"Earth and Prisma, huh. My knowledge is from 1,000 years ago, but I do know those planets." The Starlight Lantern said
"What do you know about them?" Ciel asked
"There's really not much to know. They were just regular, non-magical planets that belonged to the 10 Great Planets."
"However, they were destroyed recently. That's why you two are in this world, isn't it?"
'How does he know we aren't originally from this planet? We never told him that.' Ciel thought
The Starlight Lantern was able to influence and watch the outside world in a short range when he was in the form of a Special Gate.
That way, he had been able to identify Ciel and Rein before they entered the Special Gate.
However, there was never any point in time that they had discussed about Earth or Prisma.
"How do you know that?" Rein asked, having the same thoughts
"I can tell because of the Great being that's trapped in your Soul World. 'He' wouldn't be there if everything went smoothly."
'What is this lantern talking about? We really need to get more answers…'
'This 'Great being' just keeps getting scarier with each encounter. How does it relate with the destruction of Prisma?'
'Also, it seems like we've been caught up in something quite troublesome. Did his plan fail, and he then ended up stuck in the Door of Void?' Ciel thought
"So, can you tell us about the contracts?" Ciel asked
If they wanted answers, they needed to complete the contracts.
Since the Starlight Lantern could answer questions about itself for free, Ciel chose to find out about the contracts that the Starlight Lantern had been avoiding telling them.
"Now that we're out of that Special Gate, there's no problem telling you. The Soul Contract is simple. All you have to do is find my Star Fragments that are scattered around the world."
''My'… does that mean it only belongs to the Starlight Lantern?' Ciel thought inwardly
"What's a Star Fragment?" Rein asked
"Well, it's quite complicated, so I'll give you a short and simple explanation. Don't expect any details any time soon."
"Let me explain a bit more about myself… I'm the B4 Living Artifact, Starlight Lantern. If I find and merge with the Star Fragments I can grow stronger."
'A Living Artifact? An Artifact that can grow stronger? Maybe growing stronger is a property of Living Artifacts…' Ciel thought to himself
He wasn't surprised that the Starlight Lantern wasn't a regular Soul Core, but an Artifact.
It looked nothing like one after all.
"With every Star Fragment that you find, I'll answer a question of yours."
"Didn't you say that we need to complete the quest to get the answer? If we only find one Star Fragment, that wouldn't complete the quest." Rein asked with a untrusting face
"Yeah, that's true. However, I can divide the Soul Contract into smaller parts by making them into Star Contracts, therefore answering a question. This way, you'll get two answers if you complete the Soul Contract."
"That's quite awesome, isn't it?" The Starlight Lantern said
'By the time we finish this Soul Contract, we'll have no reason to ask a question… What's so awesome about that?' Ciel thought
Rein already wasn't a fan of the Starlight Lantern, and it seemed that it wasn't trying to make its case any better to her.
She swept of the expression of anger, and said with mild irritation:
"So… how many Star Fragments exist? How are we meant to find them?"
"I have no idea how many exist. Star Fragments only belong to me, thus, I can track them down one at a time."
'Why do the Star Fragments only belong to the Starlight Lantern? Is it related to being a Special Gate for over 1,000 years?' Ciel thought, trying to find hidden details to no avail
"That doesn't make any sense… if they belong to you, why can you only track one at a time?' Ciel asked
"Because I can only form one personal Star Contract at a time, with a maximum of three."
"The other two will be automatically decided, depending on fate."
"So, I can only know the location of a single Star Fragment, being the one which the Star Contract points towards." The Starlight Lantern explained
'That means we can have three 'quests' at a time. When does he plan on sharing the details of these contracts?' Ciel thought
"So, let's confirm the details."
"You gave us a Soul Contract, which you can only give to a single person."
"We need to find all these 'Star Fragments' to help you get stronger."
"Once we complete that… we will complete the Soul Contract, which does basically nothing for us."
"You will also answer a question we have for every Star Fragment or 'quest' we find or complete with the help of Star Contracts."
"This way, we don't need to find all Star Fragments just for one inconsequential question." Rein said
"Correct. But also incorrect."
"You see, there are multiple benefits for both of us with the Soul Contract." The Starlight Lantern said
"Okay. So, I have a few more questions now."
"Why do you keep asking me questions? Is that all you know about social interactions? If so, that's quite sad." The Starlight Lantern said jokingly
Rein gave it a deathly glare before continuing her questions.
"What do we get for the Soul Contract? You said that there are benefits for both of us."
"First of all, I unlock my true powers. All Artifacts have a negative effect, and a living one is no exception."
"My negative effect is that without a Soul Contract, all my abilities are sealed."
"Also, if you ask me a question without the Star Contract being complete, the memories I have of that answer will be erased." The Starlight Lantern explained
"Oh… I'm glad that the negative effect won't bother us. So what are these abilities you have unlocked now?" Rein asked with curiosity
"I have the Soul Contract ability, which I've already explained."
"No you haven't. You only explained what a Soul Contract and Star Contracts are. What about a regular contract? Also, what benefits do we get from the Soul Contract?" Rein asked
"Stop being so nitpicky. Regular contracts are simple. We both decide the conditions, and it's done. Breaking the contract still ends in death."
"As for your benefits from the Soul Contract, I can take a small portion of Spirit Essence from you, with your permission of course."
"Huh? How's that a benefit for us?" Rein asked, not being able to hide her anger anymore
"Well, that goes to my second and third ability. Maybe if you just listened and didn't ask so many questions, I'd be able to be done with conversation sooner." The Starlight Lantern said
Ciel watched from the sidelines as Rein's face started turning red from anger.
'I would probably hate that lantern too if I were in her shoes. I can't tell if it actually wants to be hated or not though.' He thought
"My second ability is Shine. I can summon Starlight to slow down the movement and thoughts of beings I deem enemies."
"I can also put the Starlight around one of you, increasing your regenerative abilities. Do note that I can only do one of those tasks at a time."
"The benefit you get from the Soul Contract is that I can give you both a personal light. This means that I can shine as bright as the sun for you, but for everyone else, it will be just like a regular day." The Starlight Lantern said
'Cool… I guess? There's no advantage to having a personal light like that though… unless we are being chased in darkness. But we already have a semi-night vision as a shadow.' Ciel thought with disappointment
"Lastly, I have a semi transformation ability. I'll show it to you when it's time."
"Transformation?" Ciel asked with interest
Knowing that the Starlight Lantern could change forms was quite interesting to him.
"Well, it's not really too effective right now. I can only transform for a few minutes, and it takes away all my Spirit Essence."
'I guess that's another difference between a Living Artifact and a regular one. They have their own Spirit Essence, while someone needs to imbue Spirit Essence into a regular one.' Ciel thought
Of course, the Spirit Essence of theirs could be taken by the Starlight Lantern from the Soul Contract.
"Alright. You better show us the transformation later."
"So for now, tell us where we can find the Star Fragment you need." Rein asked
"It's in the Floren Kingdom. It's in the possession of the Royal Guards."
"How the hell are we meant to get that? Well, it's not like we're obligated to do these quests as you said…"
They had no obligations to actually complete the contracts, giving them the freedom of choice on what to do.
"Hey, Ciel. Let's not bother with the Star Contracts and ditch this damn lantern." Rein said with no hint of remorse
"We'll do it. We'll go to the Floren Kingdom."
"I knew you would do it!" The Starlight Lantern said
"...Before that, I have something to ask. Why us? Why did you choose us to enter your Special Gate?" Ciel asked
"Why not? It's not like I had a reason not to invite you. If you died, I would have waited for another opportunity." The Starlight Lantern replied
"Alright… well then, let's start heading towards the Floren Kingdom soon."
"How is that going to work out exactly? Aren't you going to be on some watchlist? The Royal Guard, Ryker, must have sent your information to the king."
"We'll be fine… I have a plan. At least to safely enter the kingdom. As for actually getting to the Star Fragment, we'll figure it out from there."
"Also, we can avoid divination artifacts like the one Ryker had, since we now know that we can use the Stone of Eternity's anti divination properties."
"Well, as long as the Artifact is not too strong. Even if it is, the results of divination should be inconsistent. The Stone of Eternity's greatest property isn't its durability, it's the anti divination and mental block."
"We both also have 'that' item as well in case things go wrong." Ciel said