"What happened here, Ashoka?" the Pillar asked.
"I don't even know where to begin... perhaps with the birth of my son..."
"Your second son?"
"I didn't have a second; the first one I had is the current king."
"Hadn't he passed away shortly after birth?"
"Well... He would have passed away as the doctors had said..." Ashoka said with difficulty. "His condition couldn't be treated with magic, so he was fated to die. My wife and I were devastated, when we remembered about a supposed God who has cured people with problems that magic cannot solve, so we decided to seek out this God.
"This God appeared out of nowhere and won the faith of many people, even more so due to the war, as many blamed Kura for the arrival of the angels. It ended up being relatively easy to find someone to help us contact this God, and so we did.
"It was an elderly man from Krimisha who, according to him, was saved by this same God when he was younger. He took us to his house and revealed a hidden basement to us.
"When we reached the underground, we found a small altar with several purple stones in the middle of it. He instructed Bhavna to hold one of these stones while another was also in contact with our son.
"I don't quite know what happened, only that both stones glowed for a few seconds and my wife remained silent the entire time. Afterward, she looked at me with a happy and relieved expression and told me that Sharaad would live healthy.
"Years passed and Sharaad not only grew up healthy, but also extremely strong. In fact, he had become the second most powerful person to be born in Krimisha, second only to Indra.
"My wife made sure to tell everyone that this God named Shiva had cured him, and that anyone who needed help should seek him out.
"She also tried to convince me to speak with this God, but since that day, when my son was cured, I felt that she had changed, without knowing exactly what. It's strange, because she still seemed the same, but it seemed that the feelings expressed by her face were not real, so I ended up becoming cautious about her and this God unconsciously.
"After that, Bhavna began to distance herself from me and became increasingly close to Sharaad, while also keeping him away from me.
"It wasn't long until Sharaad became an adult. Bhavna pressured me a lot to abdicate the throne to Sharaad, and I ended up yielding since he not only proved to be strong, but also intelligent and wise.
"And it was at this point that everything changed.
"As soon as he took power, an intense religious campaign began to convert the kingdom to the worship of Shiva. It wasn't very difficult since most of the people were dissatisfied with Kura.
"I don't quite know how the conversion was carried out, but every solstice and equinox the people had to travel through the Secluded Valley for days until they reached some place unknown to me, and apparently that's where they performed the conversion ritual.
"After that, all the guards of my house were changed, I felt that they started to watch me and limit everything I did. I was not allowed to leave the kingdom at first, but soon they started to restrict me even more. Any letter I wrote was reviewed, and I couldn't even leave the palace.
"During all this time, Bhavna visited me sometimes and didn't even hide the coldness with which she treated me. She said that if I spoke with Shiva and converted, they would set me free again, but I always refused."
"Eventually, Bhavna stopped visiting me. In fact, it's been years since I last saw her and my son, since she moved to the Secluded Valley, where my Sharaad also lives."
Throughout the account, the King Emeritus of Krimisha trembled and looked at the guards, fearing they would try to silence him, but Sariel's magic was truly very effective, the guards were completely clueless.
After a few seconds of silence following Ashoka's story, Sariel looked at Aegreon.
"It seems things are much worse than we imagined."
"What do you mean by that?" Ashoka asked, startled.
"Well, the ritual you saw your wife perform was a ritual in which a Conjuration stone is used as an intermediary for an exchange, where a person hands over their soul to a God of Darkness, who gives something in return. In your wife's case, it was probably 'curing' your son. Evil Gods covet human souls, and we don't know what they do with them," Sariel explained.
Ashoka carved everything with regret, believing he had made a terrible mistake.
"Furthermore, this God made your wife blindly loyal to him on purpose to spread his influence so that more people would seek him out and sell their souls in exchange for health or wisdom, just like you and Bhavna did."
"Are you saying I condemned my kingdom?" Ashoka asked, his voice trembling.
"Almost, but your courage not to speak with Shiva was the best decision you could have made, because now we know Krimisha's situation and can act. Well, the already converted people can never receive their souls back, but we can save the newer generations."
"Courage... Haha..." Ashoka laughed desperately. "I merely gave in and kept quiet exactly as they wanted... If I had acted sooner..."
"Your Majesty, if you had acted sooner, you would have been killed by them and Krimisha would have been abandoned to its own devices," Raymond explained politely. "Don't blame yourself for not acting, because precisely that choice will save your kingdom."
With a hopeful look, Ashoka gazed at Aegreon.
"Will the Council deal with this?"
"I will deal with this myself; it's a very delicate situation, so the fewer people acting, the better. Don't tell the Council or anyone when this is over."
"Why?"
"Shiva has influence in other places too, so it's better to keep this a secret to avoid causing panic, and we won't be able to deal with Shiva in other places if he knows he was found out," the traveler explained. "But Aegreon made a small mistake; it's perfectly fine to tell the Council about this."
Upon hearing that, the Pillar glared at Sariel with an unfriendly look and was about to do something when he noticed him making a placating gesture with his hand.
Ashoka didn't react to that, even though the traveler had done it in front of him, so he was using another illusion to deceive the King Emeritus.
"Yes, it's fine to tell the Council," Aegreon agreed.
"Your Majesty, how can we find your son?"
"Well... if you say you wish to convert to Shiva, the guards should let us go to the Secluded Valley, and today is your lucky day."
"What do you mean?" Luna asked.
"The summer solstice in the north hemisphere is tonight..." Sariel said.
"Exactly, if we want to get there on time, we'll have to leave immediately."
"Then, let's leave," Sariel stood up. "You will come with us and say that you will accompany us. This will make them allow you to leave the palace, as they will believe that your will has finally broken and that you will convert to Shiva."
"But if we truly lose our souls in this ritual... then isn't it dangerous?"
"Obviously, we won't perform this ritual; we'll find our own way."
"Alright," Ashoka sighed. "Thank Kura that you came... I couldn't take this anymore."
"Then let's go." The traveler looked at the Pillar. "Aegreon, your appearance is altered again. Remember our false names. Also, I'm also using magic to reduce your nervousness and make you more trustworthy to the guards, Ashoka. So don't be nervous about making any mistakes; I'll cover for you."
"Well, you seem confident; I hope this works." The king, however, was still somewhat insecure.
Then, everyone stood up and headed out of the palace. As soon as they reached the entrance doors, they were stopped by the guards who questioned them.
"What do you intend to do?" asked the guard who had led the group into the palace.
"W-We wish to see Sharaad and convert..." Ashoka said nervously.
"Hmm, the solstice will occur tonight..." the guard murmured.
"That's why we must hurry."
The guard remained silent for a while, then turned and opened the palace doors again. On the other side, he found his companions having a very lively conversation with Shiina. In fact, it seemed more like they were flirting.
Calling the attention of his companions, he approached them and whispered something. After a brief discussion, one of the guards moved away in the direction of the palace gates.
After a while, the first guard returned.
"Alright, we'll return your weapons, but you'll have to hand them over again upon arriving at the Svarga temple."
"Understood."
After receiving confirmation from the traveler, the guards allowed them to depart.
"You may proceed to the palace gates. We have already provided a horse for Your Majesty."
Following the directions, the group left the palace and found a brown horse waiting for Ashoka.
As soon as Ashoka mounted the horse, the group headed west, to where the Secluded Valley was located.
Even before entering that territory, it was already possible to perceive that the terrain was even more rugged, besides having almost no vegetation. Traveling through that place must have been a costly task, especially in summer, but that would not hinder the group's progress.
The only thing that showed the way they should follow was a well-maintained stone road that had been built precisely to facilitate the pilgrimage.
"Did you find anything, Shiina?" Aegreon asked.
"More or less, can you fill me in on what you discussed?"
Taking advantage of Sariel's magic, which once again prevented the content of their conversations from being overheard, they explained Krimisha's current situation to the assassin.
Perhaps using Illusion magic even under those conditions could be considered too much, but considering what they were dealing with, all caution was justified.
"No wonder even the Council didn't know about the situation here," Shiina said. "They were blocking any information from leaking to the Council..."
With the sun already past its zenith, the group quickly rode beyond the horizon as they discussed their plans.