"That I am. But prithee, honour mine own queries. Wherefore hath I found thee here, wallowing in thy moral dilemmas rather than assisting mine own lord's newest fascination?"

Hargrave... had no clue what the ancient vampire was talking about. Not just because of his abstruse vocabulary, but 'lord'? 'Fascination'? 'Moral dilemma'?

Hargrave didn't have context for the above so he shook his head and readied his spear again. "What do you want from me? I have no connection to vampires."

"'Tis true," Cruor agreed, much to Hargrave's surprise. "Thou art the blood dominator of this cycle, but thou art merely a youth to us."

Hargrave was still wary. "...then why did you want to contact me so badly? The Commission is unrelated to my business. If you wanted to meet with me..." He scowled, his face darkening. "...then you should've sent someone to me instead of scheming to use others."

The vampire's indifference morphed into mild bemusement. "Thee believeth I hath used Goldcroft to message thee? Thou art inverting the importance I lodge on the two of you- ah." He paused and raised a finger while still seated on his sanguine throne. "I understandeth. This misconception wast on Goldcroft's behalf." Rivenwyard Cruor reclined back. "Thee presume I hath reached out to Goldcroft to contact thee."

Hargrave frowned. "Is there anything you could do about how you speak? I feel like I'm talking to a fae."

"A fae? I wanteth not to beest associated with the likes of those folk. Very well then." Cruor snapped his fingers and the throne melted into the glossy blood floor. His body unravelled into spools of blood and he reformed beside Hargrave, who whirled to face him with Eolith.

"Pray, cease brandishing that most nefarious lance. It appears we shall struggle to engage in a civil discourse whilst you wield such a violent instrument," Cruor suddenly announced from behind him, swiftly plucking Eolith from Hargrave's hands and dropping it onto the ground. It sunk into the blood, disappearing from sight.

Hargrave gritted his teeth in frustration, but some unseen force shoved him back. Instead of falling down, however, he landed in a chair. He blinked.

Cruor went to sit down and a chair formed from the floor beneath him. He crossed one leg over the other. "I daresay this could foster a more tranquil discourse," Rivenwyard began. He rested his hands on his knee and tilted his head. "Having not conversed with a mortal in countless millennia – or prior mortal in your case, I fear my manner of speaking may seem somewhat archaic in comparison to contemporary vernacular. Nevertheless, it is of little consequence. A minor refinement to my translation faculties, and we are poised to commence."

Hargrave still felt he had a lot to say about the vampire's language, but he held his peace. He looked around with narrowed eyes. "Where's Eolith?"

Cruor gave him a half-hearted wave. "The infernal lance resides securely within my dwelling. I shall return it to you, should you depart from here with civility."

Hargrave glared at him, but crossed his arms. "Let's begin this 'discussion', then. What did you want from me?"

"How remarkably bold of you to presume that I, the original vampire, might desire to obtain some intangible item of value with you; though, given the present circumstances, it is rather understandable," Rivenwyard replied dryly. "In response to your inquiry, I wished to make your acquaintance."

"...that's it?"

"And I shall endeavour to foster a more enduring correspondence with you, if it pleases, though that may be deferred. You see, contrary to what you and Goldcroft presume, my priorities lay not upon you, but rather upon her," Cruor stressed. "You are but a potential liaison to me that may indeed prove advantageous."

He stared. "Wait... why is Lucille so important?"

"It is a rarity for my sovereign to forge a connection with another. Such is the nature of politics—an earnest desire to make your acquaintance, should you find yourself in need of my assistance," the vampire replied simply. "Should Goldcroft hold me in high regard, the chances of my lord doing the same will certainly rise."

Hargrave didn't believe him. "So Lucille knows this 'lord' of yours? Didn't you say you hadn't spoken to a mortal in years? Why would this lord speak to mortals yet not you?"

"The mysterious yet benevolent nature of my lord is a quality beyond my imitation," Cruor said with a strange look on his face. "He possesses a commendable compassion, yet he bestows his affections uniformly upon his adherents, observing our conflicts akin to a guardian surveying the playful squabbles of children. He extends his explicit favour neither to myself nor to my brethren." Rivenwyard shook his head. "Do not presume I am the sole perpetrator of such endeavours. I have been informed that Acalypha attempted to confer with the winter elf dispatched to Tartarus at the behest of Goldcroft, but alas, was thwarted by her political adversaries."

Who's Acalypha? ...maybe I should bring this up with Lucille when I return.

Hargrave felt a headache burgeoning and held his nose bridge. "Well, you've met me now, haven't you? Is that all? Could I please leave now?" He hesitated as he recalled the convoluted question the vampire had asked him at the start. "Actually, what was that about helping Lucille?"

"I found myself rather intrigued as to why a personage of your martial prowess and strength is not accompanying Goldcroft as she embarks upon her perilous undertaking," Rivenwyard announced lightly. "One would assume that a spearmaster of your distinction would be an esteemed asset to her entourage; however, it appears she holds a differing opinion."

The vampire looked off to the side, a hand on his chin. His scarlet hair looked like blood as it framed his face. "To entangle oneself within the intricate politics of the Eternal Empire, amidst its Citadel of Fate and the wizards of light, will undoubtedly yield disastrous repercussions, irrespective of the worth of the abducted artisan..."

Hargrave stood up. "Lucille's in danger?"

"Danger... potentially," Cruor replied casually, taking no note of Hargrave's wary expression. "Should she be negligent, that is. I hold my lord's judgement in high esteem and thus have faith in her abilities."

The ancient vampire grew solemn and faced Hargrave directly. "Yet, what relevance does this hold for you? You have a Guild to vanquish. Undoubtedly, Goldcroft has forsaken you due to your inexperience with your draconic manifestation? Were you not undermining this Guild owing to their affiliations with a patron of the General of Blazing Iron?"

"...I need to go." Hargrave stood up and looked around.

Rivenwyard Cruor narrowed his blood red eyes. "Without so much as a farewell utterance?" He scoffed and stood up. The chairs dissolved. "Very well. It seems there is much to ponder. I shall reserve the remainder of our discourse for another occasion."

A snap of his fingers, and a portal to the outside appeared next to Hargrave. Just before he took a step, Cruor spoke up one last time.

"Patriarch, lend me your ear," he spoke seriously. "Your fortitude resides in lineage, and not the essence of mere mortals. The Patriarch of Blood may hail from humanity, yet you transcend the human realm. Unleash the power you have fervently sought."

Before Hargrave had even stepped through the portal the world began to change. "Wait! What about Eolith?"

"What purpose serves my fabrication of a spear for your grasp whilst you vacate from my mind's realm?"

Hargrave blinked once and then saw that he had returned to the spot he was last at. He looked up... and the sun hadn't even changed position.

That was... all an illusion Cruor created in his mind? I wasn't taken anywhere? So, all of it happened so quickly that barely any time passed...

The thought of such unattainable power existing, beyond what a Rank-5 like the General could do made him feel slightly uncomfortable but he put it out of his mind and spun around.

Firstly I need to go back to the Commission and find out what happened. Then I need to have a proper discussion with Lucille about her reasons for not contacting me, because I know she's not stupid enough to keep me out of this.

She hid it for some other reason.

"-so due to the fact that they entered the Aeonic plane through Aeternus, it is not impossible Sedric Ferin is held captive on an Old Era plane. Our spies have not located Sedric Ferin travelling through any of the Major Plane teleportation arrays on the Aeternus plane," Lucille finished reading. She calmly closed the letter and returned it to its black envelope. "There we have it. Sedric was taken to All-Aeon Athenaeum. The fact they took him to All-Aeon Athenaeum meant either they planned for him to stay hidden on the Aeonic plane – a risky endeavour with Radical's spies about – or take him to another plane."

Lucy looked up and spread her hands. "You can't access lesser plane planar arrays unless they're on the private estate of nobility, which means if Sedric is so sure about the mana feeling substantially different – he's probably on an Old Era plane."

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"How do you explain the Sundown Continent shard's potential links?" Vincent asked.

She clasped her gloved hands behind her back and gazed out of the window. The others watched her pensively.

"My summary of the situation is this," Lucille began, her voice cold and dry. "Four forces are involved in this, not including the Commission. The first, and weakest player in the situation is Radical. Radical is aware of Sedric's background and his links to the Dawn Dissenters, an organisation closely related to them. They want me to owe them a debt by both aiding my reclamation of my crafter, as well as implicitly giving me 'permission' to keep using the services of someone they believe should be part of their Faction." She turned around and paced the room. "Radical hasn't acted sooner because they feel confident with Sedric as a card to hold over me. This resulted in Olden using it to their advantage and capturing Sedric before he could meet anyone from Radical."

"This second player would be 'Olden' then," Jasten Albrecht grunted.

She gave him a nod. "I'll include the Citadel as part of Olden in this situation, as the Citadel's opportunistic tendencies are well known. With Olden being the most powerful faction in the Empire, the Citadel are Olden's allies. For now." Lucy crossed her arms and stopped pacing. "Olden arranged for Sedric to be taken by the Light Tower instead of some other more experienced crafter. I believe this is likely because they discovered his links to the Dawn Dissenters – a result of Radical's overconfidence. As for when they began to take notice of Sedric-"

"...Alichanteu?" Vincent murmured with a frown.

Scytale screwed up his nose. "When did Alichanteu mess with Sedric?"

"There was an altercation involving him and a supporter of Arwen Alichanteu, the second heir of the Blue County, during the crafter competition I arranged," Lucy stated. "I and the other Counties have sufficient reason to believe that through Arwen, Alichanteu has been compromised by Olden. This would've gotten back to them, and when they did a little research about Sedric, his past may have come to light."

Raegan, who had gotten his hands on biscuits and was eating them with his sister, pointed at her. "The third guys are?"

"The Light Tower."

Trisroa frowned, leaning against a wall. "Would they not be considered an adherer of Olden?"

Lucille shook her head. "They're the second weakest player in this game. The Light Tower was only a tool to take Sedric to the Sundown Continent plane shard. They don't know the significance of kidnapping Sedric, and will be used as a scapegoat when Radical inevitably brings this ordeal to light."

"But aren't the Light Tower a group of powerful light wizards?" Annaliese spoke up with wide eyes. "They would just sit back and let that happen?"

"Yeah, I don't get that part either," Garthe said, raising a hand.

"Often people outside of the Athenaeum have the misconception that the Light Tower is powerful because of its connections to the Citadel, and the fact it's a Wizard Tower, but the contrary is actually true," Lucy informed them while raising a finger. "The Citadel became close to them not because they were profitable but because they wanted to limit their influence. It would be bad for the Citadel's monopoly on healers if the Light Tower and Yellow Order started becoming powerful. The Citadel's influence on the Tower resulted in the rest of All-Aeon Athenaeum doubling the pressure. As such, the Light Tower is the weakest Wizard Tower in the Athenaeum. The Citadel is not strictly Olden or any other faction – it has different motives altogether."

Two people still hadn't spoken up. Larena didn't look like she had anything to offer, but Marellen was looking perplexed. His brow furrowed in confusion and he looked up. "Lucille, I don't understand who the fourth faction could be."

Lucy scowled. "That would be the Profound Emergent Jade Lotus Sect. And I think they and Olden are working together."

Vincent blinked and opened his mouth to say something, but he hesitated, frowned, and pulled back.

"Don't... Olden and cultivators hate each other?" Annaliese awkwardly spoke up. "Cultivators don't even live in the Mystical Realm..."

"The Wood Heavenly Sect is also known for its passive stance," Larena noted. "Unless they discovered something interesting about the Commission, then I don't see..."

"I am the valuable thing they discovered," Lucille interrupted.

All eyes landed on her and she ran a hand through her fringe in response to their expressions. "Something related to my soul that the Sect Leader may have discovered during last year's end-of-year Banquet."

Realisation dawned for Vincent, and even Roa's eyes widened a bit, but Raegan and Annaliese didn't seem to quite understand. Marellen, Garthe, Larena and Sir Albrecht were obviously completely lost.

It's likely better for me to reveal this now, as most of the people here know my age. Now that Jasten has revealed he's not loyal to the Citadel, I'll be able to make him slightly less wary of me, something needed for this trip. Marellen... I can't imagine the magic addict causing troubles with this information. He'll just want to know what spells I know. Roa already has suspicions. I'll just have to come up with an excuse about why I hid the truth from her earlier. The only issue are the two mercenaries.

Lucy stayed silent as she considered it. Eventually she turned to Larena and Garthe and sighed. "I'm sorry, but could you two please leave the room for a few minutes? We won't be long."

I'll forcefully change the topic after they're gone if we have to.

Larena raised an eyebrow but smirked. Garthe looked outraged. "What?! That's unfair! You're sharing a big secret aren't you?! I want to hear it too! Don't you trust us yet- wait, Larena, what are you- Hey! Let go of me!"

Larena dragged her brother out by his arm and shut the door behind them.

The room remained silent until Vincent spoke up, "If Garthe is reacting like that he can't be too offended..."

Lucy coughed lightly to bring their attention to her. "While I look like an eighteen-year-old... I'm 250 years old."

The ones who were originally in the dark stared at her. Everyone else watched their reactions closely.

Roa's eyes widened, but then her expression became frosty as she narrowed her eyes. Marellen continued to stare at her.

Jasten... he scowled. "I knew you weren't no damned kid!" He rubbed his neck and looked away. "I suppose that's more likely than an Aberration posing as a human..." he muttered under his breath.

Lucille magnanimously chose to ignore the Paladin comparing her to a literal monster and smiled brightly. "As such, I could imagine the Heavenly Sect becoming interested in me and suspecting I'm the first cultivator who managed to reincarnate in the Mystical Realm while still wielding my soul cultivation foundation."

She could just tell Marellen was opening his mouth to bombard her with a barrage of questions, so she fired off a silencing spell and the mage's mouth opened and shut noiselessly like a gaping fish. "I'm not, just so you all know."

Lucy cupped her hands around her mouth. "Larena and Garthe, you can enter."

A short moment later and the nosier of the two mercenaries burst in. He squinted as he looked around and then glared at them. "Show more emotion! How do you expect me to suss out what Lucy's secret is like this?"

The others mostly ignored him, looking at Lucy because she had raised a finger. "There is one detail that this theory doesn't cover though, and it's the fact that the Sect was involved in the Commission before I joined it."

"As such while the Profound Emergent Jade Lotus Sect is more actively involving itself in the Commission…" Vincent supplied.

"…it has always intended to become central to the political affairs of the Aurelian Commission," Trisroa finished. "Then how deep does this treacherous pit go?"

"A question to be answered another day," Lucille sighed. "The… organisation I'm in contact with responsible for arranging an internal affairs department has told me it's close to finalising who it wants from the members of the Commission. That'll likely aid us in the coming years." She shook her head. "Regardless, the Sect won't interfere directly when we visit the Sundown Continent. Therefore we come to the final question."

Lucille looked around. "Who's coming to the Sundown Continent plane shard?"

There was silence. The others exchanged meaningful looks and nodded.

Lucy's aide stood up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "I believe it was everyone's intention to come along, Lucille," Vincent said with a smile.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Everyone?"

He nodded. She didn't reply as she thought about it.

"Yeah, if Raegan didn't want to save Sedric then he wouldn't have told us he could track him with the hex!" Annaliese revealed while beaming.

Raegan went pink. "Anna!"

The clueless girl blinked and gave her brother a confused look. "What? Was that not it?"

He groaned and buried his face in his hands. Annaliese didn't seem to understand the boy didn't want others to think he liked being around any of them.

"I assume you are not opposed to our choice?" Roa asked carefully.

Lucille glanced at her and shook her head. She looked down at her pocket watch. "If that's the case… we need to make preparations now. Everyone get packing. We're leaving in two hours. And Vincent…" Her expression became grave. "We need to have a private discussion about the 'future'."

Vincent became solemn as soon as he understood her hidden meaning.

…

"Do you suspect there's a link between what happened to Sedric and your timeline?" Vincent began, getting straight to the point.

"Well, a kidnapping didn't occur now, to my knowledge," Lucy said with dark amusement. The others had left the room, while Scytale was lounging on the couch behind them. "But it brought me to question the events around the Commission a couple of decades from now."

Vincent looked pensive. "…about the Commission? This doesn't sound positive."

"I'm talking about its destruction," she replied lightly.

Vincent sighed and rubbed his temples. "Of course you were hiding a disastrous secret like this…"

"Or more like the disestablishment of the Commission." Lucille crossed her arms and tapped a gloved hand against an arm. "I wasn't involved in the Empire's politics around that time, but from what I know the Counties remained on good terms and the disestablishment occurred smoothly. Which means someone with a great deal of power facilitated its early dissolution to prevent his power facing too many losses."

"'His?' Do you mean…"

"Eternal Emperor Rodrigue Eterial," Lucille announced. "Of course, this only speculation, but the Commission was his idea at the early years of his rule. Perhaps the Commission became too unreliable and fractured to serve its purposes anymore."

Vincent paced the room in deep thought, taking her words seriously. "And you never suspected this because while Olden and Radical involving themselves in the Commission is unfavourable but expected, a Heavenly Sect involving themselves is extremely dangerous. That means they're influencing a core force of the Aeternus plane, the centre of the Empire's power."

That was what Lucy appreciated about Vincent the most. He could set aside his curiosities to work with the information given when it mattered most.

"This means we need to tread much more carefully when it comes to the Heavenly Realm," Lucy said. "Now that I know they might've have been one of the reasons why the Commission was dissolved, I can't let them succeed. Regardless of whether they're a Heavenly Sect or not."

"I understand." Her aide nodded. "After this trip I'll meet with Count Ravimoux to arrange countermeasures."

His reference to his own trip to the Sundown Continent shard made her fall silent.

"Are you sure about coming? I'm not going to say you'd be useless, because I'm sure we could use your intellect, but..." She grew serious. "Vincent, I'm going to retrieve Sedric because it was my involvement that put him in this situation. I wouldn't take a choice away from someone who wants it, but it's not mandatory for you to come. You're not a fighter, and if I hadn't entered the Commission you would end up fine, even if the Commission fell."

Vincent observed her and smiled. "I believed the whole point of me coming for such a swift trip was to deceive Olden's spies so that Ravimoux could uncover them in the Permafrost Glacial Abode Region?"

"Yes, but there are other ways we could keep them unawares-"

"Ways which won't be necessary." He held up a hand and shook his head. "I'm not stupid. I'll stay back with Sir Albrecht and the Verdon siblings. And I have my own reasons for doing this."

She raised an eyebrow. "What, so you can spy on me?"

"Not this time." He coughed lightly and looked away. "My position as your aide has been more profitable than I expected. With my administration class, I've nearly reached the max level for Rank-2."

Lucille blinked. "Oh. Congratulations. Then is it the experience boost from being distantly part of a battle you want?"

He nodded and Lucy paused. "If you're so eager to reach the maximum level for Rank-2, that must mean you want to become a Rank-3. You do know why non-combat Rank-3s and higher are so rare... correct?"

Vincent grimaced slightly. "I'm sure Tartarus' Stages will be an ordeal. It was an immense struggle in Rank-1 and 2. But I believe only someone of a Rank-3's calibre would be suited as the aide of the Aurelian Commission Head," he stated seriously.

Lucille put her hands on her hips as she looked at him but she smirked and turned to walk towards the door. "Suit yourself. You might want to look into that underutilised metal affinity of yours if you think you might reach Rank-4 or 5."

"My expectations are low," he muttered. But Vincent followed her out regardless.

...

-A few hours later-

Lines of mages and wizards with staffs in hand and heavy bags levitated off the ground above wind spells in the grand hall. In the distance, the bright luminous glow of violet space mana lit up the massive building. A navy-haired mage shifted agitatedly as he clutched a large case in his hands.

"Next... oh! Marellen Vadel!" the greying wizard behind the desk said with surprise. "Eager to return to this plane so soon? I would've thought that with that hefty load of artifacts you brought to Grand-mage Deflasar Sulfest you would be sitting in the profits for a few years at the very least!"

"Oh, I, um..." Marellen gave him an awkward smile. "Can't help it. There was so much to study on the Sundown Continent plane shard that I couldn't wait to get back."

The wizard chuckled and gave him a nod. "Well, who wouldn't take advantage of a Grand-mage's permission to return whenever you want? No other noble contributed so much to the Artificers and Athenaeum! Greedy upstarts, the lot of them, I tell 'ya," he grumbled. The wizard elbowed Marellen and gave him a wink. "And don't think I don't see that large case right there. Stocked to the brim with dimension bags, isn't it? Don't forget about poor ol' Barthem here when you come back, alright?"

"...I'll let you have an artifact if I find any more," Marellen replied weakly.

"Ah, but don't let yourself think I'm pressuring you or anything." The wizard winked and pressed a brass button to open up a gate of mana-circles. "Off you go. Not as many heading there this month, so you'll get the VIP speed treatment!"

Marellen barely remembered to give him a nod before he rushed off and shifted nervously while waiting on the planar array. The five minutes felt like an eternity, but eventually the violet light distorted his vision and he felt the realm bend around him. The next thing he knew, he was standing in a mostly-empty temporary camp town set up for the explorers near the north of the plane shard.

He rushed off and didn't look back until he was a couple of miles away from the camp. Then he quickly placed the briefcase down and undid the clasps.

"We're here," he whispered, cupping his mouth to help the sound travel down.

Straight black hair emerged from the briefcase and Lucille popped out, looking around with a hand over her eyes to take in the view. "See, I told you it'd be simple."

A brown-haired boy soon emerged from the case and stopped as soon as he got out. Lucy looked back. "So, are we right? I know what my guess is."

"Yeah," Raegan said with a frown. "Sedric is definitely here. And I can tell he's really deep underground too."

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