A ring, made up of what looked like gold and silver melted together, adorned Gaius’ right middle finger. For the past two days, ever since Isabelle had brought a whole trunk’s worth of clothes, she had been staring at Gaius’ right hand, trying to figure out which finger fitted him best.

Gaius wanted to point out that this ring was the fusion of two Zeroth Armaments, but no matter how he tried to explain that fact to Isabelle, the girl didn’t seem to care. As a compromise, she had allowed him to wear it on his right hand, but that was about it.

Zeroth Armaments. Weapons that could not be resisted by any normal means whatsoever, serving as incredibly powerful artefacts capable of inflicting permanent damage on Orb…relegated to a mere ring used to decorate one’s hands. If they were sentient, like Stone, Gaius would have paid a thousand gold to see their expressions. Of course, no matter how much he tried talking to Terminus, and the ring in on his finger now, there was no response.

It was probably a one-off thing.

“That ring of yours isn’t going to transform and start killing everyone randomly later, right?” Isabelle asked. She was doing one last check on everyone’s attire. The ball…or rather, the super-large banquet, was about to start, and Isabelle didn’t want Nakama’s future student life to be marred by any embarrassing incidents today.

“No, the Terminus and the Custodian don’t have the same capabilities as Stone and Lightning,” Gaius replied. The boy knew why she had asked such a question; Nexus’ training of Nakama’s sentient artefacts had borne some fruit. The miniature Terminus by her side had learnt how to incorporate qi in its strikes, and as for Lightning…well, his sister’s name for it was apt, to say the least.

It had taken yet another day for the sculpture to teach them when to use their newfound abilities, with the result of that being Nexus insisting on tagging along for the Pinnacle’s social function tonight. Nexus was just too tired and cooped up for Gaius to reject, and it wasn’t like he didn’t have space in his formal suit to hide a little sculpture inside.

“Alright then.” With a plop, Isabelle placed Nakama back onto the ground. She had tried to lift her up while wearing a brilliant gown, just to see if there would be any difficulties returning home if the little girl fell asleep at night.

Gaius pushed the door open, and the three walked together, down the darkening streets of Upper Elysium. Their destination was the small…the relatively small complex of leisure facilities in the middle of the high-class residential district. The function was to be held in the giant, multi-purpose hall that was often used for political speeches, the Herrlich Hall.

“What does Herrlich mean?” Nakama asked.

“Beats me,” Gaius replied. Though, it sounds German in origin…it seems that the North has quite the German influence on it. I’ve heard some East European words too, so it seems like a random mix too.

“It’s similar to the esoteric languages in the South, for some reason,” said Isabelle. “Do you know anything about them, Gaius?”

“I think they were both from the same continent, back on Earth,” Gaius replied. “If memory serves me well, they’re both European languages.”

“Earth is truly weird,” Isabelle mused out loud. “Why so many languages?”

Gaius wanted to point out that there were more than a hundred different languages on Earth, and it was the Champions’ arrival on Orb that prevented a similar problem from popping up, but he wasn’t too keen on opening his mouth. The street they were walking on now had over a hundred people walking on it — this social function was open to the whole of Upper Elysium…which meant that entire families were heading there.

The shadows continued to darken, and by the time Gaius and the others had arrived at Herrlich Hall, the sun had set fully. People and shadows danced with each other, and the feasting was in full swing when the three stepped into the hall proper. The cold air made Isabelle shiver; Herrlich Hall evidently had something like air-conditioning to make the place less stuffy.

It was useless on Gaius, but the cold air definitely made this place feel a bit more dignified. Maybe it was how the low temperature made people more aware of their actions, but the raucous uproar Gaius had seen in the East’s feasting was noticeably absent here.

Tables had been set out in straight lines, and Isabelle led Gaius and Nakama into a nice little corner, where there were few others sitting. The tables weren’t that crowded, as there were a few dozen dancers moving around gracefully in an area carpeted by red.

“I’m sensing someone familiar,” Nexus said to him, his voice echoing in Gaius’ head.

“Familiar?” Before Gaius could press the sculpture for more questions, however, Isabelle asked, “Do you two know how to dance?”

“You’re asking two children whether they know how to dance…” Gaius shook his head. “We don’t have the background necessary for that, so I’ll pass. That said, Nakama, you should learn it.”

“Me?”

Gaius nodded. “It should be alright. I’ll keep an eye out, in case some arrogant fool needs a beating. And besides…”

He glanced at a hooded figure, who turned away immediately.

“Besides?”

“No, nothing.” Gaius leaned back on his chair. Food hadn’t been served yet; the socialisation aspect of this function was currently underway. Just as how Isabelle and Nakama would take to the dance floor…Gaius too had someone wanting to meet him.

The Pinnacle had told him that the Oracle wanted to see the Lost Star, which was the main reason why he was here, other than a pushy sibling or two. The hooded figure started walking as Nakama and Isabelle went over to the dance floor, and without much preamble, sat down on the chair beside Gaius.

A gentle symphony began to play.

“Hello, Gaius.”

The face that greeted the boy was…the Phantom Blade, Xanadu. He widened his eyes, narrowing them in the next instant. “You’re the Oracle?”

“The second-in-command of the Mortal Light Dynasty?” She asked. “No, that’s not me. I just spotted you here, and thought I should say hi. Although…that troublesome person is indeed headed here.”

Her eyes looked in a particular direction, and Gaius followed suit to see a red-haired young lady walking over, followed closely by a gaggle of what looked like Elysium’s finest bachelors. The boy sighed.

“So…what’s going on?”

Xanadu smiled.