of their appearance, but because of the white cat perched on Daylan’s shoulder.
Alucard seized the mont and drew their attention to himself. "These are Daylan Rhys and dora Isla—your new potential mbers."
From the look on their faces, they weren’t surprised. It seed many had been called potential mbers before—but few ever beca one of them.
Turning to Daylan and dora, he said, "Rodger will be introducing you to the most relevant mbers," before walking away.
The first person Rodger introduced was a brown-skinned guy with big braids that reached his chest. He seed cheerful, a toffee tucked in his mouth.
"This is Callum—the Punisher." Callum smiled and waved at them. "His strongest ability is Divine Judgnt."
Next ca a girl with blue eyes and long blonde hair that reached past her knees. She looked fierce—like soone always ready for battle, a true warrior. Beside her stood her twin sister, who had a similar presence but wore her hair short.
"The one with long hair is Marina, and the short-haired one is Mira." Neither of them glanced their way, focused entirely on their wines. "Their strongest abilities are Divine Matter."
"Do they share the sa ability?"
"No. It’s an armor artifact with the sa na, but different aspects and appearance.
You’ll see it soon enough—since they’re two of the strongest Divine Arches, you’ll be bound to go on missions with them."
Both Daylan and dora gave a firm nod.
The next was a man with glasses, white hair, and a calm deanor. He stood apart, quietly reading a book.
"This is Devin—the Summoner." The mont Devin realized they were watching him, he left the hall. "His strongest ability is Pro Seed."
"Pro Seed? He plants stuff?" dora asked, a confused expression on her face.
Rodger smiled. "No, the seed isn’t literal. It’s the book he holds—his worth artifact. When activated, it turns into a paper-like dragon that plants ideas, energy, and motivation.
That’s the positive side—the part he’s allowed to use to support each Divine Arch. The summoning side, however, is so demonic it’s been banned."
Soone imdiately approached them—a girl with silver hair and blue eyes, bearing a strong resemblance to Astara.
"It isn’t very nice to describe soone’s abilities so thoroughly, is it, Rodger?"
She then turned to Daylan and dora. "I am Milana Quincy, and yes, I am Asta’s older sister."
Both Daylan’s and dora’s eyes widened as they stared at her. "She told a lot about you, Daylan. I didn’t think I’d get to see you this soon, though."
She outstretched her hand to greet Daylan, who was still stunned—Astara had never ntioned her sister. The more he thought about it, the more he realized Astara hadn’t spoken much about her family at all.
"By the way, my strongest ability? I don’t really know, but light is my artifact’s aspect."
Milana paused for a mont. "Don’t worry—it’s an armor and a hamr, not as beautiful as Astara’s sword."
"See you around," she said, waving over her shoulder as she began to walk away.
"See you around," she said, waving over her shoulder as she began to walk away.
She was a tall woman with long grey hair, her pale face etched with a look that suggested she hadn’t smiled in years.
"This is Rebel. The Iron Storm."
A few wines were brought before them, but Daylan refused while dora and Rodger each took so.
"Her strongest ability is Iron Storm—an armor and sword with a storm aspect."
The Divine Arches finally began moving. Rodger gestured for them to follow as he prepared to take them on a tour.
"Don’t be fooled—the others are just as strong as the ones I ntioned. It’s just that those play more significant roles. If you noticed, you couldn’t sense a single aura. That shows the gap between them isn’t that big."
"Okay... so are the Divine Arches the strongest in the whole world? Right after the Vital Five?" dora asked, sounding a bit tipsy.
"Don’t be silly... many strong people don’t like the idea of titles. Divine Arches are no different from chivalries—they’re just on a different side.
As for the strongest, there are the royal knights, royal arches, judges, and even those Divine Academy students—the prospects—they all hold their own."
Daylan smirked at the ntion of the Divine Academy—finally, he could visit Zira once he beca an actual Divine Arch.
Not long into their tour, dora’s movents grew sluggish. Apparently, alcohol was one thing her healing ability couldn’t fix.
Since they had a long day ahead, they took the opportunity to rest. Helping dora with her steps, they escorted her to her room, and Daylan finally returned to his own.
He lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering what exactly Astara had told Milana about him. As far as he could rember, they didn’t share many mories together.
As he lay there, the cat walked over to him. "Watching you sleep is very exhausting."
Startled, Daylan instinctively flung the cat off his chest and sat upright.
"Calm down, it’s —Pry."
His expression darkened. "Pry?"
Pry jumped back onto the bed. "Look at —I’m a cat now."
"Why did it take you so long? And why are you a cat?"
"I told you I’d speak to you at the monastery. I think this is it."
"This is the monastery I was thinking of. I didn’t even know I’d beco a Divine Arch."
"Well, you’re not becoming a Divine Arch anyti soon. It’ll take a while to get to the person you need to et."
"Who’s this person?"
"What’s the fun in telling you? You’ll find out along the way."
Daylan lay back down on the bed, and soon a thought crossed his mind. "If Captain Alucard gave you to , does that an he knows about you?"
"Yes. You’ll learn a lot about him later on."
Daylan smirked. "Considering how cruel you are with , I never thought you had friends."
"Don’t piss off... I used to be human, you know? Had many friends back then—was even worshiped for my incredible prowess."
Daylan’s expression darkened. "You used to be human? I thought you said you were a protector or sothing."
"Yes, and I also told you Ascendants are humans who transcended mortal strength."
"I don’t rember that."
"Just so you know—you and your friend will go missing after tomorrow. I’ll tell you more after that."
Pry lay down on the bed and fell asleep, while Daylan continued staring at the ceiling, no longer troubled by her suspicious words.
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