The Ancients World

My eyes are feeling heavy, and it's later into the night than it already was. The plan I have needs the right crew to pull off. So that's what I'll be working on first, finding the crew that I'll need for this. It could take a while or a day to find. It really depends on where I start looking first. I've thought enough about this for one night. I should follow Sally's lead and sleep myself. I let my eyes close and slowly drift into sleep. This is a night when I get to sleep in a nice soft bed and not on the cold hard ground. My half-asleep thoughts wander to the body in the basement. He is an official of Bellvia. Other than that, I know nothing about him. His role in the government here could play a vital role, and killing him might bring too much heat.

The sooner we get out of here tomorrow, the better. My mind finally rests, and I fall completely asleep. While Cera sleeps through the night, many things are going on around Gaia. One of those being a secret meeting. This secret meeting is between The Pope and the head of the church's spy network. The Pope usually doesn't handle things like this personally but said head spy had found valuable news that only The Pope should hear. The secret meeting is being held in the bowls of the church, where no one can overhear or spy on their conversation. The first one to speak is The Pope, of course. The head of the spy network has no name. He hides his face and only goes by a code name. That code name being Hidden Veil.

I look at Hidden Veil. Out of all the spies I know, he is the most secretive. He knows more about our enemies and friends than we do. As the head of the spy network for the church, he knows more than Lucy and me combined. I've rarely had encounters with the man. The only times we talked were when the matter at hand was of utmost importance. "You have called me here for a reason. We don't have much time to sit here in silence, and I'd like to get some sleep tonight." He remains unmoving, and I don't see a hint of compliance. Usually, I wouldn't tolerate such disrespect. However, I can't punish him. I don't even know who he truly is. "If you don't speak in the next 10 seconds, I'm leaving." He remains still and calm at my threat.

At the nine-second mark, I hear him take a light breath. "I have come across information that is both vital to the war and the church's search." I harden my look and steel my nerves. If what Hidden Veil says is true, then this meeting is only meant for the church's top officials. I nod my head for him to continue. He pulls out a scroll from his bag and rolls it out in front of me. I look at it, and it's some old map. "Heavy monster forces are guarding this area. It's an old site that originally had no value. At first, we wondered why the monsters were so interested in it, so we sent in scouts to find out." I look at the ancient map and notice how big these ruins are. I nod my head to continue, and I watch him pull out another scroll.

This time when it unrolls. I have shivers go up my spine. It's an angel's halo. It's a metal ring with a light going through the center. "This is an angel's halo... While completely useless to us humans, it can be used for certain things—locating other angels on Gaia is one. I think the monsters are searching the ruins to find the unpowered halo." I already know where this conversation is heading. "Once they find the halo and power it, they can use it to find Zern. They might already have, since finding it will be the easy part. Powering it is the hard part. They are constructing some magical machine on site." I take a deep breath and release a long sigh. I pinch the bridge of my nose as I sit down in the chair under me.

This could be disastrous. If the monsters find out where Zern is before we do, they can send countless hordes after him. Endangering him and all the people that might be around him. "What are we supposed to do about this Hidden Veil... Our forces are spread thin as it is, this war is ramping up on both sides, and we can't afford to send troops to a remote ruin in the middle of nowhere. We'll need a strike force and a battalion to assault a ruin this big filled with monsters." There are more and more new problems every day. We are running out of solutions even faster. This adds another thing at the top of the priority list. "Tell me what you need to do this op, and I'll see it filled." We might as well get this operation on the road.

He lightly nods his head and unrolls another scroll filled with things he needs. I start to read it, and I can feel a pit in my stomach just from the few things on this list. "These aren't going to be cheap. Are you sure this is going to go how you said it would if we don't interfere?" He nods his head, and that seals the deal. "Getting the troops for you will be the easy part. I'll contact Lucy and our strongest soldiers. I'll get back to you in one day for the operation once everything on the list is fulfilled." With those final words, he turns around and leaves. I'm left with my own thoughts to ponder this new problem. This could prove to be a way for us to find Zern too. If we can get that old halo and power it ourselves, we'll have a way to always to find Zern.

I roll up the scrolls and carry them up to my office. I sit down in my comfy chair and think about all the shit this will cause. I should contact Lucy immediately. As all this is happening, the night passes, and the sun rises. The two sleeping in a dead man's house begin to wake up, and they aren't the only ones. Creatureman, Ghostzero, and Krialder are also getting up. They are currently staying in a safe house under an old abandoned orphanage. The entirety of Bellvia is beginning to wake up for the day, and all the criminals are on their way back to the underground. Cera is just starting to get up when he notices a weight that doesn't want to move just yet. The mornings after sleeping in a nice bed are like that.

I lean up and rub my eyes. I feel a lightweight on my chest, trying not to move. The sun is shining through the two windows in this room, and that when I place the sheets over our nude bodies. "It's time to wake up Sally." I move and sit on the edge of the bed while she snuggles the sheets in protest. I stand up and equip my gear in an instant. I look at her and see her eyes are still shut. "I'm going downstairs to raid the dead man's kitchen. If you meet me down there in 5 minutes, I'll make something for you too." I make my way to the door and leave as I hear movement coming from the bed. Sally has to dress manually. I don't since I can equip and unequip things. I make my way to the kitchen and start looking through the cupboards.

There are countless enchantments to keep the food fresh and edible. I look through the cupboards for any meat products for protein and eventually come across the steak. I pull it out and make my way over to the magic stove. I look at the weird controls, and I sigh inwardly. I find the right pan and place it on top of the stove. I turn it to what I assume to be medium power, and it instantly reaches cooking temp. I slap the meat on the pan and listen to it sizzle. It's been months since I've hand cow steak, and the smell it's giving off is driving me absolutely crazy. I hear quickly running from upstairs and soon down the stairs. I look over to the kitchen entrance, and a fully clothed Sally walks in. I give her a small smile, and she blushes as she reciprocates.

She walks over and smells the food too. "You'll get your half, so go sit at the table and wait for it." She rolls her eyes and head to the table. I focus on cooking the steak and making sure not to overcook it. "How do you like your steaks anyway?" She informs me that she likes medium rare, just like I do. Sweet, I stop cooking them, knowing they are done. "Alright, time to dig into some decent food for a change." I cut the steak in half and prepare to plates. I get everything ready and bring them over to the table. I set them down, and Sally immediately starts to eat. I follow suit and dig in myself. The next few days will be busy, so it's best to enjoy this while we can.