Chapter 143: Train ride

With The Plague Garden returned to her ball form, Lea bought a train ticket to Confeng, a city in Empire's Edge and its entrance to the land where legends rise and fall as fast as they come out.

Using her own appearance, with added protection from Cloak and Veil, she looked completely ordinary, albeit more like someone from the upper class. Soul Morph has its uses.

For now, she was not in her usual cloak, but a high-class-looking female military uniform with a white cloth wrap around her waist like a corset, a fashion style that seems fairly popular with middle to upper-class women. Renlou sure does love its military exercises.

She looked at the clock hung on the wall; it was almost midday, and the workers were changing the destination locations. From Renlou to Brigou Station, Brigou City - Terminal 3.

Lea looked at her ticket again; Brigou is one of the stops on her journey. She needed to go through three more cities to reach Confeng. So the expected journey is two days.

She could just use Soul Morph to transform herself into a bird and fly. But she wanted to heed Novala's advice... to live.

Carrying her briefcase, which was just her Cursed Construct in disguise to blend in, Lea headed to Terminal 3, where a train stopped. Unlike the dark and mechanical design of Ryteline, Renlou's trains are cleaner with a marble grey outer look, fitting with this nation's culture.

And on the inside, the windows are larger to give a better view. Though it doesn't have a separate cabin, no actual privacy since Renlou is more about socializing. Not that Lea minded.

She put her briefcase up in the storage compartment, which closed and dispensed a numbered card, then looked around to find a seat. Although she bought a business class ticket, meaning that the seats are larger, with the seats designed to face each other with a table in between, avoiding socializing is impossible.

So she just takes a seat in the middle. This way she can hear everything and catch gossip to pass the time.

Others are settling in their seats; some went with work partners or brought hosts to not feel lonely and lose face, while some are shaking hands with people they just met and are sharing a table.

Setting The Plague Garden on the table, she doubled her concealment effort to not let anyone notice the Star God. The slime excitedly jumped up and down, watching people coming in. Then Lea had a flicker of recognition, as well as the other person. That middle-aged man she met briefly in Emut, sharing a coffee table with. He was Mark, the fabric merchant.

"We meet again.", Lea nodded.

"Hello, Miss Dantes.", he smiled and gave her a bow, "Are you here for sightseeing again?"

"I'm going to Empire's Edge for some work, quite the hassle in this environment.", she faked a sigh.

"That's pretty terrible.", he shook his head, "I heard people are turning into monsters, though only the Three Rings and the War God churches have announced that an age of upheaval is coming; the other churches are silent."

"Come on, sit.", Lea urged with a smile, "We can't discuss properly with you standing."

Mark chuckled, "I apologize, I have someone with me. I don't think it's proper for two men to sit with a woman."

From behind him, another man, around sixty from his appearance and fading grey hair. He looked like a noble from his stature and stern face.

"This is Lord Hensu Astrov, I'm accompanying him due to work."

Hensu... Lea recognized that name immediately. He was the one behind Auger's assassination attempts. And a fabric merchant accommodating a noble?

Why is he here?

"Greetings, Lord Hensu. I'm Mercedes Dantes.", she greeted him, "You are free to sit with me."

Hensu nodded, "If you don't mind."

Mark helped him sit down opposite Lea; only after the old man got comfortable did he too sit down. From a quick scan using Ideation and Judgement, Lea found that he... is completely normal, not a Pathstrider.

More normal than other people. Unlike most people here, he doesn't feel hollow at all. Not a Pathstrider, but he has Attributes... someone who became normal by the standards of the universe.

"Where were we?", Mark smiled, easing back into the conversation.

"You said people are turning into monsters; I find that quite interesting.", she steered the conversation back.

"Yes! I heard in some rural villages, people are turning into inhuman monsters. It's quite scary, to be honest. I haven't encountered one myself, but I hope it's just people making up stories."

"Quite the Horror, isn't it?", she deliberately mentioned the word 'Horror', seeking a reaction from Hensu.

The old man flinched, only slightly. It was hard to tell even from this distance, but Lea sensed an emotion spike in him. And she could read his thoughts. He was thinking exactly like how she wanted him to think, asking who she is. What is she?

"Yeah, I just hope this will soon go away.", Mark sighed, "Oh, not to be privy, but what is your job?"

She had prepared for this and answered smoothly.

"I work for the Temple of Fire. It's nothing too serious, just collecting records from temples around the empire for record keeping. Like how much donation they received last year, request what they need from the main temple, just boring but necessary things."

"Oh, then keep up the good work.", he chuckled nervously.

To Mark, getting privy to church matters is not a good thing. As for Hensu, Lea knew he was getting cautious.

"The Temple of Fire decided to keep it vague about the monster stuff. But I have quite the juicy information about something that is about to happen.", she smiled.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to know something—"

"It's fine, knowing beforehand isn't a bad thing.", Lea cut him off, "Apparently, another God of Justice had come back."

"One who represents the darkness of righteousness, a hunter of the wicked, the executor of evil."

"The Faceless Twilight."

=0=0=

"Oh, welcome back.", Charlotte turned her chair around.

There lay Jim, who ran out of gas while chasing the Celestial Embodiment of Motion to no success. Exhausted to the limit.

"Lady... Charlotte...", he weakly lifted his head.

Currently, they are in Charlotte's study on the AMS Camelot. A room with only a table and chair, and nothing more.

"It is quite a coincidence that you ended up here; maybe it's Tachyon's way to let you give up.", she crossed her legs and leaned back, "And trust me, you don't want Motion's full attention; the last time they walked straight to their death."

It was quite an unpleasant memory for her, so Charlotte moved on.

"You reached the Sixth Step in quite the short time, not beating the record of three minutes to godhood though.", she nodded, "So rest up, I have quite high hopes for you."

With that, he blacked out.

=0=0=

Meanwhile, on the Northern shores of Australia. Walking out of the ocean was... Olivier, with her gaze set forward. She had spent more than a month swimming from the North Pole to this accursed place.

Fighting against the unpredictability of the sea threw her off course. Not to mention how strange some sea monsters are, with more fantastical powers than before - like firing off lasers from their eyes or summoning a storm of knives.

The world was getting stranger...

And strangest of all was what confronted her on this sandy beach. Floating in the air was a girl made of prisms in a frilly purple dress with cat ears... Saga, the reborn magical girl and the Demigod of Space.

"What the hell is going on...", Olivier sighed.

She was not sure if anyone besides her got away or was still stuck in that place. Not that she cared; she only obeyed the commands of her goddess.

"Where do you seek to go?", Saga asked, lowering herself.

"The Throne of Blood...", Olivier answered, sensing no hostility from the being in front.

With a snap of her finger, Saga took out a map from folds in reality and opened it up. She frowned, twisting and rotating it in different angles... Olivier walked over, two heads taller than this child-like prismatic being.

"It's here...", she pointed to where the borders of Kres and Zhenkur met, the location being in a valley.

"Thanks.", Saga nodded, "Please stand back."

The Saintess did as she was told to. The magical girl summoned her magic staff and twirled it around - drawing a circle in space.

Then a wormhole connecting her current location to the bloody throne...

"Here you go! Have a safe trip!!", Saga happily presented the gateway.

"Thank you.", the Saintess nodded and walked through.

In her long life, she had learned that it is more beneficial to accept things at face value than to question them.

The wormhole closed, leaving Olivier in front of the throne surrounded by a pool of blood. With a heavy heart, she walked forward and...

She sat upon the throne.

=0=0=

After twenty minutes, the train finally departed. Lea got comfortable as she stared at Hensu with suspicion; they had hopped away from the topic of religion and now onto the topic of cultural comparison.

Small talk is a cultural thing in Renlou; anyone can jump into a conversation to give their opinion, as long as it's in a public space. It isn't considered rude; rather, it is viewed positively. Giving your opinion on something even if it doesn't concern you is brave and outspoken.

Unlike Mark's homeland, which was Kres, due to being a massive trading hub, making everyone have a "mind their own business" attitude.

Now, Hensu joined the conversation.

"I find Renlou's culture quite bizarre. There seems to be no privacy involved.", his stern face softening slightly as he engaged in the conversation.

"It can feel that way at first," Lea agreed with a pleasant smile, "but once you understand the philosophy behind it, it makes sense. Renlou values collective wisdom over individual secrets."

She leaned forward slightly, her posture open and friendly. "In their view, problems shared become lighter. Of course, there are boundaries; you wouldn't discuss family finances in public, for example."

Mark nodded enthusiastically, "That's true! When I first started trading here, I was so confused why merchants would discuss their profit margins openly. Back in Kres, that's practically inviting robbery!"

"But here, it builds trust.", Lea continued smoothly, her eyes never quite leaving Hensu's face, "When everyone knows your business, you're incentivized to conduct it honestly. Reputation is everything."

She paused, tilting her head with apparent curiosity, "What brings you to Renlou, Lord Hensu? If you don't mind my asking, of course. No pressure to share."

"It's nothing special; I am just on vacation from noble duties. Everyone has to get a break sometimes.", he shrugged, "I paid Mr. Lober to be my guide and for lodging."

Lea raised her brows, "Quite unusual for someone from the north to be here, I must say. I thought you would stay in the capital or West; I heard the beaches there are just right this time."

But she already got his true thoughts. He encountered someone who could take away the power of Paths, demoting him from Fourth Step to a normal human. And when he checked what his Paths were from a Realization Pathstrider...

Malediction, Order, and Acceleration.

Quite the combination.

As for why he didn't restart his rituals, he can't. What that mysterious person did made him unable to become a Pathstrider again.

"I am quite sensitive at my age, so beaches aren't ideal for me.", he replied.

"Then...", Lea put her right hand on her chest, "May the Everflame bless you."

"May the Everflame bless you as well.", Mark replied with the same action.

Hensu performed it as well.

By the time the train left the city, Lea looked out of the window. The scenery was beautiful, where civilization ended and nature began; maybe she really should take this slow...

She could keep this going on...