Eric looked at Max after Voyage teleported and said, "What do you think about the offer?" Max looked at Eric and replied, "I feel he was being too honest and desperate. When someone is saying the truth too much, something is definitely up." Eric nodded his head in disagreement and said, "I don't think so. He was being honest to build trust. He even accepted that we are cannon fodder, but didn't say it directly."
Max looked out of the balcony and asked Eric, "So, is there anything else we can do other than trust them?" Eric stayed silent for a few seconds to recount all the chips they had and the resources they could use. Unfortunately, they were really broke and exposed. They needed the support of an organisation—who else would be better to take support from than one of the four great bodies of the Aura region? However, he couldn't help but feel worried about their intentions. After thinking for a long time, Eric decided to act logically. "We can't do anything other than trust them. However, we can't trust them fully. It is better to stay as vigilant as possible. We should also try to get support from the other bodies to make a balance. For now, let's just go to sleep, spend the next day normally, and then head to meet the Trapper and hear him out."
"Do you think he was threatening us using our exposed status?" Max asked. "Yes, he was, but he wasn't wrong. If it were me, I would have done the same. That Voyage sure has a lot of experience. No wonder he was chosen to be part of this operation," Eric explained and praised Voyage.
"What is the goal of all four great bodies in Paris that made them send their members here, and what did he mean by 'second one' and 'third one'?" Max asked Eric in confusion, hoping to get an answer. However, even Eric didn't know the reason for any of his questions. "I don't know. The only reason we are even here is that the voice inside my head showed me a vision of the Eiffel Tower in my dreams, as I've told you... Wait, the Eiffel Tower?" Eric answered until he realised something and started mumbling as he put his left hand on his chin and began to think.
Max looked at Eric with widened eyes and asked, "Did you realise something?" Eric didn't answer for a few seconds before a smile crept up on his face. He looked at Max and said, "Yes, I did. We have one more thing up our sleeve. The voice seemed to give some important clues."
After speaking for a while, Max yawned and decided to go back to his own room as he said good night to Eric. A grey bubble came out of his shoulder as he walked into the wall behind the sofa and disappeared.
Eric also decided to stop thinking and go to sleep to finally get some rest and regain his energy. He opened the door to his bedroom and saw Ruby deep in sleep. He walked up to the window of the room, pulled a stool, sat on it, and stared at the moon again. After a few minutes, he was fully calm again. He stood up, put the stool back in its original place, and lay on the bed. He looked at Ruby's face one last time with a gloomy gaze before closing his eyes and falling asleep.
The night passed, and another day came. Today was Thursday. Tomorrow was the day Eric was going to meet the Dimension Pathway Hypernova. He got up from his bed and followed his usual routine. Today was going to be just another normal day—or at least he hoped so. If he thought logically, there should be no attacks on him today since he would be helped by a Hypernova from the Divine Karma Organisation if he were to get in trouble, but this was also what worried him. He and Max were exposed and could be attacked at any time.
Eric stood up and looked around his bedroom. There was only he lying on the bed. He stared at the wall with a gloomy gaze for a few minutes before stretching his body and getting up. He realised he might have taken too much stress yesterday. If he didn't relax and let situations like this keep happening, he would definitely lose control. He needed something to safeguard himself and Max and gain a standing point to remove this pressure. He hoped the meeting with the Trapper tomorrow could fix that.
He went into the bathroom, brushed his teeth, took a shower, put on his clothes, and walked to the dining table. He looked at Ruby, who was setting up plates. She looked paler than ever before, and her body language seemed weak and spooked. She was looking down gloomily and wasn't energetic at all. She didn't greet him with "Good morning," or tell him what dish she had made, or even scream the title of the video she had watched on YouTube to make the dish. Eric looked at the plate and saw a new dish—at least that hadn't changed. "Ruby, are you feeling okay?" he asked her with a worried tone.
"Yes, but I just feel heavier. It seems I have become fatter," Ruby told Eric with a self-deprecating comment. Eric blinked his eyes, and his heterochromatic pink eyes became bright pink with four black downward arrows around his black-dot pupil. In his vision, he saw inside Ruby's body. There were a myriad of colours—blue, red, yellow, a little purple, and many others. All the colours were in their right places, and she seemed healthy. However, around her shoulders there were two black spots, as if something was pressing on them. "Is a curse spirit haunting her? I will have to hunt it down with Max tonight," Eric thought as he walked up to Ruby, pulled her into a hug, and started to caress her head.
"What are you doing?" Ruby screamed weakly at Eric's sudden act of hugging her, but she was too weak to push him away. Eric put his left hand on her back, and golden liquid seeped out of his hand and into her body. Eric gently pushed her away and asked, "Feel better?"
Ruby looked left and right, moved her shoulders, and nodded in agreement as she said, "A little." She smiled a little and gave a hug to Eric. "Revenge time." Eric hugged her back and looked out the window with a gloomy gaze. His eyes at that point were a little darker, with no light reflecting from them. They sat down at the dining table and had their breakfast.
After having breakfast, Eric left for work. He took Max, and they walked to the police station. Even now, they were vigilant and didn't use teleportation at all. After reaching the police station, Eric and Max met Claude and had a short conversation. Claude handed them their ID cards. "Congratulations on becoming official police officers," he congratulated them. Eric, from behind his sunglasses, activated his other vision and checked Claude as they shook hands and talked. All his colours could be said to be stable. However, in his chest area, there was a cluster of black-red colour in the shape of a sphere, and unlike before, the sphere had become bigger and had started to become materialistic, like a ball of flesh squelching. Eric didn't try to heal it in case he also became "tainted." He had to kill the person who had tainted him to remove this "tumour" or use some other means, which he didn't have access to right now due to a lack of resources.
After changing their clothes and getting their guns and equipment, Eric and Max went out to patrol. For the first few days, this was all they were going to do before they could get some real cases. Claude explained it as "fitting and fairness." Eric didn't mind it, obviously.
Max was reluctant to let Eric be alone in case he got attacked again, but Eric assured him he wouldn't be attacked. Even if they were to get attacked again, the one who needed to worry was Max. "I want them to come," Max smiled and told Eric before leaving.
Eric was walking around aimlessly while trying to observe his surroundings and make sure to help someone whenever he could. However, he was more focused on observing whether someone might be following him or creeping up on him. After a few hours, Eric started to let his guard down and didn't bother much. He was still very observant, though.
Eric was very confused today. There was no crime happening today, not even a small thief running to steal a lady's bag could be seen. Everyone around him was very happy and helping each other, actually. Everyone was smiling and giving their stuff, like money, food, and clothes, to others in need, and the people receiving help were very grateful. There was even a young man who, to save a dog from getting hit by a car, threw himself in front of the car. Eric was able to save that boy, luckily.
Eric himself was feeling happier and more empathetic than ever before. He was having the urge to go to a bank, take a loan, and give charity to all the poor people in Paris. He knew that something was not right. This was not like him at all. He thought and figured that it was the effects of the Goodness Pathway, but where was the Aura user? Eric looked around but found no one. Neither his intuition nor his premonition was triggered. There was no one.
This may seem like the setup for an attack, but it wasn't. "This is the effect of the uniqueness of the Goodness Pathway," Eric figured and started to walk away, but no matter where he went, the effect stayed. He was on guard, looking around for any enemy.
He walked and walked, and even started to teleport using his golden liquid. He headed wherever the effects became stronger. He endured the growing kindness and empathy in his heart and reached a road named Rue de l'Église, also known as Church Street. He was led here by the growing effects. Here, the effects were even stronger.
Eric walked around the street, went upstairs, looked around, and witnessed the churches on the street. He would have been eager to learn about their history if not for being busy handling his kindness. He took out his phone, looked at the entire place on Google Maps, and remembered every detail of the place.
Just as he was walking around, his intuition told him to stop and look to the right, which he did, and he saw a simple church. There was a small staircase that led to the black main door of the church. Around the staircase were two grey pillars with silver lining, and around the main door on each side were two huge blue-yellow stained-glass windows. As far as Eric remembered, this church was never here.
He looked around and saw a man walking toward him. He stopped the man and politely asked with a smile—a little too big a smile—"Hello, sir. Sorry to interrupt you, but may I ask you some questions?"
The local smiled and nodded happily. "Yes, officer. Ask me whatever you want to. I am happy to help you, even if it only helps you." "Too kind," Eric thought before opening his mouth and asking, "Sir, are you a local from around here?"
"Yes, I am," the local man answered. "Have you ever seen this church while walking around, sir?" Eric asked while pointing to the church on his right side. The local turned his head to look at the church, put his left hand on his chin, and thought for a few seconds before speaking. "Hmm... Officer, I have to say I have not seen this church here before, but I also feel like this church was always here. If I look back, I can remember memories of me playing with my friends around this church, but they are blurry right now."
Eric smiled at the local and thanked him for his help. After the local left, Eric gazed at the church and felt calm but also heavy. He felt as if thousands of eyes were staring at him without blinking. He turned his body to face the church and decided to head inside. He took his first step, then the second, then the third, walked up the staircase, and knocked on the church's main black door. No one opened the door. He suddenly remembered that you don't need to knock on a church's door—just head in. He must have been influenced by the effects of the Goodness Pathway. He pushed the door as it slowly opened and headed in.
The moment he entered the church, his body stabilised, and his emotions became normal. There was no more kindness or growing empathy in his body; the only thing that remained was calmness. Eric looked ahead and saw a person in grey robes sitting in front of a black altar, praying. The person had two cross-shaped silver earrings in both of his earlobes.
Eric stared at the man for a few seconds. He activated his vision and looked around. He was shocked to see that the man in front of him had no colour in his body except pink and yellow, representing love, happiness, and empathy. Around the walls, there were thousands of figures—some white, some yellow, some pink, of all shapes—staring at him. "Angel Spirits," Eric thought. He deactivated his vision as he didn't want to enrage the Angel Spirits, already looking at him angrily. He walked on the red nave and stopped a few steps before the sitting Father, who was still praying, oblivious to his presence.
Eric looked up at the black altar and saw the statue of an old man with a wrinkled face who wore a tattered grey robe. He had grey hair and grey-silvery eyes. He also wore two cross-shaped silver earrings in each earlobe. He had a book in his left hand, which he pressed close to his chest. His entire body was scarred, and his right hand faced forward, as if preaching something with absolute determination even while being injured and facing predicaments.
Eric looked to the right and saw a stoup attached to the wall filled with pure water. By its side was a confessional and a brown lectern.
On his left was a brown organ and pulpit. On the two sides of the black altar were two stained-glass windows that illuminated the dark church. By the walls were multiple candles lighting the place and making it holy.
From an unknown origin, a sweet and gentle symphony was being hummed by multiple voices, making anyone who heard it feel peace and calm, making them realise their sins and repent for them by confessing and doing good deeds.
"This is definitely no ordinary church," Eric thought. Even though he was in a place that was too calm and sinful, he didn't let himself stop thinking and lose his rationality and logic, and just confessed all his sins.
Just when Eric finally decided to speak up and talk to the Father, the Father ended his prayer, stood up, and looked at Eric with a gentle smile and warm gaze. The old man looked exactly like the statue placed above the altar; however, he had fewer wrinkles, looked younger, and his grey robe wasn't tattered, and there were no scars on his body.
"Hello, Father. I apologise if I interrupted your prayer," Eric bowed and apologised calmly. His eyes were half-open now due to the calmness he felt. The Father nodded his head in disagreement and assured Eric with a gentle voice that could make even the most troubled souls feel calm and serene. If it had been a normal person, they might have started shaking and crying.
"Son, you are Eric Heisenberg, right?" the Father spoke calmly and slowly, taking his time to say every word. Before Eric could answer the question, the Father raised his right hand and spoke calmly, "Let's have a seat before we continue our conversation."
Eric nodded, turned back, and sat on the outer edge of the first seat of the right row. The Father sat on the outer edge of the first seat of the left row. They both stared ahead at the altar, and no one said anything for a long while. They just closed their eyes and took in the sweet symphony.
After a long time, Eric opened his eyes and asked, "Father, what is your name?" The Father slowly opened his eyes and answered Eric's question. "You can call me Father Irenaeus." Eric asked another question, "Can you tell me how you know my name?"
Father Irenaeus revealed a smile and answered, "I knew you would be coming here. How do I know your name? The Lord told me. Do you believe in Him?" Eric replied, "I do not believe in any lord or God."
"Then who do you believe in?" Father Irenaeus asked. "I believe in what is real and exists," Eric answered. "What if the Lord is real?" Father Irenaeus asked. "If He is, then I still don't care—as long as He is not doing anything to me, I am fine with Him existing." Father Irenaeus smiled at Eric and asked, "What if He does interfere with you?" "I will burn Him to the ground and make sure He doesn't get in my way," Eric replied. "In your way to what? Your goal? What is your goal?" Father Irenaeus asked another question. Eric stared in front of him before looking down and saying softly, "I do not know. More accurately, I have forgotten what my dream was. I once thought of accomplishing something, reaching somewhere, touching something, and experiencing that something. However, now that I am 24 years old, I have forgotten what that dream of mine was."
"It is alright. I am sure you will remember your dream in the future. You must have many questions to ask. Ask me; I will answer your questions to the best of my abilities," Father Irenaeus told Eric.
"Tell me first—are you an Aura user?" Eric asked with an emphasized voice. Father Irenaeus shook his head and explained, "No, I am not. I am just a piece of this church that preaches teachings of sacrifice, peace, kindness, empathy, understanding, and coexisting without any hate toward the other."
"But isn't that an ideal world? It is human nature to hate others, want resources from others, be greedy, kill and slaughter others for their loved ones?" Eric questioned the teachings of Father Irenaeus. Father Irenaeus nodded. "That is true. However, after fighting, hate, greed, lust, slaughtering, and killing, peace, coexistence, and kindness naturally come and stay for a long time before another war happens. There can't be an ideal world, but there can be a world where peace exists for a long time."
"I find no problem with it. You are right—peace is just a temporary and calm point in the cycle of human nature." Eric agreed with Father Irenaeus, and they both fell silent for a while before Eric asked another question. "This church wasn't here before and is now here, spreading the effects of the uniqueness of the Goodness Pathway and having thousands of Angel Spirits living in every corner. What is this church? A huge Rank 0-level relic of the Goodness Pathway?"
"Yes and no. The church is not a relic of the Goodness Pathway but something even more important than that. If you had been an Aura user of the Goodness Pathway, you would have been said to have found a diamond in a galaxy of dust. The church appearing, however, is random. I can only control it to a certain extent. It goes wherever its heart desires. It is normally attracted to places where there is a lot of happiness, understanding, empathy, and coexistence. I was barely able to get it here. Wherever it appears, it spreads kindness, empathy, and the urge to do good deeds and sacrifice yourself and your belongings for the well-being of others."
"Then, can you tell me what this church is if not a Rank 0 relic?" Eric asked. Father Irenaeus answered, "You need to be a Hypernova before you can even begin to comprehend the type of place you are in."
"Is that so?" Eric mumbled under his breath. "So this is the type of knowledge that will make me lose control?" Eric thought and asked, "What is the name of this church?" "Church of Serenity," Father Irenaeus said in an ethereal tone. Eric could feel his pink and golden liquid cause ripples in his body and start to act up before calming down due to the effects of the church.
"Any other questions?" Father Irenaeus asked. Eric shook his head, indicating he had no other questions. "Then let's enjoy this warm serenity for a while." Father Irenaeus suggested. Eric nodded his head, and they both closed their eyes and listened to the sweet melody.
About what felt like two hours passed, and Eric woke up from his nap. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, and saw that his head had been on the lap of a white ethereal figure who was glowing like stars in the night sky. The moment the figure noticed him waking up, it disappeared, and Eric sat up and looked around. He found that Father Irenaeus was still sitting in the same place with his eyes closed.
As if sensing him waking up, Father Irenaeus opened his eyes and looked toward Eric and asked, "My Lord has told me that you will be meeting a certain Hypernova tomorrow evening. Do you require any help?" Eric looked at Father Irenaeus with a suspicious gaze. "Did the Angel Spirit just now search my memories while I was sleeping? Well, it was my fault for sleeping, so who could I even blame?" Eric nodded his head in agreement and asked, "It depends on what kind of help you can give me. What can you give, though? You seem quite restricted and unable to give me direct help. Your control over this church... You also don't seem to be part of any organisation."
Father Irenaeus laughed and said while taking out the cross-shaped silver earring from his left earlobe, "The help I can provide is far greater than any other organisation can give you."
He handed the silver earring to Eric. Eric reached out his left arm and took the earring from Father Irenaeus's hand, and started to observe every part of the earring. He could only think of one word while looking at the earring: "Beautiful." Eric was sure that this earring was a relic and was just about to send in his golden liquid when his premonition flared up like an alarm clock, and Father Irenaeus warned him not to try that. He could if he wanted to lose control and become a monster, though.
Eric looked at Father Irenaeus and asked him, "What is the information regarding this relic?" Father Irenaeus smiled as he stood up, touched his forehead with his finger, and all the safe knowledge regarding the relic started to come into Eric's mind. The one piece he didn't get any information on was the relic's origin, as he didn't see any memory. After looking at the information about the relic, he was glad he didn't.
Rank: Rank 0 Pathway: The Goodness Pathway Effects and Usage: The user can store and control thousands of Angel Spirits. The higher the rank, the lower the number of Angel Spirits that can be stored. The user's affinity with Angel Spirits increases exponentially. The user can store their good deeds in the relic and gain blessings in exchange for them at times when they are in danger. The blessing gained is random but suited to help the user escape the situation they are in. The user can even store sacrifices of others and use them to make weapons... Negative effects: The user must sacrifice a part of himself or of others every time the relic is used. Origins: Unknown.
Eric's eyes widened upon realising the rank and effects of the relic, and he looked at Father Irenaeus with widened eyes. He was completely shocked. A relic of Rank 0! Any relic of this level is enough for one to fight off a True Supernova. The strength it gives any Aura user of any rank is huge. If he had been an Aura user of the Goodness Pathway, he would have been jumping around and screaming with absolute joy in his heart. However, he had already decided to refuse this relic. The reasons were simple: he was too low-ranked. Even if he got this relic, every usage would make him lose a part of himself, both physically and mentally. He couldn't handle the massive negative effects while being such a low rank.
"Haha, I told you that the help I will give you will be greater than any other organisation can give you," Father Irenaeus laughed amiably. Eric shook his head and said with a gloomy expression as he handed the earring back to Father Irenaeus, "I am sorry, Father Irenaeus, but I can't accept this relic. Ignoring all the other factors, just the negative effects alone are too much for a low rank such as mine to handle."
Father Irenaeus put both of his hands around Eric's left hand and pushed his hand back to him and explained with a smile, "You don't need to worry about the negative effects; they will be handled by the church itself. Use it however and as much as you want—no need to worry about the negative effects. Not only that, the earring connects you directly to the church itself, so just keep it in your pocket, and no matter what happens, I can help you through the church. Now there is a perfect balance made."
Eric stared at Father Irenaeus with a strange expression. "I know that you don't trust me—you don't need to—but it is better to accept the help of others sometimes."
"I am not worried about that," Eric explained. "What do I need to do to get this relic? There's got to be a catch."
"You don't need to do much. Just go to the confession room and confess your mistakes and sins, even if you think they are not significant or bad. Just let everything out."
Eric looked at the confession room and got ready to confess.