Oddly enough, once we were inside the city, we didn't run into any trouble from pranksters and didn't even get to see one of the district's 9-tailed foxes. We made it all the way to the Crest House, no problem. Even Viraa found it suspicious.
Kaci is normally more proactive than this. She would never miss the opportunity to put an unsuspecting visitor of your status through some of her infamous tactics of mischief.
"Maybe she's not here," Za'Fia said as we entered the Crest House.
Once we were inside, the doors shut behind us as someone stood, blocking the way out. He was a klevonian – a small guy – who wore green and grey, Roman-style clothes. His short hair was a matching color. As he stood before us, ash fell from his hands and even flew from his nose a bit as he exhaled and willed it to float around him.
His name was Yutal, or Ash Breath, to some. He was a 3-star threat with a base EQN of 44,786,480 and possessed two cintracies: the eutierric Anemos, and a temp cintracy called Ash Touch.
"She's here. But she hasn't been herself since her child went missing with many others. It was around the same time you arrived, actually," he said accusingly.
"Ah, you believe we had something to do with that. That's why you let us come all the way here without issue – to capture us without causing a big commotion," Avarice realized.
"Good, you understand. So you know what we want," said a female klevonian as she walked down some nearby stairs to the left.
Unlike her partner, her color scheme was red and green – even her hair. She looked as if she'd just gotten out of a pool, clothes and all, how soaked she was. Even her skin looked slippery. Her name was Everwet. No epithet like most others, though. She was a 3-star threat with a base EQN of 45,096,270 and possessed two cintracies as well: One was the eutierric Floral Tide while the other was a temp cintracy called Saturation.
"So, tell us where they are," she demanded.
"We don't know," I told her.
"That's a lie. You arrive, drawing everyone's eyes to you, and then the nation is hit while our heads were turned. You think that was a coincidence?"
"N-No...," I replied, admittedly. That did seem like an unlikely coincidence.
"So you see, you are involved, whether you realize it or not. If you aren't aware, perhaps you're being controlled. Surely you know someone capable of doing that..."
"Wha– I...I don't..."
"You do. It's clear. Think about it. Someone powerful. Someone capable of controlling you without you even realizing it. Someone who knows what's going to happen and could've planned things accordingly. Your marks are proof of it," Everwet pointed at Avarice's ascension mark across his eye. "Klevonians created by a pneumarian who abandoned her home. Who then returned with some hidden agenda. She still exists; otherwise, your marks would have faded. Therefore, her will can still be enacted by you all whenever she decides."
I thought about that time when Viraa took over my body, proving that she did have that power over me. But she only ever did that once. Didn't she?
"And I bet she keeps things from you, doesn't she? You can feel it, can't you?"
"What's going on?" I asked myself aloud, rubbing my temple.
Kaci. It is her sacred gift: Doubt. It makes you second-guess everything to destabilize her enemy's psyche, Viraa replied, her voice unusually upset, yet still patient.
"Thing is, you can get in her head as much as she's in yours. Dig deep, see what she's hiding – what she's refusing to tell you," Everwet suddenly gripped the sides of my head and flooded me with some of her energy before stealing some of mine. "Show me everything!"
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I felt her try to pry into my head through the telepathic link she forced onto me when there was a sudden burst of energy as I entered my evolved form.
You overstep, Viraa declared to her before I felt my power blast Everwet through a wall, knocking her unconscious.
I stood there with my power unleashed, ripping up the floor and tearing the walls, except it wasn't me. It was Viraa.
"Now this is a sight. Have you always been able to take her over?" Avarice inquired.
Viraa turned her head to him, looking fierce and unamused.
"Be silent, child," she commanded, then quickly turned to Yutal and raised a curved Stasis Field toward him as he tried to breathe ash onto her. She used my power and body in a way I never could have. With a mastery even I lacked. In my own body!
When she got close enough, she expertly landed several pinpoint strikes that numbed his limbs. Then she placed two fingers onto his forehead and said, For your master's insolence: you will not die, but you will be punished for attacking a Crest Head.
She then instantly flooded his mind with billions of years' worth of information, through the Temporal Sight cintracy causing Yutal to go wide-eyed as he fell to his knees and collapsed. I hadn't known that was possible. Those two stood no chance against her. Even if they had transformed, with her knowledge and my abilities, I had a hard time seeing her lose.
Then she turned toward the top of the second-floor balcony above us.
"Reveal yourself, Kaci," Viraa demanded with a burst of my power.
"Even with such diminished power, you still hold such a commanding presence. It's uncanny," someone said as she stepped into the light. She had a slim body, light blue skin, long black hair, and wore a white, gold, and black colored dress. Kaci, also known as The Blue-Tailed Trickster, was a 3-star threat with a high EQN of 523,740,000. She utilized the Galvanize eutierric cintracy, giving her dominion over lightning, and had a temp cintracy called Delay.
"Using such a tactic on a child. Have you no shame?" Viraa peered up at her.
"What are you trying to hide?" Kaci insisted.
"There is much that I know that must be kept to myself. You know this."
"I don't care about any of that! I want to know where my son is," Kaci growled with lightning reacting to her. "I can see the girl has nothing to do with it. I've been watching her. She's too kind to put others, let alone children, in harm."
"I give you my Blood Oath that I had nothing to do with any of the children's disappearance," Viraa stated.
"But that doesn't mean you don't know who does. You know so much about the future. Tell me who...," Kaci almost pleaded.
"I cannot," Viraa levitated up to be before Kaci as she cupped her face in a motherly way. "I do not know for certain, this I swear, but with my knowledge, I must not interfere. Please trust in me, old friend. I have never led you astray, have I?"
"I just want to know where he is...," Kaci gave in, sobbing as she fell to her knees.
"Me too," I responded, regaining control. Realizing I was no longer Viraa, Kaci swiped my hands away from her and turned away.
I looked at her with sympathy and clenched my fists.
"I don't know who did this, but I promise I'll help find them," I glared at her, full of determination.
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Fun fact: The Oni District's Sacred Guardian - This creature is capable of devouring the souls of its prey. By linking itself to the residing Crest Head of the district, that individual gains the ability to extract the souls of others as well (though to avoid war or punishment from other crests, the Crest Head typically resorts to contracts that state the victim is willingly forfeiting their soul after the Crest Head enacts a favor for them). For full details about lore you may have forgotten, such as locations, characters, items, or to check out every up-to-date cintracy, visit the series' Patreon!
Legacies Saga Layout:
The Primordials: New World (Volume 5)
The Primordials: Transcended (Volume 6)
The Primordials: Culling War (Volume 7)
The Primordials: Secret Vendetta (Volume 8)
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