The priests made no move to salute her or even look at us. They just vanished, and as soon as they did, she moved her hand in an upward clockwise arc. A small dome flashed instantaneously around us.

"Is Archon Haad alive?" she asked, not showing any emotion on her face at all.

"Yes. He is—" Man started, but she cut him off by bringing her raised index finger in front of her mouth.

She performed the same upward arc with her hand, though counterclockwise this time, and the dome flashed again before fading. I assumed this was a spell to keep prying eyes away.

"Come in," she said, and turned her back on us as she walked up the steps.

Man turned to look at the rest of us and shrugged, before following her. Not wasting any time, we joined them, climbing the white steps that led to the veiled entrance.

Once we reached the top, I saw that the opening was not actually covered by a black cloth at all, but rather there was a complete absence of light. I wasn't sure if we were supposed to push on it so that it could open like a door, or speak a command word to make it dissipate.

My questions were answered when I saw Mielia walk straight through the dark veil, which rippled as if it was liquid. I didn't feel comfortable following her without knowing a bit more about what I was walking into, and I noticed Seika pause as well. Man, however, didn't hesitate at all.

"Here goes nothing," he said, and walked right through the dark wall.

Seeing him cross with apparently no worry at all, Seika took the first step and soon she too had disappeared from view. Krysha, Kard, and I followed her closely and a couple of seconds later we were also pushing through it.

I felt no resistance at all as I touched the veil with my hand. I continued with my shoulder, my head, and the rest of my body. As soon as my eyes crossed into the darkness, I realized I was already emerging on the other side, seeing the backs of Seika and Man.

"As I suspected," said the paragon. "The son-heir of Leka An has Elysian blood in him."

"Was this some sort of test?" he asked, feigning being insulted.

"Not a test," she replied. "More of an observation. If you were not Elysian by blood, the veil would have kept you from entering."

"Fascinating," Krysha said, as she turned around to study the blackness enveloping the entrance.

"Now, if you could please follow me," the paragon said.

Seeing her lead the way, I suddenly became aware of my surroundings and the grandeur of the temple's interior. The gigantic church stretched forward for a few hundred steps while enormous golden six-winged angels served as its pillars. Everything in the church was either made of solid gold or white granite, and hundreds of rows of marble seats stretched down either side of the main corridor we were walking upon.

Along the walls, there were wide balconies on each of the temple's three floors. Each of the floors was supported by a pair of outstretched wings from the golden angel statues, which held the whole building in place.

The lowest pair of wings was pointing downward and held the first floor, the middle pair was stretched horizontal to the ground and supported the second floor, while the highest pair of wings on each angel reached upward to carry the weight of the third floor.

The walls were painted with vivid colors and I tried to absorb as many of the depictions on them as possible. Most of the magical paintings came alive as we walked by them. They were almost exclusively related to The Divine, Magaer, and his dragon Agaranth, depicting various feats from his life. Most interestingly of all, there was a series of paintings that portrayed Magaer becoming a golden pillar of light and channeling mana to three priests dressed in white. This must have been the first liturgy.

"We can talk safely in here," the paragon said suddenly. "Why did you come here?"

We were now close to the end of the main corridor, and she turned right onto a smaller but equally well-illuminated path. The end of the main corridor was not fully visible, as if the bright lights coming from all over the ceiling could not reach it, but I could make out a heavy-looking golden door with an eight-winged angel on either side of it.

"Kai has unlocked half of The Divine Essence," Seika replied, unperturbed by the golden gate. "And we know what he is after."

"It has already come to this," the paragon replied, though she didn't slow down her step at all. "And what of Archon Haad?"

"He is safe and sound," Man took his turn in replying. "He is being kept under guard in Zakara, along with his paragon, so that they will not be able to attack anyone again."

"I am sure you have good reasons for imprisoning an archon of The Divine," she said, once again perfectly masking any emotion she felt about it, "and you will have ample time to present them soon."

Mielia walked through a doorway and into the middle of what looked like the stage of an amphitheater. There was a high table in the middle of the room, but chairs were noticeably absent.

I looked around at the elevated rows of black marble seats and counted at least three dozen guard-priests, similar to the ones we'd encountered on the steps outside. I found it particularly weird why these guards were using magic items to conceal their names and levels from us while even the paragon was now now hiding it anymore.

Three corridors stretched between the guards, each one leading to a brightly lit exit.

"Do we need to remove our weapons?" Man asked.

"It doesn't matter," Mielia answered, and I thought I noticed the hint of a smile.

Suddenly the guards all stood up straight and a robed figure carrying a long staff walked in from the left of the three high entrances. As the figure moved closer, I recognized him. It seemed like things were finally going according to plan.

Name : Simeon

Race : Human

Class : Divine Archon

Level : 62

By the Divine, how in the hells can he be level sixty eight?

Most of the stories of heroes of old I had heard were of people in their early fifties in terms of levels. Rumours of individuals closer to level sixty from other realms of the Apocosmos occasionally visiting were sometimes spread in Elysia but never anything for sure. And definitely not something above level sixty. I always thought that was god-territory.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Mana," Archon Simeon said as he stepped down the last step and reached the central stage where we were standing. "It is so good to see you back in Elysia, and the Order greatly appreciates you coming to us."

The archon looked even more radiant than he had when I saw him in the palace at Zakara. He moved in front of each one of us, said our name, and shook our hands with both of his in a manner that seemed well-practiced. He looked hospitable and endearing, the exact opposite of his paragon who was still barely looking at us, indifferent.

"Is this an official visit by a Leka An representative, Prince Manal Im?" the archon asked Man, who he had purposefully left last in his series of greetings.

"It is good to see you too, Archon Simeon," Man answered in a formal tone. "I am afraid this is as official as a visit can be, considering the circumstances."

"I am aware of what you told my paragon," the powerful old man said. "Please let's take our conversation to the table so you can explain everything."

Before we managed to move at all, I felt an enormous weight hit my chest. I tried to shrug it off by taking a deep breath and found I could barely inhale enough air into my lungs to avoid passing out.

Have I been poisoned?

I looked around and saw Man, Kard and Krysha with the same expression of surprise on their faces. A heartbeat later, my feet started trembling, as I felt my body double in weight. Soon I was on my knees, trying my best not to fall flat on the ground.

Struggling as I was, I noticed that the guards too had fallen to their knees and their faces showed the same struggle, which meant this was no poison. It was magic.