NOVPUBPov Hades:
I and the other Heralds were together with the two Saints of master Zenos as well as Vanessa, who is the Saint of the Blood.
The room where we were is inside the Communal Temple and at that moment there was only silence as we waited for Cinthia to wake up from her meditation.
"What should we do if the worst becomes true?" (I)
"The process is very fast, I’ve never heard of anything close to this." (Vanessa)
"We can talk to Elizabeth, she seemed to have thought of something about this or at least she has some idea of what we can do." (Alice)
"I still think we should talk to Zenos." (Karina)
"We all here agreed to speak with Master Zenos, but we need a concrete idea about the situation and a solution to present, but so far we are working with assumptions." (I)
"That’s all we have, the master’s powers change frequently and we haven’t learned enough in that period of time, even the 3 of us as Heralds have to rely on instincts to make these guesses." (Haku)
"I tried praying to the Goddess Selene, but I got nothing, she seems to be busy with something important as she closed my connection with her." (Vanessa)
Everyone was trying to think of a lot of things, but maybe we are overcomplicating something that should be simple.
"Is everyone at the Dungeon okay?" (I)
"The people of the capital city were affected first, they also woke up first, those of the Iron Blood are still unconscious and their bodies have stopped emanating Star Aura, only the insects are completely asleep in cocoons." (Alice)
"I’d like to take a look at everyone, but it might be risky at this point, but clearly there have been changes and not a lot of them." (Haku)
"It was at the same time? Are you sure?" (I)
"Yes, I felt it when it happened and Alice felt it too." (Karina)
"Karina is right and so you know, I already expected something like this, Zenos has always had a strong connection with Nature, what he did in the last few days was the same as imprinting himself on Nature at a fundamental level, not expecting changes would be irrational." (Alice)
"Yes, Master Zenos must have undergone changes, so what everyone felt was a ripple effect." (Haku)
"A valid theory unfortunately tells us nothing." (Haku)
All the people in the Dungeon were unconscious, the only ones who didn’t fall unconscious were those inside the Fairy or Spirit World.
The time it happened was also right after the last of the 3 sources of power was complete, saying that the two events are linked is the least I can expect.
All those unconscious people have their Aura appearing like a flame burning around them. Stars appear in the Aura as it burns, shining in different colors for each individual, this process was called by everyone the Stellar Aura.
"It doesn’t look like it did anything bad, but keep monitoring." (I)
I was worried about everyone’s reaction, but the real problem is something that only I noticed and that’s why I made Cinthia confirm it, making the others understand my suspicions.
It didn’t take long for her eyes to open, a little cloudy before they gained brightness, then a slight smile formed on her lips, something extremely sad since I met her for the first time.
"Confirmed?" (I)
"Yes, the Star Path is changing, I don’t know how or the end result, but I felt many Souls being taken there." (Cinthia)
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Pov Zenos:
Once I left the Fairy World and regained a physical body, it was strange in many ways, my perception of reality changed a lot with the creation of the Power Sources, it also changed the way I perceive the interaction of the physical and the ethereal.
I realized that there were many things to get used to my Aura senses that I was forced to develop far beyond what I intended in the Fairy World and in the Spirit World it was adding to my normal body senses which had become stronger now.
There were many things in my head to resolve and yet I was dragged once again with no time to rest, I was taken directly to the Communal Temple in a specific room where I found many eyes pointed in my direction.
"(Without a second of rest...)" (I)
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For the next hour they told everything that had happened in the Dungeon and their theories on the matter, I also listened to the reports about the Star path and the Star Aura, I’m starting to realize that my cost for the night sky might be a little too great since it’s affecting so directly my powers like that.
After listening to them all and delirious a few minutes to think I realized what the problem could be, which in turn was an indicator for another situation and would need some preparation.
Hades, taking the lead, delivered a list that I already know very well. I also understood what he wanted and agreed that it would be necessary.
"Choosing like this is a waste of time." (I)
"I have to look at these Divine Herald candidates more closely and one of them has yet to wake up." (I)
There were a few names on the list that I had considered before, but one name among them was something I really didn’t want to do, the name of someone I hadn’t even considered because I’d never talked to her.
"Why did you put her name on the list?" (I)
"If we are going to choose those with the greatest affinity with one of the Essences that the master possesses, then among all of them she is the only one that meets this criteria for the Essence we are going to seek." (Hades)
"I understand... I prefer it to be Ivan, but he is linked to the Goddess of death." (I)
I may not know which Essence I’m going to get now, but thinking about what has already happened, it will be something associated with my Familiars and the only one missing is Hinata, so the least I can expect is something associated with death or Ghosts, other than that I can’t Don’t even think about anything else, Hinata is an outlier in many aspects to the point of not even knowing how to categorize what she could be.
"Xagar and Fiona are possibilities, but I’d like to think more about it, but the last name... I don’t remember who that is." (I)
"Do you remember the insect attack on the world where the Saint of Life was?" (Hades)
"Yes, but what does it have to do..." (I)
"I think I understand, but she’s not exactly attached to me like the others on the list." (I)
"Master, her level of devotion even surpasses Cinthia to the point that it would be harmful if it continues like this." (Hades)
"What are you thinking?" (I)
"She is an Insect Empress, the powers she receives can be used in her specialty which are large-scale confrontations, which is our worst point so far, her faith in you is absolute, she has Authority and does not have any kind of Essence." (Hades)
"She meets all the requirements except 1." (I)
"She doesn’t have a strong connection with me." (I)
"I believe that her absolute faith can be considered as a strong possibility, if we first use the Awakening Ceremony to transform her into a Priestess or a Hero, perhaps we can elevate her to a Herald." (Hades)
"If it’s about that, then why not take one of my Heroes or Priestess Eva?" (I)
"Eva would add more to what we already have, her powers fall in the same category as Haku, her Heroes are a big no." (Hades)
"Veronica and Loki cannot become Heralds, they were once Gods and have their own Essences, the path to becoming Gods again is not closed." (Hades)
"While Athena, she seems to be awakening an Essence, she herself hasn’t noticed it yet and I only noticed it after being pointed out by Mrs. Natasha who trains with her." (Hades)
"I did not know that." (I)
"There is a lot that the master doesn’t know, you can’t take care of everything and everyone, that’s why we’re here to take care of what we can." (Hades)
"Thank you, but now what should I do..." (I)
"(Many of the names here like Sapphire and Jade can be crossed out, they both have strong leadership roles within the Dungeon and cannot be at my disposal all the time, the same goes for my children.)" (I)
"I’m going to meet these 4, but first I have to awaken this statue." (I)
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Pov Ibuki’s:
When I left the Fairy World I knew that Zenos would be fine, so even though I saw that something strange was happening inside the Dungeon, I realized that it wasn’t something I could help with and I was taken once again to the Goddess of Blood.
But once the blood left my body opening a portal around me where I was sucked in and before I knew it I was in a ruined war camp, freshly torn bodies and worn out weapons are everywhere, the smell of blood permeates the air and she was sitting in a chair drinking a glass of what looked like blood, an elegant and calm image compared to the brutality around her.
I knelt in front of her without delay, whether as Zenos’ mother or as the Goddess of Blood, she deserves my complete respect.
"Thank you again..." (I)
"Don’t say anything else, you don’t need to bow either." (Goddess Selene)
"What you guys want is something I more than approve of, I also see potential, so let’s not waste any time." (Goddess Selene)
