Chương 102: Chapter 101: Loose Ends

Looking around the Hall, I wanted to stay, at least a little longer. The way the people I could easily call comrades now enjoyed themselves, the atmosphere of the feast, the company of my friends were all reasons enough to do so. But there were still things I wanted to do tonight, and I had questions that needed to be answered. I slipped away amidst the dancing, deciding not to say goodbyes for now, and started jogging towards Tidemark's Temple.

Both the square and the church itself had been cleaned up nicely, with not a single scorch mark or pile of rubble to remind people of what had happened there just a day ago. The door was open, like usual, and the faint light of hundreds of candles filled the main chamber as I passed through. I didn't see a soul, but I was almost certain that the person I was looking for would be here. I was right.

I found Father Aldric in his personal chamber, leaning over inscriptions and books, frantically looking for something he wasn't sure would be there. I had a pretty good guess what he was trying to find.

"Excuse me, Your Holiness," I said, knocking on his door. He looked up for a brief moment, then returned to a paragraph he was reading.

"Orion, come in! Come in!" I sat in the only chair that wasn't filled with books over a century old, by the looks of them.

"I suppose you have questions to ask me, child," Aldric said without looking up from the book.

"And I'm afraid my answers are going to be disappointingly vague. But still," he continued, "ask away."

"The dark mages, from yesterday," I started, "were they members of the Church of Abyss?"

"I'm afraid so. The crystal used against us, the monsters flooding the Salt Plains, the nullification field, and a spell strong enough to put an entire city to sleep… They definitely had ties with the Void. Abyssal worship, Chaos magic, and who knows what else. It would be foolish to assume otherwise."

"What did they want?"

"That," he sighed, "is what I want to figure out as well, with very little luck so far, I might add." He finally closed the book he was reading, and I could now read the title: Sects and Cults of Cindar.

"It is tremendously worrying that they were here, however. And in numbers greater than I would have liked." I was debating mentioning that 'one' was probably already more than anyone would have liked, but I left it at that in the end.

"Father Aldric," I stood and stepped to his table.

"When the Count's host reached the Knight's Tower, when Count Robert got the upper hand against Darius…" I looked him in the eye.

"Calian seemed like he didn't care. He leisurely retreated with a smile on his face."

"A worrying sign, indeed. What were the reasons for the alliance between Calian and the Church of Abyss, if it wasn't about taking control over the county? Why did they support Darius? Why did they manipulate him to hate the count for years?" He stood up as well, putting the book back on the shelf before taking a new one in his hands.

"I have been researching the Abyss ever since you gave me the sigil on the piece of rubble. I have sent people to examine Carpa's chapel for further information, and sent word to all the other High Priests of the kingdom." I was glad an important figure like him took the matter so seriously, even before the Civil War.

"Do you think something similar could happen in the other counties?"

"It would be foolish not to take it into consideration. We believed that the Church of Abyss had no influence past the borders of Baal, and yet, here they were. And if they were here, they could be anywhere."

"Did anything go missing from the temple? Or the Knight's Tower? Or—""It was the first thing I'd checked," he stopped me in my thoughts.

"They took no relics of this temple, nothing valuable from the Tower or the Palace, and they didn't even enter Elindra's tower," he said as he sat down again, opening the new book to keep looking for answers.

"And yet, they left as if they succeeded in getting what they wanted." My gears were grinding. They took nothing from the city. They didn't get their hands on the Trident. They didn't overthrow the Count. The casualties of battle, though painful, were minimal. Why did that damn man have a smile so smug?

"I know what you're thinking," Aldric smiled at me.

"But trust me, young ranger, ruminating on this will not help you solve the problem."

"What will, then?"

"Time, most likely." I knew he was right. There was nothing I could do but wait.

"Regardless, the sigil you gave me helped my research a lot, and I think some rewards would be appropriate for your help. Quest Completed! Sigil Beneath the Chapel Presence +1, 20, 000 EXP"I wish you the best for all your adventures to come, young ranger! May you always have the strength to do what you must!"

"Aren't you supposed to tell me to have faith, too?" He laughed.

"Can you tell me what faith is, son?" The question took me by surprise. In all honesty, I wasn't very well-versed in the lore of religion in Godsrealm.

"I'm not talking about the gods," he waved, as if he was reading my mind, "or the religions of these lands. Do you know what faith is, Orion?" The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Faith is believing in something, isn't it?"

"Faith is confidence, trust, and assurance in something not immediately visible or fully proven," he smiled.

"Some people, they put their faith in gods and other powers incomprehensibly far above us, far enough that it renders all of our decisions insignificant." I was a bit confused. Was I really talking to a High Priest?

"For others, faith is in the rulers—kings and emperors—they trust to make their lives better." He took off his holy necklace and put it on the table.

"Or in symbols eons old, that ward against evil and bring good luck to anyone wearing them." He went to the other side of the room and pulled out a sword from a dusty scabbard.

"Others put their faith in strength. Theirs, their loved ones, people who protect them." He put the sword back, then turned to me.

"None of their faiths are right or wrong, of course. It only matters that they are right for them. Because, you see, everyone has faith in one thing or another. Faith has a thousand faces, ever changing, never leaving. So how could I tell anyone to have faith, when they already do?" I remembered his words for a very long time after that day.

"But you serve the gods, right?"

"The Five Gods of Cindar, Talia, Dharc, Sindra, Kwynreth, and Helen are the pillars of religion in nine of the twelve kingdoms of the continent. There are old manuscripts, about people who had claimed they saw one or the other, that they were their chosen, their messiahs, and their prophets. Maybe they were," he sighed, "I can't say. What I can say is what these five gods and their prophets preach in the ancient documents. They talk about duty, love, honor, justice, family, wisdom, fairness, home, and safety.

About things worth believing in. About things worth putting one's faith in." He put his hand on my shoulder.

"I serve the people, Orion. And I can serve them the best by serving their faith." I never thought of myself as a religious man; however, at that moment, I promised myself that in the future, at least once, I would come to the Temple of Tidemark during a sermon, and I would hear what Father Aldric had to say.

I wandered around for a couple more minutes, talking with the High Priest and trying to help him find the answers to the motives of the Church of Abyss, but I quickly realised I wasn't much of a help, so I said my goodbyes and took off. There was at least one more place I wanted to visit before logging off.

I found Court Mage Elindra near the balcony that I was already familiar with. She was in her study room, examining scrolls of unknown origin, while runes were floating around her in a fast fashion.

"You again," she said, not even looking in my general direction.

"What now?"

"I'm sorry for disturbing you, Lady Elindra." I bowed deep.

"I was just looking for answers to yesterday's incident, and I was hoping—""Everyone is looking for answers to yesterday's incident," she interrupted me.

"But you already know that, coming from Aldric, I presume?" I didn't even ask how she knew.

"Apparently, the dark mages were from the Church of Abyss," I started.

"I found their sigil under the Chapel of Carpa."

"Yes, Aldric mentioned it," she nodded.

"I have been using my scrying magic to look for traces, but I didn't have more luck than the holy man."

"I just wanted to ask if maybe you—""If I knew whether Calian was one of them, or just in an uncanny alliance with them?" she guessed. Why is it that everyone in this world can read my mind?

"Well, yes. The Count mentioned you had worked closely with Calian for a while."

"I did. About the city's defenses. That is exactly how they got through my wards." Elindra was furious.

"But don't worry, it won't happen again."

"I'd never doubt you, my lady." She seemed to like that.

"Good. And now listen to me. You were the one to shatter the enemy's Void Crystal. Thank you. I could have done it myself, were it not for the unfortunate circumstances, of course."

"Of course." She either ignored my snarky comment or didn't get it at all.

"And for that, rewards are in place. Take that vial out of the Space-In-Between you adventurers call 'Inventory'." What is she talking about? I opened my inventory and reviewed its contents. I had quite a few items that I didn't get to using, such as the recipe for the Blue Flower Cake, or the Dusk King Carp, and more recently, the exquisite material from the Ravenkin Dreadcaller. As I was checking the items, I suddenly froze. This is what she means. [Woe's Echo] Rare (growth) Its function is unknown.

I summoned the bottle and put it on her table.

"I see you haven't been doing much with this one, have you?"

"I didn't really have the time to—""One has time for what they make time for," she interrupted.

"But I understand. Echoes are not something to be taken lightly." Echoes? I knew it was a special item, judging by the fact that it had the 'growth' suffix, but it looked like a mage like Elindra was quite familiar with it. She took the vial and inspected it with a spell I didn't know. After a bit of humming and walking up and down in the room, she put it back on the table.

"Good. It is in good condition," she mumbled, then looked at me.

"This, young adventurer, is an Echo. Specifically, the Echo of an evil spirit. Or rather, a misjudged one, by the looks of it." I… was not any closer to figuring out the item than before, and Lady Elindra saw it. She sighed before continuing.

"Echoes are valuable magical essences. They allow one to permanently increase one's power, depending on their clarity. This one, we would call a Tier 3 Echo. I believe that is what you adventurers call 'Rare'." We were getting somewhere.

"Consuming a Tier 1 or a Tier 2 Echo is pretty much meaningless. Their effects might be temporary, insignificant, or even both. Tier 3 and up, however, is a completely different domain." She summoned a book out of thin air.

"Tier 3 Echoes usually boost an attribute of the consumer. They can get stronger, faster, they can anchor more mana, or have stronger bodies after drinking it." She was talking about a permanent increase in an attribute. If that was the case, the Woe's Echo was an incredibly good item.

"However, there is some more… fiddling with it, if one wants," she smiled.

"See, Echoes can also consume other Echoes. Although you'd need a Grand Alchemist to help with the process, it is definitely something to consider."

"Why is that?"

"If an Echo consumes enough Echoes to… advance, for lack of a better term, it can grow in power. From Tier 3 to Tier 4. From Tier 4 to Tier 5. And on impossible occasions, even further." If my math was correct, Tier 4 would be Epic, and Tier 5 meant Unique ranked. That means…

"So I could build this Echo up all the way to Legendary?"

"It is possible," she nodded.

"The process is long, and not all Echoes are capable of advancing to the highest Tiers."

"Is this one?

"That, I do not know. However," she added, lifting a finger, "you don't have to decide right now. You can collect Echoes from powerful entities around the world and decide which one to advance at a later point, when you have enough 'fuel' for one." She opened a drawer with telekinesis and summoned another, almost identical vial.

"I know it was you who made my escape from the temple possible, young adventurer," she smirked.

"Quite embarrassing, if I do say so myself, but alas, what is done is done. And you do deserve compensation for it." With that, she handed me the vial, and I accepted it with a bow. [Voidwalker's Echo] Rare (growth) The Echo from an evolved Voidwalker. Slain by Elindra Moonshade. Reading the description, I quickly checked the other vial, and sure enough, its tooltip updated as well. [Woe's Echo] Rare (growth) The Echo from the evil spirit, 'The Woe of Riverhear'. Slain by Orion.

"Thank you, My Lady," I bowed once again.

"Oh, don't mention it! I have little use for Echoes at the moment.

"What happens if an Echo advances?" I asked.

"Well, it can lead to multiple things. But one thing is certain: if one consumes a Tier 4 Echo, or above, that will not just increase the user's properties; they change them into something else." I had a hunch about what she was talking about.

"Some of the greatest heroes of the world had consumed strong Echoes in order to become who they are today," she added.

"My advice would be to keep them for now, adventurer. And keep all of them." She flicked her fingers, and the book disappeared.

"They might fetch a good price, but they are invaluable. And you only need one Echo that fits your needs; it doesn't matter what kinds are used to feed it. The end product will be based on the original Echo."

"Thank you, Lady Elindra, for the gift and for the advice."

"Now go. I have work to do." She shunned me out of the room before I could ask other questions. It was a confusing discussion, but I was fairly sure I knew what she was talking about. The Echoes were potential items for unlocking hidden classes.