Lucid's internal thoughts surfaced as he regarded Celeste across the table. 'This woman was practically a maniac when I first arrived in this place.'
Alice's voice emerged in his mind with amusement. "In what sense do you mean?"
"A power-hungry tyrant," he replied bluntly.
"How rude," Alice observed. Then she added with consideration, "Though she does seem genuinely kind."
Lucid nodded in confirmation. "That is because the domain of Mercyros robbed her will. It stripped away her capacity for selfishness and left only what remained underneath."
Alice continued the thought. "So this domain, what exactly makes it so destructive?"
"It robs people of currency and their will to negotiate or conduct transactions," Lucid explained. "It is essentially a magistrate with no personal interest, no desire for profit, no ambition beyond her sense of self."
He studied Celeste across the table. White hair framed her face, the strands catching the lamplight. A faint pink flush colored her cheeks. Her body possessed an elegance that reminded him of Ayame, though softer where Ayame was angular. Her hips curved. Her shoulders rounded. Her chest rose with each breath beneath the fabric of her garment. Small minions attended her movements, fragments of her own existence given minor form. They carried her utensils and vessels with coordinated precision.
"Is she your type?" Alice asked with deliberate teasing.
Lucid's hand jerked and his drink spilled across the table. The liquid splashed against Ayame's arm, soaking into her sleeve. He spoke without hesitation.
"No way. She is an old hag that stabbed me in a back alley and possesses an insatiable greed for profit and dominance."
Ayame wiped the fluid from her eyes with careful deliberation. She turned to look at Lucid, and her expression hardened into something that could have stopped blood in veins. Then without warning, she lifted her hand to her mouth and began licking the liquid from her skin. Her tongue traced along the lines where the drink had pooled. The motion resembled an animal grooming itself.
Celeste's eyes widened at the display.
"No one is normal," Alice cut in, her voice carrying dry observation.
Celeste cleared her throat and straightened her posture. "Well then, is there anything you would like to know before you depart from this place?"
Lucid's mind worked through the information he had gathered. He knew much about the Scattered Realms and the lost legends that resembled mythologies he had seen in Earth museums. But one detail confused him deeply.
"Earth," he said slowly. "Why is it considered a prophecy?"
Celeste's eyes widened briefly. She took a moment before responding, choosing her words with care.
"Earth is deemed a prophecy because we believe the Scattered Realms originated from a long-lost civilization. The fragmented places we discover, such as Apollo Heaven Fall and Everlight, carry the same characteristics as what appears in ancient scripture. They are remnants of this lost place, which is why we consider it a prophecy. All life and all ecosystems stem from this origin point. The current clans embody specific traits and provinces of that lost civilization."
"Clans?" Lucid asked.
Celeste nodded. "There are forces that govern the Scattered Realms as rulers. They exist beyond our normal understanding of hierarchy. The Transcendence is also governed by these clans. They almost hold the same status as the Monoliths themselves. A clan may have direct ties to kingdoms or factions, or they may stand apart. But all serve under Mother Alisia. Our information regarding them is limited, as they rarely descend into our realm. They have not been seen for a very long time."
"You said beyond," Lucid pressed. "Is there a limit to the Scattered Realms?"
Ayame shook her head. Celeste did the same.
"You can travel for eternity and never reach an end," Celeste replied. "However, certain factions have observed that the further you travel, the more oxygen becomes scarce, the colder the environment grows, and matter itself becomes... scarce until it becomes unlivable."
"I am no scientist," Celeste admitted. "My expertise lies only in the geopolitical state of the Scattered Realms."
Lucid leaned forward. "So if I understand this correctly, there are terrorist organizations running around causing chaos while none of your seven factions do anything to stop them? You are all incompetent. The Scattered Realms will surely fall in time."
Celeste wore a patient expression. "If I told you that Vex was one of the most stable faction in the Scattered Realms, would you believe me?"
"Not at all," Lucid replied.
Celeste allowed a hint of smile to cross her lips. "It is true that our ruling class is sometimes incompetent. But Ater is a faction comprised of three kingdoms that could truly be called an empire if it were not for her. Those kingdoms have fallen into theocracy entirely, Everlight, Heavenfall and Ateris, now known as Ater. They are ruled by a priestess of the Church of the Luminari Covenant, operating under theocratic suzerainty. Ater maintains deep ties with the Chapeu, which I trust you know. There is also the matter of the Congregation, which started in Shenzhou and later scattered throughout the Scattered Realms. The Congregation is speculated to operate from the land of demons, Ember Ascendant. They even bear their name."
"Then there is Materna," Celeste continued. "I trust you already know about them. Since they are the most influential, Their citizens are devoid of any human treatment. Any human dignity is nonexistent. The Empress possesses a constant need for ruling and domination, neglecting her subjects and everything they need. It is a miracle that Tyriana even stands. I send my regards toward the young master from that land."
Alice chuckled. Lucid smiled, reminded of painful history.
"Alfheim is the home of the elves," Celeste went on. "It is where the tree of life resides, expanding upward and equally donwards infinitely. We speculate it reaches the celestial realms. It carries its source of fate and fate essence, enriching the lands and inhabitants. However, they are extremely discriminatory against other races."
"Against anything that is not an elf," Lucid stated quietly.
"Indeed. Like yourself, myself, and your oni friend. Vex also has its fair share of discriminatory issues, though we attempt to maintain better standards than most."
Lucid narrowed his eyes. He realized during his time in Vex he had encountered very few demi-humans. Tyriana, where Karmen resided, seemed to have plenty of them. The disparity troubled him.
Alice spoke from his mind. "Interesting that you notice this inconsistency."
"Where are the demi-humans from?" Lucid asked Celeste.
She looked past him toward the ceiling, deep in thought. "Everywhere and nowhere. We are not certain. They do not originate from any single place. If anything, they are descendants of ourselves. Somewhere along the way, the first settlers in the Scattered Realms were exposed to so much corrosive fate essence and corruption that it changed their genetic structure, creating new life forms. Elves, demons, and more. That is merely speculation. Others theorize they come from another land in the outer Scattered Realms. The truth is nobody really knows which races come from where. We only know the homes they have established. It is quite difficult to pinpoint origin. But we assume humans are the most widespread and dominant race due to their influence and reach among continents and factions."
Lucid nodded. That made sense.
Alice shared her own insight. "So it is a home where even the sheep wander in hope and delusion."
Lucid shot back immediately. "I swear to God, you and your sheep martyr terminology!"
Celeste sighed. "Well, if that is all you wish to—"
She stopped. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed something glowing at his wrist.
"Tell me—"
"You are a participant of this centuries Transcendence, are you not?"
Lucid looked at his wrist from an angle where the light caught the marking at a specific curve. The symbol changed color frequently, shifting between hues in ways he could not predict or control. Most of the time he couldn't even perceive it clearly. The mark seemed to exist in a state of semi-presence, as if it might disappear entirely if he stopped paying attention to it.
Whenever he ate or brought his wrist close to his face during routine activities, he could see it more clearly. The energy radiating from the marking was faint but unmistakable. Blue one moment. Orange the next. The colors shifted without pattern or warning, yet the mark itself remained constant in its fundamental presence.
Alice's voice emerged in his mind, quieter than usual, carrying an unfamiliar uncertainty.
"The Transcendence. Could it be related to that queen you mentioned?"
Lucid didn't respond immediately. He turned his wrist slowly, watching the colors shift across the pale skin beneath.
Lucid spoke, his tone low. "After you disappeared to wherever you went, the princess at that time had this brilliant idea to force us into this thing. I still do not have a clear understanding of what it actually is or what its purpose entails. But the parameters are consistent. We must gather merit."
Merit. The concept was simple enough, yet when he examined it closely, it dissolved into ambiguity. Their true goal was not to resolve conflicts or kill opposing factions or harm people. It was to gather merit. But merit itself was a blurred concept, impossible to define with precision.
'What constitutes merit in the first place?' he wondered, turning the question over in his mind repeatedly.
He had become familiar with fate essence, with traits and titles and rifts. These were concrete concepts with measurable attributes. But this terminology of merit and faith, of reinforcing someone's thread of fate through belief, this was new territory entirely that wasn't a thing in earth.
He allowed himself a brief smile despite the frustration. Even in this forsaken shattered world, remnants of Earth's characteristics persisted. The same systems. The same structures. The same methods of measurement and rewards that the Illuminated had, received and went through were still very much there. Perhaps he wasn't as far removed from home as he had believed.
He shook his head, clearing the tangent.
"She sent us on a mission here," Alice stated, drawing his attention back to the immediate situation. "The queen. She designated this as part of whatever the Transcendence requires."
Lucid examined the wrist mark again. The color had shifted to a deep crimson now, pulsing faintly with what might have been rhythm or might have been his imagination. The more he focused on it, the more solid it became. The more he ignored it, the more it faded into the background of his awareness.
"What exactly did she tell you?" Lucid asked, his voice steady despite the growing complexity of the situation.