The Seeker | Volume 2

I took out my remaining divination ingredients which were starting to deplete from my stock. I grabbed the bottle of blood, lit the candles, put the parchment paper onto the ground along with the spare ingredients I had, poured my black blood onto the parchment along with the raven's feather and other ingredients. 

"What was his name?" I asked, looking back at Olive and Aizawa. Shinso stood in the corner of the room, observing the scene silently.

"His name was Franklyn, but his last name is something I don't know." Olive replied. 

I took out the sun harm from my pocket and held it over the paper. "His physical appearance, perhaps?"

"He was tall and lanky, had neatly combed back brown-blonde hair, blue eyes and freckles. He was wearing a classic dress shirt and vest with black dress pants. Within his eyes seemed to be some small, irregular, and almost dangerous charm…" she had used the same description again, a Demonesses helpful enhanced memory. 

I put the pieces together and closed my eyes before projecting my spirituality upwards into the divination world. The image of the man instantly came to view, he sat inside a bar holding a bottle of alcohol. 

"Y'know, I'm part of an organization, a secret one…" He said to Olive's dream projection. 

"Why would he blatantly reveal such information?" I thought to myself, amused yet annoyed with Franklyn's social intelligence. 

His yellow eyes flickered with a small sense of malice, but he quickly covered them up with his usual charming glare, and the corners of his lips curled up into a smile as Olive asked him a question.

"What organization?"

Franklyn shook his head dismissively. "I can't spill. Although, I'll tell you if you do something for me…"

The dream scene suddenly ended, and I was dragged back into the real world. 

"My divination wasn't exact. He must have done something in advance to conceal himself." I announced. 

"But he did ask you for a favor, Olive." I turned back to look at her.

"What did he ask of you?"

Olive fell silent as her eyes narrowed, attempting to unravel the answer. "He asked me for some money I believe, although my memory of the occurrence is a bit hazy…" she couldn't recall what happened, which made me sigh with frustration. 

"A divination never fails to show something, perhaps we could piece clues together from what you can manage to remember and the scene I just saw."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow. "Olive's description might tell us that he is a very charismatic man, and that he probably has connections to people. If this organization he's a part of really has that many tacit agreements, then that means we'll need to dig deeper than using intuition."

"At Order 9 I was told of enhanced memory, but why wouldn't it have activated during the conversation?" 

"Because Franklyn is likely on a higher Order then you, and has a wider spectrum of abilities to use to conceal and manipulate his and your thoughts and intentions, similar to the Concealment Routeway I've previously dealt with. 

"You've dealt with Concealment?" Olive asks. "That's not a neighboring Routeway of Demon, if we were to use them both simultaneously to override and uncover Franklyn's location without divination we'll likely all lose control."

"That's why I have help." I said.

…

I had used the excuse of being tired following my divination to enter my Divine Protection. Since Raymond was an angel who had partial authority over Concealment and Depravity, perhaps I could temporarily get him to help us.

I remembered the wooden skeleton avatar that he made of Isaiah Walls and attempted to envision it. At Order 8 of Apocalypse summoning things of this magnitude from history was almost impossible without some divine intervention, but since I have this Divine Protection with the amplification of an omnipotent deity, I knew I could if I tried hard enough.

A block of wood suddenly fell from above, landing on the ground. It was blurry, and constantly warped and changed as if to undergo some monumental change. The wooden block expanded and contracted like lungs, and 2 holes representing a skull's eyes formed, the wooden block grew legs and arms, its front shrank in to reveal a ribcage and other bone. Soon enough it materialized in front of me, fully reformed with the Depravity sigil glowing gently. 

"Raymond, I know you can hear me." I said calmly. 

After a few moments the skeleton turned its head and looked at me, making me jump slightly. It stretched its limbs and stood up, as a layer of flesh, muscle and fibers extended over its body from its head, where his black hair and rounded glasses also formed.

"This is only one of my avatars, so you better make this quick." Raymond's avatar said, its voice harsh while it rolled its eyes.

"Do you still have authority over concealment?" I asked, crossing my arms. 

Raymon's avatar nodded. "I do, but I can't project it here because it would leave my body, and losing an authority or even a piece of it would make me lose control."

I sighed in understanding. "But can I replicate it to a certain extent?"

"I don't think you can. I was only able to give you concealment when I proposed our little deal. And even when you could it was merely because I willed it."

"Then why can't you just be able to do it at this moment from your actual body?" I asked.

Raymond's avatar shook its head with a sigh. "Because I need it to resurrect "him," remember?" 

I chuckled lightly, I would have already left to catch up with Raymond to prevent him from doing so if I actually had faith in his abilities to resurrect an angel from the third epoch.

"But I simply believe you can't without my help. Isn't Khorvath an angel of the Apocalypse, and without me you won't be able to do so even if you attempt to replicate it? You already attempted to do so and almost died if it wasn't for my help." I said smugly.

Raymond scoffed at my confidence, that scoff soon turned into a laugh. 

"If I was alive at the same time as "him", then wouldn't that mean I'm able to use what I had learned from my experiences? Khorvath had discussed with me about "his" revival plan in case of "his" death."

"He said there would be an "angelic conflict" on the precipice of "his" awakening. One would be half mad, and the other would be completely twisted. The two aspects of destruction would fuse in his waking, and with you being alive at the time as an Apocalypse, that would render him able to revive without the necessity of a vessel."

"So Khorvath had foreseen my arrival here? Was he aware of my existence from the beginning?" I asked, a small pit forming in my stomach.

Raymond sighed. "Before "he" died he had a wife, Bella. They conducted a ritual to prevent them from being split when they die, a Bondage Ritual. Bella was a noble of the Adligon Clans, and she had an arranged marriage with Aurther Morgan, the prince of the Trunist Empire. Khorvath was enraged by this, so "he" murdered the prince in cold blood, and then destroyed the surface in "his" hatred and despair, killing every living thing."

"So Khrovath was so blinded in his anger that he destroyed the world by accident? If I'm destined to do the same thing, would the same thing have to unfold…would I have to lose him too?" I felt a sudden pang of fear and sadness at his words.

"It might. All Apocalypse's are destined to destroy the world, but the method in which they do so, and the implications leading to the event will vary. It's the inevitable cycle, and I can tell you've been working your ass off in an effort to prevent it."

"So Khorvath had never foreseen your arrival, he simply knew the order of the universe would pull the strings."

As Raymond's avatar said that its skin began to peel away, showcasing the layers of wooden bones underneath. I watched as the avatar disappeared, turning back into the illusory wooden block.

I picked up the block and held it in my hand. The block felt like that feeling then your hands would fall asleep and get all tingly. I saw the Depravity sigil glowing brightly, but when I flipped it over I also saw Concealment!

Raymond could project Concealment to his avatar, that means he was hiding something from me during our conversation. I began to feel a sudden rush of anger, fear, confusion and trepidation upon knowing this.

What would he have hidden from me? Was he perfectly capable of doing the resurrection himself? Was I more connected to Khorvath than I thought? Am I related to "him?"

…

I descended back into the physical plane with a pit in my stomach about Raymond's accidental revelation. Even if Olive and Aizawa had returned to continue this operation I would simply shoot them off and tell them I wasn't in the mood.

I wasn't feeling good at the moment. Raymond knew exactly what I was doing, he knew I was actively attempting to distort fate and change the outcome of my destiny, he knew of my desperation and perseverance in doing so. But why am I forced to do all of these wrong things in order to advance?

After I had become wanted, Raymond had fed me the Order 8 potion knowing it was the right time, and after I had killed Aaron whilst being possessed by Maxwell I was able to start digesting the said potion…

Was I purposefully forced to disobey my moral values and codes for the sake of getting stronger? I still needed the Order 7, 6 and 5 potion formulas from the Silver Snake Society in order to advance, but I also wanted to find a method of advancement without having to do the corresponding rituals. 

I leaned back in my bed, my mind still racing. I had almost been corrupted by an Outer Deity, the Umbridge isn't as strong as I thought "them" to be, Raymond's hiding something and now I've been dragged into another search investigation. My head was pounding like a drum as I grabbed my hair and pulled it at, attempting to calm myself down.

Shinso, who noticed this, approached me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Calm down, we can talk about this." he said in a calm yet firm voice.

My breathing began to slow down, but the thought of suffering the same fate as Khrvath made me instinctively pull him into a hug as tears were streaming down my face. Shinso's expression softened as he also wrapped his arms around me, breathing softly.