Chapter 70: Boundaries

After meeting with Orion Callister, the 'King in White', Lumière adjourned to the monastery on Cobbler's Street. Since he had previously been released from the middle borough's main Cathedral, he could feasibly be apart from the White Roses a bit longer. As long as Father Benedict and the Archangel Selaphiel suspected that he was going about his normal life, there was no reason for him to fear.

However, the moment Lumière entered his room, his face paled. 

"At long last." A figure sitting in a chair in the corner spoke, grinning. "I was beginning to fear you would never come by. I was getting lonely."

"Mr. Hawthorne, it's been a while." Lumière's brows furrowed. He had purposefully withheld thinking about the man entirely for the longest time. In all situations he had involved himself in, calling Thomas to his side would have revealed his affiliations to those around him, and so he had left the silver flute in the interior pocket of his jacket alone. Moreover, he knew Thomas had been away on business, and so he didn't bother to disturb him. He didn't want to anger such an entity.

"It has. I thought I might as well pay you a visit and catch up." Thomas smiled genially. "After all, you've been through so much, yet you still refused to call me, your comrade, to your side. It saddens me, Lumière Croft."

"You were the one who told me to keep my affiliations a secret. Especially now, having joined Heaven's Roses in order to obtain greater information, being spotted alongside you would only invite more suspicion."

'Wait a minute. Is joining Heaven's Roses directly averse to Lord Sinner? Will he and Thomas see it as a slight towards them, even if I didn't intend to offend their beliefs?'

Lumière glanced towards Thomas, but the man's expression didn't seem to change, as if he already knew. He had expected as much.

Lumière sighed. Now that Thomas was here, at the very least, he wanted to obtain information. "I have some questions, would you mind answering them, since you're here?"

"That's fine. However, I can't guarantee I will have all the answers, especially if you wish to know about matters that don't involve the Lord Sinner."

Lumière had already assumed that much. His questions weren't related to their Lord, at least not directly. "Poe's Gnosis, you left it for me?"

Thomas nodded his head. "Poe was a dear old friend. He was the first of you Sins. He made that compendium in order to teach those who follow in his footsteps. I'm sure it's been much help. However, you shouldn't rely on it too much. It likes to lie."

'As I first suspected… so Thomas has been around long enough to know my predecessors…'

"You once spoke of alternate means of power. I fear that someone I have recently come into contact with is such an individual. They wielded the power to control others, singularly, as it seems. They displayed no other powers. This may have been just a withholding of their abilities in order to trick me, but I don't recall any of the other Cursed Domains having such a power. I came to the assumption that this is one of those alternate means." He had hoped that Thomas could give him insight into Orion Calister. While it was just some petty game with a crazed individual, there was still benefit to playing seriously. The more money Lumière obtained, the more sway he would have when arranging deals with others in the future.

Thomas nodded his head. "Something like that is probably the bestowment of a Deity or Demon. However, if it's only a singular power, they're probably not the sole chosen of a Deity. If someone like you is chosen by that Deity to become their Beacon- their graceful saint who spreads the word of their might, then they gain full access to the 'pathway' of power laid out by that Deity. If one is blessed by a Deity, but the Deity does not seek to turn them into the foremost representative of their power, then they are a Geas-Bestowed, someone who can only wield a singular chosen power from that Deity's array of might."

"All that seems quite confusing. To put it simply, I've been chosen by the Lord Sinner to gain access to more power than one usually would, and others who've been chosen by the Lord Sinner can only access one of 'his' powers?"

Thomas nodded his head once more. "There can only be one person chosen as a Beacon at a time. Everyone else blessed by Lord Sinner will become a Geas-Bestowed. It's the same for all other Deities."

"Is it the same for Demons as well?"

Contrary to Lumière's expectations, Thomas shook his head. "No. While a Demon's might can match or even exceed a Deity based on their individual ranking, they usually only wield one power, notwithstanding some Demon Noble or King of their realm. For that same reason, one bestowed with a Demonic-Boon is probably more equivalent to a Geas-Bestowed, maybe even less so. If it's the case that this person you've run into has the bestowment of a Demon, then you're very fortunate."

"Why is that?"

"The Boon of a Demon is only temporary, in comparison to a Geas, which remains until the bestowed's death, it's quite inconvenient. The bestowed will have to sacrifice something, usually at great costs in order to please the Demon it wishes to gain power from. Then, that person will be granted use of their power for an agreed-upon period of time."

Lumière grinned, coming to a realisation. "So if I'm able to catch this person unawares, then I'll essentially be fighting a normal person."

"You have to be careful when making that assumption. Just like how you were able to obtain our Lord's Blessing as his Beacon, as well as enter the Cursed Domain of Heresy without repercussion, so could this person. As you mentioned, they could very well be hiding their abilities in order to trick you. You must proceed with caution as always."

Lumière came to a realisation. "How did you know I entered that Cursed Domain? Have you been surveilling me?"

"I'll always surveil you. Isn't that much obvious? After 'that' event, Lord Sinner wishes to keep you safe. However, I've been instructed not to interfere too much. I probably shouldn't be telling you that." He looked over at Lumière, smiling. 'Lumière Croft still hasn't connected us to the One of Spades card left at the scene. If that's the case, then he's likely piecing together that the Phantom Syndicate and the House of Cards are connected. I'm not quite sure that that's the case, but proceeding with caution towards both is probably best for him. If he were to learn that we left the card behind at the scene, he might begin to despise us for failing to assist him in saving his people. That's definitely not a good outcome.'

"Interesting. So your lack of assistance thus far has been out of a lack of necessity?" Lumière pondered. "Did you imagine I would survive thus far, and chose not to lend me aid?"

"You're destined to survive, given a bit of precaution, Lumière Croft. Your fate is to destroy the world."

"So is that truly Lord Sinner's plot? To destroy the world?"

"It's not our place to know his intentions. However, if that were the case, then your predecessors wouldn't have been counted as 'failures'. Obviously, he expects you to abandon that fate, right? I wonder sometimes if the truth behind all of this is to find someone who won't destroy the world."

Lumière sighed. "It really is too much to think about."

"We can't bear to think about the intricate plans of such a high being as our Lord." Thomas laughed dryly. 

Lumière posed another question.

"There doesn't seem to be much disparity between a First-Arisen and a Fifth-Arisen… what was it, a fledgling and an adept respectively? Recently, I fought against someone at that level, and at first, he seemed very manageable. Of course, he became a vessel for a Demon, and so I was forced to use the 'Despair' persona bestowed to me by Lord Sinner in order to vanquish him. Still, how can there be so little disparity between us despite so many stages of power separating us?"

"There are three stages of 'power' as it pertains to the Cursed Domains and the pathways utilised by a Deity's Beacon. The Seed, Ascendance, and Zenith are the separatory boundaries between users of magic. For you, an Arisen of the 'Seed' boundary, who fought another of the same, it was feasible for you to vanquish them. The Seed Boundary encapsulates the first five steps in this pathway to power, that being the Fledglings, Initiates, Novices, Practitioners, and Adepts. For you, a Fledgling, it was entirely possible for you to beat an Adept Arisen. However, if they had been just one increment more powerful, it may have been impossible for you to do so."

"What are the other increments in the Ascendance and Zenith boundaries? And what would have made it impossible, considering it was just a small step upwards?"

Thomas leaned backwards, lost in thought, "For the Ascendance Boundary… it's been a while since I left it, so it's hard to recall. In order, I believe it was 'Magician, Sorcerer, High Priest/Priestess, Master, and Lord'. As for what could make it impossible for you to beat someone of the Ascendance Boundary, it's due to the innate physical change that occurs once crossing that boundary. Think of it like a rock trying to break steel. It could only be possible for steel to make a mark on steel."

It made sense to Lumière. However, referring to a person as being 'made of steel' seemed quite terrifying. "You've left the Ascendance Boundary? So then, you're in the highest echelon of magic?" Suddenly, Lumière began to realise why Thomas once said he would have no chance in preventing him from destroying the entirety of the monastery. He was standing before a giant, a man who held such immense power within himself that it was incomprehensible he could still exist. 

Thomas nodded his head. "I'm currently an 'Ancient' of the Zenith Boundary, a user of Black Magic. I'm also a Geas-Bestowed of Lord Sinner. I'll tell you this much because we're comrades. I trust you not to use it against me."

As a Black Mage, it meant that Thomas had probably lost the entirety of his soul in pursuit of power. He began to realise why the attendant of the Sinner seemed so inhumane at times.

"I appreciate it." Lumière chided, laughing. "To think the magic everyone demeans held such fantastical means behind it. How interesting."

Lumière glanced back towards Thomas.

"The One of Spades card essentially acted like a 'skip' in obtaining power, didn't it? I've heard mention of 'trials' that need to be completed in order to progress the increments of a Cursed Domain normally."

"It's the case, yes. The fifty-two cards, both red and black, were meant to give easier access to the Cursed Domains. Of course, each time, you'll end up in Lord Sinner's labyrinth, so you're not exactly exempt from trial and tribulation. However, each time, you'll get to meet one of your predecessors. They too remain eager to meet you."

'From how Gluttony spoke, Lust must be next… I'm not too eager to meet fellow 'terrible people' though…'

"It's been interesting, watching you, Lumière Croft. You've chosen an interesting path, Lumière Croft. Pretending to be a Demon in order to disguise your affiliations… no Primordial Sin has ever done this much for so little gain." Thomas began to laugh.

"They haven't?

"Perhaps your caution will lead you to be the first to succeed… to become a Beacon."