As he stood still, watching the woman on the wall, Rey remembered the words of the Elders.

He was reminded of her sins.

'Apparently, what is known as The Oracle is an amalgamation of the wills of all the predecessors that came before the current host, all of which will be embodied in one avatar.'

The current Oracle had the joint personality of the ones before her, and if Esme became The Oracle, she would suffer the same fate.

'I can't allow that. If she goes through with it she won't be Esme anymore.'

To stop such a thing from happening, the only visible hope he had was the Elf that was currently before him.

'I just have to find a way to untaint her. But, even that seems impossible at the moment.'

Still, it was far better than the alternative.

Elves that were born compatible with the Oraclelike Ciela and Esmewere only born every thousand years or so. There could also only be one at a time.

'I can't wait for a thousand years, which means I have to find a solution with what I've been dealt with.' Rey gritted his teeth.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the ability to achieve that yet.

'I suppose this is where my mission with the Dragons comes into play.' Sighing to himself, he pinched his forehead.

Even after investigating to this point, he wasn't any less confused.

'At times like this, I should speak to someone'

Rey's eyes lit up the moment he had that thought. In the first place, coming to this land wasn't his idea, so why exactly was he agonizing over details like this when he could also bring his Familiar into it?

"Huu" Leaking out a smile, he turned to leave the room of darkness, only turning his head for another brief look at Ciela.

'... Must find a way for sure.'

**************

There was tense silence in Rey's room as he sat on his bedall alone.

Well, perhaps 'alone' wouldn't be the most accurate way to describe his state of affairs. He was with Emil, who constantly spoke to his thoughts, expecting a response.

Other than her, however, there was someone else too.

~I see. So that's what has happened thus far~

The voice that resounded in the room was deep, and it dripped with evil. Something amusing seemed to dwell in his tone despite how serious it was.

"What should I do, Ater?" Rey stared hard at a communication devicea black boxthat sat on the table in front of him.

That was where Ater's voice was coming from, and for some reasondespite it being a mere boxRey kept his gaze locked on it.

~Hmm. My simple advice would be to simply follow as The Oracle says at least for now. It's the safest option.~

"Right? I thought so too even if it leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

~Indeed. This also coincides with the plan to bring the Elves over to our side, so if you assist them in this, it's not a total loss for you.~

Rey nodded and sighed.

The only major difference between the two cases was that he was initially helping them out of his own free willmostly for Esme's sake, and out of his limited compassionbut the current situation was completely different.

'I'm being forced to help them. There's no room for error or casual action.'

This was a mission.

~Hopefully you find more answers there as well. I will look into things on my end to see how I can help your situation better.~

That seemed to be the end of the conversation, but Rey wasn't quite done yet.

He still had one more thing on his mind.

"Ater about the scar on the land of the Elves" He began, his eyes narrowing a bit more with every word he uttered. "Did you know about it?"

~....~

There was silence in the room for a few seconds. Not even the breathing from both sides could be heard. Everything simply fell into an absolute lull.

Then

~I did.~

Ater finally replied with a low, nigh quiet voice. It almost appeared as though he was a little anxious with the way he answered.

"And you intentionally left that part out of your report, huh? Okay next question." Even as he said these heavy words, Rey's expression remained mostly stoic.

He had no anger or other kinds of emotions displayed.

Other than hints of seriousness etched onto his features, he seemed completely neutral.

"Is Adrien the one behind this? Is he on the side of the Dragons?"

~Yes, Master.~

"I see" Rey interlocked the fingers from both hands and bent a little as he stared hard at the box. A million thoughts had to have been running in his mind at the moment.

Once the uncomfortable silence reached its climax, Ater had to intervene.

~Are you upset, Master?~

"That you didn't inform me of these things? No, I'm not. You always operate with something beneficial in mind, and that is what I'm trying to figure out"

Rey could say he trusted Ater a great deal at this point. They had been through too much for him not to feel that way

especially with the latter's track record and efficiency in his tasks.

Ater was completely loyal to him and acted for Rey's benefits.

'Yes, some of his methods can be extreme, which is why I have to make sure he is measured in any mision's execution. Other than that, though, he's pretty solid.'

So why exactly did the ever-so-loyal Ater hide all of this from Rey?

Well he was about to find out.

~You are correct, Master. I kept some of these details hidden for a reason. I will divulge a bit of a synopsis on that now~

"Go on." Rey's monotone echoed.

~Adrien is working with the Dragons for a reason that I am yet to decipher. I could go on with the details, but it would be preferable if I didn't.~

At this point, Rey's curiosity was beyond piqued.

He had to know more.

"Why?"

*

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