Chapter 146: Chapter 146: First Sect Meeting [2]

Chapter 146 – First Sect Meeting [2]

"Let’s talk about the Sect, shall we?"

At those words, Sarah and Meadow focused instantly, both visibly curious and anticipating how the Sect would function.

Meadow had been thinking about this since the day she accepted to join. She knew that with Cassius involved, there was very little chance this would be some kind of hidden fellowship selflessly saving people in need. But she at least hoped it wouldn’t be something pointlessly evil.

She didn’t know about the others. But she was not that kind of person.

Sarah, meanwhile, was not thinking nearly as deeply. She had spent enough time around Raven, Esmeray and the Hood family at large for her moral compass to have been quietly, entirely rewritten. And the worst — or perhaps the best — of it was that she wasn’t even aware of it, finding completely normal things that would have been frowned upon almost anywhere else.

’What will our task be this time?’ She wondered, a strange thrill moving through her. ’Last time, with the Burial Ground, it was incredible. For the first time in my life I used my Aspect for something other than storing and deleting memories. I used it with real purpose. And I want to do it again.’

Until now, her use of her Aspect had been passive at best. But Sarah was slowly beginning to understand her potential. If she could remember everything — absolutely everything — she encountered, then she could achieve far greater things by wielding that knowledge correctly.

Knowledge was power, after all.

With it, she could grow stronger. She would no longer be helpless in front of Anesthesia or anyone else. She would no longer allow her Prince to look at other women — because by then, she would be strong enough to eliminate every last one of them with the same merciless contempt they had always shown to Sarah, the maid and bed warmer.

Without noticing, Sarah’s face had shifted, going deathly cold, like frosted glass. Murderous thoughts about Anesthesia flickered briefly through her mind. She snuffed them out immediately, her mind jerking back to the present on an instinct she didn’t even fully recognise in herself.

She glanced sideways at Isolde, then slowly slid her gaze to Cassius.

’No.’ She shook her head inwardly. ’I can’t think about killing her. She is Lady Isolde’s sister. Lady Isolde would definitely kill me. And if she didn’t, Cassius would make my life an unending nightmare.’

And the last thing she wanted was to do anything that would disappoint Cassius. Because all of this — every bit of it — was thanks to him, and to the Goddess who supported him without reservation.

At those thoughts, Sarah of Secrecy calmed considerably, deciding it was far wiser to find another way to push Anesthesia out of her Prince’s life, and refocused on Cassius.

Isolde, for her part, was entirely unbothered. She already knew what was coming, Cassius had asked her advice before confirming any of it. So she simply sat quietly, waiting for her husband to speak.

And speak, he did.

"First of all, I need to make one thing clear." He directed his full attention to Meadow. "I am the Blessed of the Goddess of Fate and Secrecy. And as her Blessed, one of my duties is to spread her glory."

"Oh?" Meadow exclaimed, surprised, and yet not entirely. Everything was beginning to make sense. "So?" She tilted her head. "Where are you going with that?"

"It means this Sect worships her, and her alone." Cassius continued. "Sarah and Isolde are already aware. I should have told you this from the very beginning...and I confess, I completely forgot."

"I have been a believer of Vorn since birth." Meadow replied, wincing slightly with awkwardness. "It’s not exactly eas—!"

"My Goddess will grant you a {Seat}."

"Wait, what?"

[What?] Ananke erupted at the exact same moment as Meadow. [When did I ever agree to that?]

’You obviously didn’t.’ Cassius shrugged inwardly. ’But we need this to bring her fully to our side, and quickly. We have no time to waste, my Queen. And once she is with us, she will develop genuine faith in you. You are the best, after all, you are close to your believers in a way most gods are not. That is your edge.’

[I am only close to you, Cassius.]

’Cute.’

She scoffed and fell silent, choosing to accept whatever her Blessed intended to do. At that moment, Ananke realised — not for the first time — that she was constantly being taken advantage of by him.

Strangely, that thought amused her.

She didn’t actually mind.

"What {Seat}?" Meadow asked, genuinely intrigued.

A {Seat} was no small thing. It granted proximity to a divine being and a corresponding power; not as unique or overwhelming as a full Blessing, but significant enough to matter considerably.

Meadow Wealth would never pass up an opportunity like that. Especially knowing how embarrassingly weak her offensive capabilities were.

"I would have offered the Historian Seat, given how much you love writing." Cassius said, glancing briefly at Sarah. "But Sarah is better suited to that than you. Same with Knight. So your options are Herald or Priestess."

"Herald." Meadow said immediately. "I will take the Herald Seat."

"Perfect." Cassius clapped his hands once. "The Herald Seat it is. Not today, though, for the process of bestowing a {Seat} requires a significant amount of GeumGeum and materials we don’t currently have. In other words, we need more actions tied to her through this world to increase her influence."

He paused for a couple of breaths, then continued. "And given that my family already knows her by name, it would be wiser to use a different name for her during operations. I have come up with one: Reader."

Meadow flinched subtly at the new epithet. Sarah was surprised too, but found it fitting almost immediately. Their Goddess read the threads of fate, and in doing so, read their very lives.

Reader suited her well.

Seeing that no one had any objection, Cassius confirmed the name officially, then fell quiet.

Isolde cleared her throat and spoke.

"Now," she began, smiling with quiet confidence, "the next matter is hierarchy, and what each of us will be called. I doubt any of you want your real names used during operations that could put all of us in serious danger."

They shook their heads, prompting Isolde to continue.

"The Sect will be divided into three ranks: First, Second and Third. First is the lowest, Third is the highest. Only core members will hold the Third rank. Anyone recruited beyond that will fall into First or Second depending on their abilities and usefulness."

She paused to let those words settle. Meadow and Sarah nodded in understanding, and Isolde continued after a moment.

"Let’s set aside First and Second ranks for now. At this point, we will only be recruiting core members. We have neither the power, the money, nor the connections to responsibly manage lower-ranked subordinates yet."

"Wise." Meadow approved, resting her left cheek lazily against her palm. "Far better to do it that way, otherwise we’ll be overwhelmed quickly, especially with the Academy approaching. We don’t need that weight on already frail shoulders. Let’s build a solid foundation first."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Good, we are all aligned." Isolde replied. "Now, the epithets each of us will carry and be known by within the Sect."

Here, Isolde allowed herself a small smile.

"Cass and I have been thinking about this for a while. He put forward a series of names I won’t go into, but the problem is that I disagree with the name he chose for himself."

"Wait, what?" Meadow exclaimed, while Sarah looked between them with visible confusion.

"She is the one being unnecessarily stubborn about it." Cassius said, rolling his eyes. "As the leader, I want to be the Sun. She wants me to be Earth. Just think about it for one moment, isn’t that ridiculous? Earth sounds so strange. It sounds like something that belongs to a woman, for the Queen’s sake."

"Earth suits you better, husband." Isolde replied calmly. "You are the foundation of this Sect. And think about it, with the nature of your Snake power, Earth is the only element that constantly shifts and evolves among all the others."

"But Sun is more impressive."

"I don’t care about impressive, husband."

"You are so dull, darling."

Isolde’s face twitched with irritation.

Sarah and Meadow watched the exchange with identically wry expressions, struggling to follow.

But Cassius and Isolde did not leave them in the dark for long.

"Well, in the end..." Cassius smiled, raising one finger,

"...we decided to let our dear Goddess choose the names for us."

"H-How?" Sarah was suddenly electric with excitement.

She had been wishing — more accurately, longing — to feel the presence of her Goddess again for some time now.

The first time had been far too addictive. The feeling of being held within a divine awareness was so profound she had feared losing herself inside it.

She sometimes wondered how a Blessed could live with that sensation as a constant. Perhaps the ability to bear it without being consumed was one of the requirements.

She briefly considered whether she should already be kneeling before her Goddess descended.

"It is simple." Cassius began, and Isolde followed seamlessly. "Lady Ananke is the Goddess of Fate and Secrecy. Through her divine power, she can look into our individual fate threads and choose the most fitting Epithet for each of us."

"And she will do so through me." Cassius said. "So, let us begin, shall we, my dearest ladies?"

Isolde shot him a cold, pointed look at his last word.

Cassius smiled wryly. "My apologies. Old habit."

"Never again." Isolde said flatly.

"Aye, darling."

Sarah and Meadow watched on, suppressing identical wry smiles.

No further words were spoken.

In truth, Sarah and Meadow didn’t quite know what to say. So they simply waited, curious and quietly in awe of what was about to unfold.

’I am ready, Queen.’

[I will be gentle this time and not rough.]

’Never say it like that again.’ Cassius said immediately, shivering inwardly. But Ananke smiled with quiet mischief and ignored him entirely.

She began.

Instantly, a divine presence descended upon the meeting room like a fallen star.

Sarah’s body trembled with visible ecstasy. She made the sign of the Wheel across her chest without thinking.

"Praise the Queen!" She said with full devotion.

Meadow, meanwhile, was in silent awe, staring at Cassius, who was now entirely different.

A silver wheel hovered above his head like a crown turning, turning and turning without pause. His eyes were no longer their usual bright red. They had become two deep pools of silver threads, weaving and interlocking endlessly, forming a vast and shifting tapestry that made her heart tremble.

She didn’t notice when it happened, but Meadow found herself already bowing her head, feeling a divine gaze come to rest upon her.

’This... this is what a true Blessed is. The living gateway of a God into the mortal world.’

Her inner author was deeply, privately thrilled.

Cassius spoke, but his voice was no longer merely his voice.

It was the voice.

[I welcome you beneath my shadow, Meadow Wealth.]

Meadow’s body shook further. She bowed even deeper. "It is... it is my honour, my Goddess."

Ananke turned then, and through the face of Cassius offered a fond, warm smile to Sarah.

[My first believer, Sarah of Secrecy, every prayer you have sent into the night has been received. Blessings upon you.]

Sarah, overwhelmed, could only press her forehead to the table in complete surrender, unable to produce a single word.

Then Ananke turned to Isolde, who was already watching with a very particular edge in her expression.

"I dislike the fact you are using my husband’s body, Goddess."

Ananke grinned. [He was my Blessed long before he became your husband, my dear Isolde.]

"That doesn’t matter." Isolde retorted. "He is my husband. And if not me, no one has the right to do what you are doing."

[Are you not getting bold lately?]

"This is what happens when your husband is a pervert."

[I can only agree on that, my dear.] Ananke said. [However, I cannot stop. This is my right over him as his Goddess. And now, my dear, I am afraid I cannot speak to you much longer. I must begin before I strain my Beloved Blessed.]

"Beloved?" Isolde hissed.

But Ananke only grinned with deliberate provocation, while inside her mind, Cassius was telling her to stop being childish and she was cheerfully ignoring him.

Finally, the Goddess did what she had come to do.

She clicked her finger.

Something appeared at the centre of the table.

A small box — silver, marked with colours of gold and red that none of them could quite focus on directly. The simple act of looking at it sent a shiver of dread through each of them.

[This is the Deck of Providence.] Ananke said, smiling at them. [Count to three, then place your right hand inside. A card will present itself. The name on that card will be your Epithet.]

She looked at each of them in turn, and they looked back with undisguised awe.

[Understood, my dears?]

"Yes!"

[Then let us begin. Sarah, my devoted servant, you are first. Meadow, my Herald, you are next. Then Isolde, my dear. And finally...]

Her smile widened.

[...my Beloved Blessed’s turn.]

—End of Chapter 146—