The Seeker | Volume 2

I felt my blood run cold upon hearing that. Since I had now learned that Sara Gypsy wasn't a real person; and was instead an avatar of the Primordial Demon King and The Mother of Envy in a plan, why did "she" take such interest in learning about the Zourist Family, or who Khorvath's bloodline led to?

"So it appears this threat to our world has been the result of thousands of years of meticulous planning and careful preparation. If The Mother of Envy had been planning to invade the World-view barrier for a long time, then "she" must be close by now." I thought to myself.

Olive, who had remained silent for a few moments, suddenly spoke up.

"I overheard Franklyn talking about this being Operation Black Swan, a way that they could channel power from the Nest of Vulgarity and break the barrier, therefore bringing "her" into the world.

Amidst the quietness of the room, Ling, who had received a premonition, suddenly chimed in. 

"But how could they channel power from a Sefirot without instantly dying on the spot? Aren't the Sefirot kingdoms of the divine, and getting access to divinity like a Lord of Angels or a True God would instantly kill you upon learning about even a Sefirot that they had access to?"

I scratched my chin upon hearing Ling's question.

"I've never dwelled into such a thing. But thinking back to what Isaiah Walls was able to do with his flesh blobs; binding an aura of fear to them could be a similar strategy implemented by the Outer Deities."

I suddenly remembered that I had received Sara's diary. Perhaps it had some viable answers laced within it that we could use to answer these questions.

I looked up and shivered dramatically. "It's quite cold down here. We should move out. Who knows what unknown existences could be down here besides them?" 

…

That night after everyone was already asleep, I sat up in my bed wide awake as I looked towards Sara's diary which was on my nightstand. I picked it up while I changed back into my casual clothing.

Perhaps I could revisit the ritual site and use her diary to extract any information about "her," the Nest of Vulgarity, or her intentions with the Zourist Family.

But would I find anything here? Since Sara was merely a projection for a much bigger plan, why would she write any of this down? If this diary was used as a prop used to deceive people she wouldn't have written down all this information, for that would be a deity's waste of time.

But if this was for someone to find that would be another reason why she would descend as an avatar. I could only briefly deduce that the Ebon Veil Syndicate worshipped the Mother of Envy and had a ritual in preparation to awaken "her" Sefirot and allow her to descend. But how would they have reacted upon seeing that I possessed the diary?

…

I opened the sewer drain and descended downwards into the inscrutable darkness while holding a lantern. After retracing my previous steps I arrived at the ritual site which still had the charred remains of the Ebon Veil Syndicate members. 

I took out Sara's diary and flipped through the pages. Most of "her" entries were about her further pursuit of the Zourist Family and their relations to Khorvath. She was looking for all the potion formulas and names for the Apocalypse Routeway, so I could conclude that she was looking to accommodate the Apocalypse Routeway to gain more power. 

June 26th:

"After I had gained the potion name for Apocalypse Orders 7 through 4, my quest to accumulate more power has been further set into fruition. The Zourist Family has briefly described this Routeway as "unknown," or lost to history."

I raised an eyebrow and chuckled self deprecating. 

"Heh, no wonder "she" wouldn't spill the names to me in this diary. So far "she's" only described the fact that "she" found the names and not the potion formulas, so it wouldn't be clear if Sara had truly succeeded without "her" authorities over three Routeways." I thought to myself.

Suddenly, speckles of light condensed from the air, glowing with a bright white and green light. The speckles formed together to form the silhouette of a future taller than me. When I saw the pair of rounded glasses I rolled my eyes after knowing it was Raymond. 

"She" didn't succeed because of me. I was able to deduce this since "she" never told me of her origin, and when I attempted to read "her" mind "her" thoughts were chaotic like a tide of humans screaming in anguish."

"So…you banished The Mother of Envy's avatar to prevent "her" from learning anything more?"

Raymond nodded. "I did."

He suddenly extended his left hand and more light appeared in his palm before condensing into a collective spherical light, ebbing with a red tint. 

"I used this formula to enhance my spirituality to a point where the symbolism of an Outer Deity would struggle a bit to nullify it. Since The Mother of Envy hadn't accommodated "her" Sefirot since it's been long sealed away at the time, "her" power had been greatly diminished on top of the fact that "she" was in "her" avatar state." Raymond explained.

"Enhance your spirituality?" I asked.

The black haired boy nodded, pushing his rounded glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Indeed. Since at the time I was an Order 2 of Depravity with a half awakened uniqueness of the corresponding Routeway, I was already on the way to becoming an Angel of Affiliation."

"An Angel of Affiliation?"

"An angel with an honorific name. Khorvath was known as the Angel of Destruction, and I was known as the Angel of Depravity for a short amount of time until that entity ripped a portion of my power, a portion which embedded a corresponding authority, or a portion of it…which I now know you posses."

"Then why not instantly take it from me upon realizing this predicament? Wouldn't you take this opportunity to do so since we're alone in this sealed location?"

Raymond shook his head and chuckled, looking towards the nullified vortex site. "Unfortunately, since an Outer Deity who now has partial control over "her" Sefirot had been here, "her" residual power would be enough for "her" to subconsciously take advantage of any opportunity."

"Since you're in the Western Lands right now and most likely communicating to me via an avatar connection, stealing a portion of authority from me would be difficult. I already see the Depravity sigil ebbing right now as we speak. When I observed Isaiah Wall's avatar in my Divine Protection, the sigil was glowing brightly as if you were exerting an immense amount of effort to keep it connected to your spiritual body."

Raymond smiled, as if proud of me. "A brilliant deduction."

I suddenly had another question. "But why do you approach me now? Do you want this information from "her" diary or were you hoping to steal Depravity?"

Raymond's avatar clasped his hands together as he said with a smile. "I came here in hopes of once again proposing you visit the Western Lands to resurrect Khorvath. You know damn well I want to fuse with him to get back my strength. Plus, there's already the necessary Apocalypse on earth, so it wouldn't cause much harm, right?" his figure gradually disappeared as he spoke.

"I'd have to decline, Raymond." I said bluntly as his figure disappeared.

"The Umbridge said "she" had the Destruction, Luma and Demon authorities?" I thought to myself as I further flipped through the diary. 

October 19th:

The Divine School of Order paid Alisha Morgan a visit in hopes of something I'm unaware of…"

Alisha Morgan? Is she possibly Aurther Morgan's brother, the brother that Khorvath had killed because of Bella? She most likely claimed the throne after her brother's death. 

I kept reading:

From what I learned The Divine School of Order has control over a few Routeways: Divinity, Keeper and Astral. With this information granted to me, I could further deduce that numerous organizations are colluding with the Church of Saints in an effort to strengthen the barrier around the world.

The Divine School of Order is an organization primarily composed of politicians, bankers and overall wealthy entrepreneurs. Since the Divinity and Keeper Routeways are primarily used for storing and distributing things or even concepts, no wonder such people would have the necessity to choose these Routeways. 

I was immediately puzzled, but also curious. 

The council members who I've had only a few run-ins with were of the Protection Routeway, which was a bit weird considering that the Keeper or Divinity Routeways were the perfect option. Maybe this Routeway was a way to enhance the kingdom's protection and make it a safer place, no wonder the population is so high!

I turned to another page.

October 35th:

My eyes widened. 

October 35th? Don't the standard months only have 28 to 31 days? It must be a different way of life here. I could surmise the year here is about 370 to 380 days.

I reread the entry.

October 35th:

The Zourist Family has transcended to Order 3 under the supervision of Alisha Midus. She said that she "commends them for their advancement." When they had a feast that night they invited me to it, even if they didn't know me all that well since I put on a placid face.

At the feast they discussed something that spiked my interest, the disappearance of an artifact that Alisha said was beneficial to her and her goals of restoring the Adligon Clans to their previous status before Khorvath's Apocalypse. 

Ever since the multiple groups of the Adligon Clans clashed with the Katshin Empire following the Apocalypse, Seraphis Kingdom, the Indun Empire and the Katshin Empire supported them in the ongoing war.

I closed the diary suddenly.

Why is "she" referring to the Katshin Empire as if "she" isn't in it at the moment? Alisha Morgan is Aurther Morgan's brother, and he ruled the Trunist Empire. Maybe she moved at an uncertain point in time with the Zourist Family to continue their prowess for advancement, leaving the Adligon Clans to someone else's rule.

Puzzled, I put the book back into my satchel and left the ruin sight. On my way out the air around me grew colder, and I could feel some strange rush of goosebumps tantalize my skin, making my hairs stand on end and making me shiver. 

…

When I headed back to my apartment and changed again, I laid down in my bed and stared at the ceiling, that strange feeling of being watched now having left my body. I don't know what else I could possibly find in the diary, but for sure it would be a valuable asset in further uncovering "her" motivations and plans if it were really set for someone to read…