On stepping outside, Jericho saw a very advance looking vehicle, it looked like a carriage, but it wasn't pulled by horses, to his surprise, it moved on it's own, and it was made with some kind of material he wasn't too familiar with, but he knows it wasn't wood… "what is this box… is it safe to get in?" he asked feeling very skeptical, Alice smiled and explained it the best she can… "yes it is very safe, and it also protects from thieves when you're making a long journey between nations or cities.. (Jericho responded with a wow, as he continued to investigate it)… it works thanks to something called an electric current, we control how fast it can move by the amount of electricity we use on it… it is a very helpful invention, it was developed by the Princess of Warmark, Princess Clover Von Warmark… but she doesn't have it available for everyone, not even all the nobles have it, she said it's power source isn't healthy and stable enough for our world, and it's incredibly dangerous if not maintained properly, so she is only making a few units just for the top nobles, until she finds a more harmless and suitable power source, that's when everyone will have full access to it… other kinds are available, but they use horses to move around, as you will see shortly" Alice concluded her explanation… "wait… if it is that special, is it okay for us to use it?" Jericho asked, feeling a little unworthy… "(smiles)… Jericho, I think you keep forgetting you are a prince yourself… {then again I like that humble side of him}… (smiles again)… it's fine, the king himself offered it to us… we are fine" Alice responded, reassuring Jericho, he then got in with Alice, a guard was in front, holding something like a touch, then he placed it in a little opening in front of him, and pressed the button on it, then it suddenly started moving, Jericho couldn't hold his smile as they moved.
Outside, in the beautiful capital of the Kingdom of Righteous bright and lively city, Jericho was making his way to the Holy Church of The Seven Faiths, accompanied by Alice, he was in awe of what he was seeing, from outside his window… the streets are smoothly paved, with long poles that looks like it generates light when it gets darker at every end of the streets, towering buildings in different designs he had never seen before, and they were smoothly painted too, with little trees on a pavement that separates two roads going on opposite directions.
To Jericho, everything looked so odd and new, he was speechless, the city, it's people and the way they dressed and carried themselves, nobles or commoners, you couldn't tell the difference that easily anymore, it was a surprising but hugely welcomed sight for Jericho.
Taking in the view, Jericho was wide mouthed with everything he saw, it was like he wasn't on the same earth, in the space of just three and a half years a lot has changed… "what is all this?" asked a surprised Jericho still taken by his surroundings… "(giggle) yeah I almost forgot you were off world for the pass three and a half years... well all this are the changes that came with signing the peace and alliance treaty after the war… to rectify the damage the war caused, the three powers, mostly with the help of Warmark, brought this changes to every nation of the human continent… well all except Manssai cause… you know… Jace anger (little pause) um… it's called technology, and that gave us electricity, as I explained with this self moving carriage… I think… it's something Warmark had been working on for decades, before Princess Clover figured it out five years ago, according to what I was told… I myself don't understand it (light laugh)… but they are planning on making this available to everyone, even the Drakziel and Demonoid continent, if negotiations with some nations there goes according to plan… and also jump starting our economy in the process" Alice explained to the best of her ability… "wow… so you mean this long pole looking things on the end of this astonishingly smooth pathway becomes bright when it get dark, absolutely fascinating" Jericho responded looking really lost for words… "{oh my… this cuteness is too much to handle}… (shaking her head profusely to snap out of the trance).. yes it is fascinating, but don't worry, you haven't miss much, cause we still haven't gotten use to all this yet, (smile)… would need more time to adjust" Alice replied with a red face… "yes, that's completely understandable… (sigh) the world is moving so fast… three and a half years uh (smile)… Alice (she snapped out of her daze and responded to her name)… the world is evolving so fast, and mankind is really evolving too which is fantastic to see, I really want to see where the world will go from here… we can't let Jace or that god destroy all this… let's do everything we can to stop them and protect mankind's… no… the world's future" said an inspired Jericho… "right" Alice replied with a bright smile… "this is random, but can I ask you something (she replied with a yes)… I noticed the prince didn't like me much and he hardly smiled… am sorry if am prying but I got curious with the look you keep returning to him, whenever he looks at you with a smile… he strikes me as someone who is a real handful, so I was surprised he was that calm with you" asked Jericho with a light hint of embarrassment… "well….. I was betrothed to the prince against my will some years ago, cause my family wanted their strong bond with the royal household to continue, the queen, her highness Rachel is actually my aunt, we have had a very strong relationship for decades… so my family were hoping to continue that trend in my time (sigh) I wasn't having it, which caused some problems at home with my family, but as the only child it had to be me… so to revolt and stand my ground I joined the holy knights… that helped me escape my suffocating home for days at a time avoiding the topic and pressure… and then my fortune chanced when I met and became close with Erica, she wasn't the commander at that time, but her skills with the sword was mythical, she was so strong and talented, she does things with the sword that you can only imagine, she was the definition a greatness with a sword, she made it up the ranks pretty quickly cause of it….. then this war with Jace started, we were blindly dispatched to assist a smaller nation being attacked by Jace men, we thought we would be going up against human soldiers, but no it was something we could have never imagined, they were totally out of this world… those things you saved us from back at the Great Forest of Dawn, that was the first time we encountered them… we lost our commander that day, and a lot of other knights, Erica saved the lot of us, her skills was blinding, it was thanks to her I made it out alive… then she became the commander, and thanks to that and being made the heir, she helped me, got me out of the engagement with her brother, my family couldn't argue against it, especially as I confirmed that was what I wanted, it was settled, I was free, but Tazz wasn't pleased with the intervention of his sister in his affairs, making the bad relationship they already had even worst… (sigh) he isn't giving up as you saw today, but it's already sealed I am no longer his fiancee" said Alice with her head down sitting beside Jericho in the self moving carriage… "uh… I see… (looking straight ahead) you are really strong Alice, and brave" Jericho responded with a smile that took Alice off guard… "wha… wha… what do you mean… why di.. did you say that" said Alice with a heavy blush, which made Jericho smile… "you fought for what you wanted… for your happiness, it's your life and you should always be the one to choose… I admire how much you fought for your choices, my father use to say something… 'the things mostly worth fighting for, are always the hardest to defend, but if you are brave enough to see the fight through to the end, no matter the outcome, you will always be rewarded' (chuckles) thinking of those words now I finally understand them, and you Alice, you just got your reward for your tenacious push… and that (turned towards Alice and placed his hand on her head, patting her) that makes you a really strong woman that I admire" said Jericho with a red face and a smile, they both stared blindly at one another for what seemed like an eternity, Alice was frozen with happiness and a very bright glow on her face cause Jericho was petting her head, she then smiled and some tears can be seen forming in her eyes, the guard controlling the self moving carriage couldn't help but smile too, as he listened… "thank you Jericho… truly" said Alice with a huge smile on her face wiping her tears… "any time Alice… any time" said Jericho with a smile… "right…{I give up, I can't fight these feelings anymore…. can't keep ignoring it… am in love… am in love with Jericho}" said Alice in her thoughts with a visible smile.
After some few minutes in the self moving carriage, Jericho and Alice made it to the Holy Church of the Seven Faiths, which was a very high tower almost reaching the clouds with pillars dividing each flatter section of the building, it was filled with knights and guarded from the outside to the inside, and citizens coming to worship the gods, or just there to pay tights… it was a truly lively place.
they made their way into the church, and towards the reception area, Jericho couldn't stop staring all around him, he was so confused cause the church wasn't what he was expecting, the entrance hall was spacious, other priest can be seen making their way to and from the other sections of the tower. The waiting area was occupied by visitors wanting to see the high priest and other reasons, and a very sophisticated chandelier was dawned at the center of the roof… Jericho and Alice made their way to the reception desk were a woman was standing behind the desk… "hello Carol" Alice greeted… "oh hi holy knight Alice, what brings you by (glanced at Jericho) ooh my… you are with company (giggled) you finally got a man haven't you"… said Carol in a teasing voice…. "what!?… oh no no no no no it's not like that between us yet… (both Carol and Jericho raised their eyebrows upon hearing her say yet)… no I mean..um.. it's not.. it's just not like that, we are here for something else now focus Carol.." said Alice with a red face trying to sound compose… "okay so not your boyfriend… yet (laughs) then who is he and can I have him" said Carol in another teasing voice, hearing her last statement Alice almost stumbled on her own feet.. "(heavy laugh) oh you are so adorable (Carol continued laughing while Alice tried to hide in shame) I was just kidding, it's just so fun teasing you… anyway who is he and how can I help you guys" said Carol with a laugh.. "come on Carol.. stop teasing me" said Alice with embarrassment… "(laughs) nice to meet you, am Jericho… am uh… a friend of Alice, it's nothing like you were thinking miss (laughs)" ..… "oh how polite, nice to meet you too, I am Carol Barley, I work here at the church as a receptionist as you can see… oh and am not a nun" said Carol with a smile… "I see… this place isn't what I was expecting for a church, it doesn't give off that vibe, well to me at least, it's interesting" Jericho replied still looking around…. "oh, then I would guess you are not from Righteous then, or this is your first time in the capital of Righteous… (Jericho nodded with a yes)… well we have other branches of the church around the human continents and cities, with mankind worshiping seven gods as you know (Jericho expression changed as he heard seven gods, but then he quickly composed himself before anyone noticed)… this place looks like this cause it is the headquarters of the Holy Church of The Seven Faiths… we do much more than just worship the gods here, we train up coming priest and nuns and there are several administrative works here too, and also maintaining the other branches… that is why it seem bigger to you, and different sir Jericho" Carol explained with a smile, Jericho nods In understanding … "Carol we have an appointment with the high priest, sent by the king we were just making our way from the castle so as the priest, he is expecting us, it's pretty urgent" Alice changed topic, remaining Jericho why there were they in the process… "oh that was you?" said Carol with a surprised tone… "um.. what do you mean Carol" asked a curious Alice… "the high priest came in looking unusually excited, then he told me a very important guest is about to come visit and I should send them in immediately… it was the weirdest fourteen seconds of my life (shrugged) so you are the guest he was expecting uh (staring down Jericho from his head to his toe and smiled) having a good look at you right now you are pretty good looking… Alice are you sure I can't keep him" ..… "wha… wha… what are you saying, he isn't anyone's property you know, he is a person (hump) let's go Jericho" said Alice with a shy tone, grabbing a hold of Jericho and pulling him forward … " it's a pleasure meeting you miss Carol, take care" said Jericho as he was being dragged away…. "(laugh) bye sir Jericho, next time we can have a private chat yeah" Carol replied with a wink as they turned the corner and disappeared… "hey Alice, are you okay… you seem upset… plus you're squeezing so tight" asked a worried Jericho… "no am not upset, this is how I normally act… and you will be just fine Jericho, my hands are too little to cause any damage" said Alice while pouting… "(closed his eyes and sighed) it still hurts tho" replied Jericho with a pained expression and a sigh of defeat.
Soon they both made their way to the audience room of the high priest, before they could knock on the door it swigged opened and a bright smile can be seen… "welcome chosen hero of the gods…. come in, come in" said the high priest, Alice was startled and she ran and hid behind Jericho, when she saw it was the priest she immediately felt embarrassed… "am sorry Jericho, he just came out of nowhere" said a shy Alice… "(laughed) it's alright, the way he greeted us was pretty weird, I myself was startled… tho it was pretty cute the way you reacted" said Jericho with a smile, Alice whole body went completely red and she had to put up her hoodie to hide her face… "sorry to intrude father, but it's incredibly urgent I make use of the Evlogia ore" Jericho kindly requested with a bow… "of course… you know dear Jericho, I've never spoken to anyone about this, cause I was asked not to ever talk about it, but I was expecting your arrival, cause I do communicate with the gods, they told me you will be making your way to Righteous, when I saw that mark on your chest I knew you were the one they were talking about, they told me to look for the mark of their blessing on your skin if I still have doubts, and then I saw it on you when you took off your jacket (smile)… they also told me most of what you said back at the castle, that was the second clue I used to confirmed who you truly are" said the priest as they made their way to the book shelf, he then pulled two books at the same time, then a secret doorway was exposed, Jericho watched with his mouth wide open and Alice also speechless as they went through the doorway… "father Neon, what is all this… where is this place" asked a curious Alice still looking around her…. "this my dear Alice is the chamber of solitude meditation, it's strictly for priest who are prepared and worthy of ascending to a higher level in the church, but these days it's barely in use … it's the safest place I could think of to hide the Evlogia ore" ..… "so it was you… you are the subordinate the gods were telling me about, I see now, you're a priest, that's why they said I'll understand when I see you" said Jericho with a smile…. "oh, what an honor the gods talks about me… today is a great day" father Neon replied with excitement… "father, you were saying something about speaking to the gods, how is that possible, I was told by them that they were forbidden to interact with the human world, so am a little confused right now… they didn't have the time to explain that part to me" said a confused and curious Jericho… "yes Jericho, they only started clearly communicating with me just some days ago, but before that I only get codes from them that I use ancient text to decipher, also known as the Lost Tongue… it can't be easily interpreted in our current language, so with that logic they were still staying true to the rule of not interfering with us, to them it's just a welcomed and appreciated coincidence that I understand the lost tongue (laughs)... it's a lot of work I tell you, makes me glad I ignored all the teasing I got for focusing on learning the lost tongue when I was younger (light laugh)… they ask me to never disclose my communication with them, that was also one of the reasons am this protective of the ore, not letting anyone else see it except me" father Neon explained, as he lead the way into the exposed doorway and towards the location of the Evlogia Ore… "I understand now, so you knew about the true nature of the war? And about soul energy?" asked Jericho as he followed closely behind father Neon… "yes it was one of the hardest information I had ever received from them, mostly because I wasn't allowed to talk about it to anyone else, wasn't allowed to warn anyone… watching the knight go into battle knowing they all might not return cause the enemy is something they would never be prepared for was extremely difficult… am so sorry dear Alice" said father Neon with a sad and sympathetic tone… "it's okay father Neon… it was a pact with gods you couldn't break, It was out of your hands, so please don't feel bad for something like that" ..… "you are truly kind dear Alice… thank you child" said father Neon with a huge smile of his own… "so father, what else did you already know?" asked a curious Jericho… "that god you spoke of… Pluto… is truly a huge problem, and also your brother Jace is now a Demi god, it's really concerning… the world is moving to a very unfamiliar phase now, and we have to adjust with it as it comes… I suggested to at least inform the people that one god is no more, and change the direction of the church, but the other gods warned me against it, and asked me to leave things as they are, at least for now… that's why we still worship seven gods, even if I already know the truth…. Jericho it's up to you to make sure the path we take isn't the one that rouge god wants… change our future, change our faith" said father Neon as they stood outside a big black door, it was resonating an extremely high pressure Jericho could truly feel… "hey Jericho are you alright" asked Alice with concern in her voice… "yeah… yeah I am, just felt a little light headed (smile) I can feel the ore, and the power it's resonating… it is truly overwhelming" said Jericho regaining his composure… "yes the ore emotes a very powerful aura, I was strongly affected by it the first few times but now I can manage for at lease an hour… you are truly powerful dear Jericho" said the father with a glow in his eyes… "so how come am not feeling anything?" asked Alice… "must be the work of this door… it somehow seals the energy emanating from the ore… am only able to still feel it cause am a sub god" Jericho replied preparing to go in… "but where did something like that even come from… it looks like a ruin of a past civilization" said Alice, while investigating the door… "on one knows, the church was built on top of this caves, no one knew all this was even here until two decades ago, it was impossible to destroy it so the church decided to use it until fairly recently, when access to this parts was sealed off" father Neon explained… "okay Alice, please stay here with father Neon, I will be out pretty soon, trust me it won't even feel like I left in the first place… time with the gods is funny that way (laughs) father with your permission?" said Jericho with a bow… "of course chosen hero of the gods, you may proceed, I and lady Alice will be out here awaiting on your return" father Neon replied with a smile… "please be careful Jericho… make sure you really come back" said Alice with a worried look… "of course Alice… see you soon" said Jericho with a smile as he burst open the door and made his way in, closing the door behind him.