COUNTDOWN DAY 2: THE ASTUTE JUDGE

Adriana walked through the opulent halls of her father's estate, her footsteps echoing off the marble floor. She had spent the entire previous day rehearsing her words, preparing herself to convince her uncle, the Duke of Carnelia,Mikael Listowell, to support Kojo's plans. Mikael was a shrewd man, known for his cunning and ambition. He only did things that would profit himself and his goals. They had established that things could proceed even without the knowledge of any of the other Dukes aside from the king but then that would put more strain on the not so good relationship Opal had. Duke Mikael, despite his notoriety,was knwon to make good judgement hence his Province flourishing of the River Chaim as a main source of resources even though the province itself was land locked. If they managed to convince his to aide with them the other dukes and nobles under them would be unable to complain since his reputation as the "Astute Judge of Listowell" was yet to be proven wrong.

Adriana knew that she would have to tread carefully to persuade him.

As she walked, Adriana couldn't shake off the feeling of nervousness that had been building up inside her. She had been the Student Council Representative at the Jewel Academy of Magic in the Capitol during her years as a student while her brother was in the Disciplinary Comitee. Due to the grooming her her Late mother had given her in relation to being a person with royal blood,she was able to become an effect leader and had always been confident in her ability to navigate the complex web of politics and intrigue, but this time, she felt a sense of trepidation. Perhaps it was because she knew that her uncle's support was crucial to Kojo's plans, or perhaps it was something else entirely.

Adriana pushed aside her doubts and focused on the task at hand. She took a deep breath, smoothing out her dress and composing herself. As she approached the door to the meeting room, she felt a strange sensation, as if time had skipped a beat and she saw a maid tripping at the door and about to poor a beverage on her as she opened the door. The strange thing about this vision? Was that she was looking at this happen this from her body but was rather disconnected,as if observing from an audience's point of view while a play unfolded in stage. She blinked coming back to her senses and suddenly found herself about to open the door.

Confused, Adriana pushed open the door, and as she did, a maid tripped and nearly spilled a tray of drinks. Adriana with the prior knoyshe has received automatically sidestepped and outstretched her arms, quickly helping the maid to steady the tray. The maid apologized profusely, but Adriana waved her off, saying, "No, it's alright."

" What was that?" She wondered as the maid moved passed wondering what she had just experienced. She quickly cleared her mind and rearranged her thoughts for the task at hand.

Act 1

As she entered the room, Adriana's eyes met those of her uncle, Mikael Listowell. He was sitting in a chair, one leg crossed over the other, and an impatient expression on his face. Adriana took a deep breath, putting on the mask of composure she had perfected over the years. She smiled, her eyes sparkling with warmth, and greeted her uncle with a confident tone.

"Uncle Mikael, it's so good to see you," she said, her voice smooth as silk. Mikael raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable. Adriana knew that she had to tread carefully. She gracefully took a seat, her back straight, and her eyes locked on those of her uncle. The Duke grunted at her greeting then remained silent.

Adriana began to speak, trying to break the ice with her uncle.

"It's been far too long since we last saw each other, Uncle Mikael. I believe it was at the previous Dio'ri tournament that we last saw each other, wasn't it? You should visit us more often were next door neighbors and besides, we're family after all." She hoped that by starting with small talk, she could establish a rapport with her uncle and make the conversation more pleasant.

Mikael's expression remained unreadable, but he did nod slightly in response.

"Yes, it was the tiurmy. I'm afraid I've been quite busy since then, Adriana."

His tone was polite, but there was a hint of impatience underlying his words. Adriana sensed that he was not interested in engaging in idle chatter, but she tried to press on, hoping to find a way to connect with him.

" Don't be like that,I remember when I was little, you used to bring gifts and play anytime you came around, surely you can make time for-"

Mikael's patience finally wore thin, and he interrupted Adriana's attempt at small talk. "Adriana, I appreciate the sentiment, but I didn't come here to indulge in pleasantries. I have a lot of things to attend to, and I put them all aside just for this meeting. So, let's cut to the chase, shall we?"

His tone was firm but not unkind, and Adriana realized that she would have to get straight to the point if she wanted to achieve her goal.

"I assume you know why I've asked to meet with you, Duke Mikael" she said, her tone becoming formal. Mikael nodded, his expression still unreadable.

Duke Mikael leaned back in his chair.

"The plan to 'fortify' the border could be carried out without my involvement, Adriana," he said, his voice measured.

"As long as there isn't any harm caused to any of my people or any damage done to my territory, I have no problem with it."

"Yes, it's true, but that's not the reason for our meeting." Adriana said, her voice smooth.

But Duke Mikael interrupted her, his eyes glinting with a knowing light.

"What you want, Adriana, is to convince me to side with you when inevitably the other Dukes begin to complain about your activities," he said, his voice dripping with amusement.

"They'll cry 'abuse of power' by the 'Champion of Archadia', or that the 'Province of Opal is plotting to take over the Kingdom', or some other way to cause commotion."

Adriana's eyes widened slightly, impressed despite herself. Her uncle was quick to catch on. She expected no less from the

Astute Judge . She smiled, a wry smile, and nodded.

"You're as perceptive as ever,Duke Mikael." she said, her voice tinged with a hint of admiration.

Duke Mikael chuckled, a dry, mirthless sound.

"I've had to be, my dear niece," he said, his eyes glinting with a hint of steel.

"In our world, one must always be perceptive of the things around them I'm order to take advantage of opportunities. I must say, I'm intrigued by your audacity. You think to convince me to side with you, despite the risks, despite the potential consequences?"

Adriana's eyes locked onto her uncle's, her gaze steady and unwavering.

"I'm not asking you to take a blind leap of faith, " she said, her voice firm.

"I'm asking you to consider the benefits of your cooperation, to convince you that together, we can achieve great things."

Duke Mikael's expression turned thoughtful, his eyes narrowing as he considered Adriana's words.

' Does this girl think I was born yesterday?'

Adriana blinked.

' she really expects me to cooperate with them based on faith?'

She heard the voice again. She looked carefully at her uncle who wasn't opening his mouth to say anything yet the voice was clearly his.

' I only considered indulging in all this talk because we are relatives but being relatives does not automatically mean we should work together.'

That time too. It was definitely her uncle. But what was going on? How was she hearing his voice? No,how was she hearing his thoughts.

" I'll indulge you and give you the benefit of the doubt." Duke Mikael spoke.

" Tell me girl,why should I cooperate with you?"

Adrian stared. She was a bit disoriented from what was happening.

' It seems that they've somehow managed to develop this place. Nit only that they were even able to repel a goblin invasion and even though a part of the city is partially broken down,the rest of the infrastructure is impressive.'

Adriana sat silently staring at him.

' I wonder if I could take advantage of this meeting to benefit from their progress.'

Adriana suddenly fell forward and buried her face in her hands. Her body began to tremble.

" Are you alright?" Duke Mikael asked.

'Great,if this girl falls sick right now it means that I would have wasted my time.'

" I'm fine." Adriana replied, composing herself once more. She now understood what was going on. The cause of what was happening was the same thing that gave her the understanding of what was happening. Her trembling wasn't because she has fallen ill,but because she was trying hard to suroress the urge to laugh.

Trancendence.

Of course that was the case of what she was experiencing right now. During her fight with Antoine she has been made to experience a dark and twisted version of her life all while being in the perspective of an observer. It was this that caused her to embrace everything and ultimately awaken as a Transcendent. Trancendence is gaining enlightenment about an aspect of the world,a part of existence.This means that the nature of one's Trancendence varies depending on the mode of acceptance.

Due to the trancendence itself ,Adriana realized that the nature of enlightenment she had received was that she could now perceive The World As That Of A Play,a book, an event,all of it as an.....observer if you will. The shared vision she has seen when she touched Cassandra the day before yesterday and the incident with the maid when she was entering the room was the Foreshadowing aspect of her trancendence. Her being able to hear her uncles inner thoughts was like a Soliloquy.

And just like a member of the audience,Adriana instantly knew what to do in order.

Act 2

Adriana then altered the words she had prepared to say to the duke based on his own inner monologue in order to direct his mood for the most favorable results.

She knew exactly what her uncle wanted - to take advantage of the growing development of Opal without actually investing much. And she was prepared to give it to him, wrapped in a neat package of words and promises....on the surface.

"Duke Mikael, I understand your concerns about investing in our plans," she said, her voice smooth as silk.

"But I assure you, the benefits of cooperation far outweigh the costs. We're not asking for a significant investment, merely a token of good faith that is your good word. And in return, we're willing to offer you a... let's call it a 'preferential arrangement'."

Duke Mikael's eyes narrowed, his interest piqued.

"What kind of arrangement?" he asked, his voice cautious. Adriana smiled as she spoke, her words dripping with honey.

"Oh , a mere formality, really. I'm sure you're aware that this is a Mystium deposit where crystalized arcana is in abundance that and the fact that we've made progress in extraction due to the introduction of more efficient techniques. Due to this out infrastructure is rapidly improving and we plan to do more than just make renovations to the city."

She saw him look at her with a curious expression but she didn't double down on the technique's . It was better to keep him guessing.

" In return for your help, we'll make sure that your... interests are well-represented in our future endeavors."

The Duke's eyes gleamed with calculation, his mind racing with the possibilities. Adriana could see his thoughts and knew that she had him hooked.

'This seems to be true. I've seen the city myself and it looks nothing like it did when I was here for the tournament. My infirmanst have also confirmed that they can now deal with the beast in the beast glades all while efficiently extracting the Mystium.'

"So they had 'informants' in Opal?" Adriana wondered.Interesting. She'd bring the matter up with the others later on.

" So your saying that you're willing to let me benefit if I take your side?" Duke Mikael asked. Adriana nodded.

' Interesting. I thought that it'd be impossible to somehow tap into this rush with that Kojo brat walking around but it seems I can take advantage of my nieces naivete. After all the possible benefits I can get from this out way the loss.'

Adriana took a cup from a tray that a maid had just brought in and took a sip.

' Still I need to be cautious. This could all be a set up.'

"Cautious as ever" Adriana thought with a sigh. Still,she couldn't help but notice the subtle changes in her uncle's expression. A faint smile played on her lips. She knew that he was a master of hiding his true intentions, but this time around her uncle had met someone who was as shrewd than himself.