The simple fact that no one in the group was shocked by the declaration said more about the vileness and corruption of the Church of Solomon than words ever could. Sure, some of them were slightly surprised, but it also made perfect sense. Knowing what other heinous acts the Church had committed, it didn’t feel like a far stretch at all.

“Well, it’s not like I didn’t have my suspicions… but, what makes you so sure?” Avida asked her.

“I’m not,” Rhea responded. “It’s just a theory, but I’ll need to do some more research to confirm it. And I’m gonna need more of these jars for that.”

“It was so much trouble just to get the one, and you’re saying we need more?” Bellicosa questioned.

“That’s right,” the researcher answered seriously. “I’m confident the key to the Church’s secrets lies with these, but right now it’s like a puzzle that’s missing some pieces.”

She held up the jar, twirling it in her hands as she inspected the outside. Each of the runes on the jar’s surface was carefully carved, and the writing had to have been several decades old, at least. But that was before the demonic plague even started. Rhea had studied demonology under her master, one of the best in the field, for years, and even she still didn’t fully understand what was written. The combination of script and magic was too complex for her to grasp with just one of them. But if Rhea could get a look at more of the jars, she might be able to piece it together.

“Where do we even find them?” Phoebe wondered.

“We’ll need to do some information gathering on that,” Atlas said. “Luckily, the perfect opportunity is coming up.”

“What do you mean?” Avida asked him.

“There’s going to be a statue unveiling at the Grand Cathedral next week. It’s a huge event for the Church. Maybe you heard about it?”

“Oh, right. Come to think of it, we overheard something like that at the warehouse…” Avida remembered.

“Then you should know that all the biggest names in the Church of Solomon will be there. If anyone is going to know more information on these jars, it’s them,” Atlas explained.

“Does that include you?” Rhea asked.

“As a matter of fact, it does. My father and I were formally invited,” he replied with a smirk. “And I can bring a plus one.”

Everyone simultaneously turned their gazes toward Rhea. The woman looked around in bewilderment for a moment before pointing to herself, confused.

“Me? No way! Someone there would definitely recognize me!” she protested.

“You’ll wear a disguise. You’ve already dyed your hair once, you can do it again. Besides, no one will suspect anyone I bring along,” Atlas reassured.

“It makes the most sense if you go,” Avida reluctantly agreed. “You’re the most informed about these jars. You’ll know better than anyone else what to be on the lookout for.”

“I’m really gonna have to socialize with those bastards!? And be stuck with him the whole time?” she groaned, gesturing to the man next to her.

“Oh, what a shame. We’ll have to spend more time together,” Atlas said dramatically before laughing. “Consider this your community service.”

“This is the worst!” Rhea whined.

“Oh, I forgot to mention. The popstar LIA is gonna be there,” Atlas added offhandedly.

“... wait… really?” Rhea asked with stars in her eyes, suddenly giving the man her full attention.

“That’s right. Plus, I have connections. So if you’re well-behaved, you might even get to meet her.”

“What am I, a dog!?” she complained before hesitating. “...but fine, I guess I’ll go…”

“That reminds me,” Bellicosa suddenly interjected, “Avida and I saw that fortune teller, too. She gave us a prophecy, and said it was from the God Who Witnesses.”

“A prophecy?” Phoebe reiterated. “From a god?”

“That’s right. I almost forgot,” Avida remarked.

“What did it say?” Rhea asked seriously. “That fortune-teller was legit. Her predictions were spot on.”

“Really? Even the one about… what was it?... Love prospects?” Avida teased.

For the first time, a slightly pink tint colored Rhea’s cheeks as she blushed and looked away. Atlas cast her a questioning glance, and she huffed before responding.

“T-that was a joke!” she insisted.

“Sure, whatever,” Avida laughed. “Anyway, the first line went something like this…”

She pulled out the piece of paper Daphne had given them and cleared her throat before she began to read it out loud.

“The visage of a god still casts a shadow, and in that shadow lies the truth.”

“Doesn’t that sound familiar?” Bellicosa asked. “‘The visage of a god’... It has to be the statue unveiling.”

“... That makes sense,” Phoebe agreed. “The visage of a god could easily be a statue, and the unveiling of the statue of the Goddess Who Dreams just so happens to be next week. It can’t be a coincidence!”

“I didn’t take you for the superstitious type,” Atlas commented.

“Doesn’t it add up all too well?” she insisted.

“I suppose…” he mumbled. “Either way, it sounds like we will be able to find the information we’re looking for at the unveiling.”

“What’s the rest of it?” Rhea asked, still curious.

“The moon sings a song of loneliness, ignorant to the stars around her. She descends in search of one like her, but her absence darkens the sky. She drifts into a deep slumber, and the stars begin to fall like her tears. The world, doomed to be blanketed in darkness. Only the dawn can wake her, and only by returning to the sky from which she came can the endless night finally cease,” Avida read.

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“What does any of that mean?” Atlas questioned, clearly confused.

“The fortune teller said it wouldn’t be straightforward,” Bellicosa told him.

“No kidding,” he huffed.

“It seems like it's probably an allegory for something,” Rhea said. “But this is actually very useful. I will consider it in my research. May I have a copy of that?”

“Fine,” Avida agreed. “I’ll give everyone a copy in case you guys come up with anything. I have no idea what it means, either. The more people thinking about it, the better.”

Phoebe fetched several small pieces of paper and Avida carefully copied the prophecy onto each one, word for word. Then, she handed them out to everyone to keep.

“Maybe we can find out information related to this at the unveiling as well,” Phoebe suggested hopefully.

The usually stoic redhead was uncharacteristically enthusiastic about the whole thing. She seemed to take the prophecy very seriously. Avida absentmindedly wondered why that was, but a different part of the statement was bugging her.

“Wait… you said ‘we’...Are you going, too?” she questioned.

“Technically, to the outside world, Phoebe is my servant, so she is allowed to accompany me as well. It’s separate from a plus one. Most of the higher-up families are expected to have at least one servant attend with them,” Atlas explained.

“Gods, I hate rich people,” Avida grumbled. “But I wanna go, too! What are we supposed to do, just sit around twiddling our thumbs?”

“Well, the Grand Cathedral will be open to the public on that day, so there’s no reason why you can't go. But it will be difficult to mingle with upper-class families. They usually stick to a separate area. You might be able to gather some useful information from the crowd, though,” he told her.

“I would disguise yourselves as well. After recent incidents, the Church might recognize you, too,” Phoebe warned them.

“Disguise, you say?” Avida repeated, intrigued. Her eyes sparkled with mischief.

Bellicosa knew this was coming. Her partner loved elaborate schemes, like the one at the warehouse. Any chance to dress up and cause trouble excited her. Mercenary work was usually pretty straightforward, and they typically wouldn’t require anything more than a mask to hide their identities. But it seemed her partner thoroughly enjoyed the rare times she got to go all out like some kind of undercover agent, maybe a little too much.

“What about Bambi? Even if we’re disguised, she will be way too suspicious,” Bellicosa reminded her.

It was a good point. Not much could be done to hide the strange getup the child wore, and it was too risky for her to go without it.

“As long as she’s okay with it, I could have some people watch her here. It should be safe, my father will be with me at the ceremony,” Atlas suggested.

“Is that alright with you?” Avida asked the girl. “It will just be for a day.”

“Danger?” Bambi asked, looking concerned.

“It won’t be dangerous, don’t worry. We’ll come back nice and safe,” Avida promised.

Bambi reluctantly agreed. It seemed that she wanted to join them not because she didn’t want to be left behind, but because she was afraid the mercenaries would be in danger and wanted to protect them. At Avida’s insistence that they would be fine, she eventually relented, but only after multiple more reassurances that they were not leaving her behind.

“Then it’s settled. Belli and I will infiltrate the public crowds while you guys mingle with the upper-crust assholes,” Avida stated before sighing. “Life really isn’t fair…”

“I’ll have some people do recon on some of the guests so we can come up with a more concrete plan before next week. But ultimately, just try to find as much information as you can,” Atlas instructed.

Suddenly, there was a frantic knock on the conference room door. Before Atlas could even tell the person to come in, a short servant with light brown hair burst in the door, looking to be in a hurry. He quickly bowed in politeness before addressing the resistance leader.

“Sir, sorry for barging in like this but… Your father’s here!” the boy informed him worriedly.

Atlas immediately stood up, concern clear on his face. He ripped off the resistance cloak, revealing a rather casual but still clearly expensive outfit underneath.

“Where is he?” he asked the servant.

“He asked where you were, and when we told him someone would go fetch you, he said he’d do it himself! He’s on his way here now! Some servants upstairs are trying to stall him while I came to tell you,” the servant spoke quickly, barely even taking a breath.

Atlas hurriedly turned to the group, nervousness oozing off his frame.

“It’s fine, everyone just stay quiet, and I’ll lead him away from here. Knowing him, he probably isn’t staying for long, so I will inform you once the coast is clear,” he told the group.

Then, Atlas was out the door, closing it behind himself and the servant. They heard a click, and Avida realized he must have locked it from the other side. No one made a sound, afraid that even breathing too heavily would be enough to alert the head of the household to their presence. Bambi stopped moving as well, sensing the tense atmosphere.

Multiple footsteps could be heard before coming to a stop. Though the conversation was distant, they could just barely make it out in the silent, echoing basement.

“Titus! I was surprised when you didn’t come to greet me as usual, but the servants said you were busy. What on earth are you doing in the basement?” a deep, gruff voice asked.

Avida was trembling with rage. On the other side of that door was the man responsible for so much of her misery. She felt her hands shake at the thought, itching to act. He was the reason for the orphanage, for Bambi, for Sohpia. And he was so close. Her revenge was so close. Her hand subconsciously rested on the pistol strapped to her thigh. The one that she never used. But she knew better, so she only clenched her fists and listened.

“Apologies, Father. I wasn’t aware you were coming today. I was just fetching some wine to pair with dinner,” Atlas’s voice responded. “Why don’t you join me, since you’re here?”

Avida had never heard him sound so formal. It was a little off-putting. It felt unnatural compared to the way he usually spoke. Across the room, Rhea was rolling her eyes.

“Unfortunately I can’t stay long. I have plans with your mother. Although I have to ask, how come I don’t recognize any of the servants around here anymore? What happened?” the archbishop questioned.

“A lot of them started slacking off once you moved away, so I had to fire them. Some others quit, so I replaced them,” Atlas explained casually.

“I see… that’s a shame,” his father replied.

“Anyway, what are you doing here? It’s a rare occasion for you to come all this way,” Atlas asked.

“My invitation for the unveiling ceremony was sent to this address by mistake, so I came to get it. We can’t enter the banquet for Church officials without it, and I thought it was also a good reason for me to come check up on you. By the way, I assume you are coming, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“Good. Are you bringing a plus one?” the man suddenly asked his son.

“I am, actually. I met a girl recently so I thought I would bring her,” Atlas replied.

“She your girlfriend?”

“You could say that.”

Everyone subconsciously turned to Rhea. The researcher had a hand resting on her forehead in agitation, jaw clenched. They wordlessly decided to never bring this up.

“Hahaha! Great! I never thought I’d see the day. Your mother will be thrilled. She thought you would be single forever at this rate. Even if it’s just a fling, keep that between us, okay?” the older man bellowed. “Just don’t bring any harlots around and embarrass me.”

“Of course not,” Atlas assured him.

“Well, I better hurry back to the Cathedral. Your mother will skin me alive if I’m late for dinner again,” the archbishop joked.

“Alright, I’ll see you out.”

The set of footsteps faded until they could no longer be heard. A collective breath of relief seemed to sweep the conference room as everyone finally relaxed.

“Well, that was terrible,” Bellicosa remarked.

“You can say that again. Listening to that bastard converse so happily and freely made my skin crawl,” Avida commented with a shiver.

“I don’t know how Atlas is so cordial with him,” Phoebe agreed with a sigh.

“Haven’t you met him too?” Avida asked her.

“A handful of times, sure. But in those situations, I’m a servant, so I don’t need to speak much,” she informed them.

“I see…”

“That idiot,” Rhea finally spoke, still irritated. “What the hell is he thinking?”

Everyone had forgotten she was there for a moment, purposely tuning out that part of the father-son talk. It wasn’t for about ten more minutes until another click was heard and the door swung open. Atlas stood in the doorframe, obnoxiously blinding smirk plastered on his face.

“He’s gone,” he told them.

Rhea immediately stormed up to him.

“I’m this close to beating your ass again,” she said, gesturing with her thumb and index finger a hair’s breadth apart.

“You never did in the first place,” he told her. “Besides, it had to be believable. Why would I bring a random stranger with me?”

“It’s a good plan. Just be careful, sir,” Phoebe warned him, eyeing the blonde skeptically. She still didn’t fully trust the researcher.

“It’ll be fine. You’ll be there to back me up,” Atlas reminded her.

“I’m a little sad I won’t get to see that circus,” Avida snarked.

“You’ll have your own hands full, I’m afraid. The statue unveiling is sure to be the biggest event of the year. The crowd will be massive,” Atlas told the mercenary.

“All the more information to gather,” she replied excitedly.

“Let’s reconvene in four days. My scouts should be back by then, so I’ll have some more info on our guests. We will also have to plan and prepare disguises for those that need them,” he instructed.

“What do we do in the meantime?” Bellicosa asked.

“Nothing for now, just lay low and get some rest.”

“What about her?” Avida questioned, pointing to Rhea. “I do not wanna babysit her again.”

“Hey!” Rhea grumbled but was ignored.

“She’ll stay here with me. I could use a new servant,” Atlas declared cheerfully.

“You’ve gotta be joking,” Rhea protested.

“Nope!” he chirped before turning back to the group.

“Our greatest operation yet has just begun. Prepare to take down the Church of Solomon once and for all.”