Astesia, a member of a certain occult organization in Columbia, was dispatched to Rhine Lab with her sister, Elena, as part of a cooperation agreement, holding the position of Philology consultant.
As a professional scholar of philology, astrology, and occultism, Astesia is exceptionally accomplished in the study of the stars and the Universe.
She can skillfully recall the names of every constellation in the vast Milky Way, knowing them like the back of her hand, and is intimately familiar with the trajectory of every single star.
What appears to be a complex multitude of stars to others is, for Astesia, a beautiful musical score with the ecliptic as its guiding line.
Coupled with Astesia's Family Legacy of Originium Arts, she and her sister were born with the ability to understand the language of the stars.
Even though science has long proven that the stars in the sky are merely existences like the sun, and the light captured now is the lingering embers left by the Star God billions of years ago, Astesia still has great confidence in her astrology.
In her eyes, the Star God is constantly changing, and the starlight mapped onto her armillary sphere is like active sprites, each representing a unique trajectory of fate.
Although millions of stars flicker on and off, the Universe and the Milky Way remain incredibly stable; the star map on the armillary sphere is still perfectly steady, and as long as she looks at the stable stars every day, Astesia can sleep peacefully.
A week ago, taking advantage of Rhine Lab's recruitment period, Astesia and her sister came from out of town to this company, seeking better development.
But after arriving in this city, Astesia found that her Originium Arts could no longer divine the stable Star God; every star trembled and surged, and the star map on the armillary sphere was no longer stable.
Every night, Astesia and her sister would wake up from nightmares, dreaming of vibrant stars being swallowed by an unseen darkness.
Stars were enveloped and consumed by viscous tentacles, planets were devoured into countless jar-like mouths, and all living beings transformed into grotesque creatures with heads as large as buckets, shining with an eerie light, until everything became desolate... Astrology, which originally had a certain chance of failure and always yielded different results, ultimately pointed to the same outcome — disaster and destruction.
Astesia and her sister had never been so flustered; they wanted to investigate the source of the danger but had no idea where to start.
Which leader would care about an outsourced individual who wasn't even an official employee? Speaking out would definitely be dismissed as nonsense.
So, Astesia and her sister worked together, using everything they had learned in their lives, and performed a divination last night under the brilliant starlight.
And the astrology pointed to a single result.
"Mr. Goki, perhaps you won't believe me, but calamity is near, and you are the key to averting this disaster, like a comet piercing through the darkness — wherever you go next, please take this with you."
Holding a miniature blue pendant, somewhat similar to an armillary sphere, in his hand, Goki sat in the elevator leading to Rhine Lab's core warehouse, recalling Astesia's conversation with him just now.
This Nona, the astrologer who seemed to be made of D32 steel, although her words were alarming, Goki knew that she was definitely not exaggerating — Astesia had real abilities.
Although in the future, she would become infected due to her sister's infection in a certain experimental accident — perhaps during the Ifrit Project — and her astrology would become unstable due to the nature of their blood ties, for now, her astrology was still very reliable.
And facing this lovely and elegant new wife he had just met, Goki immediately agreed to her request, deciding to investigate her doubts while exploring Rhine Lab.
[Emblem of the Astrologer.
The emblem passed down through generations of the Astrologer Family, an item that only the most skilled in communicating with the stars within the Family can use close to their person, capable of strengthening Originium Arts that communicate with the Star God.
When used by ordinary people, their ability to perceive the power of the Star God will be enhanced; no matter how subtle the changes, they will not escape the user's perception.
It seems to emit a faint girlish body fragrance; a sniff can make one feel refreshed and joyful.]
Wedding dress~~
Goki raised an eyebrow.
[Wait, I've wanted to ask this question for a long time. These annotations for related items, you've actually been making them up in my dreams, Doll Nona — don't add strange content for me!]
[No, kind Hunter, these are all evaluations of items automatically made by your dream, which contains nothing but lust.]
[I don't believe you — Doll Nona, if you're jealous of Skadi, just say so; I'll specifically go back into my dream tonight to help you balance your mindset!]
[No! Need!]
Looking at this Hunter who constantly called himself a scumbag but was actually exceptionally pure, who constantly called others his wife in his heart but hadn't noticed the admiration of those Young Misses, not knowing whether to call him sensitive or oblivious, Doll Nona sighed.
[You've noticed it too, haven't you?]
[Yes — even more than I imagined, and stronger.]
Perhaps because he had received Astesia's help, or perhaps because he was getting closer to Rhine Lab's Materials storage warehouse, Goki felt the blood in his body becoming increasingly agitated.
Whether it was the power belonging to the God of Burning Wind, the blood of the Seaborn, or the high-concentration liquid Originium, all seemed to be stirring from their original calm state, little by little.
Goki knew there was only one reason for this.
He was approaching the power of a god, and one belonging to a sufficiently powerful Great One.
Although Great Ones all call themselves Great Ones, there is also a suppression of status among them; if the opponent were a weak Great One, then the brute force of the God of Burning Wind would certainly not be interested.
[Now, we can finally confirm whose blood belongs to whom.]
----------------------------------
I've already uploaded over 70 new chapters on Patreon!
If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead, feel free to check it out.
Your support truly means a lot to me!
patreon.com/Kazenova223
Thank you so much for being here!
And if you're having fun with the story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone for me!