The box was brought onto the stage, excitement bubbling up within the crowd. The monks in the hall felt itchy all over their hands.
Even Liam had to admit, the sight caught him off guard. His gaze, calm only a moment before, shifted back toward the stage.
A massive wooden box stood under the spotlight, its size enough to dwarf a carriage.
A thick black cloak was draped over it, the heavy folds falling all the way to the ground, hiding whatever was inside.
There was no hint of its contents, no outline, no nothing. A good way to make the scene more mysterious, and increase the crowd's expectation.
Curious, Liam reached out with his divine sense, sweeping into the container for a closer look.
There were many other divine minds spreading out at the same time, but once his endless like ocean mind reached the box, everything returned to peace.
No more storms...
No more sly peeping under the auctioneer's dress...
Those who dared to use their divine minds and accidently brushed against his saw the same scene similar to what those foundation building monks experienced before.
A piece of land in an endless void.
Towering figures that stood between heaven and earth.
And the brave 'monks' eyes burned, their minds snapped, blood oozing out from their orifices.
"What!"
Some even howled directly, but their screams were engulfed under the crowd's excitement instead. Their brains melted as if a sun had just appeared inside their divine mind.
And the man that caused such a scene wasn't aware of these.
Instead, his eyes focused into the box's interior.
The moment his awareness touched what lay within, his throat seized.
He almost choked outright on the water Ilya had just tilted to his lips. Pushing it away, his right arm raised.
"L-Liam?" Ilya's voice cracked in alarm as she jerked the cup away.
He bent forward slightly, coughing hard. His chest jolted with each breath until he managed to wave her hand aside, shaking his head.
A bit surprised by the scene he saw inside?
Totally surprised since the last item appeared to be quite different than what he told Ilya to prepare.
Simultaneously...
The surrounding puppets reacted.
Their heads turned as one, frames stiffening, and they moved a step closer to him in perfect unison.
The atmosphere turned strange.
Their stance alone made it clear, they were ready to cut down whatever dared cause their master harm.
Liam raised his hand and gestured to them. His voice came steady, though his breath was still uneven. "At ease. I'm fine."
Obedient to the last word, the puppets halted.
Their bodies straightened and stepped back into position as if the moment had never happened. The tension faded from the air, but the edge of alertness lingered in their posture.
Drawing himself upright, Liam tugged at the collar of his robe, adjusting it with care before inhaling sharply through his nose. He turned his head toward Ilya, his eyes returned to it's prior calmness, and his tone deceptively calm, dropped into the air.
"Now…"
That single word carried enough weight to make Ilya's shoulders stiffen. She understood instantly that something was wrong. Her lips parted as realization struck.
Placing the cup down onto the table before adjusting herself...
Then, under Liam's questioning and explanation. Ilya finally understood what Liam was worried about.
Tilting her gaze towards the box down there and lifted her gaze back, clearly embarrassed that she somehow had done the opposite of what Liam told her.
"Wait. Don't tell me"
"you're saying the last item on stage is…" Her eyes widened, disbelief breaking through her voice. "…all of the puppets I received from you?"
Liam's silence said enough.
"…Ah? Wasn't that what you wanted, Liam?" Ilya blinked, still trying to understand. Her tone was uncertain, but she seemed convinced she hadn't done anything unusual.
He let the pause stretch, his jaw tightening. Then he pressed his lips into a thin line and exhaled, a sharp, heavy breath that betrayed his calmness.
But whatever the case.
It was just a small issue.
"No," he said at last, voice low. "That was not my idea. I gave you those puppets to strengthen the Pavilion's image, not so you could throw them all out in one auction."
"Throwing so many to the outside world, these puppets can be turned against us if we are not careful"
"But I am one to blame myself since I didn't clarify it in full when I gave you those puppets"
What Liam was afraid of wasn't the fact that these puppets can threaten him, no... Not at all. Instead, whether these puppets will be used against the force under him without him knowing.
After all, if he wanted to, he can recall these puppets into his divine mind at any given time he wished.
A tiny derivation of the golden imprint's ability.
In a way, he doesn't necessarily required for a full fledged imprint in order to pull a puppet into his divine mind.
Just by having small markings alone were more than enough to use the same ability.
The golden imprint mainly functioned for controlling and more.
Then, Ilya heard his words...
The meaning struck her like a hammer, after all, she had done something wrong before a man that she wanted to chase.
Color drained from her face. Her fingers twitched before she raised one hand to her mouth, biting at her fingertip as panic flickered in her eyes.
She glanced quickly toward the stage, as though the sight of the black-draped box might change if she looked again. "W-what do we do, Liam? It's already out there!"
"There's no need to panic," Liam replied, as if her worry was nothing more than noise. "I can recall them at any time."
His tone assured her, but his eyes stayed fixed on her, measuring. "What matters is the auctioneer's script. Did you list all the puppets together, or just one?"
Ilya swallowed hard, forcing herself to think. She shook her head quickly, the strands of her hair brushing across her cheeks. "N-no… just a Foundation Building puppet."
"Good."
Liam flicked his hand once. The motion sent a ripple of command through the air, carrying his intent to the puppets.
On stage, the massive black box gave a faint shudder.
The heavy folds of the cloak sagged as the spiritual light rippled faintly over its surface.
In the next instant, most of the puppets concealed within vanished, recalled in silence.
Their forms dissolved as if erased, drawn back into the divine mind without a trace left behind.
The audience saw only the dim flash of spiritual light and the subtle shift of the cloak as it settled.
The bulk of the box seemed to shrink slightly, yet the flow of the auction carried on, the surface illusion unbroken.
Ilya's shoulders finally lowered, her breath shaky, though she still dared not meet Liam's eyes.