"I'm sorry. But this is how it is."
Sofiel whispered to me after that awkward welcoming ceremony by them. We already moved from the ground floor of the tower which they called The Great Protector's Church to the top floor which was the Supreme Pontiff's room. In short, her room.
Apart from being an Archon which is the equivalent of a Transcendent in their race, she is leading their religion as the Supreme Pontiff who preaches about the Great Protector.
"I heard about the Luxians gaining a new religion before you secluded yourselves, never did I think that it would be about Daisuke…"
Fleur said. Ever since entering the tower, she never left my side. She was perceived as my mistress but… it's more like she was getting the weird vibes in here when everyone was looking at us with utter veneration.
Just like she said, it was recorded in the history books that the Luxians' were devoted to their religion. Never would I think that it would be a religion that was centered on me.
And as the Supreme Pontiff, Sofiel is the one who started all of this.
"You said you'll explain everything to me, Sofiel. Not show me that I became a Patron Saint of an entire race's religion."
"Uhm… I know. But it already reached this point that if I didn't show you, you would be more confused if you met every member of our race. You saw that, right?"
She's probably talking about that image in the stained glass window at the ground floor of the tower. The depicted image in it closely resembled my current appearance which depicted the Great Protector as well as the All-black Metagen which they called the Metal Giant.
"Yes. I'm guessing that you met an old man back then which gave you a prediction about me."
"The old man not only did that, but he also gave me this…"
Sofiel turned around and walked over to one side of the wall. She then took out a golden rod and cast an Elemental Spell using it and directed it on the wall in front of her.
Just like how the barrier was opened up earlier, the wall opened from the other side and a secret storage room full of all kinds of treasures was revealed. In the middle of those treasures sat one familiar stone.
From how familiar it is, I don't really need to guess about the identity of the stone.
"The fifth orb…"
Upon seeing that, my feet were naturally drawn to it and before I noticed it, I'm already behind Sofiel.
Wait. The Orb wasn't something she found, but it was given to her by the Principal…
If that's the case, he knows more about the Orbs than I thought. It's possible that the other orbs the other girls acquired were all arranged by him.
Letting Zerina's father find the Orb of Concealment and it ended up in her hand.
Letting Avelin find the Orb of Enhancement in one of her hunting trips years ago, and it ended up as her good luck charm.
Letting Jayna find the Orb of Ailment somewhere else and it ended up as something she used to prank someone.
Letting Nysia find the Orb of Reinforcement inside that regenium ore which helped pave her path down to become the strongest Transcendent in her world.
And now, there's this fifth orb which he handed to Sofiel directly after telling her about my upcoming appearance here.
If his Clairvoyance could detect my arrival in each Otherworlds even back to 30 years ago and before the invasion of the Dark World, then he should have the ability to push them out from the Otherworlds during their first arrival.
However, he didn't do that. He let the Otherworlds run their course, even if it resulted in the deaths of a lot of Mortal World denizens.
"He told me that this is something you will look for. It's called the Orb of Improvement. It can let me wield another variation of the Elemental Energy as the Main Element of my Spells as well as improve the Spell upon using it. However, it probably has a stronger use to it than just that."
Sofiel picked up the orb and handed it to me without any hesitation on her part.
As soon as it landed on my palm, my Adaptability once again brought up the proper use of the Orb.
Like every other orb, it can only be activated by Elemental Energy or a Source Energy which falls under the Elemental Type of Source Energy.
Since I only got the knowledge about the different types after reaching Transcendence, the other orbs also got the same change in their description. As long as it's the same Source Energy type, the other Orbs can be activated.
Concealment for System Type.
Enhancement for Physique Type
Ailment for Spirit Type
Reinforcement for Psyche Type
Improvement for Elemental Type.
But yeah, I have my Flux Energy. It's interchangeable between different Source Energy Types so this detail isn't that important.
Unlike the other orbs, the Orb of Improvement isn't a buff. Its true function is the improvement of one's Energy Output. Changing the Elemental Energy variation is just its minor ability.
A bit different from the staves, the artifact or a Metagen which enhances Energy Output, the Orb of Improvement could provide more improvement to a Spell, Skill or Ability.
It's also a bit similar to the Physique Pathway's Halo, which added another function to an Augmented Skill.
For example, I can cast the 6-nodes Elemental Spell, Manifold Aether Burst normally, but after using the Orb of Improvement to it, there will be some kind of improvement to the actual deliverance of the Spell. The catch is, even if it's related to the Spell, the area of improvement will be random.
Well, I just need to test it later if we have time. Now that I have this Orb, the next thing on the plate is Sofiel's identity and maybe my identity that is living in her memory.
With her continued use of endearment to me, a vague memory surfaced from the depths of my mind. It's really not something that was included in the ripped off memory. However, it was hidden and buried somewhere else that my previous dive in my memory failed to detect it.
From how vague it is, the only noteworthy thing that I could remember from it is the word she used to call me and a certain scene wherein I am with someone else, which I can only assume as her on a tall cliff.
I couldn't make out anything apart from that.
"Darling, are you alright?"
Because I got stuck staring at her, Sofiel looked on worriedly.
Fleur who was watching our interaction at the side also couldn't help but drew near to see my situation.
"Sofiel, thank you for safekeeping this Orb… Can you tell me when did you start calling me 'darling'?"
Before getting back the ripped off memory with Yuko, it seems like I will be able to learn about my past life with someone else.
"Did you remember anything, darling?"
Upon hearing my question, Sofiel's eyes glowed brilliantly as excitement started to exude out from her.
"That way of calling me seems oddly familiar that a vague memory surfaced in my head."
"Really? Let me guess. Does it concern you being on a tall cliff?"
With her lips stretching out an expecting smile, Sofiel's question hit what I remembered perfectly.
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