Seated cross-legged on the floor in the cottage, Celestial Overseer dips his hands in the bowls on the coffee table before him; one filled with golden blood and the other pink translucent leaves from the heavenly realm. The zodiac path on his right hand is an indigo shade, trailing up his exposed forearm in a beautiful pattern.
He is the best wielder of the zodiac path, Aquarius, a promising Ophanim known as the Celestial Overseer and Logistic Coordinator of Voyager Seekers, a league containing members whose strength surpasses that of all past leagues.
"Crystalline Rock, Death, Kitchen, Nighttime," murmurs Raiden, harnessing stella energy to employ his personal relic Celestial Overseer, which is the attribute of astrology magic that interpret the stars, allowing one to divine future events or sometimes hidden knowledge.
With an item touched by heaven's aura and a fragment of divinity, he can break any disruption on his divination. Some leaves float while others sink, and the golden blood stirs. Alignment of stars interlaces in his sight, carrying visions of red stained floors and countertops that flash across his consciousness.
His mind drifts beyond the material world and heart rate picks up rapidly, as if combusting like fireworks and a sensation of worms' crawl painfully beneath his skin, followed by the tightening of his Animation Threads.
Raiden uses the attribute to divine hours into the future. His spirit melts into that moment, and he finds himself standing in the kitchen, a surreal pressure in the atmosphere as he witnesses a blonde-haired boy leaning on the table, gray sweatpants hanging on his waist, chest bare.
In front of the male, an older woman with soft round features, navy short curly hair, and ivory skin, glides her fingers down his chest, surprising Raiden.
'Holy Gods, that's Mallory Nioma!' Grimacing, he forces himself to watch as they make out for a long couple of minutes, ripping each other's clothes off. At midnight, suddenly Wystan Raviel convulses, his veins crystallized, then blood gushes from his eyes, mouth, ears, creating a large pool of it on the floor.
The council woman does not scream, her dark brown eyes turning golden brown. Raiden struggles to decipher the emotion, his thoughts whirling, 'Fear? Relief? Disappointment?'
Just then, those pairs of eyes glide over to him, and he recoils, his real body ramming into the coffee table, causing the bowls to collapse with an echoing shatter. Then he awakes from his trace, his heart pounding, head throbbing, and body aching with pain that is not his own.
He rubs his temple tenderly, waiting a couple seconds before dragging his gaze over the surroundings, clarifying he's in the cottage deep in the dead forest, crafted by their co-leader—now leader—Ishaan Iniko.
The white wall adorns with wooden figures of mythology creatures made in Enigmatic Poet spare time, posters of popular dancing idols Hazel Oberon adore, racks of hair ties for Iskra Misul as she likes to style her hair different every day and alongside it is glowing ribbons Manon Misul is fond of wearing.
The circular living room is filled with white and red furniture, with a tv hanging in the gap of broader shelves housing dozens of random items collected by Ziven, on the lower shelves are hard-cover boxes full of unused potion bottles, which Ishaan refills every time they become empty, and across from it is a bookshelf of physical copies Czar Venezio likes to mesmerize in passing.
On top of the bookshelves dangle various sparkling earrings Raiden Eleonora puts on depending on his outfit and to the right are a board of glasses and monocles for Ezra Xerxes, who likes to switch between the two.
The cottage is constructed of gleaming yellow stone and a round earthen roof covered in white roses, planted on the hillside, rolls of the dead forest eerie grass surrounding the paved cobblestone steps leading up to the circular doors and traveling to the back porch flanked by diamond shaped windows.
Raiden repeats everything he saw to Ishaan and Czar, one sitting on a chair and the other laying on the couch, finishing off with an alarming expression, "She saw me. I'm positive she looked me straight in the eyes, almost like she was trying to prove something or tell me something."
Ishaan nods thoughtfully, seemingly looking to the left. "What do you think, Czar?"
"It's just a regular case of Crystalline Rock," the curly black-haired young man says. "Crystalline Rock eats away at your nerve cells first, then your blood and organs. It takes a full week to finish you, leaving a dopey to experience seven days of pain in every way. If his dose was taken a week ago, then this case is simple. A desperate, pathetic soul trying to jump at power. We needn't get involved."
As a researcher of Voyager Seekers, bearing the relic Crescent Hunter, it is Czar's responsibility to gather information and conduct research that would help their league. Gathering intelligence on enemies and their movements and habits was one of those.
"However, if he was poisoned with a large amount of Crystalline Rock, then he would crook the same." His serious voice lowers in disgust. "It's against code to kill a comrade and once you've been accepted at Lightless, you're all comrades."
"Yeah." A faint grim expression appears on Raiden's face. "It's impossible, right? She couldn't see me. Her relics have nothing to do with divination, fate, or destiny."
"Technically, Mallory Nioma could never see you while you're in that state," Czar says. "The only possible explanation I can offer you is that it's someone else."
"What?" Raiden frowns, confusion brightening his turquoise eyes.
"Interesting," Ishaan muses. "I see where you're going with this. There are spells and attributes that can help one disguise, even to the point of non-recognition. Someone disguised themselves as Mallory and approached that fool of existence, convinced him to take the drug and during sex he passed."
Czar hums, nodding faintly. "I was going to explain more gently, but you said the gist of it."
"Aren't you two thinking too much? What would be the point of someone deceiving... oh." Raiden's voice drifts off, repugnance tightening his features.
"To craft a tale that does not already exist is a divine feat," Czar says. "I haven't heard of a relic origin like this before, though there could be relics we don't know of. After all, the sages aren't solely focused on earth, they're just fond of it more."
In this moment, a narrowed door towering six feet emerges. It opens, and Weather Singer trudges out, spotting them and lifting his hand to wave his fingers. "My brethren from another holy mother," he sings, then pauses, taking in the spilling blood and leaves on the carpet. "The divination is already done? Damn, I like that part."
The divine door shuts, and he puts the key into his void pocket. "You guys could have waited." He sits on the chair next to Ishaan, resting his ankle on his thigh. "I am the one who brought the lead of this soon-to-be tragedy."
"We wanted to, but your presence doesn't make much difference," Czar says.
"You're not usually late," Raiden adds. "What we're you up to?"
"Well… funny you should as—
"He let someone touch him," Ishaan interrupts, a teasing note in his tone. "To gain back what he lost he went to go buy some poor bastard's vital."
"Hey!" Akira sends him a glare lacking genuine anger.
Ishaan laughs while Czar asks their enforcer, "Who did you let touch you?"
"Doesn't matter," Akira says flatly, gesturing with his hands. "Now, fill me in, you patient-less assholes."
After they finish catching him up on the situation, he has the same reaction as Ishaan, finding it fascinating. "Do you think this scheme will work?" Turning to look at the male still laying down, his dark pink eyes now lighter, he presses: "Will the sages take notice and praise this individual?"
Before Enigmatic Poet can respond, Raiden says sharply, worry stitching across his forehead, "This is serious! Someone is about to die. How should we go about this?"
Akira clicks his tongue, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "The population in the Elysian Cosmos faces death every day. Besides, he chose to take the drugs. Even if there is a scheme, Mallory or whatever was simply the seller of the drug. She didn't force it down Wystan's damn lungs. And from what you saw, he enjoyed her company! We aren't heroes. We don't follow moral codes. I also don't see a victim. I see an amateur."
"I hate that this chaotic psycho is making sense, but he is," Czar grumbles.
"Ah!" Akira slaps a hand on his chest, a wide grin curling his pale pink lips. "Thank you, brother from another holy mother!"
"….." Czar lets out a deep sigh, falling back into the chair. "What I mean to say is that we're not any different. We've all done things to obtain the attention of the sages and craft our own relic. We achieved that, yet does that accomplishment give us the right to block another from their own?"
"Exactly!" Akira snaps his fingers. "Our precious Ishaan even has multiple relics. The tales on his belt are much more gruesome, so I feel like stepping into the hero's role, disregarding rights and wrongs, are for people who truly haven't committed as many sins as we have. Of course, perhaps we're perfect for the role since we understand that much. Nothing says hypocrisy like self-awareness."
Raiden expression becomes distraught. "B-but… I felt his death. I-It w-was horrible. Think of Ziven. If we could have saved him or at the very least spare him that painful death, wouldn't we?"
"I'm going to stop you right there, Celestial Overseer," Ishaan says calmly, sitting up. "The problem with your persuasion logic is that we cherished Ziven and we don't care about this Wyan. Saving him isn't going to rewrite our leader's fate. Will it please him? Sure. Who doesn't love heroism? But so, what? He took Crystalline Rock like a fool, and he can greet the other fools in Styx Gate."
Silence descends into the room, his harsh words leaving a bitter taste in the atmosphere.
Sighing, Ishaan stands up, straightening his attire gingerly. "We don't know if this murder is a scheme, and we can't find out because the council have concealment on them, so attempting a divination relating to them will cause backlash to you," he says as he tidies up the couch. "However, be on standby tonight if you truly wish to save this person. I will help you because you're my friend, not because I have any desire to."
Czar smiles as Raiden's eyes swirl in gratitude. Meanwhile, Akira kicks his feet back on the arm of the chair Crescent Hunter sits in.
Although he told Vienna they would handle it, he meant they would investigate it and see if it is worth involving themselves. He does not find any motivation to get involved personally but will act on Ishaan's wishes. The older male is the reason he joined Voyager Seekers. He has always been Akira's true leader, the sole person he's loyal to.
"Don't forget, Raiden, my brother from another holy father," Weather Singer says. "When you save someone from the fate of death, fate will find a new victim to bear it."