"Let's get out of here, shall we?" I muttered aloud, even though no one was around to hear me over the weather. The rain wasn't too heavy—just a steady, bone-chilling drizzle—but it was bearable.
I was already soaking wet, but honestly, I appreciated the brief moment of silence. My head was still spinning. I knew for a fact that I now had a massive target on my back and needed to be extremely careful. An actual Angel of War was out there planning to hunt me down for sport.
I kept my head low and walked through the rain, heading back toward the hotel where Arthur and Sera were staying. A funny thought crossed my mind on the way. Knowing those two, Arthur was either dead asleep or completely missing, and Sera was probably just chilling by a window, looking out at the rain and complaining about the humidity ruining his aesthetic.
I guess we'll see soon enough. But the very first thing I needed to do when I walked through that door was figure out a way to test Sera. I needed to see what the Angel of Fate and Time thought of my destiny, and more importantly, I needed to know if he knew that I knew exactly who he was.
As I was walking past a local tavern, I spotted something peculiar pinned to a soggy notice board.
It was a newspaper from the capital, dated about three days ago. That would put it right around the time we were still out at sea, cruising through the fog toward Bransy Town.
What I read completely blew my mind.
The bold black headline screamed:
PENDRAGON FAMILY DIES SUDDENLY IN THE NIGHT
What do you mean the Pendragon family died suddenly? I stumbled back a half-step, reading the damp newsprint again just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.
Suddenly, the puzzle pieces snapped into place. It made total sense now why Arthur had disappeared for a while right before this trip. When I had asked him where he went, he had casually brushed it off.
He had simply said he went to London.
My mind raced. Arthur was a Tier 5 Grandmaster of the Dragon sequence. What the hell happened back in the capital that resulted in his entire family dying? Did he kill them himself? Or did someone else do it, and he went there to retaliate?
Either way, something was incredibly fishy.
I stood there in the rain, staring at the paper. Well... we've been traveling together for a bit now. I think we're close enough that I can just walk into the hotel and ask him directly.
Right?
-------
I stepped back into the hotel and headed straight for my room. I didn't see Arthur or Sera anywhere in the lobby, which was fine by me. I needed absolute privacy.
I had to contact the Sin of Lust. The problem was figuring out exactly how to do that. I knew she had given me her honorary title back in her dimension, but knowing the words and actually using them to make a cross-country metaphysical phone call were two different things.
As soon as I locked the door behind me, I peeled off my ruined, blood-soaked coat and changed into something dry and comfortable. Leaning against the wall in the corner of the room was my silver cane.
Oh, I have missed you, my dear. I've developed such a bad habit—I struggle to generate and stabilize enough royal blue Ether without it. I grabbed the cane, sighing with relief as the cool metal instantly grounded my energy, and sat down at the small desk near the bed.
So, how was I supposed to do this?
Hmm... hey, System. How do I do this? Now seems like the perfect time for you to actually be helpful, right?
[Notice: I am always here, Lucian. And please, you can just call me Kallisto.]
Hmm. Kallisto. Alright, I'll do that from now on.
[Notice: To answer your question, you must enter your Cenotaph of Pride. By doing so, you will be completely safe from external interference or tracking. From there, you just read her honorary title.]
Oh, is that so? So how do I enter my Cenotaph? I really don't want to chant my own weird honorary title out loud in a cheap hotel room.
[Notice: Entering the Cenotaph of Pride.]
Wait... what? Right now?!
My vision instantly blackened. The hotel room vanished, replaced by the endless, dark void of my soul.
[Location: The Throne of Glass.] [I, Kallisto, welcome the owner.]
Thank you, Kallisto.
The scene was exactly the same as the last time I was here—just an invisible throne in an empty, echoing gap between seconds. But the Cenotaph of Pride had a new owner now, which meant it needed a serious interior design update.
Hey, Kallisto? You there?
[Yes.]
Can you change the scenery, please?
[I can manifest your will. Yes.]
Perfect. Change it into a grand, dark castle hall. Put a massive, long obsidian table in the center. Give it three high-backed chairs on the left side, three on the right, and one grand, dominant throne at the very head of the table where I'll be sitting.
[Processing...]
The dark void instantly shifted and morphed. Massive stone pillars grew from nothingness. A heavy, beautiful black table materialized in the center of the room, flanked by six chairs, with one towering throne at the head.
I did this for a very specific reason. When the other Sins finally awakened out there in the real world, I was going to pull them all into my Cenotaph. We were going to hold regular meetings right here. I'd call it the Gathering of the Seven Deadly Sins.
I walked up and sat down in the main throne, leaning back and resting my hands on the armrests. It felt incredibly right. After a moment of daydreaming about my future dark council, I focused on the task at hand.
I pulled the memory of Luxuria, the Sin of Lust, to the front of my mind. I needed to speak her honorary title in Nepshi, the ancient language of the Gods. I took a deep breath, letting the royal blue Ether resonate in my throat.
"One of the Seven Deadly Sins." "The embodiment of creation and life." "The true ruler of the Mirror of Narcissus, under the Velvet Monarch."
I paused, deciding to add a little extra dramatic flair for my own ego.
"I, the Sin of Pride, Lucifer Morningstar, command you to enter my domain."
Okay, my name obviously isn't Lucifer, but my Tier 2 rank is literally 'The Morningstar.' I had to make it sound believable and intimidating, right?
A second later, the air to the left of my throne rippled. As if answering a cosmic summons, a figure began to manifest in the seat closest to me.
It was her. She didn't look exactly the same as when I first met her in her own dimension; her physical form was hazy, and her face was blurred by a veil of static-like Ether, likely because we were communicating purely across mental space.
She stood up and bowed her head respectfully toward the head of the table.
"Yes, my Lord. I am here," her sultry, echoing voice filled the stone hall. "How may I be of service to you?"
I leaned forward, resting my chin on my hands, a genuinely pleased smirk crossing my face.
Well. This works out perfectly.