The Seeker | Volume 2

Following De-Taylel's projected orders, I sent myself into my Divine Protection and conjured enough force to summon Crodio from history. The latters black eyes locked onto me as

"he" smiled softly. 

"I already know the reason why you've sent yourself here, and the reason why you've summoned me." Crodio said in an ethereal voice. 

Suddenly "he" reached "his" left hand out, and shimmers of crimson light descended from the air, formulating in "his" palm. A sphere that was composed of fire and ash that resembled a dying star appeared in "his" palm.

"Is that the Order 9 Apocalypse characteristic?" I asked, taking a careful step forward towards the angel. 

"A replication of it, yes." "He" replied softly.

The dying star in "his" palm shimmered and charred the surrounding air, sending tiny amounts of crimson and night black embers across the surrounding environment. 

"Are you sure a historical projection of a characteristic will be suitable for the slate?"

Crodio fell silent for a few moments, after a little while he laughed. "It's complicated."

I raised an eyebrow.

"It is. If these were Apocalypse characteristics in their full fruition they'd instantly gravitate towards you since absorbing excess characteristics as an angel or even a True God would kill you or make you lose control." Crodio explained.

"So…they're already inside me. The Order 9 through 8 characteristics?" 

Crodio nodded. "Indeed."

I sighed softly as I looked out the window reflecting the cosmos. "Well, how do I release it?" 

I took a few steps towards the window, peering into the sea of crimson nebulas and stars. Crodio looked towards me and approached me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Seeker characteristics are projections of the Oldest Creator's traits and emotions. Just like the Outer Deities; they can't truly be destroyed or created, they already exist; they're the blueprint for existence."

"What I'm saying is they're everywhere, they can be everything, they can even be people. If you know the characteristic is inside you it is. Just reach into your body and extract it." Crodio explained as he grabbed my hand gently, placing it over my chest.

I took a deep breath as I hesitantly visualized my heart, its beating, pulsating mass. With a sudden thirst I dug my hand into my body painlessly, digging around the inside of my spirit body for the characteristic. When I felt the ball of heat and light in my palm, I ripped it out of my body, swiping the veins and blood off of its scorching surface. 

I took a deep breath as I watched the hole in my chest patch itself up, the sounds of flesh and bone squirming into their original positions sent a chill down my spine. 

"You did well…" Crodio said.

I heard rumbling sounds behind me, when I turned around I noticed that Crodio's historical projection was disappearing. 

"Did I exert too much residual effort in extracting the characteristic that Crodio's historical projection couldn't maintain its physical form in unison with this?" I thought to myself as Crodio smiled faintly as he disappeared. 

When I returned to the physical realm unbeknownst to anyone I saw that De-Taylel's scorpion projection had been squashed! In the corner of the room I saw Isaac rubbing the slimy substance of the scorpions inside off of the bottom of his slippers in annoyance.

He suddenly looked up at me and rolled his eyes in annoyance and a tiny bit of humor. "I didn't know scorpions lived here. There was this big black one in the living room and I crushed it before it could hide away. Maybe it has babies somewhere, who knows…"

…

The next morning Cattleya and the others loaded onto the Katshin empire tourist ship. After they had previously purchased their tickets for a hefty price they finally had the chance to partially relax until the voyage was over, but the lingering thought of the upcoming threat was always ebbing in their minds.

Shinso walked to the edge of the boat and realized that not many people were on the boat going to the Katshin Empire, only lots of men and women that looked like they had a lot of money, either from investments, gambling or inheritance. 

"There's not that many people here, just rich hags." Shinso rolled his eyes as he looked back at the others. Olive had sat down inside a chair under the shade, hiding from the looming sun that beamed through the thin clouds. 

Aizawa sat next to her as the ship came into motion, the sensation of the ground moving under their feet made all of them collectively sit down. 

"I hope you're not seasick." Aizawa said as he watched the salty waves collide with the hull of the ship. Olive fell silent for a few moments before speaking with some uncertainty. 

"I actually am. I just hope this won't take too long. The thought of you having to watch me the whole time bothers me, it's almost like you're too worried about me and don't care for anyone else…" Olive grumbled.

Aizawa looked at the young woman and sighed softly, his voice gradually lowering as he spoke.

"I'm just worried about you, I'm worried about myself too. We're both "demons" and we don't know much about these powers. We saw that Franklyn became a monster before our very eyes. I don't want to become a monster, and I don't think you want to either…"

Upon hearing Aizawa's words, Olive's lips curled up slightly, forming into a genuine and caring smile. 

"Even if you become a monster or a lunatic I won't care about you any less. I can partially understand why you'd want to get stronger…"

She suddenly turned her head and looked towards Shinso who leaned against the bow of the ship, watching the waves below him. 

"...you want to protect him, and the other boy. I know that you weren't from here, neither are those boys. In this dangerous world you want to protect them and make sure they don't die or lose control. That's admirable, Aizawa. It really is."

Aizawa suddenly turned towards Olive and scoffed, amazed by her deductive and analytical skills.

"You're brilliant, Olive." he said softly, leaning closer to her.

Olive's face quickly heats up upon looking at Aizawa's sudden gesture, as a result she removes her sun hat and uses it to fan her face. Aizawa chuckled softly upon seeing her reaction.

"And I would do it regardless."

Suddenly Aizawa pressed forward, capturing Olive's soft and tender lips in a passionate kiss. Aizawa hadn't felt this type of emotions ever since he almost got corrupted by the Mother of Envy, but at least now he could finally tell these were real and not controlled by an outside force. He could finally love someone, just like he had cared for Oboro, that rush of happiness and passion was enough to make Aizawa want to cry. 

Olive gasped softly as Aizawa kissed her. She closed her eyes slowly and wrapped her arms around Aizawa's waist as she leaned into his lips. Both of their faces were burning, either from the hot sun or their flickering emotions that danced around their bodies.

After they had finally let go, Olive quickly spotted a tear run down Aizawa's face. Just then, Olive could finally decipher that blurry emotion; It was joy! Upon seeing this Olive's lips curled up even more, forming into an ear to ear grin. 

"I love you so much…" Olive muttered softly.

Aizawa's eyes widened upon hearing Olive's statement. His heart was practically breaking in his chest. 

"I…love you too." Aizawa replied.

…

After taking on the form of Isabella the next morning I suddenly remembered I had no way to attend the Silver Snake Committee meeting today. I needed to sell the characteristic I had found from the Kraken and find more information about the Cards of Replication and the Zourist Family.

Perhaps somewhere I could find information on a ritual or an artifact I could use to project my body back to the complex and get the information, or I could do a divination on a way to contact them elsewhere without attending the meeting directly.

But with the current items at my disposal I had no way to contact them except with a letter. Following that I quickly transformed back from my female form and approached a desk by the window.

There was a conversation at the dinner table in regards to Johnson being a writer, and his first bestseller book was going to be a mystery or a thriller book. 

I picked up the pen sitting next to a large stack of papers and began to write to the Pan Marché de Bolivar complex address and send it via the postal system.

I wrote to Arden and Cosette in regards to the whereabouts of the Zourist Family and the Cards of Replication. I also projected a bit of my spirituality from my soul body onto the paper, allowing me to bind the Kraken's seeker characteristic into the paper via a stamp.