A full week went by since the war for the academy happened, the St. Meishi district falling into peaceful stillness as Merin's reign around the land of the Virgos, Libras, and Sagittarians had slowed. Many of Merin's follows still preach false doctrines and spread fake gospels, but my followers remained strong in their faithful walks.
V.J.I, now renamed St. Arcane Academy, had a complete makeover with the help of my Madriax reconstructing the entire Campus. To the left of the campus rested the Tree of Life, each corner of the tree guarded by Sephiroth and her Ents, a wooden fence build around the tree for protection.
To the center of the campus rested the Main Plaza area used for the Dormitories, Class Halls, and Community Areas. To the right of the campus stood the heart of the campus, Henosis Church, a church built for people to fully learn The Chronicles truly.
I stood at the entrance of the academy, looking around at the renewed campus, watching as students went in and out of the academy gates. "It's been a long ride here in St. Meishi, but this is only the start of my journey. Once we make it back from St. Goken, we'll fully liberate St. Meishi from Merin."
"Ahh, take your time in St. Goken. After all, you'll have to save their Academy from falling just as you've done for us," Leonidas said, looking over at Fleur and Effie who decided to stick behind. "You're not joining them?"
Fleur shook her head with a smile, taking a deep breath and exhaling softly. "This is something only the truly Called can do. As much as it hurts to separate, I'm listening to Yuvah and His command for me to sit."
"And I have much reconciliation to do with my uncle, but if you see my grandpa there tell him I said hi!" Effie beamed, Looni letting out her squeal with equal emotion as her master.
Luciel smiled at Effie and nodded, letting out a soft giggle. "We'll say hello to Yochanan for you, Effie. Hopefully, we can bring you two back some souvenirs from our travels!"
"That would be amazing!" Effie hummed, nodding with agreement and smiled sweetly at Luciel.
Flynn smiled at each of us then made her way toward her pegasus and mounted upon her back, looking over to Luciel and holding her hand out to help her on. "We should be heading to St. Goken, we don't want it to get dark since that's when all the Daemons there like to come out."
Luciel nodded and took Flynn's hand, mountain on the back of her pegasus then held onto Flynn tightly. She looked over at Leonidas, Fleur, and Effie with a saddened smile, waving at the three of them. "We shall return and we will come back renewed, so be ready to save St. Meishi together!"
Fleur and Effie waved their goodbyes as Flynn's winged steed took tightly to the blue skies, the silver petals of her pegasus fluttering to the ground. I glanced over at the girls and Leonidas once more, giving them a smile and wave before warping after Flynn and Luciel.
Bittersweetness filled our Spirits as I departed with Flynn and Luciel only, my Foster Family known as the Winters. I wanted to at least take Rozalin and Scarlet with us, but obedience told me to leave them in the care of St. Arcane Academy.
Nox...
Do not fear the Black Waves of St. Goken...
You are not to escape the Waves...
But to clear them...
Genesis's mission echoed true in my mind and I nodded in response as I flew beside the two girls next to me, explaining to the two of our mission. They nodded at my explanation and the three of us hurried forward toward the Valkyrian District, St. Goken: Home of the Heroes and Valkyrias, Aetherians.
Hours went by during our trip to St. Goken, soon the sights of St. Goken came to view in the distance, the beautiful skylines and sky islands a wonder to our eyes. St. Goken seemed more advanced than St. Meishi was, a complete flip from the old ages.
"We're here and in record time! Your Yaoke really comes in handy for scanning the area! Usually when trying to get here, I'd have to fight my way through waves of stray Daemons," Flynn hummed, looking over at me with an impressed smirk.
I looked over at Flynn, chuckling lightly then looked ahead at the Aetherian District ahead, crossing my arms as I stared into the distance. "Well, of course I'd want to reserve my energy after having just recovered. Besides, I feel as if we can take it slow here...at least until we can't."
Luciel nodded and watched a few Valkyrian Airships fly over them in awe, amazed by how much more advanced they were compared to military aircrafts. "Wow...I wonder how Merin could have infected this place. It doesn't seem that bad at all..."
〘District: St. Goken〙
〘Population: 4.7 Million〙
〘Alignment: Genesis〙
〘Dark Lord in Area: Yes〙
〘Zodiacs in Area: Yes〙
〘Kingdoms: Capricorn, Aquarius, and Cancer〙
"St. Goken is relatively peaceful for the most part aside from there being stray Judgement Order and Fallen Army members roaming around the Kingdoms and Capital. Before we head into the district, we should meet up with Yochanan," I said, lowering my phone and looking over at Flynn and Luciel.
The two of them nodded in agreement and the three of us set off into Fideline Forest to search and find Yochanan the Evangelist, the Ascean Forerunner. The baptism was the first priority upon my mind, my Transfiguration not only breaking the Equalizer Curse between me and Claudio, but also allowing the spiritual chains around my body to break.
Entering into the forest, we began following Fideline River the calm stream glistening under the kisses of the sun above. Luciel held onto Flynn tightly, watching as a red dolphin raced in the water beside us, jumping in and out of the water with squeals.
"It's Fideline," Sephora spoke up for the first time in a long time, making casual conversation.
I glanced down at the coiled Sephora around my body then turned my attention to the river to the right of me, watching as the red dolphin excitedly chirped and thrilled at the sight of me. "What..? How? I thought the Zodiacs except you and Leona died out..."
"Their Spirits died, yes...they are all in Heaven but they are all still Angels from Archangel to Dominion. Fideline is a Virtue Angel, the guardian of the Cancer Kingdom and the Sea Valkyrias," Sephora explained, watching Fideline race against us to the end of the river.
I continued to watch Fideline, my mine going back to the Book of Sennie and remembering how joyous Sennie and Fideline truly were in August's era. I could do nothing but smile at Fideline, enjoying the sight of her infectious joy that she gave me, Luciel, and Flynn.
Soon, the three of us began reaching the ends of the river to find a man resting alongside his silver Coatyl, the two looking as peaceful as a leaf floating along the currents of a gentle breeze. In front of us was the Legendary Yochanan the Evangelist, direct descendant of Yesha's John the Baptist.
"Mr. Yochanan, I'm back! And, I've brought special guests!" Flynn greeted, hopping off the back of her pegasus once it landed then hurried over to Yochanan.
Yochanan sat up slowly with a light grunt, sitting back against Sait and glanced up to look at Flynn with a smile then turned his attention over toward me and Luciel. His gaze immediately became sharp as he noticed Sephora coiled around my body and a white dove perched upon my shoulder.
"Lord Nox..." Yochanan said, standing up on his feet and walked over toward me, placing his hand upon my shoulder and closed his eyes. "Ascea, it is nice to have finally seen you face to face with Lady Orochi.."
'Orochi..?' I asked Sephora mentally, glancing down at Sephora with a raised brow.
"It is one of my many Earthly aliases, don't think too much about it," Sephora replied, her voice only reaching my ears yet her hisses were audible for everyone.
I nodded then faced Yochanan once more then gave him a formal bow, closing my eyes as well. "It is nice to meet you as well, Mr. Yochanan. Effie has spoken a lot about you."
"Ah, that's right! Effie wanted us to tell you hello! She wanted to be here with us, but she's reconciling with her uncle at the moment," Luciel added, giving Yochanan a sweet smile and a bow as well.
Yochanan chuckled at the two of us and walked back over to his Coatyl, grabbing his staff and standing it up straight against the ground. "Has she now? It's been a while since I've spoken to my own granddaughter, and it's nice to know that Leonidas has finally come around."
"But what about you, Lord Nox? You've finally stepped into your purpose, your calling...but I don't think you're ready to minister. You have the power, yet your influence is still rather small," He continued, turning around to face me with a serious expression.
"What do you mean?" I asked, my curiosity piquing at the desire to understand my forerunner.
"By this time, I'm sure you've faced Claudio already. There's a reason why he's loved around the world despite them knowing he's a False Savior. Comfort," Yochanan said, walking toward me and gently pressing his staff against my chest.
"Equal in Strength doesn't mean you're yet Equal in Influence. The world has seen your display, you've destroyed V.J.I and rebuilt it in the name of Genesis. You look like Luca the Tyrant instead of Henosis," He chastised, setting my Spirit back on an even scale between Genesis and Ragnarok.
I felt a bit convicted by his words, knowing they were true to an extent. Things could've been played out a bit better, so I heeded his words with heart. "I understand, and that's the reason I came here. To truly step into my role as Messiah."
Yochanan smiled at my determination, inhaling sharply and glancing off into the distance toward a nearby park. "Baptism might have to wait...until you've successfully won over the hearts and souls of everyone in St. Goken, all the Aetherians."
"E-Even the Valkyrias?" Luciel asked, her heart skipping a beat with a flushed face as she glanced over at me quickly.
"Nox isn't Yesha completely, so it's more safe for him to take on this role. I'm not telling him to build a roster of 1000 wives and 300 concubines, besides...there are two families I do want to be brought here for baptism," Yochanan said, glancing between me and Luciel.
At this very moment, our obedience was tested to the extremes, Luciel and I glancing at each other as time felt as if it slowed down in cue with the growing dramatics. Flynn was confused on the sidelines, glancing between the three of us with a raised brow and a dry side smirk.
"There are two families that I want here. One family are Asceans who lost their Spiritual Gifts due to a curse put on them by The Fallen, and the other are Aetherians who lost their way due to the death of their Squad Leader," Yochanan began, looking over toward me and pointing his finger at me.
"Lord Nox, I want you to bring the Asceans to me. That family is named the Bong Clan, but I only want you to specifically focus on one Valkyria named Do-hari. For you, Luciel, you're going to be leading the Valkyrias to me," Yochanan said, glancing between the two of us with a smile.
"I-I mean, I can do that...but why does Nox mission sound like he's going into marriage?" Luciel questioned, crossing her arms with an unsure expression on her face.
Sephora couldn't help but chuckled at Luciel, for the first time Luciel actually questioned God and His ultimate intentions. It was a clear sign of Luciel being forced outside of her comfort zone, her mind trying to find a reason to decline the offer, but couldn't.
"It's alright, Luciel. It's our divine mission to carry out this task, and Yuvah wouldn't give us a challenge too big for us to complete. You're still my one and only Spiritual Wife, that will never change," I reassured, reaching out to Luciel to gently grab her hand with a smile.
Luciel's nerves seemed to have calmed down a bit, but she still didn't really like the idea of me accumulating another earthly lover aside from her. Her hold on my hand began tighter, out of a need to reassure herself and her Spirit.
Yochanan smiled at the two of us, seeing Genesis and Ragnarok in us and chuckled lightly. "If you're okay with your tasks, I'll have one of my Disciples take you to the city, John the Beloved."
Luciel and I nodded at Yochanan, the two of us looking for John until we spotted a young man with curly brown hair, light brown eyes, and wore a white cloak with a large ornate clasp closing the cloak upon the right side. John waved excitedly toward us, wanting us to hurry over to him so he could lead us to the City of Seolhart.
Without wasting another beat, the two of us said our temporary goodbyes to Yochanan before setting off toward John to start our new journey around St. Goken. Though Luciel and I would be in the same city, our missions took place on two separate sides of the city, splitting us up physically.
"So before we head into the city, I want you to know that my name is John the Beloved, also known as John Zebedee, descendant of the Legendary John the Apostle and Zebedee of Old!" John introduced, holding his hand out toward me with a bright smile.
I met John's bright eyes, his light being unlike any I've seen before. My eyes shifted down to his outstretched hand, a small grin forming on my face as I reached out for his hand and took his. "My name is Noxius Ascea Exzodia, but right now...I go by Nox Winters."
"And I'm Luciel Genessi, or Luciel Winters! It's nice to meet you, John. Hopefully we can all be great friends with one another," Luciel introduced herself, giving John a smile as well.
John smiled at the two of us and nodded, his smile washing away any worries we once had about our missions. His presence felt so familiar to me, ancient, modern, and unexplainable...yet comforting and loving.
It was a little awkward having to admit that someone who was only human could wield the ability to comfort better than The Nexus. Having only now breaking out of my own HFD, it was now time to learn how to truly be a Messiah of comfort and mediation.
---------------------------
Two women sat inside a sauna folding up towels and the sauna clothes, the two of them making light conversation with one another. The first woman was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair with black extensions, her eyes sparkling an ocean blue hue.
The second woman had long black hair, amethyst colored eyes, and had larger size to her compared to her friend. The two of them wore an orange sauna shirt and shorts, both of them having a white towel over their heads as well.
"Aigoo, it's getting way too hot in here...ugh! Why am I stuck helping with doing your job, Gloria! I keep letting you drag me every which way except home!" The second woman fussed, slapping her towel down upon the table with slight frustration.
Gloria scoffed softly at her friend, setting down the shirt she was folding and crossed her arms. "Aishh, it's your fault why we're stuck doing labor for my mom! If you hadn't fallen off that balcony and broken it...tch! Take responsibility, Dong-hee!"
"Me? You're the one who pushed me, plus if I hadn't luckily awakened my ability to manifest my wings, we both would've died so HA!" Dong-hee scoffed, quickly folding more towels with frustration.
"Yo, Gloria, Bong Dong-hee!" A male voice called out to the two girls, the two of them turning their heads to look at the man who had entered the sauna.
Gloria gasped softly, clearing her throat and fixing her hair before sitting up straight and giving a smile at the man with a soft giggle. "Ahh, good afternoon, Xavier~"
Dong-hee glanced over at Gloria with slight judgement at her fanned out demeanor then glanced back over to Xavier. "Where's James and John? I thought you said you said they were bringing someone here?"
"James is out on a last minute call for a mission out in Garnet at the Capricorn Kingdom, but John said he was bringing someone here after completing his first errand. He should be here in a few," Xavier chuckled softly, walking toward the two girls and propping himself beside Gloria.
"Anyways, what's good with you two? Gloria? Bong Don't Eat?" Xavier teased, smirking at Dong-hee and curled his lips to prevent himself from laughing.
Dong-hee's cheeks flushed from frustration at the name Xavier called her, throwing a hot towel at his face and scoffed. "It's Dong-hee! DONG-HEE! Not Don't Eat! Aigoo, you and Gloria get my blood pressure so high!"
Gloria placed her finger between her nose and mouth, clearing her throat and lowering her head to stifle her laughter. She turned away from Dong-hee, snicking silently then broke into laughter as Dong-hee snapped a towel at her arm.
"H-Hey! Ow! That hurts, Dong-hee! I'm sorry for laughing!" Gloria squealed, shooting up from her seat to evade Dong-hee's onslaught of towel attacks.
"Yeah, that's what I thought! Damn succubus, you still owe me for ruining my date last week!" Dong-hee scoffed, going back to folding her towels and sauna clothes.
Suddenly, the bells of the sauna doors jingled, Dong-hee, Gloria, and Xavier each turning to look at the entrance to see who walked inside. Dong-hee watched as John walked into the sauna first, a smile forming on her lips, then she noticed another figure, her eyes widening slowly with shock.
"And this is where most of the magic happens, the main hang out area, Baekjin Sauna owned by the Baek Clan. Very close allies of the Bong Family, but rivals none the less," John explained as he walked down the steps, turning over to see Dong-hee, Gloria, and Xavier sitting together.
I looked over at the three as well, noticing all three of them looking at me as if they've seen a ghost. My gaze shifted over to Dong-hee and down to her name tag which read, Bong Dong-hee. "I see, so I am really meant to slow down..."
Dong-hee gasped as we made eye contact and turned her head quickly, taking out her phone quickly to text Moon-li and Eun-Song. Her fingers moved quickly across the board to text the two, her body entering a panic state.
〘Dong-hee (Dong-Dong): Pok! Myong! He's here! The Tyrant!!!〙
〘Moon-li (Pokie): E...? Mwo? Tyrant? Ohhhh! You mean Nox? LMFAOOOOOO!!〙
〘Eun-Song (Songbird): *sent GIF of dog laughing* Gae.〙
〘Dong-hee: This is serious!!! I'm about to lose it! My mom's dream CAME TRUE!〙
"Is everything okay?" I asked, gently tapping Dong-hee's shoulder.
Dong-hee screamed in shock and fell off her seat upon the floor with a light groan, holding the back of her head with her teeth gently clenched. "Ow...Sorry, sorry...I'm just in shock because..."
"Hey, hey, don't move too much. You hit your head hard against the wooden floors," I said, kneeling down beside her and gently propping her up with care and slight concern.
Gloria, Xavier, and John each let out soft chuckles at Dong-hee's animation, none of them seeing this much emotion from Dong-hee in a while. They watched as I helped her back into her seat, Dong-hee fixing her clothes and hair as if she hadn't fallen at all.
"Ahem...sorry about that. It's just I was so surprised to see you here after.. uh," Dong-hee began, glancing down at the towels in front of her and began awkwardly folding them.
"I completely understand and I'll admit, some cards could've been played better on my end. However, I liberated them with Judgement, but now I'm here to liberate St. Goken with mercy. Or at least try," I said, giving Dong-hee a smile and watched her fold her towels.
Xavier watched Dong-hee become more flustered by the second, chuckling lightly and crossing his arms, leaning forward toward Gloria. "Hey, looks like she's starting to fall for him right? Don't Eat does look more cute when she's not—"
"Hey! I can still hear you jerk! Aishh, one day I'm gonna lift you into the sky and just drop you!" Dong-hee scoffed, folding the towels more aggressively now.
I glanced between her and Xavier and Gloria, a brow raised at the inside joke I clearly missed. "Don't Eat? Is that a body shame joke?"
"Tch, no...it's more like a tease and a nickname to help me stop eating so I can fl— Uh, nevermind. Don't worry too much about it. It's just all in good fun," Dong-hee said, looking up at me with a warm smile.
I looked down at Dong-hee, seeing her soft smile and exhaled softly, returning her smile with my own. Yochanan's words echoed in my head about the Bong Family, my curiosity growing to know who exactly they were and how Asceans were cursed by The Fallen.