Divya!
The restaurant diner space was designed in a way that could give one a natural yet luxurious feel; it was rectangular, with palm trees planted in a well-crafted vessel in the shape of a cauldron sitting in every corner of the dining lobby.
White four-seater tables with golden-colored dining chairs filled the whole room; it had white flooring with many natural portrayals filling the walls of the entire space.
The air was soothing inside, with soft zither music playing in the background; it just made the atmosphere peaceful and calm.
Everyone seemed to be busy with their business until he appeared.
Murmurs started sounding in the lobby as they saw him; everyone seemed to have something to say about him, his impression, past deeds, who he was, and all but Phate paid heed on their lots.
"Disciple Phate, should I organize a private r-" the waitperson suggested, but Phate signaled him to stop.
"It's okay, no need to bother yourself. I will sit right there," he pointed to the empty table situated in the corner of the lobby. He wanted to observe the disciples; he wanted to know what they were interested in and maybe some of their behaviors.
But why he chose to sit in the lobby, is mostly something he couldn't understand... It felt like he had an inkling.
He didn't understand where it stemmed from, but he was ultimately inclined to follow his instincts.
"As you wish, disciple Phate," he helped them to the table; for some unknown motive, they were being taken care of as though they were VIP guests, which they weren't as far as the two knew.
"Ummm~, what to eat now..." Phate hummed, looking through the menu provided after they sat down; the waiter was waiting patiently, and he would glance at the two occasionally.
"How about a Blue Balled Boar meat and just a wine," Thalia suggested; he nodded at the waiter and quickly left.
"The sects are always lively," Thalia suddenly said as she peered through the disciples, laughing and doing sorts of other things through the window.
"You seem to have experience in sects," he hinted at something. The Ice sect wasn't lively at all.
"Umm, not really. I have only attended two sects so far, and this is my third," her eyes dimmed a little, perhaps reminiscing about something unpleasant.
"I thought you only attended the Ice sect..." He thought since she was his mother's disciple, she had only attended one sect given her age.
"Nope, there's a sect I grew up in, in this very continent," she said with an emotionless face now.
"You grew up on a sect; how does that work?" For a person to join a sect, they had to be sixteen. Even the relatives of the sect masters wouldn't be spared from this rule; only children of the latter would.
So, was she a child of a sect master?
"I don't know too much of my past from the day I started understanding I was at the sect under the care of the sect master, but I wasn't his kid from his assertions.
"I became a real sect disciple at an early age due to my talent. When I was thirteen, I went on a mission for the quest of a certain beast but was backstabbed and left to die in the wilderness.
"The Goddess saved me!" She said; she smiled as Phate took her hand into his comfortable palms. She strangely felt safe, and all the lousy negativity that was clouding her mind as she talked about her past immediately disappeared.
"What's the name of the sect?" He asked; it was only now that he started seeing the black threads above her head connected to something; they gave a sinister feeling and were more profound than the dark-golden threads connecting her to his mother.
He felt relieved that the pink Phate threads connecting them ran more profoundly than the black ones, but the threat was still there!
Apart from the main Fate threads, there are other types of threads, mainly connecting an individual to their loved ones!
"It's called the Dark Eye Sect!" She replied; he furrowed his eyes a little; he knew of all the sects in this realm and had never heard of the sect before.
"Qing Xieyu had the same reaction as you; it seems like the sect doesn't exist," his reaction was not alien to her; only the Goddess didn't have the same response when Thalia told her where she comes from.
"It's definitely so hidden," they had the same thought; this proved to him further that Thalia was somewhat a big deal.
But at the same time, Thalia felt shrouded in mysteries.
She felt calm, though, as Phate didn't seem to mind.
"Don't stress about the unnecessary stuff now," she nodded; she could go all the way as long as he was by her side.
Food arrived soon, and they dug in; they both had a lot of appetite after they spent some days without eating.
"Disciple Phate, I am sorry to interrupt..." They stopped at a woman's voice, turned to the speaker, and turned out to be a beauty.
"She's finally here," Phate thought to himself; this woman had to be the source of the inkling he got before, why he didn't choose a private room.
The woman was slim and tall, much taller than Thalia; her body was still curvy though, despite her height, with a beautiful small face. It was unique and had a slightly golden hue, although invisible to all but Phate, red lips. Her eyes and hair were green in contrast with her lips.
The woman looked just so sexy, on par with Thalia!
"Oi... what's senior sister Divya doing in the outer court." Someone said.
"Can't you see she's with junior brother Phate.." a female said; they had started referring to him as a junior brother since calling him Prince would be out of place in the sect.
"Do y- do you think she's here for his massage after all? It's a well-known fact that she's been having problems with cultivating lately." Another one said.
"It's a wonder how such a private thing could travel all the way to the outer court."
"That's the price you pay for being beautiful and popular. There's nothing like a secret in your life."
News of Phate meeting Divya, an inner court disciple, traveled like wildfire, and the whole sect knew it even before they exchanged any words together.
He was still looking at her for some time as she made herself comfortable in one of the chairs.