-Chapter Fifty-Six-

The Holy Capital - Part Two

That night, Aelius apologetically told Saki and Asura he was going to head out into the city, disappointing Saki who had been looking forward to their reunion. But she understood the urgency in Aelius’ gaze.

Aelius couldn’t afford to spend the night with her and catch up after hearing the news that Violet might be in the city. He felt far too restless.

Saki said she had leads but despite spending over a few days in the city, she turned up with nothing.

Aelius did not hold much expectation, though he was filled with anticipation, as he stepped out into the night streets. Saki may have mastered Awakening Arts to a higher degree than he, but there was one advantage he had over her searching senses.

That was, that he already knew Violet’s scent.

If only he could lay eyes on her thread, he will definitely recognise it straight away. So he put his plan in motion.

Dressed in his usual hooded cloak, he remained inconspicuous among the passing crowds and carriages, walking down the stone pathways, as he drew closer to the centre of the city.

Violet and her clan are most likely near the centre, where from a certain point onward, commoners cannot afford to stay. The further to the outskirts one goes, the poorer the city gets. He doubts she’s among them.

As he travelled down the intricate pathways, he eventually found a spot that satisfied him - a tall clock tower overlooking a significant portion of the south-east side of the central city. Disappearing in a flash of light, Aelius blinked up to the top with a warp, feeling the cold wind rush his face.

He took a calm, deep breath as he narrowed his eyes at the landscape laid out before him. Most of the buildings were only two or three stories tall at most, and closer to the centre, the architecture became more impressive, forming even large blocks of connected housing.

Each street was lit up by lamps sustained with fire magic, allowing Aelius to see little shadows moving about.

His eyes fell shut but his sight remained. All the colours blended together and reality melted away into mere lines resembling computer code - wait, computer code? Aelius felt the headache he was long accustomed to, but oddly, he did not forget the trigger word that caused the headache this time.

Computer code? The phrase came to his mind so naturally and yet nothing else followed. The headache faded and Aelius turned his focus back to the task at hand, telling himself there is something far more important to do in the present.

Whatever these cryptic, uncertain ontological phrases that keep appearing in his mind are, thinking about them only ever makes his head hurt. It’s better if he just sets them aside and focuses on his present.

With Mind’s Eye, he scanned through the millions upon millions of ontological existences at light speed, picturing strongly in his mind Violet’s purple hair as his key sign. But as minutes passed by and he combed through half the city, his mind began to tire and he furrowed his brow.

Damn it…

He pushed through, continuing and continuing, putting immense stress on his mind, until eventually the pain became so intense he couldn’t bear it and collapsed onto his back, breathing harshly.

“No… is she not here?” He pursed his lips in frustration, gazing up at the stars overhead. “Damn it!”

What are the chances she’s in the remaining threads he hasn’t checked one-by-one? But usually when searching, the thread he wants comes to the surface to meet him. This is the first time this has happened, and it only means one thing.

She’s not here.

“...FUCK!” Rising to his feet, he kicked the nearest wall in anger, smashing right through it, before turning away with a spin, clutching his temple with an angered face.

After a few minutes, he finally calmed down, taking deep breaths, and decided to dejectedly return home, empty handed.

—-----------------------

The next day, the sun hung in the sky overhead brightly. Aelius already had a quick start, resting on the roof of the inn inconspicuously, sighing with melancholy as he watched the people below him go about their day on the streets.

As he sat hunched forward broodingly, he heard a ‘whoosh’ nearby and turned his head to find Saki, wearing a long dress with a skirt running down to her heels, standing beside him with a timid smile.

“G-good morning, grumpy,” she mustered as she tucked her hair behind her ear, and scooped up her dress as she sat down beside him.

“Mmm. Morning.” Aelius turned back to the city with narrowed eyes.

For a long moment, they sat in silence, until Aelius began to speak in a low voice.

“Something about this city is off-putting. I can’t quite pin my finger on it but… for some reason… I feel this rage burning inside me, when I look at this place. It’s almost like my gut is telling me that something horrible is happening right now.”

Saki remained silent for a long time, unsure of what to make of what he just revealed, until she unsurely began to respond. “In my mind, you’ve always had good discipline over your emotions and recklessness. Is that discipline perhaps… being overpowered right now?” she asked, tilting her head curiously, and Aelius shook his head.

“It’s that very discipline that’s fueling my anger right now, and I don’t know why.”

“Oh…”

Saki tried to think of something to speak of, seeing the foul mood Aelius was in. “Last night, I felt your presence combing through the city. I’m guessing you didn’t turn up with the results you wanted.”

Aelius nodded with a sigh, dropping his head. “Sadly, you are right.”

“The method you spread your senses last night… I was observing. It almost seemed like you were looking for something specific. But you couldn’t find it.”

Aelius blinked in surprise, as he turned to look at Saki.

“With your prowess in Awakening Arts, it is possible to even track my consciousness like that?” he asked and Saki nodded.

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“Of course. As implied by the name, to practise Awakening Arts is to transcend. That is, to transcend beyond mortal constraints. All manner of things enter the realm of possibility - dimensional traversal, soul projection, prolonged life or perhaps immortality, and even peering into the past or future.”

“I see…” Aelius answered with a nod.

“If you failed to track down the specific thing you were searching for, there are only two possibilities. The first is obviously that it is not within the range of your search. Perhaps it’s not within this city. The second is that, it was within the range, but you failed to pick it up due to your mastery in Awakening Arts being insufficient,” Saki explained.

“That’s… possible as well? Some things are not detectable by Mind’s Eye unless you’ve reached a certain level?” he asked.

“Indeed,” Saki nodded firmly. “Some ontologies possess a natural resistance, like an innate repelling barrier, to Awakening Arts. In some other cases, there is interference. Outside, external interference. Such as, do you recall the Spectre we fought in Dawn Village, in the Death Desert? The Spectre was hidden in an underground cavern, but we failed to take notice of it because of the barrier operating on the top floor of the Mage tower. That barrier not only blocked my Awakening Arts, it also kept the beast suppressed at the time.”

“Oh… now that you mention it, you’re right,” Aelius realised. “So it is possible to interfere with Awakening Arts, even in our lower realm…”

“Yes. In that sense, the magical artefact acting as that barrier created by Grayalla… or Grayalla’s master, was truly a marvel of technology. Well… my point is… you have a lead. You have a token that you are using in your search. I can lend you my aid and bolster your projection. That way, if what you search for is truly within this city, you’ll definitely be able to see it. Well, that is… unless it escapes even my own prowess. Though I doubt that would be the case.”

Aelius didn’t dare fall back into false hope at the suggestion, but it shouldn’t hurt to try. “So there was always that option…” he nodded. “Alright then. I’ll be counting on you.”

Saki looked off into the distance, where the large Holy Royal Palace stood majestically, but also vainly.

“Lastly… you may have failed to notice due to being too focused, but… the barrier that we encountered in Dawn Village? There is an identical one surrounding that Palace.”

Aelius’ eyes widened as he turned his head to the same direction, seeing the numerous towers belonging to the Royal Family off in the distance.

“So even if our search fails, there still remains the possibility that what I’m looking for might be in that Palace?” he wondered.

Is that possible? Violet, having ties to the Holy Royal Family? He shut his eyes in deep thought. Plus in my past life, the Spectre bee-lined it for the Holy Capital. The Spectre was special in nature in that it was an extra-dimensional being. Awakening Arts are similar - it allows you to transcend the limits of this plane of existence. Something to do with the ‘Abstract Realm’. The barriers that are capable of blocking Awakening Arts… they clearly possess some form of property that resists Awakening Arts. Is that why the Spectre rushed straight from the Desert to this place? Just what is the link between the Spectre, the barriers, and Awakening Arts? Perhaps all of that is unrelated to Violet, however.

Aelius sighed.

“Then, let’s get this over with. What do I have to do?” he asked, turning to Saki, who smiled back and offered her hand.

“Do as always. Spread your senses like normal, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

“...Alrighty then.” Aelius took her hand and closed his eyes, falling back into the same sensation as he did the previous night. The world blended and melded, colours mixed, buildings and people all became one amalgamation of entities.

And as Aelius soared through it all, everywhere at once, he felt Saki’s hand in his, and suddenly, her overwhelming power manifested around him.

In the Abstract Realm, he saw with his own eyes the gap between him and her - her power was like a tidal wave that could swallow an entire star. It resided from beyond the atmosphere, in the Universe itself, and yet at the same time, it enveloped him entirely. It was everywhere all at once.

As it engulfed him, Aelius suddenly gasped as he saw his hands fade, as did his legs, and his entire body. It felt like his physical body dissipated, leaving behind only his mind. Then, his fragmented mind was spread across the entire city.

T-this is…?

No need to worry, Aelius. This is merely the next major stage of Awakening Arts. It is called Omnipotence, Saki’s voice explained from within his own mind. The aim of Awakening Arts is to transcend, and in order to transcend, you learn to erase your sense of self. Or rather, sorry, that was poorly worded. Rather, you aim to meld yourself into reality. Become a synchronised, singular being with the world. Leaving your mortal shell, we try to inhabit the most powerful laws of this world - nature. Or, whatever other authority you can think of. Nature is usually the easiest one, Saki’s long-winded explanation finally concluded.

I see, Aelius answered with a gulp… though he had no throat. Though this sensation was entirely foreign and uncanny, and he could also feel like he was one with Saki - she existed as an unimaginably large pink orb, and that orb was filled entirely with nothing but adoration for Aelius. Seeing how intense that emotion was, it almost made Aelius uncomfortable, though it was reassuring as well.

But enough. It was time to focus.

Aelius summoned the image of Violet in his head, and it came far more easily to him than ever.

He felt a prod in his chest - a solid lump in his throat.

How he first met her. Her lavender hair and enchanting purple eyes stood out to him the most then. Her pale skin. How she was always barefoot even in the snow.

The warmth she emitted that warmed their bed even in the freezing cold.

The sound of her joyous laughter as they spent their days together.

The happiness her existence had brought him. Her devotion toward him. His devotion toward her.

It all came welling up from within him. Feelings that he had suppressed for years and years, thinking he had already moved on from them.

He recalled the moment she died, as the projection of her soul simply smiling at him in silence, with a warm gaze that she always held him in.

And, he recalled the moment she disappeared into nothingness. The depressing anguish that bound and shackled him ever since that day.

Turns out he had never moved on from his emotions.

Violet… please. Aelius clutched his chest tightly, feeling the ball tighten his breath. Please, Violet. I’m begging you. Allow me to come to you. I’m searching for you. I’m looking desperately right now. Please… be here. Please… he begged, and noticed Saki sniffling in sadness beside him, perhaps having experienced his emotions. But he kept his focus as he desperately searched.

And then he gasped, as a thread surfaced. As if answering his desperate cry, it tentatively, hesitantly revealed itself. As if calling for help, but only silently doing so, summoning the courage to allow him to see it.

“Right there!” Saki’s voice interjected. “Southwest of the City!”

Aelius memorised the location and as Saki pulled him out, he was rapidly sucked back into his body.

With a deep gasp, Aelius sat up again, his hands and feet returned.

“Do you still remember the location?” Saki asked urgently, and Aelius nodded, still holding tightly onto her hand.

“Thank you, Saki. It was only thanks to you.”

In a ‘whoooosh’, he took Saki with him in a powerful blink that sent shockwaves outwards, and within an instant, his feet hit the ground. Beside him, Saki came floating down as well, clutching tightly to his arm.

“T-this is…?” she reached up to wipe a residual tear, for the sympathy she felt after witnessing Aelius’ past, as she took in their surroundings.

Aelius was staring straight ahead, his eyes wide in shock.

Around them was a beautiful environment of cobblestone pathways, plants and trees keeping the sun out with the shade they provided.

Rows and rows of large, stone slates stood lodged into the grass.

Standing before them, Aelius looked in shock at the grave and tombstone that awaited him. The thread that called out to him was none other than this very spot…

Where this grave was laid.