“Here. I’d position myself here. You just click the circle shape, and voila!”

“What kind of miracle is this, mistress? This thing can take it faster than anything we have!”

“That’s no miracle, Number 168. It’s just a smart phone.”

“Smart phone...? You mean this thing has a mind of its own?”

As the Order of Cashera disembarks in their final destination among the islands of Triskaide, Telo, Clio takes the opportunity to have her photos taken with the island’s beautiful landscape. With this, she has completed the album she compiled featuring her trips to all thirteen islands. While she knew there would be nobody else to share them with in this world of a differing technological advancement, she kept them anyway. However, what really disappointed her is the fact that she is met by the most underwhelming crowd she has seen in the entire archipelago. Only around a hundred or so followers of Cashera showed up at the harbor.

Telo’s small port is one thing, and she surmised other compelling reasons other than the island's precious Oracle, but even as they entered the city proper, there was not much of a warm welcome for Cashera. The Teloi, poor and rich alike, were throwing among other things, tomatoes, at her, some of which directly hit her. One even stuck right in her mouth. A most unfortunate bull’s-eye, at least for her. They say tomatoes are good for the skin, but it is probably not as much appealing as a welcoming gift used in such way. The Secret Ops struggled to keep her away from the Teloi and safely escort her to the carriage. Still, this incident earned her the title of Tomato Princess.

“They all seem to be grossly concerned with beauty. But really, this feels worse than Baros,” the worried avatar whispered, “Good thing our carriage is enclosed.”

“We’re sure to meet more at the Oracle’s temple, my lady,” the old cleric responded, “I heard they gathered at least fifty thousand spectators. The media’s probably there, too.”

“Bold move for the Oracle. It’s as if she’s expecting me to flop.”

“She’s an upstart fraud, that’s what she is,” the Great Priest firmly said in his attempt to hide his anxious thoughts, “Don’t worry one bit, Lady Cashera. A sign for the Teloi is all it takes.”

Clio turns away and mumbled, “I hope so…”

It seemed like all roads lead to the Oracle’s temple as heavy traffic hampered many of the roads in Telo, including the ones being traversed upon by Clio and her select entourage. Some even resorted to walking at the narrow sides of these roads. These travel woes are the least of Clio’s problems as she agonizes on how to win Cashera followers in an apparently anti-Cashera island. Failure is not an option, and this may well be her last shot to convince the people around her.

After a few hours from the city proper, they reach the Oracle’s Temple, which appeared like an isolated structure surrounded by swarms of people wanting to see the main event. Bells tolled loudly and repeatedly as smoke rises from the dome roof of the Oracle’s quarters. A fairly large space was allotted for the Oracle Pratuzga herself, who is dressed in a purple robe over her golden tunic. Half of her face was covered by a black mask, revealing only her eyes and her chartreuse hair. Among her noticeable accessories were a pair of pearl earrings planted on golden anchors, a necklace that features a web of strands that cross each other, and studded with sapphires on its circular frame, and crystal rings on every finger except the ring finger. Stringed jewels are overlaid on the hood covering her head.

In comparison, Clio was nowhere less dressed. Over her white cloak featuring distinctly Deiroc patterns on the seams is a red robe, which hood she does not use to cover her head. This provides a full view of her mahogany hair flowing down to her robe, which has a single black flower clip put on the side. She wears ruby earrings planted on steel, a small watch on her left wrist, and a band on her right wrist.

Accompanied by similarly purple robed followers, Pratuzga approached Clio as she ascends the steps towards the temple, the only path kept clear of audiences eager to see them.

“Welcome to Telo, Lady Cashera,” Pratuzga cheerily welcomes with open arms, “This is indeed a beautiful moment between two leading religious figures in the known world.”

“Ah, thank you, Lady Oracle,” the smiling avatar returns the hug, “Truly a moment to be reckoned with.”

Pratuzga then tightened her hold and whispered, “Get ready for war, you fake avatar!”

“Wait a minute,” Clio whispers back as she loses her happy disposition while patting the Oracle's back, “Are you trash talking me? Wow, that’s so mature of you.”

“Hrrgh! Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Pratuzga replies before breaking up their hug and laughs.

Clio brushed off her robe with the back of her hand, “I very much look forward to it...”

Pratuzga then turns to the expectant media, who have been absorbed by the sheer size of the audience.

She puts up an address with a husky voice and some matching gestures comparable to that of a theater actress, “Much has been said and done about the feud between myself and Lady Cashera, as all of you may know. But this isn’t beautiful, my fellow believers. This must not carry on, or else our sense of beauty itself will become utterly destroyed. Without beauty, what else remains to be admired and emulated in this world? Nothing. Just as there’s only a single standard for true beauty, there ought to be only one of us who remains beautiful in the eyes of our believers.”

The avatar was about to step forward and speak, but the Great Priest stopped her.

Pratuzga continues, “Therefore, as mandated of me by the gods who granted us beauty, I challenge Lady Cashera to a showdown of miracles! May the fairest of them all be victorious!”

The crowds roared. Meanwhile, the media took no rest in transmitting reports of this event. It may seem like a petty affair in one of Dalreida's peripheries, but the Triskaideans still have memories of their precolonial past, when Deiroc's goddess became representative of their independence from the republic. More than being a religious issue, whoever wins this showdown will be the rightful successor of that political cause.

Meanwhile, from the perspective of the Dalreidans, the events in Aramathi immediately comes into mind. Rabka and Ieso, among other religious leaders, have attracted enough following to pose credible threats to the republic despite active persecution of the beliefs they espouse during their lifetimes. If similar circumstances can be replicated in Triskaide, which lies just south of Dalreida Proper, then it might prove to be a game changer in the context of the dictator's succession. What if the worthiest of them all comes from any of these charismatic yet outsider icons? Surely they must be watched even at this stage.

One of the reporters asked, “Lady Oracle, how do you propose this showdown gets decided?”

“Good question, young man,” she replies with a wink, causing the reporter to almost faint in his place, “The rules shall be brutally simple. Either one of us who performs the best miracle wins.”

Another reporter eagerly asks, “What miracle do you wish to demonstrate then, Lady Oracle?!”

Pratuzga walks to her adversary, “Oh, we’ll see… Would you like to go first, Lady Cashera?”

The Great Priest whispers to Clio, “We expected this to happen, my lady. Agree to her and…”

Pratuzga bawled, “Cashera’s senile priest! You’re in no position to substitute her in the challenge!”

The old cleric raises his hands and reluctantly retreats to where the rest of Cashera’s followers are.

“A beauty contest, huh?”, the avatar then replies with much bravado, “Count me in, Lady Oracle!”

“There, you’ve heard it, fellow believers! Lady Cashera has agreed to our showdown!”

The crowds roared once more, some even leaping with joy, while others jeering Cashera.

“If you’re so eager to challenge me even when knowing I’m a goddess incarnate, well, why don’t you go first?”

Pratuzga narrowed her eyes, “Oh, I see where this is going. If you think this is going to have a clichéd ending, think again. But if you insist, sit back and witness the professional in action.”

The Oracle motions for her followers to move the people back, and then prepares herself for her demonstration of power. She does a few breathing exercises while feeling the environment.

She then tells the audience, “Don’t think that an Oracle like me is only good at seeing the future, for I certainly have seen the outcome of this showdown…”

Her statement piqued the audience interest, while making Cashera’s followers more nervous. After a pause, she dances around with unparalleled grace, causing many to swoon over her. As she undertakes her practiced moves, she spreads sparkling powder of differing colors that stays suspended in the air for a while. She concludes her graceful dance with her legs crossed while bowing. The powders begin to whirl, mixing the colors into a small yet attractive hurricane as it goes. Their sparkle appears like points of light forming lines as they revolve around the Oracle.

Pratuzga mutters, “When you sow a wind, you reap a whirlwind…”

The hurricane then explodes, scattering sparkling bits over the entire audience. Clio was startled, but it did not seem to surprise the Teloi or the Dalreidans even a little. Suddenly, as soon as the hurricane collapsed and its breeze spread, people begin to shout from all over.

“I’ve been healed! My internal bleeding’s gone!”

“Look at me! I can already walk! After forty years of being crippled, I can’t believe it!”

“I can see again!”

“My hand! My hand! Firmly grasp it everyone!”

“Why are all these people noisy?! Hey, I can hear! I can hear you lot!”

“Blah. Blah. Blah. Black sheep. Wah! My tongue’s grown back!”

“Wait, what year is it? I was buried alive here and I don’t recognize anybody.”

“Praise the gods! I’ve been transformed into a real woman! Come at me, boys!”

The audience were amazed with what they saw and cheered louder than ever, it almost deafened anyone who would witness it live. Pratuzga spreads her arms and looks up with pride.

She declares, “The gods themselves have brought a brighter future for us all. Perfect beauty!”

As Pratuzga basks in her glory, Clio seems pained. It appears the Oracle has healed a multitude within seconds, and on its own, it was a powerful miracle that is difficult to replicate or exceed. However, further thinking only paralyzed her. She must do something, and fast, but what could it be? Without any particular idea in mind, she assumes the meditation pose taught to her by Huhunraz. This time, she conducts it standing up.

When Pratuzga noticed this, she called to the avatar, “Lady Cashera, imitating statues are for show. That won’t help you! What we need is a miracle! Say it with me, everyone! Miracle! Miracle!”

The people began yelling with Pratuzga. The Oracle figured that it may disrupt Clio’s meditation when pressured by an unsympathetic crowd. It is only a matter of time before she cracks up, and it does appear in her facial expression that the atmosphere affects her concentration. Cashera followers looking on were rattled, some of them being hurt by the Oracle followers near them, literally and figuratively.

Pratuzga keeps up her taunting, “What kind of name is Cashera anyway? If I know any better, it comes from cash, because your beloved Order exploits the people with malicious doctrines to finance their spendthrift policies! Oh, look at me. One for the money. Two for the money.”

Clio cannot unlisten the words coming from Pratuzga’s mouth, but she has to clear her mind.

“What about the men you’ve seduced through the years, huh? Phew! It is written that Cashera’s body is sacred and holy, but all her avatars defiled it as they please! That’s ugliness to the core! I tell you now. I’m the epitome of beauty. Beauty that manifests itself inside and out. That’s right, envy me Cashera. For you shall never be the love and the fantasy of all the living.”

Clio collapses on her knees, unable to maintain the meditation pose any longer. Pratuzga then rounds to the audience to celebrate, letting them caress her as she goes. Is there really nothing else to show for Cashera’s avatar? However, instead of falling entirely, she raises her head up, and behold her eyes shone brightly, so much so that not one can look directly at them. From her kneeling position, she slowly levitates from the ground. The once boisterous crowd fell into mumbling as they took notice of this development.

“Is that all? Watch this,” Pratuzga says before she also rises a few feet from the ground, and doing so in a more wonderful manner as her shoes sparkle with a myriad of colors.

Nonetheless, she did not stop from ascending until she already exceeded the temple’s height, a feat that Pratuzga was unable to match. Looking up, the Oracle observes carefully her opponent.

After clenching her fists and then opening them, Clio proclaims with a slightly different voice, “You have dug your own grave when you made this a battle between powers not of this world! Woe to you, unbelieving generation! You follow beauty by abandoning everything else. Well then. Let us see what your beauty can do in the face of might that has transcended eternity.”

The Oracle's eyes narrowed as she thought to herself, “No. This can’t have an alternate ending. I’ve already seen the future. That Cashera’s bluffing at this point, but still, why does it feel…?”

The ground rumbles violently, causing many to lose their footing and injure each other in the process. Meanwhile, the media personnel took out their tripods, planting them on the soil, and installed their cameras firmly on them to lessen the possibility of blurred takes. Pratuzga looked around in attempts of finding a logical cause for the shaking. Surely this must be another timely natural event that merely coincided with Cashera’s supposed miracle at work, as what happened with the former avatar Laizidana. An abrupt earthquake? An unexpected animal stampede? People suddenly jumping together in unison? There must be a reason behind it.

“Look there! The volcano’s erupting!”

Pratuzga snapped her head to where the shout came from, and then to the volcano, where she became convinced that Cashera is not a pushover. The volcano of Telo has been quiet for thousands of years, even before the first avatar of Cashera appeared. The relative geologic peace of Telo earned it the recognition as the safest harbor in Triskaide. After its last explosion, the mouth was closed by an another layer that emerged, pushing the peak higher while placing a mighty lid on the previous crater. Put simply, there is no opening for any magma to burst out of.

Then again, it cannot be doubted that the volcano is acting up at this moment. Ash began to darken the skies, enveloping the entire island like a swirling dark blanket, and the volcanic explosion somewhat appeared like a glowing scarlet crown on the floating avatar’s head. Lightning bolts riddled the rising pillar of plume and ash, as if conjuring every force in heaven and on earth for the avatar's bidding. What is equally surprising is how the people reacted to the ongoing eruption. Instead of running in panic, they remained in their places, gazing at the floating avatar and the volcano behind her, albeit with mixed emotions. Many cannot ascertain what to even feel or think.

“Cashera, what are you doing?!”, Pratuzga protested, “Are you going to kill all these people?!”

The Great Priest bawled while waving his hands up, “Indeed, Lady Cashera! I would’ve to agree with Lady Oracle this time! Please reconsider! The Teloi are also your…!”

Clio interjected, “I will not be ridiculed by mere humans! Hear this! If my people are unrepentant in their ways, I would rather destroy them all, along with this wretched island!”

Pratuzga looked around, sensing that her followers are expecting her to do something just as great, but she also realized how this was beyond her league. In their full view, Cashera displays the power which many would have thought existed only in myth and fiction. Pratuzga’s mind raced to find a resolution to this matter, but she did not have much time as the lava begin to flow down. Filled with rage, the mad Oracle shot one last look at Clio, and then recited a spell which made her surrounded by a ball of fire. Within seconds, she was gone. When the people saw this, they regained their joyous disposition, expectant of the Oracle to successfully counter the eruption.

Meanwhile, when Clio saw what Pratuzga did, she sneered, and with motioning of her hands, she made the lava rise from the volcano, and redirected it to take a spiral route to the heavens. The audience thought it was the Oracle who was doing all those wonders, but in reality, she was no longer in the vicinity. She knew she has been bested, and she cannot risk being overtaken by renewed religious fervor in favor of Deiroc's goddess. Her fire trick only covered her escape, taking one of the horses in their underground stables, and taking a path through the forest, which eventually leads to the port. While travelling at haste, she sensed someone nearby.

Without much thinking, she stopped her horse, only to find herself at the lake. Upon dismounting, she trembled when she saw a purple robed person staring at the lake’s expanse. Should she approach the person, despite the possibility of being found out that she bolted from the showdown? After taking a few steps forward, she changed her mind and went back for her horse to continue her journey.

However, the person turned around, “Lady Oracle, is that you?”

It was a familiar voice, and so Pratuzga removed her face mask.

“Hadomai,” Pratuzga gives a forced smile upon facing him, “What are you doing here?”

“Nothing much, my lady. I hope I’m not keeping you. You seem to be in a bit of a hurry.”

An idea flashed on Pratuzga’s mind, “Of course not! In fact, I’ve got a job for you.”

“Is that so? Then I’m at your service.”

“It hasn’t been long since you left the Secret Ops,” Pratuzga said as she lovingly holds his arm, “Well, I was thinking if you could help me hijack one of Cashera’s ships.”

Hadomai frowned, “With all due respect, should we be doing that to our honored visitor?”

Her impatience becomes evident, “Don’t you get it?! Look there! Do you see that blazing inferno?! Cashera’s going to destroy this island within minutes, and this time it’s no coincidence! We’ve got to get out of here quick!”

“My lady,” Hadomai laughs as he ignores another rumbling of the ground, “I really don’t get it. Why are you so upset? With your Oracle powers, you can just…”

Pratuzga grabs powder from her robe, mutters a few words, and blows it towards Hadomai like a flying kiss. Almost instantly, he falls silent, his eyes dilate, and his mind goes blank.

“Listen carefully. You’ll act like you’ve taken me as a prisoner, making it show to your former comrades that you’re still with them. But you’re not. I’ll use my powers to brainwash them as soon as we’re in, and then oars away. We’re sailing out of here! Do you understand?”

Hadomai does not respond, even after a few snaps and slaps from Pratuzga.

She thinks while searching something within her robe, “Probably too strong, eh? I should’ve a milder mixture right around here. I can’t risk staying here for another page of dialogue…”

As Pratuzga try to find yet another powder to spread, Hadomai regains consciousness after a few blinks. Upon seeing Pratuzga’s expression, and realizing the danger afoot, he grabbed her by the shoulders, disturbing her ongoing search and removing her hood.

“Lady Oracle, what’s happening?! Weren’t you supposed to be at the temple with Cashera?!”

“So, the spell’s not too potent for you… Okay, I’d brief you once more… We’re escaping!”

“Wait, how about the people? The volcano’s erupting. There must be something you can do!”

Pratuzga looks away, closing her eyes for a while, and then opens them before replying, “No, Hadomai. This is my defeat. Opening up a mountain to become an active volcano, that’s way too advanced for me. But if we go now, we can still survive this and start elsewhere. Build anew a paradise on earth. Yes, you and I together, we can do it.”

Hadomai lets go of Pratuzga and then strikes his head, “What’s the meaning of this?! You accused of Cashera as a fake, but are you telling me now that you're a fake, too?!”

“No,” she caresses his face as she looks into his eyes, “Believe me, Hadomai, please. I would’ve saved Telo if I could, but this is an outcome that hasn’t been revealed to me and…”

“Then what is truth?”

“This is,” Pratuzga softly says before grabbing his head with two hands and kissing him on the lips.

This astonished Hadomai, who was wide eyed upon initial contact. Pratuzga’s lips were soft and slippery, while his were chapped and rough. Her kiss was being expertly done, immediately arousing him, but instead of returning her kiss, he gathers his strength and shoves the Oracle away. This created a distance of a few steps between them.

“Hadomai…,” Pratuzga speaks with a sultry voice, “Aren’t you satisfied?”

He sighs, “You’re beautiful, Pratuzga. You really are. But if you’re doing this to convince me to betray them, how can I be so sure you’re not going to betray me in the future, too?”

“So, you’re saying that it’s better to betray me instead? Hadomai, don’t forget what we’ve gone through together.”

“I don’t. On the contrary, it might be you who’s forgetting! I’ve done heinous acts as part of the Secret Ops, but our leaders never left a sinking ship. Cashera’s been challenged for years, even by you, and yet she still stands. If you keep this up, I don’t even know why I even…”

“Love you? You’re saying you’ve fallen for me? Here’s the truth. Everyone does, duh?! Now, if you’re not going to help me in leaving this goddess-forsaken island, then I’d be on my way.”

As Pratuzga runs away, Hadomai catches up to her without much of an effort.

“Please, you can’t do this, Pratuzga! Telo needs you! I need you!”

Out of her irritation, Pratuzga kicks Hadomai to the ground, and then leaves him in the dust as her horse gallops onward to the port. She leaves behind the jewels strapped on her hood, which fell during her mounting. The physical pain was no match for the emotional pain it caused him. The Oracle who he saw as his savior and hope abandoned him and all the people. At a loss on what his next step should be, the ground shakes once more.

The volcano continues to exude ash and lava, but even from where he is situated, Hadomai can see the lava spiraling towards the skies. The flow has been reversed, because lava naturally goes down to the base of the volcano, its heat burning everything in the way. Also, upon closer examination, a flying figure can also be seen, whose movements seemingly directing the lava anywhere it pleases. There must be nobody else who could do that feat other than Cashera. This made up his mind.

What has Hadomai decided? How did Cashera open up a volcano that was long inactive? Why did Pratuzga see herself an inadequate challenger to the goddess of Deiroc?