Palace

Two figures sat at either end of an ancient marble table positioned in the centre of a vast hall supported by towering white stone pillars, grand and lofty, like a palace for giants.

Draped in her usual white and gold robes, with one leg crossed over the other, Sylvie Indrath addressed the man in front of her without any touch of familiarity or casualness.

"Creation has become erratic recently as if reacting to something. Destruction has been silent for too long. He is nowhere to be found. Another Fracture just four years ago, and now, Entropy shows itself in the most open way possible. Something is happening, and I fear we might not be catching on."

The man across from her regarded her for a moment in silence, the unreadable expression on his face unchanging like the stone around them. "Only you can understand the behaviour of Creation, if it has become erratic, it is your job to know why. As for Destruction, its silence is indeed worrying, but with Regis' presence, everything can likely be contained.

Entropy and the Fracture likely go hand in hand - after all, why would it choose the boy at the exact occurrence of the Fracture felt across the world? - but its goals have always eluded us. The random and chaotic nature of Entropy will always create strange occurrences such as this, but admittedly, to outright bestow a child with insight - it's unheard of."

"Regardless, that doesn't account for Him. If anyone would know where he is, it should be you. I requested your presence for a reason, Kezzess, please at least give me something." The exasperation in her voice was palpable.

"He will always remain hard - impossible, almost - to track, even I cannot pinpoint His precise whereabouts. However, His power was felt somewhere very uncharacteristic a few months ago." Kezzess tone displayed his poorly masked curiosity.

"Where?" Sylvie's immediate response came more as an order than a question.

"Dicathen." 

Silence laced with a tangible tension followed as Sylvie dwelled on this information. 

When was the last time that man breached the physical realm? No, this may just be one of the few times we've detected his movement. He could be far more active than we thought...

The thought sent a slight shiver down her spine and she sat up straighter before continuing,

"But why? What could be of interest to him in Dicathen?"

Kezzess' brow pricked up as he scrutinized his granddaughter. "You mean other than Entropy's supposed vessel?"

"His goal is Leonard? He's barely manifested any sign of true insight, what could have caused him to search for Leo"

"I don't think it's that simple, Sylv." Kezzess's solemn, heavy tone implied a horror understood by incredibly few.

-----

Long after the man had left, Saintess Sylvie Indrath sat unmoving in her chair, ruminating on the past and what had just been discussed.

Echoes of her last conversation with Arthur replayed over and over again in her mind.

"I'm sorry, Sylv, Regis, but I must give you one last mission. One unlike all previous."

"Of course, Art. What is it?" Regis' steady, confident voice couldn't quite calm the edge on my nerves.

Something's off. Arthur feels... distant.

"I leave you with a request, one you must uphold until the day you perish." Arthur's bluntness caught the two off guard. It was unusual for Arthur to speak with such a weight. "The 6 pathways of aether have become restless. I'm sure you've experienced this first-hand through your own pathways, and I believe I know why."

Arthur's hollow and detached voice was a painful reminder of his ascension. Long gone was the human boy who carried his home on his back. The man before them could no longer be considered just a man - no, He was something far greater. A Saint.

"Entropy's long slumber will come to an end rather shortly. I am unable to guess exactly how long it will be until further proof of awakening is made clear, but I'd give less than 600 years before it's complete awakening. I need the two of you to help me prevent this."

"You mean... Entropy is attempting to gain a complete consciousness. Is that even possible?" My words came out shakier than expected, my nerves shown clearly in my tone.

Arthur gazed up at the sky far above for a second, before returning his eyes to us. He had hardly aged since the last time we'd spoken nearly 10 years ago, still bearing the face of the Hero of the Great War. His golden eyes swept over the two of us and his wheat locks danced in the breeze.

"Let's hope we don't find out." 

After a minute of shared resolution, Regis broke the silence.

"How do we help?"

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