CHAPTER 76: PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

Hermes' eyes twinkled as he analyzed the ring. Even though there were two opposing cosmic forces held tightly within its confines, the Ring of Avoidance looked to be in complete harmony with its own form; a completely stable Halcyon-tier Stellar Artifact.

Gunfire sounded buildings away from him. 'It seems like the battles have begun...'

His role, according to Lance, was to figure out what the secret held within the ring was. Although he had no idea how to use it, Lance did tell him that wearing the ring turns you invisible automatically. While it may be impressive, both of them knew that there had to be much more to the ring than what it let on. The fact that the church was alright with letting Brandon wield the artifact normally meant that even they had no idea about its main purpose and importance. In no circumstance would they ever allow a mere Chief Inquisition Knight to wield a Halcyon-tier artifact - the church was in no way this incompetent.

The first thing Hermes needed to test was its invisibility function. Although Lance had already told him how it worked, he had to see it for himself. There could be a clue as to how to activate the rest of its functions from this. He slowly inched the ring toward his index finger. The moment it snuggly fit around his finger, he felt a flux of cosmic force entering his body. Immediately, he activated [Sensory-Boost].

He observed the Dream-type cosmic force entering his body, forming a coat or layer of itself around his form. This layer was forming above his own passive-control of cosmic force. Hermes nodded to himself. This was exactly what he had expected.

From his research back in Sanctuary City, he had learned that the Dreams domain held a lot of abilities that probe the mind. One such ability was called [Psychological-Invisibility]. As the name suggested, this ability would use the wielder's cosmic force to turn them invisible from others through tricking the surrounding people into ignoring the wielder's existence as a whole. The person in question won't actually be invisible, it would just be that no one around them would be able to notice their presence, as if they were camouflaged with the surroundings perfectly. And even when they do get noticed, they won't be able to sense them properly as the ability thwarts all senses, even Celestial abilities like [Sensory-Boost].

The only reason Sanctuary City even held knowledge about this was due to the sheer amount of Xulu attacks they had to endure due to this one ability. Hermes could only blink silently when he heard Angelica describe one such attack. An army of 50 Xulu, all entered the city from the front gate and not a single Guardian was able to spot them until they finally began their attack. Who the hell needed planning when you can just become invisible?

It was the same case with the parasitic attack that occurred 40 years ago. According to Elizabeth's account, the reason why that mutant in disguise was able to stay under the radar for 2 whole years before beginning his horrific attack on the residential complex was mainly due to this ability.

However, there was clearly still a missing piece to this puzzle. Although [Psychological-Invisibility] was fairly powerful, it did little to stop someone from investigating something if they had that goal in mind. Even if the Ring of Avoidance was using it on itself to hide its other Cosmic Force type away from the eyes of the Church, how could it have been able to stop them from investigating it?

Stellar Artifacts are not living creatures. They have no way to sense their environments or thwart attacks directed at them. They are simply tools with an Ethyric core that allows it to use Celestial abilities and spells. It was impossible for the Ring of Avoidance to hide itself away actively, unless it was programmed to.

Although he was unsure of what techniques it had used, the Ring of Avoidance had to have used some kind of psychological ability he was unaware of to prevent the researchers within the Church from probing into its functions too much. By doing this, the Stellar Artifact solidified itself as simply an invisibility tool and not a Halcyon-tier artifact.

He stared at the cosmic force threads swimming across its transparent form. Since simply wearing the ring caused it to deliver its Dream-type cosmic force into the user's body, what would happen if he inserted his own cosmic force into the ring? Lance had specifically said that the ring would only activate and reveal its secret to him, and the only way for it to detect the correct user had to be through Cosmic Force.

He wasn't completely certain about this, but he had to try. Time was flying by quickly. Although he was confident that Merlin and the rest of the Ironclad crew can hold off the rest of the Inquisition Knights alone, he was still left clueless as to the developments occurring with the Lysange and Valencourt families. The operation had already taken a turn that no one had expected, and he was uncertain whether the tides were currently in his favor or not.

Taking a deep breath, Hermes' eyes narrowed. He focused his cosmic force into the ring as droves of Knowledge-force rushed toward its glassy texture. At first, there was no reaction at all. Other than the pain he was currently feeling from his wounds and the stinging sensation of driving cosmic force out of his body forcefully, nothing looked to be out of the ordinary.

But it turns out he was speaking far too soon. The ring began to glow in an aethereal slew of colors that radiated onto the surrounding floor. Even without [Sensory-Boost], the light show was visible for all to see. Hermes' eyes widened, but he continued to pour his cosmic force into the artifact. It was clear to him that his line of thinking was correct. The Ring of Avoidance needed his cosmic force to show its true colors, both figuratively and literally!

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Suddenly, a beam of light emerged from the ring, and without even giving Hermes time to react, it shot forth and pierced through his glabella, sending him flinching back. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as his body staggered to keep itself balanced. He propped down clumsily on his knees as his head peered up at the skies.

Inside Hermes' mind, illusionary visions replayed one by one like a cassette player. Scenes of the craftsmen creating the Ring of Avoidance. Scenes of the Saint-Clair family gifting it to the church. Scenes of the High pontiff examining it proudly in his hands. Scenes of researchers examining the ring but finding it to be ordinary and placing it with the rest of the low-level Stellar Artifacts.

Then came images he had not expected at all. He witnessed the coronation ceremony of King Rudwell the Great, the lords of the noble families standing on the sides, marking the way for to his rightful throne. Images of Rudwell marrying a beautiful woman with ivory-colored hair. Their wedding night was marked by festivals all across the Marcia empire. The visions shifted to years later, showing the birth of prince Darius, who would later become his father's successor. From there came Darius' turn to start a family of his own and his policies would later form divides between the noble houses, leading to the creation of the Noble, Church and Neutral Faction.

The Saint-Clair family, who had always prided itself as devoted to the Monarch of Wisdom, joined the Church faction and established itself as a pillar of faith. Families with long histories of serving as Guardians would opt to join the Noble faction instead. The balance between the Guardians and Inquisition knights was formed, creating stability within the empire. Darius, who was adamantly against the formation of these political parties, was left with no choice but to align the Marcia family with the Neutral faction.

Hermes continued to swim in the void as more and more images played out before him. Years had passed and Darius had grown sick. He eventually passed away from natural causes, leaving the young Linarius as the only inheritor of the throne. The young king then took drastic measures to undo a majority of the policies his father and grandfather had done. Hermes could see no motive for this. The images being played to him did not contain the full history of Linarius' upbringing, so he had no clue as to what got him on this path.

The images continued to play until he reached a certain event. An event he was very keen to learn about. In a quiet and solitary bedroom, a young woman slept peacefully on a curtained bed. Her pajamas shown patterns across their form and her glistening, honey textured golden hair was spread evenly across her pillow. Men and women shown concerned faces as they stood by her bed. This was a scene he had previously seen before. In fact, he himself was present at the scene! In the crowd of men and women, Hermes was standing next to the visage of Arthur, who had his arms crossed. This was clearly a scene of Elizabeth prior to him entering the Dreamscape Challenge!

'This...' Despite his immobilized body, one can only imagine the shock on his face if he could move his muscles.

Since the start of this ordeal, the Ring of Avoidance had specifically shown events in chronological history. However, it was now skipping ahead to 17,400 years later, where Elizabeth had been discovered to be forcefully awakening as a Celestial. Not only that, but it was showing him events from outside this 'Historical Projection' itself, events that no one in this realm of existence should have even known about. How was this even possible?

He stood there silently absorbing the images playing to him, but his mind was whirling with theories. There was only one explanation he could think of, one that made him extremely uncomfortable, but its chances of being correct were now higher than ever. Ever since he had entered this trial, a growing concern was always at the back of his mind: was this truly a historical projection or illusion that he was partaking in? He had tried countless times to dismiss this question and focus his attention on saving Elizabeth, but now... He could no longer ignore it.

It was clear to him that what he was currently partaking in was no mere Historical Projection, but the actual history of what happened 17,400 years ago. The Dreamscape challenge hadn't created an illusion. It simply transported both Elizabeth and him back in time! The choices he made in the trial could influence future events significantly.

He began to remember every action he had taken throughout this trial. Every Inquisition Knight he had slayed, every death he had witnessed during their escape from the Mutant Rampage, and all the people he had inadvertently saved. They were all real people. Lance, Mason and the others; Eleanor and Elara as well as her father - none of them were fake humans created by some illusion. His actions were impacting the lives of real people...

The images began to shift once more. He decided to suppress his emotions so that he could focus on what the Ring of Avoidance was showing him. Images of Elizabeth waking up inside the trial played. It showed her attending balls, visiting tea parties as well as communicating with members of the Lysange family. It was clear to him that she was trying to form connections with everyone around her so that she could complete the mission successfully. The visions shifted once more, showing Elizabeth visiting the Saint-Clair family and speaking with a woman with beautiful blonde hair; he had no idea who she was.

Then, in almost rapid succession, the visions played out the events he had already known about. From her visiting the Valencourt family secretly, to attending the ball and facing king Linarius directly before invoking [Prophesize-Eye]. Her subsequent arrest was followed by clear and decisive action from the church who condemned her as a witch. But what was truly eye opening was what Elizabeth had done prior to activating this ability of hers.

Hermes swam in the void as the image played in his head. Just as she was about to confront Linarius and activate the ability on him, she strangely looked up at the ceiling of the room and onto Hermes, who was watching the scene unfold. It was as if he was in the audience of a play, and the actor had noticed his gaze. Elizabeth looked directly into Hermes' eyes and smiled before casting her enchanting eyes back toward the King.

A sudden chill ran down his spine. 'This... Did Elizabeth know I was going to view these images?'

Before he had any time to process what had happened, the scenes shattered like glass. His vision was broken into a million pieces as light flooded back into his eyes. Hermes had finally returned from his trancelike state. The sound of gunfire and the screams of Inquisition Knights returned to his ears. Immediately, the liquids in his stomach rose. He tried to stop himself, but it was too late; he vomited everything he had eaten that day.

'Ugh!' His vision was a mix of pastel colors. It took a minute or so for him to readjust himself. Waves of nausea churned in his stomach, threatening to erupt again. Sweat slicked his skin, and a metallic tang filled his mouth. Breathing heavily, his lips curved up into a smile.

'Elizabeth... I understand what you want me to do now...'

End of Chapter