"Wh-…How is it possible? Did anyone see what he did?!"
"No! There was a veil stopping me from seeing the elementary particles…and it happened so quickly! It's impossible!"
"I saw him die! I could see his body turn to ash! That part is real!"
"THEN WHO'S THAT?!"
"Is this a trick? Is this to make us believe that you are capable of something that only-"
"That only the Emperor should be able to do, using his prowess in the art of Oaths and the Artifact that he made with his blood, sweat, and tears. Ridgwald, I always told you to think out of the box- I'm glad to see that you're doing it."
The last statement silenced the ruckus that had been kicked up by the extraordinary actions of the King.
It was from the man who had been made to appear and had been called 'Cain, the Noble', and with a single sentence, he quieted down all of the doubts that had appeared in the members of the Order.
"O-only Cain would know that-"
"That you were a narrow-minded brat who believed that Angaria was the only continent in existence? Yes, only I know this."
This second statement confirmed it, causing everyone present to break out into whispers.
One question predominantly featured in their inquiries, and of course, it was regarding what the hell had happened.
After admonishing the man who had started to insinuate that the King had been tricking them, though, Cain took to examining his new body with the curiosity of a newborn child.
He examined his hands, legs, torso and even his own face using a mirror helpfully conjured by the Head, and after he was done, he said, "Incredible…King, thank you. Thank you!"
Saying so, he knelt where he stood, and tears started to flow down his cheeks as he began to mutter to himself.
"Finally…no more shackles. No more restrictions! No more Church! I'm free! I'm…free!!!"
Such a display of emotion was extremely uncharacteristic of the man who was known to have an immovable face except when he was impressed by a seed, and seeing him, his closest friends finally understood the weight he must have been carrying around.
"Explanations can come in due time. The short version is this: the King is extremely well-versed in the studies of the Emperor, as he has been taken on as a disciple of that man by the decision of an Empire Spirit that was left behind. The King was also in possession of the Artifact used to create strong Oathshackles in the Big Four. However, for the longest time, it was in an 'inactive' state due to not being in the hands of a true heir- as you all know, Artifacts have their own consciousnesses which need to be connected to in case someone wants to bring out the full power stored within them. The King, as an heir, activated the Artifact, but even then, it was impossible to break the oaths placed by the Church, as a method unknown to us was used to ensure that they would not be tampered with. However, with the use of the Artifact, the King was able to attack them and at least weaken them enough to help Cain's consciousness escape- as they were in the form of a prison which kept him in check. In order to do so, though, an extreme shock was needed to create a vulnerability that could be exploited- hence, Cain's body had to be burned into nothingness, so that he could arise from the ashes like a Phoenix. It wasn't perfect, but it worked- Cain's consciousness was injured in the process, too, so it can only inhabit the body of a normal person before slowly beginning to rise in power, again. After all, it is not an easy feat to get past the constrictions set by a force from the Mainland, especially when it used the best it had at its disposal as he was a very important pawn. As the King said, the punishment was carried out, and you are now a free man- what you choose to do with your freedom is up to you. Make your decision regarding this, and come to me, as you need to at least take the Oath to keep the Order secret."
Beaming with pride, the Head narrated what had happened, making many drop their jaws in the crowd.
They couldn't even begin to think about how much expertise must have been required for someone to be able to do this, and indeed, destroying his body and injuring his consciousness seemed like a small price to pay when compared to the alternative, where there would be no hope left for him.
The Head had, of course, left out the fact that the 'activation' of the Artifact had been done by the Emperor, himself, and not Daneel as the heir.
Even the subsequent task of implanting a consciousness in a different body was no simple thing, but the King had accomplished it in mere seconds. Usually, strong consciousnesses could take control of weaker bodies, but doing so in the case where one was injured…was not simple, at all. It would need one to know the delicate nuances of how a consciousness was supposed to be implanted, and how it took root in a physical body. These were things that would need decades of research and study, but the King…seemed to have enough talent to have become an expert in the short while that he must have studied it.
Many stared at the place where he had stood, thinking about all of his achievements, comparing themselves to him, and finding themselves short.
Others were fixed on Cain, unable to believe the way in which everything had been resolved- they couldn't believe that everything had worked out so well.
As for those who had had doubts about the decision-making abilities of the King, they humphed and left, as he had shown them that they were wrong.
Daneel watched all this, hidden, and smiled to himself. He had done well, and he knew it.
He had gotten the idea when listening to Cain, itself- what if he could be given a different body, free of everything that bound him, so that he could have a second chance?
The system had been instrumental in forming a way, and even then, it had been difficult- the Church had definitely attached a lot of value to him, as they had gone all out.
As for the body given to him, it was that of a prisoner in the Alliance who actually had a pretty good comprehension level, but who had been convicted to be hanged for his crime of killing over 40 people. While Cain was speaking, Daneel had contacted the Head, and the two of them had gone to wipe the consciousness of this man and prepare his body so that Cain could enter it. Daneel had thought that they might need the help of a master in consciousnesses, but surprisingly, this serial killer had already had a very fractured psyche that had fallen apart with just a push. Musing that his actions might have been a manifestation of this chaos in his mind whose cause was unknown, his features were changed, resulting in that scene that would forever be implanted in the minds of the members of the Order.
Daneel let out a breath, as with this, it felt like the war against the entity was finally over.
So, now, it was time to look to the actual war.
For a period of time, the Order would be occupied by what he had done, so this was the perfect time to take a breather and think about what he would do and what he would prioritize on his way forward.
So, checking up on Xuan and seeing that she was still sleeping peacefully, Daneel got on to it.
First, he started with the continent.
His master was already hard at work trying to get an accurate updated timeline in regards to the return of the Church, and he had already intimated that a lot of things had been sped up, with the Bishop apparently putting her full focus on returning, and finished what had started.
The first priority was definitely to talk to Arafell and unite the continent. The Big Four were not a concern, and even if there was opposition in the Order, he could deal with it.
This tied into his top priority of updating the system, too. He was pretty sure that taking full control of the continent would give him enough EXP, and then some to carry out the upgrade that had been dangling in front of him for so long, so this was definitely what he would focus on as soon as he recovered.
Next came his personal power: he was a Peak Champion, and even though it only felt like yesterday that he had broken through to the Champion realm, he now needed to think about how he would finally reach the highest realm on Angaria.
Heroes had to find a deeper connection to break through, so he would have to set time apart to focus on this and identify the deeper meanings of both of his Mage Paths.
Thankfully, it was much simpler in the case of his Fighter Path. His Bloodline was that of a species whose members could reach the Hero realm without any difficulty, so all it would require was absorption of a lot of Energy and a little bit of time to understand the essence of being a Shapeshifter.
If both of these things were accomplished, Daneel was completely confident that he would have to fear nothing on Angaria. He would be able to keep his Word, and that would mean even more EXP which he planned to use to unlock many useful modules which he had been painfully ignoring until now to accumulate as much as he could for the upgrade.
Next came the power of his sovereigns- they had done well, but now, it was time for them all to become Champions. Their breakthroughs would need his help, and Daneel had already mapped out what he would do to ensure that they would gain the strength necessary to proudly call themselves by the name they had been given.
Along with these, there were also a few miscellaneous things which he needed to keep in mind so that he could handle them whenever the time was right- the Grand Inheritance needed to be reassembled and studied, and the place created by the Godbeasts to help future generations also had to be visited so that he could hopefully get the consciousnesses of a few more powerful Godbeasts to further perfect his 'Ultimate Fighter' form.
And of course, the quicker he finished these things, the sooner he could get on to creating a unified front that would beat back the Church.
Daneel began looking over the list, to check whether he had forgotten anything, but suddenly, he was interrupted by a message.
It was from Eloise, and it made him freeze and blink before going through what she had said a second time.
"Daneel…the scene of you giving Cain a new life was incredible. And I think it is just what we need to unify the continent. What if we show it in some form to the people, and have them start idolizing you like a God? The Heavens are supposed to give second chances, right? Isn't that what you did? Maybe it could even be exaggerated the more it is told, so that you become a living legend…think about it, and get back to me. If we are going to do it, now is the perfect time."