Garden Of The Abyss

"So, are you going to tell us what this "next move" of ours is?"

Leaning against one of the many bookshelves of the tucked away library, Sirius asked as he ran his fingers through his sable locks.

The question was pointed at the sage, which by the silence of every other Outlander in the room—it was the question everybody had in mind.

"With the death of Lucas, and the absence of the two in Purgatory, we are left vulnerable. Even within the holds of the Hollow Foundation, there's no telling when the Argonauts will make their move once again."

Explaining this in a calm, methodical voice, the sage stood up, scanning her eyes across the room at each Outlander as she spoke. Even just hearing the name of their companion who had fallen brought a gloomy curtain over the room; both Sirius and Sora held regretful looks on their faces, clenching their fists.

"...Just spit it out already.."

Sirius interjected, keeping his gaze down as he looked down at his clenched, white-glove with a certain level of disdain in his magenta eyes.

For a moment, Beatrice simply looked at the man before temporarily closing her eyes without a smile--opening them again before continuing.

"To bridge this gap of power and vulnerability...I will be summoning forth another Outlander."

"...!"

This revelation brought the same reaction from every Outlander in the room--who looked at the ancient, platinum-haired woman with eyes harboring boundless shock and perplexion.

"The hell are you talking about…? You just want to up and replace Lucas--just like that?"

"Sirius, calm yourself--"

"I won't calm myself!"

Slamming his fist against the timber bookshelf behind him as it caused the entire chamber to tremble, he responded to Donatien in a yell that was pulled from his throat. Seeing that glint in the man's eyes, the glasses-wearing Outlander fell silent for a moment.

"...I don't disagree. Just what are we to you, Sage? Pawns just used to save Mastorn for you and discard when we're not useful to you anymore…?"

Keeping his calm, although, through a trembling voice, the vermillion-haired, bulky man spoke in alignment with the lightning-mage. Through the silence of most of the Outlanders, their neutrality could only be seen as some level of agreement--until Tristan decided to speak up this time.

"I hate to admit it, but she's got a point."

Scratching the back of his ear, he looked almost disinterested in the conversation as he spoke--but his words were enough to catch sharp glares from the two who were openly against this idea.

"...And that is?"

"That as we are, we're helpless if the Argonauts catch us with a real attack. Look what just three Argonauts--"

"Two."

Correcting Tristan's words, Charlotte interrupted him--clearly referring to the elven man standing at her side silently. Letting out a sigh, the silver-haired man corrected himself before continuing.

"Two, right. Still, that just makes it worse. Two Argonauts were enough to destroy our base and leave Fai and Donatien nearly dead. There's a lot more where they came from, and a lot more powerful too."

"I can handle them."

Sirius added in after silence followed Tristan's words--keeping his arms folded across his chest.

"Right. Maybe you can, maybe you can't. The thing is...our chances are a helluva lot better if we have another Outlander."

More silence befell the room as Tristan's words were undeniable. Finally, the muscular brawler who wore nothing more than what looked like a sports bra and biker shorts let out a disgruntled sigh before ruffling her own locks.

"Sorry, Sirius, but I hafta' agree with Tristy here."

"Same here. You should know by now just how badly the odds are stacked against us. We shouldn't let personal feelings lead to further death."

Agreeing with Brahmi, Natalia added in as well, fiddling with her crimson-painted fingernails without so much as raising her eyes.

"I don't really have a say in this one way or the other...but, I know how strong these Argonauts can be. I experienced that much first-hand."

Fai finally spoke up, looking at his hands which he can only remember being soaked in a mixture of his own blood and his opponent's.

Amidst the heated conversation, Noah, towering as he was, was lounged across one of the sofas present in the chamber, his long legs hanging off one end as he paid no mind to their squabbles.

"Whatever. Do what you need to do."

With a sigh, Sirius left the room without any further words; following him, the vermillion-haired man seemed a bit more reluctant to storm off, but he did so out of care for his friend.

"Well then, now that is settled."

"You call that settled?"

Donatien shook his head slightly at the words of the sage, who was just as ignorant as ever to human emotion.

After everyone got whatever words they had left out of their system, the patient sage finally continued on with her words.

"I need to exemplify the importance of this summoning; it is not the usual technique I use--it is much different from how I brought all of you here."

This was enough to at least catch the interest in the otherwise on edge Outlanders, who keenly watched her for more information.

Different how? Donatien thought.

"I'll be using the technique put into practice by the summoners of Lucrauv; I'm sure you are all aware of the Heavenly Kings and their power, no?"

"Mostly through hearsay, but yeah."

"Same here."

Both Donatien and Tristan confirmed their knowledge of this concept, being enough for the sage to continue forth. In that vast library, filled with tens of thousands of books, it seemed like the natural habitat of the wise, primordial woman.

"...It is a process in which a special candidate is specifically sought out from Earth, a special person with unique potential. When being brought here, this special summon will result in a much higher base."

"Wait, this sounds a bit too good to be true. Why the hell didn't you use that when you brought us here?"

Fai commented, taken aback by this information as he looked around to see if any of the others agreed--who were mainly focused on the sage herself.

"There are reasons why I opted to use the standard way, don't be mistaken. For one, the toll of mana is three times greater when performing this type of summoning--I would not have been able to summon twelve of you. Secondly, due to the natural talent of these types...they can tend to be unruly. That much is obvious with the Heavenly Kings; they're almost equal to the royal family themselves in Lucrauv."

Given these words, the hazel-haired Outlander stayed silent as the answer was found satisfactory. Watching the sage as she moved about, she suddenly gestured for the others to follow her--guiding them with a gesture of her pale, lithe finger.

"Come, I have already made preparations for this summoning."

Knowing this information was a surprise to their ears, she gave an almost smug smile as all followed except one: Noah remained resting on the sofa, only awakened by a swift, playful kick to the side from Fai.

"Come on, you big oaf."

"Alright, alright, I'm up."

Raising himself to his feet, the man with long, illustrious, blonde hair towered over his companion as he cracked his neck side-to-side.

With all of the Outlanders present in the library being ready, they followed the ever-enigmatic sage into a chamber locked behind a silver and black door placed at the back of the expansive, lavish corridor of books.

Tracing her finger along the surface of the metallic door, a gentle illumination traced itself into a spell-hieroglyph--resounding with a click that unlocked the door by the mysterious code used. Without any push, the door slowly opened itself, revealing a vast space behind itself.

"...Huh."

That was all that could leave Donatien's lips as he stepped into the chamber, which held a cold, stagnant air within its space.

The room was simple in its structure; an enormous box-shaped room made of enormous slates of metal. However, what existed unnaturally on the far-stretching walls made it a sight to behold. On each of these four walls, colossal, magical seals were drawn, emanating in their respective lights as the chamber was filled with a serene array of these lights.

"You weren't joking about making preparations."

Fai commented in awe as he turned in a circle while entering the magical space, letting out a whistle at the spectacle.

"No kidding."

Adding in, Tristan didn't seem to look around much as he kept his hands tucked into his gray trench coat.

"Are you doing this now? Right here?"

Standing beside the woman wearing a long, lavish dress of sable fabric, Donatien adjusted his glasses while looking down at the seal he stood on, studying its bright, azure form.

"Yes. I don't believe there is any reason to withhold summoning them--don't you agree?"

It was a loaded question, one that Donatien opted to stray away from with another question of his own, "…Do you know who the person you'll be bringing in?"

Any chit-chat going on halted as the others stopped to listen in—of course, this was the most vital thing to know about going into meeting a new comrade.

"Yes, in fact, I do. You see, these types of summonings—"Herrscher Manifestation"—hone in on those who are abnormal in your world. Those who stand out amongst millions, born with talents surpassing the majority—when brought into this world, this uniqueness is elevated."

"…Then who is this "unique" person, huh?"

As if a bit perturbed by the existence of this concept, Fai asked this with his arms folded over his chest.

Now standing in the center of the colossal, magical seal, the sage smiled with her calm, ancient eyes, "Kazuya Aibana."