Chapter 86: Rising Tension
Today was another gathering in the monochrome library. Lea half expected there to be an empty seat, but Lady Keter was already here, reading a book titled 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'.
But something startled her; there was another person. The details still eluded her due to the library, with only a single descriptor, "Hollow".
"I greet you with all of my heart, my Lady.", they respectfully bowed, "And I shall spread—"
Lady Keter cut them off, "Shut it, I told you I don't need worshippers."
"I oblige, Your Majesty...", they seem a little dejected.
But Lea, being a faithful servant of the Three Rings (questionable at this point), knows how far zealots can go. Even twisting the words of their own god.
"Introduce yourself then, Arthur.", she commanded.
They stood up from their chair, giving the others a bow, "I am Solafant Kairo, Sixth Step Demigod of Abyss."
Lea's enhanced cognition processed that immediately. Sixth Step. Two full Steps above her. Someone who could probably kill her without much effort if they wanted to. And a demigod who apparently worshipped Lady Keter, despite the goddess clearly not wanting it.
She read the room's surface thoughts through Silence. Rasputin was mildly interested. While Zorro seemed cautious but not threatened. And Dawn was suspicious, calculating threat levels.
And Solafant... their thoughts were strange. Not absent like Lady Keter's, but hollow. Like looking into a void that echoed back nothing. It made her skin crawl.
"Solafant is an old acquaintance.", Lady Keter said with the air of someone discussing a persistent stray cat, "They've been following me since I first manifested in this world. Despite my repeated instructions to stop."
"I merely wish to serve you as your First Follower, my Lady...", Solafant said quietly.
Great... Lea thought... A Sixth Step stalker. That's not concerning at all.
This was quite a big revelation to all of them, someone who is an Argonaut. A demigod at that...
"Yes, well. You can serve by sitting quietly and not making this weird.", Lady Keter gestured dismissively, "Now then, let's begin. Rasputin, you were in the New World. Report."
Rasputin leaned forward, his expression grave, "The ritual succeeded. The Crown of Thorn was united with the Land of Crimson Tree, and the child of the Goddess of Madness... descended."
Lea felt her stomach drop. A god's child. An actual divine being, prophesied to save the world, was born.
"Descended?", Dawn asked carefully, "As in...?"
Rasputin confirmed with a nod, "Born, though Saintess Olivier stated the child is still in the incubation stage. The tree absorbed the Crown and began... changing. Something was forming. Flesh and bone and something else, something divine."
Lea's Malediction Path stirred uncomfortably. Birth through blood and bone and suffering.
It resonated with something in her curse-touched nature, and she hated that it did. Looking down, she frowned slightly so as not have her expression noticed.
Zorro nodded, "I saw it too before I left. The tree became a cocoon of sorts."
"And you left?", Lady Keter asked, one eyebrow raised.
Zorro rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I felt like I shouldn't be there anymore. The sacred mission was complete, and the Saintess was looking at me with that look. The one that says 'I know you're the holy site trespasser and I'm going to kill you once this is over'. So I... fled. To the archipelago west of the main continent."
Smart... Lea thought. She'd only met Saintess Olivier through Zorro's and Rasputin's stories, but the Sixth Step "Beast" sounded terrifying.
"Coward.", Rasputin said, though there was no real heat in it. More of a jab toward someone he views as a friend.
"Pragmatism!!", Zorro corrected with a scowl, "I'm not staying around to get executed for accidentally wandering into restricted territory."
"The child will be the prophesied savior.", Rasputin continued, his voice carrying the fervor of true belief, "Lady Pain's gift to this world. When it fully manifests, everything will change."
Lady Keter's expression was unreadable, "Yes. Everything will change. How interesting."
The way she said it made Lea's scales itch. Not 'good' interesting. Not 'hopeful' interesting. Just... interesting. Like watching an experiment unfold with detached curiosity.
She doesn't care, Lea realized with a chill. A divine child is being born, and she doesn't care if it saves the world or destroys it. She just wants to see what happens. Before she could dwell on that disturbing thought, Lady Keter turned to her and Dawn.
"And what about you two? Any exciting developments?"
Dawn cleared her throat, "We summoned Lady Keter to the physical world."
Rasputin choked on nothing. Zorro's eyes went wide. Even Solafant seemed surprised, though their hollow presence made it hard to tell.
"You what?", Rasputin asked, clearly exasperated.
Lea winced internally. She'd known this would be a bombshell, but seeing the reactions made it real. They'd summoned a goddess into reality.
"She needed help with church administration, handling finances for the war, and creating mystical materials.", Lea explained before the princess could speak, "So Dawn summoned her directly to Renar."
"For weekly cake deliveries~", Lady Keter added cheerfully, "The royal chef makes excellent confections."
"You... for cake?", Jim looked between them incredulously, "You freed a divine entity into the physical world for cake?"
When you put it that way, it sounds insane... Lea thought. Which... it kind of is.
"I'm not freed.", Lady Keter corrected with a wag of her finger, "I'm visiting. On a mutually beneficial arrangement. I get desserts and mild entertainment, they get organizational expertise and mystical assistance of a monarch."
"She made our paperwork 100 times more efficient.", Dawn said with clear disbelief in her tone, "The integration framework she designed is... frighteningly effective. We've made more progress in three days than we did in the previous month."
Lady Keter had sat in Dawn's workshop, eating cake, and casually reorganized an entire religious institution's power structure in an afternoon.
It was terrifying how easy it had been for her.
"And she helped us discover Sinclair Apocrypha is trying to summon the Tome of Light permanently.", Lea added, her tone darkening.
That got everyone's attention.
"The Tome?", Rasputin leaned forward, "In Renar?"
"Sinclair is using Veil to hide hundreds of sigils across the city.", Dawn explained with seriousness in her eyes, "Creating a beacon to establish a permanent connection point. If she succeeds, half the population could be driven insane within weeks."
Lea spoke quietly, "She can hide entire operations from Fifth Step detection. We only found it because Lady Keter pointed it out."
"Sinclair is...", Lady Keter paused, seeming to choose her words carefully, "Persistent and annoying, but ultimately she's not the real threat."
"Not the real threat?", Lea's hand clenched, "She destroyed my hometown. She's trying to summon an evil god into Renar. How is she not—"
Lady Keter interrupted with a knowing stare, "I said it before, didn't I? Akasha Monodrama's goal is to revive the primordial god of this world; once she's done, she'll leave on her own. She's not trying to summon the Tome of Light permanently. She's trying to create enough chaos that something else can happen while everyone's distracted."
Lea felt like she'd been punched. All that work, all that hunting, and Sinclair wasn't even trying to complete the ritual?
"What else?" Dawn demanded, echoing Lea's thoughts.
Lady Keter smiled, "That's the interesting question, isn't it? What is the Disciple of the Heretic really planning?"
I hate this, Lea thought viciously. I hate being a piece on someone else's board. I hate that Sinclair is always three steps ahead. I hate that even when I think I'm stopping her, I'm probably playing into her hands.
Her Malediction Path stirred, feeding on her frustration and rage. The curse whispered: Make her suffer. Find a way to make her pay.
I need to get stronger... she realized.... Fifth Step, The Divine Domain of Unconscious. If I can reach that, maybe I'll have power enough to actually threaten Sinclair.
To protect the people I care about, stop being a victim of her games.
The Lady of the Library looked around the table at her Argonauts, "The world is changing. Rasputin's prophesied child is being born. Bathory is building a church and claiming a Divine Throne. Lea is walking the Path of Divinity toward the Fifth Step. Zorro is..."
She glanced at him with a hint of disapproval, "Hiding in an archipelago, apparently."
"Strategic repositioning...", Jim muttered, defending himself.
"And Sinclair is orchestrating something in the shadows.", Lady Keter's azure eyes gleamed with those eight-pointed stars, "The question is: what will each of you do about it?"
Solafant spoke up quietly, "If I may, my Lady... Device V has resources that could help. Our organization specializes in exorcism and mystical threat containment. We're also the only ones who can properly guide Pathstriders toward the Path of Void."
Dawn's head snapped toward them, "Void? The Path that nullifies other Path powers?"
"Yes!!", Solafant's hollow presence seemed to solidify slightly, "It's one of my three Paths, along with Despair and Oblivion. Device V was founded partially to help those who need Void's unique capabilities, those fighting against Horrors, or other mystical threats."
Dawn leaned forward, suddenly interested, "If Void can nullify Path powers, could it affect Sinclair's Veil?"
"Potentially...", Solafant said without much confidence, "Though Seventh Step Veil would require multiple Void users working in coordination. Still, Device V has dealt with similar situations before."
From reading the files back in Ein and hearing gossip in Lacrosa, Lea knew Device V operated like exorcists from the churches, hunting down mystical corruption, containing dangerous artifacts, and eliminating threats that normal authorities can't handle.
A secret organization of exorcists who can teach the one Path that nullifies others... Lea thought... That's... incredibly powerful... and suspicious.
"You want to help hunt Sinclair?", Lea asked carefully, voicing her doubts.
"We want to serve my Lady's interests!!", Solafant corrected, "And her Argonauts' safety serves those interests. If Sinclair is creating mystical corruption through falsehoods and dangerous rituals, that falls under Device V's purview."
Lady Keter sighed, "Again with the worship. I keep telling you—"
"You don't need worshippers, yes, my Lady. But you have them anyway.", Solafant's tone was gentle but firm, "Whether you want them or not."
The goddess looked like she wanted to argue, but instead just waved her hand dismissively, "Fine... Help them if you want. Just don't be weird about it."
"I shall endeavor not to be weird, my Lady."
"You're already weird...", Lady Keter rolled her eyes, "It's your defining characteristic."
Lea watched the exchange with a mixture of fascination and unease. The idea of an organization that could teach Void, a Path that could potentially counter Sinclair's abilities, was tempting. But trusting a zealot who worshipped Lady Keter?
Can I afford not to? she wondered. If they really can help against Sinclair...
Dawn spoke up, bringing them back on track, "We have a prophesied child incubating in the New World, a church being built in Ryteline, Sinclair planning something in Renar, and now an organization of exorcists offering help. Did I miss anything?"
Rasputin spoke up, "How goes the fight against Zankur?"
Dawn's expression was grim, "Auger is performing admirably at the frontlines, but it's brutal. Zankur won't back down, and neither will my father. It'll be a fight to total victory or total defeat."
Lea thought of Auger. He was out there right now, fighting at the front lines while she dealt with Sinclair's schemes in Renar.
Is he safe? she wondered, feeling a bit lonely without him... The assassination plot we stopped... was that the only threat, or are there others?
"Sounds messy.", Zorro said with discomfort. Politics wasn't his strong suit, nor did he like it.
"It is.", Lea's voice was quiet but firm, "And Sinclair's ritual is just making everything more complicated."
"Then I suggest you stop her.", Lady Keter said simply, "Destroy the sigils, disrupt the ritual, do whatever you need to do. I've already given you the locations."
"And if we encounter Sinclair herself?", Lea asked, meeting Lady Keter's eyes directly.
The question hung in the air. The question she'd been avoiding asking, because part of her already knew the answer.
Lady Keter's expression didn't change, "Then you'll learn a valuable lesson about what 'difficult to kill' really means."
Something in her tone suggested she was speaking from experience. That she'd tried. That even a goddess, or whatever Lady Keter really was, hadn't succeeded.
Lea felt that hot, sharp thing in her chest twist tighter... Unkillable. She's unkillable. So what's the point? What am I even fighting for if I can never actually win?
But then she thought of Dawn, working herself to exhaustion building a church. Of Auger at the front lines. Of the civilians she'd saved from the Conductors. Of the victims she'd freed by devouring their trauma.
I'm fighting to protect them... she realized... Even if I can never kill Sinclair, I can stop her schemes. I can save people from her games.
That has to be enough.
The meeting continued with more details, more planning, more of Lady Keter's cryptic observations. But Lea couldn't shake the feeling that something important had shifted.
A prophesied child being born.
A goddess walking freely in the world.
And an unkillable enemy orchestrating schemes in the shadows.
The world was changing indeed.
And Lea felt like she was standing at the edge of a precipice, about to fall into something she couldn't control.
Fifth Step... she thought... I need to reach Fifth Step. Dive into the Divine Domain of Unconscious. Become strong enough that Sinclair's games don't matter anymore.
Before I lose everyone I care about.
Before it's too late.