Now this was a word no Wartopian had ever heard before, and consequently, no human had ever heard of it either, but everything suddenly made sense after this revelation.

If Adam was the only link between the universe of Wartopia and this one, how could there be another item from Wartopia just conveniently lying in a Rift?

It simply didn't add up—until now, that is.

It was not a Solstone, and that alone was enough for almost every Wartopian who heard Kave to feel like rioting. That would have been the case if not for Captain Creed, who took it upon himself to address the current issue and dismissed all those below the officer rank.

This still left around twenty Solarium faithful, a few specialized personnel, and one especially frantic Script Nun. Creed still managed to thin those numbers by stating that the Sacred Code and the Spirit of the Sun are still blessing the union of this new Solstone and the Holy Furnace, but there are technicalities that need to be addressed, and this would be left for the inner circle of department representatives and strategy officers.

This all boiled down to Adam, Solana, Kave, Megan, Yuki, Elena, and, lastly, Creed himself. A group that was very familiar with one another, who were the real decision makers in the base.

The first thing Creed did was make sure that the Holy Furnace was secured, as everything inside was sealed and the heat of the furnace was allowed to seep through the Furnace Hall, rendering it impossible for anyone except him to access it from inside. With it out of the way, the group relocated to the Command Center, to the Solar Oratory, a small chapel-like prayer hall with a tech shrine. By far, this was the most private chamber in the new Command Center, away from the large command room where a half dozen operators were always present.

The last to be there was Kave, who arrived right after Captain Creed, and the looks that were directed at him were of curiosity and anticipation. After all, he was the only human who had made contact with the Solstone—or rather the Seed of Light—and had read its system screen.

So, without further ado, the first question he was asked was the following:

"What did it say?"

As it seemed Solana was more impatient than the rest to learn more, Adam tapped twice on the podium at the deepest point in the oratory, and all turned to him, prompting him to speak first.

"While I have some inkling of the nature of this Seed of Light, there is more to be understood here, so keep an open mind." Adam said and glanced at his three summons in the room, "Moreover, it is not only Kave who will be doing some revealing, as far as I understand."

As he said so, Adam's eyes landed on Captain Creed, who returned a firm nod to him.

Indeed, it was the Paladin who went off somewhere and returned with a Solstone a few months back. He claimed it was a Solstone, and through his words, everyone was led to believe it was so, and all plans were laid on the basis that they had a Solstone in their hands.

But before anyone could start asking the right questions at the wrong time, Adam cleared the podium and signaled for Kave to take his place. The young man, who was a bit slighter than most, skipped lightly towards the podium and looked at the small crowd of six people in front of him.

"…"

And he stood silent for some reason.

"If you're nervous, imagine us all naked." Megan shouted from the back with a grin that broke the atmosphere, making the others look at her with narrowed eyes.

"Already did." Kave replied with a short-lived smirk before his face took on a serious glare, "I imagine you all want to know what I saw, but I'm afraid it is a bit disappointing." Kave looked among the faces and then vocalized what he saw upon touching the Seed of Light.

——————————
[ Seed of Light ] < ??? >
A Seed of Light that was extracted from a Fruit of Life from the great Elden Tree. A power source of near-endless potential that is compatible with all living things. Further information is protected by the Elden Concordat and requires higher Role access.
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From that alone, everyone made a deep frown for very obvious concerns.

First, the origin of the Seed of Light was problematic, as it was extracted from a Fruit of Life and a great Elden Tree, not from a Boss Monster in a Rift Gate.

Second, it is a power source with high potential and compatibility with organic life, meaning that it has some sort of effect similar to the Solstones without the intense side effects, as it seemed.

Third, the word "Elden" appeared a few times: an Elden Tree and an Elden Concordat, with one referring to the origin of the seed and the other a pact that was made with it. The question is: by whom? And why is humanity involved? And what does a System Role mean to it?

Fourth, and following from the third, the name Elden surely refers to people like Elden Lord Kaimu, a member of the Alfari Race who is trying to ally with humans while keeping many secrets and trying to trade for resources. An untrustworthy faction that is either feigning goodwill or is outright untrustworthy.

Putting all these points together, Adam made an immediate analysis.

"First, either this Seed was taken from a literal fruit of a literal tree, surgically embedded in a monster that turned it into a supernatural version of itself." He said, and his words drew nods from the others, "The question would be: by whom? And why? Or rather, was it something the monster found and ate?"

"A second assumption would be metaphorical fruits or trees." Megan followed up, "If we assume that the Rifts are all connected like branches, and from what Adam told me about the things the Rune made him see, then the Elden Tree is the source of the System, and maybe those 'fruits' are the monsters. What was extracted was some sort of monster core that is called the Seed of Light, according to the tree."

"Then we have the Elden situation." Kave spoke with a tired tone, "The System said that a higher 'Role' access level was needed to understand more of the Seed. Imagine this, we have Names, Classes, and Experience Points in the first section of our System Status, but we also have a 'Role' and it says 'Survivor' for all of us. Why has no one ever questioned that?"

"That's sound logic." Yuki followed up with a steady tone, "A Role given by the System should definitely mean there are other Roles, and they should complement each other in some way. If we are Survivors, there should be a Role that caused us to be so; 'Invader' most likely, as it is always mentioned in the System Screen when we touch monsters."

"And there should be an end to our status as Survivors, right?" Megan added, more like a question, "If we as a race have enough power to push back the monsters, our role should be updated to something else."

"And do you think this Seed of Light is how the Elden became Elden? I mean, you saw Kaimu. He had that glowing thing under his skin that most certainly looked like a Seed of Light to me." Kave added, directly addressing Adam, "Being an Elden Alfari should be something in the same sense as being a Sunforged Human."

"That's a good observation!" Adam nodded, then cast his gaze aside as the Nun stood from her seat and asked with an aggressive tone.

"So… we are invoking XenoTech to operate the Holy Furnace?" She stepped off her bench and stood in the middle of the room, "How is this any different from using a Hell Core? How is it different from HereTechia?"

"That's an excellent question." Adam said and turned to Captain Creed, "My Lord, you are the one who blessed us with the Seed of Light; you didn't find it by coincidence, I assume."

Shamelessly and without any warning, Adam threw Captain Creed under the bus, which surely worked, as Solana's intense eyes shifted immediately to her Brother Paladin.

"That is correct." Captain Creed replied, being the only figure standing in the room since the start of the meeting.

Kave backed away from the podium, clearing the way for Creed to stand, but the latter simply stood in front of it and faced the others.

"My apologies for confusing that Seed for a Blessed Solstone, but in all honesty, I had no way to tell what it was, despite my better judgment. I simply wished to believe it was a Solstone, and so I did." Creed said, shame clear in his voice, "But I assume you are more curious about the lead that led me there. As for that, it was the Sacred Code when I connected to it the first time through my armor. I was given a mission."

"Back then?" Adam asked, eyes narrowed, "It hadn't had any Mission System, right? And we only had very few devices. It was simply…"

"It was the Refinery Rig that I connected to," Creed clarified.

"But this is unorthodox," Solana spoke. "In no iteration can the limited capacity of the Refinery Rig delegate sacred commands, for a Paladin no less."

As she said so, it was Adam who immediately stood, facing her with an angered roar.

"Repent on what you just said, Solana! You think your limited mind can fathom the mysteries of the Sacred Code and its iterations? The hubris I'm hearing! It was a mere LEASH handset that warned Solwoken Nour-Sabah of the Rebellion of Lucifer and saved Urd from a grim Incursion. How dare you belittle the Sacred Code you swore to venerate?!"

Adam's sudden mood swing took everyone by surprise; even Yuki was staring wide-eyed for a bit.

On the other hand, Solana stuttered and looked between Captain Creed and Adam, before looking down, unblinking.

"Forgive me! I… I… I don't know what took me!" She said, her voice cracking, her tone more human than she would usually sound.

Immediately, she sped to one of the niches adorning the wall and faced the one with the rough depiction of Sol Imperius, rising to the sky in an aura of light, the sun sending its rays in lines, each ending with a hand.

"Forgive me! Forgive me! Forgive me!" She kept saying so, each time hitting her head against the powerful concrete that made up the wall.

Seeing that, Adam's gaze softened, prompting him to step behind her.

"That's enough, sister. His eyes only saw actions, not empty words. Elevate your form as he taught you."

His words echoed, and the Nun turned, with a trail of blood leaking from her head, and bowed to Adam.

"I was mistaken yet again." She said and stood up, "I'll wear a rough habit, assist those in need, and preach his name; if you'll excuse me leaving the Base, Commander."

"Preach his deeds, not just his name." Adam replied with judgmental eyes, "Tell people about Sol the Teacher, the Wise, the one who awakened through suffering and ascended through sacrifice."

"I will."

Immediately, the Nun bowed and walked out of the Oratory room in haste. Only then did Adam smile with a big grin.

"You were acting?" Megan asked, not sure if she would be freaked out by his zealous act or his uneasy grin.

"If I didn't do so, she'd just keep saying HereTechia this and HereTechia that until morning. I just gave her something to feel guilty about and keep her in check. We can't have those Scriptorium zealots walk all over us." Adam replied with a pragmatic tone, "Do you have a problem with my methods?"

"Fine by me," Elena shrugged with a grin, clearly on Adam's side, as she wasn't a fan of Solana anyway.

"I'm conflicted, but I understand the zeal of the sisters can sometimes be inconvenient." Creed said with a tired tone, "As I was saying, the Sacred Code gave it to me, but just as Commander Clay said, there is no understanding the mysterious will of the Code."

"Our lore nerds always said that the will behind the Code may actually stem from the one communing with it." Megan said before asking, "May I inquire about your state of mind at the time, Lord Paladin?"

Creed nodded and took a second before answering.

"I was in great turmoil." He replied and let out a long breath that had been weighing on him, "Alone in a world with no one but a man who could summon the dead troops of the Solarium, I knew I wouldn't be able to confide in any of my brothers, not Haroon, not Grimm, not even that annoying Stryker. I needed a kindred soul with whom I could commune, someone with a core similar to mine."

"Then it makes sense." Adam said and smiled, "You wanted someone to give you purpose after you had so little, the divining powers of the Sacred Code led you to a Seed of Light that you mistook for a Solstone."

"I see my blunder. I must atone for it too." The Paladin said, his voice filled with determination.

"On the contrary, Lord." The one who replied and stood facing him was surprisingly Yuki, the two having barely spoken to each other before, "I understand the need for a kindred spirit, and that Seed of Light was sent to you, not by mistake. It must have a meaning, right? The Seed of Light is its name; just by its name, it should be of utmost significance to the Solarium cause. I don't mean to belittle your faith or add to it, but Light and Sun are very close."

"Yuki is right." Kave leaned ahead, "You guys only focused on the fact that the light should be golden or yellow, right? But the interesting thing about the Sun is that it is never yellow; it is actually white. Atmospheric scattering makes it look yellow on Earth, you see."

Adam heard these words addressed to Creed and decided to join in.

"And as far as we know, Sol Imperius doesn't exist in this Universe. He was born in the late First Solar Age, some say, in the Unwritten Years. We are in the Fossil Age, so it is a few thousand years before his emergence. So even if his Solstones emitted golden flames, the one you were led to, whatever its origin was, must have been something like a pre-Sol Imperius version."

"But we have agreed that we can't compare this universe and yours on the same scale?" Creed replied, eyes narrowed.

"Can't we?" Adam asked, "Wartopia's Urd is based on Earth, same continents, more like Mad Max with monsters and hostile environments everywhere. Sounds like this world is heading to the same scenario." Adam replied with a dry chuckle, "Honestly, I don't know what to compare it to anymore. You asked for a kindred soul; you got a Seed of Light that is the closest thing to a Solstone and was powerful enough to power up a Holy Furnace. If you ask me, I'd say we roll with what we have and observe. Our power problem is solved; we should pat ourselves on the back and trust in what little belief we have."

Despite the pragmatism, Adam's invocation of faith was indeed strange. Still, it inspired the Paladin to get his head straight.

"And, Sir." Adam spoke, facing Creed, "If you ever feel alone in this world, there are those who can listen. I'm not a Brother Knight, and I don't think I can ever be, but I hope one day, if you feel alone and this alien world feels strange, I hope you can find someone you can trust."

It was hard to tell whether the crafty Adam Clay was speaking from his heart or his calculating mind, but Creed found those words illuminating.

Illumination was, after all, the core reformation of Sol Imperius: to put meaning into everything and awaken both heart and mind into a state of understanding and compassion.

Creed thought himself a man of little openness in both departments of heart and mind, but maybe this new world can be an answer to a question he never thought he would be asked.

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