VI: The Gift

After the other two demigods left, Duke East Tucker brought Aaron back to the ducal residence. As soon as they entered, they saw Aphne sitting restlessly on an exquisitely carved chair, swinging her legs impatiently, with Duchess Celine seated beside her.

"Mother, Aphne, I succeeded." Aaron quickened his pace, catching his sister as she rushed over. He ruffled her golden hair before setting her back down next to their mother.

"Mother knew you would succeed." As she spoke, Duchess Celine took an ornately decorated gift box from her maid. "This is a gift from your grandfather. Open it."

Aaron accepted the box with anticipation, while Aphne peeked over curiously, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Inside the luxurious box, resting on thick brocade, lay a pale mask of unknown material.

Before Aaron or Aphne could ask, the duchess explained, "Aaron, when you mentioned that mask rumored to have been taken from the Egs family mausoleum, I wrote to Father. He said he happened to have this exact mask in his collection."

"Last week, he sent the family steward to bring it to Ilursil along with his reply. Your grandfather also hopes you and Aphne can visit him and your grandmother in Backlund."

Count Wolf, father of Duchess Celine Wolf and grandfather to Aaron and Aphne, was one of the representatives of Loen's old aristocracy. As a member of the Conservative Party holding a seat in the House of Lords, he naturally possessed considerable influence.

"If I recall correctly, in a few years, the Corn Laws will be repealed, causing grain prices to plummet and rents for farmlands and pastures to collapse."

"My grandfather Count Wolf will suffer heavy losses because of this. I should find an opportunity to discuss this with him—helping him mitigate the damage would be a fitting thank-you gift." Aaron thought cheerfully as he picked up the pale mask.

"The Eggers family are descendants of the God of Death from the Fourth Epoch's Southern Continent. If this mask truly came from their mausoleum, it may contain some supernatural properties. Be careful when studying or using it."

The Duke of East Tucker, who had already returned to his seat at the head of the table, spoke calmly. As a demigod from an angelic family, he clearly knew many historical secrets.

"Understood, Your Grace. I'll be cautious. Besides, I'm not a child anymore—I'm a Beyonder now." Aaron's slightly childish reply made the duke and duchess smile. They dismissed the servants, sending Aaron and Aphne to their respective rooms to rest.

"Of course I know this mask isn't ordinary. This is the very mask carried by Azik Eggers, the Death Consul, a Sequence 2 angel and descendant of the God of Death. It's just sealed right now."

After bidding his parents goodnight and seeing Aphne to her room, Aaron returned to his own chambers. Claiming mental exhaustion, he dismissed all the servants.

Once certain they were gone, he swiftly entered a smaller inner chamber adjacent to his bedroom. He retrieved four candles and placed them at each corner of the room.

Preparations complete, he lit the candles one by one. Taking up a silver dagger, he recited incantations in Hermes, envisioning spiritual energy spreading outward from the blade's tip.

An invisible force surged forth. Aaron circled the room with the dagger, his spiritual intuition confirming that an invisible barrier had formed, sealing out all impurities and disturbances.

Exhaling slowly, Aaron sat in the chair at the room's center, closing his eyes to meditate and recover the spiritual energy expended in erecting the barrier.

He had no choice but to be cautious. A demigod was nearby—his own father, no less—and what Aaron planned to do next was not something he wanted anyone else to know.

Indeed, after ingesting the potion and becoming a Sequence 9 "Arbiter," Aaron had begun to sense something entirely new.

Before, he could vaguely perceive the Sephirot "Nation of Disorder" suspended infinitely high above his spiritual sky, but he couldn't enter it. This had left him restless and uneasy.

Now, however, his spiritual intuition told him that with just a thought, he could return to that grand, grotesque double-spired palace wreathed in dark golden mist—back to the towering throne embedded with that chaos-eyed orb.

After some time, having recovered most of his spiritual energy, Aaron opened his eyes with a wry thought. "If only I could divine whether this is dangerous right now. Divination is so convenient—later, I'll either need to find a Seer-pathway sealed artifact or train a trustworthy Diviner."

"Though when it comes to a Sephirot, even divination might not yield any results."

His mind wandered briefly before he shook his head, refocused, and closed his eyes. His consciousness expanded, reaching toward the boundless dark golden mist in the infinite heights of his spiritual sky.

Passing through the murmurs and howls echoing in the mist, Aaron opened his eyes again.

Before him stood a majestic hall. Towering stone pillars loomed faintly within the dark golden mist, supporting a vast dome.

Below the stone steps, five high-backed stone chairs stood on each side of the hall, shrouded in dark golden mist. Beneath them, arranged in an eerie pattern, were forty-nine peculiar stone seats—the entire scene exuding an aura of majesty, mystery, and a fusion of order and chaos.

Aaron sat upon the massive throne at the hall's deepest point, atop nine stone steps, carved with mysterious patterns and embedded with a dark golden eyeball at its peak. Thick dark golden mist swirled around him, his form flickering indistinctly like some ancient deity.

"Finally, I'm back. Only here, within my Sephirot, do I truly feel safe."

"It's already 1346. Twenty-two years remain until 1368, when the World Barrier shatters completely. Three years until Klein awakens in 1349 and the curtain rises. In these three years, I must advance quickly and build my own faction."

As his voice echoed, Aaron smiled and looked down at the hall. Four pulsating points of dark golden mist floated above the forty-nine stone seats below, each containing a faint human silhouette.

"Now that I've truly become a Beyonder, I can better harness the Sephirot's power. I can finally try some bold moves—it's time to experience what it feels like to be the mastermind behind the scenes."

"That risk I took last time, enduring backlash to deploy my power, has borne fruit. Now, I can establish an organization like the Tarot Club, nurture my blessed, and build strength to prepare for the impending apocalypse."