Masteria Online: Shattering the Dark God's Grand Scheme-Chapter 127 - To understand events

Semter walked until he was directly in front of Lumi, and began to trace his face and pulled his hair back. To most people, it was a strange and invasive action. However, Lumi knew exactly why it was being done.

The Wings had plenty of infiltrators. Who was to say that this Lumi that suddenly appeared was the real one?

After checking Lumi physically, he took out a small crystal, and suddenly palmed it against Lumi’s neck. Lumi didn’t flinch even as pain struck.

[HP -2]

"You have passed inspection." Semter stepped back, and bowed to Lumi. "We apologize for the highly invasive scan."

Lumi waved his hand understandingly. "There is no need to apologize over security protocol."

Semter lightly smiled at that. "Thank you for your understanding." He stood straight, and gestured at the palace in the distance. "Please follow me. The Empress has been expecting you. It is of utmost importance."

Lumi followed without question.

As they moved through Herene’s corridors, it was exactly as Lumi remembered. The few knights they passed acknowledged them with nods and glanced briefly without lingering. Whatever had happened while he was out, the information hadn’t spread widely.

The throne room doors opened.

Inside, Empress Aria stood near the center of the room. Beside her, resting on the polished floor, was Narinder.

Lumi immediately felt his very soul urging him in the direction of Narinder. When he looked, his attention went straight to what the Divine Beast’s wing was curled around. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

It was a sphere, held by a square base, sitting at approximately knee height. At a glance it resembled glass, transparent enough to see through, but the material was clearly something else entirely. He already knew what it was before Empress Aria said a word.

Semter politely left, closing the doors behind him. Now that it was just the three of them, Empress Aria made a small gesture for him to approach. "Come, and place your hand upon it."

Lumi bowed to her first. It was important to show respect. "Certainly, Empress." He walked forward, approaching Narinder. Narinder lightly eyed him. "Snoooo~" It made a soft roar, making Empress Aria giggle. "He says your soul was a pain to keep safe."

"Apologies. Thank you, Narinder." Lumi was respectful, apologizing despite knowing it was just small banter. He crouched slightly, and pressed his palm to the surface of the orb.

The moment contact was made, the process began.

The soul fragment inside the sphere responded to him the instant he touched it. It flowed towards him naturally like magnets. It travelled through the surface of the sphere and into him with a warmth that started at his hand and spread through his entire body in a wave.

He hadn’t been prepared for how it felt.

"Unf~" He couldn’t help but make a sound.

He’d known that his soul had been damaged and split. He’d felt the wrongness of it every second. It manifested as pain, lag, forgetfulness, lower reasoning ability. He’d been forced to be walking around like that, ignoring it because there was no other option. He hadn’t realized how much of himself had been missing until it came back.

The moment his soul became whole again, the relief was immeasurable. He shivered in sheer pleasure and had to steady himself. There was nothing he could compare it to. The world of physical pleasures paled in comparison to the soul being repaired.

He straightened after a moment, taking a breath, and mentally checked himself over. There was still some damage, but it was minor and to be expected. Compared to walking around with half a soul, this was nothing.

The favor Empress Aria had done for him had no price tag. He turned to face her and dropped to one knee without hesitation.

"I cannot repay this." he said. "But I will not forget it."

"Rise." she said.

He stood.

Her expression was composed as it always was. "I merely require your service. As long as you continue to work against the Dark One and his armies, I will be satisfied."

Her expression shifted subtly, nearly thoughtful. "Let me tell you what happened." With that, she began narrating a long series of events to him. Lumi was listening intensely, internalizing the information. What had occurred was as follows.

The moment Lumi contacted Grand Tactician Azir regarding the issue of the Elite Guard, Herene had mobilized. Chief Knight Divan had set out immediately, followed by a powerful regiment dispatched to Mora. When they arrived on site, they found Rena and the split through the ice she had made. They had found the squad, heavily injured, alongside Lumi’s unconscious body.

Divan split the response immediately.

One group took Lumi and his squad members back toward Herene for immediate medical attention, alongside magicians which would do their best to heal them.

Another group stayed on site to collect soul fragments.

And Divan spoke to Rena.

Regarding collecting souls, collecting a broken soul was not like collecting spilled liquid. Soul fragments did not sit still. They dispersed, drifted, thinned out like a gas in open air. Every piece left uncollected was loss. They present had to work fast and work carefully, and even with their numbers, it was not going well.

Not just Lumi’s soul, either. In fact, he got off lucky. Marcus and Valeria were both in a coma, still recovering even after they had their missing fragments returned to them.

In the middle of the soul collection, a portal opened. On the other side was an aged face.

Empress Aria had paused briefly there, evaluating the connection between Lumi and Merath. After a moment of internal contemplation, she continued retelling the events to Lumi.

As it turns out, after Lumi informed Merath via the ID Card, Merath used the card as a locational anchor to channel his powers through. He created a portal and sent vast amounts of magic through, reinforcing the knights on site, enhancing their ability to perceive and collect the fragments.

He then gathered what had been collected, stabilized the soul fragments himself with his own magic, and sent them back through the portal to Herene.

That was how the sphere came to be.