"Seek me again. Oh, Herald of—" Aurora repeated as Lucian finished recounting what took place in his intriguing attempt at Resonance. She tapped her fingers on the table, deep in thought.
Lucian awaited her verdict patiently; each minute that went by gave him more nervous quivers until she finally stopped tapping the table.
"Interesting. There are two things I can't wrap my head around." Aurora raised two fingers and added, "One, it's as if the tower recognizes you, or confused you for someone else. Two, I don't understand what it means by again. Could it mean attempt Resonance again, or climb the tower again? How cryptic."
Lucian shared the same thoughts about the tower's abstruse message; he wished he could have gotten more information, but after the first attempt, he was unable to adjust his frequency.
He lingered for a moment before asking:
"How am I going to awaken my Desire then if I can't even resonate with the tower?"
The northerner's lips curved upwards before replying with a chuckle.
"No, no, you're making good progress, but Resonance is a long and tedious process. I wasn't expecting you to awaken your Desire on your first try. Heck, you being able to hear the tower—even if it was merely two seconds—is still quite impressive. Keep at it for a few months, and you'll be able to resonate with the tower at a basic level."
Out of reflex, Lucian slammed the table and retorted, "I don't have a few months. Stussy is still trapped in Boneyard, and with Ascenders being involved, this mission is too dangerous for me to be powerless."
Lucian felt terrible for raising his voice at someone considered elderly, but he needed to get his point across, and Aurora wasn't an older woman in her current form, which made it easier for him.
His reaction was unsurprising to her. Aurora's eyebrows lowered, staring at him with vexation.
"Don't take the dangers of rushing ascendance lightly, Lucian—people who do lose their lives and eternal madness ensnares them. I understand you're worried about your friend, but acting hastily will only lead to death. I know you have a lot of trust in my strength, and I am indeed capable of rescuing your friend and taking down the Skull gang on my own, but there's someone just as menacing as me lingering around Skirk. We can't act rashly."
Lucian recalled that Aurora was after a specific Rogue linked to Skirk. Just who were they, and why was Aurora after them? However, what was more nerve-wracking was the fact that they were supposedly as powerful as her.
But that only gave Lucian more reason for him to be appropriately equipped for the battle ahead. Succumbing to madness, or not, his life would still be in danger, and so would his friend.
"But—"
"No buts," Aurora interjected. "You, as you are now, will be enough to save Stussy, I can assure you on that. Now, listen closely: I'll explain my plan for this mission to you. If you value your life, you'll do as I say without complaint."
Swallowing his worries and his agitation—for Stussy's sake, Lucian calmed down and lent her his ears.
However, before she could begin explaining their strategy to save Stussy and survive the treacherous environment of Boneyard, Aurora's eyebrows creased as she vanished in golden sparks.
Lucian blinked in surprise. Her disappearing act happened so fast that he seemed to be the only one to notice. He instinctively tugged on the sword bag, which sealed his Sacred Relic.
'Could it be that Skirk is onto us?'
It was only when the customers around him stood from their seats that Lucian understood what was going on. He followed suit and turned his gaze to the newcomers clad in navy blue robes.
A stigma about Stonekeep was that it was a ruthless, lawless wasteland that produced nothing but criminals and evil-doers, which was mostly true. The terrible living conditions required one's morality to be tested—to steal, to have food on one's plate, or to die hungry and alone.
Even so, it was still a part of Ascendia. It is a gruelling and time-consuming process, but the Stormkith alliance—the government of this world—is working to implement laws and regulations to one day make Stonekeep somewhat hospitable to foreigners.
Those laws and regulations came in the form of corrupt officers donning blue uniforms and black boots.
The Imperial Guard.
They managed the border, controlling what came in and out of Stonekeep and used their undeserved statuses to enforce their power on the weak.
To Lucian, these people were no different from the power-hungry gangsters of the Skull gang.
The silence of the dining hall was broken when a muscular officer with bushy eyebrows raised his voice in a tone that demanded correspondence.
"Good day, residents of Stonekeep. We've received reports of witnesses identifying a Rogue last night. So, with our investigation unit, we were able to identify signatures of unidentified Talents being activated. We've had a Rogue breach the border a few nights back. Which means this could be linked to that Rogue."
Lucian nearly jumped.
Could he be speaking of Aurora? Sure, the northerner activated her Talent last night when the Dragon's Den was caught in flames, but did she not reverse time when that happened?
That's when Lucian recalled that Aurora had mentioned her ability was limited to a certain range. The flames must have caught the attention of people outside the radius of her time reversal ability.
It now made sense why Aurora had vanished. That fact, however, begged the question: was she not an official Ascender?
The Imperial Guard officer continued:
"The Rogue is a massive threat that should be taken care of with immediate effect. We'll now be having an Ascender from the House of Champions assess the perimeter for any Ascender phenomena. Please work with us as the assessment begins in this sector."
The diners whispered amongst themselves in awe and suspense, whilst Lucian clenched his teeth behind his lips.
'An Ascender from one of the major guilds is here?'
He began seeing Aurora in a whole new light—a darker one of a crimson shade. Is she truly that dangerous?
Letting go of a deep breath, Lucian braced himself for the assessment. He did not know much about the eccentric northerner, but what he did know was that she was willing to help him save Stussy.
Whether he was being used or not by her didn't matter. He was going to become an Ascender because of her, and in return, he would help her find the Rogue she's after. So in a sense, they were both using each other.
This was how relationships were established in Stonekeep.
One of the residents present, a middle-aged woman, raised her hand and asked in a worried tone, "Uh… Mr. Officer, sir, where… is this… Ascender?"
She clearly feared the supposed 'protectors' of Stonekeep. Lucian was not surprised by that fact. The Imperial Guard overseeing Stonekeep rarely intervened when Rogues unleashed their wrath on the public, which meant Aurora was a special case, or the House of Champions guild was specifically after her.
The bushy eyebrowed officer lingered for a moment before answering.
"The Ascender has requested to remain covert. Forgive us for the inconvenience. The assessment begins now."
Lucian steeled himself as the room's temperature dropped significantly. He was in awe, experiencing another Talent made him overjoyed. He nearly squealed, but the coldness in the air only lasted a few seconds when a voice resounded throughout the dining hall—no, throughout the entire sector.
It was as if several voices spoke simultaneously—a stark contrast to the harmonic voice produced by the Tower of Desire.
"The long-haired gentleman with two star tattoos below his left eye carries a Sacred Relic. Apprehend him at once."
Lucian's heart stopped a few beats as he realized the grave mistake he had made.