Chapter 217: Got to believe
His voice came calm, but even Elias could feel the shift in tone—curiosity laced behind it. The crimson mist at his feet tightened its swirl.
Emma gave a small nod without looking back.
"Ready," she said. "I’ve completed the final alignments. Once we load him into the channel, the observatory will do the rest."
She pressed two fingers to a smooth recess beside the instrument’s core. With a faint mechanical hiss, a tray unfolded from the telescope’s lower frame—a rectangular basin with softly rounded edges. The metal shimmered unnaturally, almost like water suspended in a mirrored sheet. Pale pulses of spirit energy flowed across its surface in slow, circuit-like rings.
"You place his soul here," she continued, turning slightly now as she spoke more directly to Elias. "Alongside his Ikona. Once sealed, the device will guide you toward the planet Giselsin. Specifically, a place called Kenosha Shibuya—a town not far from the capital. It’s one of the few places left that hasn’t been overrun by the conqueror species."
Elias hovered closer, drawn unconsciously toward the tray. The mist rising off it felt... different. Not hostile. Not warm either. But aligned—like it recognized him.
Emma continued, her tone softening slightly, more conversational.
"You’ll be reborn into a family that still has influence—just enough to keep you close to the capital without putting you in the spotlight. If everything goes as planned, you’ll grow up with proximity to the area housing the hidden gem... though you’ll have to find the path there on your own."
She let that linger, then stepped back.
The godless crucifix moved toward the tray and studied it for a moment, the faint smile returning as his silver eyes narrowed.
"Perfect," he said. The chamber rippled faintly at the word, as if the room itself acknowledged the shift. "Everything is in place."