NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24: Final Talks
“Now, your beloved Ophelia is doing fine, she has been steadily preparing a home for all of you to live in, it is a place that is beautiful and I swear it will all be worth it in the end. I trust you have more questions than those simple, what is she doing? How is she doing? And where is she? questions” Histy began as she looked at Amelia
“I do. I want to ask about the visions she receives from time to time and why she can’t change them” Amelia asked with a serious look
“Ah, that. The short answer would be that is that she is unable due to us, but that would skip over a lot of details that could clear it up. But if I told you in full, your head would explode from the information” History replied as she walked over to the young mortal,
“Instead I will just do this” she added as she lit up her finger and placed it on Amelia’s forehead
Amelia’s sight was filled with a bright light followed by an array of images that flooded her brain with knowledge, she saw the truths of the world, some of them scared her, some of them fascinated her and some of them outright killed many questions she had deep inside. When her vision returned to normal, her gaze upon Histy was that of understanding and an enriched resolve
“So it was like that” she muttered as she cast her eyes downward
“Unfortunately yes. Were it now for Ophelia’s actions, the world would have ended a hundred times over in the past. But soon things will be different” the goddess replied
“How?”
“When the Andria Eclipse hits the world, it shall be a reset to the system. Meaning that a lot of things will change, monsters will get stronger, magic shall become more defined and even the world will be changing. But I cannot reveal as much as it will ruin the fun” Histy added with a smile
“One thing is for certain though, you will lose your Holy Magic come the end of the eclipse”
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“What?!” Amelia shouted, her body trembling from the information
“Oh, you needn’t worry about that. Your magic will be replaced with something more…potent per say. And I assure you, you will still be able to give healing and blessings” the goddess answered her with a smile
“But-”
“Shh, you will find out soon, for now, don’t you have any other questions you want me to answer?”
“Right. Right” Amelia muttered as she recomposed herself, her mind filling with the questions she wanted answered
“What is Ophelia?” she asked with a recomposed expression, her eyes locking straight into the goddess’
“Hmm, good question” Histy replied with a smile
“Well for starters, Ophelia is not from this world” She began as she grabbed Amelia’s hand and transported to a large area that was covered with nothing but stars
“You see Amelia, Ophelia is the first ever person me and Harcun like to call, “Tourists” as her original planet was this one. Earth” Histy continued as she summoned forth a black and green orb in her hand, showing it to Amelia.
“This is another world?” the young mortal asked as she gazed upon the orb, seeing the many continents that her world had, it looked so similar yet so different at the same time
“Yep, she came from this world. A world full of strife, suffering, and death. Ophelia lived a hard life in that world, and her soul was the one me and Harcun selected for a program we had hoped could help revitalize the world”
“What do you mean revitalize?”
“Well, this world needs change. And Ophelia is going to bring that change, whether it will be through fire and brimstone or cooperation, she is here to bring change, and you my dear Amelia. Are going to be along for the ride” the goddess added with a smirk
Amelia still looked confused, and the answer she got raised many more questions such as how would Ophelia bring change? Why did Ophelia need to bring change? Why was Ophelia selected in the first place? The look on her face told Histy everything she needed.
“I know you have much more questions for me. But I believe that the best way for them to be answered is to simply let you experience them firsthand” Histy told her as she patted her head
“Before I send you back, I shall inform you on several things that are crucial for you to know” Histy said as her expression shifted from a smile to a stern look
“I understand, what is it?” Amelia replied, her face serious and ready
“There are several cults and groups that are currently trying or at least planning to take you, Their names are as follows, the first is a cult known as the Followers of the Fallen who are easily identifiable by the devil mark on their body, it’s usually black and red in the form of a upside down crescent moon, they believe that the Saintess power inside you can be used to bring back their fallen god who is actually not a god. In fact, it was just a subordinate of Harcun who went rogue after he was bestowed some demon god power and tried to overthrow him. We get a laugh out of that every now and then hehe. Next is the Order of Eternity, these bastards wear rings that have an amber jewel with a carving of a phoenix. Anyways, they are nobles from different continents who believe that enslaving you and siphoning your power will extend their lives so that they can live forever. They aren't as harmful as they could be since they are plagued with infighting and until now are still fractured, I remember they came for the first Saintess but they were easily despatched but regrettably never finished off. The last group is part of the church, Liliana herself does not know of its existence but it is called the Garden of The Righteous, these guys don't have an easily recognized sign but if you look at them closely they have a black vein on one part of their body they try hard to cover up. This order was created by the second pope originally to watch over the Saintess and help her but it's now used to conduct illegal acts in the name of the Church, they see these as necessities and are hardliners, and they want you dead, because you threaten their power.” Histy continued, her expression growing more and more annoyed as she named the groups
“That is alot of them, and I already feel myself boiling with anger” Amelia replied as she took in all the information
“I understand the feeling, but that is it for now. You must head back to your family and Liliana, I wish you good luck to you on your struggles. Give them hell out there”
With a light tap to her forehead, Amelia’s vision turned dark before it rapidly became bright again and she opened her eyes, her breathing ragged as she felt herself back in her body, with her two mothers by her side, their expressions that of concern as they rub her back and try to speak to her, asking her if she was alright.
“Are you alright my little Amelia?” Mother Felice called out to her
“Amelia speak to us!” Sister Mary added as she cupped her daughter’s face in her hands
“I…I’m fine” Amelia replied, momentarily stunned as she was regaining her bearings, her eyes scanning the entire room
“I have things to tell you all”
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After twenty minutes of explaining what she had learned from Histy, the air in the room grew cold and serious. Mother Felice and Sister Mary exchanged glances with Pope Liliana who had an unreadable expression on her face, her eyes narrow but failing to betray any emotion to anyone. The room was marked by a long silence as each of them were processing Amelia’s newly acquired information
“So these cults” Sister Mary started
“They want you. Specifically, you” Mother Felice added
“Just to absorb and drain you of your Holy Magic” Liliana finished
“Pretty much it. Except for the Garden of the Righteous, they just want me dead”
Liliana leaned forward and pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out an exasperated sigh as she took in all the information. Sister Mary and Mother Felice were sitting with their fists clenching as they were processing the information, their anger palpable as they had angered glares.
“The moment any of them appear, we will kill them on sight. To think they have the gall to try and attempt this on your life, it angers me at the thought of it” Mother Felice stated as she looked at her daughter
“I agree with her thinking, the moment any of them show themselves, they will die. And they will not die quietly” Sister Mary added
A small smile appeared on Amelia’s lips as she heard the protective words of her mothers, her heart swelling as she saw their love for her had only grown stronger and ran deeper.
“We don’t have to worry about them afterwards though, Her Holiness told me that after the plan is finished, I will lose my Holy Magic as it will be replaced by something else, she called it something more ‘potent’ whatever that means” Amelia said as she looked at all three of them
“I see, well. I guess we will tackle those problems when we see them, for now, we have to visit someone else before I send you back to your Duchy to prepare. His Majesty Gaius I”
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Inside the Imperial Palace, in the main throneroom chamber inside the large and regal building, a large swirling blue portal appeared in the center of the chamber, with Amelia, and the rest walking out of it. Inside the chamber was a large amount of Varangian Guards, their intimidating crimson plate armor that hid all of their features except for a pair of glowing red eyes that emanated menacingly from their helmets.
In front of the portal, of an elevated platform with several steps leading up to it, sitting on a golden chair, was an old man. His frail and weak body creaked as he straightened up and looked down at the party of people who exited the portal, his white hair pushed aside and his eyes scanned each of them, a small smile on his lips as he summoned every ounce of strength he had to stand up and begin his walk down the stairs.
“Welcome to the Imperial Palace Ladies. A pleasure to finally see you in person” Gaius stated weakly as he slowly descended the steps, with a pair of Varagians supporting him from either side
“Your Majesty” Liliana bowed as she greeted him, swiftly followed by the other three
Amelia raised her head and saw that Gaius was looking down at her, a smile on his lips as he approached her and extended his frail and wrinkled hand, with Amelia grasping it and getting to her feet.
“So you’re Amelia huh? It is a pleasure to finally meet the girl who charmed Ophelia” Gaius chuckled as she patted her on the head
“Excuse me Your Majesty?” Amelia asked, caught off guard by the comment
“You really look like her type, cute, able to fend for herself, pleasant personality, ruthless against your enemies, loving to those you care for…I think she will be in safe hands” Gaius continued as he slowly circled Amelia, the smile on his face still being retained.
“How do you know Ophelia?” Amelia asked, this time locking eyes with the old man in front of her
“Hmm, with a mouth like that, I can see why you typically don’t let her get away with anything. She truly did pick someone she wanted to marry from the beginning”
{!}
“Wha..what!” Amelia replied, stuttering as the emperor’s words left her flustered and embarrassed, her cheeks flushing red as she turned away.
“Aww how cute. Just like how she described you would act”
“Your Majesty, I think you had enough fun, the young girl is already flustered and embarrassed” One of the Varnagian Guards voiced,
“Yeah yeah I can clearly see that. Can’t an aging old man have some fun before he dies?”
“Don’t joke like that again Your Majesty” another Varangian voiced
“Fine”
Turning back to Amelia, Gaius saw that she was now recomposed and looking at him dead in the eyes, a small smirk on his face as he was impressed by the glare, his approval of his daughter-in-law skyrocketing.
“Amelia Rothild, or should I say Amelia Erstad as it is clear she will marry you when the two of you reunite. Regardless, I believe you are here to discuss my portion of the plan no?”
“Yes Your Majesty”
“Alright. I will lay it out plain and simple. Next week, when the Andria Eclipse will be in full swing, several elements of a revolution I had organized will rise up and take to the streets, engaging forces of the Imperial Army now loyal to my son, all of them share the same beliefs as him and wish for a more human-centric and dominated empire. Something that I abhor. This revolution will give my sons and their cronies a distraction while you take your party and leave, all while the eclipse is in effect, meaning that the tracking magic placed on you, one that needs a monthly dose of Holy Magic from the originator to work, will no longer be in effect, effectively freeing you from their grasp and allowing you to escape with the entire Erstad duchy without no one being the wiser”
“Is that it?” Amelia asked, her expression was that of caution and doubt
“Obviously not, for you see, my Varnagian Guards. All of these people here are loyal to me and not my sons. As all of them, are not human Gaius added as he gestured to all of them
“These men and women will be accompanying you, well some at least. The rest will be spread out across the empire to trigger the rest of the uprisings and begin the process of burning down this empire. Because if my sons are able to access all of the resources that we have, it will mean trouble for our neighbors who have promised to integrate the refugees the rest of my Varangians will help escape into those lands, effectively draining Visnet of forced manpower”
“Why not just ask them to attack?”
“Because, my sons are smart. They can use the attack from all of their neighbors as excuses to rally the nation into one unified entity, undoing all of the revolutions and plans laid down. They are charismatic as they have all of the nobles in their pockets”
“I see. So your part of the plan is to basically give us a distraction to allow us to escape and slip away during the chaos, then start a fire inside the house and hope the civil wars kill them?”
“Well not kill per se. I know my sons are skilled enough to survive, instead, I will make it as hard as I can for them to keep the empire together, I will make them bleed and sweat for every province not aligned with them, I will show them the price of war as even when they succeed in gaining control of all of the rebel states, their economy will be in shambles and their army in dire need of fresh blood, fresh blood that has fled to their neighboring nations”
“Hmmm…and you are alright with this Your Majesty?” Amelia asked
A wry smile appeared on Gaius' face as he heard the question, a small and subtle shake of his head was what Amelia saw and she could see in his eyes that this was a hard decision for him to make, despite his words.
“I have no other choice. I am a man of peace first and foremost, and if peace means tearing up an empire I fought too hard to maintain, just to keep the civilians safe and the status quo stable. Then I will do what I must”
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After an hour of going more into detail about the full plan, Amelia, fully understood the whole project that was about to go down. And she was ready, albeit with a hint of nervousness intertwined with it. For now, she was still busy refreshing her mind and asking for clarifications from Gaius and Liliana.
“I presume by now Percy has finished her tasks she came here to finish” Mother Felice stated as she brought out her pocket watch, as Amelia, Gaius, and Liliana were still discussing
“She probably has, considering how important they are” Sister Mary chimed in as she looked at her lover
And as they were speaking, a portal appeared behind them, and coming out of it was Percy,
“Speak of the devil. So what is the verdict?” Mother Felice asked as she looked at the kitsune maid
“Everything is ready. The final shipments of foodstuffs, livestock, and other essentials are being shipped, they will be in the duchy two days from now”
“And that other thing?” Sister Mary asked as well,
“The explosives are set, my contacts in the magic tower are set to blow it the moment we arrive back at the duchy” Percy answered with a nod
“Good. some of my former subordinates told me that Emilio and a certain elf have returned to the capital, and it seems they are at the cathedral, so we have to double time and blow the magic tower up before we leave, giving them a distraction. As Amelia told me, that blue-haired mage has an acute sense to detect Holy Magic, so he will most likely sense Amelia’s.” Mother Felice
“I understand. I will tell them the moment we are ready to blow it before we leave this place”
After the three of them nodded to one another, Percy approached the other trio, giving a small bow and a nod to Gaius as they locked eyes with one another.
“I see, it seems that we have to end the discussion here. Liliana, you will remain here, Amelia you and your party must go, for it seems that some of your suitors are here in the capital. We wouldn’t want them interacting with you, especially when we are this close to executing the plan” Gaius told the two women
“I understand Your Majesty, I will take my leave. It was a pleasure to meet you, despite our first encounter. Your Holiness, I will take my leave” Amelia bid goodbye as she nodded at the two of them before leaving through a portal Liliana activated,
Now alone in the throneroom with just the guards and the pope, Gaius turned to Liliana
“I apologize for putting you and your kind through all of this, I never intended for the old shadow of the empire to come back so soon” He apologized as he weakly placed his hand on her shoulder
“I understand there was nothing else you could do Your Majesty, I also received the same visions of the future and understood what needed to be done” Liliana replied with a small smile
“Do your future visions show a future where they live happily?”
“It does. Although there are challenges in their way of happiness”
“I see. So this is the first step?”
“It is. And I hope you will continue to watch over them when you pass”
“I hope I do”
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“Haaah. I thought Jacon was here but the bastard is somewhere else” Emilio let out an angered sigh as he, Roimir, and the bounty hunters stood on the steps leading to the cathedral.
“We can always ask the people where he went” Roimir told him as he looked down at him
“And further anger-”
KRAKOOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Suddenly, a large series of explosions rocked the ambiance and even could be felt from the ground, Emilio’s eyes widened as he looked up and saw one of the several magic towers collapse
“What the fuck?!” he shouted as he summoned a broom and immediately zoomed towards the downed tower, now reduced to ruins. Civilians and mages trying to help the survivors trapped underneath the rubble
But as he left Roimir and the Bounty Hunters behind, all of whom were chasing after him, Amelia and her party came back to the cathedral and made their way down to the cellar where Alistair was waiting, before they left via teleportation back to the Duchy of Erstad.
A/N: AND WE ARE BACK! This is the first of a plan of three chapters this week alone. I WILL EITHER PUMP OUT ALL THREE OR MAYBE TWO OR DIE IN THE PROCESS. Anyways, I am eternally grateful for you guys who enjoy this series and I am hoping you will continue to enjoy the series as we near the new year when the 2nd Volume will drop. As always, if you want to express your thoughts on the chapter let me know in the comments, or if I made spelling mistakes. And as always, Stay Safe and Enjoy Your Day!