Lucas' body lay in his bed, the only signs of life being the fleshy tone of his skin as well as the faint movement of his chest. Looking down at his body, he got a weird sense of disconcertment. It wasn't like looking in a mirror. In a mirror, you saw yourself in the same position, the same frame of space. You also had a general sense of connection because when you moved, so did your reflection.
Looking at your own sleeping body was quite different though. He got over it, though, and looked throughout his room. It all appeared the same besides the usual peculiarities that came with spatial awareness.
Being able to move out of his body was quite the welcome surprise but it dulled once he realized the limitations. For one, it sucked an immense amount of mana out of him. It was less 'his soul' and more like he was using mana to project his consciousness out of his body. He did the process out of pure unconscious instinct and examining the finesse needed to project his consciousness just gave him a headache. At least it meant he wouldn't be dead if he left his body, and only temporarily comatose.
Second, he couldn't go anywhere. He was too easily noticed and though he'd never stuck around long enough to see what would be done to him, he sensed immense danger every time someone tried to lock onto him.
It didn't even seem to require much talent or power with Lady Etrea being able to do it. Additionally, though Lucas knew Batain didn't have his full focus on him, he also knew that Batain could probably sense him easily enough given a brief strange look he'd shown.
Thus, disappointed, he drifted back into his body, going off to sleep. At least he knew he could leave his body. A choice is better than a restriction.
Under the faint moonlight, dozens of men and women sat, listening to the words of the light-robed man who stood in front of them. He spoke confidently and loudly, his voice managing to reach each person.
"Fellow people, most of you have not seen the miracles he is capable of but all of you saw that pillar of light. It is a representation of his power, his strength. There's no magic that could create that light besides his and trust me, I've seen his, personally... I was in your position once.
I'd thought this was a load of shit but trust me, he has real power, power that's above those of the nobles. And I know what you're all thinking. Who cares how much power he has? What would make him different from the nobles, right?"
No one reacted to his guess but he took it in stride.
"He is our Brother. Not just mine but yours and yours and all of ours. He has lived hundreds of lives and gained hundreds of centuries of wisdom. And with the wisdom of those centuries upon centuries and years and years, he's learned the meaning of life. It's what you put in and put out. You put your faith in him, he will pay it back hundredfold, my fellow brothers and sisters."
The audience looked, interested but not captivated. Some thought it was horseshit and just some waste of time. Others thought it was some elaborate prank that one of the royal sons was playing on them.
Still, they were interested. The real reason was the golden pillar of light. Even in a world of magic, something like a pillar of light that could shoot up infinitely into the sky, and be seen by all, was mystical. They doubted the whole 'hey that was actually me!' story but still were curious enough to see the general idea.
The robed man kept speaking for ten or twenty more minutes before he concluded. "If any of you have been interested by what I have to say about our Brother Filou, I implore you to follow me. Filou is not forceful. Those who support him wholeheartedly, he supports as well. Those who don't, he will not force to support him."
With that, he began to move out of the circle of people who surrounded him. Most of the audience glanced at each other but only a few actually decided to follow him.
Most of them considered it a lose-lose situation. If this man wasn't telling the truth, then chances were this was a ploy and they'd be directly going against the crown. None of them were stupid, and all of them had lives to live and family members to care about. Even if he was telling the truth, then what? They'd genuinely put their faith in some random guy? They'd heard of the acts of sabotage that others had done. They'd 100% die if caught after this and there was no concrete gain presented, just love and care. If they believed in him, then they'd offer their support and he'd 'save' them. It simply wasn't enough for them to risk their necks.
Still, for some, even the idea of someone offering their support was enough to give them hope. Additionally, the pillar of light was simply too random and too mysterious for them to back off and dismiss it as a ploy. Most of those who went, though, simply didn't like the count and viewed any effort against him as a good effort.
Regardless of their reasons, those few followed the light-robed man to a specific house near the outskirts of the village. There were about ten of them here, all waiting to see the supposed Brother.
The light-robed man entered the house, causing them to wait for a few minutes. He came out, visibly brighter, both facially and literally. His skin glowed. To the largely untrained masses, this was interesting enough to investigate.
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When he came out, he organized them, randomizing the group into a line. It was a strange sight to see, the wizened old lady behind a curious well built young man. However, this was equality. Filou would support all of them equally.
The first person to go in was a woman in her mid thirties. Karina had light brown hair that fell down to her shoulders. She wasn't particularly attractive but she gave off a very motherly no-nonsense attitude.
Her husband had died a year ago, and left her to look after their three kids alone. This was the reason for her being there. It was difficult raising all of them, and the only reason she'd even been able to come was because she'd put them all to sleep in the same bed so if the youngest woke up crying, the others could help him back to bed.
Maybe Filou could provide a man who would support her. 'Maybe Filou could be the man who would support me', she thought, jokingly. She had no real intention of marrying someone who proclaimed to be her brother.
Walking in, she held a nervous expression only to see a house just like the one she lived in. Her confusion was cured by the robed man who told her to follow him, into the basement. Walking down the stairs, they were, then, met with a spacious well-lit room that seemed less like a basement and more like a church.
The only people in the room though seemed to be a young man and a little girl. The young man sat on a relatively simple chair in the front of the room while the girl stood behind him.
"Welcome, sister." The man's voice wasn't deep but it held a particular drawing factor to it. There was a certain charisma.
Karina, glancing back at her nodding guide, stepped forward. She opened her mouth to speak but realized she didn't know how to greet him.
As if the man had read her mind, he smiled gracefully. "Address me as you would, a brother. Do not be shy. My name is Filou."
Karina nodded, exhaling. "Hello, Filou. My name is Karina." It still came out more formal than she would've liked but it seemed the man accepted the greeting.
"Well then, welcome, Karina. Are you here to pledge your support?" He gestured for her to walk forward.
She would've responded but she had no idea how. She still held doubt in this man Filou's ability. She also didn't know how to talk to him. This was both out of a lack of knowledge about who he was, and a crushing feeling that increased every step she took to get closer to him.
She stopped briefly before continuing, Filou's smile both encouraging her and dissuading her. Eventually, the feeling of impending doom disappeared, as she got closer.
"Stop." Filou was no longer smiling. "Your next step will be your most important. Are you ready to make this commitment?"
Karina had no idea what he was talking about, already one step away from him. She simply took the next step forward. She didn't really know why but maybe it was because she'd already walked so far. Even after she took the step, she didn't remember why.
Once she stood in front of him, he touched a finger to her chest, right above her breasts. and that feeling of doom crashed back down upon her full force. Every single cut and laceration she'd ever had, every bruise she'd ever suffered, every single pain mental or physical she'd ever took, it all rebounded back upon her.
"This is your life, Karina. You've gone through quite a lot. Look at this. This is your life. You can't be happy viewing it like this. This is not just your pain, Karina. This is all of it. It's just your pain overwhelms your joy."
Karina couldn't respond to him, her mind overwhelmed on the anger and sadness that consumed her life and would consume it further across her years.
"I know what you felt about me. You felt I was some fake, some prank, some play. I am none of that. I am your big brother, Filou. You've lived a life of pain too much. Rely on your brother. I will give you what you deserve. Believe in me, Karina."
The words twisted themselves into the peasant woman's psyche, bringing her to look up into Filou's face. Once she did, he tapped her chest once more.
The moment he did so, the weight vanished, and she felt incomparably light. She felt the most irrational kind of happiness, the happiness of simply existing. Every minor ache disappeared and she could feel her skin smoothen out.
At the same time, a string of mana between the two grew before solidifying and fusing into the both of them.
"You see, we both grow stronger when we trust in one another." Filou's eyes seemed to shine to Karina and she merely nodded, her mind still in another sea of wonder.
She left the room with stars in her eyes. She would take her children here to support Filou as well. Well, first, she'd need to educate them on dealing with the pain. They were children so they hadn't experienced as much pain but this also meant they were weaker. Her oldest could handle it but her younger two needed time to mature.
She didn't bother taking a look towards the girl behind Filou. In fact, it was like her mind didn't even register her.
This same process was repeated with each of the rest of the people, some needing more encouraging, and others less. At the end of the night, the robed man reported that they were all done, and left, leaving Filou alone with the little girl.
He sighed. "See, Nerine. That was the easiest thing in the world. It was so easy to get them to believe in me. It was so easy to plant seeds of distrust of the Count in their mind. It was so easy it was natural. When two Paragons work together, it's the world who obeys us. Best part is there's another golden soul.
"Now I don't dare to think he could be a Paragon as well but it doesn't hurt to check. Hell, even if we don't try to get him on our side, our brothers and sisters will, for us. It's incredible, magic even! Haha, you get it, magic even. But it's truly.."
Filou's voice had switched from the charismatic smoothness of before into the sort of casual tone one would truly have if they were a brother talking to a sister.
However, Nerine didn't respond, her head down the entire time. Well, at least, she didn't respond until she heard the news about the other golden soul. "Don't do anything to him." Her voice was scratchy but still clearly held the high pitched tones of a child.
Filou frowned. "Of course I wouldn't. I simply want him on our side. Would you rather he join those bastards up in who knows where? It's the perfect opportunity..."
He continued to rant about how the pair needed another golden soul, about how it was only the right thing, about the power of the number three, and a multitude of other crap Nerine couldn't care less about.
Still, she listened, truly wondering what it would be like to have another person she could talk to. She'd gone through centuries of solitude just to have the one guy she could relate to be some dickhead. Maybe this new one would be different.