Ring! Ring! Ring!
The echoing ring of a telephone sounded through the oval shaped office, bouncing off the white marble walls.
Sitting with heavy apprehension in his oak chair, the President of the Union States leaned on his mahogany wood desk, his expression pensive as the telephone continued to ring though his office. His silence was chilling against the rings, though he did not pick it up.
Standing right across the table from him was an impossibly elegant and beautiful woman who seemed to glow with a brilliant light. She had long blonde hair, the fairest of skin, and bright, golden eyes that reflected the morning sun.
She glanced at the ringing telephone, her armor, like that of a righteous knight's, clinked softly.
Adjusting her ruby encrusted crown, she finally spoke, her soft voice cutting through the deafening silence of the office.
"So Union President, have you considered our offer?"
The man was silent, never looking away from a spot on his table, his gaze seemingly boring a hole through the wood.
The woman glanced at the ringing phone, "Why don't you pick that up real quick? The sound is quite obnoxious"
As if startled into movement, the man gingerly reached for the phone. The ringing ceased the moment he picked it up and held it to his ears.
"Hello?"
A cold voice came through, dark and familiar. The President froze, cold sweat dotting his head as he looked at the woman sitting across from him.
As expected, she too froze, the air in the office dropping several degrees in an instant. She stared at the telephone as if trying to look at the person on the other side, using her powerful hearing to eavesdrop.
Noah's voice came through the telephone again, "Union President?"
"Uh y-yes! I'm here," he stammered, "What is the reason for your call?"
There was a long pause, a suffocating silence that hung like a guillotine around the man's neck. After a moment, Noah spoke again, though not directed at the President himself.
"I believe it is quite rude to eavesdrop on others. May I have your name, stranger?"
The woman grinded her teeth together for a moment, but she eventually responded anyway, "Nice to meet you, Harbinger"
Her voice was a beautiful melody that should have cut through the silence, but the chilling undertone merely added to the tension. On the other side of the phone, Noah was silent for a moment, before he spoke again, almost cheerfully.
"Saint Elizabeth, it is an honor to speak with you. For what reason might you be visiting the Union's President?"
She crossed her arms, her face unamused, "I can ask you the same thing. What might the Harbinger want from him, going as far as to call?"
There was a silence, with neither side giving in. The Union President, a regular human, could feel himself tensing up and suffocating from the pressure of two absolute powerhouses conversing with one another.
Through the phone, they heard Noah chuckle softly, "It's no secret, really. We all know that the Holy Sanctuary needs to go, and I have a plan for that"
Saint Elizabeth's face hardened, "As true as that may be, I'm afraid you have no evidence to back up whatever claims you may have. The Sanctuary is powerful, and their influence is deeply rooted in the minds of every living being in this world, whether they are human or Awakener"
"And if I said I did?"
Silence hung heavy in the air at the implications of his words. Elizabeth pondered gravely, her brows furrowing.
"If you really did have a plan of that caliber," she spoke slowly and carefully, "Then I could hear you out, thought it does not change the fact that we are at war"
"That is enough, the President will brief you on the plan-"
"Wait"
The woman stood, her armor clinking lightly, "I'll go along with your plan as long as it can rid the Holy Sanctuary of its corruption, but before that, I wish to have a spar"
'She wants to pressure me, and at the same time test my strength. Such confidence is expected from someone of her caliber. Fine, I'll play along for a bit'
Noah smiled slightly, though the Saintess could not see it, "Sure, give me a time and place later. For now, please do this one thing..."
-
Deep within the Holy Sanctuary's main cathedral, the Saint Garden Cathedral, Saint Leon Benedict knelt before an altar, rainbow light reflecting down on him from the stained glass mural of the Harbinger of Negativity.
Behind him, hundreds of others, from humans to low level Purifiers, all knelt in prayer, their heads pressed against the floor in deep reverence.
The Saint rose, turning to the masses with his body shrouded in multi colored lights, like the halo of an angel. He spread out his arms, his deep voice carrying far and resonating within the minds of the devotees.
"Let us pray once more for the grace of this world, and another prayer for the holiness of the Harbinger"
A moment of silence, exactly ten breaths, before he spoke again, "May the holy light be with you, washing away your corruption"
The devotees echoed back, ""May the holy light be with you""
The afternoon prayer was finished, and quickly the crowd of people scattered about their own lives. Saint Leon brought his palms together and closed his eyes.
"May the light of the Harbinger be upon us"
"Saint Leon"
The Saint turned around to look at a scrawny young man walking up to him with a sense of urgency, his white robes crumpled.
"There's something you need to see"
"Lead the way"
The duo make their way down the stairs and into the Graveyard of Saints, passing hundreds of glass tubes, each containing corpses of a past warrior.
After a long walk, they enter a smaller facility, containing just one singular glass capsule.
Inside, a single chunk of flesh, no larger than a section of a finger, floated softly within the cooling gel.