You are the salt of the earth...
But if the salt loses its saltiness,
how can it be made salty again?
It is no longer good for anything,
except to be thrown out...
and trampled underfoot...
I closed my Chronicles after reading Nina 5:13, sitting back in my chair in the main department office, looking over at the camera system on my monitor and seeing the last of the students heading back to their dorms from their night classes. I turned off the screen and looked forward, noticing the girls walking into the office with their usual gossip.
Scarlet slowly woke up from the light conversation, raising her head and opening her eyes to look at the three girls that just walked inside. Her gaze specifically followed Luciel, who walked over to me and gently leaned against my shoulder.
"We're finally back...ugh, who knew Evangelist Training was so tiring. My Spirit could not handle the... comprehension it took to really under what that power feels and looks like," Luciel tiredly spoke, turning her gaze to look over at me with a gentle smile.
"How was your day..?~ I hear a bit of talk about you getting active at the Sagittarius Department," Luciel asked, letting out a coy hum as she locked eyes with me.
"Mmm, you know the usual..~ Being hunted by Squad XII because of their binary code. They don't see anything beyond black and white, they believe in Merin's story," I began, glancing down at Scarlet and gently rubbing her head. "Eden even tried to attack Scarlet..."
"What..? And where was Sully? Was she attacking as well?" Effie asked, hurrying toward my desk and planting her hands upon the surface.
I looked at Effie for a moment then lowered my gaze to my desk, thinking of the moment I ran into Sully after my encounter with the rest of Squad XII. I could still see her courageous, yet terrified gaze upon her face, that fearless Spirit within fearful flesh.
I looked back up at Effie with a reassuring smile, shaking my head and rubbing Scarlet's hair gently. "No, but we did have an encounter. There was no fight between us, though she did have an interesting message for us."
"What?" Fleur asked, taking off her sunglasses and placing them in her jacket pocket.
"She doesn't believe in anything that the others say about me. Her Flesh shivered with denial as she spoke from her Spirit, denying herself to speak truth. I think she's going to Betray Squad XII," I said, glancing at the three girls at their surprised reactions.
"It's all in the Reports if you don't believe me. Sully is the definition of salt that The Nexus, Ascea, speaks about," I said, swiping my finger down in front of me to bring forth a light blue UI display in front of me, Effie and Fleur gathering around me as well.
〘Report Card〙
〘Notoriety Earned: +25〙
〘Notoriety: 33 (D)〙
〘Prisoners Claimed: 0〙
〘Confessions Claimed: 3〙
〘Deaths: 0〙
"Three..?" Effie asked, tilting her head slightly as she read the report.
"I know Moon-li and Eun-Song are two of them, but is Sully truly the third confession?" Fleur asked, looking over at me with a curious gaze.
"You don't need to go to the Altar to confess, but it's a place you can go to be reborn with a newer mind. What those three girls did was a Personal Confession, they sought me and they found The Heavenly Father through me," I said, closing the report card and smiling at the three girls.
Fleur snickered lightly with slight disbelief, running her hand through her hair with amazement. "Wow...you really are the Judge and the Shepard. You have way too much time to think of plans like this.."
"Yeah, I for one wouldn't have even gone that far in the thought process! You're just so amazing!" Effie praised, her eyes sparkling with admiration as she stared at me.
I chuckled softly at their praises, the Holy Flame within my body dancing with great joy. "Don't call me amazing. It is my Almighty Father, and God of all things Good, Yuvah, that gave me this idea. He is Amazing."
"Amen to that," Luciel giggled softly, the Holy Fire within her moving with a delightful pulse.
"A...men!" Scarlet repeated, giggling to herself as she copied Luciel.
We all looked over at Scarlet, listening to her repeat the new word she just learned and couldn't help but to smile at her and enjoy her small victory of a new word. Soon, the girls decided to head to the main dorms, Luciel taking Scarlet back to our dorm while I decided to stick outside for a moment longer.
----------------------
〘Day 3 - Begin!〙
〘Event: The Abandoned Altar〙
〘Event Description: Warning! Warning! The Altar has been ruined and unavailable for usage! The Altar has now become a Curse, Corruption! Beware when the Corrupt Altar begins to emit strange energy!〙
〘Event Location: Altar - Virgo Department〙
Wednesday, the middle of the week and the third day of my trial. Immediately, the day started with chaos and everyone doing all they could to search for me. I stood on the roof of the Main Department, looking down at everyone scrambling to find answers to the destruction of the Altar.
Turning my gaze toward the Altar, I watched as Leona began to walk out onto the field, The Apex Lion finally becoming active as well within my Zone. Everything was now being put into place, the True Trial starting now as I walked over to Floria's Rebirth Rose with Scarlet and sat down against her bud.
"Now we wait...let's see who all represents the salt of the world when I'm not around," I said, grabbing a book from the large stack beside me and opened it, reading it with Scarlet in my lap.
Meanwhile at the Altar, Luciel, Fleur, and Effie stared at the product of my next phase, the three of them knowing my purpose for the destruction of the Altar. Luciel used her Spirit Sense to search for me, sensing my Spirit still at the Main Department and let out a soft sigh.
"He told me what he was going to do last night, but I'm still a bit worried for the others. They know Repentance is now impossible at a physical location, so they might take it as they're free to do whatever," Luciel said, turning away from the Corrupt Altar and walked away toward the Virgo Courtyard.
"What does he have planned? We're still in the dark over here," Effie asked with curiosity, Looni letting out her cry with agreement in wanting to know my plan.
Luciel exhaled softly, gently biting her lips and stopping in her tracks to face Effie and Fleur. "The last three days of the trial will be Total War. Today is the last day everyone here has a chance to repent or else they will be Judged and it's over for majority of people here."
"What? Total War?" Fleur asked in disbelief, her body breaking out into a sudden cold sweat.
"That's why Leona is now wandering more openly, Sephiroth has been summoned, and the Altar has been destroyed. Squads IV and XII know this, they know Nox is getting serious, so they will also be gathering their own allies against him," Luciel said, reaching toward Fleur and Effie, grabbing their hands.
"We need more allies of our own, more than the twelve we have because Reinhart and Bethel will be gathering as well. Neither of them are unrepentant, but have at least one member of their squad who don't align with the world. We have to convert them," Luciel suggested, giving both Fleur and Effie a determined gaze.
The two glanced at each other, the plan sounding lunatic at first, but after some thought between them, they agreed to Luciel's plan. With that, the three of them decided to head into the Department to strategize their next set of moves.
Bethel yawned softly as she walked down the halls with her Squad, crossing her arms as she looked at the daily reports upon her elegant white digital display. "Ugh, no one has even been able to catch the bunny in three days. My bounty literally ends in three days too... This is no fun.."
Gideon chuckled softly at Bethel's gentle complaints, looking ahead with his reinforced bat resting upon his shoulder. "We can make this fun, Your Highness. How about we spread out the target of the bounty beyond Prince Nox? How about we expand the targets to the council as well?"
"Anyone we beat has to join us or they suffer the consequences!" Gideon laughed, lightly swinging his bat in the air.
Bethel giggled with glee and clapped her hands together, humming with a pleased nod. "Of course, Gideon!~ You're a hidden genius, and we can offer so much more money for each council member!"
Seven pushed up his glasses as he listened to their scheme, subtly glancing over at Eurydice and noticed she wasn't as interested in the idea either. He looked back down at his high tech device, going onto a messaging app and sending a message to a group chat.
A chime went off within a man's phone, catching his attention while he was in the middle of combat against Peter, causing him to be struck with a wild right hook from Peter's fist, the attack sending him packing. The man grunted as he recovered in the air, landing on his feet and skidding backwards with a huff.
He stood up straight and wiped his lip, smirking at Peter and scoffed lightly as he pulled out his phone. "Lucky shot, Fisherman."
"Stay focused then, Firebrand," Peter shot back, chuckling lightly and lowering his stance, curious about why his opponent stopped the fight. "Yo, Steven, why'd you—"
"Shh!" Steven shushed, reading the message Seven sent him then closed his flip phone and looked over at Peter. "You're in danger. Not just you, but all of the Council."
The woman sitting on a bench at the Libra Training Grounds, closed her book, her beautiful light brown eyes gleaming under the soft sunlight. She looked over at Steven, standing up from her seat and walking over to him. "What kind of danger? Is it something for us to deal with?"
"Us? Like me and you, Angelyce..?" Steven asked, laughing softly at her question and shaking his head. "There's a reason we have that bind in our powers, well...yours. I don't know how far you'll go. You remember when you first unlocked your abilities in Texas right?"
Angelyce shot Steven a searing side eye, looking him up and down then sucked her teeth. "Don't start with me right now, Steven. What's going on?"
Steven chuckled softly at her spunky reply, slipping his hands into his jacket pockets then grew serious. "Squad IV has placed a bounty on the entire V.J.I Council. All this to draw Nox out and embarrass him for Bethel's little game."
"Tch...of course they'd do that. It's almost like they're just proving Nox is the prophesized Messiah. Walking straight into his trap...what about you Angel? Anything from Squad XII?" Peter asked, looking over at Angelyce for her report.
Angelyce shook her head and began braiding her hair into one singular braid, closing her eyes with a soft sigh. "No, unfortunately. Reinhart won't talk even when I offered myself up to him."
"Huh?" Peter asked, glancing over at Steven.
Steven shrugged, shaking his head and sighing softly. "She's a reformed Villainess, so she's still y'know... shifting over to the safer end of the wildfire."
"Ahh, makes sense," Peter said, nodding his head with understanding.
Angelyce rolled her eyes at the two of them, grabbing Steven's wrist and dragging him away from Peter without a word. Steven couldn't help but to laugh, knowing he had successfully gotten under her skin.
-----------------------
Reinhart sat inside his clubroom, staring out the window as he thought about his battle against me yesterday. "I don't get it...That power he has. That's a power only the Lineages of Henosis the Unifier and Luca the Tyrant had. Don't tell me..."
"Yes, Lord Reinhart...Nox is a child of Genesis and Ragnarok born from a Human Mother. No one knows who his father is, and it is almost rumored he has no father, but..." Eden answered, lowering her head and cleared her throat gently.
Grisha glanced at Eden with a raised brow, getting off the wall she was leaning upon and walked toward Eden. "But what? You know something...I know that demeanor."
Sully and Reinhart looked over at Eden as well, curious about her sudden hesitation. The air around Eden became thick and tense, all eyes now upon her with curiosity and a demand for an answer from a member of one of the 12 Tribes of Eyica.
"Well...it's just that I think Nox's father could be Yuvah. It would explain his abilities, his Iridescent Energy and his Rebirth Energy, his Holy Fire, the butterflies and monsters. Think about it, Genesis and Ragnarok are both extension of Yuvah, His Mercy and Justice," Eden answered, looking between the three of her teammates.
Reinhart glanced over at Grisha and Sully, noticing their subtle doubt and confusion then turned back to Eden, letting out a soft scoff. "I think Nox hit you a bit too hard on your head. You really think that guy could really be the prophesized Messiah?"
"Think about it, Eden. He loses his entire Kingdom, murders his brother and adoptive family then comes here to our institution and put it through absolute chaos. What kind of Messiah is that? He's a Dark Lord and nothing more," Reinhart persuaded, reaching over to grab Eden's hands gently.
Sully glanced down at Reinhart's hand holding Eden's, her hold upon her bunny, Cotton, becoming slightly tighter. Suddenly, my words appeared within her head from our conversation yesterday, the words speaking as if it were a whisper in the room.
Many will doubt who I truly am...
But when you here these two words...
'I Am...'
You will know truly who I am...
Sully wanted to speak up and convince Eden that she believed her, an invisible force made it impossible for her to speak, as if a hand were to cover her mouth. It was as if even the Holy Spirit wanted her to see the truth, to witness everything.
"Eden...you're my Executioner. Everyone allied with Nox is deemed one of the Laments. He's not a Prince... nothing more than a commoner who wears a Prince's Crown," Reinhart said, looking deep into Eden's eyes.
Everyone will tell me they don't believe Merin's lies...
But what do they truly think of me when I'm not around..?
I bet you wonder that too...
Sully watched as Reinhart began to successfully persuade Eden, her very soul beginning to grieve for Eden's Spirit. A single tear began to fall down Sully's cheek, her tearstruck gaze slowly turning to Reinhart.
"I know it might hurt...but it's what we have to do. We are all members of the Holy Resistance, so we have to do what we came here to do. Lament is a Dark Lord as well right? Nox even calls himself a Dark Lord, so what makes him different?" Reinhart asked, standing up from his seat and walking toward the window.
He stared out of the window with slight jealousy burning in his eyes, slowly nodding his head. "Is it because of his mercy as he showed you, Eden? His intelligence? His allies? Dark Lords can walk the part as well, smile, laugh, and cry like us. But the only difference is that his emotions are not real."
"Today, we gather allies to rally against Nox and end this trial. This isn't a suggestion, it's an order. He gave us clear rules, either me or Bethel defeats him and we win. Let's join up with Squad IV," Reinhart finished, turning around to face his team.
Grisha nodded her head, aligning herself with Reinhart's reasoning. Eden hesitated for a slight moment, but soon agreed with Reinhart as well. Though Sully didn't agree with Reinhart at all, she slowly bowed her head, submitting under his conviction.
"Good, spread out across the campus and find allies. If you run into any Council members, do not stray away from defeating them, however do not kill them. Especially not the Top 3: Luciel, Fleur, and Effie. Have them join us, if not...throw them into the prison until this is done and we kill Nox," Reinhart said, walking off and fixing his clothes as he walked out of the room.
Sully glanced out the window slowly, her breathing becoming shaky and her lip began to quiver. She got up from her seat slowly, walking out of the room quickly with her head held low. Eden and Grisha watched her leave, giving her the space she needed to process everything.
Sully wandered the halls alone, not knowing where she should go, only allowing her feet to guide her wherever they went. Wandering around the campus for a while, she found herself standing in front of the Libra Department.
Looking up, she noticed the Holy Sign upon the Department was on and wandered inside. Climbing up the large amounts of steps, only her determination drove her into walking all the way to the top, not missing a single step.
Reaching the roof, she let out a heavy exhale as she swung the door open. "Finally..."
"I knew you'd be here," My voice sounded to her, causing her to look up at me in shock.
"P-Prince N-Nox..! How did you know..?" Sully asked, letting go of the door handle and walking toward the Altar upon the roof.
I watched as she walked toward the Altar, giving her a soft smile and adjusted a sleeping Scarlet on my back. "That Altar carries a Blessing called Equilibrium, do you know what it does?"
Sully stopped in front of the Altar, staring at the silver scales upon the surface of the structure. "No, what does it do?"
I walked toward Sully, stopping to stand beside her and looked up at the scales as well. "It's not a Physical Blessing you can take like the Healing Protection or Cleansing Sight. It's completely Spiritual, dealing with your Wisdom."
"Are you walking too far right, showing mercy to everyone with no backbone to defend yourself with? Or are you walking too far left, crucifying everything you don't understand under the name of God?" I asked, looking down at Sully and let out a soft exhale as I noticed her distant gaze.
"Y'know...I never thought about it like that, but I want to ask you something. Why? Why are you choosing me and not Eden..?" Sully asked, turning to face me with tears building in her eyes.
"Because Eden's salt has been lost, drawn out by Reinhart's control. She's one of the Eyicans, a descendant of the Boshido Tribe in Arcania, one of my kind...and she fell into his hands," I answered, looking back over at the scales.
"I want everyone to walk with the Nexus, Ascea...to walk with Yuvah. To find that Equilibrium between mercy and justice...that's why this Blessing is here. To show where they stand..." I said, walking toward the Altar and looked over at Sully, inviting her to try out the Altar.
Sully walked closer to the Altar, looking down at the platform where she had to place her hand on. Putting her hand down upon the device, a silver glow began to pulse around her body, activating the scales and causing it to glow brightly.
The scales tipped to the right slightly, showing she was more on the merciful side, but she could handle her own weight when it came down to it. I looked over at Sully with a soft smile, chuckling lightly at her and hummed.
"Sully, you have the Holy Spirit within you. Use it to bring people to the light. Life and Death has been laid out before everyone, and everyone should choose life. I don't want to sound like I'm—"
Sully smiled at my words and looked over at me with a sweet smile, nodding her head and showed her teeth when she smiled at me. "I'll do it..! I know you want everyone to be in Heaven and I'll do what I can to do it, but there's one person I want to make sure makes it...Effie. I'll do anything to protect her."
I nodded at Sully's conviction, placing her hand upon Sully's arm. "Alright...for now, keep playing along with Reinhart. Do not have him catch onto you. Not yet."
Sully nodded, swallowing her own pride to continue following under Reinhart. She gave me one more smile before hurrying off to find Effie so she could warn her about Squad XII's plan while I remained on the rooftop, glancing down at the campus, watching as everyone prepared for the last days.