"T-tomorrow?! That is far too early. You aren't currently in the best... headspace for it. You should take a few days off. I mean Zack and Freya will be here tomorrow for our weekly meeting. Sunday is meant to be a day of relaxation. You shouldn't push yourself this much."
"Tomorrow is ideal. Rituals aren't always meant to be rushed — I just need to begin the preparations. It involves the people of Lunaris Haven, so I will need your help."
Philip paused for a moment as Kharon looked at him with a fire in his eyes. Unable to deny the request, Philip sighed as he said, "Tell me what I need to do."
Kharon finished his breakfast as he and Philip walked up the stairs. As they got to the top floor, they quietly entered the Null Order's meeting room, they took their respective seats. Kharon's ring shone as a holographic image of Lunaris Haven was formed on the now white, circular table.
"As you already know... this is Lunaris Haven. My ritual involves revealing long lost knowledge to them. Or bringing back an item from the past which was long forgotten. The main goal is to make sure that the information is valid and everyone believes it is. If not, I die."
Philip slowly nodded as the image slowly zoomed into the Eclipsed Hollow. Kharon pointed at it was he said, "This will be the easiest location to convince. They know the least about how the Arcane Paths work and would be more willing to believe that there is another God. We can easily justify the reason for said God's absence as he is the God of Mysteries."
"So you plan on just revealing that there is a hidden path which even the Arcane Association are unaware of? The consequences will be immense. There will be a sudden uproar if you do this. People may turn on the Association, and we would be in danger."
The room turned slightly colder as Kharon leaned on his hand. As he did, his gaze drifted.
'If I go through with this, I'll ascend — but the Association will notice. We need to be bold, yet invisible.... The best option is for me to try and do this alone. I can shapeshift into many different people and give short demonstrations. It will be risky, but worth it.'
A sudden thud made Kharon turn his head as he looked at Philip. They looked at each other awkwardly as Kharon scratched the back of his head. Seeing as Philip remained silent, Kharon began, "I think I-" But as he did, Philip suddenly cut in as he said, "I know how we can deal with the problem. You can shapeshift and try to get people's attention. This will lead to people seeing the path of mysteries as a genuine path."
'That is what I was going to suggest... At least we are on the same page. If we do that, then we will be less likely to get caught. Especially because I can use Veiling and Fog Creation in case of an emergency. The Association won't be able to react fast enough if they don't see me as too much of a threat.'
"That is what I was thinking. But we would need a more concrete plan to account for unexpected situations. A good disguise needs to be created, emergency escape routes need to be plotted, etc."
"Don't worry about that. You should only worry about how to gain the trust and... respect of the civilians. If they trust you, then they will be more likely to believe what you say. I just need a few hours to come up with emergency routes and countermeasures against the Association."
Kharon nodded as he stood up from his seat. Philip followed as they walked out of the room. As they went down the stairs, Kharon commented, "You need to start getting ready for work. Don't worry about making any plans for now, we can start tomorrow."
"I already have a few in my head. As long as I don't get distracted, I will be fine. You should be more worried about yourself instead of me. The pain resistance device I mentioned will take a few days at most to create. I will see you later."
As he continued to walk down the stairs, Philip began to slowly vanish. Kharon watched him go as he returned to his room. The dark bedroom emitted an eerie feeling as the open window revealed the dark, starry sky. The black sun floated freely in the vast, open plain. A strong breeze hit Kharon as his hair flew in all directions.
He rummaged through his bag and pulled out a hard, metallic object. It was a silver bracelet inlaid with small, dark blue sapphires. The gems slowly shifted around as they vanished and reappeared in different locations. Kharon undid the small seal he had placed. A few runes began to disintegrate as he looked at the bracelet intently.
'A tier 4 construct of cosmos. This will be perfect for quick escapes and-'
A sharp pain shot through Kharon's whole body as he looked down at the ring. The dark sapphires were quickly shifting to a light blue colour as Kharon endured the pain. He felt his aether quickly leaving him as it flowed into the bracelet.
The pain slowly began to subside as Kharon looked at the ring. Its gems had turned a pale, blue colour as they swirled with aether. The gems had also grown much bigger than before they took up most of the bracelet.
'What just happened...? Most of my aether is gone. It just got absorbed by the bracelet... What can it even do?'
Cautiously, Kharon sent a small stream of aether through the bracelet. As the aether surged, the bracelet pulsed — and the world around him began to dissolve. He found himself standing in a field; the blue sky was filled with giant white clouds which seemed to avoid the sun. The rays of the burning sphere in the sky engulfed Kharon's body in pleasant heat.
Blades of green grass were carried by the wind as they flew past Kharon's face. The sound of chatter made him turn as he saw three well-dressed men walking towards him. As they reached his location, they walked straight through Kharon. On one of their fingers, Kharon noticed a bracelet which was inlaid with giant, light blue diamonds.
"So Richard, what can that construct do? I am very curious about it."
"It only has three abilities, but it was definitely worth it."
"If you say so. Why don't you give us a demonstration? We are in an open field after all. No one is going to get hurt."
The man with the bracelet stepped forward as he pointed at the sky with his outstretched hand. The small part of the sky began to twist and get distorted as the clouds seemed to converge. He slowly lowered his hand as everything returned to normal. Next the man suddenly vanished as he appeared behind his friends. They flinched as he once again disappeared, this time he landed from the sky.
Kharon watched quietly bemused as the man's hand was suddenly covered in a faint light. Upon closer inspection, Kharon realised that it was lightning. With a flick of his finger a lightning bolt was released. It flew straight towards Kharon who saw it slowly approaching as he side stepped it.
'I don't like things going through me. It just feels wrong. But I guess the path of cosmos is quite useful and versatile. The lightning seems to come from its connection to the electromagnetic spectrum... I must have been quite a bookworm to know so much about science. Then again arcana can't completely replace the need to understand the world. Even though there are a lot of phenomena which seem to break physics and logic.'
Everything turned dark as Kharon returned to his room. He looked closely at the bracelet before resealing it and walking to his workshop. He walked through his eerie cupboard and stepped into the armoury. As he climbed onto the podium, he placed the bracelet on a soft, silk pillow. His eyes lingered on the empty boxes and pillows before he left.
As he returned to his room, he eyed his bag suspiciously before sighing.
'I don't think it would be a good idea to get another one out. The same thing could happen and I doubt I have enough aether to restore another construct. I will just take it to my workshop and unseal it there.'
Kharon carefully reached into the bag as he pulled out a dagger. The blade was crimson and it had a black hilt. Kharon began to feel dizzy as he used Hidden Hand to carry the blade. He analysed it for a few seconds to no avail. Realising the source of the problem, Kharon used True Sight as he focused on his internal condition.
'It's just as I thought... it absorbed some of my blood! First my aether, now my blood... These constructs demand more than power — they demand sacrifice.'