Kael

Lady Isis approached the man who sat at the long table and curtsied, "Honorable Kael, thank you for seeing us today."

Honorable Kael looked up at Lady Isis and Jody. He nodded, "Saintess Ice, it is always a pleasure to see you. And who is this young man you have brought with you?"

Jody was so tired of this question. Was seeing a child accompanying a goddess such a startling thing?

"This is my son, Josiah. He has just completed his awakening, and I believe he may possess some uniquely powerful abilities," Isis replied softly in her bell-like voice. "Would you be willing to use Seer's Plight to discern whether his powers will cause him harm?"

Honorable Kael raised an eyebrow at Lady Isis' bold request. Seer's Plight was an ancient and powerful technique that allowed one to see into the future and predict the outcomes of certain events. The price that had to be paid to do so was brutal. It was not used lightly, and it required an immense amount of energy to perform. The only saving grace was that, unlike shamanic visions, life force would not be lost. Still, Honorable Kael was hesitant to use it, but he knew that Lady Ice was not one to make frivolous requests.

"Very well, Lady Ice. I will perform Seer's Plight on your son. Please have him stand in front of me." Honorable Kael instructed.

Jody stood before Honorable Kael, nervous yet curious about what would happen. This was similar to his meeting with Grandmaster Fugara all those years ago. However, this place was a bit lacking in magical presence compared to the shaman's space. Honorable Kael placed his hands on Jody's head and closed his eyes. Lady Isis watched intently as Honorable Kael's body began to glow with a blue light.

Honorable Kael stroked his chin thoughtfully before saying, "Seer's Plight is a powerful tool, Lady Ice. It is not to be used lightly. Using it once can change fate for good and sway destiny."

"I understand the risks, but I need to know if my son is in danger. Please, Honorable Kael, I must know."

The man sighed and nodded. "Very well. But you must understand that the results may not be what you want to hear."

Lady Isis nodded. "I understand."

Honorable Kael closed his eyes and began to chant softly. A blue light emanated from his hands and surrounded Jody. The boy seemed to be in a trance as the light washed over him. Lady Isis held her breath, waiting for the results. Suddenly, Honorable Kael's eyes snapped open, and he frantically removed his hands from Jody's head.

Honorable Kael paled in pure disbelief about the scenes he had witnessed.

Or rather...the lack thereof...

"What is it, Honorable Kael? What did you see?" Lady Isis asked, her heart pounding with fear.

Why was it that whether it was a seer or shaman who touched her son, they reacted like a child who had just discovered that fire was hot?

"I saw...nothing. There were no visions of Josiah's future. No potential outcomes. It was as if he was a blank slate. No past, present, no future," Honorable Kael replied, looking at Jody with confusion and awe.

Jody was growing sicker of such looks.

Lady Isis' eyes widened in shock. This was unprecedented; she had never heard of a person having no future in Seer's Plight, let alone no present or past. It was as if Jody was not bound by fate or destiny. Destiny and Fate had an interesting relationship, where benefitting from the former would bind you to the latter's machinations. No detectable fate strings? But he had already benefited from destiny's platform! How could he not be bound by Fate's door? How could this be the case? It was almost like he touched the damn...

Isis' eyes suddenly widened.

Wait. Impossible, right? He couldn't have touched it! On his first visit? Isis then considered her son's monstrous perception and felt her idea was more plausible than she initially believed.

'Fuck...' she thought to herself. 'If he touched the door, bringing him here was pointless. Kael would not be powerful enough to see through my son.'

Honorable Kael continued, "I have never seen anything like this before. It's as if Jody does not exist in the timeline of Pangaea."

Lady Isis felt a shiver down her spine.

He touched upon it—definitely, really touched upon it. Had she never touched the door, perhaps Niagara would've returned to dawn after recovering from the fall. Because the hollowed Isis touched fate's door, the seal was undone. Isis became self-aware or transcendent. Due to this, Niagara failed to recover from the fall and couldn't stop the host space's transition. So, Isis, from experience, knew that this discovery would change everything. The rules of fate or destiny would not bind Jody if he touched upon those secrets. This made him incredibly fortunate and incredibly dangerous. But luckily, Jody had already fallen when he was born. Ironically, his saving grace was that he was the one they had raised from the beginning.

Even if his seal was gone now, he didn't change. He already saw himself as her son. He merely possessed vivid memories of a past life.

"Is something wrong?" Lady Isis asked worriedly, more to herself than anyone else.

Oblivious to this, someone still responded.

Honorable Kael stared at Jody with a mixture of fear and awe. "I have never seen anything like this before. There is no recorded future for him. No prophecy, no fate. He is a blank slate, a wild card. He could be the savior of the world, its destroyer, or just a random shmuck on the road. None could tell for certain. It all depends on his choices and the people he surrounds himself with. But one thing is for certain, Lady Ice. Your son has the potential to change everything."

Lady Isis felt her heart skip a beat. If they both had such potential, wasn't it already a certainty? She knew Jody was unique but had never fully realized his uniqueness. She took Jody's hand and smiled at him, "Come on, my dear. We have much to discuss."

As they left the manor, Lady Isis couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and worry. Jody was a wild card, and she needed to make sure he made the right choices, which made her own decisions even more critical. As they walked, Jody could feel some sort of tension building. It was a weird sensation, like the trends were changing, and he somehow felt it. He knew something was about to happen, but he didn't know what.

Suddenly, they heard a loud explosion coming from behind them. At the same time, the shadows around them pulsated, and two warriors walked out. Jody glanced at his mother, who nodded, signaling for him to stay behind her. Charlotte and Ke Si appeared from the shadows, looking slightly disheveled and out of breath. Jody was stunned at their ragged appearances and stepped back forward, pointing with a trembling finger and his mouth agape.

"Lord Trill, Lady Isis, we apologize for our tardiness," Charlotte said, bowing deeply. "We were conducting a perimeter check when we heard a commotion. We rushed back as quickly as we could."

"Lotto, how could you..." Jody's finger fell helplessly to his side as he muttered to himself as quietly as an ant.

Charlotte and Ke were confused by their little lord's dejected look, but they had to report to the lady first.

Ke Si and Elder Slaughter had agreed to keep their operation a secret until he could report to the Lord. This matter involved the Si clan's interests, so Ke didn't want the Lady to know about it. It was apparent that Ke Si was wary of the First Lady. Charlotte didn't feel comfortable lying to the First Lady and even more uncomfortable in front of Josiah, but she agreed nonetheless. She couldn't even look in the boy's direction for fear of showing weakness.

"Did you see anyone suspicious?" Isis asked, her eyes narrowing.

"No, Lady Isis, everything seemed to be in order," Ke Si replied calmly.

Lady Isis didn't seem to believe them but didn't say anything further.

Jody noticed that Charlotte had not made eye contact with him, which he found suspicious. Ke appeared as he always did, which made Jody reconsider how sincere this jerk was on average. The two were lying and not even bothering to be decent actors. It was so obvious.

Who knew how damaged his ego would be if the currently complacent Ke knew they had been seen through instantly?

They turned around to see smoke rising from the center of the bazaar and minor panic ensuing, but everything was still bustling. Jody was so surprised that many people remained calm in all this commotion, temporarily ignoring Charlotte's treachery.

"Ke Si, since nothing of note happened, you will delay your report to my husband. Take my son and me back home," Isis said flatly.

Ke had already expected to have to return to the estate, although he was ignorant of the attack on Jody and his mother. He felt like his plan was progressing flawlessly. Little did he know that Isis would use this event to separate her son from the pack. He wasn't safe next to Osiris.

"Yes, madam," Ke Si said calmly before suddenly pausing. "Young Lord, is Sek with you?"

Jody was stunned as he nodded, looking to his left where Bright cradled the unconscious Sek princess style, dead in the butler's face. Was Ke Si unable to detect Bright as well? Is a shadow unable to see the light? This was funny.

"Mom, do you think we should warn the others?" Jody asked as he helped Bright with their supplies.

"I have already informed your father and the grand elder that Elder Slaughter and Butler Si left to have their private time while the Oblivion God Cult assaulted you. Sek was almost killed, and you were even forced to take a life," Lady Isis paused and looked at her son. "I cannot trust these two. We will inform them of our departure once we are safe."

Jody nodded but couldn't shake off the feeling they were leaving their companions behind. But thinking about how unfathomable his grandpa was, maybe he worried for nothing.

Charlotte frowned very profoundly when she heard the First Lady's chosen words. The Oblivion God Cult had attacked them?! This was terrible, terrible news. She had abandoned her station when the young Lord needed her most. She had directly disobeyed her alpha's directive. She felt a subtle backlash begin immediately. And what did this damned witch mean by her having 'private' time with Head Butler Si? She knew perfectly well where they had gone! Had she already informed the Lord of this?! Did she word it the same?

Seeing Charlotte's panicked and desperate look, in combination with Isis' disgusted visage, Ke suddenly felt he had lost control of the situation. Weren't there just some weaklings monitoring the premises? When did it become an elite from oblivion god cult?