Chapter 138. Returning to Kyovashad

Preparing to leave, Michael decided to ask a couple more questions before getting the hell out of there.

"What does the prophecy say?"

[From the Father's voice to my ears: 'A spear of Light, piercing Hatred's heart.' First Lilith, then the Prime.](Prava)

"Prime? As in the Prime Evils!? Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't even the entire High Heavens enough to deal with Diablo? From what I remember, he almost killed and destroyed the Heavens alone. Now, Inarius wants to take out all of them alone? That's no longer arrogance, Miss Prava. It's stupidity."

[That's where you're lacking, Michael. Faith. He will deliver us from the Eternal Conflict.](Prava)

"*Sigh* I wish I could be as optimistic as you are. What would happen to Vigo?"

Smiling, Prava looked into his eyes and shook her head. With a comforting voice, she reassured the Necromancer.

[Vigo and I had a good conversation when he returned. He will do his penance. Trust that he is in good hands.](Prava)

"Mhm. One last question. Why the hell is Inarius still here on Sanctuary?"

[*Sigh* You truly are impertinent.... Penitence. In Heaven's eyes, creating humanity was a sin. They cast him down. Now, he seeks redemption and the chance to go home. As prophesied, slaying Lilith is that chance. When he ascends, so shall we.](Prava)

"A sin, huh? I wonder if they refer to enemies being intimate or the creation of us humans..."

[Only they know the answer.](Prava)

"Mysterious are Heaven's ways, huh? That's the second time I'm using that phrase today. *Sigh* One final thing. I wasn't willing to tell you about it, but I must travel back to the Alabaster Monastery tomorrow."

Seeing Prava frowning, Michael shook his head.

"It's not to see Inarius. Trust me. He doesn't want to see me anymore, nor I him. I got information about some fallen Knights using the Alabaster Monastery as a hideout for a cult."

[Again, that's a terrifying accusation to make. Especially since it's under Inarius's eyes.](Prava)

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Prava. The Sanctuary already approved of it as a Quest. There are rumors of a Blood Chalice with endless fresh blood inside of it, even after being buried in some ruins for countless years, as well as a Blood Sermon. Since I got the Quest, I'll have to investigate. At the end of the day, Inarius is not a god. Just a slightly stronger fallen angel. He is not omniscient."

[...it is truly a wonder how you walked out of his presence alive.](Prava)

"Don't even... I'm still questioning myself how the hell I made it out alive. Anyway, I'm going back to Kyovashad. I want a warm bath, a decent meal, and to spend time with people I enjoy. No offense."

[None taken. Please, do let me know what you find out tomorrow.](Prava)

"Will do."

Michael's mind wandered, processing everything that happened today. He got more Side Quests and somehow agreed to clean up another Stronghold, even after seeing how terrifying Nostrava's was.

Inwardly blaming his ego, he decided to ask for advice once he returned to the Pink Palace. Next were the matters of Kor Valar.

'The pilgrimage was interesting, but it appeared as nothing more than a light show in my eyes. It might be the lack of faith, or it might be the fact that it's only a trick by the Cathedral, designed to make fanatics out of honest believers. Either way, it's of no concern of mine.'

Remembering the Alabaster Monastery and going through his conversation with Inarius again, Michael's face soured considerably.

'No matter how I look at it, it's not possible that I would act so stupidly. Therefore, I can only consider external influences. One possibility is that Inarius subconsciously influenced me to say what I truly believed. The other is that... I might be possessed by someone. Furthermore, that someone was recognized by Inarius, therefore decided against atomizing the impudent ant before him.'

It was a far-fetched assumption, but it wouldn't be impossible given how unique the Sanctuary was. If somewhat ordinary people could summon Lilith from the Void where Inarius locked her up, the possibility of someone or something possessing a newbie Necromancer wasn't ridiculous. 

'Also, it could've happened as I was brought into this world. Rathma would make a lot of sense. That would explain the connection with Lilith and her goodwill toward me. In Nevesk, time-wise, the antidote Martel gave me worked much faster than it should've, so it should've been Rathma getting involved. Plus, his prophecy... There's only one problem with this train of thought.'

Regardless of whether Rathma possessed him or not, he was almost entirely in control of his mental faculties. All the Primo could do was slightly influence him.

But if it is indeed Rathma, then the Firstborn Legendary Necromancer was already dead by the point where Lilith was summoned into the Sanctuary. The fact that he 'hitched a ride' in the body of a newbie, and the said newbie became a Necromancer after the World Recognition Quest... meant that he was already dead.

'That would imply Inarius killed him. But it doesn't make sense. If he did kill Rathma, he would've acted a bit more shaken upon seeing me and realizing Rathma was 'around.' Ultimately, it's just speculation on my part, and I am severely lacking in the evidence department. I need to stop theory-crafting and figure out the schedule for the next two days...'

After giving it some thought, he threw to the side the strange idea of being possessed and instead focused on the two days he had left before meeting Neyrelle. 

As he had plenty of Side Quests to complete and was still planning to clear the needed 13 more Dungeons before Level 50, all that could be done was waking up early and putting more work in.

Reaching the Waypoint at the Bear Tribe Refuge, he directly teleported to Kyovashad. Then, he unsummoned his mount after patting its neck, getting a snort in response.

[You're back later than I thought you would.](Aylin)

"Aylin. Yeah... things got complicated again."

[I would expect nothing less from you. After all, Preferential Treatment isn't given to just anyone, you know. Are you going to the Inn or plan to come over tonight as well?](Aylin)

"As shameless as it sounds, I need advice again. I'll tell you more about it when the others are also listening, so I don't have to repeat myself. A question in the meantime. Is it possible for someone to be possessed by the spirit of the dead?"

[Huh? That's an oddly specific question... Short answer: yes. Long answer: you should ask Mina for the details. I can't see any signs of demonic possession on you, but with dead Wanderers such as Necromancers, it's possible to be much better hidden. I wouldn't worry too much, though. Even if they did, their influence on you decreases with every Class Awakening you go through.](Aylin)

"That sounds oddly comforting. Why is that?"

[Soul sublimation. A Class Awakening doesn't just undo the shackles Inarius placed on us. It helps our souls elevate further. Only then will it be capable of using our powers after the shackles are removed without collapsing onto itself. Helen was right... You lack common sense too much, even after you got to Kyovashad. Meeting that stingy old man Donnan would do you good, as long as you get permission to read some of the books about Necromancers in his collection.](Aylin)

While conversing with Ayling until they got home, the duo were welcomed with open arms and ears, as the girls were curious about what he went through that day.

It wasn't as if they didn't go through their own adventures, but they seemed to lack some luster when compared to the crap Michael was going through daily.

Irrelevant of that, the advice he got was great indeed. Not only were the girls able to point out six Dungeons that weren't too difficult for him to clear based on his current abilities and the general power of his minions, but they also brought back some rumors about two Altars of Lilith in Yelesna.

After marking down the possible locations on the MAP, he told the girls about the Stronghold he would have to clear. Helen wanted him to wait a while until she found another Order of Restriction, but the Necromancer shook his head and told her he wasn't planning to attempt it before Level 45 anyway.

"If you can find one, that's fine. We'll consider it another date in the wild. If you don't, I'll search for some party members and even post a Bounty Quest about it. With another 2-3 parties, it shouldn't be too difficult to clear it."

[Mhm. That's not a bad idea. Boza already trained plenty of capable Wanderers. Some of them had already cleared plenty of Dungeons. Having them experience a proper Stronghold Event wouldn't be bad.](Aylin)

"Would my 'Special Treatment' be a problem?"

[For them? Probably not. For the Stronghold Event itself, most likely yes. You need to set up the right expectations and have them prepare for the worst.](Aylin)

"Yes. I wasn't planning to hide it from them or anything. Don't pout, Helen! If you find an Order, I'll go with you."

[Hmpf!](Helen)

[How was it? Meeting Inarius.](Mina)

"...disappointing. He's more human than the church wants you to believe. He is indeed arrogant; that much is certain. The feeling I got is that he truly believes the prophecy is about him killing Lilith and returning to his 'rightful place' in the Heavens."

[And you don't believe that?](Hella)

"Not one bit. I found out that it was Rathma who gave out the prophecy. Lilith probably already met him, and even if she didn't, it wouldn't be too hard to hear the prophecy. I don't believe that she wouldn't make any plans. Furthermore, the Sanctuary came into existence due to her plans and schemes. If you want me to believe that she would just calmly wait for death, I am sorry, but that's just not going to happen."

After being pestered to retell his conversation with Inarius verbatim, he got some really strange looks from the girls.

Telling them his assumption of being either influenced or possessed, the sisters immediately had Mina search his soul for contamination. Fortunately, there wasn't anything to be found.

'Not that she could do that if Rathma wanted to stay hidden. Anyway, enough overthinking...'

[Either way, a war between the two forces is inevitable.](Mei)

[Mhm. I will talk with the City Guards and Uncle Collin. We need to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Aylin, I am thinking of training some elite squads from scratch. Do you think you can prepare some first-level training arrays for me?](Helen)

[How many?](Aylin)

[About 100.](Helen)

[... I need Hella's help for such a large number. Also, we require materials, and it will take at least a couple of weeks to get them from Khejistad and the Hawezar region.](Aylin)

[No worries. I was curious about the arrays anyway.](Hella)

[No rush. I will put the recruitment notice tomorrow. Screening and giving them basic training will take at least a month. Only after they could go through the training array and actually gain something from it. I also need Prava's permission to use their Training Grounds Dungeon. After all, only Martel can do as he pleases without repercussion there.](Helen)

Seeing the girls' excited faces, Michael felt like face-palming. Making a mental note to try to find more entertainment venues for the inhabitants of the Sanctuary, the 'meeting' was dismissed after the girls realized that it was almost midnight.

After getting into Helen's room, the girl coyly asked if he was tired. Obviously, the couple spent the next four hours blowing off steam. 

Early next morning, Michael left for Margrave, planning to hand in the Quest Item he found to Zalan Coste and explore the marked areas for the Altars of Lilith.

[Preparing to leave?](Aylin)

Seeing the girl with messy hair eating in the kitchen as she was reading Akara's manuscript they found, Michael smiled and nodded.

"I need to hurry up. After I get to Levels 50-60, it would be easier to party with Tia and Evelyn. It would be great if we could get one more person around that level to tank. I have Gonk in mind."

[The girls told me you had previously partied with three other newbie Wanderers. Why not go with them until then?](Aylin)

"I asked Raskya a couple of days ago, and while they are doing well, they fell behind. They are around Level 25 as we speak. It's fast, but they can't keep up with the daily mess I am getting into. Furthermore, we already talked about it in the past, and they made their choice."

[Well, if they can climb slowly, there's no reason to rush head-first into danger every time. Be careful, and don't die! Helen would be devastated if you would. The other girls also...](Aylin)

Smiling, he nodded and left the Pink Palace. He wasn't planning on dying anytime soon, as he was enjoying his life very much.

Yes, it was taxing sometimes, and there were larger forces at play that kept dragging him into shit-storms. He barely escaped alive every time, but he did get out.

Stepping into the Waypoint, he reappeared into Margrave. It was time to grind some Quests.