In the end, Ceila got what she wanted, and Vermillion perhaps even some more. But for Murai to know that, he will have to wait or wonder what their intentions were.
While he had quite an interesting discussion with Vermilion and her subject, it didn't leave him wanting more.
He only wanted to get some footing for himself, and help. Healing was his highest priority right now, but not big enough for him to sell his body, services, or whatever Vermillon wanted from him. His price for himself was sky high. He had his own standards and he won't breach them.
Still, his Will disappeared before furthering or assessing the situation further. Vermillion didn't give him much room for discussion either, leaving him nothing but his own thoughts that she simply left for some crafty reasons. Without his retort, it felt like she gave him a favor and an unknown one at that.
Those were quite questionable results. This whole time wasn't for him, but more like something Vermillion wanted for herself. Perhaps, she didn't even care about healing him. It should be as easy as lifting a finger for her so that left Murai back in reality.
Ceila was still clutching him between her palms when she regained full clarity after leaving her Will in Murai's soul space for quite some time.
Iris was also present, even though Ceila told her to leave. She watched the silent sight of her, holding Murai from the opposite side of the room, where she sat in wonder.
From her point of view, she was looking at the frozen expression of those 2 beings that far outstrip her in any form of understanding.
Maybe she even regretted this a little. This decision of sticking her little hands to the fate of others. She already sat in the chair for quite a while, thinking of Ceila's words, her help, and the future that may inevitably hit her.
Her face was somewhat conflicted. Her help to Murai was honest, albeit a little naive by her conviction and goodwill.
Upon seeing some movement and glow from Ceila subsided, she hurried toward her.
“Is... Is everything alright?” she asked with a face filled with worry.
“I am...” Ceila nodded, sighting as her glow-like appearance turned dim. “But I am questioning some choices I will have to do. Whether this little duck in my palm is worth the effort... I wonder what would happen if I would squeeze my hands a little, ending the life of this being that was once... whatever it was.” Ceila stated these words with a strange coldness after she was finally away from Murai's pressure of his Soul Space.
It wasn't that comforting to her. Being in a place that was as dangerous as seeking an Extreme, and that soul made her recall some dangers for sure. However, the Robust Spirit was unlike anything she had seen in her life. The only piece of excuse she told herself, was that Murai would never do something crazy to her because of her Lady.
But that didn't mean she was calm about it.
Ceila knew he could restrain her with many variables, and destroying her Will would damage her soul to the brink of destruction. Even locking her Will in his Soul Space would be a possibility, but a better one, at that.
Murai within her grasp looked at her with naive innocence as if he had done nothing wrong at all.
“Don't give me that look... I won't care about your fate, regardless of our deal or not,” she stated out loud, voicing her words so even Iris could hear. Yet, she didn't understand what she meant. Instead of caring about her connection to his Will, Ceila retracted it, tossing Murai to a surprised Iris.
“I will have some tasks for you, albeit with some changes that happened between me and him. Instead of before, you won't be much of help, but a little helper nonetheless. It will be a good start for you, and I hope to give you some sense of help in what I am about to show you. This grand world of the priesthood. Are you willing?” Ceila asked, giving her a serious look.
Clutching Murai in her embrace, Iris looked at him in wonder, and then at Ceila. “Is... Is this bad? I don't want to trouble anyone, but I am willing. Of course, I am.”
“You don't need to care. I will show you. Help you. That's what I have always done, and I don't plan to discard you, or forget you, Iris.” Ceila said, smiling, and giving Iris a pat on her head. It reassured her a little, albeit her worry still grew a lot.
“As for you, Murai,” Ceila said, sounding serious again as she turned her gaze onto Murai. “I will give you a week to get you back to your health, and after that, you will get some opportunity from my Lady. A mission, so to speak, or her Will. It may be to your liking, considering it's not for free. It's for the sake of this church though, and your future. Partly...” She hesitated, furrowing her brows as if trying to come up with the right words and Will of her Lady that was always present in herself. “So if you feel like not doing that, I won't blame you but my Lady already stated her Will. I will give you that after everything is over, of course. It won't be something you will refute, or so I fear. My Lady is quite generous to you, for some reason...”
Oh... That's great then... Murai though. Getting help from a God isn't a first, but whatever. Murai decided on keeping it simple and gave her a simple nod.
Ceila chuckled. “It's not like this nod of yours makes it any different.” Then she turned her gaze back to Iris
“Iris, take him to the First Pagoda. I will allow him to use our stock of treasures, but it won't be for nothing. Look for sir Tuskan, and gave him this list, and this is for you.” Ceila walked to her worktable, where she took some paper and scribbled a few words, as well as imprinted some sort of symbol. It had a flower-like pattern, resembling a lotus.
Upon doing so, she placed it directly before Iris, who took the handful piece of paper with some hesitation after hearing the words First Pagoda. What was that place? A precious place that she never visited before.
It was a storage facility, as well as a business place where the most precious things of Vermillion Church were stored. Each was kept well, hiding behind the robust walls of a tall Pagoda that stretched to the sky. There were always some rumors about that place—secrets hidden in the underground of that Pagoda, or so Iris heard.
It was a good place, as well as quite infamous in this city. Countless robbers tried to get inside, taking countless valuable treasures, yet any efforts failed. It never got robbed in its history. Not once. At least officially.
“I understand, Master. I will do what you've told me.” Iris agreed, clutching Murai in her embrace as well as the paper.
“After you will get these things, act according to them. You will understand them, while I will have something to do for now, so you will go alone. If you will find it troublesome, you can ask sister Lirra for help, but it shouldn't take me that long. Come to some alchemy room afterward. I will find you there, of course.” Ceila said, turning back to a far table where she began working or looking for something.
Seeing Ceila no longer talking, Iris figured this was about the end of their visit. It was kind of strange, and she couldn't help but think about what she was even expecting before coming here.
Was it the expectation of healing Murai without any troubles? Maybe... She was naive, after all.
What was the most plausible thing she thought of? It was something else. She would trade some valuables that she kept for herself, buy some medicines from the Second Pagoda, and help Murai regardless of Ceila's Will, or help.
Taking the bucket to her hands, where she placed Murai, Iris walked away from his office after giving Ceila a deep bow.
The door shut close behind her back, leaving Iris sighing. “Well, I am sorry if this wasn't to your liking, sir Murai. I didn't.. or to be precise, I had no idea what to expect. I didn't even expect you to be that... savage with her. Whatever you are... I do blame you if you made her angry, but she is reasonable, haven't I told you that? She still helped you even after you entered her!” She said, expecting an answer, but it never came.
“You are a powerful little duck, aren't you? I never saw my master like that.” She shook her head, forgetting the worries, so she began her journey to the First Pagoda.
She kept talking to herself, or to Murai. She didn't mind even when people walked beside her. “Even when she talked face to face with rulers of some counties and powerful mages, my Master was always something I looked up to. A figure that I can trust, and follow. Like the steps of my Lady, or so I think. That also included a few figures much more powerful than her by the way!” she said, announcing her last words, before calming down when she realized she was talking to herself.
“I wonder what sort of things you talked about with her.” She kept talking, yet Murai kept himself silent.
He listened, but not much interest was there for him in her words.
Murai succeeded with his first thing, and that was to heal his body. Vermillion had enough sincerity to give him this favor so it was a great success. As for the other thing, of what Ceila wanted, Murai was well aware of what she viewed him like, yet that didn't mean she understood him, or he knew her intentions. Vermillion knew them, and that was something different from Ceila.
In fact, Ceila didn't know what to expect from Murai at all, even after overlooking his memories. There were a lot of variables behind the scenes, and Ceila had a lot of doubts because of that. There were a lot of things, and even the help of her Lady didn't ease her mind.
It was about Centralis Kingdom that Murai angered somehow. His shambles with Gods, his questionable history, and his soul. Each was a big variable in the grand scheme of the Battleworld that Ceila was part of for centuries. She knew a mess when she saw one, and Murai was one of the biggest messes she had ever seen.
That could mean an interesting subject for gods. She had no doubt about that. They were always like that, and it already seemed they got their lofty hands-on Murai, as a big variable to push some things onto the Battlworld. A new tide will come. Ceila felt it, and Vermillion wanted it.
Iris kept talking to herself, walking through the hall and outside. Many priests passed by, looking at her strange demeanor of carrying a duck in a bucket and talking to herself. It was a strange sight, but it didn't take a long time for her to travel to the First Pagoda. It was just outside of the cathedral.
Built behind the Vermillion Cathedral, there was a lofty building, not one bit smaller than the Cathedral in itself. It wasn't as wide, of course, but tall it was.
The big plot of land that Vermillion Church had was enough for a few dozen large buildings, and many smaller houses.
As for the Pagodas, they were the 3 tallest structures, forgetting the main Cathedral. They were tower-like buildings with quite some thinnest for their height.
Each had a unique color scheme, as well as a different amount of floors that were distinct from the way they were built. Each floor had a section outside, with windows, and protruded parts of the architecture that thinned to the end of the pagodas. They were widest on the ground and thinnest on the last floor.
Iris walked right towards the biggest one, which had purple bricks, and reddish wood for the accents and support. It had around 20 floors, with each floor taking at least 3 meters. It was quite a tall building up close. Murai couldn't help but think of this style as something that only the church would build. It must have taken a lot of money and effort.
Basically, only Gods would find this appealing, and not the regular mortals. Though, if those would look at such structures, awe would result from such sights.
Inside was kind of empty of people, with architecture not one bit normal. The floor had smooth marbled stone, and pillars of smoothened redwood made it quite nice. Other than that, there was a steward who greeted Iris upon her arrival, sitting behind a counter.
“Greetings, young priestess. May I be of some help?” he asked.
“I am making some...” Iris hesitated, still looking around in awe. It was quite a different sight from the regular-looking Second Pagoda. There were even a couple of emerald and glowing chandeliers, making the place bright and nice.
The steward cleared his throat, noticing her absent mind.
“...errands for my Master. Errands!” Iris jolted her gaze back to steward. “She gave me this list, and something on this was probably meant for me, I suppose?” She reluctantly showed him the paper, leaving the steward taking the list from her hand.
“2nd Sun...” the steward smiled. “You must be her new student. I have never seen you at the First Pagoda before, so apologize for not recognizing you. My name is Tuskan. An overseer of this place, even though I am a simple errand boy of this place. It's not bad, right?” Tuskan, said, appearing quite friendly.
“It sure is, sir. It is a pleasure of meeting your distinguished self. I bet you worked a lot for the sake of our Lady.” Iris showered him with her style of compliments, leaving Tuskan to view her in a much better light.
“I will provide you with this... request. It's for your Master, so it goes without saying that you don't know how it goes here. I will show you around.”
“I know this place has some restrictions sir Tuskan. Though, not like I need to know them, so let's get this errand over with. I have a lot of things to do, after all.” Iris said while hiding the bucket down.
Tuskan did notice its content, but it was none of his concerns to stick his fingers where they didn't belong. Considering Ceila, he quickly went to do his work and made a quick tour of the First Pagoda for her student.
Iris watched everything in silence, while a small beak and curious eyes were poking out of the bucket.
Well, this is surprising... I wouldn't mind raiding this place, but... being a bandit duck doesn't seem like a good idea. It sounds laughable. Murai thought, looking through the floors that were filled with treasures. Yep, it would piss off more people. Unsurprisingly. Let's forget it.
Murai decided, and by the end of the long stretch of walking through dozens of floors, Iris was left with 2 wooden, and sealed boxes. Each had an envelope of what they contained. From the list Ceila gave her, Iris didn't know what she wanted from her.
After all, on the paper, there were only numbers present in Ceila's message. Nothing else, apart from her symbol of the 2nd Sun.
Only Tuskan would know what the numbers would mean, so he gave her the required treasures, per Ceila's request. Intent put forth by the symbol of the 2nd Sun was more than enough reason to do this.
Everything was so discreet, Iris didn't find anything wrong with it. Yet, the content of the First Pagoda left her speechless.
She was aware of the wealth of the church, but for it to be this big, she had no idea. She noticed a dozen or so Celestial Artifacts, and countless materials so rich in mana and rarity, it left her dizzy even though they were sealed under many formations.
A lot of things were crafted in this place, mined under Church's influence, or bought by its capital. Though, the vast majority wasn't something that belonged to the church, but stolen, or seized from its enemies. That, or they were rewards from the war and services some powers purchased from Vermillion's influence.
“Here you go. These two are about what your master wanted.” Tuskan said back on the 1st floor.
Their hour or so spent in this Pagoda went by quite fast and was over in an instant. Murai was somewhat speechless, but not as Iris who took it with quite some force.
“T-thank you, sir Tuskan. Have a wonderful day.” Iris shook her head, getting her mind back on track.
Giving him a big polite bow, she, alongside the bucket with Murai and 2 small boxes, moved back to the cathedral.