"I thought you would have finished first," Kyoko said from a spare chair in Luo Yun's office. Luo Yun was sitting at his desk, going through more paperwork. Myra stood next to the doorway in an upright posture.

"Well, I did give myself the hardest target," Aleister said. "How did it go, by the way?"

"I'm not sure how, but somehow Lilith's presence graced him in that room, and now his soul is currently undergoing the awakening procedure," Kyoko answered.

"Exactly what I expected to happen."

"I don't know if you mentally torturing him is what caused this to happen because as you said, there was the chance of this happening in the future."

"Are all priests and priestess' Weavers?"

"No."

"Exactly."

Kyoko rolled her eyes, not bothering to engage in this argument anymore.

"How did your experience go, Luo Yun?"

"She was already a Weaver when she woke up, so I forced her to drink the wine and immediately came back out here."

"I did not expect that at all."

"All this means is that her bloodline activated, so her lineage is more complex than I imagined, as she does belong to a family of Weavers at the very least."

"And you haven't gotten the information from Mirror Mountain yet?"

"No, because of the events of the eclipse, all travel out is prohibited and is under intense scrutiny. The policy will continue to stay underway until the conference between all territories is held to gain a better grasp of their situation."

"I see." Aleister nodded. "This means her bloodline activated on her own. Do any of you know what might cause this?"

"Most bloodlines will eventually activate on their own. However, bloodlines can undergo the second awakening in the future, and that's what will then require an external force for their activation, which is the case of Kyoko's bloodline. In her case, I do believe the stressor of her death caused her soul to awaken. Otherwise, it might have taken many years to awaken naturally."

"And you Myra?"

She shook her head. "I don't think his soul awakened or anything when I was done."

"Same here. At least I got him to realize why he wanted to live. I'll consider two out of four as a success."

"Is there really nothing else you can do?" Kyoko asked. "You couldn't have made them undergo all of that training for no result at the end."

"I wouldn't say figuring out your purpose in this world isn't a result. And it's not that there isn't any other way. There is the Crystal Throne, but neither of them have demonic bloodlines and will instantly die if they sit upon it. And even if they did, Gilmore said that they've brought volunteers to sit on the throne before and were always met with failure," Aleister turned his head to Myra. "You have been the only exception."

"So that's it, huh." Kyoko shook her head. "I feel bad that I can't do anything else."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"If you're so inclined, there is the chance they could become Weaver's through a white-onyx crystal."

Luo Yun scoffed. "Good luck getting your hands on one of those."

"I can probably afford it," Kyoko said as she stood up.

"Have fun talking to Aunt Lavinia about it. She's your only other source of getting one for even a remotely realistic price. I would have also recommended Mirror Mountain, which is where the largest hoard is stored, but their prices would likely transcend your willingness to spend."

"A white-onyx crystal, you say? How come I've never heard of an item that can force someone to become a Weaver?" Kyoko asked, her hand on her chin.

"They can't force someone to become a Weaver. It just stimulates their bloodline," Aleister said.

"Not exactly correct," Luo Yun said, looking up from the paper he held. "A white-onyx crystal doesn't stimulate their bloodline, it replaces it."

Aleister looked at him with an interested expression. "Oh, really?"

"According to the annals of history, unprocessed white-onyx crystals are, in reality, the dried out blood of an ancient creature. One that lived before the previous Aeon of Heros. However, raw white-onyx crystals had been tainted by the world and suppressed by the will of the gods imbued within the land. It wasn't until someone figured out the purification process of the white-onyx crystals that they could then be used to replace the bloodline of a regular person, which in turn issued the new age. However, due to some unknown cataclysmic events that led to the era in which we all live in, all the white-onyx veins were dried up and no new crystals could be mined or purified."

"That's not what I heard about them," Aleister looked over at Syn.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I was only telling you what your aunt told me."

Luo Yun continued, "Of course, these days, besides their rarity, most of them are simply stored in the case of an emergency doomsday because the holders of them don't particularly like the idea of having their bloodline erased."

Aleister smirked. How interesting. It seems that there was more to her present than what I first expected.

"Then why even bother to hold on to them and why not hand them out?" Myra asked.

"Simple," Aleister said. "The holders of the white-onyx crystal don't have anything to gain from handing them out."

"Exactly," Luo Yun said in affirmation. "Due to their ancient origin, no one is exactly sure what powers the white-onyx crystal grants or how to control them. No knowledge leads them to fear the unknown. What happens if those powers are too strong for them to control and decide to revolt? Or what if after all the time, effort, and resources they put into someone with that white-onyx bloodline, gets stuck at Rank One forever? Then all of that will have been a waste and could have gone to someone with more promise and talent."

"Ugh," Kyoko groaned. "I didn't come here for a history lesson."

"Are you still going to try to get your hands on two of them?"

"I'll talk to my mom and get her to force Aunt Lavinia two of them up."

"Abusing your power I see."

"No, I'm fixing the mess you created," Kyoko said with a huff. She stomped her foot on the ground. "Ignoring the morality of the situation, you failed to think about your connection to my Crystal Royal Family. If word of this situation gets out, then think about the hit to our reputation. This way, even if word of these gets out, it can be spun into how, although you're crazy, you managed to turn four normal people into Weavers. That way we can still come out on top at the end."

"Taking a page out of the political playbook? No wonder Luo Yun used you for your connections."

"Quite impressive indeed," Luo Yun said.

"I try my best." Kyoko forced a smile. "In any case, I'm going to take care of this right now. Remember, you still have to help me with the warehouse investigation and just because you somehow duped poor Myra over here, doesn't mean you don't owe me an extra favor."

"Extra? As far as I'm aware, I only owe you one for helping me."

"And you'll owe me another after you get the two white-onyx crystals."

"Heh, fine."

"Then, I'll take my leave."

"What's this warehouse investigation?"

"I can't be bothered to explain to you right now. Since you're so interested, I'll just invite you over when the time comes."

"I don't know where you got the so interesting part from. I'm just curious about what this is about."

"Don't worry, you won't have to wait for too long."

"Fine. But, what are you going to do about the four people occupying my entire dojo?"

"I'll move Panry and Aluyra to one room and Malozar and Stronvun to another. Then when they wake up, I'll explain the situation to them and get the two of them started on sorting through the applicant list."

"And what if they try to fight you?"

"You'll protect me, right?"

"They deserve to beat you up."

Aleister turned his head over to Myra.

She smiled. "I think Master has some tasks for me to complete so I won't be around for a few days."

"Whatever." Aleister shrugged. "I can probably protect myself."