When the blue glow of the teleportation disappeared, Cellinia and I were already back in the mansion in Leithanien. Before I could talk, she stepped forward and hugged my neck, standing on her toes to reach me. Her lips met mine, and a deep kiss ensued. But as we got lost in it, a cough interrupted us.
-"Ehem, can you mind the patient?"-A still weak voice sounded from the ground next to us.
Cellinia's ears and tail stood up stiff. She quickly stepped back, trying to act normal, as if nothing had happened. I smiled, feeling the chaotic emotions of embarrassment and shyness rolling around her heart. But even then, the true emotions were still present; the relief of finally and fully leaving the past behind, the satisfaction of proving herself, and that seed of love from childhood that finally bloomed.
-"So, what do you plan to do with her?"-I asked her while looking at Lappland.
-"I want to take her in. She'll be put to good use."-Cellinia also looked at Lappland.
-"Why should I follow you?"-Her eyes were filled with defiance.
-"Because you are dead."-I smiled, making Lappland's hair stand as she thought of what happened to Zaaro.-"Dead in the eyes of others, and news of your death will spread quickly."
-"So what?"
-"Lappland."-Cellinia looked at her 'friend' with pity reserved for idiots.-"You are free."
Her words made Lappland freeze, brain crashing.
-"Your father won't be able to reach you here; the past was erased with your 'death'. Why don't you stay with me, using the skills we trained for Eno?"
Lappland looked at Cellinia and then at me.
-"I'll leave her to you. Contact Lemuen if you need anything for her."
-"Sure."-Cellinia watched me leave before grabbing Lappland's collar and dragging her to her room.
The next day began like others before, after a quick meeting with some noble, I returned to Ludwigs-Universität. After helping Viviana with her training, I met with Fremont and Laqeramaline to continue our research. I continued working on Banshee Witchcraft, trying to fuse its properties with my other abilities.
My first breakthrough was finally opening my Cyclops' third eye, marking it my first Teekaz bloodline that awakened. This happened in the middle of our conversation, when suddenly I felt reality slip from my perception.
Then I saw a scene of Werner lying in a pool of blood, Viviana standing over him, pain visible on her face. Next, there was a destroyed land, filled with monsters that made my hair stand on end, charging toward me. Lastly, I saw a strange space, like an ocean of gold. There was nothing there but a rhombus hanging in the sky. As I gazed on it, I felt pain as if my soul was being ground.
I woke up from my visions when Laqeramaline shook me, calling my name with her Arts. I instantly drew on the divinity within me to calm down before describing to them what had happened. They quickly understood that my bloodline had awakened, even noticing that their own blood stirred at that moment, as if rejoicing.
At the same time, I also noticed that many strange memories appeared in my mind, but they weren't purely from Cyclopes, but also of some other origin. They were similar to the memories from my dreams, so I assumed they were from the same origin. For now, I decided to focus on the Cyclopes' memories, putting other ones in the back of my mind.
I sifted through the Cyclopes' memories, focusing on Arts and Witchcraft, trying to learn them quickly. But Cyclopes weren't the most esoteric tribe for no reason. Even with the memories of how to use my new abilities, I still needed some time to adapt and learn. For the rest of the day, I worked with Fremont, who was also interested in Cyclopes tribal memories, and Laqeramaline, who was worried I might be affected by the sudden awakening, on understanding how to control the tribal memories without entering the chaotic Myriad Souls.
But as I was already used to my Empathy, it was easy to ignore or filter some strange emotions from ghosts of the past, at least that what I thought. When I was recalling memories of certain Cyclops, I started to hear a whisper in my ear. Looking to the side, I saw a ghostly figure looking at me.
-"That's not how you do it."-The figure smiled at me.
-"You are?"-I asked in my head.
-"Just a shadow of a long-dead person, you may call me Promulgator."
Promulgator wasn't just some random title, so my eyes widened in surprise. I took a closer look at that figure. She was a tall woman, who, while looking mostly human, posseted a horns on her head and some other monster-like characteristics of Teekaz.
-"Eno?"-Laqeramaline noticed my abnormality.-"What's wrong?"
-"While this might sound crazy, do you see a ghost next to me?"
Two of them looked around before focusing on me again. They didn't dismiss my words as some crazy ramblings; instead, they looked thoughtful.
-"May I know who that ghost is?"-Fremont asked.
-"Promulgator."
This made their eyes widen.
-"This... This should be impossible."-He was shocked.-"The kings' spirit should be in the Black Crown."
Laqeramaline instead took out a bone whistle, blowing into it slightly to sound a mournful tune.
-"This is because of your specialty. My memories are indeed preserved in the Black Crown, but that thing is only a access point, not the carrier itself. When you awakened, my memories separated from the collective."
I repeated aloud what she told me, before getting an idea. I took out a Spirit Calling Bell for the first time in a long while. I no longer needed to use it to summon Ashes since I modified that technique with Princess, but I needed to perform a full ritual this time, as the situation was abnormal.
After preparing a substitute for ash from shavings of my Originium Glintstone and my blood, I scattered them while ringing the bell, imbuing copious amounts of magic power in the process. Soon, the previously ghostly figure solidified, appearing in the form of a slightly bluish specter, akin to my other Ashes, such as Spectral Hawks.
-"Fascinating Art."-She commented, her voice appearing in the minds of everyone present.-"It should be the reason why I was able to leave the Myriad Souls."
I nodded while deep in thought, taking out the plaque with my status, I saw a change that appeared.
______________________________
...
Class skills:
Existence Outside the Domain: EX
Chosen warrior of Moon, Night, and Stars. Eno possesses part of the Authority of his Patrons, along with some power yet to be uncovered.
Divinity: C → C+
The favored child of the Moon and the prince of the Night Court. They say all should be equal under the Moon's grace and in Death's embrace, but the chosen few receive not only the blessing of grace and the serene embrace but also the true love of the deities. Can be strengthened by calling upon the Patrons' power.
...
Noble Phantasm:
Remembrance: Unknown: C → B
The one who walked on the border of life and death was always watched by the twin sisters. Life chose to be his castle, then may death be his armies. Form a Pseudo-Heroic Spirit or Pseudo-Noble Phantasm from relics and memories. The strength depends on the materials and the connection between Eno and the summoned entity.
...
______________________________
I felt my eyelid twitch slightly after seeing another patron suddenly appear, thinking that my luck with the divine was too great, for better and worse. With my understanding of Originium deepening, I understood that it was a great carrier of information, allowing the Spirits that Princess and I usurped from the Great Rune to dwell in it. But recent changes brought to them by divinity couldn't be so easily explained, but now, they started to make sense.
Looking at the Promulgator, while she appeared to be like other Ashes, she possessed one important difference: self. Ashes were shadows, a construct from the soul of the deceased, without will or sapience. They only possessed the basic sentience and the abilities of their past, reacting to the world on pure instincts.
But Promulgator could speak, express her opinion, and think. She clearly wasn't just an empty shell of a past self, but rather a continuation. Not alive, but also not fully dead. Not an undead abomination or hell-damned demon. Just a soul at the border.
Sighing that I had one more thing to uncover, I returned my attention to the present. Fremont and Laqeramaline were enthusiastically conversing with Promulgator, talking about everything that happened to Sarkaz in the past decades.
-"Sigh, it would seem that our people are truly destined for suffering."
-"Destiny is nothing more than a lie woven by the deities."
-"As one with the blood of a Cyclops like you, I truly hope you can keep this conviction."
-"Let's not talk about that. Any new discovery, Eno?"-Fremont asked me.
-"I can basically piece together what happened, but it's hard to explain as it concerns some secrets. All I can say is that I previously created an Art that could manifest so-called Spirit Ashes constructed from the souls of the deceased. Because of some accident, the nature of this Art changed, allowing me to preserve souls and spirits of others in a state between life and death."
-"So because you awakened your bloodline memories, you somewhat took out the soul of Her Majesty Promulgator from the Myriad Souls."-Fremont connected the dots.
-"Yes."-I nodded and looked at Promulgator.-"You are now in a state of neither living nor dead. You can either consider yourself a continuation of the past or a separate entity. You are basically a new soul combined with the spirit of someone else. Calling it reincarnation would be wrong, so allow me to call it reconvening to distinguish your special state."
-"I see. Then is it possible for me to exist independently of you?"
-"Not fully. You are linked to my Originium Glintstone, so while you can inhibit a new body in a similar way I can, you'll never be free of Originium's influence. It might be possible to sever our connections, but that will result in a return to a state similar to Myriad Souls, as your 'life' is linked to my other power."
-"Well, I don't mind that. It's good to be free of that place, so take care of me in the years to come, young Sankta."
-"Likewise. And please, just call me Eno."
With that, I gained another instructor in the field of Witchcraft, further accelerating my learning. The rest of the day passed uneventfully; most of our discussion this time orbited around Ashes and Remembrances. Laqeramaline suggested imbuing more 'meaning' into my Ashes, not just past soul and memories, giving them more purpose than simple combat.
This idea was quite interesting, as it could eliminate the biggest weakness of the Ashes, the need for someone to control them if one requires them to act with something more than instinct. The problem was that when I tried to imbue them with meaning, the instincts present within clashed with it, resulting in failure after failure.
After some experiments, I understood that it would be impossible to achieve with the existing Ashes. That meant that only creating a new Remembrance from the ground up, with the meaning as the core, could be a possibility. Because of that, I contacted Mostima and Lemuen to gather some things I would need for such an undertaking.
I returned to the mansion in the evening, Promulgator floating around me in an invisible state. Shining, who wasn't part of my escort today, greeted me at the door before her eyes focused on Promulgator. She looked uncertain, as if feeling something should be there, but seeing nothing. Promulgator noticed that, and a glint of mischief appeared in her eyes.
She smiled, gave me a wink, and floated to Shining before I could stop her. The moment she appeared in Shining's range, a sword slashed at her as the eyes of my Sarkaz Knight sharpened. Promulgator was surprised, but as a previous Sarkaz king, she quickly responded, avoiding her attack and floating back to my side.
Shining's attack made others present also react. Apostolic Knights stepped forward to shield me while looking for any danger, while Margaret and Cellinia took out their weapons. It was only then that I managed to speak up.
-"Stop."-My voice made everyone freeze.
-"Eno! There is..."-Shining was about to warn me.
-"I know."-I told her.-"It's not an enemy. You all calm down and let me explain."
Everyone quickly returned to normal, or at least normal-ish, as seeing the groups of uncles kneeling on the ground like children waiting for scolding was not something one usually sees, especially if the kneeling people are in full armor. This scene made Promulgator start laughing to the point of rolling on the ground.
While pinching the bridge of my nose, I told those present about the awakening of my Cyclops. While the Apostolic Knights were elites of the Laterano, they weren't normally privy to the secrets of such magnitude as Sankta origin, so my explanation made those uncles unusually silent until Aurela spoke up.
-"So that's why Fallen grow horns and tail."-She acted as if resolving the greatest mystery of the universe.
-"Boys! Next time we see that bastard from the Sarkaz Royal Court, we will prove that we are not just the best Sankta knights, even among Sarkaz, we are the best!"-Patrizion looked seriously at others.
-"Yes!"-Everyone returned to their usual selves.
-"They truly deserve their reputation."-Promulgator's voice sounded in the minds of everyone.-"Even Popes of Laterano sometimes Fell after learning the truth, yet they stayed unwavering. I truly envy you for having such people under your command, Eno."
Promulgator appeared next to me while she spoke.
-"It's not that, Miss."-Patrizion shook his head.-"I do indeed doubt if the faith I hold is correct, but since long ago I haven't been just serving the Law. I serve the Son first and foremost. So what if we share an ancestor with devils? So what if the scripture isn't absolute? As long as Son still has a need for my gun, then I'll be in his service as the Apostolic Knights."
Other Apostolic Knights stood up at attention and saluted to show their agreement.
-"Then I'm even more envious."-She showed a somewhat sad smile.
-"Eno, she is?"-Shining finally asked the question everyone wanted to ask.
-"This is Promulgator, a Sarkaz whose soul I 'revived' due to certain circumstances."-I decided to explain this as such, not getting into the details.
But my words once again froze the atmosphere.
-"Promulgator, as if the Sarkaz king Promulgator?"-Shining asked, unsure if she should be worried or just shocked.
-"I was the Lord of Fiends while I was alive, but I'm no longer bound by the Black Crown, so you can treat me like a retired grandma if you want."-She smiled, making me unsure if those were her true thoughts or just another joke.-"But to make a Confessarii willingly follow Sankta, you never cease to surprise me, Eno."
-"I'm just a little better with words. Not to mention that Shining herself lost faith in Confessarii long before I appeared."
-"You did well to see through that, girl. Confessarii aren't what they seem on the surface."
-"Your Majesty?"-Shining was unsure what she meant.
But Promulgator shook her head, not explaining.
-"Ok. Let's not dwell on that now."-I decided to move to the reason I wanted everyone present.
I described the vision I had while awakening, making Viviana almost sick with worry, but rather than panic, we all remained composed. After all, everything had yet to happen, so now we need to prevent it from taking place.