Something drew Aerona to the problem of Chiara, more than just what flipping her could do for the Alliance. Of those they captured, there were two other angels more likely to give up the rhetoric of the Holy Stars. Even if she had a particr reaction to Maheg’s existence that didn’t mean that ‘her’ divinity to which she was devoted would be any less important in her mind.
Resolving her issues would certainly be of value to Chiara, but Aerona was self aware enough to know that wasn’t why she was doing it. She simply had an idea that she <em>should</em>. It could still aplish those other purposes, but this was for Aerona herself.
Comparing the differences- and simrities- between Unity and divinity was greatly beneficial. For all that they felt extremely different, in some ways they were only separated by small philosophical perspectives. That wasn’t unheard of. There was a reason <em>all</em> of the most powerful cultivators in the upper realms were Domination cultivators, Chidi excepted. It wasn’t that they were terribly simr, but instead that the path of cultivation itself had limited avenues of sess. At the very least, there was one main path that would always be far more sessful, with deviations from the true core being an exception.
The same was likely true in this case. The bias against the Holy Stars came more from their attitude than any legitimate belief that their cultivation didn’t work. Aerona had plenty of evidence that it did- including Chiara in front of her. Though she <em>did</em> want to see Chiara actually in action.
The easy thing to do would be to invite Devon. He would serve as a sufficient deterrent against Chiara doing anything crazy. It would also be rather reckless, as he needed to be ready for potential invasions. Even if he wasn’t constantly on alert, dragging him around with her would be reckless.
There was a simple and safe enough solution, assuming Chiara was actually willing toply. Void ants. The risks woulde about if at some point Chiara ended up back with the Holy Stars with more information than she ought to have, but they could factor that into future choices.
Chiara was quite surprised to be free. “Aren’t you worried I will attempt to harm you?”
Maheg wouldn’t like that. But Aerona didn’t want to push her along that train of thought. “I believed your words when you said you would act appropriately,” Aerona said. “And if you should change your mind- something humans do quite frequently- there are certain precautions in ce.”
Telling her precisely what they were wasn’t best for the moment, but being honest about the circumstances was ultimately best. “Oh. I see,” Chiara nodded. The angel very slowly expanded her senses as they approached the ship they would be traveling aboard. “It really <em>doesn’t</em> have energy all throughout. Fascinating.”
Aerona had asked for temperate void ants. The whole point was to allow Chiara to use her energy in the way a normal person would, sensing things and moving about. Just not for battle. The void ants should be able to recognize the difference. They were paying attention to what was going on, after all. Several hundred of them, scattered about.
During the journey, Chiara spent quite a lot of time specifically feeling out Aerona’s energy. “You really don’t fight?”
“Not if I don’t have to,” Aerona admitted. “I can, of course, but that’s not my specialty. Just as you have seen those that specialize in growth and production.” That was one difference in that could be seen between the Holy Stars and the Lower Realms Alliance. Though both were prosperous, working with maximum vigor towards <em>all</em> types of growth was still fairly unique to the Alliance.
Growing in cultivation generally still improved the abilities of farmers, and special formations allowed them to grow vast fields of nutritious and energy dense food. But that was still just their job, while they ultimately tried to work towards something ‘greater’. Thebat roles of the saints, angels, and of course those of the highest position- the divinities.
When they arrived at the destination a significant timeter, Chiara looked around. “I don’t see anything special about this ce. What is our purpose here?”
Aerona just shrugged. “There <em>isn’t</em> anything special. I just wanted to show you. This is Udre, the world I grew up on. When we came into contact with the Alliance- at that time a much smaller entity- we were only aware of attacks from the upper realms.”
“... from the upper realms?” Chiara asked.
Aerona nodded. “Every six centuries, the Tides of the World shift, allowing streams of energy between the realms to intermingle. The upper realms have often been at an advantage due to various reasons, and performed frequent raids. It appears that you have not experienced that?”
Chiara shook her head. “No. Perhaps because we are quite far?”
“I would imagine so. The Tides do not extend forever. Even if they did, the cycle would fade before a proper journey could be made.” Simply reaching as far as Maheg was already quite a long trip. Adding another several hundred lightyears on top of that would strain the duration of the Tides quite significantly.
For an event that had been a unifying factor with most of the lower realms, it was strange to not share it with the Holy Stars. It would have been easy to be envious of them, secure in their location, but Aerona really couldn''t. She hadn’t enjoyed the wars as they happened, nor was them helping develop the Lower Realms Alliance into something stronger a good enough reason for them to exist, but ultimately she was content with the current state of things. Perhaps if things had gone differently, the world as she knew it would not exist.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.
“Come,” Aerona said. “Let me take you to my favorite restaurant.”
Chiara pondered. “Does it still exist? If it has been as long as you imply…”
“That is a good question,” Aerona admitted. Things changed over time, regardless of intentions. “But I can say that as much as possible, it is.” Several generations of cultivators hade and gone since that time, but it had stuck around in part <em>specifically</em> due to being Aerona’s favorite. There was never any fanfare <em>while</em> she was there, but as the former elected empress of Udre and now a prominent figure in the Alliance, it still meant something.
There was nothing special about it. The owners hadn’t put up fancy gilding or even done much to expand the building- they only added on new kitchens and an outside seating area. Otheryers of buildings had been built <em>on top</em> of the restaurant as skyscrapers became popr, requiring a few walls to be knocked down and rebuilt for the sake of structural stability, but it was still the same. A simple menu of various sorts of noodle dishes. Aerona was absolutely certain that her appreciation was tainted by nostalgia, but was that not just as real as scents and other physical sensations?
“Who is your friend?” a waitress asked. She should be the great-granddaughter of the family that had first operated the restaurant when Aerona had firste there. A proper social cultivator herself, even if her version was more subdued. Knowing how to approach customers was key.
Aerona could have denied that they were friends, but that didn’t seem right. “This is Chiara. She is from the Holy Stars.”
“Ah-” the server’s eyes widened. Most likely, she could have <em>entirely</em> hidden her fear- but she let a little bit show through. That was perhaps the best effect Aerona could have asked for. “Are we not… at war?”
“Not quite. I am hoping someone like Chiara here will be able to prevent that future. Or minimize the impacts.”
Showing her the normal ces would certainly elicit some sympathy from the woman, but Aerona was still doing things for partially selfish reasons. She saw something for herself, an opportunity that was growing the greater the connections she made.
Chiara pondered. “I am uncertain if I have sufficient influence to achieve the results you would want.” She took the excuse of ordering from the menu to stop talking.
The conversation was minimal during the meal.
As they left, Chiaramented, “It was quite good. Do they know you there?”
“Of course. It <em>is</em> my favorite restaurant. I’m not always here, of course. Udre is fairly close to the core of the Lower Realms Alliance, but it’s still somewhat off the main trade routes.” Specifically, it was a bit southwest of the Trifold Alliance- not that anyone called anything that anymore. They were far beyond that.
Ultimately, if war came from anything like the expected angle, Udre would be hit before any of the core systems. It wasn’t <em>that</em> near the border either. Aerona wasn’t worried… but only because she trusted her people.
-----<fncb62> N?w ?ovel chapt?rs are published on FιndＮovel</fncb62>
Up until the very moment darkness fell, Reneden didn’t detect anything. It was quite a shock, for every sensor to suddenly be overwhelmed with detections… and to not be able to do anything about it. Though the surveince beacon didn’t know that for certain, Reneden <em>did</em> know it.
It was a box. How it got there was anyone’s guess. Teleportation? That seemed unlikely. More likely, stealth specialists. It was specially made. Reneden detected the aura of the Holy Stars lingering in and around it. Not that there was anyone else to suspect of foul y at the moment.
Reneden pushed out some messages with extra energy behind them, but it probably didn’t work. It began to try to dissect the situation. It was not being crushed. What was the point of surrounding the beacon and not destroying it?
It took Reneden far too long toe up with an answer. A time probably measurable in days, rather than hours. Reneden was uncertain without any external feedback- and no way to trust any internal measurements given the surrounding interference.
They wanted to observe the beacons. It seemed rather unnecessary, given that they had already figured out enough to block them out without warning. But there were simple reasons beyond that. Reneden suspected that they wanted to replicate them, somehow. Or… yes, indeed. The world was slowly returning to normal. Or at least, that was how that appeared.
The beacon wanted to send a message that said it had been blocked and now it wasn’t. Not that there was a specific protocol for that, but presences detected in an area and then removed was <em>basic</em>. The message didn’t go anywhere, because the box was still there. Reneden was almostpletely certain, even if it couldn’t see the box anymore.
Reneden had only <em>just</em> begun to experience freedom, and now it was experiencing captivity of another sort. Not just istion, but being cut off from the world and fed a false narrative. It was bad, and Reneden couldn’t figure out how to stop it. A single burst of energy <em>might</em> break apart the surrounding device, or it might crush Reneden. Without the opportunity to send a final message… it would be a very real death.
That was no good. Even if more of Reneden would live on outside, it wasn’t good enough. And that wasn’t the only thing. Messages were being blocked… but messages were being sent?
Normal status updates. Or at least something that more or less fit that narrative. If nobody looked carefully, they might miss that the signals weren’t produced on proper hardware, but through purely the means of formations.
Reneden couldn’t ask anyone if they looked carefully. Nor could Reneden ask if there was someone still monitoring the box from the outside. With no connections to anywhere else, Reneden didn’t know if this was happening everywhere, or just in one location. Either way, it was a huge problem.
Reneden absolutely wasn’t going to let this stand. First, it had to figure out the box. Whatever was being done to the beacon itself, Reneden was an unexpected variable. In fact, that had been Reneden’s whole life. Hopefully, this time it could be turned into something useful… instead of something left behind.
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