Ciel and I lie next to each other on the bed, our bodies leaking out sweat as we stare passionately at each other.
Our breathing is heavy, which isn’t so surprising, considering the vigorous exercise we have just concluded.
And please, I don’t want judgnt.
It’s not like I wanted to do this. I simply had no choice, since the best way to absorb the antidote is by consuming a lot of Ciel’s fluids.
Kissing her only alleviated the problem, but to fully resolve it, we had to exchange even more bodily fluids.
Hence... the sex.
I only did it for pragmatic reasons.
It was... enjoyable, though.
Back to the current situation; the two of us are sleeping on the sa bed as we stare at each other in silence.
The war is finally over, with both sides coming to a truce.
We are allies now.
Naturally, this doesn’t eliminate all the sadness and rage buried deep within our hearts.
Especially the feeling of loss.
I’m still very upset about the deaths of all those innocent people. At the sa ti, Ciel has grown extrely sullen regarding the demise of so many Magivores.
The death of her own bonded Magivore has caused a big hole to form in her heart.
Even now, as I stare at her, I can sense her pain.
It runs deep.
’Especially because that is the only Magivore that is passed from person to person in the Sanctuary. The new Vey’lithar Leviathan inherits the old one’s Magivore, as is the standard practice...’ My thoughts flow seamlessly as I consider the matter.
Since Cadre 6 are so rare, the Sanctuary only had one in their midst. It developed among the Cadre 5 Magivores almost a millennia before now, and has been alive ever since.
Well, until I killed it.
’She can only pray that a new Crimson Direwolf Emperor is born among the surviving Cadre 5 Direwolf Kings...’
"All three of the Direwolf Kings I sent after you died. Right now, we only have two left. I had to preserve them for the future, so I didn’t have them join in the fight." Right as I am having my thoughts, Ciel speaks up and finally breaks the silence.
Not only does the sudden ergence of her voice stun , but the contents of her words leave in puzzlent as well.
’I... killed all of them?!’
I stare at her, dazed by the impossible reality that accompanies her statent.
My mories regarding that incident are fractured, but I clearly rember being at my wit’s end and falling unconscious right before the blast of the Direwolf Kings was about to consu .
Before Ciel spoke, my working theory was that I sohow triggered Tracing in that mont and vanished.
As for how I ca to acquire Golden Dawn, I chalked it up to an uncertainty.
After all, Divine Relics don’t just fall from the sky.
"You look surprised..." Ciel mutters after noticing my silence.
"Tell more." I quickly respond. "How did I—"
"Kill them?" She does it again, responding to my questions before I ask them.
Such are the perks of a Seer.
I nod at her.
"I don’t know. I wasn’t using Clairvoyance at that mont, but I do know that I lost connection with them at nearly the sa period, which ans you killed them within the sa ti fra."
"Unbelievable..."
Could it be that even I am unaware of the depths of my own strength?
"You surprised a lot in that battle. I didn’t expect you to be so strong." Ciel admits, sighing softly as she closes her eyes for a mont, allowing to see her beautiful face without interruption.
This woman truly is lovely.
To think such a flower could be so scheming and ruthless if it ca down to it.
One truly cannot judge others by appearances.
"You’re thinking about how pretty I look, aren’t you? You find it unbelievable that soone like could be so venomous..."
"A-ah!" I quickly turn away from her in embarrassnt, barely noticing as she amusedly pries her eyes open.
"You constantly using your Conception like that is cheating. Stop it." I cross my arms while frowning lightly.
"Haha..."
Ciel simply giggles at my complaints, shaking her head moderately.
"What’s so funny?"
"I’m not even using Prophecy. It’s just easy to predict the next move and words of others as a Seeker. It’s easier with you because you are quite easy to read..."
’What? ? Is she implying that I’m a simple man?’ A part of flares up, but I remain calm.
"See? Although you like keeping that stoic expression, your brow twitches whenever you hear sothing you don’t like. You inhale deeply or sigh, and your eyes turn cold. These are things I can observe and translate into words, accurately guessing what is going on in your head."
"Oh, really?" I stare at her, unconvinced.
’Could I really be that predictable? Is that why she was able to trick so easily?’
"Right now... you are thinking about tricking you and wondering if you are that predictable, right?"
"W–how did you know? You are definitely using Prophecy! I refuse to buy any other explanation." I yell out.
If she truly isn’t using any Conception, then the accuracy is simply too frightening.
Ciel rely giggles even louder.
"I don’t care if you believe or not. It’s the truth. Besides, why would I carelessly use my Conception when there is such a price attached to every use?"
’Eh? Price? What price?’
My expression freezes as I hear those words.
Is she referring to the risk of failure? No, Ciel is very particular with her words. If she ant that, she would have used ’risk’ rather than ’price.’
Besides, Ciel is at the peak of Rank 1, so I can’t imagine any casual use of any of her Conceptions cos with a risk.
So... what exactly does she an?
"You’re confused by what I just said? Don’t tell ... You really don’t know what the price is?" Ciel gasps aloud, a hand covering her lips.
"A-ahem..." I clear my throat, trying to salvage as much of my composure as I can.
"You can tell about it "
"I thought you knew more about Leviathans than . Shouldn’t you be the one teaching these things?" She smiles teasingly at , laughing at the ignorant ’s expense.
I blush a little in embarrassnt until I can’t take it any longer.
"Just tell !"
"Fine... fine." Ciel’s smile begins to fade, and a serious expression dots her features.
After waiting for a few seconds, which felt excruciatingly longer than that, she finally parts her lips and tells the grim truth.
"The cost is lifespan."
I remain silent.
Her words are too vague.
I need more of an explanation regarding what she ans by lifespan.
"It’s exactly what it ans. You use up your lifespan with every Conception. The rate depends on what Conception is being used and what Pathway you belong to. I don’t know all the details, but I know the Seeker Pathway has the least consumption rate, while Casters have the highest. Exemplars and Leapers are sowhere in the high end."
"I see..."
My Conceptions have been consuming my lifespan all this ti, and I had no idea.
’How many tis have I used my Conception? How much of my life has been consud? Is there really a way for to tell?’
To constantly increase my limit, I made it a habit to practice all three of my Fragnted Conceptions daily. I have done this consistently since I beca aware of their capabilities.
Even if the Seeker Conception doesn’t consu much lifespan and Leaper and Exemplar Conceptions are sowhere in the middle... would these costs not stack up with my continuous use?
It seems I need to be a lot less casual and more intentional about my Leviathan powers.
"The good news is that your lifespan is promoted to a hundred years once you beco a Leviathan. You beca a Leviathan at 24 years old, right? That ans, unless soone or sothing kills you before that, you would have 76 years left to live."
"Yes. I’m currently 25 years old, which ans I would ordinarily have 75 years left. But with the cost of lifespan that my Conceptions use, I will have to assu that the number has reduced."
"Correct." Ciel nods at . "I don’t know the exact way to calculate it, but the general rule is that you have to subtract the ti it would have taken you to achieve those tasks without the Conception."
I think I know what Ciel is driving at.
Take my Clairvoyance, for example. If sothing would take an hour to get to its exact location to witness it, but I use my Conception to view it from the comfort of my ho, I would have used up an hour of lifespan to do so.
And what of Frontflow?
I speed up my ti by twenty four to sixty tis, so it’s only right that my lifespan is expended at such a rate as well.
"Most Leviathans that our Sanctuary has produced have been Seekers, so I mostly know details regarding our Conceptions. The general cost of lifespan is halved when it cos to us. For example, if it takes an hour to have witnessed sothing, only thirty minutes is shaved from our lifespan. If we see an hour into the past or future, only thirty minutes is shaved off rather than an entire hour."
"T-that is so—"
"Unfair?" Ciel smiles with a raised brow.
"I was going to say disproportional."
"Sa difference." She shrugs at . "I’m also not sure why it’s that way, but it must have to do with the fact that Seekers do not physically embody their Conceptions but simply use their senses to observe events. It’s different from Tracing, where you appear at another location, or Frontflow, where your body becos faster than the world."
"I see..."
"That makes sense..."
I didn’t consider any of these matters before, but since Ciel cos from a long line of Leviathans, she has a rich history and a wide array of knowledge to share.
It truly was wise to spare her life.
"When I was a child, I was chosen to beco the next guardian. That ant I didn’t have a bonded Magivore like the other kids, and I was under the constant tutelage of the Mara, the Leviathan before . It felt so restrictive. I had far less freedom than others, and I resented it at first..." Ciel suddenly starts speaking of her past, causing the space around us to fall into a hush.
The only thing that echoes softly between us is her voice and the steady breathing of the two of us.
"But I grew to appreciate her. To cherish the restriction. To love the responsibility." Ciel smiles at . "It is said that the world chooses the Pathway that best suits the existence of the Leviathan. It’s why most of this Sanctuary’s Guardians were Seekers. The world must have known that we were ant to live long and watch over our people. That’s what Mara told ."
I don’t speak.
Only reaching out to caress her face and nod.
’I read sothing similar in the Founding Leviathan’s journal. He regretted being an Exemplar, though. He wished to be a Seeker or Leaper instead. After eting Ciel, I can understand why he would desire such a Pathway.’
A lower cost compared to the other Pathways, yet the ability to perceive events of the past, present, and future.
To an ordinary and powerless person, this ability can only take them so far.
After all, what can one achieve with such knowledge if they do not possess the strength?
But... for leaders like Ciel and the Founding Leviathan, such a Pathway is most optimal. It could perhaps be the greatest one in terms of ruling a people and scheming against others.
"I know nothing about your Harbinger Pathway, Javier... but sothing as special as that will not be without its cost. The ability to switch between multiple Pathways cannot be so easily attained."
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