"Ugh… why do we have to leave so early?" Merlin complained as he walked through the streets in casual clothes.
Walking beside him was Sunny, they were both on their way to meet up with Master Jet, they didn't use any disguise as they walked, so they attracted a few stares.
Sunny had originally wanted them to just teleport there using his ability, but he refused, he wanted to take a walk and familiarize himself with the environment.
"Because Master Jet said so…" Sunny answered calmly.
"What a pain"
"You're the one who wanted to walk anyways" Sunny scoffed.
..
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"We're here…" Sunny said as they arrived at a restaurant.
As they walked in, he immediately saw Master Jet sitting in a corner of the restaurant as she casually drank a cup of coffee.
"Hey there Master Jet" he waved as they sat down.
"You're late…" Jet spoke calmly as she checked the time on her communicator.
"It's his fault" Sunny pointed at Merlin, he simply shrugged and didn't reply because it was true, he was the one who decided to take the long journey.
"I thought you would've gone for a mission already, it's good to see you're still around" He changed the topic swiftly.
Jet sighed and massaged her temples as she replied.
"I was supposed to return today, but I decided to push it till tomorrow because of you guys"
"Oh, thanks"
"So… I heard that Changing Star and the fire keepers joined clan Valor" She spoke in a low voice "Kai and Effie are with the government, so what of you two?"
"I'm not joining any, but he's going with the Song clan" Sunny answered.
"Hmm? I didn't take you for someone to willingly join a legacy clan" Jet turned to him with a puzzled look.
He sighed and turned to Sunny, Sunny immediately understood and summoned a memory to block out the sound, then he turned to face Jet and spoke in a calm voice.
"I'm going to the Song clan to get something done, but it won't be me that'll be leaving, I'm planning on splitting myself in two, one joins Song, and the other stays around"
"Did you just say you're planning on splitting yourself?" Jet asked, confused.
"Yeah… I'm not really sure it'll work, but I'm confident in trying" he nodded calmly.
"Is that your Ascended ability?" She asked again.
"No, but it involves my Ascended ability and also a memory of mine" he answered.
"And you're not surprised by this?" She turned to Sunny who had a blank look on his face.
"No… I've already become numb to it, at this point if he suddenly starts his own clan, I won't even ask how" Sunny sighed helplessly.
"Anyways, by the time I'm done, I'll work for the government…" he spoke up.
"Huh? You're planning on joining the government?" Jet asked, surprised.
"No… not join" he shook his head "I'll just take on work for them, ones that involve dealing with rogue Awakeneds and also gate openings… I hope you could help me pass on the message to Saint Cor"
"Ah, it's like that… okay I understand, I'll pass on the message, but is there a reason why?"
'I'm trying to get high quality marionettes…' he answered inwardly.
"I'm simply helping out due to the fact that if I work for the government, I can use you guys to stop the other clans from poaching Silver" he said in a calm voice.
"I see, so a mutual benefit situation, just what I expected" Jet nodded then continued "honestly I was surprised when you picked up a Saint from nowhere, you and Sunny always have a way of surprising me, who knew that you two outskirt rats that I took care of would turn out so popular"
"What can we say… we were just lucky" He chuckled in response.
"Yeah… lucky enough to singlehandedly wipe out over a thousand nightmare creatures in ten seconds" she scoffed.
"Hehe" He chuckled and scratched the back of his head "So how are we getting the house?"
"I've contacted an agent, he should be arriving soon to show you around, according to Sunny, it should be around the same area as his right?" She asked as she typed on her communicator.
"Yeah… and it should have two or more rooms" he nodded.
"Alright, I've sent him a text, he should be getting here soon" Jet nodded.
"Master Jet…" Sunny spoke up " if possible I would also like to do some work for the government"
"Huh? You too?" She turned to stare at him.
"Yeah, since I have nothing to do, I might as well help out" he nodded.
Jet sighed and nodded.
"Alright I'll tell Saint Cor, he should agree since it's you two"
"By the way, Master Jet, can you teach me to fight with a scythe?" Merlin asked.
"A scythe? Isn't your main weapon a sword?" Her brows knitted as she asked.
"It is, but I also use different weapons, so I want to learn''
"Okay, I understand, maybe when I get the chance, I'll teach you a few things" Jet nodded.
"Thanks"
…
A while later, the agent called and took them to see the house, just like Merlin wanted, it was not too far away from Sunny's house, and it also had three rooms, the only downside was that the basement wasn't as large as Sunny's, but he didn't mind, all his trainings could be done in the dream realm or in his soul sea if he wanted.
After they checked out the house, Sunny paid for it, because frankly he was broke, most of his shards had been spent in his second nightmare, and the ones he had wouldn't be enough to exchange for enough money to get the house.
Still, he was planning on getting some money from the exploration report he was going to write, and also selling the antiques he picked up from Civilth.
Sunny paid for the house, and Merlin gave him the remaining shards, then after that, they went shopping for clothes and food for the house. By the time they finished, it was already evening, so they headed back to Sunny's place.
"Well that was an eventful day…" Merlin stretched as he sat down on the chair.
"I've lost a lot of money" Sunny sighed tiredly.
"Don't worry Sunny, we'll become rich again after I write my exploration report" He consoled Sunny.
A second later, Ariel and Silver came downstairs, as Ariel sat down beside him.
"Big brother… your late" Ariel pouted.
"I'm sorry Ari, but at least I got us a new house" He ruffled her hair.
"You're scattering my hair, sister Silver helped me style it" Ariel complained as she smoothened her hair.
Merlin felt a crack in his heart.
"Ari… you've betrayed me…" then he turned to Silver who casually avoided his gaze "it's your fault for stuffing her small head with bad thoughts"
"Huh? Bad thoughts?" Ariel tilted her head.
"It's nothing Ari, your hair's beautiful" He ruffled her just-arranged head again.
"Ah… big brother you did it again!" She pinched him lightly.
"My bad, I've gotten used to it" he chuckled.
Sunny stood up and walked towards the kitchen.
"I'll go prepare something…"
"Thanks…" Merlin waved then he turned to Silver.
"Silver, I'll need your help with something"
"What is it?" She turned to face him.
He sat straight and spoke seriously.
"I'm planning on forming an organization, a rather secretive one, whose work would be focused on gathering information about the dream realm and eliminating hidden dangers, but I'll not be able to lead them, since I naturally draw too much attention, so I want to leave them to you…"
Silver thought for a while then asked.
"So you want me to serve as their stand-in leader, and also offer protection?"
"Yes" he nodded.
"I see, and where are you going to get the members of this organization?" She asked softly.
"It's simple" he smiled wryly "I'm going to poach them from the Song clan, after all, they used my name to recruit a lot of people, it's only natural for me to take those people back"
Silver nodded and then asked.
"Alright, I'll handle it, and what is the name of the organization?"
"Hmmm…" he thought for a while then answered "Let's called it the 'Secret Order'"
"Okay, when you're ready, just inform me" Silver replied softly.
"Thank you Silver" he smiled.
A few minutes later, Sunny came out with the food, they ate and chatted a while till night came. After Silver and Ariel had gone upstairs, he sat down on the porch and stared into the night sky, it was a full moon tonight.
"What are you doing?" Sunny came out and joined him.
"Sunny… did I ever tell you about my innate ability?" He asked.
"No" Sunny shook his head.
"My innate ability is 'Connection', it gives me a stirring feeling whenever there's a divine lineage holder nearby" he explained.
"So that means…"
"Yeah…" he cut Sunny off "I can tell if someone has a divine lineage, the closer the person, the stronger the feeling"
"Okay… but what does that have to do with you sitting outside?" Sunny asked.
"That's because I can feel it, I can't tell if it's because it's a full moon, or if it's just intentional, but I can feel him" he replied as he stared at the moon.
"Him?" Sunny looked confused.
"It's Aster, the third Supreme, he's currently on the moon, courtesy of Valor and Song, and judging by the feeling I'm getting, it seems he's currently watching us" Merlin answered, his voice still calm.
Sunny's breath hitched slightly.
"Damnation, being pressured by Valor wasn't enough, now we're being watched by a Sovereign… haha I didn't sign up for this"
Merlin chuckled and asked.
"Hey Sunny… What's your goal? What do you want to achieve?"
Sunny sighed and answered.
"My goal is just to get stronger, strong enough to live comfortably and not be controlled by the power of the Domains, as for what I want to achieve…"
He took a breath then continued.
"Honestly, for now I just want to get rid of the shadow bond, then live peacefully"
"About your shadow bond, if the only way to break it was to kill Nephis, would you do it?" Merlin asked calmly.
Sunny stayed quiet until his flaw forced him to answer.
"No" His answer was short and precise.
"I see, hopefully you hold on to that perspective, after all, we need a Mad Prince…" Merlin muttered, but Sunny heard his words.
"Mad Prince? Who's that?" Sunny asked.
"A very important part of our third nightmare…" Merlin answered vaguely and kept quiet, the reason he asked was because he just had a vision about the future, their third nightmare to be exact, and in it, it seemed like he died, or rather he was killed by Mad Prince, Sunny's alter ego.
Sunny sighed then asked.
"Merlin… what's your goal?"
"My goal?" He sighed and said with a melancholic voice "I just want to go home…"
"Home?" Sunny repeated, confused.
"Yeah… I didn't always stay in the outskirts, my home is just far away, so far that even my current abilities can't get me there, but when I'm strong enough, I'll definitely return" Merlin muttered as he stared at the night sky.
"I see, anyways, I'll be inside" Sunny nodded then walked in.
He sat down staring at the sky for a while, then he brought out a coin and flicked it into the sky, the coin carved an arc in the air before landing in his hand.
'Heads… I wonder how long it'll take till they finally decide to contact me' He sighed as he turned his eyes away from the sky and looked in a certain direction.
It wasn't only from the moon that he felt a stirring from his Innate ability, he also felt one on him ever since he parted ways with Master Jet. And whoever it was kept following them around till they got home, when he entered the house, the feeling finally disappeared, he felt that whoever it was didn't want to get discovered by Silver.
And now that he stepped outside, the feeling returned after a few minutes of him sitting alone, the only problem was that he couldn't tell whether it was Valor or Song, after all they both wanted him, and he had given Seishan his words.
A few minutes later, he stood up and walked inside the house and locked the door, he sat down crossed legged on the chair as he checked his runes.
.
Name: Merlin Hermes
True Name: Attendant Of Mysteries
Rank: Ascended
Class: Tyrant
Soul Core: [5/7]
Soul Fragments: [3582/5000]
Memories: [Cloak of Mysteries], [Formless], [Fur Coat], [Poison bottle], [Stone Sword], [Sunlight Shard], [Messenger's Wings], [Chittin Armour], [Spectre Suit], [Dimension ring], [Chained Sickle]...
Echoes: [Pristine Soul]
Attributes: [Fated],[Mysteries],[Mark of Divinity], [Daemon's Desire]
Aspect: [Child Of God]
Aspect Rank: Divine
Innate Ability: [Connection]
Aspect Ability: [Magician], [Faceless], [Marionettist]
Flaw: [Apathy]
Flaw Description: [The stronger you get the more of your humanity you shed until you become a being of only divinity.]
.
He sighed then summoned the Cloak of Mysteries, the black and gold cloak draped over his body, then he channeled his essence into the cloak, the next second, his head stung a little as information filled it.
Sequence 4 Bizarre Sorcerer.
That was his current rank, it seemed that using his essence for the cloak gave him access to the ability of the immediate sequence after his current one.
He could already feel the power coursing through him, but his essence was draining just as fast, despite being a Tyrant, the highest he could use the cloak was a couple of minutes before he was left completely dry.
"That settles its uses" he muttered quietly as he unsummoned the cloak.
The he closed his eyes and entered into his soul sea, as he sat down on the high back chair, he summoned the cloak again, however this time, as he channeled his essence, the drain was massive, he estimated that he could only use it for a minute maximum, and a large amount of information flooded his senses.
Sequence 4 Bizarro Sorcerer.
Sequence 3 Scholare of Yore.
Sequence 2 Miracle Invoker.
Sequence 1 Attendant Of Mysteries.
He was completely stunned by the amount of abilities he had access to, it seemed that inside his soul sea, he had the status of an archangel in LOTM standards.
Inside his soul sea, he was undoubtedly unmatched, with the amount of abilities he had at his disposal, he completely disregarded the essence drain, after all even thirty seconds is enough for a Sequence 1 to kill most of the people he knew.
As he unsummoned the cloak, he sighed and stood up from his chair, it was time to do something he always wanted to do for a while.
It was time to inspect his soul sea.
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.
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Two chapters tomorrow...