****
The morning sky was a brilliant shade of blue, with the sun beginning to peek over the horizon. A light breeze rustled through the trees, bringing with it a sweet scent of fresh flowers and grass. The birds were chirping happily as they flew around looking for breakfast. The dew glistened on the newly bloomed wildflowers, giving them an extra sparkle in the early light.
Gabriel had spent the entire night in the Garden, trying to figure out the mystery behind the garden. His ring was still giving him the same signals as before, as if something really was in the garden that he couldn't see.
It was clear that whatever his ring was after was still in the garden. During the night, he checked the body of every person who was present here and only after making sure that they didn't have what he was looking for did he destroy the bodies.
Even on the body of the Emperor, he didn't find anything worth great importance. The Emperor didn't carry any Numens with him at all. The only strange thing that he found was some kind of broken jade dust that was in the hands of the Emperor.
Gabriel didn't understand what the jade dust was. It had no special aura and didn't feel like a treasure. However, as soon as he touched the jade dust, he realized that it wasn't ordinary either. The jade dust was really warm, as if it was sand that was just taken out of scorching flames.
Despite being so hot, it didn't burn his, or the Emperor's skin.
Despite spending the night here and searching every corner of the garden, he couldn't find anything at all.
In the end, he could only sit on one of the chairs, feeling tired. All the bodies of people who were killed were gone. Even the blood that was splattered around the garden had been cleared, thanks to one of the Numens that Gabriel took from the Academy of Elements.
The calmness that came from this beautiful morning gave way to a feeling of peace and serenity that seemed to linger in the air. It was truly breathtaking and one could not help but feel grateful for such beauty all around them. Looking at the present atmosphere, no one could've guessed that just a few hours ago, something horrible had happened here where most of the Nobilities were wiped.
"Something is definitely in this garden, but I can't seem to find it. If it's not on the surface, could it really be underground?" Gabriel wondered, observing the massive garden.
Looking at the massive size of the garden, he understood just how hard it was to dig the entire thing up, especially since the ring wasn't telling him exactly where he needed to dig, or what he was looking for. He didn't even know if it was actually a Numen, or something weird like before.
"If some orbs like before are buried under this garden, they would definitely increase my spiritual strength. But I just increased it myself. Increasing it more before strengthening my body would only be more dangerous. I should really retrieve the thing that can help me before digging the garden..."
Gabriel didn't know just how long the peace of Arecia was going to last. He was sure that he couldn't rely on Avilia entirely either. He needed strength himself. He already had strength to some extent, but the problem for now was that he couldn't safely use all the strength he possessed.
Now that the Royal Palace was under his control, he wanted to solve that problem at the earliest.
****
The meeting of Saints which was supposed to be over in a few hours strangely dragged on for over twelve hours. No one outside knew what the Holy Priests were discussing for so long inside the Palace. They couldn't even guess what could take such strong existences so long to discuss.
It was early morning when the door of the Palace opened. The first person to step out of the hall was the red haired Holy Priest of Flames, who looked a bit irritated.
"Holy Lord!" The Head Priest of Flames rushed ahead, as soon as he watched Lerian come out.
"What are you doing here?" Lerian asked, slightly intrigued to see the Head Priest here who he left at the main Church to protect that place.
"My Lord, something big happened. I had to come here to inform you personally!" The Head Priest replied.
Lerian knew that the Head Priest before him was the strongest mage in the Holy Church of Flames after him. He really wasn't the one to exaggerate things.
"The fate stone of your daughter... It's been broken..." The Head Priest explained, subtly taking a step back. He wasn't sure just how Lerian was going to react to this information.
They had been waiting all this time for information like this, but this information was also something that was painful for all of them to share.
Avilia and the other Head Priests also came out of the meeting hall, at the same time as the Head Priest divulged this information.
Hearing the information, Lerian went completely silent. For a moment, he didn't even move. There was no reaction... To some, his reaction made him look as if this information wasn't worth any interest to him and that's why he was unmoved.
However, only the ones that knew him understood the truth. Lerian was an overbearing and arrogant man who was very easy to anger at times. He was also very strong. However, it was only when he was truly hurt that he didn't say anything.
Since Lerian's hands were in his pockets, not many could see his clenched fists. His own nails were stabbing his fist, making his hands bleed.
"I think I forgot something inside. I'll be right back." After a few moments, he finally spoke. He turned around and went back inside the meeting hall.
Since every other Holy Priest was already outside, he was the only one who was inside. Lerian closed the door for a moment, cutting him off from the outside World.
No one could hear what was happening inside. Similarly, no one could interfere.
"Arghhh!" Inside the meeting hall, Lerian screamed at the top of his lungs, letting out all his rage and emotions that he kept hidden throughout the years.
It was the first time in his life where his flames went out of control. Usually, Lerian's flames that people saw were dark red, that could burn anything in its path. However, the flames that came out of his body were a darker shade of blue, which was even more powerful than his ordinary flames.
The dark blue flames covered the entire hall as Lerian roared at the top of his lungs, smacking his fist on the table again and again!
*****
