Chapter 297: The Divine Sword and the Mechanic

Rikuto stares at the glass bottles in front of him, his mind blank as he tries to think through everything that is going on in Mornistae. He knows Erimaya was being stood-in for by a golem imposter, and Heralesse was aware of it the whole time. If anything, Heralesse is slowly –very slowly– warming to the idea of solidifying a shield ‘against’ the Fievegal by simply giving Erimaya and Hekate what they each want; for Erimaya to become one of the Fievegal’s Empresses, if not a high-ranking Duchess.

It’s not possible right now, but Daniel will do anything that his Empresses ask of him, and Erimaya has ingratiated herself as Hekate’s best friend to be able to force his hand when the time comes.

But, that’s not what troubles Rikuto most, right now.

He pours some of the contents of the bottle he already opened into a glass and swirls it as he watches. He knows next to nothing about alcohol of any kind, other than he used to detest it completely. Most of his ill-experience comes from the distinct smell of beer, particularly cheap beer, and the vomit that would inevitably follow when people still manage to overindulge.

Rikuto comfortably believes that Japan is not America in the sense of overindulgence, but he has seen enough of his fellow college students laying across furniture and floors in their own messes, and he never really had the desire to drink anymore.

He never developed a taste for sake or shochu either, though he could probably see himself appreciating it more over time.

And, right now, he is hoping the ‘magic’ of alcohol actually works for the headaches that being king has brought him upon his return to Mornistae.

He cautiously sips the wine, which was a gift from the Fievegal, and he notices that it’s not nearly as bad as he thought. The distinct scent of fermentation that he always associates with those memories of beer is absent, while the fragrant, distantly ‘grape’ and slightly smoky scents give a pleasant sensation to both smell and taste.

As Daniel promised, this wine is surprisingly mild and easy to drink. He said his own journey started with the right wine actually being ‘for beginners’, as he put it, because it had flavor, but the bite of a stronger alcohol is almost completely absent.

Rikuto takes a deep breath and sighs, looking over the pile of documents that Tulaxxas provided for him.

Among them is the actual news troubling Rikuto. Tulaxxas noticed some suspicious behavior around the castle while Rikuto and Heralesse were helping with the mana fire, and he started a covert investigation with his own people. If it’s to be believed, King Father Greydald has been meeting with someone whose origin is unclear, but seems to be planning something.

From what Tulaxxas’s agents could gather, they’re planning some kind of false-flag operation, and in conjunction with that, a flood of trade goods arrived on the market right as the prices were skyrocketing due to the loss of Urflasdat. ‘Mysteriously’, all of the usual trade goods that normally originate from the Empire and became almost inaccessible were being provided in bulk.

And, unfortunately, those trade goods were coming from noble families and merchants with deep, old ties to the Mornistae family.

Ties that Rikuto has not yet been handed by the former King and Queen.

A knock comes at the door, and Larravu peeks her head into Rikuto’s office. “Your Majesty, Queen Heralesse is here to see you.”

“Send her in,” replies Rikuto. He feels a little relief already, but only out of sympathetic suffering.

Heralesse walks in still in her national-treasure dress from the Fievegal, having come from a designer gala at the request of Countess Montarre. Though Earls apparently technically outrank the Counts of Mornistae and Imperial nobility, their wives retain the same rank, effectively, for social connections. This was chosen because Counts are the balancing field of the aristocratic structure of Zenkon’s nobility, it seems. Though they don’t have the explicit power or authority granted to a Marquis or Duke, the combined might of the Counts and Earls could likely overturn the royalty of the continent due to their widespread network of trade, resources, and more likely experience with warfare directly.

It’s actually rather uncommon for a Countess to request a visit from the Queen, due to all of the social conventions and etiquette, but in this case, Countess Montarre, Gunther Montarre’s mother, was trying to perform two acts at once.

And, Heralesse confirms this when she slumps down onto the sofa in front of the tea table and lets out a dramatic sigh.

“How’d it go?” asks Rikuto, pouring some of the wine in another glass. She’s twenty years old, so even though there are no explicit laws on Zenkon yet around the use of alcohol, she is old enough to drink by Japan’s standards now, and he won’t be giving her much.

He offers it to Heralesse, but she waves him off. “No, thank you… The Fievegal ladies said I should avoid it…”

“Oh, uh, alright.” Rikuto feels a little awkward, but he pours it into his own glass. If he can’t finish it, it’ll just have to be what it is, since it was a gift to begin with.

Heralesse then explains, “As expected, Countess Montarre is trying to capitalize on the likelihood of Fievegal fashion catching on here in the east.”

Rikuto scoffs bitterly. Even without trying, the Fievegal is racing forward at a speed no other country on the continent can hope to keep up with unless they join hands with the Fievegal itself, as Mattarglos and the Empire are doing.

And, the dresses that were gifted to Heralesse, along with those gifted to Erimaya, which is likely far more than two at this point, represent more than just a coffers-crushing fortune with the pearls and jewels woven into various parts. Each dress has a more modern Earth style to them, but certainly with enough elegance to belong in a ballroom. Though the massive dresses of old were intended to show off wealth partially through sheer mass of expensive fabrics used, style and tailoring belonging to specific brands alone made modern fashion just as valuable, and for a connoisseur's eye, easily recognizable as such.

The Fievegal is going more towards this approach; value from talent and amplifying the beauty of the wearer more than the current styles of Zenkon that are reminiscent of earlier European styles.

The dresses focus less on over peacocking and more on conversational exhibition, such that they are meant to be approached and asked about the dress, rather than focusing on being as noticeable from afar. Whether or not these are the reasons behind either style remains irrelevant, though, because the Fievegal represents a powerful wind of change, and the fact that Daniel does not homogenize the styles themselves, but instead, lets the various species and races within the Fievegal show off their cultural traditions through fashion leaves a lot more room for trendsetting for those who wish to remain on the cutting edge.

Not to mention the fact that a smaller, lighter dress has a lot of conveniences that shine through undeniably, particularly during temperate and hotter months.

“That sounds like it should be fine, but… I sense something more.” Rikuto sits next to Heralesse, placing his hand on hers, and she manages a weary smile before flopping her head back. His office is one of the few places in the world that she can truly relax, since he doesn’t mind letting her do so.

“You’re right… Though, the endless questions from various tailors and seamstresses was exhausting on top of the talk from the ladies, the real trouble was with Countess Montarre herself.”

“Did she try to set a trap for you?”

Rikuto is the King, so he has to go to plenty of social functions as well, especially those held in the Palace. But, he only casually understands the true nature of a ladies’ salon or tea party and the dangers it can pose for the reputations of anyone that is a target of the host or anyone of sufficient status and reputation.

Since it was hosted by Countess Montarre, it was almost certainly populated with the bulk of the Countesses –both wives of earls and counts–, as well as many of the lower ranking viscountesses and baronesses of the Kingdom, which totals to around seventy or so women, thanks to the size of the kingdom and the various civil roles that have been held at various levels throughout. There is an ennobling ceremony coming up for a few new families to help govern the land claimed from Bromlund, but it’s unlikely any of the women associated would have been present.

“No, nothing like that,” replies Heralesse. “At least, I don’t think it was a trap…” She lets out an exhausted sigh and leans against Rikuto’s shoulder to try to relax.

“You’re aware of what happened to Lord Gunther on the front lines, right?”

“Of course,” replies Rikuto. “He nearly lost his arms… Or, technically he did.”

The young Japanese man lets out a wry chuckle. It’s not a laughing matter, but it’s all he can do as he remembers the horrifying scene. Gunther was asleep when it was done, but his arms were field-amputated by sword and then quickly restored by magic and the highly alcoholic potations of the Fievegal, which made him a reckless fool when he woke up hungover. He said some things that are best never repeated, since he wasn’t in the right state of mind.

“Well, naturally, some version of the full story reached Earl and Countess Montarre, and… Lady Melozghena requested permission to contact the Fievegal directly.”

This causes Rikuto to twitch slightly. Two major noble families have effectively betrayed Mornistae in the past year alone; the Baumalde family, who only recently seems to have disappeared and likely defected to the Empire, and more importantly, the Stalvaltan Grand Duchy, which formally and officially aligned themselves with the Fievegal.

“Don’t worry. I didn’t get the sense that they were hoping to defect. I think she wishes to show gratitude for saving Gunther’s arms. Though, I am only guessing as much from how she made the request.”

Rikuto has only met Countess Melozghena a couple of times himself, but she does generally give off a ‘warm’ vibe, almost in stark contrast to her notoriously icy and stone-faced husband, Earl Montarre.

The young King lets out a sigh. “I’m alright with it if you are. As long as they aren’t planning to try to be annexed into the Fievegal…”

Heralesse giggles. “I will let my precious little sister know that she better ensure it doesn’t happen. She does have the ear of Hekate herself, after all…”

They both laugh together for a moment, taking the moment of reprieve. Rikuto knows he should talk to Heralesse about what’s going on with the King Father, but he wants to gather more evidence before he moves that particular stone. Everything that comes out from underneath it will not be pretty.

“By the way,” starts Heralesse suddenly. She shifts so that she can look into Rikuto’s eyes. “I noticed that Larravu has been looking rather pale recently. You haven’t been working her too hard, have you?”

Rikuto chuckles nervously, replying, “I’ll tell her to cut back on the excess training and to make sure she’s getting more rest. I’ve been pretty distracted lately.”

“I see,” replies Heralesse, relaxing. Rikuto does feel a little bad that he’s hiding it, but Mornistae isn’t as… libertine as the Fievegal. He can’t be open about it, though it is relatively more forgivable as long as he doesn’t embarrass his wife.

“What about you? Have you tracked down the source of the scalpers driving up relief costs?”

“Not quite,” replies Rikuto. Greydald isn’t involved in the scalping directly, as the trade goods linked to him and his allies are mostly non-essential towards emergency relief. More likely, the grain and salt scalpers are merchants or lower-ranking nobles from any of the territories neighboring Mornistae. A crisis is a good time to make money at others’ expense, especially the nations trying to scramble to fix the problem. Rikuto can’t retaliate explicitly, but he can steer business deals away from those who are endangering lives for their own greed. “We have some leads, but it’s still being looked into.”

Rikuto puts his head back, letting out a sigh as he sips the wine again. It’s growing on him a little.

I was hoping to look into that strange thing I saw and that voice as well… I was expecting to be blackmailed or otherwise manipulated if it was the Fievegal playing games. But, it definitely wasn’t Ryukana… So who was that?

The young Japanese man closes his eyes and holds the glass close to where he would if he were to clap his palms together. He doesn’t want to disturb Heralesse too much right now, but he does wish to signal his thanks to the gods watching over him; something he knows is not just superstition on Zenkon.

I wonder if I could build a shrine… I’ll need to scout out locations, but I can’t spend too long away from the Kingdom right now…

He keeps a new sigh internal this time, since he knows what he would need if he wants to go down this particular rabbit hole.

I guess… I could ask the Fievegal… It might be a good way to alleviate any residual animosity across borders if we can all cooperate on that front. And, if there is someone actively working in the shadows, it might bring them out to try to stop us… It may be a win-win.

The young black-haired man yawns lightly, and he sets his wine glass down before he drops it, getting a little more comfortable with his wife.

I’ll worry about that later, I guess… I need to get caught up on all this work… But, maybe after a brief nap…

“Rikuto?” asks Heralesse’s voice softly, disrupting him just before he lets himself drift off.

“Hmm?” asks the young man, shifting only slightly to look at her.

Suddenly, the young Queen shifts in a way that quickly yanks Rikuto out of any thoughts of napping peacefully. She slides her hand to his chest and her right calf over his right thigh, and he snaps his startled gaze to hers.

She is looking up at him with a touch of nervousness on her face, but also something… more.

For a moment, Rikuto is totally captivated by her.

“I want… to fulfill what we have been neglecting…”

“N-Neglecting?” asks Rikuto, unsure of what she means.

She nods, stroking his chest gently. “We… have duties… as husband and wife. And, it might help… take our minds off things.”

Rikuto is stunned for a moment, and this seems to gnaw at her insecurity about it.

“I… I’ll admit… I got advice f-from some of the ladies of the Fievegal. S-So, I… ahem, if you don’t want to…”

“N-no-no!” replies Rikuto. “I just… For a moment, I was completely enraptured by your beauty.” He leans over and kisses her, surprising his young Queen a little. He then whispers in reply, “I… would love to. If you’re ready.”

She smiles affectionately, and color fills her cheeks. “Yes!”

It may not be the best medicine for exhaustion, but at least their spirits will be restored on this night.

Of course, what looms ahead of them, no one is ready for.

***

Daniel approaches the peculiar device that he first saw within minutes of arriving on Zenkon. Wenlianna is checking various things around it and making notes, while Ahok carefully prepares some magic crystal units to deploy magic. Ryukana and Amalaskae are watching from in front of the device, though in very different states of emotion.

Amalaskae is all but literally biting her nails, fidgeting and afraid that Kaeralegier is going to usurp her, apparently, while Ryukana is calmly patient and wearing a soft smile of amusement.

Jeavana is the only other one to follow Daniel and the two magic artisans into the main chamber with the artifact, because there will be a massive surge of mana, and if, for any reason, a contract demon comes through from the abyss, they’re ready to defend from further back, or to evacuate as the case may be.

Wenlianna carefully removes the small glass orb from the cradle that holds it, and she places it in a box nearby for safekeeping.

According to Kaeralegier, the smaller glass orb was a tweak she recommended to the person she was leaving the device behind to in order to make it ‘useful to mortals’, when in fact, it was a red herring ‘safety cap’ to prevent anyone from detaching their souls from their bodies or something that she didn’t want to ever find out.

This leaves the part that originally held the small glass orb as a sort of clawed-hand, reaching up towards the sky.

Daniel asks, “Are you feeling ready for this, Kaera?”

“{Hah! Honestly?... I suppose I’m a bit nervous. Isn’t that funny? A goddess afraid… pathetic, huh?}”

“I don’t think so. Though, it’s probably more ‘human’ than ‘goddess’, the fact that that one is pacing around for fear of you stealing your old job back…”

“I’m not afraid! I just… Y-You don’t hate being a sword, do you, Kaeralegier? I-I mean, Lady Kaeralegier! A-And, you could do lots of other things… B-But, but I’ve actually done some… I mean, I haven’t messed up… that much…”

Zuzia, who is leaning on the railing overlooking the artifact floor, gives a warm laugh as she listens to the silly goddess that started her own troublesome journey through Zenkon.

Jeavana drapes her arms over Daniel’s shoulders from behind like the clingy slob she is, groaning, “Mukori! Why are you taking so long? You have a promise to keep to me, too!”

“Hey! Jeavana, I’m warning you! If I have to come down there…!” Hekate starts to climb over the railing, stopped only by Zuzia holding her back, since Hekate’s role is to teleport everyone who can’t fight out as quickly as possible, and Jeavana’s role is to protect Daniel if he can’t be evacuated right away.

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Daniel can feel their mutual weight shift as the golden dragon sweeps her tail back and forth. He has long-since given up on shaking off Jeavana every time, since she’s not especially aggressive –surprisingly–, since she simply likes to hang from Daniel’s back and tease him.

Wenlianna pouts a little, but she says seriously, “I think this should work, though we have no way of knowing how deep Castle Mornistae’s CNT column descends into Zenkon, so I don’t honestly know if we’ll have enough power.”

“{It should be fine,}” replies Kaeralegier’s voice, startling everyone who isn’t expecting it, since she spoke to everyone this time. “{If there isn’t enough mana, it simply won’t activate.}” Her voice takes on a ‘woe is me’ tone as she adds, “{I’ll just stay stuck like this. Trapped in a sword. Apparently forever…}”

Daniel retorts with the swiftness of an assassin, “You put yourself in the sword in question, Kaera. And, you didn’t seem to have any plans of escaping before the artifact came up.”

“{Wait ‘til I get out of here, Danny! I’m a goddess you know. I’ll turn your face upside down. Then, I’ll offer to make Hekate older so she can chew your face off and THEN have her way with you. Mwahahahahaha!}”

“Daniel! Daniel I heard that! Daniel, hurry up! Free Kaeralegier this instant! Daniel! What are you doing!? What are you waiting for!?”

Daniel holds up Nemaisol while everyone watches, and he says with a completely blank expression and a tone to match. “This is clearly a cursed sword possessed of pure evil. Where’s Byleathea? We must purge it at once.”

“{Hey!}” snaps the sword-bound goddess while everyone else laughs.

“Seriously, though, are you going to keep flirting with your sword or get on with it?” asks Zuzia dryly. “You look like some cringe middle-schooler playing with his cheap folding knife.”

“Fine, fine…” Daniel then says, “Wenlie-Mukori, can you prepare some protective goggles for everyone down here?”

Wenlianna looks at him, but Daniel can tell her eyes tilt to Jeavana momentarily, and the dragon clings a little more provocatively to Daniel’s chest, as if she’s going to refuse to ever let go. He knows Jeavana is just toying with Wenlianna because she’s getting envious, which confirms what Daniel was about to do.

“That woman shouldn’t need any, should she? And, I’m sure she’ll protect you. Here Lady Ahok…” Wenlianna whirls away from Daniel and heads towards the half-goblin Chief Magic Artisan, and Ahok watches with surprise. She accepts the tinted goggles.

“Um, Thank you. I have the safeties ready to remove, so we’re ready as soon as the sword is.”

While Wenlianna and Ahok are discussing this for a moment, Daniel whispers, “Jeavana, if you back off for now, I will ‘keep my promise’ tonight. Even though it was never actually a promise…”

“Deal!” exclaims Jeavana giddily into his ear. She kisses his cheek, and bounces off of him, falling back a few steps.

Daniel sighs, and he approaches Wenlianna from behind. She turns and scowls at him briefly, starting, “Oh? Do you have time to sp-”

“This is your fault, Mukori,” interrupts Daniel as he grabs the collar of her aristocratic lab smock, which is a fancier version of what a scientist might wear on Earth, and he pulls her close, locking his lips to hers. She is startled, pressing her hands to his chest, but her resistance quickly melts away as her cheeks turn pink.

When he breaks their connection, her glasses have been knocked slightly crooked, and her cheeks are quite rosy. She pouts up at Daniel a little, and he whispers, “I’m sorry, Wenlie… I don’t mean to let it get this messy.”

Wenlianna looks away from him with a slightly hurt pout, but she glances up at the overlook where everyone else is gathered, and then at Jeavana. She finally returns her gaze to Daniel, saying softly, “It’s… not what I wanted. But, I was too late…” She shakes her head. “No, actually… I’ve just been in a mood. And, for some reason, Jeavana has been annoying me, and I don’t know why…”

“I’ll get her to back off when you’re around, at the very least, then.”

Wenlianna bumps her forehead into Daniel’s chest and takes a deep breath. “Spare a little more time for me in the lab. A-And… Y-You know… I’m… If you’re all about keeping promises… the one… we made to Mother…”

Daniel chuckles, whispering, “Should we make Kaeralegier wait, then? Make everyone else watch?”

The brunette immediately shoves Daniel back as she shrieks, “Y-Y-You fiend! Idiot! Libertine!” Though she says all of these ‘insults’, Daniel can’t help but laugh. Her entire face is pink as she cups her cheeks to try to hide her face. “H-Hurry up and put the sword there! I think! Whatever! Aaaaahhh!”

She runs away from Daniel while he laughs, and he asks as everyone rolls their eyes, “Kaera, do I need to have the blade drawn or stowed for this to work?”

“{Hmm… It has been a while…}”

“Won’t pulling the blade out negate the artifact’s magic?” asks Treia astutely. “Sounds pretty counterintuitive.”

“That would be rather humorous,” jokes Neith. “If that kind of oversight prevents this from ever working.”

There’s a long stretch of silence, and everyone looks at him as he chuckles nervously. “I… Well, I didn’t do it to her.”

“Stupid Onii-chan,” grumbles Geirahoel.

“Just try it both ways!” shouts Hekate. “And hurry up! I’m gonna make her make me exactly eighteen! And, while she’s at it, she can make you eighteen too, so we’ll have that much longer together! Heh heh heh heh!”

“If you really want to make him suffer, make Daniel sixteen, and then make him have to wait,” jokes Zuzia dryly. Just as quickly, though, she pales at the angry glares that turn her way.

“{She’s so adorable…}” states Kaeralegier’s voice. And, this time, given that no one else responds, Daniel was the only one she said it to.

“Right? Anyways, she’s right. Why the heck not?”

“{Yep. Sounds good.}”

Daniel lifts the sword up to put it in the ‘hand’ of the artifact. When he lays it across the hand’s grasp in the most ‘obvious’ way, he asks, “So… does it activate automatically, or do we need to chant a spell?”

“It should be automatic,” states Wenlianna’s voice. She has metaphorically materialized at Daniel’s side once more, her notebook ready, protective tinted goggles over her glasses. She could pass for a mad scientist long before she would a high ranking aristocratic daughter or an Empress. Though, Daniel is certainly not one to talk, wearing the same beat up red jacket she gave him all that time ago. “At least, that assumption is based off of how it functions with the glass orb.”

She notices Daniel looking at her with an affectionate smile, and her face turns to shock for a moment, and she moves away a step, using her notebook as a pathetically small shield from Daniel. “D-Don’t try it, Mukori. I’ll fire you.”

Daniel laughs and shakes his head. He’s glad she’s not upset anymore, and Kaeralegier confirms what she just said. “{She’s right. I made it so it would activate. Oh, and be more careful placing me into position. If you touch the ‘palm’ of that thing, I don’t know what will happen to you, since you have no mana for this thing to steal.}”

“Are we sure Kaeralegier wasn’t an evil god or something?” asks Daniel jokingly as he looks at Ryukana and Amalaskae.

Ryukana giggles and shakes her head to deny it, but Amalaskae says, “Y-Yes! That’s it. She’s very evil. Er, uh… No, she’s… She’s the kind of evil that is safe as long as she’s a sword. B-But, not that I want you to stay as a sword, Lady Kaeralegier…”

As the goofy junior goddess starts babbling, Daniel decides to try with the sword drawn. He carefully removes it from the ‘hand’, ensuring he doesn’t even come close to brushing the ‘palm’ with his skin.

Wenlianna is busy scribbling notes down, likely about the failure and the dangers of the device itself. Though, he’d like to think there are no lives tied to the artifact, but he knows that’s not the case. If what Zuzia said is true, there are plenty associated just with her summoning, which indirectly used the artifact powered by the mana directly from casters.

The surprise comes when Daniel draws Nemaisol from its sheath. The very moment the tip of the blade clears the threshold of the scabbard, an impressive force, like a junkyard magnet, yanks on the sword, and Daniel’s instincts kick in as he loses control over the sword. His left hand sweeps almost violently out, shoving Wenlianna as he throws himself back. The movement was less dramatic than it felt, since the sword all but leaps straight to the palm of the artifact’s little pedestal.

Wenlianna is stumbling as she screams, and Daniel quickly lunges towards her to catch her, keeping her from hitting the ground as he shields her with his back to the sword, just in case.

Of course, that’s all instinct, since his brain logically knows that Nemaisol can literally slice through metal with ease, unlike any typical Earth sword ever would. He and Wenlianna together would pose no obstacle to the leading edge of the blade if it was a sudden attack, and he realizes as his heart pounds in his chest that he is fortunate, in a way, that Nemaisol’s very nature prevents it from simply being ripped from Daniel’s grip telekinetically and used against him.

“Are you alright?” asks Daniel urgently, looking at Wenlianna, who has her eyes closed in fear. She looks at Daniel, nodding.

“Y-Yeah. I…” Her eyes widen when she looks past Daniel, and the mechanic follows her gaze over his shoulder. Jeavana is standing over them protectively, but even she is amazed by what she is seeing.

Mana is swirling in long ribbons around Nemaisol as it hovers, blade-point down, above the hand-like pedestal of the artifact. Nemaisol is suspended in midair by magic, in spite of being drawn. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

But, it’s not the only thing doing so.

The humongous glass orb of the central part of the artifact; the ‘spider’s abdomen’ of the strange device’s design, has started to levitate as well, glowing vibrantly with powerful swirls of mana coming from each of the legs representing various elements of magic. Given the size of the larger glass sphere, it probably weighs twenty tons or more, since it is just shy of ten feet across and made of, as far as Daniel understands, solid glass. It was the other reason he figured the artifact would and could never be moved from its location in Mornistae until he discovered void bags, and then later, Serrentuk’s Gate power.

And, unlike when the artifact is used to simply read a person’s magical attributes, the glass sphere shows a ghostly face in it. It reminds Daniel somewhat of certain iterations of artificial intelligences, gods, and even slightly of an early theatrical depiction of a very famous wizard, though this face is feminine in appearance and less ‘distinct’ than that wizard’s illusionary face.

She also has her eyes closed, and though the face is becoming more and more clear, it would be fair to call it ‘androgynous’, but rather humanoid in form.

“D-Daniel,...” starts Jeavana’s voice. It’s a rather rare tone of nervousness tangling her voice, but she is ready to either create a barrier or dive into flight to scoop up Daniel and Wenlianna.

Ahok has retreated behind one of the diamond cradles that are helping power the device, but given the mana appearing from all around, it’s highly possible that even the carbon nanotube column sunk into the floor just for the artifact was unnecessary for its true, secret purpose of freeing Kaeralgier.

Daniel forces himself to tear his eyes away, glancing around the room. Everyone is captivated by the impressive display of magical power, including Xyreko, Ryukana, and Amalaskae. In fact, it’s the most still Amalaskae has been, since she is watching in absolute awe.

Thankfully, there are no signs of invaders coming in from the abyss, so he turns his gaze one last time to check on Wenlianna. He flinches when he sees her face.

“It’s… beautiful…” murmurs the brunette in his arms. “I…”

For Daniel, seeing mana means there is a lot of it present. Even during the mana fire, he only saw stray wisps of energy the way heat waves can be ‘visible’ as wavy lines due to the visual distortion taking place, overlapping certain parts of images to create the illusion. In the case of the mana, it was actual magical energy, instead of an illusion –probably–, so Daniel could see it. But, for everyone else, the mana fire looked like an impenetrable mass of light, and when powerful mages unleash their full breadth of power, like Hekate, Senn, Serrentuk, or Yaulwembor, the others can see an aura similar to fire around them that Daniel can barely feel only because of the interaction with matter around him, like pushing air to cause wind and generating some heat.

So, if Daniel is seeing everything he’s seeing now, he can only imagine what it must look like to everyone around him, such that even two middle-ranking goddesses have fallen speechless and unmoving.

I genuinely hope we aren’t all about to have our faces melted off… thinks Daniel idly to himself.

Still, it’s a genuinely amazing and beautiful sight, even after everything he has seen, not least of which because he has seen this device function ‘normally’, and rather than the terrifying monsters Daniel has had to scramble and flail to fight off, metaphorically speaking, this is a machine operating as it was always intended to, hundreds or thousands of years later without flaw, and with divine power that makes him struggle to scoff at religion, even though he has seen much of the ‘programming’ behind the scenes already.

Or rather, he has seen more than most, but likely, only a tiny speck of the true reality of the power belonging only to Chaos and Order.

Even as safe as this moment is, relatively speaking, Daniel feels smaller than ever, like the whole device is actually growing in size as if to dwarf the Citadel itself.

But, he remembers why they’re here as well.

Kaeralegier? Can you hear my thoughts right now?

Not receiving a response after a few seconds as the face starts to become more clear, and yet, remains rather featureless, Daniel asks out loud, “Kaera? Can you hear me?”

Still nothing. He hopes she’s alright, but he eases Wenlianna up to a seated position supporting herself. “I need to go check on Kaera. Stay back.”

“M-Mukori?” asks Wenlianna. “Y-You can’t walk into… that!”

Daniel smiles and cups her cheek. He gives her a gentle kiss before saying equally reassuringly, “I don’t see what you see, so I know what is dangerous and what isn’t. Trust me. This is what I was meant to do.”

She is speechless as she stares at him instead of the artifact’s amazing power for a moment. Daniel grins. “I’ll be alright, Mukori. But, if anything’s wrong, I want to be there for Kaera.”

She nods reluctantly, and Daniel climbs to his feet. He passes Jeavana, placing his hand on her shoulder. “I’ve got this, Jeavana, so don’t stop me.”

Jeavana agrees far more easily than Daniel expected. “I don’t sense any danger, but… Be careful… Mukori.”

“Not even trying to hide it anymore, are you?”

The golden dragon scoffs as she looks ahead of them with slightly tinted cheeks. “What’s there to hide? I’m allowed to feel love if I want… And, I do… But, I’ll try not to antagonize the others as much…” She glances at him and says, “But, I still expect our duel… Though, I suppose I’ll surrender if you defeat me another way…”

“Just be ready to evacuate Wenlianna and Ahok, just in case.”

Daniel approaches the pedestal cautiously, asking aloud, “Kaera, you there?”

He can hear a slight whisper reach him, “Daniel… I don’t know… what to be…”

Daniel chuckles nervously. “What kind of question is that? I’m the weakest person in the world, and I’m doing just fine. So, don’t think so hard about it, and just finish with what comes to mind. Whatever will make you comfortable. You were my friend before all of this.”

“If I take on a certain form…”

Daniel glances behind him to see if there’s any ideas he can get from anyone else, and also because something felt off, but he realizes now why that is.

Behind him isn’t the artifact room of the Citadel, but a strange void of darkness filled with stars. But, strangely, Daniel sees three spectators rather far away, but he doesn’t recognize them, even though he feels like they should. One is obviously older than the other two, given the height, but he can’t make out if they’re women or men. He can only make out the colors of their outfits, which are white, green, and red in order of their size and apparent age.

Overall, he feels strange, because his instincts are telling him he shouldn’t be here, but he doesn’t know why. It feels like he’s in space, but there is still ‘floor’ beneath his feet, and the artifact is still directly in front of him.

Daniel turns his attention back to the glass orb and the face, but he doesn’t recognize it as much anymore. It has more presence than just a face, like someone is inside and aware of his existence, as well as Nemaisol floating near him.

As he’s trying to figure out what’s going on, the eyes of the face start to open, and he feels like the glass orb is missing, but maybe it has just become invisible because of the various tricks of light taking place, or whatever strange illusion this is.

But, like the magic of the artifact awakening, the face’s eyes are stunning. He doesn’t turn to stone, but Daniel wonders if this is the kind of sensation a person might literally feel locking eyes with Medusa, turning to stone not in the literal sense, but because they are truly and utterly captivated.

The eyes of the face are a deep crimson color, but not evenly so in any stretch of the imagination. It feels like there is something reflected deep in the eyes of the being, like looking at the horizon, but stretching on forever, and filled with its very own life and stars in the sky.

The mechanic starts to feel nauseous from the sensory overload taking place. He’s not repulsed, but if anything, it’s such an extreme level of beauty, that he is overdosing on dopamine or whatever is chemically triggered upon seeing a beautiful sight.

At this moment, Daniel feels like he has reached the opposite extreme of Friedrich Nietzsche’s famous quote from ‘[Beyond Good and Evil]’, ‘And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.’

For the briefest of instants, Daniel is gazing not into an abyss of darkness, but an abyss of light reflected or even existing deep within the eyes of a being he cannot fully comprehend. In turn, the eldritch deity is staring into him. Time seems to simultaneously cease its flow, yet pass in an instant, and for all he knows, eons could be passing him by in what feels like a blink.

The eldritch being breaks eye contact first, but only because its true purpose has nothing to do with Daniel right now. Instead, it tilts its gaze to Nemaisol, and rather than winning a staring contest, Daniel is still trapped by unbelievable beauty that cannot be described and do said majesty any shred of justice capturing its scope.

The being gently purses its lips, and it seems to exhale softly. Rather than a whistle, Daniel can feel a strangely comforting sound that reminds him instantly of his family, both on Earth and on Zenkon, his reasons for living and fighting, his love, and the very notion of comfort and peace. But, the strange deity is not performing an acapella aria for Daniel’s entertainment. The ‘whistling’ isn’t about the sound, but what it does to Nemaisol.

The sword starts to release a sort of mist that slowly coalesces into a small sphere above the pommel and a bit closer to the titanic face. The expression is gentle and affectionate, in a sense, but Daniel notices that the eyes are suddenly becoming ‘sinister’ looking. It’s the only way he can describe the sensation, since the bright, ‘colorful’ shades of red have started to drain of color to a deep shade of grey and then black, the red condensing in towards the center where her pupils should be, but continuing to shrink. Droplets of red form at the center of the deity’s bottom eyelids, descending down the cheeks as vibrant, red, blood-like tears, even though the face still seems to be completely tranquil.

It doesn’t feel like a sad moment, but Daniel is along for a ride he didn’t expect simply because he was the only one who chose to approach the phenomenon as a whole.

When both eyes have turned completely dark; black with patterns of grey, and no discernible pupils to speak of, the face finally stops its breath, and the magic sphere finishes condensing on itself as a swirl of magical energy.

The red teardrops drop from the being’s chin, and when they hit the ‘floor’ that is invisible otherwise, they send ripples that approach Daniel.

Now gravity shifts, and Daniel murmurs, “Whoa…” as he suddenly starts floating, and he drifts up towards the sphere that formed from Nemaisol’s essence.

By the time he reaches it, the sphere has taken a new form; that of a person.

It’s a beautiful transformation process, like watching colorful clay shape itself. The new being is a tiny person, proportioned a bit like an adult woman, but standing about ten inches tall. The glowing ‘clay’ of pure energy stretches at the back, though, forming four light, fluttering shapes that Daniel recognizes as ‘wings’, but not necessarily in the sense that he’s used to, since they don’t have the structure or rigidity normally required for flight.

The colorful rainbow of divine and magical energy finally dims to reveal a person, who drifts down into Daniel’s hands when he instinctively lifts them to catch her. One of the wings manages to drape down across her body, hiding her figure, which Daniel caught a glimpse of; she’s fully nude otherwise.

When he looks up, the face is closing its eyes as if drifting off to sleep, and it has a gentle curve to its lips.

“Thank you…” murmurs Daniel. He doesn’t know what else to say, but it prompts one eye to open briefly, even as the face is fading from existence. For just a moment, the lips curve a little more, before the scene finally dissolves before his very eyes.

Daniel can feel gravity starting to return, and somewhat out of instinct, he moves the tiny woman to his left arm to hold her, and he reaches behind himself, even though he can’t see on his right side. He manages to find Nemaisol’s hilt, and he takes hold of it to prevent it from dropping, just in case.

Daniel’s boots touch down on the middle-section of the artifact between the pedestal and the massive orb, which has already seated itself where it was.

The light and mana fade away gently, restoring everything to a state of normal.

“D-Daniel!?” calls out Hekate first.

“I’m alright!” says Daniel loudly. “We’re both alright.” He then says, “Jeavana, can you help me with the scabbard?”

The golden dragon snaps out of her trance, and she scans around, finding the scabbard on the floor where Daniel discarded it in a panic when he moved to protect Wenlianna.

She jogs to the scabbard and then to Daniel, presenting the mouth so that he can slide Nemaisol’s blade in from his elevated perch before attempting to climb down.

That said, her eyes lock onto the figure in his arms, and her violet eyes widen. She looks up at Daniel, and he smiles gently.

He expected Kaeralegier to take a mostly-human form like Amalaskae and Ryukana, but for some reason, she took a much smaller size.

It probably has something to do with whatever she was being hesitant about when all he could hear were whispers. But, it doesn’t matter.

The mechanic is simply glad that his friend is finally free. And, whatever she wants to do, he’ll help her achieve it.

After all, like many of the people around the room, he owes this particular woman his life several times over, even if he has probably made a comparable exchange in turn.

But, that’s what’s nice about having friends. It’s not about exchanges, but about mutual love and friendship.

***