Chapter 460: Abandoned
"You have made quite the ruckus, Seika," Avadil said as he turned toward Arthur, receiving him in one of his inner rooms.
"I am not sure if you mean the Ancient One or the artifacts I gave you," Arthur shrugged. Avadil simply smiled as he took out a ring and placed it in front of Arthur.
"Our lowest estimates were one hundred thousand, but as you saw already, the bidding exceeded that. Your artifacts were sold to various bidders for a total of one hundred seventy-two thousand. We deducted the price of the hobgoblin from your earnings, and that leaves you with seventy-seven thousand."
"And they are all here in this ring?" Arthur picked it up, allowing his consciousness to gain a look at the inside. It was a humble s.p.a.ce, but it was enough to hold the gold coins.
"I would never scam you, Seika," Avadil smiled, and the two scars seemed to prevent his eyes from arching. "This is the biggest transaction I have done with a single individual since I started my auction house."
"You could have given Ma my earnings, but you invited me instead. Tell me what you want to say, Avadil."
"A man of insight indeed," the man seemed to refuse to forsake the pretenses. "I have invited you here to see what you think about the war summit that is happening in a few hours."
"I have never been to one if you ask me," Arthur frowned. "I believe that the king is seeking our opinions regarding the issue with the Mernars and how to handle Alva."
"It is a boring meeting, usually," Avadil said as he placed down a chess piece on the table. "The king has over a hundred strategists who can plan for him. However, this time, he chose to consult all of the n.o.bles and lords."
"Are you saying that something is different about this war summit?" Arthur frowned.
"I believe there is a message to be sent," Avadil said. "You do not know the king as I do, Seika. He is not a man of kindness. No kind heart can rule this kingdom."
"Are you warning me of his majesty?"
"I know that you do not serve anyone. You made that clear the first time you decided to stand up to Freda and its plans."
"The House of Phoenix," Arthur muttered. "You know something, don"t you?"
"I know a lot of things, but most of them are unimportant to the current matter. For example, I told you before that my father listened to a prophecy, have I not?"
"You have."
"The current king is following a different prophecy, and I was able to know one detail out of it," said Avadil with a smile as he placed another piece. "It involves a one-armed slave from the east."
"Are you saying that it was not a coincidence?"
"Everything is by design," Avadil said as he kept introducing chess pieces. "You should have seen the clues. The king has repeatedly forgiven your offenses and believed that an ex-slave can build a city."
"I am the Seika of Living Beings,"
"You are indeed, to many people," the prince paused and placed another piece on the table. "However, you are no historian. I have studied every ancient scroll I can find, and I realized one simple fact. The power of Seikas are not inherited, and there is no connection between those who carry it."
"What are you trying to say, Avadil?"
"There was never a Seika of Living Beings until you appeared. Every Seika who dies reincarnates into another, so there is always a Seika of Light, Seika of Shapes, Seika of Metals, and Seika of Wind, but there was never a Seika such as you."
"Maybe there was one before, but you simply did not know it."
"You appeared for a few months, and you changed the power balance between two kingdoms. I cannot believe that a person with your powers existed before. I know that you are a Verniz, a lost one, so it makes me wonder. Seika, who exactly are you?"
Arthur was silent as he pondered an answer. He didn"t know if this man was bluffing, but he seemed to carry no bad intentions. However, it appears that Avadil was not looking for an answer from him.
"I do not approve of King Solomon"s ambitions," Avadil revealed, and it threw a blanket of silence over the room. "This is my biggest secrets and my biggest regrets. I helped a man, but he is no longer the same. Solomon is possessed by a wish to go against life, and he is planning to use you to achieve it."
"If I am not the Seika of Living Beings, then there is no way that he can use me. I am a fraud, right?"
"You are far more powerful than any Seika who has appeared. The Knight of Honesty told me of what happened against the duke. Therefore, you should not be a Seika but a vessel of an ancient being. Solomon is trying to keep you for that sole belief."
"What is happening in the war summit?"
"Nothing that you need to prepare for," Avadil took out a chess piece and slammed it on the table. It threw all of the other chess pieces off balance, and they fell.
The final chess piece was a king.
***
The war summit arrived as Arthur finished dealing with Lily Auction House, agreeing on the materials needed to build his city. The war summit was happening in the temple when the two lines crossed.
Arthur arrived at the avenue without Ma or Dia because they were neither n.o.ble nor lords. Instead, a pair of knights stood on each side of the entrance to the temple, which looked as ancient as the word temple itself.
The ground of the temple was spotlessly clean as he walked into it. As befitting of a place of worship, the area was quiet. Arthur walked into a circular plaza where a statue was erected. The man in the statue was none other than the one who gave him his legacy.
"Jizo, if that was your real name," Arthur stood in front of the statue with a blank face. The guardian was carrying a book, and in another hand was a spherical artifact floating above his hand.
"G.o.d of Artifacts."
These words were written at the base of the statue, and they signified the pride of this kingdom. Then, as Arthur looked at them with a complex gaze, a man strode to stand beside him.
"Are you a follower of our G.o.d?" asked the aged man, who had gray hair and a wrinkled face. "Or are you one of the guests?"
"I can"t say that I am one over the other," Arthur said vaguely. "How did it all start for the religion of Schelera?"
"It started with a simple man, who sought the hidden secrets of the world. A man who gave humanity what they needed to fight against evil. It started with no other than the scholar, who later became a guardian of humanity."
"The religion of the Scholar Guardian started with him," Arthur sighed. "I cannot say that I"m surprised."
"It started because of him, but not with him," said the old priest as his shriveled hands wiped away at the words written on the base. "Our G.o.d did not want to be worshiped."
"What did he want, then?"
"Peace for us," the priest"s voice was serene. Arthur stared at his lonely back and wondered what kind of peace he meant.
"Answer me, worshiper. The calamities are here, but all of the G.o.ds are gone. Are we the abandoned and prisoners of this land?" his words would cut through the heart of any believer.
The priest paused his movement before standing up. Arthur could tell that his body was failing him, but the man proudly stood as he turned to answer Arthur. Unexpected by the man, his face held no anger.
"We are being tested, and this is also our redemption. The G.o.ds are giving us a chance to prove that we are worthy of salvation. Then, when the time comes, the G.o.ds will reappear through their vessels, and the calamities will terrorize us no longer."
Arthur realized a single fact from his words. This religion did not originate out of gratefulness or worship to the guardian. On the contrary, it was born out of fear and a self-made promise that they could be saved as long as they worshiped them.
There was a single goal for Arthur"s legacy, and that was to prevent those of Earth from coming to Alka. It was a way to negate the damage occurring to the barrier separating the two worlds and saving humanity from the calamities.
Arthur realized before that this world was the abandoned one. He was able to tell from the moment that he learned this world had people in it. It was a simple matter to connect the dot and realize that Jizo was asking him to sacrifice one world for the other to survive.