The Dark Oracle

A very tall man stood in a black hood under the cover of night.

His hands spread wide, gazing at the moon as his mouth muttered words that couldn't be understood.

He had been like this for two days now, starting from the day of the Ninth Prince of Realmere's ceremony.

Soon, the space twisted before him. A line began to form before a black rectangular card materialized.

He seized it quickly and read the content. Then he relaxed and turned toward two individuals who appeared like children before his tall figure.

"Do not dare go into the empire." His voice was deep and dry. "He will come to you!"

They nodded before vanishing in smoke.

The Dark Oracle turned toward the moon, where Seth Realmere's face reflection appeared. His soft, delicate features were innocent and naive.

The Oracle had a hard time piercing through the boy's defenses to see his features in the fast two days

He looked at the card in his hand. It has the image of the prince in tattered clothes, wounds all over him and holding an old rusty iron book.

But the prince was smiling. An innocent, kind smile despite his torn situation.

This was a rather unusual combination.

All the princes he had gazed at at one point in time we're unlike this. As long as they wore dirty, tattered clothes and bore wounds, their faces would show anger or helplessness.

Seth Realmere was the exception.

The Dark Oracle stared at the rusty book. That book could only be found outside the Empire, which would make it easier for those people to reach him.

His dried, coarse face smiled, his shark-like teeth revealed. "They are all monsters in human skin!"

***

The victim of scrutiny was inside a narrow passage with his sister, conversing about life and all.

Seth's eyes were focused on the wall that had the most number of murals on it than anywhere.

His hand traced it slowly while he explained to her his plan of pursuing wealth.

"That is a dumb plan!" she bluntly said. "The 20 billion gold you have can buy two kingdoms. Making more doesn't make sense."

"Really," Seth asked. "I thought so too, but then I see reason in her plan. I am going to breach..."

The Eighth Princess cut him off with a sneer, "Hey, I know Rin. She is a smart girl. But what you should really ask yourself is how did she come up with the idea?

"She is definitely influenced by some people. Maybe a relative of hers has talent in that tech, and by making you sponsor it, she will be helping them."

The imperial princess halted and checked a circle black metal on her hand but continued to explain.

"It's not bad. It happened to me too. My chamberlain made me sponsor many things, but if you look at it, they benefit them one way or the other."

"So, what do you think I should do?" Seth asked.

"A free chamberlain is a loyal chamberlain. Encourage her. But also put your hand on other things. Something you understand and can increase your value.

"But don't just pursue technology. There are many projects on that, and some will lose value the moment a better one comes.

"Sponsor a Wisdom pursuing discovery. Even if they fail, the things they discovered will help in the archives which will indirectly help you."

Seth nodded but said "I was thinking about exploration."

"It was popular. Still is, but due to crowning things are slowing down. If I were to say it, pursue culinary skills and nutrition." The Eight Princess said with a smile.

"What?" Seth asked as he turned toward her. "Rusty throne. No. I will not."

"Haha. It's a good profession. There is money in that. Trust me, that's where I am expanding now."

"Hmm!" Seth snorted. His eyes were stinging to activate, but as he had seen everything he walked out, and she followed him.

"I will consider it. If you turn my 1 billion coins into 2 billion coins in a year."

"Send me the coins then!" she said with a confident smile.

"I will."

"Then our chamberlains should finalize everything!"

"Yes."

They were back to the black table room, and Seth was leaving. "By the way. Where can I find the Sixth Brother?"

"How will I know!" she asked.

"Hey. I know what the table can do." Seth snorted, and she stared at him in surprise. She remembered he had been meddling with the table ever since he came.

"How?" she asked. Appearing before him, her hand squeezed his face and head but refrained from sending her Psion Hand into his head to feel around.

Seth smugly said, unbothered by her mishandling his face, "You know me better than the rest."

She sighed and walked back, tapping the black table and reading through it. A pulse came from the table to Seth, and he saw a map in his head.

"Who is the first rank according to Wisdom Zeek?"

"You know who?" Seth said as he walked out his cape flapping. His assignment here was over.

"First Prince?" she asked. Seth laughed and didn't answer her, but she didn't follow him outside the table room.

'This boy!' she thought in trepidation. 'By the throne. I hope he won't get any hidden advantage. If he does, then...'

***

The moment Seth was inside the glass ship, he closed his eyes to sleep. The soft chair made him comfortable while also massaging his head for comfort.

"Silently, take me to Gourd City!" Seth muttered before he fell asleep instantly.

Because his eyes power was off, he didn't have any weird dreams while also his Psion Energy refill faster while nurturing his brain and body.

But his eyes glowed the moment he was full of energy. The leaking stopped as his eyes took every drop of it.

Moments later, the eyes fluttered, the glowing light escaping from time to time. Flashes of images appeared from underneath and a smile came to his face unknowingly.

In another room, a woman in flexible tight armor, wearing an overhead gown that covered the weapons she concealed, was observing Seth.

First Guardian Lila. Her job was to watch over the prince and make sure nothing happened to him.

Beside her was a man in the same uniform, but no gown, his eyes were on the images showing outside.

They were moving at several times the speed of sound, but he saw everything as if they were still.

Second Guardian Vern. His job was to make sure the ship didn't get attacked, and even if it did, nothing should breach it.

The First Pilot was at the front of the ship, monitoring the travel while the Second Pilot sat with him, but his perception was on the engine and how it functioned.

All four of them focused on making sure the Imperial Prince had the best journey ever.

"Red Alert!" The Second Guardian said before he moved fast.

First Guardian Lin moved fast and stood beside the sleeping prince. That's when she noticed the fluttering of his eyes. "He had awakened his unique..!" She quickly ignored that. This was beyond her.

Second Guardian Vern was inside the weapons room. His body connected with everything.

Eyes as cold as ice, his perception spread across the ship and above it.

He frowned. There was no one there. That couldn't be. His intuition told him something had touched the ship. Something foreign.

The Pilot slot deployed all their scanning ability, but they saw absolutely nothing.

"Technology will fail you. But your heart will not!" Vern muttered as his body vanished, phasing into the ship and his body became the ship.

That's when he saw it. Several miles above them was a massive invisible bird matching them in speed but in absolute silence.

The bird was releasing an energy that enveloped the whole glass ship, trying to seep through.

Vern sent the information that his senses grasped to the pilot and Lila. Without a change of expression, they made preparations.

Vern reappeared with a smile, then vanished. This time he appeared above the bird, invisible to the eyes and senses

A man in red armor without a face was riding the bird. His hand held a staff that weaved magic.

Incantations were flowing through his mouth while the name Seth Realmere was being uttered after every two syllables.

Vern understood the bird was ethereal; normal attacks would pass through it.

Also, the red armored man was a projection. Clearly their intention was not to attack but reconissience.

Vern vanished and reappeared inside the ship again.

All he found was sent to Lila and the First Guardian Lila acknowledged it before she pulled out an unassuming gun, the most common in the empire but with uncanny ability, and pointed at the glass wall, pulling the trigger.

The invisible bullet phased through everything, following the trajectory that Vern followed and reached the red armored man and slammed at him.

Both the bird and the man disappeared. They were projections in the real sense.

Thousands of miles away, a man opened his eyes. Before him was a pigeon.

"The prince is on the ship..." he spoke but he stopped. Instantly he swelled and kaboom.

Half a mile was engulfed in raging flame.

"First Guardian Lila," A feminine voice muttered with venom. She stood miles away from the center of the attack.

A man beside her, "You are still obsessed over her."

"Yes. I am." The woman said, as she revealed herself to resemble Lila.

Then a voice from the distance startled them, "The Dark Oracle advised us not to reach out to him in the Empire."

The woman turned toward the voice, "We are just testing the waters!"