Marcel entered the temple to see Natsume. As by the directions of the maid who came to get him, he’d enter the temple grounds, then later entered the temple alone. He never expected that entering the temple would bring him such strange and unexplainable feelings.

He felt a sense of nostalgia and inner peace that, to him, was as rare as not being surprised when he discovers something new. With its simple structure surrounded by plant life that resonated with their very surroundings, carrying a faint trace of divine energy that was strangely familiar yet also not, he didn’t know why, but he felt like he was visiting a sacred place to, very strangely – himself. Weird!

Ignoring whatever this acquired feelings from entering the grounds, he also found himself feeling something strange; like he’d been touched by some kind of ethereal hand. He could feel something being attached to him and then, right on cue.

<< Title: ‘One favored by goddess Inari,’ acquired! >>

He received a notification from Informer Vitalis.

“Okay?” He couldn’t help asking the Informer as if awaiting an answer. Contrary to what usually happened, unexpectedly… he received no answer from Vitalis. Weird!

Now, however, wasn’t the time to bother with this title that just appeared out of nowhere. He has to see Natsume – right now!

 

Marcel entered the quaint temple, but unlike what he expected, he found Silva… a very strange Silva!

She peered in his direction with strange eyes. She appeared to be in what she revealed last time to be her shadow of a true form as he walked towards her. She sat on a cushion in an upright manner and looked straight ahead. They met eyes but somehow, Marcel could feel like he was gazed at from all other directions, especially behind him. There was nothing there, however. Was it Silva…?

 

“Please sit!” Silva beckoned in a different voice, unlike her familiar one. How she asked him to sit was strange. She didn’t ask him as usual, but in a more formal tone, like he was in trouble or something. Again, those eyes and around her...

Spirits: they surrounded her, concentrated into a thick mass of pure spirit power added atop her body already brimming with divine power. They obediently surrounded her and just wouldn’t leave. Speaking of the spirits, did I mention that they’re all fully-grown humanoids? They had faces and everything. They were very exquisite faces too. It was the first time he’d seen them around Silva.

Marcel humbly took a seat a meter opposite Silva as she’d instructed and just when he did, they met eyes once again.

“You’ve already guessed that we aren’t Natsume, haven’t you, young man?” She revealed a faint smile.

Yes, that obviously isn’t Silva!

Marcel’s assumption was finally confirmed. After all, Silva didn’t have golden eyes with a tint of green; the golden eyes, a trait of the divine. This version of Silva brimmed with as much spirit energy as she did divine energy, enough to have humanoid spirits surround her obediently as not to be dismissed from her presence. Spirits like these wouldn’t just leave Silva to go out while they stayed home. Spirits, by nature, are very free-roaming. Staying put at home is not one of the traits he’d use to describe the spirits he’s seen so far.

Marcel didn’t answer her, consumed with his thoughts, but the woman already knew his answer. She continued,

“We’ve heard a lot about you, little one! Is it okay if we refer to you as Marcel?” She asked.

“Yes, then you must be…” Marcel looked nervous, sweat starting to form on his face.

“Yes, as you’ve guessed, we’re the origin of Natsume. Call us Natsume’s mother, if you will!” She said, a sly smile on her lips, unlike Natsume, staring at Marcel with deep intent. Oh no!

“Oh no! Am I in trouble again?! Earlier, Kiyoshi almost did the same thing you’re currently doing. Are you going to ask me what my relationship is with Natsume too?! If you must, I—” Marcel was actively panicking now.

“Haha~” She let out a slight chuckle, “We have no interest in such easily resolved matters. Besides, Natsume’s relationships are something she must deal with by her lonesome. This goddess has no interest in our Natsume’s personal relationships unless it benefits us. Also, she doesn’t see you that way.” They’d just begun yet she already found this little one in front of her to be very amusing. He was cute!

Marcel heaved a sigh of relief, albeit still tense.

Meanwhile, Silva, observing the situation from inside her consciousness, felt like today was going to be a very weird day.

“Whew! Then, Silva—”  

“Is resting safely within while we speak to you for a little while. Our glorious self thought it nice to speak to her friend for a little while he’s visiting. You’ll meet her again very soon!” Inari answered.

Marcel instinctually relaxed when he heard that Silva was alright. He stopped sweating as well. Why had he forgotten that Silva was a Divine Vessel: a vessel through which a god could manifest in this world? Ah, it’s because they spent so much time together and he hadn’t seen it happen that he tucked that little bit of knowledge he learned about her early on in the back of his mind. Of course, she’s safe, especially if her mother was possessing her! Wow, that sounds wrong somehow!

Marcel suddenly found himself very relieved.

 

“Now, boy! There’s something we’d like to ask you…” The pressure in the room suddenly increased and Inari’s expression turned serious, “…What… happened to your eyes?!”

Marcel was flabbergasted that this question was all he got after the immense degree of pressure he felt being placed on him. He sighed in relief. Will this really be that easy?

“Ah, this…” He pointed to his fuchsia-colored eye, covered by the red-colored contact he got from the Demon Lord as yet another present. He never leaves home without it.

“Affirmative!” She answered.

“You see…” Marcel entered storytime mode and told the goddess the story of how he became what he looks like today.

 

Speaking of the goddess, why did she ask such a simple question with a massive amount of aura, almost like she wanted to destroy him?

It’s easy! To shake loose anything hiding out in Marcel’s body, obviously.

Inari was investigating for traces of the ‘Silver One’ on Marcel since she believes him to be the link; the key to finding him. That’s why they’re having this conversation in the first place; but, that eye. Somehow, she couldn’t just ignore it. It’s so much prettier than the other red one.

 

This isn’t really important but a quick side note, Marcel, to his surprise, would leave Silva’s with a pair of fuchsia-colored eyes, robbed of his red eye by the goddess. Oh, Vitalis… is going to be pissed!

<< I’m the only one allowed to make modifications to Marcel’s appearance. >>

Talk about robbing her of her privilege to do whatever she wants with Marcel! Also, that’s what she planned to do next week, offering him any pair of eyes she desired for him as a ten-year anniversary present. That sly goddess!

Yes, this was never going to be Marcel’s choice, to begin with. Poor guy!

 

***

 

Marcel had a rich conversation with Inari possessing Natsume’s body. They talked about various topics the goddess found to be mundane and through them, she learned a lot about him. She didn’t learn exactly what she wanted but other things instead. One was that this little one felt no aura, even when pressured by her godly aura; the first sign of his uniqueness compared to the other ‘ones’.

Inari found Marcel’s lack of perception towards aura strange at first, but after some thought, she found it only confirmed her theory of Marcel being connected to ‘that person’. If Marcel was maybe a decoy for that person, then he needed to be fully capable of resisting any aura they threw his way. After all, coercion is ‘their’ best weapon for dealing with everyone. Gods are experts at getting what they want through any means necessary.

The second thing she discovered was that Marcel’s speech… it held some kind of power. Throughout their conversation, she found his way of speech very relaxing as well, but not like the Silver One. Marcel had this power of speech thing going for him but now, she... was very confused. Really, why is Marcel so similar to what she’s after?

She immediately looked through Natsume’s memories to see if she knew of this little one’s attachments to this world and when she saw ‘him’, she wasn’t sure what to believe anymore. Was Marcel ‘him’ or not, simply the link? His odd body’s natural ability of purification and the natural Mana Blessing that made it so he never lacked any, made him exceptionally similar to her target in her eyes. She was as confused as Takemikazuchi, her fellow deity was when Marcel caught his attention in the Thunder Plains years ago while acquiring his lightning companion Blitz. That god checks up on him ever so occasionally through that lightning bolt to notice anything strange or different that might also lead him to the one he seeks.

 

With what she managed to learn from Marcel so far, Inari gave up on learning the entire truth for now. She returned Natsume’s body to her soon after and Marcel was reunited with his friend.

Before Inari’s consciousness fully departed, however, she instructed her daughter to keep watching Marcel and return with a report regarding anything unusual, no matter how small. He might be the key to finding the ‘Silver One’, even if he maybe is just a distraction. Who knows? Watching him will eventually lead to answers; this, she was sure of.

Also, after her conversation with Marcel, Inari consulted Natsume’s other half, Emperor Koto, to retrieve the information he’d obtained regarding Marcel’s friends thanks to his grand ‘observational skills’, which, honestly, is almost as powerful as seeing fates as Natsume does. Having a gut feeling of someone’s future by just looking at them then piecing together the entire situation through observation and calculations to create probable future events that, 8/10 of the time, play out exactly as anticipated by Emperor Koto, is exactly why Inari was so happy she made them.

She was intrigued when she learned that Natsume wasn’t special in the regard of possessing a fate influenced by the ‘Silver One’. In fact, all of Marcel’s friends shared some kind of fate related to ‘him’. Just why these extraordinaire were surrounding Marcel is unknown to her, aside from her earlier assumptions, that is. 

So, to summarize it all up:

Marcel doesn’t seem to have any connections to the ‘Silver One’ except for possessing what she thinks might be qualities of the unique ‘Glass Soul’ and a relaxing speech pattern, which she might end up being wrong about. His friends, however, do share fates related to the ‘Silver One’, which simultaneously reinforces her earlier assumptions and confuses her at the same time.

‘That person’ is the only one capable of creating this mess for them to navigate through. Well played, Silver One!

 

Also, now that she was thinking about it, wouldn’t Marcel be a near-perfect vessel for her to inhibit if she someday decided to visit this world they created? That boy’s body is a ‘neat freak’ brimming with an almost endless supply of magic power thanks to that natural Mana Blessing bestowed by the Universe itself. If they manage to grant him the qualifications necessary to become a Divine Vessel, then wouldn’t his body naturally isolate their divine power and purify it, thus making him even more suitable for godly possession? By possessing his current self, they’d be able to exhibit almost 1/160^th of their true power. Then again, it could also all backfire!

Hoping that this purification of divine energy would happen inside Marcel, the fickle goddess granted him her mark in the form of that red eye she replaced, unlocking Marcel’s divine element once more. The gods really never do anything without a reason.

Unfortunately for her, Marcel’s body would disappoint, or rather, surprise them again. It purified Inari’s mark, stripping it of her nature, leaving behind little divine energy necessary to keep the divine element active again after the purification was complete. Again, Marcel walked away with the benefits, but this time… his body went too far.

Spoiler: This was the second godly mark Marcel has received since his birth. Ah, how rocky his future is becoming with these divine beings spying on him without his knowledge.

 

Seriously, purifying Inari’s divine energy to such a degree, coupled with what his body had already worked with in the past made it so that anything with divine energy of a similar quality to Inari’s or higher can temporarily possess his body. His body has accidentally made him the first universal Divine Vessel. Well, shit!

To prevent any opportunistic godly stranger from barging into Marcel; his body, as a kind of defensive mechanism, shut off Marcel’s own access to the divine element, prohibiting him from accessing the benefits of the divine that come with their own share of risks.

“Tsk! Sneaky body!” Inari disapproved of this action taken by Marcel’s body. Maybe she shouldn’t have tried that in the first place, but hey, it’s never the gods’ fault~! It’s always someone else’s~. Such lousy creatures!

 

Marcel didn’t use the divine element, despite having unlocked it again, so it went pretty much dormant once more, again, until later…

I won’t spoil what’s to come but… the fruits will ripen when they do. Don’t know what that means? You’ll find out, hehe~

Anyway, Silva won’t be able to return to her other home for about three months; Karshena too. The ‘Little Empress’ of Kalix Beast Empire would sneak out again when everyone wasn’t looking and Silva, well, would return to her mission of keeping an eye out for the ‘Silver One’ while keeping an eye on Marcel to see if that cryptic person that her mother and certainly, a lot~ of people are obsessed with, will appear.

Seriously, Silver One, who are you…?