Chapter 256 - MOONLIGHT (1/2)

Silver at dawn, green at noon, dark blue in the evening. The sea keeps on waving, their waves kissing the shorelines.

Erika stands above the railings, her white robe flapping wildly, her hair smoothly following the flow of the wind, making her looking even more otherworldly.

She looks at the sea full of monsters. For some the sea, the ocean is a wondrous thing. For her, it always fills her with fear. It seems so big and dark that it could swallow her whole.

It is not a phobia of water. It is this dislike of the sea.

After the Fall she hated it even more. Monster roams the Deep Sea, monstrous and nightmarish creatures.

Just thinking about it gives her chills. She likes to stand on the ground, to look at the sea from the distance. But her friend once said that she is missing the best part about the ocean.

It is like going to a fun fair and just stares at the games being played. But Erika never felt any inclination to be close to it other than certain circumstances.

She likes seeing it from a distance. It felt like she had control over it. Of course she knew that she had no control.

Only the illusion of the control.

She is standing on one of the highest floor of the huge building of the Merchant Trading Company of Pandemonium overlooking the seashore of Pandemonium.

The owner of the trading company is a devout believer of her and offers her accommodation as she stays here in Pandemonium.

Of course Erika knows that person also want his future to be look upon by her. She took up upon the offer.

Last night while she was meditating, she also peers through the Veil to seek some clues. And she got it.

But she was assaulted with a terrible headache afterwards. Fortunately, the thing she saw in her dreams not yet comes to pass.

Standing beside her like a statue, ever vigilant is her loyal bodyguard Antonius, his face even seems even more dashing and beautiful than before and almost a feet taller than before.

She sighed as she let the wind blew by her, feeling the breezy wind, smelling the sea and she could even hear the Song of the Sea

Erika knows more than some people in the world. She knows of a secret that the Seven Oceans of the World holds.

So, she hears the Song of the Sea because she knew the secret. But she did not seek it and she did not even show any sign that she knows. She always feign ignorance on this matter because she think enough is enough.

So, as she stands there, she enjoys the Songs only she could hear. She shakes her head.

Her eyes like always seems misty with white clouds seems to be covering her pupil, seeing a future nobody saw.

Her arrival alerted many people and those who knew her welcomed her gladly. But none of them is from the Death Monarch faction.

Not the Three Generals or the Shadow Guards or any other people of high authority from the Death Monarch faction have sought her.

They pretend like she was not here.

'They must have known that I arrived yet they did not come to welcome or even investigate me. That is weird.'

Erika spoke as she closes her eyes. She is trying to think why. But she is also trying to calm herself. She is so close now.

And that image of her giving her eyeballs to that black hooded man flash inside her mind again.

'Who are they, Great Oracle?' Antonius asks as his eyes keep surveying the surrounding. This is not Greece where everyone is afraid to offend the Oracle.

This is Pandemonium.

Hidden dragons and crouching tigers are everywhere, and there would not be a lack of people with guts big enough to try to assassinate the Oracle.

The Oracle could see the future, but not all the time unless she focused herself.

And when she is seeing the future, or as Erika termed it, peering through the Veil she is defenseless and all of her stats and abilities are dormant making her most vulnerable in that moment.

That is why the Oracle rarely uses her ability unless she wanted it or someone asking for it. But of course there is a price for everything.

The farther the future she tries to see, the more her lifespan is exchanged.

It is the wilting of time. The future she saw is exchanged with her lifespan, the time she remains to be alive.

It is like burning her life force to see through the time she would have lived out

This is why the Oracle always seems to smell like herbs and medicine. The amount of materials, pills, and herbs she has to consume to make sure she did not break down in exhaustion and death is astronomical.

'The Death Monarch faction' Erika said as she opens back her eyes.

In front of her eyes right now, she could see soldiers of Pandemonium is fighting a sea serpent the size of a building thrashing around in the seashore as it is being speared, shot at, and attacked

Antonius ponder about the answer and then he said

'Even before the Death Monarch never seeks Great Oracle. It almost seems like he wasn't interested,' Antonius said. Erika nodded

'Did he believe that fate is one of own making? Or did he think of me as mere fortune teller?' And Erika chuckles a bit thinking of the irony.

In the whole world, usually it is people that would travel thousand or even millions of miles just to meet her.

Who would have thought she would be traveling all over the world to seek the Death Monarch and see his future?

No one would believe it.

That is why she never explained why she started her journey.

And she didn't want to arouse the suspicion of the Death Monarch.

After all who would believe that she travels all this way just to see his future if she did not have an ulterior motive.

And unlike any other leader who fears her predictive abilities, the Death Monarch is different.

As the strongest person in the world, he could look down on anyone in the world and no one would find it offensive.

Not to mention Pandemonium is his home ground.

Erika might be brave but she is not stupid. To others she might look otherworldly and appears to know everything but that is far from the truth.

If she did not know everything why would she be so anxious to meet the Death Monarch?

Because she didn't know everything and her vision is turning scarier by the day, that even with all that she seen, it still keep her up at night.

All the death, all the destruction….there were too many of it that sometime Erika fears to close her eyes in fear of seeing the future.

She saw a wedding full of blood, a great explosion that kills millions of people, and a beasts so large that it devour continents and gulped an ocean, and he saw a warrior that seems like an alien from outer space fighting the great heroes of the world.

And like always she saw that gigantic eyes that seems to be looking at this Universe with an intent to destroy.

Erika didn't have a lot of time to rest since she first become an Oracle, dark visions and nightmares has haunted her from the very first moment of her being an Oracle.

Pandemonium might be full of monsters but it is also full of vitality.

Because of the protection of the Death Monarch, this continent that used to be a Forbidden Continent is now populated by people of every kind, of every race and the land itself is slowly being explored.

Erika felt pity that the Death Monarch didn't seem interested in governing. Death Monarch seems only intent if getting stronger and stronger.

But Erika didn't know what he is trying to achieve by being strong. She could not understand him because they both have different aspiration and goals.

She always wanted to live a safe life. That was her intention. However because of her unique class, she got embroiled in a conspiracy in the beginning stages of the Fall.

At that time she realizes that she needs to be stronger.

But her objective has never changed all through these years. Her objective has always been survival.

All of what she had done, it is all for her survival

In the beginning she believes her ability is a blessing and a gift despite the side effects. Seeing the future and using it to her own advantage is what gives her all the power to negotiate with the top factions of the world.

Which in turns secure her safety.

But now, she didn't think like that. It is a gift, yes but it is also a curse. To see a future where it could not be changed no matter what one might choose, it is not a blessing it is a curse.

To see and knowing that all efforts are futile could break any person that believes hard work is enough to change one fate.

Every day she saw destruction, she saw Death and she saw tragedy in a future only she knows. Imagine seeing such thing every day, in every sleeping moment

No matter how strong one heart is, they would surely broke down and Erika herself almost got seized by madness.

She saw it and all she could do is cry and lament. Her fate is even more tragic than Cassandra of Troy.

If she told what she sees people would believe her, but she knows even knowing it would be futile. There is some thing that could be changed.

Minor things and minor destiny.

But when the things she saw relates heavily to the fates of the world, where so many destinies and fate tangled together, the harder it is to change such destiny and fate.

She has tried but nothing she did could change the vision she saw. So, she despair

But Loki and Death March is her hope. There were many time that her prediction is broken by them.

He is interested in the Death Monarch because he is probably the one in the black robe, the man with the rings she sees in her dreams

But she is also interested in Loki, the person who has foiled her prediction time and time again.

It was like he was a tool to sever fate and destiny.

She sighed.

On the seashore, the sea serpent is already dead and the soldiers are rejoicing patting each other back and skinning the sea serpent while some soldiers are searching for monster core to be given to Pillar Forming recruits.

They probably would set up a feast in the seashore eating the sea serpent meat with their fellow soldiers.

'Great Oracle, are we still waiting?' Antonius question startled Erika. Erika then nodded and smiles gently.

She looks at the sky and saw it is turning cloudy as rains slowly falls and she smiles.

'It would not be long now. Wait for a moment.'

The moment she said that in the distance, the sea is full of white mist. The soldiers on the seashore who was rejoicing also stopped their cheering.

They all noticed the growing mist that comes out of nowhere and their expression quickly turns serious.

They also look at the area where the sea is covered by a misty fog.

Antonius who saw the mist slowly covering the area near the seashore from all four directions looks towards the Oracle in astonishment and awe.

'What did I say? You keep doubting me, Antonius. Is this the first time I am proven right? Hehehe' she chuckles.

In the sea shore, the officer of the expedition army look at this weird phenomena and instead of getting scared he quickly organize his soldiers into a fighting position

'Be ready for an enemy. Inform the HQ! This is unnatural' he shouted to his men and they immediately steel themselves for whatever that will come.

Transmission crystals have already been crushed and the Army headquarters will get the report by now.

It was then one of the soldiers shouted pointing toward the ever growing mist

'What the hell is that?' They all look toward the mist and they saw one large silhouette inside the mist that is coming closer and closer like it is walking through the sea.

Antonius who was standing on the highest floor of the huge building and saw from above nodded as he also said

'There is one huge silhouette inside the mist. Is it a gigantic creature from the Deep Sea?' Antonius speculates.

Erika shakes her head and reply

'It is not one. It is four' and then like always she smiles mysteriously as the four silhouettes that is coming closer and closer to the sea shore revealed itself to be four gigantic tortoise.

The League of Freedom has come to Pandemonium!

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MOSCOW

RUSSIA

As the Senate closed their doors, the Assembly is now resting after the grueling day of work and the Senators return to their residence.

The sight of people running down the stairs of the Senate while being accompanied by their bodyguards to return home is a normal occurrence in Moscow.

When night comes, the guards prowl the streets and guard the walls. The enhancements and protection warding are strengthened at night.

Katarina, the strongest woman on Earth and one of the pillars of the Republic returns to her Ice Palace behind the Senate Hill

Her head maiden prepared her, give her a warm bath which is ironic considering her title but she welcomed it.

She likes being pampered. Because she rarely was pampered in her life before the Fall. She likes being treated like she was a Princess.

There are no longer scars on her body and she is no longer her old self who is weak and powerless.

But to want something….and to feel that feeling of being wanted….is something of a yearning for her.

That is what she felt when she thinks of him. She wanted him to feel the same feeling she has. She prayed for it and earnestly wished it.

After finished bathing, she lies in her bed, rolling around in her comfy blanket before stopping. She sighed.

Because of that damn promise every time she saw flower petals falling down, she thinks about him.

So, she wears light attire and went out without informing her maidservants.

Meanwhile, there is a black dot that stealthily surpassed all the restriction and warding in the Senate Hill and heading to the Ice Palace.

Katarina right now is enjoying walking around her garden alone. The breeze is a little cold but it felt like nothing to her.

'Spring has come…but he is still not here. Is he thinking to forget about it? About me?' And she sighed again.

She looks at the sky and notices the moon and how the moonlight today is shining bright.

She is not used to be feeling like this. She is unaccustomed to it. Feeling so conscious of how one person thinks of her.

When she is in front of him, she wants to show him her best side, unconsciously and uncontrollably