Why Did You Summon Me?

After some time — and with help from Tisdale and the Soul Armature Practitioner — Baiyi was back in his old Santus suit of armor. In the time he was away, Aya had taken care of the suit of armor. She cleaned and polished it every day, and sometimes, she would even curl up beside it and sleep. This was why Baiyi could perceive a faint aroma of a woman’s body from his suit of armor.

When Baiyi returned to the living room, the others were engaged in a debate about time-travel paradoxes. For example, the ‘if I killed your mother before you were born’ thought experiment. However, instead of having of well-informed debate, everyone seemed to be yelling, “Yo mama died! I killed yo mama!”

Baiyi wanted to know if his meddling in the past had changed something in the present, so he asked Tisdale to bring some of the historical records in Da Xue’s library. Baiyi planned to cross-reference his experience in the past against key historical events. He was also interested to examine the Archmage’s memory of his past.

“Do you remember calling over the best artists in the Rohlserlian Empire so that they could draw some cipher cards for you?” Baiyi asked.

“No! Never; not even once! Why, how scandalous !” The Archmage said, vehemently denying what he considered an unfair accusation.

Baiyi proceeded to ask the Cleric Walker about Apostle Yula.

“Oh. That was an embarrassing chapter of my life. Back then, Yula was my idol. He is the reason I walked the path of asceticism,” said the Cleric Walker, with an emotional voice. “Didn’t you already tell us what happened to him? That was not the real Yula, though. The real Yula had not been born at that time. I guess the person you met is an imitator of Yula. Wait, that sounds weird…”

As the Voidwalkers talked amongst themselves, Attie sat crosslegged, with her eyes closed, trying to establish contact with the War God. The Jawflower, which was atop her head, mimicked her posture. It was being quite docile, a far cry from its reputation for being cantankerous. The Jawflower did not want to interrupt Attie.

Tisdale soon returned with the history books that she had been asked to bring. Baiyi pored over them and realized that history, as he remembered it, had not been altered.

“You mean my actions didn’t matter?” Baiyi joked.

“Logic dictates that they did matter. Let me remind you that it is possible that the angel has removed every change you made to history, via a method that we know nothing off,” said the Scholar Walker.

“Oh, please! That angel was afraid of Laeticia’s little spell. Do you really think that she’s powerful enough to reset history?” Baiyi asked in disbelief. The impression he had of the angel had not changed; to him, she was a klutz, unworthy of the tremendous power she possessed.

“Your conclusion does not necessarily follow your premise. It is plausible that her competence is domain-specific, not an extension of her general faculty,” The Scholar persisted.

“Fine. If she did, in fact, reset history, where is Mia now? Why did she not return Mia, who is also not from that era, to the future?” Baiyi asked. “Rather than concern ourselves with what the angel has done, can we, instead, deliberate on how we can save Mia?”

“An expert’s opinion should provide enlightenment,” replied the Scholar Walker as she glanced at Attie.

Baiyi also looked at Attie and saw her rolling on the floor, in an attempt to act cute. The Jawflower, who was still mimicking her, was doing the same thing.

Before Baiyi could give Attie a stern talking to, the Scholar Walker tugged on Baiyi’s sleeves. “Let us just assume that this is a unique way she converses with her divine superior. It is highly unlikely that she considers now to be the best time to fool around.”

“Fine. I guess we can continue talking about the angel. I remember asking Umbra for help. I’ve been away for such a long time, so I bet there is a ton of information now!” Baiyi said, thinking out loud, as he looked at Lady Assassin Walker.

The Assassin Walker did not join the discussion. She, Santa, and Anna had been fooling around with the kitty plush toy. When the Assassin Walker saw Baiyi look at her, she flashed a silly grin.

“What are you smiling about? I need something from you!”

The Assassin Walker tossed a storage pouch over. Baiyi caught it, stuffed his hand into it, and, to his shock, pulled out a fistful of underwear.

‘What happened to Umbra while I was away? Or have they always used such methods to pass messages?’ 

Before Baiyi could ask about the important message behind the undies, the Assassin Walker snatched the undies and the storage pouch from Baiyi like a phantom. Her face was as red as a tomato. “Oops, wrong bag! That’s mine. This here is what I meant to give you…”

She quickly tossed another storage pouch over.

‘Why do you have your private bag and my intel bag with you? Do you think I’m interested in your underwear?’ Baiyi sighed. He dipped his hand into the new storage bag and pulled out some documents. This was the intel on angels that he had requested from Umbra!

This batch of intel was slightly more informative than the intel he received before his disappearance. It did not contain information on the steps taken to summon an angel, neither did it touch on the strengths and weaknesses of these divine beings. The intel seemed more like a poetic description of the unparalleled beauty and holiness of angels.

The intel did contain information of every angel that has descended to Isythre. The year that the angels descended as well the name of their hosts were included in the intel. It stated that the first angel in Isythre descended sixty years after the fall of the Rohlserlian Empire. That was around the same time that God’s Grace began to rise, and the time that Yula began to preach the Church’s gospel.

This as true. God’s Grace had been able to dominate other religions because it was backed by angels. Their scripture itself was more subtle about the Angels’ role in helping the faith; their admission was an unforthcoming “The Lord sent forth his sacred light to mankind”.

The first angel to descend to Isythre did not disclose its name, and the name of its host was nowhere to be found on the Church’s records. Was this bit of information lost to time?

The next angel to descend did so two hundred years after the first angel. This angel was not a commander or a vassal; it was a regular angel, who descended to spread the message of its god. It did not partake in any wars or conflicts, and not long after it descended, it departed.

The angels that descended afterward were recorded in the history books and used in folktales. Many believers claimed to have personally seen angels descend to the world. These angels had similar objectives: to spread the message. They only stayed in Isythre for three days before departing. None of the angels was as vocal about their objectives as the angel that Baiyi and Mia had encountered. This angel stayed longer in Isythre than other angels had.

Noirciel’s name was not in any historical record.

No angels descended to Isythre for several thousands of years after God’s Grace became the dominant religion in the realm.

The intel contained another interesting fact: the angels never left their hosts in a near-death or comatose state. When the angels departed the realm, their hosts were in perfect health and had long lifespans. Furthermore, these hosts were given great positions in the Church just because their bodies were inhabited by angels. Their lives only improved because of the angels.

According to the intel, the angels were pleasant and amiable guests. Angels were also reported to be amicable and pleasant guests, and to be selected as their host was considered a lucky and blessed thing. Baiyi thought it was only because none of these Angels had ever needed to fight — he had little doubt that his battle with Noirciel had truncated Lulu’s lifespan. If that was the case, then the Church’s plan to weaponize the Angels would no doubt force many of their followers to die young.

Another bit of information that stood out was the intel on the magic complex that Church was building in Canningham. Umbra did not leave any stones unturned; the report included everything regarding the location, materials, work progress, and workers involved in the magic complex. Even the money used by a mysterious construction company to bribe one of the bishops overseeing the construction was recorded.

It seemed that the formation being built by the Church was several leagues better than the formation used by the ancient Mornserians. The Church’s formation was so big, it covered the entire city. Although the formation was not yet complete, Umbra’s blueprint outlined the differences between it and the Path to Heaven. It still incorporated certain designs used by its predecessor, but it was much better and did not need live sacrifices.

its construction progress had been stalled by the protesting nobles and the ban placed by the Sorcerers’ Association. Nevertheless, in the last three months, the Chuch had finished a great part of it.

Baiyi instantly sent the blueprint to other Voidwalkers, but they only gave it a glance. They were still engrossed in their discussion about time.

Baiyi had no one but the War God to turn to.

Baiyi looked at Attie and found her asleep, tired from all the rolling around she had been doing. Baiyi could even hear her snores. This time, there was no one to hold him back. He lifted Attie by her cheeks and pinned her against the wall.

The manhandling jolted Attie awake, after which she yawned. “Oh, Master, I was totally — yawn — not taking a catnap.” When Attie saw the position that Baiyi had her in, her cheeks reddened. “Is my master finally acting on his impulses?”

Without waiting for a reply, she puckered her lips and drew closer.

“Do you know that the fate of your little sister, Mia,  rests on you ?!” Baiyi bellowed as he poked Attie’s cheek as though it was a mobile phone’s keypad, paying no mind to her yelps and whimpers.