To prevent the tragic future from happening, first, we needed to get a full understanding of our situation. As everyone was working on their assignments, the picture of the situation got fragmented; everyone knew only what they discovered. So we started to share what we knew.
Lemuen was first to speak. She spent the last week meeting all nobles whose status wasn't enough to make me show up. She dove headlong into the complex web of aristocratic relationships and interests, trying to find who was assisting the Empresses and who backed Echoes.
At first, she approached this with the attitude that Empresses were on our side, but even that became doubtful as time passed. So now we have also watched the movements of the royalists in case we were to be backstabbed.
She explained some of the web, but simplified it enough so that it wasn't overwhelming. To be honest, the situation the Empresses were currently in was rather dire; should some tragedy occur that caused public discontent, their position might be in jeopardy. At the same time, there were some things that made the situation feel strange, especially with Empress Hildegard.
Cellinia took over after Lemuen finished. She talked about the situation in the underworld, what gangs and mobs existed, and who their support was. She also spoke about what places were under the control of the nobles, and where the Echoes had infiltrated.
She also discussed the precautions that are being put in place. She explained how she cooperated with Werner and Alexandrina to ensure that innocent people wouldn't be involved in any conflict. They together prepared a comprehensive plan of action that would be the basis of our plan of action.
Next, it was my turn to speak up. I spoke about my research on the traces of rituals we discovered, explaining what possible purposes and methods our enemies possessed. I emphasized that Echoes possessed part of the Witch King's legacy, making them capable of city-wide destruction, or maybe even bringing down a Catastrophe onto our heads.
After that, we moved to the next part of the meeting, planning. Our main objectives were to expand Lateran influence and gain the Witch King's legacy. The first target would be achieved by defending people and eliminating Echoes quickly and decisively. Simple plan in theory, definitely not in practice.
The second issue was the reason why we even appeared here. With my research progress, especially on the Witchcraft, the benefits were already sufficient for me to step back, but the true legacy was hard to pass. We still didn't have many details about it, only that by dealing with Echoes, we should come into contact with it.
The planning went smoothly, everyone got an assigned role, well, everyone but me. My job was to act as usual and deal with the matters of the Witch King while they did everything else. This meant that I wasn't part of any plan we discussed, as we couldn't plan for the things we didn't know. I felt little left out, but I know they were right to arrange it like that.
When we ended our meeting, I went to my room, but instead of resting, I sat and meditated to process the new memories. While the memories of the Cyclopes were numerous, they were mostly fragmented, making it quite easy to quickly separate useful parts from emotional dregs. In an hour, I got rid of over 98% of all memories, sealing them in a small crystal that I then sent to Mostima to be placed in the Lateran archives.
The remaining part was the memories showing techniques, Arts, Witchcraft, and important events. While it'll still take me time to learn everything from there, it'll be manageable. With some time left, I now focus on the other memories. In contrast to previous dreams that were fragmented and blurry, those memories were much more complete, depicting years of life in the lands called Ardenweald.
But the memories of the 'me' there were but a small part of everything. Most of those memories were, in fact, 'seeds'. Referencing those new memories, I know that those were inert souls, waiting for revival. But those seeds appeared to be too weak, as if those souls didn't belong to the usual spirits of nature but normal mortal beings.
Even with those doubts, I still decided to plant those in my Azure Dream. Souls in such a weak state couldn't pose any danger to me, so I didn't need to worry about them. With the rate at which the Azure Dream could heal souls, before I could do anything with those seeds, years would need to pass, so I put them at the back of my mind to be remembered later.
The next morning, I continued my routine, leaving the mansion with Margaret, Viviana, and Shining to go to the Ludwigs-Universität. I planned to intensify my focus on the Cyclops' and Banshee's Witchcraft, but after entering the academy grounds, I felt that something was wrong. When I looked back, I noticed that my escorts were nowhere to be seen.
Not just them, there was no one around. I continued walking through the eerily empty corridors, my ears hearing the music I never wanted to hear again. Fighting with myself not to just blast everything to hell, I finally entered a quiet garden, in the center of which stood a figure that I would avoid at all costs in the past. She played her cello, eyes closed, and that smile that always made my hair stand on its ends was plastered on her face.
I stopped a few steps away from her, also closing my eyes, but only to hide the white glow of moonlight that appeared to stop my emotions from getting out of hand. She seemed to feel that my state was wrong in a way that she didn't want; her smile turned into a scowl, as she looked at me with a mix of anger, disappointment, and a strange protective-instinct.
-"You shouldn't bottle everything inside, My Dear Enoch."
-"You shouldn't call me that, Arturia."-I spoke, my voice flat, devoid of any emotions.
-"My Dear, you are the only person who can truly understand my music, my soulmate."-Her eyes were full of deep obsession, appearing like a dark mud wishing to envelop my figure.
-"Enough."-I opened my eyes, looking at her to pressure her.-"Speak, why did you make me come here?"
-"Because I worry about you."-She approached me, stopping just before me.-"I can feel that while you are better than before, you still hide something deep, something dark and harmful. So I decided to help you."
-"I'm alright. Your help and worry are unnecessary."
-"No. You need it. I know that you feel annoyed, angry, and even disgusted at what you see, at the current state of things. So, let me help you create a stage where you can perform to your heart's content."-Her smile widened.-"Let the world see not the Holy Son of Laterano, but you, My Dear Enoch."
-"You..."-I watched her walk away.
-"I'll be waiting at the stage of the final performance, to be your accompanist as always."-She blew me a kiss in the air and left.
Moments later, I felt the atmosphere shift again; this time, there was no subtlety, only a great pressure emanating from the underground. Not wasting time, I started moving toward the source of the abnormality. I moved through the corridors quickly, noticing fresh signs of fighting in some passages.
I accelerated my steps, moving forward until I encountered a group of cloaked figures. Identifying them as members of Echoes, I didn't waste my time and waved my hand. In the blink of an eye, each of them was sealed in my crystals, waiting for others to deal with them.
I continued on my way, dealing with enemies I encountered in the same way as before, approaching whatever the source of this was. Soon, I entered an underground classroom filled with members of Echoes. In the center, I could see Franz von Urtica lying on the ground, with traces of some Art still present around him. By his side, I could see Fremont, Laqeramaline, Lessing, and even members of my entourage, talking with a young teacher I had seen once before.
-"You shouldn't do this."-Fremont looked disappointed.
-"I'm sorry, teacher, but I can't stand the legacy of Leithanien to be destroyed by the Empresses."
-"Fool."-Fremont just shook his head.-"Took you long enough, Eno."
-"Had some trouble on the way."-I looked around.-"Is everything resolved?"
-"No, I was just able to prevent the worst outcome."-He pointed at the lying Franz.
I took a closer look and noticed the chaotic state Franz was in. His entire inner world was being consumed by something, his will barely able to stop it in place.
-"Troublesome."-I commented.
I stepped forward, but then the members of Echoes tried to stop me, only to crystallize in an instant. I ignored them and knelt by the lying Franz. Checking his state, I tried to formulate a plan on how to resolve it, but the trouble was much greater than I expected.
-"Need a hand?"-Promulgator appeared by my side.
-"Do you have a way?"
-"Just an idea."-She smiled.-"While everyone thinks that Cyclops are only about seeing the future, there is a reason why the whole school of Arts is called Divination."
She put a hand on my arm, and then the world shifted. When everything stopped spinning, I found myself in a wasteland, the sounds of the musical Arts echoing around. I looked at the source of that performance, only to see Franz confronting a figure looking exactly like the Witch King.
-"Be careful. This isn't the outside world, where you can use your power without much worry. The destruction you cause here will reflect on that boy's spirit. Should it be too much, he will cease to be, leaving only a body without a self."
I nodded, already having some understanding through my memories. I approached the battlefield but didn't engage, just observed from the side. They noticed my presence, carefully disengaging and stepping back.
-"Oh? You arrived?"
-"It's an honor."-I greeted the Witch King.
-"Surprisingly, you truly do respect me, but not like those groveling fools."-He commented, looking at me.
-"I do respect the person who can climb to the top on his own, not the power he holds."-I admitted.
-"Good, only dogs revere others because of power."-He nodded in approval.-"Are you here to help that foolish child?"
-"You can say so. I'm here to stop your followers, but that doesn't mean I wish to be your enemy."
-"I see. You should be aware that I'm looking for an 'inheritor', right?"
-"That's the official purpose of the echoes."
-"While this child is not bad, he's far from you. I can see that you're interested in my Arts, so how about a deal with me?"
-"Don't..!"-Franz was about to shout something, but I ignored him.
-"I'm listening."
-"I will remove that failed noise from that boy, but you'll have to accept the true 'Voice'."
-"Good."
-"Then I'll be waiting for you on the day of Kaiserinnensfest."-After saying that, he slowly disappeared.
-"You..."-Franz looked moved, but I stopped him.
-"Don't think too much."-Leaving those words, I returned to the real world.
Waking up, I stood up and looked at Fremont.
-"They will act on Kaiserinnensfest."
-"As expected. Well, I don't care much."-He shrugged.
-"I plan to claim his legacy for myself. Full legacy."
-"Are you sure?"
-"I need his power and knowledge."-I nodded.
-"So be it. I'll help you, but I can't prevent everything from going awry."
-"I'll also help."-Laqeramaline stepped forward.
-"Thank you. I won't get taken over easily, but I need to prepare. Confronting him head-on won't be easy."
With the direct threat confirmed, we could finally start acting more directly. Lemuen started to make trouble in the high societies, elevating the current situation into an international incident. Thanks to her actions, the Empress had to agree for Laterano to deploy more troops, targeting the Echoes as a threat to the Holy Son. Mostima jumped at that, sending the whole three detachments from the Lateran Cohors.
With the Empress's agreement in our hands, we quickly moved to apprehend nobles connected to the attack on Ludwigs-Universität, making them cough up quite a nice compensation. But we never overstepped the boundary of only seeking those who targeted me, still maintaining the minimal requirements to maintain neutrality.
This, and the fact that there were no killed perpetrators, made our actions reasonable in the eyes of the international forum, increasing Lateran reputation. Our actions also earned the approval of the population here in Leithanien, while only a few became followers of the Lateran Church because of this, we at least gained their recognition. This also allowed Cellinia to coordinate with our allies to push Echoes back in the underground, eliminating their influence in many districts. In the process, we also secured many important nodes around the city.
Those nodes were part of the great magic formation I planned to prevent Echoes or the Witch King from unleashing city-wide Arts. Fremont and Laqeramaline fully cooperated with me, freely sharing their abilities while not engaging in any political moves. I also didn't hide any of my methods, explaining how magic circles and runes formed formations.
Our cooperation was already well trained during the days of research, so we created a city-wide formation in two short days. When our preparations were finished, it was already the day before Kaiserinnensfest. Despite that, I still went to Ludwigs-Universität to learn. I sat in a quiet classroom, the Promulgator instructing me how to use Cyclops' power correctly.
She explained that the third eye of the Cyclops isn't simply a tool to see scraps of the future. It was a method to connect with the world. The sight of the future was a consequence of the Cyclops' connection with Myriad Souls, but there were many other powers that the Cyclops could draw from.
As an example, she mentioned the frozen lands of the Sami, where the mountain itself was a Feranmut, a god-like being. They were able to create a whole new field of the Arts, using the power of the Sami to use powers far beyond their capabilities. She compared Cyclopes to the shrine priests of Higashi, capable of speaking and using the will of the gods.
Under her instructions, I managed to find my connection to the Law, but I decided against drawing upon its power, fearing that it might lead to some unexpected consequences. But this also made me realize that I was able to use divinity much more smoothly. Back when I met Arturia, I used divinity like before, but the normal side effects didn't occur.
Thanks to the Promulgator's help, I was able to understand this power much more. I returned to the mansion in the evening, watching how everyone rushed around, making final preparations. The next day was going to be busy, but after so many preparations, we were finally here.