Chapter 469 - A Replica
"We are the chosen by the God of Artifacts," said the king to the saint. "And we must bring peace to his land. I know that it is confusing still to find yourself here, but your miracle is what the people need in these times of war."
Saint Ai was silent, and she simply bowed, and the meeting was over. Avadil did not say anything to the king, and the king did the same. Their relationship was quite complicated, even though the king favored him.
They left the hall after that, and it was time to meet that man. It seems that Saint Ai was more eager to meet him than Avadil, who found himself quite intrigued by the Seika.
"Saint," stepped forward one of the priests. "Scholar Jermyn has requested your immediate return to the temple," the priest said with eyes devoid of emotions.
"I have a meeting with the Seika," frowned the Saint, and Avadil could feel her displeasure. However, the priest did not back away even though he should have.
"The Scholar instructed that you must be feeling unwell, and meeting too many people can drain you. Please return to the temple," said the priest with a threatening voice.
Avadil raised an eyebrow, as he didn't think anyone would dare talk to Saint Ai this way. Not even the king wanted to leave an unfavorable impression on her because this human was valuable by existing alone.
"I... understand," muttered Saint Ai as she turned to Avadil apologetically. "Please give the Seika my regards, and I apologize for declining this invitation."
"There is no harm done," the prince waved his hand. Then, the woman left with the priests, looking lonely and imprisoned. Avadil sighed before he resumed walking toward the Seika.
***
"Greetings, Avadil," smiled the man as he turned his head. Avadil was puzzled because the Seika looked the same, but he seemed older than before. The air around him had changed, and it was calmer now.
"I am sorry to intrude on your rest, Seika," Avadil apologized as he walked into the study. The Seika was sitting in front of the window, and he offered Avadil a seat next to him. "I wanted to make sure that you are well and report a few things to you."
"Thank you for your kindness, your highness," said the Seika as he turned back toward the window. "What report do you have?"
"We are ready to deliver what you requested for, and this is the price we procured them at," Avadil offered a scroll, but the Seika only placed it away without opening it.
"I am grateful, Avadil. This is a debt that I won't forget," said the man unusually. Then, Avadil met the golden eyes of the Seika, and his heart fell at ease. "Is there something you need?"
"I do," nodded Avadil. "There are flowers in the palace that have a special meaning for me, and I want to grow it elsewhere. Yet, it seems that it cannot grow in other places, and I have to come here every week just for them."
"I understand," nodded the Seika. "I will help you move them, or you can have one of my artifacts to help."
"Your help is more appreciated, Seika," bowed Avadil. "I know that you are tired after the incident. We can change its location at another time after you recover."
"There is not a lot to recover from."
"I don't believe revival is an easy feat," Avadil said, and there was no change in the Seika's face as if he did not hear him. "I met Saint Ai on my way here," he tried again, and there was still no change.
"I can tell that she was here," said the Seika. "I believed she would come to see me when she can."
"Saint Ai wanted to do so, but the temple requested for her immediate return," said Avadil, making the Seika laugh lightly.
"They are afraid of our meeting," he said as he tapped the armchair with his index finger. "The man leading the temple is a smart one."
"Why are they afraid?" Avadil was confused. "Saint Ai seems like a cooperative person. She has agreed to take the role of the saint, even," he said.
"I don't think she agreed but forced to," the Seika said with a hint of amusement. "They are not going to let go of the one thing connecting them to their god."
"Are you going to help her, Seika?"
"Saint Ai," the man said as if the name had a weird taste, "is capable of taking care of herself. You said that you know all of the Seikas, Avadil."
"I did indeed," said Avadil with confusion. "Do you want to say that she is another Seika?"
"Not any Seika," said Arthur with a grin. "She is loved by none other than the most powerful thing in the world: mana."
"The Seika of Mana..." Avadil blinked his eyes before his face crumbled. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I need to trust you with a task, Avadil. Keep her safe, and keep Livia safe from her," Seika stood up from his chair.
"Are you leaving Livia?"
"The Knight of Nobility has fallen, and it means that what he owns belongs to the kingdom. Therefore, I want to take a certain something from his majesty, and it might help the kingdom."
***
"A mansion?" the king was confused. "You can have a new one built just for you," he tried to convince Arthur, but his suggestion was rejected.
"I want the one belonging to the Knight of Nobility," Arthur said without hesitation. "It is the least I can get as compensation for being attacked by him."
"I have no reason to refuse. However, I have already looked through the mansion. There is nothing there if that is your aim."
"I still want to have it, if I can," said Arthur, and the king simply sighed. Then, arrangements were made, and Arthur got the artifact to go into the mansion.
The trip over there did not take long with his teleport rune. Arthur used the artifact the king gave him to enter through the array, which worked to keep unwanted people outside.
"This place is deserted," muttered Arthur as he looked at the creepy mansion. It had been left for a few days, so it was not that clean, but what uneased him was the stench of death.
Arthur walked toward the gate and pushed it open, and it gave a rusted squeal as it dug across the dirt. As he walked into the mansion, he could feel something watching him.
'As I expected,' Arthur smiled. 'They are here.'
His steps carried him through the mansion, the foyer, the halls, and straight toward the study. The stench came from this place.
Arthur walked in to find a regular study, unexpectedly. However, there was a hint of the corrupted power of nothingness on a shelf, in a leather brown book.
The kingdom could not have found this because it was so well hidden, but Arthur could feel their existence quite clearly. But, ironically, he did not realize that Ellen was with the Enders until it was too late.
'Useful when unimportant,' thought Arthur as he pulled the book out of the shelf and walked toward the study. There was no residing power that could attack him in the book, but there were traces of it.
"Lusica must be able to find out more about them," Arthur muttered as he placed the book away. Any contact of his powers with this book might turn it to ash, and his dark knight was the better fit to find out more.
Arthur left the study and walked through the mansion toward one of the rooms. His golden eyes stared at the floors, and he could tell that there was something underneath. Fortunately, his perception of existence could not mistake the life forces underneath.
"I did not expect to find you here," a voice came from behind him, and Arthur turned to find a white cocoon. The cocoon unfolded slowly to reveal two people, and one of them was Rae. "Or rather, I should have expected nothing else," smiled the white-haired woman.
"You are here because the knight has fallen," Arthur stared at her with a smile. "It is good to see..." he did not finish his words because his eyes landed on the person beside her. "It is you?"
"Ah," exclaimed the youth as he took a step back. "You are the weird man!" he said and pointed, and Arthur's brows twitched.
"Weird man?"
"This man was following me on one of my missions, and he kept asking about my father."
"Your father?" Arthur was confused. "Ori has a son?"
"An artificially created one," said Rae. "How do you know him?"
"You know him too," answered Arthur as his head spun. "Did you say that this teenager is the artificial son of Ori? What do you mean by artificial?"
"Father created me," answered the youth with pride. "I am his dearest creations."
"Well, he is a replica of some sorts," sighed Rae. Arthur stood rooted in his place because this was not what he imagined the truth to be.. "This boy is the fruit of countless years of research."