The Oracle Paths

When Jake resurfaced at the surface of the dying star, Hade and Asfrid could tell by his still agitated countenance that something had happened below. But when they saw him shaking his head they refrained from inquiring further.

They boarded the ship and a few seconds later the planet Quanoth and the colossal Aurae showed up in their field of vision. After getting off the ship, it sped away on autopilot to bring the other refugees to safety as originally planned.

"Ready to go back?" Asfrid swallowed listlessly as she sighted the Mana Storm, which had expanded significantly in a few hours.

Now, a good quarter of the Shatug Empire was also covered. Those who had been enjoying the sunlight until then must have succumbed to panic when the sun was magically extinguished. If some still had doubts about the impending apocalypse, they now had no choice but to believe in it.

"I'm not, but our friends need us down there." Hade said matter of factly, but from his twitching brow he was somewhat apprehensive.

Jake, on the other hand, was regally serene, which confounded his two comrades.

"Are you really that confident? " They marveled, each raising an eyebrow.

Jake smiled stiffly in response.

"I'm not. But it doesn't matter anymore."

He levitated until he was hovering a few feet above the Mana Storm, then cast a knowing look at Aurae. He was attempting a bluff, but somehow he was sure it would work.

And indeed, the Mana Storm flowed back, forming a tunnel wide enough for the trio.

"H-how?" Hade stammered in amazement.

"Aurae needs this Mana Storm for the Ordeal to work properly and I have a way to destroy it." Jake replied cheerlessly.

While storing his Grade 10 Aether Core, he had received a notification from the Oracle System that he was not allowed to use this treasure on Quanoth. In return, his final Ordeal rating would take this fact into account so as not to penalize him unfairly.

Aurae could of course let him sacrifice several Grade 4 Aether Cores, but that would be totally unfair as Jake could easily destroy this Mana Storm with his Grade 10 Aether Core without taking any risk. The Ancient Designer could of course stop him, but that would be overstepping his rights.

So instead, Aurae simply chose to let them pass. Since they would have survived anyway, he might as well make a small compromise.

A moment later, they crossed back through the dark clouds and met up with the Myrtharian Nerds who were still waiting for them down below like Mufasa. It was dark, but it didn't matter anymore; there was no more sun.

An hour later, Jake and his group flew across the Serinese Theocracy border and landed near a Mirror Vanguard hideout. On their way, they came across several Schwazen patrols but they made short work of them.

"So that's the Purple Hell I've heard so much about." Hade exclaimed as he admired the vast false sky of the artifact they had just appeared in.

"You're finally here." Vexa wore a relieved expression as he saw that Jake was unharmed. "What did you do to get here so late? I spent the evening tending to the wounds of four of your companions."

As he said this, the cube man carefully scanned the changes in Jake's expression, but Jake remained indifferent.

"Thank you for your help. Sorry for the inconvenience." Hade thanked him politely with an awkward laugh.

Since they didn't want to talk about it, Vexa didn't beat around the bush. His face hardened and he snorted in a deep voice,

"The disappearance of the sun? That was you?"

"Cough, I'm afraid so." Jake cleared his throat coyly.

Vexa looked at each of them in turn, then realizing they wouldn't elaborate he dropped the matter and uttered,

" War council in five minutes. "

Five minutes later, Jake, Hade, Asfrid, Lucia and a few other Myrtharian Nerds like Hephais, Haynt, Aisling, Xaverie and Kenway met with Vexa, Prysm, Radur and a few other Mirror Vanguard higher-ups around a stark table.

Jake and the others expected one of the Mirror Vanguard officers to speak, but it was Hephais who officially started the meeting with Vexa's consent.

"While Boss and the others were training, I was involved in intelligence gathering to prepare for the upcoming special operation." The Assassin reminded them first to get everyone up to speed. "For the past six weeks, Mirror Vanguard and I have been spying on the Schwazens, but it wasn't until nine days ago that we perhaps finally discovered their weak point."

Hephais paused, but Vexa and Radur nodded to him to continue. Being only a guest here he continued,

"Let's start with the bad news. Ruby Hale has been chosen as their new Oracle and for that they will hold a sacred ritual tomorrow night at the end of which their 'god' will make her its divine emissary by granting her some of its power. If it works out as planned, she will become at least a Virtue, but more likely a Throne. A Digestor Throne."

The faces of everyone, including Vexa and the other Mirror Vanguard Players turned ugly. They may have already known about this, but it was still very bad news. But being a Throne was more about angelic quality than power. Being a Throne would give her tremendous growth potential, but it would take much longer for her to pose a threat to Players like Vexa and Radur.

In any case, Jake now knew why the attack had to happen tomorrow at the latest.

"The second piece of bad news is that she's not the only Digestor Trojans on Quanoth." Hephais then announced. "In addition to Ruby, six other Players of various species will also participate in this ritual. Together, the seven of them will have the full loyalty of the Schwazen army once the ceremony is over."

Now that was news for Mirror Vanguard to worry about. Jake and the other Myrtharian Nerds were only concerned with recapturing Ruby. The other Digestor Trojans could die.

However, putting it into perspective, Jake thought it was all for the best. Even if Ruby died or slipped through the net, they had six more chances. They only needed one of those seven to achieve their goal.

"Now for the good news." Hephais grinned sinisterly, "Not all Schwazens are corrupt. They were originally an angelic race that served Aurae. One of their six Virtues, Caphriel, is currently in quarantine with the angels loyal to her in the Temple of Aurae in the capital. She has already been contacted and if we can free her she will fight on our side. She has also promised to grant all our requests as long as they are not excessive.

"We're talking about a Virtue of Aurae, not just any angel. If we can save her, our chances of victory will increase by at least 30%."

Jake was already thinking about something else. He had been frustrated that he couldn't devour those Corrupted Angel feathers, but now that he knew there were pure Schwazens out there he could allow himself to dream again.

If this Virtue named Caphriel was as pure of heart and soul as the angels portrayed in the literature of his childhood then perhaps Ruby still had a chance to regain some semblance of self-control.

Jake was also interested in these angels' bloodline because he had a gut feeling that it would allow him to harness the power of Divinities. It should not be forgotten that he still had the Divinity of Shamash in his possession. Therefore, he not only wanted to munch on some feathers, but also some of their Blood Essence.

"How do we free her?" Lucia questioned as she crossed her arms. "I suppose such a Virtue must be closely guarded."

"Thank you Hephais. I'll take over frow now." Vexa stepped in to answer the impatient young woman. "The three Virtues who attacked me six weeks ago are usually on standby at the capital, but they are mobile. Their job is to eradicate any threat to their Theocracy. A fourth, exclusively protects the capital and the temple dedicated to their dark cult. The fifth, accompanied by 20 Powers, watches over every move of the angels in the Temple of Aurae.

"The plan is as follows. Mirror Vanguard and I will devise a scheme to lure the three mobile Virtues out of the capital. Although I cannot defeat them, I am confident that I can keep them busy for a few hours with the help of my men. It won't be like last time.

"Radur and his men will lay siege to the capital, and more precisely to their main temple, to engage the Fourth Virtue and his army of angels. He will also make sure to attack the Temple of Aurae to hopefully taunt the fifth Virtue."

The cube man solemnly stared at each Myrtharian Nerds present and then officially declared,

"Your role as Myrtharian Nerds will be to sneak into the two under-protected temples to rescue or kill the Digestor Trojans, but also to free Caphriel and her retinue. I hope I don't have to point out what the priority objective is between these two targets.

"Myrtharian Nerds, do you accept this mission?"

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