Chapter 248 Unceasing Ligh (2/2)
”Ah, I hear Master Anvel had taken him on an expedition.” Seya said after a short thought.
”Hm? Ah, yes. He did have fine affinity with fire. Making him an Apothecary can't hurt. Wait for me here. I'll be back soon.” the two parted shortly after reaching the mountain's bottom whereupon the woman suddenly disappeared.
A majestic hall spread far and wide, adorned with gold-shining chandeliers, hand-carved pillars, variety of mosaics spread over its walls and domed ceiling as well as a variety of beautiful, hand-woven rugs. Hundreds of stone tables and chairs were seemingly randomly spread about, all orbiting the hall's far end where a golden set of the two lay stoned to the elevated platform.
Above, hanging from the wall, nearly a hundred meters tall, was a painted piece of cloth depicting golden sun, with crimsoned surface beneath. The woman glanced at the massive banner for a moment before shifting her eyes over onto the elevated platform where six present, yet not-quite-corporeal, people sat in chairs. Their faces, features, and even their ages or genders were entirely indiscernible, but the woman approached calmly and went up the stairs leading to the platform, sitting onto one of the free chairs.
”I am sure the Mother has already told you,” the woman said with queer indifference, her demeanour a complete contrast of what it was like while she was with the young girl. ”But I will be absent for the following few months.”
”She indeed has,” as it was always the case, she had no way of determining who spoke out, as seemingly all of them did in a unified choir at the same time. ”But, Eos, these are really turbulent times. Remember not to stay out too long.”
”It should not take too long,” the woman, named Eos, replied calmly. ”Mother has merely asked me to check up on Hannah. She has been running incognito for a few years now.”
”..... humph, that little brat again.” the voices said. ”She has been nothing if not trouble, entirely undeserving of the honors.” though Eos said nothing, her eyes flashed strangely for a moment, yet quickly returned to their prior indifference.
”She is the youngest, after all.” Eos said calmly. ”She only needs some time to adapt. If you recall, I was not much different.”
”... very well,” the voices spoke out after a short silence. ”Try to locate her quickly and return. Although we do not know why, there is currently a ceasefire order between the Eternals and the Aeonians. Our spies tell us that the Sword Maiden visited that old rabbit Alex, but even if she did convince him to end the war temporarily, we do not know what for.”
”Hm? Elanor has returned?” Eos' eyes flickered with interest. ”Isn't that more interesting than her reasons for stopping the war? It is most-likely the simplest explanation; had the war went onward for much longer, her Clan would have been forced to assist the Eternals. And, no disrespect to them, but if Qe'll's engaged in a war right now, their removal from the Holy Grounds would be all but guaranteed.”
”... possibly,” the voice said. ”Though we cannot know for certain. Hers surfacing back, though, is indeed very interesting. While you search for Hannah, try and see into the Maiden as well.”
”... is it true that Erebus had mastered the 20th Law?” Eos asked before leaving.
”... it is,” the voice replied, a faint hint of anger within them. ”We do not know how he managed it... but he has, nonetheless.”
”... who thought that the Crypt would have underwent such an evolution within a single generation? From nearly going extinct... to becoming second only to the Sons... haah... life is really full of mysteries, all around.”
”Do not get dispirited, Eos,” the voices said. ”Mastering a few more Laws matters little in the grand scheme of things. And, regardless of how talented the boy may be, he will have no choice but the wait for the rest of you to join him on that pedestal.”
”... yeah.” Eos said, getting up. ”If you could inform the Master I'll require more [Sun Drops] when I return, I would be thankful.”
”We shall.”
”Farewell, Elders.”
Eos walked off the platform with a calm visage, yet her mind was in quite a turmoil. For someone chosen by the Light itself, she had never felt more enshrouded in dark as she did at the moment; first it was the appearance of the two new Eternals as bearers that to this day no one could explain, then the appearance of the Empyrean, then it was the Devil's invasion, then it was the Dark Child uprooting the whole continent in search of the Empyrean, the escalation of the war, surfacing of the now mythologized Sword Maiden... the world was spinning on and on, yet she seemed to have stopped spinning with it, still living in the ages gone by where she could see the whole of the story clearly.
She had also decided she would not only search for Hannah and information about the Sword Maiden, but also try to look for the undercurrents of the rapidly progressing story she is currently unable to make heads or tails of... even if she clearly is not supposed to, for some reason.