Chapter 285: Avatar Of Order

A few months passed since the day Isabella spoke to the Artificer.

As much as she now distrusted him, she couldn't really blame him for being angry. 

As a Guardian, he was entrusted with the protection of the divine realms and the worlds within creation. It was his job to formulate strategies and defenses against any threats to that creation.

And Isabella had been assisting in destroying it.

Even if it had been for the greater good, the point still remained.

Hundreds of worlds had been erased as a result of the Cursebreaker's actions...

Or rather...as a result of Mizik's actions.

The man she met in Lorelei was no more. The current Mizik was a monster. Someone born of insanity and hatred.

But Isabella had given up on everything. He was all she had left of her former life...

And so, she clung to him regardless.

At the very least...he was kind to her. Isabella was his favorite and she knew it well. She no longer cared about anything else other than pleasing him and destroying the Corruption.

As soon as the Corruption was gone, she would be able to breathe a sigh of relief and rest with him forever in peace.

And that was why she kept fighting.

Currently, she was researching even more ways to gain strength.

As she sat at her desk within her room in the Oracle's temple, there was a knock at her door. 

Without looking up from the book she'd been reading, she spoke plainly.

"Come in."

The door opened and she heard the footsteps of two people. Based on the energy radiating off of them, she knew it to be Aldaril and Nirani.

"Can I help you?" Isabella said simply without looking up.

"Capt-...er...Isabella. We might have a solution for you. We believe you can gain a significant amount of strength very quickly," Aldaril said.

Isabella slowly looked up and turned towards the two.

Aldaril had his hand out. There was a dark blue sphere floating above it.

"Is that..."

"The Eye of Order," Aldaril said.

"You must be joking..."

"We are not, lady Isabella. You can become much stronger...but doing so will demand something of you," Nirani said.

"And what would that be?"

"Potentially becoming a slave to the Elder Core..." Nirani said sadly.

"I'll do it."

"Isabella, that isn't a decision you should make so quickly-"

"Aldaril. I have the utmost trust in Mizik's abilities. I sincerely doubt he would allow me to be permanently trapped on that gods-forsaken world you people call a home. Now...how does this work? Should I expect it to hurt?" Isabella said.

She stood up and approached the two.

"Well...no, actually. Not as far as I would know. It wasn't painful for me, at least..." Nirani said.

"Mine hurt a lot, but only because it was implanted forcefully..." Aldaril said.

"Then let us get on with it. I do not have all day. As soon as I feel I am ready, we will prepare to depart as soon as the Cursebreaker is done with repairs."

"Nirani..." Aldaril said.

"Yes, I know... Lady Isabella, usually only a high priest is capable of implanting an Avatar Eye. However, it can be given by an Avatar of the same element in times of need. Since I am a light Avatar, I will do this for you."

"Proceed."

"Aldaril, please leave the room," Nirani said.

He nodded and gave her the Eye of Order then walked outside, closing the door behind him.

"Ahem...lady Isabella, please remove all but your underwear...if that is acceptable."

Isabella simply nodded and removed all clothing except her underwear.

Nirani furrowed her brow as soon as she got a good look at her.

"You are...certainly well-endowed... And very beautiful, if you don't mind me saying. I'm sure Master Mizik is quite infatuated with you..." Nirani said.

"He tells me as often as his curse will permit him. He might be difficult to understand, but I know he means well. He truly is wonderful. Now then, if you are finished gawking, I would like to get this over with. It is rather cold in here..." She said as she shivered and held herself.

"R-right...my apologies!" Nirani said.

She approached and held the eye up to the right side of Isabella's face.

"Eye of Order, I am Nirani the Avatar of Peace. In this time of need where your high priest has long since perished, I humbly request your cooperation."

The orb seemed to bob slightly.

"I have, here, an individual of great power whom has agreed to accept you into her body. As the Avatar of Peace, I command you to test her. If she is found worthy, the Avatar of Order will stand again!"

Nirani stepped back and the orb remained in place.

Isabella stood ready.

Inwardly...she fully believed that this would be agonizing. She prepared for the Eye as it slowly hovered closer.

A line crossed the center of it and it opened, revealing a dark blue pupil and a white sclera. It became bloodshot as it stared directly into Isabella's eyes.

But she didn't flinch at all. After all, she had seen far worse.

The eye seemed to relax after an entire minute of non-stop staring. Then it closed.

Eventually, it dispersed into magic and merged with her right eye.

First, she felt a tingling sensation in her head...then her eye lost all feeling. 

Soon...her chest began to hurt.

She felt the Heart of the Sky beating quickly.

Isabella clutched her chest as she dropped to her knees. Her body was enveloped completely in a sphere of dark blue magic.

After several moments of writhing in pain on the floor, she felt something odd in her chest.

Aside from the pain...it felt like there was something blocking the process.

Without hesitation, she grabbed the heart device implanted under her left arm and pulled as hard as she could. 

Using healing magic, she managed to numb the pain as she tore the piece of metal out of her own body.

It clattered across the floor as her blood poured out of the wound.

With her healing magic and regeneration abilities, she hardly felt a thing.

With that out of the way, she felt the Heart of the Sky disappear completely as her old heart regenerated. The energies contained within the heart stone merged with the Eye of Order and the pain finally stopped.

A few moments later, Isabella stood up slowly.

Her left side was covered in blood and the floor was stained with a puddle of it. Near the wall, a bloody piece of metal that had been inside her chest for over twenty years lay still.

She looked at her hands and then pulled up her status menu. She could see that it now listed her race as 'Human(Avatar of Order'.

{New ability(s) gained!}

{Passive: Avatar of Order 

Description: The user has come into contact with the Eye of Order and has gained the abilities of an Avatar. 

Knights of Order: allows the user to summon an army of armored warriors possessing multiple forms of attack. The power of these soldiers varies based on the strength of the user. These soldiers are absolutely loyal and may use every ability that their Avatar wields.

Time Manipulation: The power of Order allows the user to manipulate time in their vicinity by speeding up their own movements. This ability effectively allows the user to negate death as well by automatically reversing time in the event of their own death.

Elder Essence: The Avatar of Order is bound to the Elder Core. As a result, all Avatar abilities will be drastically reduced when out of range of the Elder Core. When in proximity of the Elder Core, all powers possessed by the user will be exponentially increased.

Avatar's Armory: The Eye of Order has granted the user with the ability to call upon its powerful armaments. These armaments include a set of full body armor, a shield, and a longsword. Due to conflicts with [Bravery], these armaments will be used to boost the effectiveness of [Aegis Shield], [Aegis Armor], and [Crown Of The Hero].

Warning! Passive: 'Heart of the Sky' has been assimilated into Passive: 'Avatar of Order'. All abilities contained within are now usable with 'Avatar of Order'}

Isabella smiled as she took everything in.

She glanced at Nirani who had been standing afar off with her hands over her mouth, gazing in horror.

"A-are you okay!?!?" Nirani said fearfully.

"Never better. Why do you ask?" Isabella asked.

"That looked really painful!!!"

"It was somewhat painful...but I used my magic to make it less so. If you are referring to my removal of the heart device, I barely felt it thanks to my healing magic."

"You're a pretty amazing woman, Isabella... I can see why you're Master's favorite..." Nirani said.

Isabella smiled slightly.

"Thank you, Nirani. You've given me something quite amazing here... I think with this power, I should be able to save Mizik. Hopefully, he can do something about my new dependence on the Elder Core..."

"Dependence...? But you don't seem weaker at all. You feel a lot stronger than before, actually."

"I've gained a significant amount of power as well as some new abilities. But those powers and abilities might be weaker until I can get back to Tanavol. I will see in the future if Mizik can eliminate the need for this."

"You think he can do that!?" Nirani said in surprise.

Suddenly, Isabella's slight smile turned onto one beaming with pride and admiration.

"My husband is the most amazing man in all of creation. I have seen him do things unimaginable by most. I doubt that this will be much of a problem for someone as great as he is!"

"Amazing...! When should we be ready to leave?" Nirani asked, seeming to become very excited.

Isabella finally allowed herself to relax.

"I'll see if I can't hurry along the process of rebuilding the ship. It's been out for a while now, but I believe repairs are nearly done. I'm anxious to check how potent the time magic I wield is..." Isabella said.

"Then I will tell the others. When will you be coming to the platform?"

"After I've had a bath and a change of clothes, of course. If I'm going to rescue my husband, I don't want to be covered in blood while doing it."

"Understood! I'll leave immediately!" Nirani said.

She ran outside of the room and closed the door behind her. Isabella could hear her speaking excitedly to Aldaril.

After that, Isabella grabbed a couple of towels and a change of clothes.

She wrapped herself up and headed to the ladies hot spring located in the guest wing of the temple.

After cleaning herself off, she put fresh clothes on and went to the anchor platform.

The rest of the crew had already gathered. Including Cassandra, who stood with her arms crossed angrily.

"Sister, this had better not be a waste of time..." Cassandra said.

"It will not be. I assure you."

"Hmph..."

Isabella approached the anchor platform and climbed the stairs. Once she had reached the top, she grabbed onto the railing.

Then...

The Eye of Order flared to life like a blazing blue inferno.

The drones repairing the ship and platform began to move more quickly. Faster and faster until they became a blur. 

The remaining parts of the ship were repaired almost instantly.

Isabella felt as if she had aged a few weeks as a result, but this was irrelevant to someone that didn't age.

As soon as it finished, Isabella gave the crew a wide smile.

"If this is what I can do without the Elder Core...what will it be like when I'm near it...?" She thought.

The crew cheered as Isabella held up her hand.

"Everyone, to your battle stations. Today, we storm the Destruction realm and take back our captain!" Isabella roared.

As everyone made their way up, thoughts of saving Mizik danced in her mind.

It wouldn't be long now...