Although the Fleeting Emotions Ruin had gone under an unthinkable change, the calmness that came after was surprising and concerning.
With the Decree of the Mountain Emperor, the Mountain Envoy took the lead and formed the most dominant faction of power. He made use of his connection and background to intimidate others and forced them under him.
With each passing day, the alliance continued to grow in power, with other factions waiting with their anxious mind. If nothing could stop its growth, the Mountain Emperor would swallow everything within the Fleeting Emotions Ruin.
"Forus, father has summoned us. It seems that the Mountain Envoy wants to hold a meeting." As one of the Coruscare Family, Ocelia was on the side of the Mountain Envoy, who had a special connection with her father.
After taking a bath and dressed in new clothing, Ocelia's elegant figure became more pleasing and beautiful. Her smooth skin turned lively with the lingering fragrance of the herbal perfume. With her pinkish veil to cover her face, she retained the mysterious aura while subtly revealing her charm.
"Is it possible to bring me along?" As Ocelia and Forus conversed, a lady in the green robe interrupted. Abicel wished to attain the meeting with her companions.
Knowing that Ocelia would head out to the meeting soon, Abicel also prepared herself with fresh, cooling bath. Although she did not apply any herbal perfumes that Coruscare Family could afford, with the constitution of a Nature Fairy, her body naturally emitted a nature-like fragrance.
"Abicel, you're always welcome. However, you'll have to come with me as an attendant." Not minding her interruption, Ocelia smiled and gave an offer to her friend.
"I wouldn't mind at all. To get to attend such a meeting is already good enough. It would be impolite to ask more." Abicel smiled back as she complimented Ocelia's look while casually chatting with her. The two female friends talked a lot during their stay.
Compared to the two beauties, Forus only donned in his azure robe, hiding his expression and his figure. Although he did not use any concealment spells, his presence had hidden itself to the deepest part of his aura. If one did not pay any attention, they could overlook his existence entirely.
"Let's not waste our time and get on the carriage. We can continue our conversation there." Ocelia spoke as she led Abicel and Forus out of the manor. There was already the same crimson carriage at the front door.
Walking past the lines of servants, Ocelia and Abicel led the way as they conversed on various topics. The servants knew their place and did not do anything except lowering their head.
As the last person to enter the carriage, Forus turned back and gazed towards the peak of the mountain. Although he saw nothing of significance, he could feel that something was watching.
Upon the cracked barriers, various runes appeared dimmed and flickering. They formed a sentence that no one could translate, and they changed their structure every so often.
The runes reminded him of the mysterious messages that appeared on the last Door of Hope. It disregarded the blindness of his eyes and manifested in his soul, telling him secrets that he could not comprehend.
"Is it a coincidence?" Muttering to himself, Forus shook his head and stepped into the carriage. Although he had prepared many things for the uneasy premonition that he had, nothing he did could erase it.
The crimson carriage shook as it advanced forwards, heading towards the centre of the outpost. Along the way, many brown-robed sorcerers were patrolling the street, looking out for security as well as any anomaly that might happen.
At first, Forus could see many people of various ages walking and chatting. They were ordinary mortals, sorcerer apprentices, and sometimes sorcerers. As they did not have any connections, they could only stay at the edge of the outpost.
If not for their request, Ocelia and Forus would also live in the inner part of the outpost. However, because of their strange ability, they decided to live at the edge where it was easier to hide their abnormality. The further they lived from the strong sorcerers, the lesser their chance of getting found out.
Like the trio, many similar carriages also headed towards the inner part of the city. They had different symbols, but all of them were the representatives of the sorcerer families. They took part in the creation of the outpost and wished to participate in the expedition.
"Really? I've never heard of it before." As Forus lowered his head to rest, the voice of two beauties echoed softly in the carriage. They talked about various topics of interest, which Forus did not pay any attention to when he was still a mortal.
Although the aroma from their perfume and natural constitution were not the same, they strangely merged and magnified their effects. The refreshing yet familiar fragrance helped Forus relaxed in his rest.
Little by little, the surrounding began to quiet down. The chattering and the noises produced by the carriage slowly faded away, letting the silence of tranquil reigned in their absence.
The soft melody resounded beside his ears, urging Forus to drift into the land of dream. The sense of relaxation drowned onto his soul as his consciousness dimmed down.
As he was about to fall, something touched his cheek and caressed it. The heat from the mysterious hand warmed his pale face, reminding him of something that he seemed to forget. No matter how he tried, Forus could not remember anything.
After she noticed his uneasy expression, the maiden placed her hand upon his forehead, checking for his body temperature. With a wet towel on her grip, she slowly wiped his face, cooling down the rising heat.
"I know you'll scold me again, but I can't help but do it." The maiden mumbled as she covered Forus with a blanket, before kissing onto his forehead without any care. She did not seem to mind the illness Forus was having.
"Sleep well. I'll be waiting when you're ready." In his muddled mind, Forus listened to the fading sound of the footsteps. The voice that spoke to him sounded so special as if he knew who said it.
Contrast to the silence, a soft creaking of a door traversed into his ears. Although the maiden tried her hardest to soften the noise, Forus could hear it with his spiritual sense.
"Please get well soon, and don't leave me, please." A grief-filled whisper slipped into the howls of the wind. This time, Forus did not hear anything other than the chirpings of the birds and the noises of the wildness.
Only then did Forus snapped out of his dream, regaining his awareness of the surrounding. Before he realised it, the carriage had already come to a halt.
The building in front of the carriage was golden in colour, reflecting the warm sunlight as they fell onto its surface. Along the pillars that supported the roof, many ancient runes were glowing in various shades. With the help of the runes, the palace was clean without any speck of dust.
Its design resembled the golden palace of the ruler, which reflected its importance within the outpost.
"Mistress, we've arrived." A servant gently knocked onto the door of the carriage and whispered, interrupting the chat of the beauties.
Ocelia peeked at Forus who had just woke up and smiled, giggling as she thought about something. Only when Abicel asked her why did she stop and stepped out of the carriage.
"Greeting, Young Mistress from Coruscare Family. Lord Envoy's waiting inside the meeting hall." As Ocelia approached the majestic palace, a row of brown-robed sorcerers walked towards her and bowed in respect. They were waiting to welcome the members of the meeting.
Along the way to the meeting hall, only silence remained constant throughout their trip. The tranquil of the palace and the solemn atmosphere of the group deterred anyone who wanted to speak. In the end, everyone remained reserved and only focused on their destination.
"The Lords are in the next room, and this is the limit of our patrol." The group stopped in front of a large gate, and the captain of the brown-robed sorcerers spoke out.
Ocelia did not speak and only nodded her head. As she watched the guards departed to receive more guests, she looked at Forus one last time before knocking on the gate once and opened it.
The meeting hall was as large as the previous hallway with many seats arranging in multiple rows. At the foremost front of the room, the Mountain Envoy remained seated on the highest throne, overlooking at various members of the meeting.
Although there were many sorcerers inside the meeting room, most of them were just ordinary first-ranked sorcerers with only a handful of second-ranked ones. Among all of them, they separated into many different groups with the biggest being the group led by the Mountain Envoy.
Without any intention to gather attention, Ocelia and the group bowed towards the Envoy and went straight to their respective seat. Their arrival did not cause any disturbance other than a few superficial greetings.
After a period of silence, the gate that led to the meeting room began to close, sealing the inner region away from the outer world. The shadows of various guards also faded away from the chamber, indicating their departure.
"Greeting, Lord Mountain Envoy, the Family Head of various sorcerer families, and the vagabond sorcerers." A soft footstep echoed the soundless hall as a figure appeared before the throne.
"As everyone has already received the news, Lord Mountain Envoy had ordered the expedition into the Fleeting Emotions Ruin..." After he bowed to Lord Envoy, the man began to report the situation and the findings that they encountered within the Ruin.
As their benefits linked together with the report, most sorcerers remained focused and paid great attention to the detail. However, the Family Heads and the lords had already received the news beforehand and did not pay too much attention.
Although the information seemed essential to the benefits of the sorcerers, most of them were only the tips of the iceberg that was the Fleeting Emotions Ruin. Only the upper-echelon would know the full extent of the exploration.
"... With all of that concluded, we estimate that we had explored half of the Ruin." After filling in with some praise and complementary, the reporter quickly paid his respect to the Mountain Envoy before retreating into the darkness, giving the spotlight to the Envoy.
The room returned to silence as everyone fixed their attention at the Mountain Envoy. In this place, his words were absolute and could dictate the overall development of the expedition.
"Lord Mountain Envoy, I have something I wished to disclose before we officially started the meeting." Just as the silence got unbearable, a voice echoed from the front row, attracting all attention.
The man did not bother concealing his appearance. Hos slightly-smiling facial expression had a hint of ridicule and proud hid inside it. With his eyes fixing at Levota, he did not try to hide anything.
"Go ahead, Corulem Ninguis." Although Lord Envoy did not like getting interrupted, he did not express anything and merely nodded his head. However, one could see his smile slowly faded as he stared at the Family Head of the Ninguis Family.
A subtle discussion began to spread as the atmosphere became heavier and heavier in every passing moment. Even though most of the participants did not live in Flamedouse City, it was an open-secret that Ninguis Family and Coruscare Family did not meet eye to eye.
With this opening declare as well as the deep stare, everyone could feel that something terrible was about to unfold.
"Thank you, Lord Envoy. Although this matter hardly impacts the content of our meeting, I wish for my lord to address this grievance." Corulem bowed extraordinarily low to the Mountain Envoy before he announced his speech, attracting even more attention to himself.
While some were rejoicing with the upcoming show, others were frowning in discomfort. People had a mixed opinion about the battle between two second-ranked sorcerers.
