Chapter 24
Ardston
"We made it!"
Karasu hopped out of the wagon and raised her hands to the sky in celebration.
"Honestly, we went through more trouble than I anticipated, but despite that we're here!"
Tokiya sucked his teeth as he stepped onto the ground.
"Yeah, let's just hope this was all worth the trouble."
Now that he was out of the wagon, he could finally see Ardston for himself. For Tokiya, the Istar outpost was a very impressive place with all the people and various things to do. However, the towns he visited with Berserker beforehand kind of prepared him for it. But nothing could prepare him for Ardston.
There had to be at least ten times as many people there than in the Istar outpost, and they were all from completely different walks of life. Tokiya saw merchants, musicians, artists, scholars, chefs, residents, and even tourists.
This diverse crowd of people brought along with them their unique professions and hobbies. The smell of various foods from different restaurants blended in Tokiya's nose, and the sound of beautiful music came from each direction. The art pieces he saw either hung up or for sale were nothing to scoff at either.
And of course, in a place called "The City of Culture," the architecture was amazing. The buildings around Tokiya were some of the tallest he had ever seen and also the most well designed. They certainly weren't the most modern buildings, but that wasn't the point. Their beauty came from intricate details and clear history.
Tokiya's eyes darted around as he began to breathe nervously. Karasu glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.
"You ok, Tokiya?"
Tokiya gently tugged on the collar of his shirt. Small beads of sweat began to form on his body.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a lot to take in."
He tried to look straight ahead, for looking all over was just hurting him in this situation. That's when he saw it.
It was a woman. However, just saying that was a massive understatement. This woman had sharp cat-like eyes, but her most prominent features were her two cat ears on the top of her head.
Tokiya whispered to Karasu.
"I-Is that a hybrid?"
Karasu nodded.
"Yup, sure is. Wait, hold on. You've never seen a hybrid before, have you?"
Tokiya shook his head. Of course he hadn't seen a hybrid before. After all, most of them were driven out of Oravell during the Oravellian Purge around 250 years ago. It was an effort made by the country of Oravell to expel the dragon race from the country in fear of their power. Although hybrids weren't the main target of the effort, they were still affected gravely. In the end, the dragon race was left near extinction with only two surviving, and most hybrids fled Oravell.
In his overstimulated state, he felt the need to hold onto Karasu's arm. He felt like Karasune.
"No, never... This is all too much."
Karasu pushed him off of her, standing him on his two feet.
"Well, you better get used to it because we have a lot of work to do!"
He grumbled.
"Can we rest first?"
Looking genuinely horrified by that suggestion, Karasu pointed a playfully stern finger at Tokiya.
"Rest? How dare you speak of rest. You had your time to rest on the long ride here. But now, you have the nerve to recommend rest when you should be figuring out how to save your life. Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Despite Karasu obviously joking, her statement hit home for Tokiya. He straightened his posture and set aside his weariness.
"You're right, Karasu. I've survived multiple attempts on my life. A stupid city should be nothing for me!"
With that, he stomped forward with determination. Karasu stared at him dumbfounded. She didn't know where he was going, and she doubted that he did either.
She sighed.
"I can't make any jokes around him."
Karasu chased after him.
"Tokiya, wait up!"
The two began to make their way through the packed streets of Ardston. By the looks of it, they seemed to be in a sort of artist's alley section from all the vendors, art, and music. Because of this, it was naturally very busy.
"Try not to get overstimulated, Tokiya. Also, don't get lost. Perhaps I should hold your hand to solve both problems."
Tokiya furrowed his brow.
"Yeah, no thanks."
Karasu shrugged smugly. She knew Tokiya would never accept any of her teases, but the idea of success was never the point for her.
"Suit yourself. Do you even know where you're going?"
"No, but I just need to walk for a while to calm myself."
Karasu put her hand on Tokiya's shoulder and launched herself in front of him.
"Then allow me to take the lead. After all, Ardston is one of my favorite cities in this country, so I'm more than qualified to perform this tour."
Tokiya frowned.
"It's not a tour. We're saving my life, remember?"
After immediately putting on a serious expression, Karasu performed a half salute.
"Right! This is a work trip and a serious one at that."
Tokiya rubbed his forehead.
"Just get going. You said everything I need to master my Divine Blessing is right here in this city, so let's make it happen."
Karasu smiled.
"Yes, sir. Just follow me."
As they started to walk, this time with Karasu in the front, Tokiya corrected Karasu.
"Don't call me sir."
Karasu seemed rather confused.
"Hm? Why not? I meant it genuinely."
Tokiya shivered, slightly emulating Karasu's dramatic nature.
"Yeah, I know, but your voice has a way of making normal things weird."
Karasu scoffed.
"Oh, so someone's trying to be funny? You better remember your place, straight man."
Tokiya chuckled. Every bad thing he said about Karasu he meant. However, he had to admit that he was way too harsh on her, but he just realized why. It was because he genuinely warmed up to Karasu. Now that he thought about it, he treated Gremory the exact same way. It seemed weird how the more he liked a person, the worse he treated them.
"I'm such a jerk..."
The two of them continued their march. Karasu nimbly navigated the busy streets with ease. However, the claustrophobia wasn't the only reason Tokiya felt uneasy. He knew that at any moment, any person from that crowd could turn out to be a cultist and take his life. Knowing Karasu was there helped but only a bit. No one could ever completely get rid of the fear that came with their life being on the line.
Eventually, they made it out of the artists alley and into what seemed more like a residential area with larger buildings. Once again, the outstanding architecture amazed Tokiya. This new area was much less crowded which pleased both Tokiya and Karasu.
"So, where exactly are we going, Karasu?"
Karasu continued walking with her long purple hair peacefully swaying back and forth.
"Well, Tokiya, the first step to mastering anything is to gather the necessary background information, especially in the realm of magic and Divine Blessings. And with your...less than ideal amount of knowledge, this step is vital."
Tokiya began to consider some things about his lack of knowledge. It had caused people to have to explain a lot of things to him, but so far, it hadn't proven to be too big of an issue. However, taking Karasu's statement into consideration, this might've begun to change. In addition, having to explain everything to him was probably an inconvenience to everyone around him. He felt selfish for not realizing that sooner.
Karasu continued.
"Because of this, we will be going to, drum roll please."
The silence that came after Karasu's request was awkward and heavy. Karasu sighed.
"Whatever. We're going to the Scholar's Society's branch here in Ardston. Now, you may be wondering what the Scholar's Society is."
Tokiya shook his head.
"I think I have an idea of what it is. It's an organization that provides people with access to research, advanced knowledge, and other scholarly things, right?"
Karasu's face gleamed with an impressed expression. Tokiya didn't know whether to be proud with her or to feel babied.
"Wow, you knew all of that, Tokiya? I'm impressed, but it might've been wrong of me to doubt my little bundle of potential. Where did you learn this?"
Karasu's validation brought a small smirk onto Tokiya's face.
"The regalia me and Berserker were in at Istar was the regalia of Ajax Palamedes, the founder of the organization, so I was able to get familiar with the Scholar's Society there."
Karasu nodded.
"Then you should know that once we get in, we'll be able to get all the information on your Divine Blessing that we need."
Tokiya raised an eyebrow as he continued to follow Karasu.
"Isn't there a paid subscription needed to access their material?"
Karasu scoffed.
"You underestimate my ability to plan ahead, Tokiya. We can use our leftover money from Istar to cover the costs."
"A subscription can't be cheap though. After a while we'll need to get more money for living essentials."
Karasu shrugged.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there."
Tokiya ran up to Karasu's side and glared at her nonchalant face.
"You didn't plan ahead for anything!"
They continued walking though the residential area. At one point, Karasune wanted to be let out of her regalia form. Of course, she refused to walk, so Tokiya reluctantly ended up carrying her on his back. Eventually, they made it to a large, decorated building that took up a whole block. Karasu framed the building with her hands.
"Here we are."
Tokiya could feel himself overflowing with determination. He was ready to finally learn how to master his Divine Blessing and beat his fate. With Karasune still on his back, Tokiya marched up the large stairs that lead to the building. Karasu, who was pleasantly excited as well, followed after him. Tokiya opened a large wooden door, and they both entered.
Within about five minutes they were both standing on the stairs again with the most disappointed expressions ever. However, Karasune didn't seem to mind whatever had happened inside the building, for she was already skipping down the stairs. The other two stood gloomily at the top of the stairs.
Tokiya turned his head to glare at Karasu.
"You didn't tell me that the Scholar's Society no longer used a subscription system."
Karasu nervously scoffed.
"Well, it's been so long, and it's not like I keep myself updated on Scholar's Society policies."
She pointed an accusatory finger at Tokiya.
"And besides, you were the one who brought up the need for money in the first place!"
Tokiya pointed back at her.
"But you went along with it! And I was just going based on what I learned inside the regalia!"
"Why would you? Of course the system of that regalia would be wrong! Ajax has been dead for years! Although, I wonder why they would start implementing tests for memberships. It really conflicts with their greedy reputation."
Tokiya was about to continue their childish exchange of blame, but he was interrupted by Karasune's small voice.
"Mom, I'm hungry."
Karasu sighed as she began to descend the stairs. Tokiya followed her with a frown.
"Time for plan B, Tokiya."
"What would that be, Karasu?"
He said her name with spite that he didn't even try to hide. Despite his current attitude, he grabbed Karasune's outstretched hand gently once he got to the bottom of the stairs.
Karasu wagged her finger, forgetting her previous defensiveness.
"Unfortunately, the Scholar's Society isn't issuing their little membership tests at this location right now, so we'll bolster our knowledge the good, old-fashioned way. By going to a normal library!"
Karasu pulled a feather from out of the inside of her coat, and handed it to Karasune. The small, purple feather turned into an apple, which made Karasune's cute face gleam with joy.
Tokiya raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure it'll have everything we need?"
Karasu shrugged.
"Only one way to find out."
It didn't take them long to make it to the library. Despite the clearly superior Scholar's Society building nearby, the library, appropriately named the Ardston Library, was fairly busy. This was due to it being much more accessible than its competitor.
The three entered the building. The interior was of course not as grandiose as from where they had come. However, it had a much less pretentious air around it while still maintaining a quiet and professional vibe. As to respect the atmosphere of the library, Karasu kept her volume low when she spoke to Tokiya.
"Ok, my pupil. You are free to roam. Go find the knowledge you seek."
Tokiya waved his hand. He kept his voice down as well.
"Stop speaking like that. Are you not going to help me search? I feel like you'd have a better idea of what to look for."
Karasu shook her head, and wagged her finger instructively.
"This experience is perfectly constructed so that you can consume information slowly and naturally. If I were to help, we might risk disturbing the rate you consume information which would lead to...you know what."
Tapping his chin, Tokiya nodded his head. Karasu really had thought this through well. However, he supposed that she always had been careful with things like this.
"I see. That actually makes a lot of sense."
Karasu stretched her arm and patted Karasune on the head.
"I do want you to take her along though. I've decided that I should gift her to you, so that you'll have a personal form of protection. It'll be important that you get used to her presence."
Tokiya was still holding Karasune's hand. He looked down at her, and she seemed to be happy about this new arrangement. Without warning, Karasune transformed into her regalia state in his hand.
Karasu giggled.
"She must be tired."
Tokiya tucked Karasune into the inside of his jacket, for it would be odd to walk around a library with a dagger in hand. He nodded to Karasu.
"I'll go now."
She smiled at him.
"I have one piece of advice for you. Don't give up."
Tokiya smirked.
"I feel like you told me that already."
"There's nothing wrong with a little repetition."
Tokiya turned to leave.
"Well, it's a good thing I didn't plan on giving up in the first place. I have promises to keep after all."
With that, the two parted ways. Tokiya began his search on the first floor of the library in the history section. He had a very simple process of just looking at the spines of the books and reading the titles to figure out if they were relevant to him or not. In some cases he had to read the descriptions to get a better understanding of what they were about.
In this section, he found two books that interested him. One was titled, "The Compiled History of the World as We Understand It" and the other was named, "Forgotten Lore."
The first one was more of a history textbook rather than a book focused on one particular topic. However, the other seemed to be less based in fact and more of a focus on historical theories with evidence to support. Tokiya thought it would be helpful for finding information regarding the World Tree being that very little was actually known about it.
After about an hour on the first floor, he made his way up to the second and final floor of the library. It didn't take long before he found the perfect section, titled, "Magic and Related Studies." Tokiya made a beeline for this section, for he assumed Divine Blessings fell under "Related Studies" even though he had been told they were separate from magic.
He diligently searched the shelves for anything useful, and his face practically lit up when he found a book named, "A Guide to Divine Blessings."
"Jackpot. Looks like the library did have some good stuff."
Tokiya didn't expect the contents of the books to be as extensive as anything he would've found at the Scholar's Society, but he assumed it would be a good introduction to these topics.
He made his way to Karasu, who was lying on a bench. The light from the window next to her kissed her form in the most beautiful way possible. Her face was intensely focused as she read the book in her hands. She was so focused in fact that she didn't even notice Tokiya approach her from behind.
Purposefully being quiet so as to not be noticed, Tokiya peered over Karasu's shoulder and read the words of her book. She was in the middle of reading a very tragic and romantic scene. From Tokiya's perspective, it was very sappy and unmoving, but perhaps the context of the book would've helped.
"So this is the type of stuff you're into."
Karasu performed a small, instinctive jump. Her head made a sharp turn, and her eyes were wide with shock. Tokiya looked into her eyes, and they seemed to be a bit shiny as if they had perhaps been a bit watery.
"Ah, Tokiya!"
She immediately closed her book.
"Are you having trouble with something? I see you've found some books."
Tokiya directed his attention away from Karasu's eyes and to the books in his hands. He extended them to Karasu.
"Yeah, I found three. Tell me what you think."
Karasu filed through the books, nodding her head as she did.
"The titles are certainly interesting, but it will be the contents that will decide their value to us. Let's hope they're worth our time."
Tokiya nodded. Karasu nodded, handing the books back to Tokiya.
"I'm hungry, and I'm sure my little one is too. Let's get something to eat, and then we can dive into the realm of knowledge."
"Yeah, I'm getting hungry too. You know Karasune is a spirit, so she doesn't get hungry?"
Karasu nodded with a neutral expression.
"I'm well aware."
Tokiya pointed an accusatory finger at her.
"It's not good to encourage the gluttonous tendencies of children, you know. Yet another reason you'd be a terrible parent."
In a flash, Karasu plucked Tokiya's forehead with surprising force, causing him to stumble back.
"Hey!"
Tokiya lunged at her, but caught nothing but air. He would've fallen on the floor face first if Karasu didn't hold him by his collar from behind.
He sighed, for he should've known he'd never land an attack on Karasu. She put him back on his feet, and began to walk away, chuckling to herself. Tokiya followed her.
They checked out the books, and began looking for a place to eat. Tokiya had to sternly advise Karasu on the importance of preserving their money. After she finally decided to listen to him, they ended up eating at the cheapest place that could provide a satisfying meal. However, Karasune found the food appealing, which relieved both of them. Once they finished eating, they got straight to business.
Karasu rested her head in her hand.
"So, which one are you going to start with?"
Tokiya opened the book that interested him the most, "A Guide to Divine Blessings."
"This one, obviously."
He flipped a few pages and arrived at the table of contents. There was an introductory overview section that he planned on reading until he found a certain chapter on the list. This chapter was titled, "The Divine Root Blessing."
"Karasu! They have a chapter about my Divine Blessing!"
Karasu smiled nonchalantly as if this was no surprise to her.
"Well aren't you lucky. Check it out."
Tokiya didn't need Karasu to tell him to check it out. He immediately flipped to the given page number. When he got to the section, he was surprised to see that it was only one page. However, a whole page dedicated to the thing he was looking for was better than nothing.
He began to read the page out loud so that Karasu could hear.
"The Divine Root Blessing. Gifter, the World Tree. Gifted, Astrael Morrow."
As he read, his voice was a bit choppy. Karasu found it more charming than embarrassing. Tokiya looked up from the book.
"Astrael Morrow. I've heard that name before but I'm not sure where."
Karasu perked up excited that she now had the opportunity to explain something.
"Of course you've heard of him. He was one of the members of the Heroes' Party. You know, the group that was responsible for saving the world from the Eternal Phoenix, Desire."
Tokiya nodded. He knew he had heard that name before.
"Yeah, now I remember. He's one of the less well known members of the groups, so I think that's why I forgot about him."
Karasu chuckled.
"Yes, it is quite hard to stand out when you're in the same group as Seigel Aurehart and Ajax Palamedes."
Tokiya raised his eyebrows.
"Now that I think about it, I don't remember the fourth member either."
"Her name was Alice. Alice Birchon. You should remember her name, for she was the one responsible for taking down Liamar, one of the Four Calamities."
"Wait, really? The only other person who's ever done that that I've heard of is Vanguard.
Karasu shrugged.
"Granted, she only sealed him, but that's still a very impressive feat."
Directing his attention back to the book, Tokiya put his hand on his chin.
"So, I guess the moral is that all the members of the Heroes' Party are important."
He scanned the rest of the page.
"Unfortunately, the book doesn't really say much about the Divine Blessing itself. Apparently, even Astrael himself didn't know much about how it worked. There's also no mention of a mark like mine."
Karasu sighed.
"Well, there's no surprise there."
Tokiya narrowed his eyes at Karasu.
"That doesn't explain how you, someone who doesn't even have the Divine Blessing, know its capabilities."
She smirked and placed a finger over her lips.
"No cheating, Tokiya. You know the rules. My lips are sealed. After all, we don't want to give Eien any openings."
Tokiya forcefully leaned forward.
"It's infuriating how you can be so helpful and so useless at the same time."
Karasu pointed an angry finger at him.
"Let's not forget that I'm the reason you're still alive. You should be praising me and kissing my feet."
"As if, you bum! You-"
Karasune jabbed her hand into Tokiya's side, interrupting him. She spoke to him in a firm but still monotone voice.
"Do not talk about my mother like that."
Deciding to be the bigger person in this whole situation, Tokiya simply sighed and brought his attention back to the matter at hand.
"Ok, whatever. This book wasn't all that useless. Perhaps if I look into Astrael more, I'll find some better information. In the meantime, there are still two more books to get into."
Tokiya reached for the book closest to them, which happened to be the history textbook. Karasu seemed to still be distracted by their previous argument, so he simply began to read to himself, while Karasune peered over his arm. He wasn't sure how much Karasune could read or if she could even read at all. It certainly didn't help that her facial expression remained solid, so Tokiya couldn't tell whether she was understanding or not.
The book in his hands was large, so he needed to rest it on his lap. In addition, the pure size of the book would've made it impossible for Tokiya to comb through all the information, so he went to the glossary to find where the World Tree was talked about specifically.
Once he had scanned the listed pages, he groaned and slouched in his chair. Karasu raised an eyebrow.
"What's wrong with you now?"
He tilted his head back to groan at the ceiling.
"There's nothing here! What kind of text book is this if it doesn't give any valuable information?"
Bringing his head back to its normal position, he narrowed his eyes in frustration.
"It only really talks about how Oravell was built around the World Tree because ancient people praised it."
Karasu responded in a guiding and soft voice.
"Does it say anything about why they praised it?"
Tokiya held the large book up to the light.
"Well, it mentions that ancient people thought it was a tree that connected worlds, but that's the same old rhetoric everyone's heard a thousand times."
He groaned once again.
"This sucks!"
Karasu chuckled.
"Maybe it's for the best that you never attended a school."
A scowl crept onto Tokiya's face.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Tokiya felt a soft hand on his arm. He looked down at Karasune.
"What she means to say is that you need more patience, Toki."
"Heheh, yup, that's right, Tokiya. Patience is a virtue. Ever heard of that?"
"Stop having Karasune act as your interpreter…"
He set the textbook down and retrieved the smaller, final book. After skeptically staring at it for a bit, he finally opened it. It didn't take him long to find a section on the World Tree, and it was quite extensive compared to the other books. However, he didn't want to get his hopes up, so he just began to read.
As we've already covered, early Oravellians worshiped the World Tree, and even built their whole civilization around it. It's even said that the first humans originated from the World Tree. This belief is one of the main aspects of the God Theory, which is the theory that gods reside in the World Tree, some of which are responsible for the creation of humans in the first place. From old writings, modern historians have been able to theorize the existence of 7 gods, those being:
Creation
The End
Nothingness
Change
Preservation
Fate
Will
There are theories that Desire, the Eternal Phoenix is related to these gods due to its world-ending power and mysterious origin. However, the others' existence has not yet been confirmed. Despite this there have been groups made to worship these beings, most notably the Stars of Fortune and Revival, also known as the Phoenix Cult.
Tokiya looked up from the book.
"Hey, Karasu."
At her summoning, Karasu's expression softened, and she directed her attention to Tokiya.
"Hm? What is it?"
Tokiya glazed the passage again before speaking.
"Are there really gods in the World Tree? I've never heard of this before."
"Ah, you must be talking about God Theory. Honestly, it's one of the more well supported claims made by historical theorists. But at the end of the day, it's still a theory, so it's not widely accepted."
Tokiya stared at Karasu with searching eyes.
"What about you? What do you think of the theory?"
She chuckled to herself and turned her head to the side.
"Personally, I believe in it. But you may come to your own conclusions about it."
Tokiya remained silent for a moment before performing a small nod.
"I think I believe it."
Beaming with joy, Karasu began to shake her head with a childish vigor.
"Aw, do you trust me that much, Tokiya~? You don't know how happy this-"
"It's not that."
Karasu's expression made a sharp change into a saddening disappointment. Meanwhile, Tokiya stared at the list of gods as he continued speaking.
"Fate. That's one of the gods on the list. It reminds me of Mors, the cultist. I know he was a maniac, but it wasn't just him. All of this stuff about my fated death makes it impossible for me to not believe it."
He looked up at Karasu to gauge her reaction. She simply smirked and pointed to the still open book.
"You don't feel Eien's presence, do you?"
Tokiya shook his head.
"No, not at all. Wait a minute, does that mean?"
She put her finger up to her mouth.
"I didn't say anything. Although, I'm glad I didn't have to spell it out for you."
Karasu promptly stood up and stretched, letting out a satisfied groan as she did.
"It's probably getting late now. We should find somewhere to crash soon because you'll need to be well rested for what I have planned tomorrow."
Tokiya narrowed his eyes.
"Oh, joy."
He stood up as well, collecting the three books. Karasune yawned and gently clasped Tokiya's hand.
"I'm going to sleep."
Tokiya nodded, as the young girl transformed into her regalia form in his hand. He held the dagger tight and felt warmth radiate from it and into his body.
"Karasu wouldn't just imply something without it being true. After all, she may be an idiot, but she's not a complete fool. But the thought that Fate is an entity people consider to be a God is something I don't want to even begin to think about right now. There's no way I stand a chance against something like that."
He looked up at Karasu. Well, that's what he would've done if she was there. By the time he had left his thoughts and returned to the real world, she was already out the door of the place they were eating at. Tokiya ran after her.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"
Tokiya stomped closely behind her, but Karasu simply flipped her hair in his face. This act only aggravated him more.
"I don't have time for your little contemplations. Quite frankly, they're annoying."
At this point, Tokiya wanted to strangle her, but he knew that would produce zero results.
"It's not like I do it often!"
"Eh, just don't make it a habit."
After a bit more back and forth, the two returned to their normal stride. Karasu with her steadfast pace, and Tokiya with his slight sulk. Even though the day was beginning to end, the busy noises coming from the artists' alley and entertainment districts could still be heard. Luckily, Tokiya and Karasu were still in the residential area, so they didn't have to deal with any large crowds.
Eventually, they passed a peaceful park with an open grass field. Tokiya froze, staring at the park.
"Hey, Karasu."
Karasu made a turn to face Tokiya.
"What's wrong? Are you still thinking about the whole God Theory stuff? I wasn't trying to scare you or anything. I was simply giving you the scope of the situation. And besides, you were the one who kept complaining how no one was telling you anything."
Tokiya shook his head with a solemn expression.
"It's not that. Can we just stop at this park for a bit?"
Karasu looked up at the sky. There was still a bit more light left in the day, so she shrugged her shoulders.
"Sure, I don't see why not. Let's make it a date."
Tokiya entered the park, ignoring Karasu's proposition. The perplexed woman remained in place, staring at Tokiya's back. After a brief moment, she followed after him. He handed his books to Karasu, who seemed slightly startled by the presumptuous action.
"You can go do whatever. I don't really care. Just don't bother me, ok?"
In addition to the books, Tokiya also handed Karasu his jacket and Karasune in her regalia form.
"What has gotten into you? Don't treat me like your servant."
Ignoring her, Tokiya brought himself into a plank position and began performing pushups. Karasu stared at him blankly, half confused and half impressed by Tokiya's sudden, determined behavior. When Tokiya didn't stop to even acknowledge Karasu, who was still staring down at him, she turned around and muttered something to herself.
"Children these days…"
As Karasu went to sit on a nearby bench, Tokiya continued to exercise. His steadfast gaze remained fixed straight ahead.
"If I'm going to be fighting Fate itself, I need to get stronger immediately. There's no way I'll survive against a god if I'm struggling this much against a few cult members. Although, Karasu said the key to surviving is mastering my Divine Blessing, so maybe physical strength isn't that important."
He reached his 50th pushup.
"No! I can't just rely on this stupid power, especially after what it did to Berserker. I have to train myself too. I, Tokiya Hara, need to be strong. I'm going to be strong enough to make my own fate. This is my life."
His arms began to really sting by pushup number 75.
"That's right. I'm going to survive, for everyone else...and myself."
Karasu watched Tokiya's intense concentration intently. Karasune sat next to her, swinging her legs back and forth. Her gaze also seemed to be fixed on Tokiya.
"Toki's so focused right now. It's charming."
Karasu nodded, her face expressionless.
"It is."
Her mother's short response caused an internal reaction in the young girl. Karasune looked up at Karasu whose demeanor was nothing like the cheerful expression she was used to.
"Do you think we'll have good synergy? I want to protect him well, just like you."
It took a bit for Karasu to respond. However, when she did, she patted Karasune on the head and gave her a smile. Now that her mother was smiling, Karasune found a reason to smile too.
"I prefer you this way, mother."
Karasu chuckled as she continued to pet Karasune's head.
"You're not the only person who's said that recently. Perhaps I should take these comments more seriously."
Karasune nodded.
"It's not fair to everyone else that you're only nice to Tokiya."
Karasu retracted her hand and scoffed.
"I don't necessarily care about anyone else. Besides, I'm only the way I am with Tokiya because it makes it easier to work with him. If it weren't for my promise, I'd treat him just like everyone else."
Karasune's voice remained soft and monotone.
"You were also quite eccentric in your fight with Ubi. You may not have realized it, but I did. I think it's becoming a part of you."
Waving her hand vigorously, Karasu dismissed Karasune's claim.
"Just because you're a part of my soul, doesn't give you the right to make such preposterous claims."
"Mother..."
Karasu looked down at Karasune after her soft call.
"Do you care about me?"
A maternal hand landed on the top of Karasune's head and ruffled her hair. Karasu sighed and shrugged.
"I wish everyone would stop trying to convince me I'm a good person, even if they know it's not true. It's starting to annoy me."
She directed her attention back to Tokiya, who was now throwing punches in the air with terrible form. His fists were balled in the wrong way, his face wasn't guarded, and he somehow even managed to extend his arm in the wrong way. Karasu shook her head with a sigh.
"How about we stop him, so he stops embarrassing himself."
Karasune nodded in agreement and hopped off the bench. They held each other's hands as they approached Tokiya. Karasu roughly tapped his shoulder to snap him out of his trance.
"Hey, Tokiya, let's get moving. It's getting late."
Tokiya looked around. The sky was getting dark, and there was a man going around merrily lighting the street lamps before all light disappeared. Despite that, his determination pleaded with him to stay.
"Just a bit longer, Karasu."
Karasu shook her head and wagged her finger.
"Nope! As the matriarch of this group, I'm putting my foot down. Besides, you're developing bad habits more than you are training."
"Matriarch? As if."
Karasu handed Tokiya's belongings back to him and patted him on the back.
"Don't worry. One of these days I'll teach you how to really fight."
Tokiya's head sharply turned to Karasu. His eyes were wide.
"R-Really?"
Karasu giggled.
"I'm a woman of my word."
Admiring the interaction between the two, Karasune smiled before hopping onto Tokiya's back. He stumbled at the shock, but Karasune ignored it and pointed forward.
"Forward, Toki."
Tokiya sucked his teeth.
"Don't startle me like that."
*****
After leaving the park, the three of them made their way to an inn, where they spent the night. The next day, they were up bright and early, and after eating breakfast, the three of them returned to the library. Tokiya needed to return the books from earlier, but there was also something he wanted to look further into. He wanted to learn more about Astrael, the only other known possessor of the Divine Root Blessing. However, he was so steadfast in his plans, that while he was returning the books, he didn't even notice that the author of the book, "Forgotten Lore," had the last name of Palamedes.
"Ok Karasu, I won't be long. I'm just going to research Astrael and see what I can find."
Karasu cheerfully clapped her hands.
"I love to see you taking charge, Tokiya. Well, I'll be around."
With that, Tokiya with Karasune inside his jacket parted ways with Karasu. It took a bit of asking around and thorough searching before he found a book that seemed interesting. The book was about the Heroes' Party, and while it would've been interesting to read the whole thing, Tokiya came there with a purpose. However, as he was flipping to the section on Astrael, his attention was caught by a page about Seigel.
Tokiya remembered reading about Seigel inside the Library of Ajax and how all the censor bars made it impossible to understand. So, out of curiosity, he began to read about Seigel instead. Suddenly many of the blanks became filled.
For one, Tokiya learned who Seigel was meant to defeat with the Holy Sword. It was Desire. However, most importantly, Tokiya could finally decipher the last sentence of the book he read in the regalia.
Seigel died in the arms of Potentia.
"Potentia? Who's that?"
Tokiya had already been reading for a while, so he debated to himself whether he should look into Potentia or get back to his plan of researching Astrael. Unfortunately, he didn't get to decide because Karasu returned from wherever she had gone. Her hands were suspiciously behind her back as she slowly approached him.
"Oh, Toki~, I have a surprise for you~."
He frowned at her as he closed the book in his hands.
"Don't call me that. I'll only allow it from Karasune. And what are you hiding?"
Karasu's already wide smile grew wider.
"Oh, you have a soft spot for my little baby now? That's so sweet."
Tokiya's eyes narrowed even further.
"Answer my question, Karasu. What are you hiding?"
She finally stopped awfully close to him. Her overly excited demeanor was beginning to make Tokiya uncomfortable. In an instant she moved her hands and revealed the hidden item. A sheet of paper settled into Tokiya's field of vision. His eyes widened as he read the text on the paper. Karasu's face beamed, her grin now stretching from cheek to cheek.
"Tokiya, you should join a tournament!"