" " (Name) represents people talking out loud.
"[ ]" (Name) represents someones thoughts.
"{ }" (Name) represents communication through thought or a device.
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Lyle is currently within a guest bedroom in the imperial palace. There is a large king sized bed situated against the wall that is left of the door. In front of the bed is an empty chest and across from the chest is a wooden dresser with a mirror attached. We were all lead to five different rooms that are next to each other. The pope, however, was lead to another room that's away from ours.
Currently, there is a full moon in the night sky surrounded by countless stars. It makes him realize this isn't his home world for the moon is blue. However, he can't appreciate the scenery for the discussion he and his friends had with the pope is still going through his mind.
After the pope said to them that they can reside in this world with all of the residents of the world, everyone became quiet and start to contemplate over it. After a few minutes passed, Marc was the one to speak up.
"You say we can reside in this world. Then can I ask a few questions?" (Marc)
"Don't hold back, ask as many as you want." (Pope)
"Ok. First, you said there are eight races in this world and there are five continents. I would like to ask how many different kingdoms or empires are there within this world, to which races do they belong to, and if currently there are any wars that are happening." (Marc)
"There are six different countries and empires within this world. There is the human empire Adeen that we are currently in. The kingdom of the Elves and Fairies is called Yesur(Yes-Sir) and the Collation of Beastmen is called Azamat(As-A-Moth). Both of these are located on the Trea continent. There is the empire of the Lord's Aminta(Ah-Min-Ta) that controls the whole continent of Umbra. The dwarfs have a kingdom called Arseno(Are-Sen-Oh) on the continent of Igles. The dragons don't have a kingdom or empire but they do have a clan and govern a large city which is also on Igles. This might be confusing for their leader is called an empress. Lastly, the Fallen don't have any such thing for there are less than five hundred of them in the whole world and they usually chose to stay alone or in small family groups of two to five. The majority reside on Una, but there are those that reside on other continents." (Pope)
After hearing the pope's answer Marc seemed to contemplate something and then asked another question.
"In this world, is there slavery." (Marc)
"Slavery was prominent thousand of years ago however today it is outlawed in mostly all kingdoms and empires except Arseno. However, even if it is allowed there, strict law are in place regarding the treatment of slaves." (Pope)
Upon hearing the pope's reply Marc was about to open his mouth to ask something else but the pope stopped him.
"Before you ask! There is racism but that is prominent in every world no matter where you go! However, discrimination is frowned upon. We have no problems with the Lords or any other races and no, the Lord's are not evil, neither are the dragons or beast men or elves or any of the other races! Even if there is a church for the goddess of darkness, we are not enemies with them. In fact, I consider the pope of the Church of Adreanna part of my family. If you are still not convinced, Sparda here is of the Lord race yet he is a cardinal of the Church of Alma!" (Pope)
Upon the pope's outburst, all five of them had blank looks on their faces. Sparda nodded his head seemingly in confirmation to the pope's statement and Antonella just sighed. Seeing the look on the fives faces the pope let out a dry laugh and spoke with an apologetic look on his face.
"I apologize for my earlier outburst. You are not the first to ask the question about slavery. Also, whoever usually asks that question asks about racism next and when they hear an answer, they all have different reactions and many can get extremely annoying and I wished to avoid that. I apologize once again." (Pope)
Before they could say anything there was a knock on the door and Ra entered.
"I apologize for the intrusion while you all were having your discussion. I came to inform you that the empress will not be able to meet you until tomorrow for she is still busy. She has apologized for the inconvenience. She has ordered me to escort you all to the guest bedrooms where you may rest for the night. Now then, I will be waiting outside this door so when you finish your discussions please notify me." (Ra)
When Ra finished speaking and was about to exit the pope stood up.
"No need for you to wait, the discussions have just finished so please lead the way towards the rooms." (Pope)
To the pope's statement, Ra nodded and led the group to all their rooms. Ra left them after saying a servant will bring dinner to their rooms.
After contemplating over what the pope said for an hour Lyle decided that he should talk to the others about this.
He left his room and walked to Salvador's room which was to the right of his. After he knocked a few time, seconds later Salvador opened the door.
"What's wrong?" (Sal)
"I wanna talk about what the pope said." (Lyle)
"Alright" (Sal)
As he gave his confirmation, the two of them walked towards the others room and got them. Then they all came together in Marc's room.
"So what you wanna discuss about?" (Marc)
"You're not an idiot, I know you know what I wanna discuss." (Lyle)
After his comment, a serious atmosphere enveloped the room.
"What do you all think we should do." (Liz)
"I think that we should take up the offer." (Sal)
"You say it like we have a choice. We can't return by ourselves." (Lee)
While those three were talking, Lyle cut in.
"It is true that we don't have a choice but to stay, but…" (Lyle)
After some hesitation, he continued.
"Even if they fix the so-called array, I think I will stay in this world." (Lyle)
After I said that, the others had looks on their faces like I had just killed their parents.
"What! Are you ok! Why would you want to stay when we can return home! You have family there!" (Marc)
"Yea and you'll also be going to college next year." (Liz)
"I know that but if you think about it even a little bit you would make the same decision that I did!!!" (Lyle)
At Lyle's outburst, the room once again became quiet. After he took a breath to calm himself down, Lyle continued.
"Our only option to return is the array. It will take ten years for the array to gather enough power to function. On top of that the time required to fix it is unknown. We will be spending ten plus years of our life in this world. We will probably become accustomed to this world and it's customs, culture, etc., within that time period, enough that we won't miss home all that much. Also, I'm not sure if you remember but when the earthquake hit, the ground beneath us collapsed. I remember us falling before I blacked out. If you think about it, if a human fell down that hole, what are the likelihood that they will survive. They probably think we're all dead and are having our funerals." (Lyle)
"Also here we have a pope, probably one of the most influential people in the world, willing to take responsibility and help us. Also tomorrow we're meeting an empress. It's like starting a new life on easy." (Lyle)
"Plus, this is a new world and I wanna explore it and experience everything we can." (Lyle)
The next thing Lyle said was with great amount of excitement.
"Plus Magic! I always loved fantasy stuff and magic is the king of all fantasy stuff. It can bend the laws of the world. That's so amazing! Plus, it seems one can become a god in this world. Who doesn't want to do that!" (Lyle)
At his statement, the others did not say a word for and contemplated what their friends had said. Seeing that they were staying quiet Lyle ask.
"So, what will you guys chose?" (Lyle)
"...." (Other 4)
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While the group of five were having their discussion there were five people within a room. In the room was a large desk. The desk was stacked with various papers. There were also bookshelves that were packed with different types of books varying from those of politics to magic to personal diaries and biographies.
Sitting behind the desk was an absolutely breathtaking woman that looked to be around 20 years of age. She had hair the color of silver and light pink lips. Her facial features looked very dignified. But the most prominent feature was still her heterochromic eyes, the right was violet while the left was red. Even though her face showed a tired look, it still didn't hide her beauty. She probably had many suitors asking for her hand.
Standing next to her was a man with chestnut brown hair and the same colored eyes, Ra. Sitting across from the woman on three chairs was the pope and the two cardinals.
"How have you been Empress Lillian." (Pope)
"Please stop that grandpa Abed. I and Lucy are like sister and you also consider me family. Do not use formalities and titles when you speak with me." (Lillian)
This was said by the woman, no, Empress Lilian with a face that looked tired.
"Hehe, fine, fine. You look tired, what can't handle being empress." (Pope)
" *sigh* I don't like it one bit. All the paperwork, the meetings, and all those stupid Nobel's that do nothing but lie and think of themselves. Now I know why ‘Kaiser' said he didn't like politics. I miss the time when me, him, Ra, and the others adventured together." (Lillian)
"Yes, but ‘Kaiser' disliked politics because many of the people at the time that were involved only thought of their own greed instead of others well being like they were supposed to. (Pope)
" Also, he hated those people, not politics itself, he was actually a little interested in politics." (Pope)
"*sigh* I know that." (Lillian)
The empress looked down and with a sigh responded. Her beautiful eyes showed nostalgia and longing while her face showed an extremely sad expression. After a few breaths of time had passed, she looked up at the pope with a serious expression.
"So what happened, why were they brought to Alderaan?" (Lillian)
With the empresses question, the pope got rid of the smile on his face and spoke with seriousness.
"It was Alma who summoned them, with the assistance of Adreanna. The reason for it, Alma did not tell me, but I believe it has to do with the problem of the Fallen." (Pope)
If Lyle and the others were present, they would realize that the pope lied to them about not knowing how they came to this world or why they were here. Also, if any of the goddess of light believers other than the five in the room were present they would be dumbstruck that the pope mentioned the name of the two sister goddess in a way that showed no reverence for them. However, for the four in the room, this was a common occurrence with the pope when he was in private or with someone close to him.
"I see. Then how would you evaluate the five? Will they be able to assist us?" (Lillian)
This time, it was not the pope but a cardinal, Sparta, who spoke.
"Annoying. They're kids who don't understand anything about respect. If it wasn't because we needed them I would have punished them severely.." (Sparta)
To his words, Antonella nodded in agreement.
"We need to teach them a lot, mainly to respect their elders. I will probably have to give them a strict education." (Antonella)
To Antonella's statement, the empress and Ra both gave a wry smile and their backs got covered with cold sweet, seemingly remembering some unpleasant things.
"They were forcibly brought to another world. Plus they are a bunch of kids from a safe world. If I was in their shoes I would probably behave the same." (Pope)
"No, you wouldn't." (Antonella)
"She's right, you wouldn't." (Sparda)
"How would you know, you all weren't even born during my teenage days." (Pope)
To the pope's reply, they couldn't say anything for they knew it was true.
"It wasn't just them who wasn't born, it was mostly everything in this world. Please don't compare the amount of time you lived with ours." (Lillian)
"Lillian is right. As one of the first creatures to be born in this world, you're around the same age as the two sister goddess. Heck, I even heard stories from the pope of darkness of the when the two goddesses were still mortal and the four of you journeyed together through the higher worlds and realms." (Sparda)
What Sparda said was true. The pope of light and the pope of darkness were two of the first creature to be born in the world of Alderaan. The two sister goddess, Alma and Adreanna were also creatures that were born at the beginning of the world, however, the two sister goddesses are younger than the two heads of their church by an unknown amount of time because at the beginning of the world there was no way to measure time.
"Your holiness, you never told us and I am also curious, why have you and the pope of darkness not taken the final ascendance and become true gods but instead decided to serve the goddesses even though you yourself are a god. (Ra)
With Ra's question, one could notice that it was not only him who was curious but the empresses as well.
"It's very simple. If I was to accept the final divinity, I would have to leave my wife and granddaughter and I do not wish to do that. While my granddaughter is still young and does not care whether I leave or not, my wife is different. She has almost reached the same realm as me and when she reaches it we will become true gods together." (Pope)
When the pope spoke of his granddaughter and wife, his face showed that he cherished them both greatly. He then continued with a voice filled with irritation and announce, different from when he spoke of his family.
"If it wasn't for this, do you think I would be the pope of another god's church. Ha! If Alma didn't beg me and even got my wife to ask me to become her pope I wouldn't have done it. What's more, Adreanna had the guts to do the same thing to her pope, except, she agreed willingly." (Pope)
Seeing the pope getting annoyed at their goddess, the two cardinals made a wry smile. And seeing that the pope was about to turn their conversation into one of his rant fests Lillian decided to change the topic.
"I think we strayed enough so let's get back to it. How would you evaluate the group of five." (Lillian)
Hearing Lillian's question the pope responded.
"They will need a lot of work. Each one of them can be considered crude." (Pope)
"The girl Lee has a weak mind and body. She was extremely sick." (Pope)
"The boy Salvador is also has a weak mind. He also cares for Lee too much, he is too protective even if he does his best not to show that. I can understand that it's because of her love for her and probably because she was sick." (Pope)
At the pope's last comment Lillian raised an eyebrow.
" ‘Was'?" (Lillian)
"Yes, when she got here she had gotten an injury on her head. When I healed her, I detected the illness and got rid of it as well. They might get suspicious of that so you will have to think of an excuse for it other than saying that I cure it." (Pope)
At the pope's confession, Lillian nodded in acceptance and the gestured for the pope to continue with his evaluations.
"The two twins, Marc and Elizabeth..." (Pope)
The pope's face got slightly darker as he stopped seemingly trying to find the words. He then said.
"... we must further observe them." (Pope)
"Why? (Lillian)
"They have killed before." (Pope)
At the pope's remark Lillian understood.
"Killing is forbidden in their world. To have killed means that they have broken their worlds law. The reason why they did it, I do not know, only they would." (Pope)
"Understood. Ra." (Lillian)
"I will take care of it, your majesty." (Ra)
After hearing Ra's agreement, Lillian looked at the pope.
"And what about the boy with the mask?"
Upon hearing Lillian's question, the pope had a serious look on his face, however, no one noticed the mischievous look in his eye. He then spoke.
"He is ….. special." (Pope)
"‘Special'? How?" (Lillian)
Upon hearing Lillian the pope's face revealed a smirk but he did not say anything. Seeing this, not only Lilian, even Ra and the two cardinals became curious about the boy with the mask.