Chapter 7: Truth

Alexander Valenti was not one to start an idle conversation. The two of them sat in awkward silence for half an hour, until Juke couldn't keep suffocating anymore and finally lifted his head to look the duke in the eye.

Like him, Alexander also wore a dusty white garment. The only difference was the simplicity of the design. His outfit was decorated by a stone brooch and a pair of matching cufflinks with small engravings on it.

Alexander's ice cold blue eyes suddenly glanced up at Jule.

"...What are you looking at."

Jule closed his eyes and smiled. "Whatever is in front of me."

"..." Alexander appeared slightly taken aback by the reply. He opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish before turning his head away.

Jule also turned from him to the direction of the carriage's small windows. He lifted the curtains of the carriage out of curiosity only to blink at the scenery before him.

Jule slowly turned back to Alexander. "Duke...where are we?"

He couldn't describe in detail what it was, because the place outside was...

"Ah," Alexander exclaimed dryly as he looked over at the blank window. "It must be because it's September."

Pure white nothingness.

Though the temperature outside was probably below freezing, there wasn't a waft of cold wind in the carriage, as though it was being heated by something. Upon glancing around, Jule found multiple stones embedded on the ceiling. He waved his hand around to feel it and immediately pulled back after it made the slightest contact with his skin.

So it was a mana stone...

'Dumbass.' He cursed at himself and his curiosity for touching it.

In the world of Clash of an Independent Sword, mana stones were geological artifacts that produced mana. Similar to a mana manipulator's mana veins, these stones also have the ability to process and filter it out to a corresponding element. These stones could be used for many things, whether it be amulets, charms, or as an energy producing device like the heater that just burned him.

Jule quickly blew his burning fingertips as Alexander watched in disbelief. He sighed, before holding his hand out. A cloud-like icy spark circled in his palms, which then enveloped Jule's fingertips like cool water to scorching fire.

Just as the cool spark was getting too cold, Alexander pulled back. He whipped his head away towards the window again and rested his chin on his hands, avoiding Jule's eyes entirely.

"...Next time," He managed to say, his voice barely above a whisper. "Don't go around touching anything."

"Mhm, thank you," Jule laughed.

From there, the eerie silence became a lot more endurable for the both of them.

An hour went by, then two hours, then three. After what seemed like half a day, Jule finally dozed off, only to wake up at the slight rumbling of the carriage on the rugged road. Each time it passed, the scenery slowly got clearer, until the blank cloud of snow and frost revealed itself into a light viridescent backdrop. Near the rows of trees was a white stone building with dozens of golden and silver columns.

At last, they were at the temple.

Though the infrastructure was called a temple, Jule thought it looked more like an outdoor palace.

The kingdom of Qelia may have no governing deities, but it didn't mean they were complete atheists. The temple they were at was one of the two only temples of the nation, located near the borders of Northern and Southern Qelia, while the other temple was located in the kingdom's capital instead.

These two temples were similar in design, structure, and size - built as large as the royal palace per command of the deities. They also worshiped the same god; a powerful divinity at the top of the Divine.

Temple of Esme

Three large letters were boldly engraved onto an oxidized silver board.

The carriage sped up quickly once the road was clear of debris and stopped abruptly just as it passed through a tall golden gate - right in front of a man wearing a robe in the same shade of dusty white as Alexander and Jule.

Jule got off as soon as the vehicle opened. Instantly, a breath of cool wind rushed over his body. He deeply inhaled the refreshing air that made him regain energy, unlike the Valenti duchy's chilly breeze that caused more harm than good.

"Duke Valenti, young master Jule." The man greeted.

"Priest." Alexander replied. "Have the preparations been done?"

The priest scratched his ear. "Ah, about that...the head priest hasn't yet completed the arrangements."

"And when will that be done?"

"In about an hour, duke." The priest smiled calmly, unintimidated by Alexander who was practically looming over him.

He glanced over to Jule.

"Well then, your Grace, young master, please follow me to the guest room."

As the priest turned back to the temple, his robe lightly spun around and was lifted by the wind, revealing multiple layers underneath that seemingly thin attire. The soft silk gently flowed as he walked, the golden threads of the flower embroideries glistening against the sunset.

The main hall of the temple was quiet, different from the shushed yet bustling atmosphere of the Valenti estate. Several other priests that wore the same garment as the one leading them were knelt down, murmuring some sort of hushed prayer, while some were busy sorting scrolls or cleaning to notice their presence.

The temple building had at least one light source in every area, burnt in decorative candles or else hung as golden and silver lamps. The guest room was no less elegant, if not, it seemed even more ornamented than the ones they passed before. But just as Jule took two steps further into the room, he was stopped by the priest's hand.

"Young master, it'd be best if you stay outside." He glanced over at Alexander. "The duke and I have something important to discuss."

"Go on." Alexander shooed.

Jule laughed in disbelief. "And where will I go?"

"I'm sure the priest has prepared a separate room for you next door. Or would you prefer to wander around the temple for another hour?"

"Goodbye." Jule turned around and left.

"I guess he'll be walking for a while," The priest chuckled.

"Now, Duke, about your brother..." The closed behind them and locked itself with a silent creak.

Jule, on the other hand, refused to sit alone with nothing to do for an hour straight. Now that he was at a place of worship for one of the so-called deities of this world, he should take the chance to satisfy his curiosity. Who knew when this opportunity would return?

'Perhaps I'll find something here...'

Like before, the temple devotees paid no attention to him. And so Jule went around the building freely and comfortably, stopping at anywhere with an open or unlocked door. After staying indoors for a while, he got bored and went outside, stopping at a large, evergreen garden.

The garden was peacefully still unlike the uncomfortable silence during the first hour of his carriage ride. Strangely, however, the only plants that were cultivated were iridescent flowers with silver stems that seemed to twinkle and glow every now and then as the sunlight reflected on it. The flowers Other than that, all other greenery was either shrubbery or wild grass.

A soft melody echoed through the nonexistent walls. It was the sound of a flute, a clear and warm tune that would make anyone who listened feel at peace. The music came from the distance of a white stone fountain on a further end of the garden. Since he had about half an hour left until he had to return, Jule decided to venture towards the strange sound.

The song became clearer as he went closer until Jule saw a silver-cloaked figure sitting on the edge of the fountain. Upon taking a few more steps, he noticed that the fountain water was somewhat defying gravity and instead flowing in coily spirals. As if not noticing his presence, the silver-cloaked figure continued playing fluently, the jade flute's melody as clear and tranquil as before.

Suddenly, the figure lifted his head slightly, his green eyes faintly glancing at Jule's golden ones. Nevertheless, to Jule's admiration, his playing remained interrupted from start to end.

At last, the silver-cloaked figure brought the jade flute down from his lips and set it on his lap. He smiled at Jule, then pointed at a sign not far from where they were currently standing.

Garde of Esme

Restricted

"Permitted entry from the head priest is needed to enter." The silver-cloaked man continued to beam, his green eyes twitching as if laughing at Jule. "Have you gotten permission from the head priest? Or was it the deity of this temple who invited you here?"

"And why are you here?" Jule decided to ask mockingly instead of responding. "Ah, and perhaps you are the deity themself?"

"Well, in my case, special treatment is always guaranteed!" The man plastered an everlasting grin on his face. "I don't know about you though, young master." He shrugged playfully, the hood of his cloak sliding down to reveal silky strands of golden blonde hair.

Jule grumbled. "Whatever, I was planning to leave anyways."

"Aiyah, don't sulk, now!" The young man quickly got up. Jule also stopped and turned around, annoyed.

"I'm not sulking!"

"Fine, fine, you're not," The young man sighed. He flailed his hand around as if gesturing for Jule to come closer. "Stay for a while, just a little bit. Accompany this lonely old man."

"If you truly are an old man ask your grandchildren to keep you company!" Nevertheless, he still sat down next to him.

The young man seemed completely unaffected by his words though. Instead, he reached out to Jule and, to his shock, poked his left cheek with his index finger.

"Aiyah, so cute..." He gleefully laughed, just like an older sibling coddling a young child.

Without thinking, Jule yelled, flustered: "I'm a young master, you know!"

"Hehe, young master..."

"Young master? Are you sure?" He seemed to tease. "Do young masters usually say that?"

Are you still?

"How do you know?" Left his mouth before he could completely process his thoughts.

"How do I know? Because I've lived longer and hold more knowledge than you." The young man replied cooly.

Seeing his tense expression, the young man laughed again. "Hah, I'm bluffing again, what would I know? Kid, what are you doing here in the temple?"

Jule finally relaxed his shoulders. "I don't know, really. Du- I, my brother told me I had to go, so I went..."

"What are you doing here?"

It had been a long time since he conversed so casually with anyone since transmigrating as "Jule Valenti", so there was no doubt the way the young man spoke had made him feel more at ease than if it was with another stranger.

"Ah, the usual, wasting my time." The young man's face seemed to downcast for a split second before his everlasting grin returned. "I'm waiting for my partner to return from a trip."

"The usual? Does that mean you come here often?" Jule questioned.

"Hah, I thought exclusive permitted entry was required to access this garden?" He purposely emphasized each word.

"At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if you owned this place or anything, Sir Deity?"

"Oh, you would."

"You sure have a reckless way of speaking. Other than a mere mortal, do I look like a deity to you? How flattering." He chuckled, though his eyes remained calm, unlike the previous smiles. "I admire how you can talk so openly like that, in the temple of a deity at that! Keep it up, Jule."

"Ah! It's nearly time for you to go back," He exclaimed. "What a shame, I was hoping we could talk for a while longer."

"Until next time," He poked Jule's cheek once more. "Young master!"

Before Jule could even properly say anything, the young man vanished.

'Well, it should almost be an hour by now...'

How did he know?

Jule made his way back to the waiting room, where Alexander and the priest were already waiting for him at the door.

"Young master, your back." He slightly nodded. "We should go now, the head priest is waiting."

The priest led them to a completely different hall filled with columns and marble poles supporting an arched roof. In this hall, the candles and lamps were instead by a soft, luminous flower. Jule realized it was the iridescent plant from the garden earlier - there were exactly five petals on each flower and a dusty silver stem connected to it. At the end of the hall was what seemed like a large chamber, and in the very middle of ___ was a statue...no, two statues of two figures in a plain cloak. All parts of the statue was colorless, except for the eyes of the two figures embedded sparkling gemstones and the jade flute held in one of the statue's hands. The first figure was an extremely tall man with two blue alexandrite stones for eyes. He wore a small smile, his arm wrapped around the other figure's waist. The second figure's appearance could only be described as ethereal to the point Jule did not know if the person was a man or woman. The figure had a gentle laugh, with a pair of slender green jade eyes. The statue held a jade flute in its hand, leaning against the taller figure's embrace happily. Both of the statues were lit up by the crown of the glowing iridescent flowers, illuminating their expressions so they were nearly human-like.

But what stuck out to Jule most was the green-eyed figure's pointed ears, a distinct feature of one of the inhabitants of the Beast realm: the Faes.

Clash of an Independent Sword focused mainly on the Mortal realm where Borealis was, occasionly mentioning the presence of a mythical race called the Beasts as a reminder that they existed and were divided into different species based on characteristics, attributes, and domains. Amongst the dozens kinds of Beasts, there were three major species. The elemental spirits and masters of mana manipulation that dwelled in forests and were split into small tribes depending on their ranking. The water-borne merfolk which consisted of mermaids, nymphs, and sirens with superior beauty and healing abilties to any other race. And finally, the Faes - a large civilization of pointed ear individuals with the inborn trait of acute senses, great reflexes, and almost on-point intuition.

Aside from the fact that he haven't seen the blonde-hair green-eyed man from the garden's ears, Jule couldn't help but think how eerily similar the statue was, until he thought of the jade flute in its arms.

A sentence was carved roughly onto a stone tablet below the two large statues.

"Only when all things are lost do you realize the importance of cherishing what is still there."

And...

Only when things are regained can you find the will to continue living.

A long scroll was suddenly thrust in front of him.

"I've wasted too much time, Duke." A man in golden robes spoke to Alexander before turning back to Jule.

"Young master, please start reciting the words on the script."

"Start the prayer." The head priest yelled.

"Now!"

Jule's head immediately felt cloudy, but his mouth continued to recite the words on the paper fluently. Soon, a mantra of echoes joined his reading, like a spell or enchantment...

He panicked, but as soon as he had started the first words of the scroll, it seemed like he couldn't close his mouth or do anything other than reciting the script.

Alexander watched from the corner, far away from where Jule was currently standing. He didn't know if his mind was playing tricks on him in this moment of daze, but the duke appeared worried. His ice cold blue eyes were even tenser than before, his forehead wrinkling slightly as he watched the "prayer".

Then, Jule opened his eyes.

No, it wasn't that he opened his eyes, it seemed like he did because the next moment, Jule's view of everyone around him was blocked by a dense cloud of white mist. The priests around him fumbled as they tried their best not to misspoke the prayer. The head priest pulled out a bouquet of the iridescent flowers and tossed to the ceiling so when it fell, the petals illuminated the fog, providing a temporary clear for them. As if he had been possessed, his mouth suddenly chanted louder than before, his lips moving right in front of his own.

And when he opened his eyes the second time, standing right in front of Jule was himself. Or rather, it was two of him - the him of his past life, and the villain of the original novel. The two souls merged together into one. "It" slowly approached him, before walking into his current body like a gust of wind.

The prayers slowly stopped one by one and Jule's aching lips also seemed to loosen until he could finally close it and fall down onto the ground, exhausted.

As he dozed off, he saw the faint figure of Alexander rushing over, then a series of silent footsteps and hushed murmurs.

With his head held high, the head priest announced.

"Young master Jule is finally back."

But Jule, who had already fallen asleep, heard nothing.