Choices

December 29, 1349.

HQ of the Numinous Episcopate, Southern Continent.

After the council dispersed, Lucien reclined in his main seat alone in the main chambers, his thoughts flying to the declaration of George Augustus III.

The Gods were forced to support George due to his existence. The Evernight Goddess and the Lord of Storms granted George their consent to dissolve the Parliament and turn Loen into an empire. He had proclaimed himself the Emperor of Loen with the unanimous support of all parties.

Though Lucien somewhat expected it, witnessing it happen before his eyes felt surreal. Others weren't much better; they were shell-shocked in the face of this turn of events.

After all, this truly changed a lot of things, the most important of which was the apotheosis of George Augustus III.

Unlike before, he had a real shot at becoming the Black Emperor now with the support of the Evernight Goddess and Lord of Storms. He no longer had to worry much about instabilities and uncertainties. By becoming the Emperor of Loen with the full support of all, his path to Godhood had become stable and firm.

Given all of this, stopping his apotheosis was going to be far more difficult than it was in the original story. They probably had to go all out, bringing in all the help they could get; only then was there a chance of success, though the plausibility of this scenario was predicated on the fact that the Evernight Goddess and Lord of Storms didn't intervene directly; if they did, the resistance would be futile.

Lucien should probably start looking for allies in Gods, but he decided to push this endeavour for another day as he looked at the opening door of the chamber, and from behind it, his teacher emerged, holding a suitcase.

"You are leaving, teacher?" the Demon of the End asked, standing up from his seat and walking towards Hermes.

"Yes." Hermes hummed. "My job here is done."

"I understand." Lucien nodded, standing in front of his teacher. "But will you participate in the war…?"

"Probably not," Hermes paused, considering for a moment. "until its end stage when you invade the Northern Continent."

"You think I can?" Lucien asked.

Hermes shook his head. "You are not just the Archangel of Death," he said lightly. "but also miracles, Lucien."

Lucien mirrored his smile. "Take care then, teacher. You will always have a place here."

"That's good to hear." Hermes nodded contentedly, his figure fading away into the dreams of the world, leaving behind a whisper.

"All the best, Lucien."

"Until next time, teacher." Lucien whispered back, witnessing Hermes fade away into the unreal realms of the mind. Then he walked back to his seat, taking it with a prolonged sigh.

Before him were an array of documents placed on the painted table. It was a personal profile of every saint belonging to the Numinous Episcopate. Even since the council ended, he had been reviewing them thoroughly.

Yes, he was selecting members for his Royal Council, but some of the seats had already been filled by Angels long before his declaration in the council.

Lucien had chosen Sia Palenque Eggers as Lord of War, considering her millennia of experience in military combat. As for Haiter, he would be the Lord of Whispers considering he single-handedly managed to expand the influence of Numinous Episcopate into the Northern Continent, though the branches there had been disbanded and called back before the assault.

The Lord of War and the Lord of Whispers were the two most important positions in the Royal Council other than the Hand of Emperor, as they directly and indirectly protected the Crown and the Empire; thus, his Angels were most suited for those positions.

Now, for who was going to be his Hand, the choice was pretty obvious. There was no one more suitable for this position than his father, but Lucien hadn't yet finalised it for obvious reasons.

However, not only did the Hand of the Emperor have the ideal candidates, but so did the Lords of Faith and Information, Reinette Tinker and Bernadette Gustav.

Reinette Tinker fulfilled every quality he deemed required for Lord of Faith; this position would also grant her immense political power, which would be all the more helpful in curbing the beliefs of the Outer Gods when the barrier weakens further with passing years, but where her loyalties ultimately lay was still a question.

The same could be said for Bernadette Gustav. If she became the Sage—Sequence 2 of the Hermit Pathway—she would gain the authority of "Information", which makes her all the more suitable for the position of Lord of Information; however, her case was even more complicated than Reinette's.

Lucien brooded on their cases, undecided and uncertain, then pushed them to the back of his mind for now, electing to rather focus on the remaining vacant positions.

The Lord of Coins and the Lord of Order—both were important positions no less than others and, in some ways, even more so.

The Silent One picked the personal profiles of his Saints, screening the suitable candidates for those two seats.

Time ticked on. Lucien became too engrossed in the selection, cutting down the number of candidates into four, whose profiles were spread out before him as he tapped the end of his pen on the table thoughtfully.

But he was soon interrupted by none other than his father.

"Father?" Lucien asked.

Azik Eggers took a seat by his side. "Have you finalised the selection?" He asked back, looking at the four personal profiles of the Saints.

"Almost." Lucien said, then he continued swiftly, feeling the air thicken with heaviness. "Why are you here, father?"

Azik was silent for a moment, then met his silver eyes. "I am ready, son."

"Are you sure?" Lucien asked, concerned. "There is no need to—"

"I am." Azik cut him off firmly. "It's time I face my past."

Lucien peered at his father, finding nothing but grim determination, so he nodded, teleporting the files on the table to his room. As he stood up, he extended his hand to his father and said, "Before we can face your past, there is someone you should meet."

"Who?" Azik asked, clasping his hand and standing up as well.

Lucien took out a badge engraved with the symbol of a cross from within the darkness of his robes. "Adam, the Son of the Creator."

Azik took a breather, his dark eyes flashing with realisation. "So it really is "Him". The one who is supporting you."

"You guessed it." Lucien acknowledged, though his tone held no surprise, "What gave it away?"

"There are not a lot of beings on the world that can keep your epochal operation under wraps till the last moment." Azik spoke lightly. "Though I was still unsure until you confirmed it yourself."

"I knew this was inevitable." Lucien chuckled and shook his head. "The wisest were going to connect the dots soon and later."

"Indeed." Azik nodded. "So, why are you taking me to meet him? And do you truly understand the being you are dealing with? He is dangerous—incredibly so! If my scrambled memories were anything to go by, even Gods were said to pale in comparison."

Lucien met his dark eyes. "Trust me on this, father," he merely said.

Azik sighed—a long and heavy sigh—then his eyes regained their firmness. "Let's go, then."

Lucien gripped the cross badge tighter, and immediately, their surroundings became illusory and ethereal, melting away into bone pillars, a light cross, rows of white pews, ribbed vaults, and stained glass windows, all coming together to unveil a holy cathedral.

They appeared at the end of the nave, near the entrance of the Bone Cathedral, as Adam stood up from the front row of pews, put his book aside, and walked towards them.

Azik Eggers gazed around at the bones embedded everywhere throughout the church, feeling uncomfortable in their presence. They gave off a peculiar aura that reminded him of his father—a garbled mix of ancient, manic, and deified—and he hated them.

But that aura vanished as a warm gaze focused on him, and he looked up to meet those clear golden eyes filled with purity and innocence. They eerily reminded him of Lucien's eyes when he abandoned him in the footsteps of that orphanage.

Those were the eyes of the Angel of Imagination. Couldn't say he expected that.

"Amanises has not left any backhand in him." Adam spoke, his voice so gentle and kind, like a compassionate priest on a divine mission to save the world. "You can take him there."

"That's good." Lucien breathed a sigh of relief, yet there was still a tinge of anxiety in his gaze, as if those words held something that deeply concerned him.

'Amanises.' Azik thought, his brows furrowed in pain as the memories of his father cursing that very name countless times flashed through his mind. 'That's the true name of the Evernight Goddess.'

"Father." Lucien called, concerned as his palm began lighting with a silver light, reaching for his father's brow, but Adam interrupted, waving his hand at Azik and alleviating his pain.

"You must hurry." Adam urged. "All of his suppressed memories are returning, yet his soul remains divided."

Azik had numerous questions on his tongue, but he never got a chance to express them, for his son had already plunged them into the palette of colours that was the spirit world at unimaginable speeds.

—————

Somewhere hidden in the Berserk Sea.

Lucien and Azik landed inside a dark and cold mausoleum. Around them were open coffins, filled with rotting corpses with white feathers on their backs.

The Son of Death immediately turned to look in the direction of flights of stairs that led deeper into the mausoleum, which was covered in a swirling black smog. "Something is calling out to me from there." He whispered, his gaze fixated on the stairs, then turned towards his son wearily. "I think it's time for an explanation, son."

Lucien faced his father sombrely, then told the truth about how Death divided his soul to transform him into a vessel for "His" revival.

Azik took a moment to digest his words. "So what are my choices?" He ultimately asked, his eyes set on resolution.

Lucien began heavily.

"You have three choices, father.

"First, heed the call in your soul and proceed to seek completeness on your own, enabling your father to revive within you;

"Second, allow me to extract halves of your souls from your body and artificial death. I will then fuse them together, restoring your completeness. But if I do this, you will no longer be the present you but an amalgamation of everything you have held and carried throughout all your lives;

"Third, it's to give up everything and directly leave. You will forever be stuck at your current level. You will have no way of advancing further. You will still die again and again, waking up with no memories and repeatedly searching for your past experiences."

The choices were put forward, and the world held its breath in anticipation.

Amidst the heavy and sombre silence, Azik Eggers looked at Lucien, a contented smile gracing his lips. "Guide me, son."

Lucien smiled, a smile that spoke volumes of his relief, then he hugged his father, saying, "See you on the other side, father."

A veil of darkness consumed Azik Eggers, plunging him into the embrace of Somnus.