In a contrasting tower of pure white, two winged figures gathered next to a large stained glass window, adorned in holy motifs.

Angelic figure: I hear our main focus will not be in the conflict itself... Are you sure of what you're doing, Yuriel?

They spoke to a blindfolded man with long, white hair.

Yuriel (Blindfolded figure): Open your eyes, Zaciel... We would be fools to engage in direct warfare with Nox. Their powers have been expanding over the years, their numbers rising by the thousands... And what have we been doing, in the meantime...?

Zaciel seemed somewhat uncomfortable with his question.

Zaciel (Angelic figure): What do you mean? We have been doing as we always did... Engaged in the endless prayer. Hoping for His return.

Yuriel clinches his fists, almost in disgust.

Yuriel: Engaged in the endless prayer... Look how well that has served us.

Zaciel: Yuriel...! If the others hear you-

Yuriel interrupts him with a wide arm motion.

Yuriel: The others are fools. Old men with clouded minds, too caught up in the roots of Lux to care about reality as it is today. Why else would they appoint me to lead our young in this fight...? They put themselves up on a pedestal, indulging in their futile prayers... As they send us all to die, now that war is at our doorstep.

Zaciel: What you're saying could be considered heresy, Yuriel!

Yuriel shakes his head, looking intently through the window.

Yuriel: I'm merely a vessel for our mutual feelings. Do you not feel the same way...? The younger generation doesn't get the same treatment as the elders do. They commune in secrecy, plotting Lux's future by themselves... For themselves. If you believe they care about the organization at all, you're kidding yourself. All they want is to preserve their comfortable, easy-going lives... But now there's a chance to shake up the status quo.

Zaciel's facial expression shifts in reflection of his intrigue.

Zaciel: And just how are you planning to do that...?

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Yuriel smiles, as a slight white glow escapes from his eyes behind the blindfold.

Yuriel: By letting those Eclipse watchdogs fight our battles for us, while we seek the lost city, deep within the Eluvian ocean.

His eyes widen in surprise upon hearing Yuriel's scheme.

Zaciel: T-the lost city?! Yuriel, the elders have forbidden us to-

Yuriel: AH! Indeed! The elders have... And don't you wonder why, Zaciel!? They forbid it because they FEAR it. Because they know the secrets it holds would shake the very foundation of Lux... It would give us access to the edge we need to destroy Nox once and for all. We would wield power as great as our ancestors did thousands and thousands of years ago, when WAR, not peace was the default state of the world. The elders are a symptom of what centuries of peace have brought us: inertia. Torpor. Lethargy. Indulge in their ways and the only future for Lux will be six feet under blackened soil, tainted and scorched by Nox's destructive ways.

Zaciel shifted around nervously, in clear fright of the prospect of wielding such power.

Yuriel: What? What's the matter...? Would you rather stay here and pray until they are at our doorstep, primed to kill us all?

Zaciel: I-I would rather not fight at all, Yuriel...

Yuriel: A war is not won through battle alone... You are not the first to express your displeasure for fighting. You don't have to, there are other ways to help.

Zaciel: How, then...?

Yuriel: Intel. We know that the sword of Greed has a new wielder, yet the sword is just one of seven. Lust, Gluttony, Pride, Wrath, Sloth, and Envy... As Greed's shackles are, once again, undone... So too will the shackles of the remaining sins. Before long, we will have seven unpredictable variables in this conflict. In a battle against them, the victor will not be Lux, Nox or Eclipse... Those seven would annihilate all of us in the blink of an eye. If we want to uncover the lost city's secrets... We have to ensure those variables are under control. Do you see where I'm going with this?

Zaciel: Is that where you've been sending the young...? To seek those weapons?

Yuriel smiles.

Yuriel: Lux, Nox, Eclipse... I think all three know the real battle is centred around those seven. Each organization will have devoted resources to seeking them out. Some of our agents have already investigated the place where the earth collapsed into the cradle... There were signs of battle -- Nox and Eclipse. It seems clear to me that are at each other's throats, scrambling for control over the weapons of sin as we speak. So... That's exactly why we don't need to bother with it. Forget the weapons.

Zaciel's mouth was held agape.

Zaciel: Forget the weapons...?! But you yourself said they could annihilate us all!

Yuriel: ... If they rise under a single banner. Together, their power trumps over all... But in opposition, their immense power will be caught in a deadlock. They would, for all intents and purposes, cancel each other out. So, our role will not be to lay claim to the weapons or their wielders...

His eyes widen as he catches wind of Yuriel's true plan.

Zaciel: ... But to ensure that the wielders are distributed across factions!

Yuriel: Precisely. Keep them busy and pitted against each other, and they will be no threat at all. Let Eclipse and Nox fight over territory and over control of the weapons... Our role needs only be to even the scales. Help out which ever side is losing, until we find the city. And then...

Zaciel: And then, we strike...!

Yuriel nods in agreement, grinning from ear to ear.

Yuriel: ... And then we strike.