"You may refer to me," Cielle said, her voice echoing like a choir of falling stars, "as Lady Dawn."
Cassie kept her head bowed, her breath went shallow. Her mind immediately began tearing the title apart from every conceivable mythological, historical, and prophetic angle.
'Lady Dawn' Cassie thought
Her aspect, which usually allowed her to read the subtle, silvery threads of fate, was utterly useless here. Not because it was suppressed, but because it was completely overwhelmed. The threads of fate did not bind the colossal, six-winged entity sitting on the throne. They radiated from her. (This is because they are in her soul sea)
Cassie's eyes trembled beneath her closed eyelids. She swallowed the dry lump in her throat. She had to be incredibly careful. One wrong word, one misstep, and this entity could likely erase her soul from the tapestry of existence.
A few meters away, still plastered to the reflective marble floor, Lloyd Frontera was experiencing a completely different, yet equally intense, psychological crisis.
'Lady Dawn' Lloyd repeated internally. His heart was hammering against his ribs like a cornered contractor who had just spotted a loophole in a bankruptcy contract.
He didn't know anything about ancient gods or the mechanics of fate. However he did know about load-bearing capacities, and the suffocating, soul-crushing weight of his financial debt. And yet, the overwhelming gravity pressing down on his soul told him everything he needed to know.
'This is a being of supreme authority' Lloyd's brain misfired in a dozen different directions. 'That pale, dead-eyed boy... the one who sold me the obsidian knife. He wasn't a scammer. He was an emissary! A high priest of a hidden religion! He looked at me, saw my untapped potential, and handed me the key to a divine sanctuary!'
Lloyd's terror was slowly, miraculously, being eclipsed by pure opportunism. He was broke. His branch of the Frontera Clan was on the verge of liquidation. But if he had been chosen by a deity... if he had been summoned to this impossible dimension... then he had value. And if he had value, he could leverage it.
Carefully, prioritizing etiquette over his pounding heart, Lloyd pushed himself up from the floor. He didn't dare look directly at the blinding figure on the throne, instead fixing his gaze respectfully on the bottom step of the white marble dais.
Cassie, sensing his movement, subtly adjusted her posture, rising from her deep bow but remaining in a guarded, respectful stance. She turned her unseeing eyes toward the young man. She could sense his aura. He was a Legacy, undoubtedly. But his essence was erratic, buzzing with a strange mix of profound fear and... greed?
For a long, agonizing minute, no one spoke. The silence in the cathedral was heavy.
On the throne, Cielle simply watched them.
Behind her veil of shifting, brilliant starlight, her face was completely blank. She was sitting perfectly still, analyzing the responses of her two captives. Their heart rates were elevated. They were avoiding direct eye contact. They were exhibiting classic signs of awe and submission.
'The pressure of my soul sea is clearly causing them distress' Cielle noted. 'However, establishing this hierarchy is efficient. It prevents them from asking tedious questions about my identity.'
Finally, the tension reached a breaking point. Cassie, driven by the innate need to understand the currents she was caught in, forced herself to speak.
"Honorable Lady Dawn," Cassie's voice drifted through the vast nave, fragile but steady, carrying the utmost reverence. "We are... humbled by your summons. To be brought into your domain is an honor beyond mortal comprehension." She paused, choosing her next words carefully "But this lowly one must ask... for what purpose have we been gathered? What is it that you seek from us?"
Lloyd held his breath, his eyes glued to the marble steps. He, too, wanted to know. Was he going to be asked to build a temple? To sacrifice his enemies?
Cielle rested her chin on her pale hand, her elbow propped on the armrest of the starlight throne. She looked down at the blind girl.
Cielle's actual purpose was highly mundane: she wanted a reliable network to acquire resources, information about the Dream Realm that she was too lazy to gather herself, and a way to passively monitor potential threats to Sunless without having to leave the basement.
However, phrasing it that way would ruin the carefully constructed ambiance.
"This space," Cielle said, her voice dropping into a low, resonant cadence that vibrated through the marrow of their souls, "exists outside the constraints of your Waking World and the jurisdiction of the Nightmare Spell. It is a sanctuary. An establishment for the equal exchange of knowledge, resources, and truth."
Cassie's breath hitched.
"Exchange?" Cassie whispered, her sharp mind instantly latching onto the word.
"I have provided the venue," Cielle continued, her tone completely indifferent, as if discussing the weather. "You are free to utilize it. Gather information. Trade assets. Seek answers that the world denies you. What you do within this sanctuary is up to you, provided it aligns with my eventual directives."
The implication hit both Cassie and Lloyd like a physical blow.
'An untraceable black market!' Lloyd shrieked internally with absolute, euphoric terror. 'A secret society sitting directly under the noses of the great clans! A place where tracking, spell limitations, and clan politics completely cease to exist!'
Cassie felt a cold chill run down her spine. 'She is facilitating a cabal. By offering us a space of absolute secrecy and safety, she is binding us to her. We will become dependent on this gathering, and in return, we will become her hands in the Waking World.'
It was terrifying. It was brilliant. And, Cassie realized with a sinking feeling, it was incredibly useful.
Cassie's mind raced. If this was a platform for exchange, she needed to test its limits and bounds immediately. She needed to understand the value of the other person in the room. She turned her head slightly toward Lloyd.
"If that is the case," Cassie said, her voice shifting from the reverence reserved for a god to the calm tone of a lady "May I test the nature of this exchange?"
Cielle gave a single, slow nod. "Proceed."
Cassie turned fully toward Lloyd. "I do not know who you are," she said smoothly. "But if Lady Dawn has brought you here, you must possess a unique utility. I am an Oracle. I navigate the currents of fate and unseen truths. What is your domain?"
Lloyd stiffened. He was being interrogated. He looked at the blindfolded girl. She was young, elegant, and possessed an aura of refined, untouchable wealth. She was clearly a heavy hitter in the Waking World.
'She's an Oracle?' Lloyd calculated rapidly. 'Information is her currency. I need to establish my worth without sounding like a desperate, bankrupt loser.'
"I," Lloyd said, puffing out his chest slightly, "am an expert in structural synthesis and civil engineering applied to Dream Realm physics. I understand the earth, excavation, and the architectural logistics of ruins."
Cassie's eyebrows raised slightly. An architectural specialist? A builder?
An idea immediately sparked in her mind. Her cohort, Sunny included, would eventually be entangled in the Chained Isles. Cassie had seen fractured visions of ancient, crumbling Citadels and floating fortresses. They were navigating terrain that defied physics.
"That is a highly specific and valuable skillset," Cassie noted, her tone appreciative. "As it happens, I am currently analyzing an anchor point concerning floating landmasses in the Dream Realm. Specifically, the requirements to stabilize a crumbling stone architecture suspended by unknown gravity."
Lloyd's eyes widened. 'Floating landmasses? The Chained Isles?!'
"I can calculate that," Lloyd said, his voice instantly dropping into something crisp and professional "Given the correct parameters…. I can provide a complete analysis and a reinforcement plan." He paused, his inherent greed momentarily overriding his fear of the deity watching them. "However... such comprehensive analysis requires significant effort."
Cassie smiled, a faint, knowing expression. "An exchange. I understand. If your analysis proves accurate, I can compensate you. currency. Soul Shards. Or perhaps... information regarding the movements of certain Legacy Clans that might affect your... earthly interests."
Lloyd's heart skipped a beat. 'Money! Legacy Clan movements! This Oracle is loaded! I can pay off the interest on my debt by next week!'
"I accept those terms," Lloyd said, trying very hard not to sound eager. "I will prepare the details for our next... convergence."
Cassie nodded in satisfaction. She turned back toward the throne, bowing her head. "Honorable Lady Dawn. Would you be willing to stand as the witness to this transaction? To ensure the sanctity of our exchange?"
On the throne, Cielle stared down at them.
Internally, she was slightly baffled by how quickly they had adopted this bureaucratic roleplay. She had literally just told them they could talk, and within two minutes, they had negotiated a civil engineering contract regarding the Chained Isles. Humans were deeply strange creatures.
"I shall bear witness," Cielle said flatly. "Deception within this sanctuary will not be tolerated."
Both Cassie and Lloyd shivered at the absolute, emotionless certainty in her voice. The threat was not delivered with anger; it was delivered as a simple, inescapable fact.
Cassie took a deep breath. She had established a connection. But the reality of their situation was still pressing down on her. They were forming a secret organization. They were dealing in secrets under the gaze of a being that defied the Nightmare Spell.
"If we are to continue this," Cassie said, her voice echoing in the vast, starry silence, "we must address a critical vulnerability. The Waking World has eyes and ears everywhere. Diviners, Echoes, and spies monitor the flow of wealth and information. If we speak our true names or reveal our mortal identities within this space, the resonance could be tracked. In the presence of such profound essence, speaking a True Name might even bind our fates in ways we cannot predict."
Lloyd nodded vigorously. He completely agreed. The last thing he wanted was for the Frontera Clan's debt collectors to somehow divine that he was secretly moonlighting for a cosmic entity. Or worse, the oracle knowing his true identity
"The Oracle speaks reason, Great Lady," Lloyd said respectfully. "Anonymity is the shield of the wise."
Cielle considered this. 'Aliases? It is a logical measure to prevent themself from getting exposed. It also means I do not have to memorize their actual names, which is efficient.'
"You may adopt titles," Cielle permitted, her emerald eyes glowing through the veil. "Choose your designations."
Cassie was already prepared. She was a guide, a reader of the cosmos, relying on the faint light in the darkness to chart her course. Furthermore, she was standing beneath a sky of infinite, glittering nebulas inside the domain of a being called Dawn.
"Within these halls," Cassie said softly, her voice carrying a profound sense of destiny. "I shall be known as... The Star."
Cielle gave a microscopic nod. She turned her gaze to the young man.
Lloyd Frontera's brain began to churn. He needed a title. Something that sounded ancient, wise, and profoundly mystical, while simultaneously capturing his current situation, which was hiding in a cheap apartment, dodging phone calls from creditors, and doing math alone in the dark.
He was isolated. He sought hidden knowledge to dig himself out of a hole. He was kind of like a stray…. But he would turn his life around.
"I..." Lloyd began, straightening his posture to look as dignified as possible. "I shall be known as... The Hermit."
Cassie glanced in his direction, her blind eyes unreadable. 'The Hermit?' she thought. 'A seeker of solitary wisdom. One who wants to understand the deeper foundations of the world. A fitting title for an architect of the arcane.'
If only she knew.
"The Star. The Hermit," Cielle repeated, her voice etching the titles into the very fabric of the dimension. "It is recorded."
The initial business was concluded. Cielle had successfully established contact, validated the mechanism of her ability, and observed the subjects interacting without their minds collapsing. Furthermore, she had been sitting on the cold marble throne for far too long, and her body in the basement was likely starting to experience mild muscle cramps.
It was time to conclude the experiment.
"Our convergence is complete," Cielle announced, her voice signaling the end of the audience. The ambient starlight in the ruined cathedral began to hum, vibrating with latent energy.
Cassie and Lloyd immediately stiffened, recognizing the shift in the atmosphere. The heavy, oppressive gravity of the dimension seemed to hold its breath.
"We shall convene regularly," Cielle stated. "Prepare your knowledge, your questions, and your resources. When the time is optimal, I will open the gates to the sanctuary once more."
"We hear and obey, Lady Dawn," Lloyd said, instantly dropping back into a deep, groveling bow.
"Thank you for your grace," Cassie added, lowering her head respectfully.
On the throne, Cielle simply raised her right hand and simply willed the conceptual tethers holding their consciousness to detach.
"Dismissed," she said.
With a single, effortless flick of her wrist, the ruined cathedral, the starlight, and the colossal, six-winged entity vanished in a blinding flash of pure, white light.
***
In the Waking World, inside her house, Cassie gasped, her eyes snapping open. She fell forward, her hands bracing against the floor as her senses violently reasserted themselves. The smell of the room, the hum of the world outside, it all rushed back, feeling painfully mundane compared to the cosmic vastness she had just left.
She was drenched in a cold sweat, her heart hammering against her ribs.
'It wasn't a vision' Cassie realized, her trembling hands gripping quite dancer.' It was real. Lady Dawn. The Star. The Hermit.'
She had just become a founding member of a mysterious faction.
Across the city, in a squalid apartment littered with instant noodle cups, Lloyd Frontera shot up from the floor with a strangled yell.
He scrambled backward until his back hit the peeling wallpaper, his chest heaving as he frantically looked around. The obsidian knife was lying innocently on the floor a few feet away.
Lloyd stared at it for a long, quiet moment. Then, he looked at his hands. They were shaking.
Slowly, an incredibly ugly, ear-to-ear grin stretched across his face.
'The Hermit!' Lloyd thought, his eyes burning like a maniac. 'Oh, the Frontera Clan is back in business!'
I have recently starting lotm which i had been putting off for a while now, im almost at the end of vol 2 and i gotta say that the taste of a Demoness, a prisoner, a therapist, a magician, and ofcourse amon(Cant he like, steal your v card....) aint bad at all... ok maybe i dont wanna throw up maggots? im probably gonna regret saying that too. And that too. ANd that also. Im gonna keep going until i cant find more world for that too. In addition i should not have said that. Further more that last comment was pathetic. On top of that..... Cant wait for gehrman.