"Greetings, traveler… from another world."
"You are?" Sylvester inquired and stepped further into the room. "I don't take kindly to those who sneak behind my back."
"But I'm right in front of you," the feminine voice came, and the woman walked towards him. "Is that hair real?"
Sylvester nodded and folded his arms. "What of it?"
"An Imposter, bearing the looks of your own," she replied, taking off her hood from her head. "I am Oracle of the Empress, Sylvester Maximilian. You have been prophesied more than the end of the world—The history speaks of your descriptions, and the ancient scriptures foretell your great purpose."
'No wonder they were desperate to find me.' Sylvester didn't say anything and waited to look at her face, wondering if this was the person he was looking for.
"When I was informed about the spatial anomaly, I believed it was the doing of the Grand Prince again. But this is a much better surprise." She finally removed her hood and revealed her features. She appeared old, with almost wrinkly pale blue skin. Her hair was white, and she had only two shining yellow eyes. "Oracle is what I am called."
"No name?"
"Forgotten in the millennia passed."
Sylvester didn't bring down his guards. Clearly, the other party was being careful, so it was counterintuitive to lay all his cards out openly. For all he knew, Diana might not even be there.
"If we're going to fight, I suggest moving away from the innocent people." Sylvester took the moral high ground before anything happened.
"Fight? Didn't you come here to meet the Empress? We are not barbarians, traveler. Your world may call us demons, but to us, you are the same—demons, aliens; Many names," the Oracle replied and retreated to sit down on the couch. "We are headed to the Imperial Capital."
Sylvester sat down opposite her. "The previous airship was attacked. The fact that you arrived here so fast… You must be able to fly quite fast."
"Some 'demons' have working wings."
"Ah, you're from those clans!" Dalgan exclaimed just then, earning her attention.
"Greetings, General Dalgan. It seems despite going into Artius for the Grand Prince. You ended up becoming a major key behind fulfilling the Prophecy. You will be rewarded by the Empress," the Oracle praised him in her usual monotonous tone.
Dalgan sighed and didn't react to her. "I chase no glory anymore. I have nobody waiting for me at home."
"Why were they after you?" Sylvester quickly changed the topic. "Who was it that bombed the airship?"
"They were men under the command of one of the Supreme Commanders. Of course, he will soon be an ex-commander. He may hold hatred towards my kind, but going after my life was a sin worse than treason."
"Why the hate?"
She sighed and looked out of the window. "Ignorance. Those with wings are an extreme minority, and on top of that, I am an Oracle with yellow eyes, considered to be a devotee of the Anti-God—a mere hoax."
'The scent never lies in the end.' Sylvester noticed the hint of bitterness with a burning sensation. It was hate within her heart. 'If I was the Empress, I would have never trusted her.'
"Do you know why I'm here?" Sylvester inquired, keeping his senses open to everything.
"I have only hints. The truth is only passed down through the generations of the Empress. I am a mere guide…"
"Sylvester is my name."
"Sylvester. I am the advisor, the guide of the Empress. I am tasked to warn of danger before it arrives. Alerting her to all the hidden spies and knives," she spoke, her yellow eyes glittering. "She is the only one who will lead us forward. Just as the visions say, as the Void ordered."
'She reminds me of myself.' Sylvester felt her manner of speech was too similar to his own. And the fact she could see visions alerted him. 'What if you're the one with knives? I can't correctly assess her strength either. Could she be a reincarnator like the previous Popes and Saint Scepters?'
He decided to test her reaction, "I know someone who said the same back in America once."
'No flinch, no reaction in eyes. The scent is ordinary too.' He didn't know whether to feel good or bad about that.
"America? Where is this?"
"Just a place not worth remembering anymore. So, what is the name of the Empress? How old is she?" Sylvester asked, more interested in the upcoming meeting now that he had a direct lead into the palace.
"Her name is Zartha, as for her age. I don't think there is a need to know tha—"
"Is that another airship headed towards us?" Dalgan abruptly interrupted and stood up, staring out of the window.
Sylvester calmly glanced, and indeed, a massive airship was headed straight toward them in a collision course. "It seems your friends found you, Oracle. Once again, not a very good spy."
Oracle glanced back at Sylvester's face. "Won't you do something? It's a military airship."
"I'm just a visitor." Sylvester remained relaxed, aiming to see how strong the Oracle even was. "I can say for a fact that even if they blew this ship apart, I wouldn't be hurt. But the innocents… aren't they your responsibility?"
Oracle's old, wrinkly face grew tense, but instead of standing up, she closed her eyes and clasped her hands. A moment later, she began to intensely pray in a loud voice. "O' the ruler of the Void, may my enemies lay destroyed. Your blessed soul, your Oracle speaks. Cleanse the insanity that makes the air reek. O' the rul…"
BOOM!
"What th—!" Sylvester jumped to his feet this time. He stared outside, and the entire enemy airship blew apart with a gigantic yellow lightning strike from the sky. But the interesting part was that the sky was completely clear and sunny. "Zeus?"
The entire airship vanished from sight in no time, falling down in the desolate dry landscape, burning away into ashes.
Sylvester watched the woman open her eyes and look proud. "Oracle, by any chance, is your name Sylvia or something like that?"
"What? I don't remember my name."
"What was that? A blessing from your god?" Sylvester questioned. "I've never seen gods intervene so openly before. Was that the same Void that you pray to?"
She proudly nodded. "My faith is strong. I am blessed as long as I sing his song."
'That's me!' Sylvester internally exclaimed.
"They are getting desperate now. The previous time I left the Imperial Capital twenty years ago, they had nearly captured me. But now they aren't even considering the innocent lives they might hurt," the Oracle muttered, a surprising wave of anger rising within her.
"Why weren't they killed if they're traitors?"
"Supreme Commanders are the first line of defense. They are needed to keep the world secure and ordered. Since their target was only me, I pleaded to the Empress to ignore their attempts. I have no fear, however, for my faith is strong," she explained, slowly easing up to Sylvester. "I apologize for the inconvenience."
'No matter what, she's a very good-mannered lady.' Sylvester nodded in appreciation. 'What a sad fate to be constantly hunted by your own.'
"But why? Just to kill you?"
"I never got to ask them."
'Understandable.'
Sylvester relaxed after that, since the trip would take hours to reach their destination. Although air travel was still nothing other than a complex hot air balloon. There was a limit to its speed.
So, he decided to share some nice snacks with the Oracle and Dalgan that he had brought from his world. The Bard's had worked overtime to fill up the massive containers, working overtime through multiple shifts.
"These are french fries. I got the uncooked ones to fry them with my hands." Sylvester seemingly brought out some food out of nowhere and cooked it with a wave of his magical hands. As if air frying it, they crisped up in no time. "Try it."
"You have spatial abilities?" she asked in shock.
"Something like that."
Crunch!
"Oh!" Dalgan ate it with no reservation. "I had heard about the Bard's before."
Crunch!
Oracle also tried it eventually. "We don't have these here."
"You don't have potatoes?" Sylvester asked. "In that case, we have the first eligible product to trade between our worlds. Mind if I show you a few more things?"
From there, Sylvester, the merchant, got to work.
…
It took them almost a day to arrive at the Imperial Capital. The magnificent, humongous city was so crowded that even the airship had to wait for its turn to enter the region. Eventually, with the Oracle's access level, they were able to head straight towards the Imperial Palace, a seeming city within a city reserved for Imperial administration matters.
Sylvester watched the mesmerizing view from the window. It was nighttime, and he could see lights everywhere as if in a futuristic sci-fi city with sky-high skyscrapers, the gap between which wasn't easily distinguishable.
"What do you use to light up the city?" He asked as they proceeded towards the landing site inside the Palace. "And what's the city's population?"
"A discovery of the Empress. She harnessed thunder using the warmth beneath our world. The subterranean lava fields helped produce all the electricity we need in the city—home to eight million people."
'Geothermal power plants? Makes more sense if the heat is widely available throughout the world.' Sylvester whistles at the size and numbers. 'At best, only Maximilia City has a million people back home.'
"We have arrived." The Oracle got up, "Follow me, I shall lead you to the Empress."
"It won't be easy," Sylvester commented out of nowhere. "Your friends are waiting outside… I can see it."
Confused, the Oracle looked left and right but saw nobody.
"He can see everything, Lady Oracle," Dalgan clarified like a good assistant. "They are probably outside."
"Perfect opportunity to ask them what they want from you," Sylvester suggested, walking faster than the Oracle, reaching the main exit.
Amidst the flashing lights from various tall buildings outside, Sylvester walked down the stairs and stepped on the huge tarmac area. Before him, there were almost a hundred demons in armor and weapons, with four tall and golden-cloaked ones in the lead.
'All four Supreme Commanders want to kill her?'
"Greetings," Sylvester spoke when the Oracle arrived behind him. "Can you tell me why you wis—"
"Catch the sacrifice!"
"Go!"
The four Commanders shouted all of a sudden. A few soldiers detached from the formation and rushed at them. But, amusing Sylvester, they passed him and grabbed the Oracle's arms before cuffing her wrists behind her old, fragile body.
"Sacrifice?" Sylvester was amused. "What would that achieve?"
"Take the two men as well!"
Quickly, the demons tried to grab Sylvester's arms, but they couldn't, no matter how much they tried. From two, their number increased to four, and they still couldn't move Sylvester, or even make him twitch. The same was the case for Dalgan, who was a Grand Wizard in his own right.
"You know, I can predict the future for the four of you," Sylvester started speaking, making no sense. "O' lord, with great sadness, I am having to bring you this news…"
"Shut his mouth!" A commander roared, aiming his spear-like weapon forward.
"My sisters, I feel your pain…" Sylvester continued even when six men tried to subdue him.
Finally, the four commanders became more serious, realizing these were no ordinary men.
"What are you rambling? Why are you? Why are you with the heathen? Speak, or I will flay you myself!" roared one of the commanders. "Supreme Commander Bakillan orders you to!"
Sylvester sighed and started moving with ease. "...I know it's hard to swallow… but your husbands committed suicide!"
BOOM!
