After leaving Tako on her own ecstasy journey, MF soared and rushed to the underground tunnel that she and Ki had dug to install a protection and other crucial project for the future. Suwa, who was having a conversation with the Kappa near the Youkai-esque shrine, saw the hurried Ouroboros and wondered.
"The wind is really strong today." Suwa then glanced back at the sitting kappa. "So how is the current state of Fumeikyo?"
"Hmm, the Great Barrier had been weakening for many years, they did make up for it by putting more guards there." The kappa shrugged. "The cause is still uncertain but it certainly caused a huge burst of youkai populace getting kicked out of Fumeikyo."
"I see, it seems like you're not a normal kappa after all."
"Well, they locked some of my 'Spiritual Power' within the Fumeikyo. I'm just a normal kappa now but I think I might develop a Parallel Evolution from the dense energy within this world."
"This Angel Radiance only exists within Domeniul Ceresc, as far as I know." Suwa then used the same technique of growing a branch from her palm, a cucumber then grew on the tip. "What about the Hisouten-shizen Faction?"
The kappa took the cucumber and gnawed at it
"Umueh, they were trying to get rid of a couple of Aragami Portals, I think? The last major information other than that before I got kicked out, was about how the Sen-sekai Shrine Maiden had been working really hard when the Tengu from the Jouji Mountain started to revolt. A civil rank inside their ranks, basically."
"They are very lively… I guess it's the time where I should go back to Fumeikyo."
"Suwa, the Mountain Deity from the Neamh. Mumumueh, I think I've heard of you somewhere before. How will you go back though? There is a huge blockade in the Great Barrier, the Hisouten-shizens will be notified of you."
"I have some acquaintances from the Old Hell."
Ain had been placing a fragment of himself and attached it to the tree near the shrine made by the kappa. After hearing everything, he decided that he needed to interrogate the unknown former entity residing as the kappa in case that there will be some problem in the future.
The Greater Ouranos Wisps have ears everywhere.
Meanwhile, MF had been digging a tunnel beneath the underground facility to create a seclusion zone for herself. She already notified the Forest Caretaker's vessel to Domeniul Ceresc to relay messages for Foel and Damascus to know that the Ouroboros will be in another seclusion for a while.
'Thanks to the Pallas' Champion brutal event, I don't want the connection of both Domeniul Ceresc and Ouranos Citadel to be separated, even for a second…'
The Pallas' Champion was really lucky back then, because all of the Forest Caretaker Vessels rallied to boost the development of the Citadel for one day. And in that very time gap of the exact one day, the Champion of Pallas had his audacity to raid Domeniul on that very same day.
Foel took the blame for herself for giving such an order and was very ashamed of it, it took one hour for MF and the others to convince her that it was all a coincidence.
The outside of the entrance to the deeper tunnel was occupied with many wisps and alraunes trying expand an underground civilization along to the mysterious and unfinished object at the very middle of Domeniul Ceresc below the surface, right beneath the sacred place where Anvriel blessed the land perpetually.
"It's time for the waiting game then. The Occult Kaleidoscope did say that the seed has been feeding off my essence till this date, yet the 'Minor Overseer' didn't catch a thing."
MF tried to find a stable state of soul and psychic by removing every worldly need and responsibility for the moment until the awaited event.
The Occult Seed's awakening.
She still had two digits of hours left before the anticipated time but that amount of digits was small in the big picture of her 3,001 years living in this world.
MF wasted her time doing nothing but pleasing herself—aside from any sexual urges, like knitting, napping, and immersing herself with an imaginary adventure that was someone other than the need to conquer or protect everything she loved.
Before she knew it, a digital screen appeared in front of her view.
A miniature supernova happened with the Occult Domain attached to her soul. It was expanding and expanding and then it stopped, before intensely shrinking faster than the speed of light.
An Occult Core had formed. In MF's science, it was a form of energy code being wrapped by a condensed space. The sole purpose of the Occult Doman was to preserve and let this terrifying existence to be interactable. If she was about to transport the Occult Core wholly into the outside world, it would either immediately disappear, or destroy everything in a 100 km radius.
'Well, as if I'm able to transport this terribly dense pseudo-metaphysical existence into the real world in any way possible.'
Destroying it seemed to be impossible either. By some amount of force, MF's consciousness was brought to this empty black domain with a single Occult Core as the center. Just like how. Usurper formed another unique vessel in their miniature realm, the same thing happened to MF, meaning that her real body was still in the outside world, lifeless before she got back to her body again.
"I'm not shredded into pieces again… I guess this is the best spatial transportation so far. Ahahah."
Her Occult Core consisted of one dense yellow orb that had been spewing out and absorbing in all of them again constantly and deliberately just like the very surface of the sun. There were two unknown unreadable runes orbiting it. After a few seconds of gazing, a digital screen appeared.
[ Two Branch' Paths have been discovered! ]
[ {Redcap} ]
| \\\\ > Red Thirst {B} ]
| > |0%| ]
_
[ Red Thirst: Increasing the overall strength of Occult Core's Owner when drinking blood to a certain extent. The effectiveness depends on the strength of the Occult Beast. ]
|-|
[ {The Yellow Sign} ]
| \\\\ > Cassilda's Song {S+} ]
| > |0%| ]
_
[ Cassilda's Song: A passive ability where it affects any kind of page flipper pursuing the Owner of the Occult's Core. Suns sink behind lakes, where souls have songs which the deadened voice can no longer sink. The impression is deep, but many could hardly articulate where it comes from. The strangeness of it will marinate in someone's mind_
[ The range is limited by a single Word Line or Relative Universe. The Occult Beast will be notified and marked every ill pursuer with the Sign of Madness. An individual who bore the Sign of Madness will be affected with constant psychic intrusion to the point of breaking. Cannot be undone by any means other than by will of the Occult Beast itself_
[ The effect will get 'stronger' the closer the marked individual was, and how hated the said individual was by the Occult Beast. This power corresponds with the Occult Beast's total grasp of the power. Will automatically activate the 'The King In Yellow' Occult Phantasm when possible. ]
[ Occult Phantasm Status: The Owner's Soul isn't strong enough to activate it ]
"So this is my Occult Core's branches. Interesting. Still, it's saddening that I can't access the Occult Phantasm."
MF was too focused by the core, she didn't notice a slender humanoid with a loose and ominous yellow raincoat that hurt her soul when it was caught in her glimpse.
Its face was feminine and pale, and medium-length wavy black side hair could be seen slipping out from the hood, overwhelmed by the two glowing red eyes with different symbols at each side. From its loose sleeves was a dark and long tendrils, sprawling like numerous tentacles.
It closed one of its eyes and showed its tongue out.