"You were very lucky, master. If your true talent had shown up after your Awakening, you'd probably be dead by now, or you'd have been brainwashed by the Congregation of Revelations and become one of them." Torne finished his speech while Onyx stared at him, mouth agape, aware that this force was not a good thing but worried about being around people who clearly had dangerous ideas or inclinations.
"Brainwashed? Does the Congregation of Revelations use that kind of taboo method?" Vicente asked, stopping what he was doing.
Torne laughed. "Not with ordinary people, because it's not worth it. But with someone who has the potential to become an Archmage or even something more powerful, you can bet on it. The temple members will do anything to maintain their power and influence.
If you get the two women, the Nun and the Devotee, to give up critical information about the Congregation of Revelation, you're sure to find some terrible things... I wouldn't be surprised if they were hiding secrets about the path to the 7th stage, what lies beyond Polaris Realm, and other critical issues."
Vicente narrowed his eyes. "Do you think someone with this information should release it to the public?"
"Hell, no! But if they were the order, they'd never pretend to want the best for the continent if they had such important information for the progress of the continent's magicians... The worst thing is not the selfishness of those behind the temple, master. It's their hypocrisy. Many think that the temple is what protects the continent, but is it? Who can guarantee that the temple isn't actually the great parasite of Polaris Empire?"
"A crook who stands by what they do is more trustworthy than a lying politician who does the same secretly," Onyx commented to Vicente and Torne.
"That's the point."
"Sigh! We'll see about that later. You have many reasons to hate the people of the temple, old Torne. But I don't doubt you. Layla's organization certainly hides a lot. I've sensed that even before my Awakening." Vicente sighed as he commented on the subject.
"I am relieved that the master understands the reality. I have my reasons for cherishing the order and hating the temple. But I don't think I'm influenced by the way I died. I sincerely believe that the order is morally superior to the temple and must be reborn from the ashes." Torne said as he gestured with his skeletal hands.
"Only you can do that, master."
"Rebuild the order?" Vicente looked at Torne with a smile on his face. "That would be difficult."
"Not as difficult as you think. With the Throne of Darkness, it's only a matter of time before a legion of Dark Path magicians follow you. Eventually, you will have no choice but to have your own Dark Path group."
"That's a conversation for another day, old Torne. I haven't met any Dark Path magicians yet, except for the people from that damned sect." He went back to analyzing the items around him, most of which were suitable for Dark Path magicians.
The absorbable resources would be very good for beings like Vicente, Torne, and Onyx but not so much for members of the Fuller family in general.
Torne said. "Keep that in mind. With the Cataclysm Moon Pendant and my help, even without using your Throne of Darkness, you can create a group that will work for you through the shadows of your family.
There are unimaginable benefits to having your own Awakening Altar and religion with potential followers across the continent. I'm sure that every day newly awakened Dark Path magicians are looking for places willing to accept them.
Most of these places have something to do with the bad reputation of our path. If there were another place for this kind of magician, many would come to us without us even trying."
"I will keep that in mind," Vicente commented as he finished collecting the resources in this place, leaving nothing for a potential visitor to see after them.
"I'm not leaving anything in this place, old Torne. The non-
absorbable items here are precious to my family, and the others could be useful to the three of us but also to Nina." Vicente said to his slave.
"Yes, your sister probably already has an elemental affinity for darkness. Some of these resources can be used now to try to improve her condition, but the others might help her to become stronger in the future." Torne agreed with Vicente.
He didn't want to leave anything for others. If Vicente went through with what he was planning, they would bring the order back to life and they would need resources like this in large quantities.
Torne didn't know what might happen in the future, so it was better to take everything with them.
So, after Vicente finished collecting the coins and crystals that were on this third level, they went down the stairs at the end of this area and descended to the final underground level of this secret altar.
Once there, Vicente and his two companions encountered another series of defenses on their way to the most valuable area of the entire altar.
But with the Cataclysm Moon Pendant around his neck, Vicente had no trouble disarming the defenses and barriers in front of him, and he soon gained access to a small spherical area where a small bridge led to a stone in the center of the area.
On the stone were some inscriptions and a small pocket where the most valuable resources of the place were kept.
Vicente stopped in front of it and quickly read the small text engraved on the stone before seeing a small old map below the text.
"These are the locations of other secret altars like this one, master," Torne said as he memorized the locations.
"And what's here?" Vicente pointed to a shiny metal object that contained a relatively strong spatial distortion for a space ring.
"Some resources can only be preserved under special conditions, master. There is a higher form of spatial storage that can contain life. This device in front of you has a small spatial dimension that can hold living beings.
It's not a lot of space, but it's enough to hold magical plants, small animals, and even a magician.
In the case of the device in front of you, I don't know what might be inside. It probably contains some powerful plants and herbs, probably at the 4th stage."
The purple glow on Torne's neck grew stronger, and he said. "It's not impossible that there's a living being within it with a pentagram that's useful for someone like you, master.
All you have to do to find out is put some of your mana into this device."
