A Journey Worth Seeing

Black dots sped through a dead forest which mostly was occupied by large trees that had a grey shade seemingly mimicking what could be described as a 'bone' forest. The surrounding terrain remained barren with only the sweet sound of flocking vultures screeching unendingly. The figures would ground on the firm branches then leap towards another in rapid succession. Their target you ask?

The one codenamed Riot, this illustrious figure had particular sets of skills, sets of skills that made many people very angry, including the Evergreen household which lead to this hunt. Well, factually speaking the only reason why any of House decided to act has to do with a special item that was stolen from the household. If this Artifact had not be stolen by Riot, then the House would not have reacted with such swiftness. Based on their speed they should be able to reach [Antea]'s outer regions which was the city closet to Shea in a few minutes and through these minutes and Neil would try to probe Lyc, Skyler, Angon, Yoke to further understand them in case any mishaps. Neil was supremely confident that he would be able resolve any situation that may occur but that didn't make him stupid all of a sudden. He knew that having a cautious nature is what can help him avoid unnecessary encounters or life-death situations. So, he looked at Ernest that took leadership over them and said,

"Will you tell us the Item you wish to retrieve?",

The group were stirred by the question, curiosity blazed like a sea of inferno. They all turned their attention to Ernest waiting for an answer.

Ernest's ears twitched slightly as his surprise was evident by the question asked by Neil. He didn't expect Neil to blatantly ask him about the item. Did he have to lie? No. Those glistening gazes on him left him baffled and a shiver went down his spine. This guy, Neil, he already wants instigate chaos by planting ideas in the others and they are falling for it. Ernest thought for a moment and decided.

"Its name [Alstroemeria]. As you know, to reach the Corporal Aspect you need to expand it by tempering your physique after all there is only so much a container can hold. So, this device does just that. It tempers your physique by making use of a huge quantity Nux that you bath in. The user would have to withstand the pressure that comes with the Nux and in that way your physique will be tempered. Basically, you are guaranteed to enter the Corporal Aspect if you have reached Peak in the Ethereal Aspect and even if you haven't, you'll be awfully close. ", Ernest said, keeping it brief.

Every member made 'out-of-character' expressions even Neil while Lyc being the most exaggerating one. Lyc was literally salivating thinking that the artifact would be best in his hand, his expressions grew animated before he calmed down.

"That explains everything…", Lyc asked Ernest.

"Is that all there is to it?", Neil asked in a low voice and everyone turned their ears once more to Ernest.

Ernest turned his head to Neil with a bland face.

He ignored his question and continued to speak," [Alstroemeria] is a valuable artifact and could be sold for a high price. My guess is they will either try to sell the item or use it on someone."

Neil thought for a moment and knew there was more to this item than he thought. Ernest's reaction to his question now confirms that this artifact they were tasked to retrieve had an even more significance to the House than he thought and perhaps Ernest and Louise are two very important individuals.

"Hmm, it seems we have to pick up the pace, no?", Skyler said with a smile then a slight chuckle.

"We aren't that far though, we should reach the borders of [Antea] in a matter of minutes at our current pace", Angon said to Skyler.

Yoke simply nodded; nobody knew what this member was thinking.

Neil only followed

'Hmm. it is quite amazing he made it this far considering he is injured. I need to retrieve the artifact at all costs. No matter what', Ernest thought.

The group continued their journey forward with each step drawing closer to Riot's location. Each of them grew serious as they tread onwards preparing for a great battle that would soon erupt and if not careful would be their grave. An atmosphere of tension accompanied by silence took refuge among the group. Failure wasn't an option.

[Approx.78.9Km South-East from Shea, 5-6 minutes from Ernest's group, Near Borders of Antea]

" Damnit, godDAMNIT",

Vivid crimson blood stained the dead terrain beneath, there was a man limping slowly towards the entrance of a small house located in a dark corner of an abandoned farm. He struggled to move as each step taken was as difficult as scaling a mountain. His breathing was hoarse, easily audible for meters up ahead, moreover the expression on his face clearly embodied the Devil's anger. He slowly walked up to cottage and proceeded just right at the doorstep.

Getting a closer look, he was a man in his late twenties with short, silky brown hair. His clear brown eyes were very striking and hid a profound wisdom that clearly tailored his current occupation. He was attired in a black tightfitting outfit which represented his profession as a thief. He seemingly had an aura of mysteriousness radiating from him, evoking an emotion of curiosity from the masses. This man was Riot himself, in the flesh.

He had successfully infiltrated Evergreen's household stealing one of their most proud possessions, [Alstroemeria]. He possessed one of the rarest concepts, [Limited Displacement]. While a branch of the Law of [Absolute Space], [Limited Displacement] was still a very powerful ability as it allowed him to manipulate space to a degree where he could switch places with whatever he could 'Sense' and between objects as well. This concept allowed him to bypass most security measures installed by Evergreen. During his escape he would slip by most physical attacks but that didn't mean he was immune to all attacks, Evergreen responded with spiritual attacks, crazy abilities that affected his mind, and almost depraved him of his Law.

Riot finally escaped with injuries which only got worse when mercenaries hired by the House of Evergreen chased him down to retrieve the item. He fought, using his elusive concept to deal with the mercenaries swiftly and thus succeeded in his escape. He immediately set course to one of Purgatory Circle's bases where a senior member of the faction would retrieve it there and thus complete his mission.

He obviously knew what [Alstroemeria] was capable of but that didn't make this item valuable. What made it Purgatory Circle's time was that the artifact held a secret, a function that would allow the user to comprehend House Evergreen's Law of Deception technique. Its name was [Blissful Soundscape].

This technique enables the user to trap the victim in a very powerful illusion projected by the victim's own subconscious. The term 'Blissful' refers to happiness or being joyous and 'Soundscape' refers to a virtual/emotional environment created by sound. In essence, when the victim has succumbed to this technique, they will be thrown in an environment that uses their precious memory projected by their own subconscious. The technique will play their emotions and twist their psyche into believing the illusion to the point of mentally breaking the adversary thus destroying their soul. Obviously only those who trained in the Law of Deception could successfully train in the technique.

This could be a very powerful technique for opponents on the same level or people who lack a strong mind. A split second is all it could take to determine a winner and loser so it goes to say how valuable the technique is. But the question was why the technique was embedded in [Alstroemeria] to begin with? Then again that's a question only Ernest could answer.

Riot remained lying on the floor taking deep breaths to calm himself and assess the situation. He slowly got up from the ground and stood straight before making his way into cottage then navigating his way to a miniscule living room where a women attired in a silky silver dress complemented with mysterious symbols and glyphs of rather terrifying creatures were engraved on the dress.

She had long cascading snow silver hair that ran down her back, sharp silver eyes that sparked with intelligence, a near beautiful symmetrical face, an appearance that one could describe as been sculpted by heaven itself. She had a bountiful cleavage that slightly revealed itself lavishly, an hourglass figure with provocative curves that put Skyler to shame and gorgeously long legs that would even allow the author of this book to kneel in defeat.

A mature beauty with the appearance to bewitch men into subservience.

A member of Purgatory Circle she is, she simply narrowed her eyes hearing the footsteps that drew closer to her and responded to the man that would reveal himself to her.

"I presume you were successful.", she stated in straightforward and condescending tone. She had a slightly high-pitched voice yet was pleasant to hear.

"It is done", he spoke in a tired voice but remained respectful and addressed her with a professional standard of courtesy.

"Very well, let us proceed.", She spoke as Riot proceeded to reveal Alstroemeria.

Alstroemeria was shaped like a zygomorphically flower and had 3 lime green striped sepals that beleaguered its entirety with the Evergreen symbol completely occupying each sepal. The vertexes of the artifact had yellow highlights.

'It truly is like a flower.", The woman slightly smiled as she looked at Alstroemeria exuding a mature charm capable of conquering countries but that all disappeared seconds as it came by and immediately, she frowned. Anger followed as her countenance fluctuated once more.

 Riot was stunned by the sudden change in her expression and before he could say anything, she disappeared in a haze of lightning and all he witnessed was a bright light that blinded him and just like that an explosion occurred that blew that cottage to smithereens.

 ...