"Have you gone mad? You want to cancel such an opportunity."
Julian's calm demeanour broke for a moment. Blinking her eyes momentarily, she wondered if she heard something wrong.
ƥandasnovel·ƈom Shaking her head, she decided to hear his reason first.
"Why? First, tell me the reason."
"I mean, can't we do the blessing ceremony in the academy? Saintess Luna can also take this opportunity to visit here to reminisce about her past."Lucas suggested with a pleading gaze.
Holy Land is a neutral zone that is present between the three empires. Since they don't have an academy like this, The Saintess is sent to study at the Academy of Empire in the cycle. The Previous Saintess studied in Ralph while Saintess Luna studied here and she is a senior of Julian.
"Is that the only reason?"Julian asked.
"Also, this whole journey is too cumbersome," Lucas spoke dryly.
"Is there anything that's not cumbersome for you?"
Julian stared at Lucas's blank expression trying to discern his hidden thoughts. It sounded unbelievable but as far as she knew,8 out of 10 things are cumbersome for this guy.
Julian's expression sank for a moment.
Sighing heavily, she explained to Lucas.
"Originally, this blessing ceremony was scheduled to happen here and Bishop Ian of the Cathedral of Ivan was going to conduct it. I planned to take leave to visit Saintess Luna for some personal reasons. Vice-Principal Josh, after hearing this, got the idea to take you all there so I requested Saintess Luna to oversee the Blessing ceremony and thankfully she agreed. Actually, she is quite excited to see the future generation of Horizon."
Hearing the inner details, Lucas fell into deep thoughts.
'If it's like this, the Princess would be put in an awkward position if the schedule is changed. It seems I have to go there.'
Noticing Lucas' sinking mood, Julian spoke softly"Actually if possible, I would also like to proceed as per your proposal but we can't. She might be called a Saintess but her seat isn't fixed. The previous Saintess is in a coma, not dead. So to solidify her seat further, she needs to prove herself. That's why she is quite busy. We will put her in a difficult spot if we ask her to visit here at this time."
"I see. Sorry for putting you in a troublesome spot."Lucas apologised.
"It's okay. You can leave today. I have taken care of the task. Just prepare for the journey."
Giving a brief nod, Lucas left without speaking anymore.
As he was about to step out, he heard Julian's words from behind.
"Congratulations on getting first in the Battle Royal. I know it might be overwhelming but if you require any help, this door is always open for you."
Lucas's eyes widened upon hearing Julian's words. This might look simple but when it comes from Julian it's like a declaration that she will support him and will help him in time of need.
"Thanks!"Lucas bowed her head and walked out.
Seeing his receding back, Julian murmured"How odd! Why are you so difficult to deal with? Your thoughts are always difficult to grasp."
"It's as if there is a huge burden on you due to which you can't be careless even for a moment. What do you fear?"
"More than that, why do I feel so peaceful when I am with you as if you will never betray me? I need to get those answers. Even if I can't know about you, at least I can know about the inner turmoil that I feel when I am with you. I hope Senior Luna might know something."
Thinking about all those questions Julian sank deeper into endless thoughts.
....
The sun dyed the garden with a golden glow. Chirps of birds ringing in rhythm filtered through the rustle of grasses and leaves. The dusk chorus erupted as the sun settles down the horizon.
With a deep sigh, Lucas walked towards the garden to ease himself.
"I can only hope for the best now."
Strolling through the garden, Lucas came across a familiar figure that stood near the pond.
"Professor Shiya!"
Murmuring faintly, Lucas walked towards her.
"Hello Lucas, you have grown quite a bit since I saw you."
"It's just your illusion, Professor."Lucas waved her hand and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Waiting for you?"
Lucas's brows creased upon hearing her words.I think you should take a look at
"Did you perhaps know that I will be coming here?"
To Lucas's question, Shiya just nodded her head gently with a warm smile.
"How?"
"Spirits told me?"
Seeing Lucas's confused expression, Shiya explained"Do you know how most seers do divination? They borrow the power of spirits as a medium."
"How can the spirit know the future?"Lucas asked curiously. He knew many things about them but their connections with Seers and about this topic, his knowledge was still vague.
"Whether it's past, present, and future. The spirits knew about it all."Shiya then waved her hand.
A small cute girl appeared over her shoulder.
"This Aerin. She is a mid-grade wind spirit. She can only communicate with me through telepathy."
Aerin rose and sat over Aerin's head.
"She looks cute," Lucas murmured, extending his hands to touch her but she disappeared as if she disliked Lucas.
"Spirit can be categorized into low, intermediate, and High. The highest-grade spirits are the King Spirit which is synonymous with the God of the elemental class spirits. After a spirit becomes a High-Class spirit, it can enter the Spirit realm."
"Spirit Realm!"Lucas's eyes widened.
"Is there a whole realm just for a spirit?"
"Yes, there is a whole realm while the spirit lives similarly to us. The Spirit realm is independent of the world. There is no concept of time in that place. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow are all the same. However, what makes it interesting is that a spirit can transfer a part of the thoughts and feelings to the past self."
Lucas had a sudden realization on hearing this.
"Since they can enter our world freely that means they can observe the flow of the world and each spirit can receive a bit of future knowledge from its future self," Lucas muttered.
"Correct!"Shiya returned a smile.
"Wait!Wait!I am confused. Isn't this too op? I mean, this feels out of balance."Lucas scratched his head in confusion.
"That's why they can only transfer a part. Only a King level spirit can transfer a whole vision, however you must know that the future is changing and the future they envision might never happen."Shiya spoke with a smile.
"By the way, why are you explaining this to me? It feels odd."
Shiya took a moment to seize Lucas and then gave him a mysterious one that baffled Lucas.
Walking towards him, he pulled Lucas's hand, much to his surprise.
"What are you doing?"Lucas tried to pull back his hand but she tightened her hold and pointed at his wrist on the right arm.
"Arghhhhhhh!"
Lucas felt a searing pain on his skin as if thousands of ants were biting the same spot.
"It's over!"Shiya released the hold.
Lucas jumped back in panic and looked at his wrist.
There was a small circle tattoo with an image of a Phoenix-like bird.
"What's this? A slave symbol?"Lucas's body jolted in shock and his heart became uneasy.
"Aren't you thinking too much? What did you think of me?"Shiya muttered, puffing her cheek.
"This is something that will help you. Believe me, you will need it."Shiya then gave a wink with a crooked smile.
"I will need it. Did you know something, Professor Shiya?"
"Not much. I only know this will help you. Nothing more. I am not a seer after all," replying, Professor Shiya walked away hurriedly as if trying to hide something.
Lucas, who didn't know what was going on, just stood there bewildered.
"What the hell is going on here? Do you need to act so mysterious?"Lucas grumbled seeing Professor Shiya disappearing back.
"This is making me more uncomfortable," Lucas spoke with a deep sigh.