1630 Rationality
The once lively Hortus, a literal province-sized region, remained mostly quiet.
There were no more laughters of children in the playgrounds, no elders walking in the parks and no teenage couples visiting the beaches.
Not just the people were gone but even the traces of their existence—the buildings, the items, the art—everything about them was erased away.
Just in case, Alison requested Oob to scan everything if there would ever be a need to replicate anything.
Hortus today might've lost civilization and the bustle that came with it, but the loss allowed it to gain something else.
It's now pure, clear, rich and vast. But it's more than just that. It's a lot more than what a few words could describe.
It was the land where lakes of honey flowed, sea of flowers bloomed and forests never withered.
Abundance was the hallmark of this land. Abundance in resources, time and aura.
Treasures posessed by the entire civilization before evacuation were buried under the soil, thanks to the Queens who didn't even bother to take a glance at them.
It'd not be an exaggeration to say that every inch of this soil was more than worth its weight in gold.
If a warrior visited this place, he'd want to be laid for his eternal rest here.
If a king entered this land, he'd shift his kingdom's capital to this place.
If a saintess of a religious denomination visited this region, she'd declare this to be the promised paradise and lead the group of believers on a holy journey.
This paradise remained home to only a few, few people.
"Why is it taking so long? He said he'd return after taking a look."
The queens had gathered under a waterfall to relax. It was supposed to be a relaxing session to destress their minds after witnessing Varian's battle against Immortal.
But Sia brought it up anyway.
Her words caused a ripple and Enigma, who was floating on the water calmly since an hour, opened her eyes all of a sudden.
"You're right." She stepped out of the water and her iconic black dress covered her body.
A glowing purple sword appeared in her hand and her aura began to soar, hitting the bottleneck of high rank 1.
It certainly weakened compared to earlier and it seemed that out of the three, Enigma might actually step into high rank 1 first.
"I will go and check on him."
A fluctuation of soul power swept the area and Enigma's spirit body, which functioned as an alternate to the physical body in normal times, took over Sia's physical body and Sia turned into her soul body.
"Maybe he's just busy. He gets into things like these all the time." Isadora who was fishing nearby, said with a casual expression. "Enigma, you should rest your mind. You take a lot of tension."
"…"
Enigma bit her lip and pondered over her decision.
It's as Isadora said, Varian didn't really have things going according to his plan…ever. But he'd always been able to deal with the issues that came up.
That's why Enigma didn't insist on following him before. But now, after seeing him come very close to death under Immortal, she couldn't convince herself to be at ease.
"We did see him going into that place before the connection blurred." Sarah emerged from the water, ending her meditation session. "There should be no problem if it's just taking a look there."
"He almost died a few days ago!" Sia yelled, her voice indignant. "You two are so carefree. Sure, enjoy the stupid holiday, we'll both check on him."
She appeared next to Enigma, clad in a yellow dress. Snorting in half-anger and half-disappointment, Sia was about to leave.
"Haaa~" Sarah rubbed her forehead, wondering how to convey her words to a very sensitive and scared Sia and Sarah.
She too was scared after what happened in the duel. But as long as she could help it, she'd rather not let her emotions rule her decisions.
"There is Aphosis, Equilius, Aridam backing him. Even Yami and Keman are present there. If any problem arises, I'm sure they would be able to help better than we can."
Isadora, who would usually oppose Sarah only to piss her off, nodded. "And Aphosis gave Varian a seal, remember? If he's in danger, the seal would send them a message and they can bring him out. Even if they're rank 2s and can't enter personally, they have plenty of rank 1s at command."
Sia and Enigma looked at each other with a struggling gaze.
With a deep sigh, Sia dipped back into the water. "I guess I'm still being sensitive."
But Enigma remained still, a stubborn look on her face.
Sarah gave Isadora a gaze and the latter gave her younger sister with a persuasive look.
"Enigma, it's all going to be fine. Stop letting your fears take over you."
"…"
Ignoring the princess' words, Enigma kept checking the synergy link to find any useful information.
Varian shared the entire event with them so that they could rest assured about his safety.
The 'video' ended abruptly once Varian entered that place.
It looked perfectly fine no matter how she checked it, but…
Watching her struggle, Isadora twisted her fingers, making Enigma appear next to her. Caressing her hair with a gentle expression, she said.
"We've checked it a dozen times already. There is nothing suspicious."
"There is enough protection for him there."
"Put down the fear."
Despite assurances from the three, Enigma did not budge.
With a helpless expression, Isadora pondered letting her go. Unless it's absolutely necessary, Isadora would rather not meet any of these powerhouses.
With the last ditch effort, Isadora turned to Aurora who was enjoying a barbecue with Primula and the maids a few hundred miles away.
"Right, Aurora?"
"Ah!" Miss Calamity flinched and nodded without even thinking. "Yeah, yeah, you're right…what are we talking about?"
"…"
The Matriarch who was keeping an eye of the overall situation, explained their conversation.
"Ah, it should not be a problem. They are all backing him…well, except Equilius. My mother says that old beggar is dangerous and very vengeful." Aurora tapped her chin.
The meat in Primula's hand dropped to the ground and all sounds of breathing stopped.
The air suddenly turned tense.
Unaware of this change, Miss Calamity pondered as she closed her eyes and humming an adventerous music.
"Oh and Lady Yami…err, he patched up their relationship after roasting her. So, it should be fine, I guess?
Immortal was a 50-50, neither here nor there, so no one had any complaints. But brother-in-law is a living person. I guess Undead are a bit…repulsed by that idea?
Like think how f-father, I mean, Master Keman would feel if brother-in-law was an undead. Even though it's the right thing to do, he'd have some resistance to it.
I guess Lady Yami is also having the same thoughts. If only he's an Undead.
Of course, this is nothing to worry about. Even if she wants to mess up things there and thrown him into an Undead making zone, she can hide her powers from f-father, she wouldn't able to hide it from Nexus trio. They are very acute."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
An eerie silence ensued in the area. The sky suddenly darkened and the air grew cooler and cooler until it started to snow. Lighting flashed in the sky and it poured.
"Hum? What?"
Aurora opened her eyes in confusion, wondering why their auras turned so chaotic that the atmostphere got messed up.
And she nearly had a heartstroke watching the chilling look on those four faces.
"Heuk! What's wrong with you?"
Aurora hid behind the maids and poked her head out, asking with a timid but very curious expression.
"Equilius and Yami might work together." Isadora said with an ashen expression. The black flame in her palm flickering wildly.
"Are you crazy? He's a nexus guy! They don't do emotional stuff like that!" Aurora yelled. "In their own words, it's an irrational decision that could potentially doom the fate of alliance. No way for that decision to be even considered."
"Aurora, you know a lot of things I don't but…you never had to face politics." Sarah rubbed her forehead.
Sia stepped forward. "I've noticed Equilius during the duel when Varian was being crushed. That old man's eyes are almost always dead but that time, they were shining in glee. And his soul…I could feel the happiness that leaked out of him."
Aurora gawked. "How is that possible? He's a Nexus guy, he takes only rational decisi—"
"I don't know much about Undead, so I can't tell. But I've asked Varian about Nexus trio." Isadora replied. "He said they are rational but there has to be a premise to that rationality, the goal the rationatility seeks to achieve.
That's why Aphosis, Aridam and Equlius, despite being all rational are so different.
Varian said that Aphosis' rationality is geared to serve the survival of Nexus. All his decisions are taken with that in mind.
Aridam's rationality is channeled for rejuvenation of Nexus, but with a very competent leader. You need to be 'competent' to get his seal of approval.
Equilius' rationality is also channeled for Nexus, but for its supremacy. But it doesn't end there.
He wants the supremacy of Nexus in Alliance and his supremacy in Nexus. By his, he also takes his bloodline into consideration. Killing his grandson essentially ended any chances of that happening.
His entire life premise is now being devoured by Varian. The more he grows, the more obvious it gets that Equilius will never have his dream fulfilled.
Moreover, once Varian is stronger than him, Equilius might die, ending even the slightest chance of his dream.
He must've tricked Yami in the name of converting Varian to undead. His original goal is to…kill!"
