A fragrant flowery scent that brought along a wave of comfort and serene was left in her wake as she ambled down the hallway in nothing but her bathrobe. She had just finished taking her bath and was heading straight to Aedan, being led by Olivia. Her hair was still damp and so were her tails. The maids had offered to dry her hair and tails but she had gracefully declined their aid as she liked the feeling when the mellow breeze brushed past her damp hair and fur. There was also another reason that she kept her hair and tails damp.
The servants were giving Erin inquisitive gazes as they passed by her. They could not figure out for what purposes their lady would walk around in such a manner. Erin could hear their speculations that were bordering discourtesy but she paid none of them any heed. She chuckled inwardly to their wondrous imaginations as she sauntered behind Olivia’s lead.
“We’re here,” Olivia said upon arriving outside of a room that didn’t look any different from the rooms in the corridor.
“What is this room?” Erin asked, looking around with a focused gaze but she still could make any distinction.
“His Grace’s workshop,” Olivia answered and knocked on the door.
“Why do you address him with ‘Grace’? Don’t you use that for high-ranking clergies?”
“He’s not just an Apostle or an Arch Priest. He’s the heir. Addressing him as ‘Grace’ is more than fitting for him.”
“I suppose so…” Erin muttered in response with a shrug.
“Hmm… His Grace must be busy,” Olivia said after receiving no response from the other side of the door.
“Unbelievable,” Erin scoffed and forced herself into the room before Olivia could stop her. The door creaked loudly as it was swung open with force. The floor planks creaked just as loud when Erin stepped into the room.
“Milady, that was ungracious and crass of you,” Olivia chided, entering the room after Erin.
“He disappeared on everyone and then he suddenly asked for me hours later. Now he’s trying to make me stand around and wait outside the room? He should be grateful that I did not turn the door into splinters.”
“In his defence, you did make him wait for half an hour.”
“I was sweaty. I needed a bath. My reasons were valid.”
Olivia smiled. “I don’t think His Grace would mind if you came here straight away without taking a bath.”
Erin frowned. “What kind of man had I fallen for…? Hmm, well, I'm in no position to say that considering I would also not mind if Lyra or Siv came up to me all sweaty.”
The two trod further into the room and found Aedan holed up in a corner. He was parked behind a table that was piled up with various tools and trinkets. The most notable object on the table was a rusty iron sword which seemed to be the subject of Aedan’s focus and study as he scribbled away on pages after pages with his gazes bouncing between the book and the sword.
Erin raised an eyebrow at the rusty iron sword. It was the sword that she bought from the town of Green Scar at a whim. She had later given this peculiar sword to Aedan in return for him giving her a silver-steel sabre when they were in The Singularity.
“Your Grace, Erin’s here,” Olivia announced after clearing her throat with a fake cough.
“Obviously,” Aedan retorted dryly without sparing them a glance.
Erin clenched her fist to gather her patience.
Olivia simply bowed and promptly took her leave, leaving Erin and Aedan the only ones in the room.
“What the fuck have you been doing?” Erin asked. “I looked for you everywhere but I could not find you the whole morning. You’re here, in such an obvious place but I couldn't sense your presence until I walked up to the door.”
“It’s just a Mind Magic spell. Something like hypnosis where you wouldn’t think to look here or register my presence until the caster of the spell allows it.”
“And you’re the caster?”
“I cast this spell, aye, but it was a long time ago.”
“It lasted this long?”
Aedan stopped scribbling and gave Erin a glance over his shoulder. “I was capable of a lot of things, sweetheart.”
“Not anymore,” Erin said. “Your level is sixty now and most of your Arcane Arts are suppressed, including your precious Spatial Magic.”
“I know myself well, Erin, which is why I have already given everything I have in the Vault spell over to Olivia’s Infinite Pouch.”
Erin narrowed her gaze in response. She walked over to Aedan’s side, shoved away some stuff on the table, and sat right on the cleared space. She made sure her tails wouldn’t be in anyone’s way. “How are you doing?” she asked with a scoff.
“I’m doing well?”
“Truly?”
“Why the doubt? Were you hoping that I would be wallowing in self-pity?”
“Sort of. Seeing you being in a mess does make for a charming sight.”
Aedan chuckled. “You are terrible, Erin.”
“And you are any different? I’m sure you would love to see me in a mess or in a dishevelled state too.”
“I already have. And this appearance… it’s very arousing," he said, eyeing her damp hair, skin, and tails with scrutiny. "Were you hoping that I'll be down in the dumps and this licentious appearance of yours would cheer me up?”
Erin turned away and clicked her tongue. Her tails were wagging rigidly and her ears were twitching stiffly. She wanted to lie her way through but her tails and ears were already giving her away. She sighed and answered honestly. “Yes, that was my intention…”
Aedan grinned. He rose from his chair and plunged himself into Erin’s bountiful chest, which Erin reciprocated by embracing him. “Thank you, Erin. You’re making me feel bad for being inconsiderate.”
“Glad I’m making you feel something.”
“You’re always making me feel something, Erin.” Aedan crept up from her bosom and began to brush his lips around her neck and collar. Her loose bathrobe made it easier for Aedan to deepen his advances.
Erin stopped him before he could shed her robe. “We’re not doing it here,” Erin said despite having her face flushed with heat and passion.
“I see your control over Lust is getting better.”
“And the temptations are also getting stronger.”
Aedan eyed Erin up and down. “It sure is.”
Erin sighed. “What do you call me here for?”
“If I said I just wanted to see you, would you believe me?”
“No,” Erin answered without hesitation. “If that’s the case, you would have come to me yourself.”
“What if I was busy?”
“You would have come to me regardless.”
Aedan scoffed. “Aren’t you being a little too presumptuous and a tad vain?”
“Am I?” Erin returned the question, caressing Aedan’s cheek and jaws with her delicate fingers. Her fingers moved down to his neck and shoulder, lightly scraping his skin with her nails.
“You really are worthy of being the Apostle of Lust.” Aedan threw his hands up. “I confess, you are right on the mark.”
Erin chuckled and distanced herself slightly away from Aedan. She had to as she wasn’t confident she could resist jumping on Aedan for much longer with him being so close to her. She steeled herself and asked the important question. “You called me here because there’s something you want to show me. I’m guessing it has something to do with that sword?”
“I made a breakthrough of sorts.”
“Of sorts? Specify?”
“The spell used to seal this sword has traces of divinity.”
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“Hmm… Can’t say I’m surprised considering it even eluded your Appraisal.”
“And it’s not just any divinity, it has Aeryo’s divinity among many others.”
Erin’s brows shot up. “The spell is the work of many Divines?”
“It would seem so.”
“If these many Divines are involved… does this mean this sword is something that could threaten the Divines?”
“Very likely.”
“But why would they leave such a thing unguarded and unwatched?”
“But it worked, didn’t it? No one would ever think such an item would be in such a place.”
“Well, I found it, didn’t I?”
“You’re different. You’re an unknown variable as how the scholar would most likely put it.”
“If this sword is something this significant, maybe we should not be trying to undo the spell lest we attract unwanted attention.”
“I agree, which is why I’m planning to bury it in the backyard.”
“Wouldn’t that raise suspicion if someone stumbled upon it by some amazing chance?”
“Suspicions would be raised regardless since I have been tinkering with it. A mark has been left. Hiding this sword in the Grove is the safest bet.”
“What do you think this sword actually is?” Erin asked.
“Curious?” Aedan wrapped the sword with a cloth and tied it up with blue strings.
“Wouldn’t anyone be? Unless of course… you already had a good inkling of what the sword might be?”
“There’s only so few items in this world that would make the Divines be this paranoid. Three items, to be precise.”
“And you know what these three items are?”
Aedan wrapped the sword in another layer of cloth and wrapped it up with the same blue strings. “I know what two of them are. The third is still a mystery.”
Erin’s eyes began to sparkle. “Tell me,” she said.
With the sword all bundled up, Aedan let it rest against the table as he plopped onto the chair with a long heave. “There’s the Hollow Essence and the Sunderer.”
“Before I ask for the details, who named these things?”
Aedan shrugged. “Haven’t a clue.”
“Hollow Essence… I can’t even guess what it is from the name itself.”
“It’s an insentient living essence that exists in a material state between air and water. It responds to the host’s wishes and whims.”
“Sounds eerie but I don’t see what the fuss is about.”
“The Hollow Essence is something unrestrained by the System.”
“Oh.”
“No one knows about its origin, only that the System has no hold over it. It has a lot of benefits but the most significant one is the nullification of the level difference. This means if a level one individual possesses the Hollow Essence, they could potentially use it to kill a level eighty individual. If it’s wielded by a high-level individual, killing the gods would even be a possibility.”
“And who has this Hollow Essence now?”
“It’s currently in possession of the Ruvans.”
“Oh, dear… That’s not good.”
“Well, last I heard, their goddess forbade them from using it under any circumstances. They are merely safekeeping it.”
“I’m not convinced.”
“Well, as I have said. Last I heard. Who knows what has changed.”
“And this Sunderer, what’s the story?”
Aedan tapped the bundle of cloth beside him. “This sword might be the Sunderer.”
“Sunderer… sword… Sounds appropriate but what makes it special?”
“The expression of a double-edged blade being taken extremely literal. The user will suffer the same wound, the same cut, as the one they inflicted on their victim.”
“...That sounds like a deadly joke.”
“It is. It doesn’t matter who the wielder is, they will receive the wound they inflict on their victim without exception.”
“Even the Divines?”
Aedan nodded. “Even the Divines. And that’s not all there is to it.”
“Of course, it isn’t.”
“The blade is made of the rarest and most powerful metal in existence. It’s forged by Hyphon, the Smith God, using the flames of the Dragon God, Aeryo. The metal is the amalgamation of Obsidian Steel, Aetherite, and White Silver.”
“Aetherite?”
“A type of metal found only in the Divine’s Realm or so I have heard from Aeryo. As for White Silver—”
“I know what that is. Siv had told me. It’s a very poisonous metal that could kill someone just from the smell alone.”
“And the White Silver within the Sunderer is made more potent with the presence of Aetherite. The Sunderer can’t cut through everything as your Mystic Blade could. However, it can kill a Divine if you manage to cut them. Cuts made by the Sunderer never fully heal.”
“Such a nasty sword…” Erin muttered, staring at the bundle of cloth by Aedan’s side.
“Yet, you’re staring at it like it’s the greatest treasure you have ever discovered.”
“It’s a sword after all. In spite of its history and purpose, I am still curious about how it would feel in my hands.”
“You have a very dangerous-looking gaze right now, Erin.”
“I can’t help it, Aedan. The sword has been my life for a long time.”
“Allow me to change that,” Aedan said and stood up, standing in between the sword and Erin. “I’m going to change that thought of yours.”
“We’re not doing it here, Aedan.” Despite saying so, her tails and ears were already wagging in anticipation and glee.