We didn't waste time and departed from Zwillingstürme the very next day. Because of the upcoming Kaiserinnensfest, we only had three months to reach Laterano and return here. This shouldn't be a big problem, as our planned route predicts that we should reach Laterano in two months sharp. As for the return trip, I already asked Mostima and Cellinia to bury a crystal I prepared beforehand near our previous camp at Zwillingstürme. Using it, I should be able to teleport to this place without much issue.
And so, we continued our journey, falling back into a routine. I continued teaching miracles to Shining and Margaret. Mostima and Lemuel also joined at some point. I also invited Cellinia, but she didn't show much interest in miracles; instead choosing to learn sorceries from me. I also continued my study of healing Arts, allowing me to attend to some easy wounds without using miracles.
Nothing wroth mentioning happened for the first three weeks, and as we were about to leave the Leithanien borders, when I was about to celebrate not encountering any troubles, we sadly ran into them. One of my Spectral Hawks spotted a group of people lying in ambush, so I took Penguin Logistics with me to get rid of them, which was quite easy, as few Art Casters could contend with me. But when we followed their traces to find their camp, we found more than we were asking for.
-"This..."-Lemuel looked at the destroyed village in front of us
-"Those figures?"-Sora asked, pointing out a strange-looking sculpture.
-"People. A horrific method of infecting and then draining those people by using them to cast Arts."-I told her.-"Be careful to not to touch anything here, who knows when they will disintegrate."
-"What should we do?"-Mostima looked unusually serious.
-"Return to our convoy. I'll look around here and report this to the Empress; she can do the rest."
-"Be careful."-Cellinia looked at me.
-"Don't worry, Originium is no longer a threat to me."-I waved my left hand.
Heeding my warning, they departed quickly, leaving me to search the ruins. Looking around, I was able to deduce what took place here, but the lack of signs of combat surprised me, meaning either those people willingly died, or they were controlled in some way. They gathered in the village center and stood there as their life drained.
I observed the traces on the ground, trying to piece together the ceremony that took place here, but someone covered their tracks well enough. I still sent one of my Spectral Hawks back to Zwillingstürme to report our findings, as well as sending a few to look into the nearby village, but luckily, those were still all well. But this raises another question: why this village?
Was this a random target, or was something here attracting those people? But it wasn't my problem, so I decided to leave it at that. Jumping on Arion's back, I told her to return to the convoy, while I tried to piece together some theory that could made sense of everything. By the time I rejoined the convoy, I had a few ideas, but nothing concrete.
For the next few days, we had heightened vigilance, but when nothing happened for a full week since leaving Leithanien, we decided to speed up instead. The no man's land around Laterano was not hard to cross due to many trade routes present, so without making long stops, we were able to travel twice as fast as before.
Soon, we were nearing the borders of Laterano, and I already detected that someone was waiting for us there. And as I expected, the moment we stepped onto Lateran soil, a heavily armored convoy of Apostolic Knights came to our side. I looked at the kneeling angelic legion, complaining about a certain Old Man who orchestrated this.
-"We greet the Holy Son!"
-"Rise."-I told them from atop Arion.-"Tell me, what are your orders?"
-"Yes, Son."-The commander responded instantly, his voice full of reverence.-"We are to escort Your Holiness to the city."
-"I see. You may proceed."
-"Thank you, Son."
-"Sigh, that's why I hate dealing with Sankta."-I couldn't help but complain lightly, clutching my head, after they left earshot.
-"What's the matter?"-Shining looked surprised at my current state.
-"You must have heard about Sankta's Empathy, right?"-I asked her.
-"Yes."
-"Then you can consider me someone with much stronger Empathy than an average Sankta. If I were to focus on it, hearing non-Sankta thoughts and feeling hidden emotions wouldn't be that hard."
-"That sounds powerful, but also can be quite harmful. If you listen to so many dark desires, you might get influenced."
-"This can indeed happen, but I trained so that I'm unaffected by them. The problem is, one can learn how to block out negative emotions and thoughts, but for positive ones, it's much harder. Add to that fact that Sankta's emotions and thoughts are not something I need to feel, but rather are directly broadcast into my mind, and you have a recipe for a migraine."
-"Is there no way to shield yourself from it?"
-"We haven't found it yet."-Mostima answered for me.-"Under Pope's orders, such research is still undergoing, yet no viable results have appeared."
Shining looked at me with a pity normally reserved for her patients.
-"I'll be alright after getting used to it, don't worry."
-"What's our plan next?"
-"I will follow the Apostolic Knights with Mostima, Cellinia, Margaret, and Shining. The rest of you should help refugees settle in the prepared monastery and join us later."
-"Leave it to us!"-Croissant assured me, only causing me to doubt if they can do it without Cellinia and Mostima.
But having no other choice, I decided to trust them this time. So we split off from our convoy, returning directly to Laterano City.
After passing through the gates of the city, I was greeted by a familiar white building of the city where I grew up. The orderly and clean streets always made me think that this wasn't a city that was built naturally, but rather planned from the very beginning. But before I could enjoy some thinking and self-monomologing, I was overwhelmed by the storm of emotions from all the Sankta greeting my return.
On both sides of the street, the crowd of Sankta, interspaced by a few Liberi from time to time, waved and cheered as I passed by. Some people threw flowers before Arion's hoves, some raised their newborn children so they also could 'bask in my light', but most simply knelt, showing reverence to my title.
Surrounded by them, I couldn't focus on anything, my mind fully occupied by the emotions and thoughts of people around, but there was also a slight feeling of something else happening within me. But unable to focus, I could only grit my teeth and continue smiling, greeting the believers I passed by. Only when I entered the Laterano Cathedral was I finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
-"Welcome back."-A grandfatherly-looking man approached us.
-"It's great to see you well, Old Man. I hope I don't cause too much trouble."
-"Son doesn't need to worry, the trouble you cause will never be too much, as it would only make making more trouble more appealing to you."-He smiled amiably.
-"Thanks. I appreciate that."
-"Now jokes aside. I'm truly grateful that you returned at this time, Son."
-"Have something happened?"
-"Not yet, but will soon. The Law is growing dim, I'm afraid..."-He didn't finish, but it was enough for me to understand.
-"Be direct, how do I have left?"
-"Not much longer than three years."
-"Short, but I should be able to manage."
-"You two, mind speaking something we all can understand?"-Mostima looked at us two, annoyed.
-"Sorry, habit."-I answered without thinking.
-"Sorry, habit."-Old Man matched my words perfectly.
-"Sigh, you two..."-Mostima shook her head.-"And others ask me why I can't take anything seriously, try working for Holy Son and Pope like you two..."
-"Well, don't be like that, little Mostima. Look at the bright side, we provide the best sweets on the entire Terra."
-"Mind bringing some? I kind of miss them."
-"Enough!"-Mostima finally broke.-"Eno, you explain."
-"Ehem. You saw the Law, right?"
-"Yes."
-"Then it should be easy. I'm a manifestation of god, right? And my empathy being enchanted is also connected to the Law. Also, that whole thing of so many legends and myths of the Holy Son existing long before my birth. Never thought why it existed, why the Holy Son needs to exist, and why I have such characteristics?"
-"No, never had the need."
-"Then start thinking now. I'm prepared to be a perfect fit for the Law, for that thing to inhabit my body and continue whatever it's purpose is. That is the meaning of Holy Son hosting the will of God."
My rather ominous words resulted in the girls present instantly showing worry for me.
-"No need to worry, I already have some ideas that could help me replace the Law, not the opposite. Old Man, I need to consult you on something."
-"Feel free."
-"Was I born? I mean, normally."
-"What caused you to ask?"
-"I already questioned the strangeness of my atavism, but I found something that caused me to question it even more. Old Man, why do I possess something called Origin of all Sankta? And how it's connected to the Law?"
-"Should we..?"-Shining looked at me.
-"No, stay. You are my knights, I believe you with my life, let alone a few secrets."
-"Ehem."-Old Man cleared his throat.-"Miss Shining, right? I think that this secret might actually be something you should hear. Eno, to answer your question, yes and no."
-"Thanks Old man, that cleared things."-I rolled my eyes.
-"No problem."
-"Ok, please continue."
-"You were born in semi normal way. The abnormality is your parents. Both of your parents were created directly by the Law, a recreation of First Saints. So you are indeed atavistic, because you are literally a first-generation Sankta purified by Law."
-"Wait, old man. First Saints? Wouldn't that make me..."
-"A Teekaz, pure blooded one at that. From Law's data, you should be of the Cyclops tribe, as the Law deemed their talent most valuable, but other bloodlines were also mixed in, just weaker."
-"This makes a surprisingly a lot of sense in the grand scheme of things, but I think I need to sit down and rethink my whole existence."
-"Wait. Teekaz? You mean ancient Sarkaz? Cyclops, the Royal Tribe?"-Shining's whole worldview seemed to shatter.
-"Sankta and Sarkaz share a common ancestor."-Mostima explained.-"Part of the Teekaz encountered the Law and were turned into Sankta. We call them First Saints, as they converted quite a chunk of the Teekaz into Sankta, even causing war to happen, thus starting the cycle of hatred between Sarkaz and Sankta."
-"I read some ancient texts about 'traitors' who 'abandoned the tribes' but to think it was about Sankta."-Shining quickly connected some dots.-"But then, the White Crown..."
-"Its the Law. An artefact of enormous power, we are not exactly sure of its true purpose, but the survival and expansion of Sankta is one of its main tasks. If your Black Crown holds the power of the past, recording history, then White Crown is the Empathy, the ability to understand and unify."
-"Both are perfect tools for a monarch."-Shining sighed.-"I understand why Confessarii were so intent on destroying you in the 'infancy'. But it would seem that not only did we fail, but also helped you grow."
-"Ehem."
-"Old man, do you have a cough? You should take better care in your later years."-I commented helpfully.
-"That's my plan, but someone doesn't want me to retire. Ok, back to the matters at hand. You mentioned a way to replace the Law."
-"Yes. I entered into a contract with a being called Gaia, the will of the Earth. Their blessing purified my origins, further elevating them, granting me a chance to replace them. With the fact that I possess something to protect my soul, I only need to strengthen myself and find a way to assimilate the Law."
-"Those are fantastic news. On the subject of assimilating the Law, I can help you somewhat, but you'll have to wait for a while before I can prepare."
-"I'll leave it to you then."
-"With that done, let's talk about your knights. All the necessary preparations are done, so you only need to pick a time, and we can get going."
-"Just pick the first date possible."
-"That would be three days from now. Ladies, you'll need to undergo rites preparing for the ceremony. There is no need for you to be believers, but you need to learn some things beforehand. I hope you won't mind being busy for the next three days."
-"We'll follow your excellency's commands."-Shining spoke plainly, already prepared for troubles.
Margaret and Cellinia nodded.
-"Then please, follow me."
I watched three of them follow the Old Man out; soon, only Mostima and I remained in the Cathedral.
-"What now?"
-"First, let's go see her. After that, I plan to stay in my residence to gather my thoughts in peace."
-"Sure, let's do that."
I followed Mostima, who led me into a hospital-like part ot the city. Rather than one building, the entire part of the city was designated for healing, because Sankta were abnormally talented in causing trouble. There is a joke in Terra that Laterano has the best healthcare for those with bad teeth and bullet wounds. And there is a great amount of truth in that.
As even young Sankta children carry their own Guardian Guns, the number of people with bullet wounds is never low. Of course, purposeful shooting at other Sankta would end in one's fall, so these wounds here are purely from accidents, but few can not enter this place at least once every month. To be honest, it's quite surprising that there is literally no deaths because of those accidents, but this might have something to do with Empathy working as intended.
Mostima led me into a quiet ward, where in a carefully arranged room, a sleeping beauty with both a striking resemblance to Lemuel and an aura opposite to her, felt even when the person was in a deep coma. I approached the bedside and sat down on the chair nearby, grasping the hand of the sleeping angel. She was the last member of our childhood friends group, Lemuel's older sister, Lemuen.
After I reminisced for a moment, I focused on the important matter. First, I checked if her body had any untreated problems, and I quickly found some hidden injuries, but treating them wasn't a problem. Next, I put my left hand on her forehead, carefully sensing the state of her spirit. Feeling it, I let my wings unfurl, and like with Alina, I covered us with them, allowing my Azure Dream to manifest.
The vitality quickly entered Lemuen's body and spirit, entirely eliminating any remaining problems, while slowly waking them up. After a minute, I took my hand back, letting my wing fold while waiting for the sleeping beauty to wake up. And she didn't keep me waiting, opening her eyes a moment later. Seeing me sitting next to her, she smiled and greeted me.
-"Took you long enough. I almost woke up without you by my side."
-"Sorry, but I hope I won't need to get better next time, let's not repeat it."
-"Sure."
And so, we were all together once again.