The words spoken by the man seemed to echo in the room long after he closed his mouth. He stood there, his hands behind his back, scarred face set stoically in the light that came from everywhere, framed in the backdrop of an incredible sight that Daneel had noticed in the corner of his eye when the man had been speaking.
There was a gigantic chair there, and it was the largest that Daneel had ever seen both in this world and his former. It was simple, with a flat angled back and two armrests that had no embellishments whatsoever, and it stood at least a hundred feet(30.48 meters) tall.
Its size gave it a certain grandeur this could only be hoped to be attained by normal seats of honor, and it was clear that this chair commanded the highest of honour in this place because it was present at the end of this magnificent hall which had perfectly round stone pillars all around, which strangely ended at the open-ended ceiling, almost as if there had been a roof there that had later been removed to allow for the tapestry of the stars to shine down on all those standing inside.
'The Hall of Beginning', the man had called it, and although Daneel did not know just what had begun here, he could feel a special something in the air, almost as if where he stood was sacred.
Putting that aside, though, Daneel came to the rest of what the man had said, and he decided to ask the system just how he had arrived here even after all of his countermeasures, and why it felt as if there was something wrong with his mind.
Right after that, though, he heard a message, and he was instantly aware of just what had happened.
Thankfully, long ago, Daneel had told the system to take control of his face whenever it was revealing information when he was in the presence of others. It did so now, and hence, even though Daneel might have been fast enough to control the expression of surprise that came on his face when he went through the fight that he had just been through, it was great that the man had no chance whatsoever to observe anything that might give him any insights into what might be going on in his mind.
Now emboldened with the truth of what had happened, there was nothing else to be puzzled about except what the man had just mentioned.
He… Had actually said that he might have information about his master - the man that Daneel had trusted, but who had rebelled against his king publicly and later been charged as a traitor who had to be killed.
Of course, later on, everything had been cleared up, and his master had said that he would send any updates that he could regarding just what he would find out in the Church. Without him, Daneel wouldn't even have found out about this impending threat, which had motivated him a lot throughout every step of his journey so far. His Master was doing his duty for the continent he loved even though he had put on the outer façade that he hated everyone on it because of the injustices that had been done to him, and Daneel had been really glad that there was someone like this on the other side he could trust.
Even though there had been no updates for so long, Daneel had guessed that it might have been difficult to get information out, and that as the war approached, his Master would definitely find ways to contact him.
On that note, Daneel had also not forgotten about his Master's words where he had said that he could go to a special place in the continent if he believed that he was strong enough. Daneel was pretty confident in his power at the moment, but he had still decided to consolidate it a little bit more and also ensure that there was no one watching him before heading off to that place.
Now, though, it looked like there was an alternate way to achieve the same thing.
How could it be possible, though? Could these people actually have contacts in the Mainland that Daneel had only heard about very vaguely until now?
That seemed like a far-fetched notion, and this could also be said regarding the rest of the statements said by the man.
Breaking through to become a Peak Champion in one day? Surely, he must have been exaggerating, right? He had asked the system long ago whether something like that was possible, and it had been very clear that although the Ambrosia that had allowed him to break through to become a Peak Warrior instantly did exist, there was no such thing for the Champion realm, as it was so much more complex and needed so many more resources that couldn't even be compared to the realm before it.
As for invading the treasuries of the Big Four to obtain Godbeast Weapons, it did sound good, but all of these things circled back to five words that seemed to hold the crux of the matter: "if one proves their worth."
He had already defeated an Exalted Champion who had even had a Champion Path that could stand on par with those that were said to be top tier in the Big Four, so what more could he even do to prove his worth?
And besides, what the hell was this Order? According to the man, it had been present for a long time, but if so, what could it have been doing during the Apocalypse? And if the Emperor was a part of it, why was there nothing regarding this organization in his memories? If he erased everything about it, then why had he been compelled to do so?
There were so many questions, and Daneel began to hope that this was a situation where they would be answered right away, instead of like before when he had needed to take so long to unravel and reveal the answer to each question slowly, step-by-step, until at a point, there had been so many that he had felt as if his mind was being drowned by all of their collective mysteriousness.
Beside him, Cassandra was still completely bewildered, and even her vision was drawn to that chair.
Unlike him, she must still be under the impression that her mind had been meddled with, which was a very uncomfortable feeling that would make one's skin crawl.
Of course, Daneel was maintaining the same expression through the system, and seeing them like that, the man in front of them decided to speak up again.
"Regarding your minds and why it must feel as though they have been tampered with: let me apologize for the rules that have always existed within the Order. Not everyone can get to this stage, and to make sure that those who can even find out about the Order are those who have a chance of fulfilling the expectations that will be placed on them, a preliminary test is carried out whenever one finds the place where the Order is located in that Age. In the past one hundred years, 58,874 people have reached the mountain-top, like you, while searching for something. Of them, 25, 467 were normal people who simply got a feeling and wanted to fulfill it, and of them, 43 got to this stage because of their buried potential which could only have been unearthed by us. Of the rest, only 21 got to this stage, so it must be commended that you succeeded. Oh, you failed, Miss Cassandra, but you are already a part of the Order. Let me remind you."
The last sentence startled Daneel, and before he could do anything, the man pointed his finger at Cassandra.
For a moment, nothing happened, but after that…Cassandra let out an ear-wrenching scream and collapsed onto the floor.
What the f*ck?!
With a worried expression on his face, Daneel was about to bend to check on her, but he found himself obstructed by a barrier.
Seeing her writhing underneath the barrier, Daneel asked the system to scan her in desperation.
Before it could give an answer, though, Cain spoke again.
"You must not disturb her, for a time. It is not an easy thing to hide memories so masterfully that they cannot be detected even by the best methods that can be employed by the Church, or other enemies. On the down side, if they are revealed…the process is painful, but after that, she will be alright. Your paths must diverge at this point, anyway, so leave her be, and come with me. I promise you that you will reunite with her soon."
Cain's words seemed to have an aspect of solidity in them which would make anyone feel like believing whatever he said, but there was no way that Daneel would trust someone he had just met.
Thankfully, the system gave a reply at that point.
[Hidden memories have been unlocked in the target's mind. Because of the degree of the spell that was used to hide them, there appears to be a side-effect when they are revealed, much like rubber lashing out after it has been constricted for a long time. Complexity of spell exceeds any system has detected so far. Analysis in progress. No similar spell found in all records of the system.]
Well…at least one thing had been verified by this.
Whatever this place was, its means seemed to exceed even those of the Empire, and that…was pretty damn shocking.
For a second, Daneel's mind felt as if it was buzzing, as this was all just a little too much to take in.
The Empire had always seemed like a force that was stronger than anything else to have ever graced this continent, and Daneel had always aspired to build something like it.
Now…it was being revealed that there was something even stronger?
Seriously, what the f*ck?
How could something have been concealed so perfectly that it hadn't shown up anywhere?
And if it was the place that Cassandra had been looking for, then why was it placing those with Hidden Bloodlines in places and situations where they might go through an Awakening?
"All will be explained in due time, King. The Overseer awaits. We keep no secrets from those who join us, so everything will be revealed to you after you make your choice. We must not keep him waiting. Come."
Cain's deep voice broke into Daneel's thoughts, making him glance up and see that the Cain was waiting for him.
What choice was he talking about?
And…Overseer? Who was that?
Damn all these questions!
Unable to take it anymore, Daneel just marched forward, intending to demand that everything should be made clear right away.
However…no sooner had he taken two steps in Cain's direction, he was teleported away.
For the first time in a long, long time, the system had no power to stop it.
He saw Cain also disappear along with him, and after a moment, they reappeared in a dark room.
All around him, there was only a jet-black nothingness which seemed to stretch indefinitely.
The place where they stood was illuminated, and as Daneel looked up…he saw the source of the light, and it made him gulp with shock.
It was a round object that looked like the sun, but it wasn't shining so brightly that it would blind those who lay their eyes on it.
If it was just this, it wouldn't have been very remarkable.
The reason that Daneel's eyes were transfixed on it was that there were a thousand faces visible all over its surface, blinking in an out of existence.
Each face's eyes were closed, and they changed every second.
As if this weren't eerie enough, Daneel suddenly spotted something that made his heart begin beating out of his chest.
One of the thousand faces…was actually that of Cassandra, and before he could think even form any coherent thoughts, a voice was heard that felt as if it was coming from everywhere.
"Welcome, Daneel Anivron, King of Lanthanor and Leader of the Alliance. I am the Overseer, and I exist to maintain the Order, and ensure that it fulfills its objectives. You are here, now, because you have passed the test to enter. As is my duty, I shall give you the choice. Listen carefully, because this might be the most important choice that you make in your lifetime."