Crucible Aeternum: Ascending through Skill Trees

In a grand cathedral of marbled gold, a valiant figure walked down a corridor with purpose. Each of her steps were light but steady, echoing against the walls that seemed to cast a hallowed glow upon her confident stride.

She was a tall woman, standing at close to six feet in height. Her long blonde hair tied in a ponytail swayed elegantly behind her, glistening under the morning light passing through the windows. She wore a light metal armour painted white with the insignia of the sun on its chest.

Even with the lightness of her armour, it did not affect her defenses at all as they were made of the strongest metal alloys in the world. Even her skirt that swayed with every movement was strong enough to withstand many attacks.

The most important reason for her light armour, however, were the pair of golden feathered wings folded behind her. Combined with the lance that was seemingly twice the size of her body, she looked like a valkyrie ready to head into war.

When she reached the end of the corridor, she stood respectfully outside the large double doors. After knocking thrice, she waited. It did not even take a few seconds before the doors opened up by themselves, letting her enter freely.

The lady knight walked onward until she reached the bed on the far side of the room. It was a luxurious bed to be sure, even when the owner had already reduced everything in the room to the most minimalist style she was allowed. No matter how much she disliked having too many unnecessary things cluttering her room, she still had to keep up appearances.

The lady knight knelt to one knee a few feet away from the bed. Her crystal golden eyes gazed briefly at the person lying in bed, hidden behind a thin white curtain. After seeing that they were fine, the lady knight lowered her head and spoke.

"Your Holiness, you summoned me?"

"Shine, how are you doing?"

"I've been well, Your Holiness."

The lady knight smiled slightly as she heard the nickname. Although it was not her real name, she treasured it a lot more. The woman lying in bed was the one who gave her that nickname, saying that even with her curse, she could still see her knight shining. And to Shine, that was the greatest gift she had ever received. On the day she swore to serve this woman as her master, she also swore to always shine bright for her.

"Shine, have you heard? They say that the Divine Blade of Beauty has appeared in our Eastern Region."

"The Divine Blade of Beauty? That's the first I've heard of this, Your Holiness. I apologise for missing such an important news."

Shine truly was surprised by this sudden news. The Divine Blade of Beauty was a renowned warrior with an air of endless mystique about her. Very few people in the entire world were worthy of being called Divine, and she was one of them. And while others might scoff at her title for sounding vain and worthless, only the true warriors knew how troublesome an opponent she was.

The Divine Blade of Beauty was certainly beautiful. In fact, she may very well be the most beautiful woman in the entire world. But her title does not refer to her physical appearance. Instead, it refers to her power to dazzle and enchant others into an illusory world of her making.

When the Divine Blade of Beauty fights, her opponent almost never catches a glimpse of her form at all. Instead, they would be fighting desperately to escape the illusion they had fallen into that was all too deadly and real. The illusions she create come from a mystical technique that she uses in conjunction with her own power. And with that illusion, no one even sees how her opponent loses until she was already long gone.

Out of all the Divines in the world, the Divine Blade of Beauty was among the most mysterious. No one even knows how powerful she truly is. Shine herself had met the Divine Blade of Beauty once, and she could say for certain that although she would have been able to fight her, it was impossible to say that she could defeat her.

"Don't worry. It was just some gossip I overheard. But what do you think she was here for, Shine?"

"There's not a lot of things in our Eastern Region, Your Holiness. This place is as barren as this world could get. There are only a few things someone like the Divine Blade of Beauty would come here for: The Free City of Therion; the Dazzling City Melchior; or our Lux Holy Land. And if I didn't receive any reports of her entering our Holy Land, then she must've been here for the other two."

The Eastern Region was indeed one of the most barren places in the world. This is especially the case since a huge part of the seas that had once surrounded the Eastern Region had disappeared and transformed through Prisma. The Eastern Region used to be an entire continent of its own. And now, it was just another part of the supercontinent created by Prisma.

And in this barren region, the only notable places one would visit were the Free City of Therion which was practically the world hub for all wanderers, the Dazzling City of Melchior that similarly attracts many tourists, and the Lux Holy Land which was the last bastion of the old faith of Corrin before the Prisma's advent. They still worship and spread the gospel of Lux, the Bringer of Light.

With these three, the supposedly barren Eastern Region was still bustling and full of life. Many wanderers, tourists and pilgrims travel to the Eastern Region just for them. And surprisingly, each of the three territories are powerful in their own right such that none of the other regions dare provoke them.

"That's true. Well, no matter. There's no need to dwell on this, Shine. We do not want to antagonise the Divine Blade of Beauty by prying into her business."

"My thoughts exactly, Your Holiness."

"Oh? Shine, my Divine Lance of Radiance, are you wary of the Divine Blade of Beauty?"

"Not necessarily, Your Holiness. I just don't want to fight her if possible. A battle between the two of us would cause too much damage. And I'm not confident in being able to protect you or the Holy Land in that time."

Shine had no shame in admitting that fact. Although she knew she would not lose, she also knew she would not win, at least not easily. A battle between Divines was not something that happens often, and for good reason. One does not obtain the title of Divine without having a certain amount of power that could affect the world around them to a large degree and scale. It is because of this that they are called Divine to begin with. And in such battles, casualties are inevitable.

The woman lying in bed chuckled softly at her knight's response. She knew that Shine was still being humble. It was a trait that she quite admired in her. But she also knew well that Shine was among the strongest of the Divines. There were only seven Divines that still roamed the world, and Shine was recognised as the third strongest. The Divine Blade of Beauty, due to the mystery around her, could only be evaluated as fifth among the Divines.

"I'm just joking, Shine. Now come. You have something to report, yes?"

"Yes, Your Holiness. There are two things I wanted to report about. And considering the news about the Divine Blade of Beauty, I don't know if they are connected or not."

"Very well, let's hear them. Perhaps we'll find a line that connects the three."

"The first report is regarding the Eastern Region, Your Holiness. We've recorded an alarming increase in beast activity spanning the whole Eastern Region in recent weeks. Many travelers have been attacked, and even with protection of Contractors and other security, there were still a lot of casualties. Most get away with injuries, but some unfortunate ones have died. Even their properties have been damaged."

The woman remained silent, digesting the report and trying to analyse it. This increased beast activity was definitely unusual, but it was not like it has never happened before. And it was because of the fact that there was a precedent that the woman felt something dreadful in the air. She could not help but think back to the beast tide of Vaulkeen's End.

"The second report is regarding a person of interest that Your Holiness had once asked me to keep an eye on."

"Oh? Which person is it?"

"It's the Dancing Blade, Your Holiness. He is currently in Melchior."

"Dancing Blade? I thought he rarely left Therion. If he's in Melchior now, then it must be for a commission. I remember the governor of Melchior had once personally given him a commission which was how he was given the name Dancing Blade. Do we know what commission he's doing, Shine?"

"Not yet, Your Holiness. I'm having some people look into it discreetly, but that man is quite meticulous. We have to move slowly or else we risk him being alerted."

"It's okay. I was just curious anyway. But this changes everything. I'm fairly certain now that the Divine Blade of Beauty's visit to the Eastern Region is somewhat related to the two reports you've given me. And Dancing Blade's commission is likely related to the beast activity."

The two fell silent for a while, processing the information they had. Shine readily agreed with her master's deduction. She had no doubt that it was correct especially since her master— the Saintess of the Lux Holy Land, was one of the most intelligent beings in the world. It was not so much her power as a Saintess that made her worthy of worship, but rather her mind and clairvoyant ability.

"Shine, has anyone given the Dancing Blade a trial yet?"

"A trial? Your Holiness, do you intend to sanctify him yourself?!"

This time, Shine was truly shocked. For the Saintess to be speaking of a trial, it could only mean a Sanctification Trial that would test whether the person was worthy of joining the core of the Lux Holy Land. However, up until now, the Dancing Blade has not had any sort of relation with the Lux Holy Land. Other than the Saintess' peculiar curiosity toward him, there was not any connection between them at all. So how could he suddenly join them.

The Saintess, however, was dazed for a moment when she realised what Shine had said. Indeed, her words would have definitely been taken that way since she was the Saintess, but that was not her original intent. There was another trial she had in mind. But Shine's words seemed to trigger something within her and her dazed expression slowly turned into an excited smile.

"Shine, calm down. That's not what I meant. I'll give you some important missions now. Continue investigating the increased beast activity in the Eastern Region. Heighten the security for travelers and offer free treatment and aid for our pilgrims who have suffered in their journey."

"And as for your personal mission, I want you to hold the Divine Trial for the Dancing Blade. And while you're at it, confirm whether he is blessed by the Light. Your words just now had given me a premonition. Even if it wasn't my original intent, we may end up holding two trials for him."

"And finally, send someone to investigate Vaulkeen's End. I can feel something from that place. Be very careful about this."

Indeed, the Saintess only wanted Shine to conduct the Divine Trial for the Dancing Blade. The Divine Trial was something of a ceremony where a Divine would fight with a prospective Divine to see whether they were worthy of the title. It was an informal and unofficial ceremony, but one that has roots from several centuries ago. Even Shine herself had to go through it before she was recognised as a Divine.

Shine could only nod her head in a daze before bowing and leaving in silence. She was still too shocked by what the Saintess had just tasked her with. It might have been her mistake in assuming that the Saintess wanted to hold a Sanctification Trial for the Dancing Blade, but with the Saintess' premonition, it might as well have been a correct assumption.

Left alone in the large luxurious room, the Saintess sighed as she felt the excitement wash away from her. She had always been sickly, and too much excitement would not be good for health. But it could not be helped. The prospect of the future was simply too good. She smiled while muttering to herself with a voice full of hope.

"Perhaps we would welcome a new Divine Blade. Perhaps I would finally welcome... a partner."