CHAPTER 765: LEAVING YUHAI PORT

"Since you’re looking for a Seventh Sigil to reach Lordship, do you already have a target in mind? A bounty you took before?" Kaia asked, helping Gwen tidy up the rest of the room.

"Not exactly. Since you’re not part of the churches, you might not know but a lot of the time, for important members, we can get a. . . sponsorship of sorts from our Gods. They provide a bounty for a beast we want to Hunt along with additional rewards." Gwen explained.

"As much as I dislike Solaris for taking my time away from my dad, I can’t deny that having him sponsor is so much easier than simply going through the standard communion or a shaman. There are too many uncertainties involved in that after all."

With her having direct access to her own bounties, Kaia had almost forgotten how difficult it was for a normal person to get the right Sigils.

Perhaps that’s why the churches were also popular since they have access to sponsorships if they perform well.

"So does that require you to meet him? Or does he just hand them out?"

"Solaris is a lazy God, do you really think he’s willing to meet people for this? He has a system in place that lets him just hand you a sponsor so long as you meet the required contribution levels." Gwen mocked while Kaia couldn’t help but laugh.

If both the Apostles and even the Cardinal was mocking the God in this manner, then it simply proves how lazy Solaris truly is.

"Anyways, we should probably take the next ship out of this place. Sentinels are dealing with the gateway as well as the evacuations. There’s nothing else we can really do here." Gwen suggested as Kaia’s ears perked up.

"Are we going to a Sun Church branch?"

"Yeah, I need to pick up a few things as well before going off to claim my bounty. Unfortunately, one of the Artifacts I was meant to attune to was stolen a while back. It wasn’t just me either, a few of our artifacts got stolen and same with the Moon Church.

"Something about a robed thief leaving behind black feathers. Sadly they haven’t managed to track down the lost gear so I’ll need a replacement."

Hearing this, Kaia almost tripped over hearing the mention of theft and black feathers.

’Kaden?’ She asked in her mind.

[Kaden.] Cayla nodded in confirmation.

’Sigh. . . Kaden.’

"Though I suppose it’s kind of a silver lining since with my reward being stolen, Solaris promised me something better as replacement." Gwen smiled.

"Must’ve been something good if it god you smiling like this."

"A fragment of the ’Sun’. That’s what he promised me. Rather than a weapon or armour, think of it more as an overall enhancement. My flames will undergo a slight change with increased divinity thanks to the fragment." Gwen explained, leaving her apartment with Kaia.

"However, because he’s a lazy prick, it’s taken months and it still wasn’t ready. This time I’m not leaving without it since I’ll be hunting down a Lord level beast after all." Gwen cracked her knuckles.

Kaia let out a small chuckle. The more she heard about Solaris, the more unreliable it seemed.

In fact, having him take the seat of God felt like a rather big waste.

If anything. . .

’Is it possible to replace a God through forceful methods?’ She asked.

[Define forceful.]

’Like killing them and taking over their role and their divinity. Or does it have to be passed down like how Velouria did with hers?’

Hearing this, Cayla folded her arms in contemplation.

[It’s definitely possible. Think of it this way, Velouria’s. . . successor selection could be boiled down to collecting the Abyssal artifacts. By doing so and receiving their acknowledgement, you become the successor of her divinity.

[As for the other successor selection process, I have no idea. After all, the only one to have died was Velouria so I doubt the others are even thinking of doing something like this.] Cayla shook her head.

[Even if they didn’t make a move to kill her, Velouria’s time was running out so she made a lot of preparations. You also need to remember that she’s the only one that ascended, the others were born into divinity.]

Letting out a sigh, Kaia nodded her head.

Indeed, the other gods probably don’t think about dying with the exception of Enris.

She’s someone who will die for enjoyment rather than spend an eternity in monotony.

Making their way down to the docks, Kaia could see the civilians scrambling to gather their belongings while Sentinels were trying their best to keep everything under control.

The gang leaders were not happy but with Gwen being here, they can’t fight back even if they wanted to.

Plus, if not for her, the gateway would be directly inside the city rather than being away from the city.

While Gwen was organising things with the ships exiting the city, Kaia noticed a pair of eyes staring at her.

Cold, powerful and downright creepy.

A stare that felt familiar which sent chills down her spine.

She wanted to ignore it but it was always there in the corner of her perception.

"Gwen." Kaia called out.

"Hm? What’s up?"

"I need to step aside for a moment, something’s been bugging me." Kaia frowned, looking around and trying to find the source of this stare.

"Do you need my help?"

"Nah it’s fine. It shouldn’t be anything major. I’ll be back in a few mins okay?" Kaia reassured as Gwen nodded.

Stepping aside, Kaia began to speed up as she rushed towards the source of this stare.

Noticing that she was on the move, the source also began to run through the alleys.

Yet despite this, they still kept their eyes on Kaia.

’Are they luring me?’ She frowned, gathering an orb of blood between her fingers.

She may be disguised right now but if someone recognised her somehow, she had to deal with it otherwise her plans may fall through!

Taking a deep breath, Kaia crouched down close to the ground.

Energy flooded her body as she expanded the boundaries of her Zone!

Void Step!

Lunging forward, her figure disappeared for a split moment as she crossed the gap to find the source.

Yet to her shock, the moment she closed the distance, the gaze disappeared!

In fact, all that was left in the spot was a single note.

Stopping her pursuit, Kaia frowned deeply and picked up the note.

[Iya~ I’m saddened my dear. Cheating on me with another girl? I thought you would place your focus on me. I’m still waiting for my fight you know? Are you working hard to reach the rank of Lord?

[I hope you don’t make me wait that long okay? So I hope your infiltration into the Sun Church proves fruitful my dear.

[Ps: Be careful of Solaris. He will see through your disguise rather easily.

[Love: Astrelya.]

Kaia furrowed her brows.

’So it was Astrelya.’ She sighed inwardly, burning the note away.

After she went to stop the Lords, Kaia didn’t seen her around so she ignored her for now. But now that she’s made herself known again, it was clear that she hasn’t given up on her desire to fight Kaia yet.

To die in a clash of wills, to burn everything she has for the sake of battle.

[How did she even see through your disguise? Not even the Apostles noticed that something was up.] Cayla was worried.

While she was in the library, Cayla took the time to search for information on Astrelya. But it was largely empty with only dates of her first sighting and her desire for battle.

Prior to that, there was not a single speck of information that could be gathered.

It was too suspicious, especially for someone with her strength. If she was this powerful as a Lord, she should’ve been relatively well known before Lordship.

’I’m. . . not sure. But she clearly wasn’t happy.’ Kaia shook her head, looking around to see if there were any additional traces but it’s as though she disappeared into thin air.

However, she was grateful at the fact the Lord didn’t expose her identity.

’She even took the time to warn you about Solaris as well.’ Alyss added.

[To be fair, even without her warning, I would’ve told Alice to stay away from him. But. . .] Cayla frowned.

’She’s suspicious as f*ck.’

[Indeed.]

Unable to find more traces of Astrelya, she sighed and made her way back to the docks to find Gwen.

"Was everything okay?" Gwen asked curiously. She noticed a slight burst in energy but it didn’t last long. She figured it was probably Kaia.

"Yea, just a little trouble but turns out it was nothing." Kaia sighed, scratching her hair.

"Do you want me to check it out? I might be able to find something with my Vision."

"Nah it’s fine, anyways, is the ship ready? I haven’t seen a Sun church branch before so I’m expecting a giant palace of white and gold considering the uniform." Kaia shrugged with a smile.

"Well you’re not far off. But even if you expect it, it’s pretty impressive to see it with your own eyes." Gwen laughed.

###

Watching Kaia walk away with Gwen, Astrelya sat on the wall while kicking her legs back and forth.

She wasn’t smiling at all.

In fact, she only felt a tinge of annoyance in her heart.

Jealousy even.

Was it because Alice needed something from this girl? That she put so much attention on her?

If she were to offer something of value as well, would Alice focus on getting stronger?

Tapping her finger against the wall, she let out a deep sigh.

At least she had a second candidate she could watch for now. But if she was disappointing as well. . .

Letting out a sigh, Astrelya laid on her back and looked up at the sky.