Manifest War: The Weapons Within

As the party continued and guests filled their bellies with food and wine, Carmen excused herself from the banquet hall. She headed out to the garden balcony to get some air, feeling a little tired from the long day. Night had already fallen and the moon shone in all its glory, not a single cloud in the sky to obscure its presence. Carmen took hold of her crescent necklace and aimed it upwards, matching it with the moon in the sky.

“I wish Homura was still here.. There’s so much I could have shown her. I really think she would’ve enjoyed this world if she gave it a chance. I’ll have to keep this charm close, so she’s with me wherever I go.” She softly said with a sigh, sad that her Boundless friend was no longer around to enjoy the festivities.

As she admired the view, a cool chill came over her as the wind blew. Suddenly she felt something warm covering her shoulders, blocking the wind's chilling bite. Carmen looked down to see a royal jacket draped on her and she quickly turned around. Caleb was standing behind her showing a charming smile.

“Hey Caleb, what brings you out here?” She nervously asked, taken aback by his sudden appearance. “

I saw you were missing and just wanted to make sure you were alright.” He replied as he joined her at the banister.

“Ah, yeah. I’m fine, just needed a bit of breather from everything. So, what are you going to do now? Go back to Melspire?” Carmen asked curiously, quickly changing the subject.

“Yeah, I need to help my father with some things before I go off to LaVeda University in the Fall.” He replied, brushing his short, jet black hair back with his fingers.

LaVeda University was one of the most prestigious schools in Alaira, specializing in a multitude of professions. However, most students went there to hone their abilities and grow as Vestas. Those that graduated from their three year program came out significantly stronger and much more capable in both Manifest handling and skill sets.

“Are you going to attend as well?” Caleb asked with a hopeful tone. Carmen shook her head slowly.

“No, I don’t think I could convince my sisters to let me go, considering everything that has happened to me this year. They probably don’t want me to leave their sight.” She replied with an awkward laugh, remembering the many messes she put her family through the past few months.

“Ah, true. That’s pretty fair on their part. I was really hoping I could see you there though. Can’t be helped, I guess.” He said with a disappointed expression, saddened to hear she wouldn’t be there. Carmen glanced at him before placing her hand on top of his on the banister. She then quickly turned her head in the opposite direction while nervously blushing.

“I mean.. I guess I could try to convince them and see what they say. Since it.. um, bothers you so much.” She said with a voice shaky from embarrassment. Caleb’s eyes lit up as he quickly moved his hand to hold hers instead. Carmen turned to face him, surprised by the warmth of his hand.

“I’d like that.” He responded while staring deep into her red eyes, smiling with infinite amounts of handsome charm. Carmen continued to blush heavily as she gazed into his eyes, feeling her heart race at an impossible speed. As they shared this sweet moment together, the Melspire King and Zalthia walked past the garden's entrance. They immediately noticed the two holding hands and stopped their advance.

“He is truly my son, haha! Take hold of that little minx and never let go, just as I taught you!” Jonn said, looking incredibly proud of Caleb’s gentlemanly mannerisms.

“Tch, oh man.. Now there’s something else I’ve got to deal with.” Zalthia replied, rolling her eyes as she felt annoyed that another one of her sisters was seemingly having romantic escapades behind her back.

“That could be you one day Zalthia, if only you would settle down aha.” Jonn had a hearty laugh while Zalthia looked at him with disgust.

“Ugh, spare me.” She remarked, not wanting anything to do with romance. They left Carmen and Caleb be, continuing their walk down the hall quietly. The festivities continued into the night and once things began to die down, Castle de Belouis grew quiet once more.

Church bells rang as the service ended at the Great Holy Core Church in the city of Volta, Lumen Theocracy. The massive church looked more like a palace as the sun gleamed against its golden domed roofs. The congregation was swiftly exiting the central sanctuary, leaving the church to go back to their respective homes.

The High Priest, Leo Vaux’Hallah, gathered his things from the podium and exited the room. He walked down the hall until he came to a set of stairs leading to the 3rd floor where his office was located.

However, once he arrived at his office, he saw that the door was slightly open. Leo looked confused and after a brief moment of hesitation, he slowly pushed the door open to step inside. As he looked forward, he noticed that the chair at his desk was spun around and someone was already seated.

“Who are you and why are you in my office? Leave at once before I-” Leo stopped his orders as the seat slowly turned around to face him, revealing who was seated.

It was an older gentleman that was cleanly dressed and he had short grayish hair, accenting against his formal black suit. His dark red tie was perfectly pressed as it sat comfortably underneath the buttoned suit jacket. However, the most peculiar thing about this mysterious man was that he wore an all white, featureless mask.

His face couldn’t be seen at all, but Leo knew exactly who this strange individual was. The High Priest dropped his books as the look of absolute horror came over his face.

“S-S-Selivus... What b-brings you here?” He asked while stuttering and shaking with fear. The door behind him closed as two more white masked individuals appeared from the shadows, blocking Leo’s only path of escape.

“Calm yourself, High Priest Vaux’Hallah. I only want to have a simple conversation.” Selivus’ voice was incredibly smooth and deep, fluttering like a velvet cloth in the air. Despite his intense presence, his voice could calm a hysterical baby with only a couple words. Leo gulped and waited with bated breath, afraid of what this man wanted to discuss.

“My people have kept a close eye on you these past few months and I must say, you’ve proven to be quite resourceful when given a promising opportunity. It’s comical to think that you would actually try to achieve conquest on such a massive scale, despite your position as High Priest. Makes me wonder if leaving you to your own devices was a mistake.” Selivus said while crossing his legs and resting his hands on his knee.

“What do you want?” Leo questioned, not understanding why this man was berating him about his recent failures.

“What I want is for you to not blindly go into war again. Your greedy ambition has cost you dearly because of it…” Leo stood in silence as he continued to listen, following each word as closely as he could.

“Besides, you all were never meant to take hold of that nation anyways. It would disrupt the balance of Alaira. The balance we, The Watchers, so meticulously tend to every waking second.” Selivus added with a serious tone, raising his voice ever so slightly.

Leo was confused by this statement and he quickly replied.

“Wait, were you all the ones responsible for that army?? The one that suddenly appeared out of nowhere??” He asked, demanding answers, feeling that Selivus had intervened in the war somehow.

“Of course not, but we were aware that Volaire had that trump card on hand. We simply didn’t provide that information to your forces.” Selivus’ smooth, nonchalant voice continued to serenade the airwaves as he spoke as plainly as possible.

Leo shakily gritted his teeth, growing more fearful of the man standing before him. However, despite his fear, he posed a question to him.

“Okay. But why withhold that information from us? Is your idea of balance just protecting Volaire and no one else?? How is that even remotely fair?” He asked, shaking nervously. Selivus cocked his head to the side as though confused by the question.

“Protecting Volaire? Not at all... We just felt that information would be too beneficial for your alliance during the war, tipping the scales too much in your favor. That’s no fun, is it?” He callously replied. The High Priest was shocked by the response.

“Ridiculous... This whole ordeal was nothing more than a game to these people.” He thought to himself, feeling like a pawn on a chessboard at that moment. Before he could respond to the masked man, Selivus began to speak again.

“To be honest, we could’ve halted this war before it even occurred, but I felt it was necessary that you and the Aristan Empress were humbled first. Humiliation is quite the sobering remedy, don’t you think?” He said with an eerie cadence as he readjusted in his seat.

Selivus then stood from his chair and the two masked individuals accompanying him walked over towards the desk, now standing three abreast. He began to exert his Core Energy and his resonance level was off the charts, revealing that he was clearly within Calamity Class. He glared at Leo through his all-white mask before making a grave statement, shaking the High Priest to his core.

“Let this be a lesson to you to stay in your lane... Never try to do our jobs for us, especially because of greed and lofty ambitions. Be grateful for what we’ve given you here in Lumen and let us, The Watchers, maintain the balance of Alaira. Step out of line again and we will have to reconsider your position as High Priest.” Selivus’s voice was hauntingly deep as his words cut through Leo like a serrated knife, hurting more with each push. The High Priest nodded his sweat covered face and agreed, terrified by what he heard.

“Good. And do not worry, should Volaire get too big for their own good, we’ll force them back in line. We’ve done it before and you know that.. Have more faith in our process, High Priest Vaux’Hallah.” As Selivus spoke these words, he and his subordinates faded out of the room, leaving Leo all alone.

He stood there with a rapid heartbeat and a fear filled face, as though he just had a conversation with the devil himself. Leo had nothing to say as he slowly made his way to his chair, taking a seat and staring off blankly out the window.