"It is my profound honor to receive help from Your Holiness." he said, "If the empire survives this, the gratitude of our people will belong to you and your Pantheon forever."
Pandora smiled, "Gratitude isn't necessary. But I do have one small request."
Asher's expression settled. Of course.
"Please speak, Your Holiness."
"In the Ancient Era, when the Faith Faction was forced to withdraw from the Endless Continent, I left something behind. A banner. In the chaos of evacuation, I couldn't retrieve it. It was sealed in ruins somewhere on the continent, and eventually made its way to you."
The moment she said 'banner', Asher's expression shifted slightly. The [Tempest Titan Banner]. A Supreme God Tier Artifact, not created by Pandora, but received from the Throneveil Shrine in the Ancient Era, originally belonging to the Ancient Titan Gods.
Its function: dramatically enhance the combat effectiveness of all Gods belonging to the same divine faction on a battlefield. In the Ancient Era, Pandora had wielded it as an intermediate-stage Supreme God against Steinherz, the Fourth Demon Monarch, a Lava Troll, who was a late-stage Supreme God. In an uphill fight in every dimension, divine rank included. She had won. She had even severely injured him. That was the Banner's power.
It had not fallen to the Dimensional Demons when Faith retreated. It had been sealed in ruins, found eventually by the Gods of Truth as they cleansed the continent, and passed through several hands before settling with Asher as his personal artifact.
"How did you know it was with me?" Asher asked.
Pandora's smile was patient, "Svetlana is as close to me as a sister. There is little in the Endless Continent she doesn't know."
Asher's mouth moved slightly. The four sisters of the Faith Faction—Svetlana, Elunara, Pandora, and Amelie—were famous across the planet. He had heard of them even as a God of Truth. If Svetlana had told Pandora, then the Banner's location had never truly been a secret.
What Asher didn't know was that Sylvia—said to have fallen in the ancient war—had not actually died. Her soul existed now in the Great Aetherium's Holy Grail, mid-transformation. She would be reborn soon.
"Return the Banner to me." Pandora continued, "And in exchange, I will go to the Great Aetherium personally and persuade His Majesty Kazehaya to spare the Light Empire."
Asher went very still. He turned this over carefully. A persuasion visit. A conversation. In exchange for a Supreme God Tier Artifact, one that didn't even truly belong to Pandora, but to the Ancient Titan Gods which she had taken from the Throneveil Shrine. Strictly speaking, her claim to it was weaker than she was presenting.
"That is not sufficient." He said, "A conversation is not worth a Supreme God Tier Artifact. What I need is your protection, the full might of the Light Pantheon, arriving here and helping my Gods of Truth defend the Imperial Capital."
He didn't wait for her to refuse, "If that is not something the Goddess can agree to, then I will see you out."
Pandora's expression didn't change. The holy smile remained, "Would Your Majesty Asher truly oppose the Great Aetherium for the sake of an artifact?"
"For my own safety? No." Asher said, "But this is not about my safety. It is about what the Banner is worth."
She tried another angle, "The Great Aetherium has six Supreme Gods. If all six come to your capital, even the Tempest Titan Banner cannot protect you. Return it to me, let me attempt the persuasion and you at least have a chance. Whether the Light Empire survives may depend on the choice you make now."
She took a pause, "And regardless of whether I succeed with His Majesty, I will do everything within my power to help your empire through this crisis, without endangering myself of course."
"You swear to that?"
"I do."
Asher sat with it for a long time. The Banner had real power. But six Supreme Gods was a force no artifact could stop alone. If Pandora could genuinely move Haru, through Elunara, through Svetlana, through whatever influence those relationships carried, then that slim chance was worth more than holding an artifact he couldn't use effectively enough to matter.
Eventually, Pandora left the Imperial Palace with a golden banner in her hand.
Her next stop: Angel City, the Great Aetherium's Imperial Capital.
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