Roughly placing an old folder back into the pile of papers in front of him, Aster stretched his fingers and gently rotated his wrist, relaxing his fingers.

"I'm heading out above for a bit."

"Wait, Your Reverence. Please take this."

"What is it?"

"A clergy robe."

Before he could express his confusion, it belatedly sank in that all the Phantoms present were wearing neat onyx robes.

Even Harin, who previously gave a rough impression, suddenly looked like a friendly pastor who appeared a little bigger than others, like a docile bear.

"The thing is...all Phantoms are required to serve in the cathedral..." Without a word, Aster snatched it with a deadpan face and locked himself in a nearby room.

Vontravis tried to hold his laughter, pressing his lips tightly. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop his shoulders from trembling.

He was about to make fun of Aster until Harin also handed over an onyx robe to him. His plastered grin fell instantly.

"What? Me...me too?" He pointed at himself with a dumbfounded expression.

"The protocol applies to all, Your Reverence..." He could only sniffle silently as he also headed to an empty with a crestfallen expression. Harin stared awkwardly at the scene as the other Phantoms silently tidied up the table.

As they finally left the Cathedral, a few believers spotted them and bowed their heads.

An old lady approached them, holding her wooden cane for support.

"Plenty praises to Abyss, my lord. Are you perhaps new here?"

Flustered, Aster lightly nodded his head and crossed his fingers.

"Ah yes, I was assigned here a few days ago."

[Look at that. Look at that sliver tongue.]

"That's a welcoming news, with you looking so young, Priest Harin is surely delighted." The old lady beamed at them and patted Aster's arms.

"It's all thanks to the wisdom of the Prophet of Eternal Rest." The old lady nodded and smiled gently.

"Indeed, young priest. Indeed." She muttered, slowly heading away from them. Aster glanced one last time at the old lady's frail back before turning away.

An unfamiliar scene soon greeted him.

He picked up whatever he could in a curious daze; the bustling of the market crowd, the worn and cracked stone pavements, the moss covering the edges of stalls and buildings, as well as the wafting scent of alcohol from a nearby bar.

He couldn't tell if it was colorful, but he couldn't deny how lively it seemed.

He took them all in with profound eagerness, as if stepping into the world for the first time.

In actuality, this was in a sense, true.

The fragments had no memory of what kind of life Kaisellin had lived before his psyche broke and led them to come to be.

To Aster and the other fragments, it was a first for them to be amongst actual living beings—not senseless lumps of mana, not wandering souls in Abyss, and not those mythic Sorenians without beating hearts.

Of course, he decided to exclude those that Seith killed along the way, as well as those troublesome Phantoms.

He silently turned his head down, intently observing his current attire. Different from his previous tight-fitting clothes and textured oversized cloak, he now wore a simple onyx robe with subtle gilded symbols, making him look like a priest.

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His cuffs bore the symbol of Abyss, denoting his 'affiliation' as a member of the clergy in the Abyssal Cathedral.

He sighed at the ridiculousness. Now, some unknown god was wearing earthly ceremonial robes and declared himself his own believer.

Behind him, Vontravis wore a paler expression, as if this attire affected him more than it did to Aster.

[Well, at least it looks presentable? It's better than rags, no?]

[Still...a priest robe...worn by an Adonis...]

[...ugh...]

Around them, several knights mingled with the vendors and conversed with them, not hiding their vigor.

Some vendors shook their heads, arguing with a few customers who were shamelessly haggling for prices.

A few children occasionally giggled and jumped around, chasing each other.

'So this is Lestissine.'

The capital of Vendalius, and a sleepless city of dreams.

Aster noticed a few middle-aged ladies pointing at him while talking to the children playing in the streets. Nodding, the children approached him with excited smiles, handing over a packet of what seemed like poppy-shaped cookies.

Aster hesitantly accepted them and mouthed 'thank you' to the ladies. They waved dismissively and carried their baskets away.

He suspected it was due to his onyx black robes that made people give him favorable impressions.

He curiously opened the packet made of thin rice paper, taking a careful bite of a cookie. A buttery sour taste quickly melted to his tongue, leaving a refreshing milk and berry aftertaste.

He let his thoughts wander as he leisurely walked among the crowd. A few children followed him with curious glances, mainly staring at his peculiar eyes. Aster didn't mind, focusing on the contents of the documents he read a while ago.

There were a few main points that he concluded from the gathered intel.

The soren signatures left by the relic were very few and very scarce, spreading out across the Continent very loosely as if constantly being moved. Its first traces were recorded in the fallen Empire of Zethyl, right in the mouth of the Draconem's territory.

Next, it suddenly appeared in the east, somewhere at the center of the Helgium Kingdom. It occasionally left traces around its districts.

Finally, the traces settled in Vendalius, being detected throughout the nearby cities. Its most recent signature was found here in Lestissine.

A sound of horses galloping interrupted several crowds, who quickly made way and cleared the busy road tracks.

Aster unconsciously pulled a child closer to him, taking her to the sides of the stone pavements.

A huge wine-red carriage came to view in unprecedent speed, leaving a thick trail of dust. On its sides were clear insignias of black stars and flags flowing freely from the wind.

Following the carriage were several horses ridden by knights clad in dark red uniforms and gray masks, their capes flowing with the same insignia as the carriage.

A child loudly muttered in wonder, shaking the other child beside him energetically.

"Look, look! It's the Genesis knights!"

The crowd cheered as the dust slowly settled.

Aster's senses landed on the gigantic, barred gates that opened on the far front, hundreds of meters away from them, welcoming the carriage.

He recalled a particular blueprint amidst the piles of paper sprawled around the round table. It was a huge settlement of various intricate buildings with practical and simple architectural features. Considering its size, it could pass off as a whole village.

It was the place where the most recent signature of soren was found.

A known flagship foundation of Kuanos Genesis, the fortress of the Continent.

It was there.

"Alioth Knight Academy." He silently muttered.

♦️♦️♦️

The sun was beginning to set. The crowd of villagers and mercenaries still occasionally bustled with upbeat faces, as several infrastructures had already lit their lights to prepare for dusk.

Amidst the city's now quieter atmosphere, Zyler dragged his legs with all his might and ran across a narrow alleyway, leaping over mud puddles from yesterday's rain and trying his best to avoid the passersby. Behind him trailed behind a brunette young man who was now heavily panting.

Nevertheless, they couldn't afford to stop. Several rough goons with large scorpion tattoos followed them, carrying large blades and blunt knives like butchers.

Ahead of them was a long-haired noirette clad in onyx priest robes, sitting in a side bench in front of a dessert shop. He lightly sipped tea and fiddled with his cuffs as if seriously contemplating something. He seemed to have noticed Zyler passing by but proceeded to pay him no mind.

Aster silently gazed at the far view of the military academy beyond the bricked buildings.

'The Lord refused to give details about the Seraphim relic's granted abilities, saying it wasn't confirmed yet and that it had been lost for too long.'

'All she emphasized was that it was of utmost importance to retrieve it at all cost, hinting that its power could potentially tip the shaking surface of a makeshift peace.'

Zyler passed by him in a blur.

His companion followed closely behind, but slipped and fell flat infront Aster, who moved his feet slightly to avoid contact. He continued to leisurely sip his tea in serious contemplation as if it wasn't his business.

'If I, no, if we fail...'

'Another war would be inevitable.'

Zyler, who heard the thud of someone falling, retracted his steps and slid backwards without turning his head. He quickly reached his hands backwards, trying to find his companion's outstretched hands.

"Wait a sec...!"

"What do you mean wait?! You still wanna say wait when get skinned alive?"

As Zyler continued to wave his hand around trying to find his companion's hands, his palm brushed across Aster's cuffs. He looked like he barely had the time to check whether his companion was okay. The latter immediately leaned away in reflex and pushed the companion's trembling hands towards Zyler with his foot.

'Since the Mother of Death did not like conceding. Perhaps I could—'

Zyler's hand quickly snatched Aster's wrist, who thought it was his companion's, and forcibly dragged his body closely behind himself, who now began to run.

[What the fu—!]

Thanks to Aster's reflexes, he avoided tripping into his long robe but ended up dragging his feet too. The teacup held by his other hand slipped from his grasp and fell on the stone pavement, shattering and spilling its warm contents.

Caught off guard and trying to resist, he pulled himself away, reflexively reaching out for the side of his waist where a thin scabbard usually hanged. His hands brushed onto air instead, realizing he left it at the room in the Cathedral's underground. He clicked his tongue.

Seith would have never made such a rookie mistake, but he was Aster.

And Aster only held a sword when he ultimately feels threatened, disregarding it like a useless tool on normal occasions.

[This is why I always tell you to bring that scrap of a sword everywhere, even when you hate touching it!]

[Why would he even need a sword in this situation? Just strike the back of that human's head and be done with it!]

[No, kick his legs! He looks like he's being chased. Just hand him over to those guys.]

"Excuse me—ugh!" Zyler pulled him harder in response.

"Run faster, you slowpoke!"

"No, why am I—"

Behind them was the fading view of the brunette companion sprawled on the stone pavement.

"Come back you idiot! Wrong hand! You held the wrong hand damn it! Hey—arghh!"

"Hey!!!" The brown-haired teen stretched his hand dramatically as the tattood goons caught up to him, dragging his body like a sack. His tears fell pitifully as his eyes clearly conveyed, 'how could you do this to me, buddy. How could you...'

"Catch that rat bastard!"

Aster similarly stretched his hand, trying to catch Vontravis' attention. The latter still didn't seem to notice, intently looking at the menu with eager focus.

"Aster, do you want some side desserts? I recall this peach pie being quite a delicacy..." Vontravis turned his head around, his words trailing.

"...Aster?"

He looked around confused, trying to find his socially awkward master in the midst of a now chaotic crowd of goons.

At the very back of the men clad in rough leather armor patches and large blades, he saw Aster's long hair sticking out, constantly swaying in the wind. He quickly scrambled to his direction.

"Asterrrrr!"