52 Revelations (and Ai's annoyance)

"One hundred and eighteen." Ai repeated, tapping her chin with a mechanical hand.

"So... are you, like, a vampire or something?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ioune waved his hands in the air. "Ah, nothing like that, no."

"..."

"Well don't leave me hanging, what the hell are you then?" She said with a hint of frustration in her voice.

Ioune furrowed his brows for a moment as if thinking about how to explain. "Well, there isn't a whole lot to say, besides that my mother was an angel, and my father was a high priest."

Ai snapped her fingers and pointed at Ioune. "See? That shit right there? That's the kind of shit that pisses me off. Acting like it's all perfectly normal. Your pops fucked an angel, that's not normal buddy."

Ioune blushed, scratching his cheek. "S-sorry."

Ai blinked over to Azura's bed, falling face-first into one of the pillows, groaning loudly. Amari, who had been sitting on the bed saw the opportunity and took it immediately.

*SMACK*

"OUCH!!! What the fuck, sis!?" Ai turned to her side and massaged the new throbbing pain in her ass.

Smirking mischievously, Amari leaned to the side, dodging a kick from Ai. "Don't be so easy next time, ass princess. Heehee."

Azura snapped her fingers, making the bed float up into the air and over to where everyone else was still sitting. "We still need to plan our next course of action, ladies and boys." She said in a serious tone. The room grew quiet and Ai turned to the party, still laying on her side as sitting up was currently not an option thanks to a certain mischievous big sister.

"So..."

The air in the tent grew cold as Azura became serious.

"A powerful enemy is coming. The Solitary Empress no longer cares for such things as treaties or peace talks, she is invading for one thing and one thing only, Ai. On top of this, the unfortunate timeframe also lines up with the expiration of my delay to her infection. Her battle with Amari showed us one certainty, that Ai is capable of becoming the most powerful of all of us, and thus, the most likely to stand against the Empress."

"Ah, but not really. Sis could have beaten me quite easily if she used her skills. She only used her [Flash Step] once and that was as her usual opening."

Amari shook her head. "Not really sis, I didn't use skills because you couldn't use spells, I don't know if you realized, but your spells hit a lot harder than the average mage, you took the starter spell and turned it into your go-to spell and it never failed."

Ai was shocked when she realized that this was really the case, her spellbook was severely limited due to neglecting the use her sight abilities as often as she should have, but just relying on the most basic spell proved to be effective for most challenges so far, although this was also due to being able to manipulate that single spell to a ridiculous extent.

'Perhaps I should ask Azura to show me some spells later.'

Azura nodded her head as she crossed her legs. "Now we need to establish our party. You all have had a big part to play in the events leading up to this. But from here on out, things are going to get very dangerous. We will need to travel to the capital and speak with the king, and depending on what happens, there is a possibility we will be on our own when it starts. I would like to propose that those that wish to leave, should let us know now. You will not be judged." She said as she looked at everyone in the room.

The room was quiet for a few moments before Hoat'l stood up. "Alas, I cannae join. Lockwood be me home, and I cannae bear to think o' 'er burnin'. I will stay 'ere and fight for me home."

Azura smiled and nodded. "And I am sure our peaceful haven will be safe under your protection, bearer of the ancient flame."

Damian was the next to stand. "As much as I would love to beat the piss out of somethin' evil, I've got plans elsewhere, and if this threat is as far-reaching as we fear, I'll be better off there."

After Hoat'l and Damian spoke up, the room once again fell quiet.

"Amari is the one person with any real attachment to this cause, what about the rest of you? Kenji?" Azura said as she turned to him.

"Hehe, gonna make me blush but. Ai called me out on my bullshit, she was the first one to do so. I've grown fond of that 'no-bullshit' attitude of hers. My blade belongs to her." He drew his katana and held it up as he dropped to one knee.

"*cough* suck-up *cough*" Ai blurted out and quickly went quiet when Azura glared at her, making the temperature around her significantly colder.

Azura turned to Lia next. "And you, Lia? I would say that you have the least attachment to little Ai. You may leave if you so choose."

Lia smiled warmly and dropped to a knee, leaning on Kenji. "I go where my love goes. If he wants to help little Ai, then my magic will be the barrier that protects her."

'Oh hell, she is inheriting his cheese.'

"As for myself, I made the choice to be bound to her. As to why, all I can say is that I trust my intuition, and it's telling me that this girl is important." Azura also dropped to her knee and bowed her head.

'What the hell, her too!?'

Azura looked up at Ioune and nodded her head. "As for the last of us, you were only a messenger, are you sure you want to join us in such peril?"

Ioune smiled warmly. "The Empress will soon be a threat to all of Selis. I, the current high priest of D'vrais, will pledge my words of power to Ai." He said as he dropped down to one knee and bowed his head.

Every single person in the room was shocked, except for Azura, who immediately stood up and conjured a spell circle.

Ioune waved his hands, standing back up. "Please, do not be alarmed, I am not here for you, Azulian Terror Azura."

Ai jumped out of bed, stomping her foot on the ground. "The fuck is up with this constant revelations bullshit!?" She yelled out as her eye twitched.

Everyone, who had looked from Ioune to Azura in equal shock, now turned to Ai in shock at her outburst. "Seriously, who gives a fuck? Keep your damn shock boners in your pants!"

Azura quickly stood up. "Do you even know what any of this means Ai? The things I have done under the name of the Azulian Terror and the High Priest of D'vrais is right here? We are mortal enemies through and through." She glared at Ioune. "Surely this must be the perfect opportunity to end such a threat as myself, is it not?"

Ioune dropped his usual warm smile. "Azura, your crimes are irredeemable in the eyes of the goddess, but strange opponents call for strange alliances, no? Would I have revealed myself to you if I had any intention to vanquish you?"

"..."

"Tch." Azura clicked her tongue and sat back down on one of the floating disks, crossing her legs.

Ai tapped her foot on the ground in annoyance and glared at Ioune, who also sat down. "We all done with the drama?"

Azura and Ioune looked down in shame and silence.

Ai sat down on one of the floating disks and stared at the ground. "Good, so here is the deal. We don't have enough time to get more powerful, and as far as we know, this Empress lady could be Level 50 by now. So what can we do to become more powerful without relying on leveling?"

Ioune stood up once more and waved his hand through the air, creating a map of Caladan Proper and the surrounding area. "I believe we should make our way to the capital. There should be a waypoint just outside of the city that Azura can teleport us too. From there we should pick up some of the higher level quests from there so that Ai can gain a few more levels. If she can reach Level 20, she should stand a better chance of survival from both the plague and the Empress." He said as he pointed to a section of the map just a short distance away from the city. A small light emerged to show the location of the waypoint.

Azura nodded. "I can teleport us there. Those of us that are going should take the rest of the day to prepare. We shall meet here in the morning and depart for the capital."

Everyone nodded their heads and stood up. Hoat'l walked up to Ai. "Miss Ai, please stop by me shop when ye get the chance." Ai nodded and wondered what he would want. Hopefully, he wasn't planning on asking for Revolution back, because she wasn't about to part with her new favorite weapon.