As the sun sets overhead, I allow my consciousness to shift between all of my body doubles, like I'm in three nations at once, continuing my work while sitting here with Raven as she heals. One double continues to work with Bri and Rodrigo, acting as Mr. Freeman as transmissions are sent out to all of the eight Regional Directors. Most still need time and resources to handle the events of today's surges, but it's settled that new teleport crystals will be handed out to each of the Regional headquarters today. This will allow all high-level Elite C-Class Hunters, B-Class, and of course, the remaining A-Class here in the Apex Region to be ready to attend. The meeting is set for tomorrow morning, bright and early, as I have many announcements to make. Meanwhile, in the two labyrinths I have control over, in the Apex Region and Dark Continent, a new project is taking place. Two of my doubles are hard at work siphoning pure mana out of the Apex Region's labyrinth and funneling it into the one in the Crimson City. On the top floor of the Apex Region's labyrinth, my doubles find the same exact phenomenon as the Vice City one I hibernated in. There's a demon, fast asleep on a black block of stone. There's no dragon in sight... With no way of communicating with the guardians, despite multiple attempts at telepathy, I decide there's no use thinking about it now, and I'll just continue my process. Instead of using the old method of farming element stones, waiting for monster respawns, and imbuing them with my Plunderer skill to absorb the dungeon's pure mana, they're now using a combination of my crystal creation skill and the pure power of my Plunderer skill to naturally absorb mana into its physical form and transport it directly from labyrinth to labyrinth. She stares at me without any malice, not even keeping her guard up, accepting that if I wanted her dead, I would have finished the job already. I pause to think, then reply back into the silence of the night with a shrug. We stare at each other for a few seconds longer, then her gaze leaves mine to look at the state of the mansion around us. Her echoing footsteps make their way across the rubble-cluttered entrance hall until she's right below the dragon and the man turned to stone. "So, your True Core ability... you can steal power from whoever you kill? Be it pure Divine Energy, skills, or even a True Core ability itself." The corner of Raven's lip curves up an unnoticeable amount, and she doesn't turn her gaze away from the petrified white dragon above her, reflecting back her yellow aura's glow. "Well... it seems after aligning myself with the threat known as the Flame Emperor, and failing to protect a fellow member of the council, I don't think there's any point in keeping secrets." She lets out a sigh, and turns back around to walk toward me again. "Plus, we've triggered the throne's awakening, the alliance will crumble soon whether I tell you or not." She stops in front of me, and my expression shows I want nothing else but a response. I can feel lots of mixed emotions churning around in Raven's head as she tries to organize her thoughts... I've had many hours to think this over, while she has basically just woken up from a coma after our battle and learned of the death of another member of her organization. If I were to only read her body language and facial expressions, I'd have no idea of the mental strain she's juggling right now. So, I patiently wait and give her a moment to formulate a response. "The Order... is an organization formed long before the dungeons appeared in this world. I, for one, only had the privilege of joining about five decades ago, once the throne was discovered, and the Great War was fought." Internally, my interest is piqued. The reason being, she doesn't look a day over 30, but she's speaking of witnessing an event that happened half a century ago. However, I don't make any physical reaction to her words, and she continues. "There were ten members, but in the last few days, you've managed to dwindle our numbers down to eight." She looks back toward the petrified man, then back to me. "None of the outer members are truly loyal to the others. We have all just signed a pact in order to conserve our energy over the years. If a fight between two True Cores broke out in this world, well, it would result in both of their early deaths without question." We both know she's pointed out a false idea here, as both of us are still standing, but her next words make me second-guess this. "Divine Energy is not meant to be wielded in such high density in this world. Even if you believe you've gamed the system, there is a cost for everything. Mr. Freeman is a prime example of this fact—healing magic only gets you so far. Time always catches up to us..." We stand in silence for a few seconds again, as I take in her words, but still have so many more questions that need to be answered. Now that she's opened this box of previously unknown knowledge, I need to hear it all... "What do you mean by outer members? Does this mean there's some kind of ranking to this Council? And... the Great War... 50 years ago... you said the throne's appearance is what triggered this war. Why?" The corners of Raven's lips visibly turn up, and it looks like she's on the verge of letting out a laugh. "You... are truly an interesting one. With an ability like yours, maybe the path of growth is endless... Your reckless nature has granted you great opportunities, yet it could have easily been the root of your downfall as well. I'm impressed you've made it this far, sticking your nose in places it doesn't belong without getting yourself killed..." The tense mood breaks a bit, as this feels like Raven's attempt at giving me a compliment and adding in humor as well, so I smile back, but I still cross my arms and reply in a serious tone. "I know. I'm out of the loop. That's a large reason I decided to help you in the first place, if you're still curious as to why I saved your life. I need answers to questions no one in my kingdom knows. It appears to all be trapped away behind the public eye. What happened here 50 years ago? What is the real reason everyone is so obsessed with that damn throne?" Her smile stays on her face, and she lets out a chuckle while turning back toward the dragon and petrified man above us. "Other than the big three, that man was the closest source to an answer you can get to finding out what really happened back in the Great War. Despite his quirks, he's quite the history enthusiast. A real originator freak. That's the reason he left the central branch and isolated himself out here 40 years ago, to study some unreadable runes." She clicks her tongue and shakes her head, then stares up at the empty black sky above us. "I doubt he ever figured it out. He'd have rubbed it in all of our faces if he did. My best guess over the years to rationalize it has been that whatever civilization perished on this world millennia ago just left artifacts behind to play a cruel joke on us all..." She pauses, then turns her head back toward me. "Then again, joke or not, the throne was still discovered. The only legible originator text we have left states this throne is the key to understanding the divine. Once the doors open, it's said a single being will walk through and claim this world as their own. If they can climb high enough, their core shall never go out." Raven shrugs and walks back over to me in a nonchalant manner, clearly rehearsing something she's heard before countless times over the years and not thinking much of it, but her words mean a lot more to me hearing them for the first time. Join the discussion! Login to share your thoughts and connect with other readers. No comments yet. Be the first to comment!