YM778.TV Chapter 209: House of Light, Archbishop
Don\'t get him wrong, Cedric knew that this place was owned by the House of Light, it was obvious by the giant Lighthouse built within the territory. He just didn\'t know that this was their headquarters.
Edward was still flabbergasted by his speed and the fact that they were already here. Still, he forced himself to remain professional and led the Young Sage inside, lest the young man get bored and change his mind.
But just as he was about to open the doors to the building to give Cedric a tour, said doors opened before him, revealing an old man with a curved back wearing the same themed priest robes as Edward. The only difference is that this old man wears a sash around his neck, draping to the side of his robes and there\'s a huge insignia of the sun on the back of his robes.
"Archbishop!" Edward exclaimed before stepping forward and bowing deep towards the old man. "As per your request, I have located the Young Sage and brought...well, technically it was him who brought me here, but he\'s here now."
"So I\'ve heard." The old man\'s gentle voice sounded out. "You did well, Child. I\'ll take it from here, you may return to your usual duties."
"Understood." Edward bowed once more towards the old man and Cedric before leaving in a flash.
The old man wasn\'t alone. He was accompanied by two people. One ash-blond lady and a raven-haired man. Both politely and respectfully flanked him on the side, wearing serene expressions on their faces.
"Thank you for gracing our humble abode with your presence, Young Sage." The old man greeted Cedric with a polite tone and a slight bow, though not that obvious because of his curving back. "My name is Gabriel, an Archbishop of the House of Light. With me are my retainers, Annalise, and Richard. Come one, children, say hello to the Young Sage."
"Greetings, Young Sage." The Archbishop\'s retainers greeted him as well.
"I believe I\'m not worthy of the respect and politeness you\'re showing me...at least not yet, but I appreciate it nonetheless. I am...Derrek, this generation\'s Sage. The Sun Sage to be exact. Shall we take this conversation inside?"
Archbishop Gabriel smiled kindly before saying: "Indeed, we shall. Please follow me."
Gabriel led Cedric inside followed by Annalise and Richard.
The interior of the organization could simply be described as humble. It is made of materials that closely resemble what a normal household would use for their homes. It didn\'t look extravagant, it looked simple and homey, which most likely is the goal here, after all, they named the organization; The House of Light.
Speaking of which, Cedric could feel the abundance of the fake sunlight here. The interior of the building was illuminated well, but not to the point that it was blinding.
They arrived at the Archbishop\'s office located pretty deep into the building. Upon entering, Cedric was told to sit down as the Archbishop did so as well, his retainers on the other hand remained alert and standing on his side.
"Once again, I thank you for sparing us your time. If you don\'t mind, I\'ll use something to ensure our privacy, don\'t worry, it won\'t harm anybody." Gabriel said.
"Sure, I don\'t mind," Cedric replied.
The Archbishop then swept his hand at his table and a pulse of energy was released. It formed an invisible dome that covered the entire room. Cedric\'s eyes flashed as he immediately analyzed the energy signatures. Gabriel used a hidden formation installed on the table to isolate the sound, this is what he meant by ensuring their privacy.
Additionally, this formation also acts as a defense mechanism just in case an attack happens; which is very unlikely considering where they are.
"Annalise and Richard have sworn duties to us with Acala as a witness, they can be trusted," Gabriel added just so that Cedric wouldn\'t misunderstand.
"I can see that," Cedric replied, giving them a slight glance.
The sigil etched on their heart and brain wouldn\'t escape Cedric\'s eyes. In fact, that\'s the very first thing he noticed as soon as he laid eyes on them.
"Now that we\'re in a more secure space, pray to tell, what does this organization want from me? As far as I\'m aware, I haven\'t done anything worth mentioning yet." Cedric asked, deciding to go straight to the point.
"To put it simply, we want you to join us and become our Holy Son," Gabriel responded with the same energy as before. "I know what you\'re thinking, this is indeed very abrupt and confusing but we have reasons for doing it. Would be believe it if I said that our founder knew you even before you were born?"
Cedric\'s eyes glinted upon hearing those words. On normal days, he wouldn\'t be convinced but right now, he decided to keep an open mind about it.
"I don\'t understand...is this some kind of prophecy or something? Are those even real?"
"Prophecy sounds about right..." Gabriel smiled as he rested his aching back on his chair, "Our founder, he is an Oracle. I mean that that\'s the Class he got upon Awakening as a Superhuman. Additionally, he\'s also included in the first batch of Superhumans that Acala awakened to repel the demons."
Gabriel reached out on his desk drawer to pull out a folder. He then placed it on the table and pushed it towards Cedric.
"His name is Princeton Silencio, simply called the \'First Oracle\' by the first batch of Superhumans," Gabriel stated.
Cedric took the folder and began reading its contents.
"Our founder wasn\'t famous because he didn\'t possess overwhelming strength like the Ancient Heroes. He also didn\'t have impactful achievements or inventions like the Zodiac Saints."
"He was respected because he was responsible for predicting the dangers that Humanity will face. He was the one who proposed the idea of occupying this continent and using it as our final bastion, eventually, this decision led to the creation of Azure Terra. Our founder is also the one who divined the identities of the first generation of the Zodiac Saints."
"More importantly, it was also he who predicted that a Demon King would swallow the sun, ridding us of the light and hope for a better tomorrow. He understood the impact of this and thus, led to the creation of the House of Light."
Cedric was reading the information as Gabriel spoke of it. One query with Acala confirmed that everything he was saying, including the historical records detailed in this folder, was all correct.
Then, he got to the end of Princeton\'s biography and saw his final words.
"The starry-eyed child who endured seven painful years and bears the sigil of the sun will appear in the future. He is the Holy Son and he will lead Humanity towards our golden age. Until then, Humanity must endure. Keep the Lighthouses burning and hold on. One day, we will be free from the Demon Race\'s oppression."
Cedric felt shivers down his spine as he read these words. Once again, he asked the system if this was legit and it replied positively.
He was never one to believe in prophecy or anything of the like...Cedric was a man of the present and an unknown future, bolstered by his past. He never liked the idea of \'fate\' because it sounded unfair to him - even though the world works just like that.
That\'s until he got these eyes...
The fact that he could predict someone\'s next move just by simply looking at them, made him believe that maybe it wasn\'t as bad as he made it out to be. It has some merits at least. Additionally, everyone has a role to fulfill in the grand scheme of things. Somehow, it\'s comforting to know that you have a purpose, even though it\'s already pre-destined.
\'But isn\'t this a little too extreme?\' Cedric mused to himself.
The founder of the House of Light was among the very first batch of Superhumans. The things that Gabriel highlighted are only a few of the many things he did for Humanity.
Predicting Cedric\'s existence sounded so absurd that it\'s a little unbelievable.
"This should help..." Gabriel shook him out of his thoughts, handing him a palm-sized crystal ball. "...the founder also predicted your behaviors and your hesitance. This is something he left for you, he said that this should help you decide."
Cedric blinked as he accepted the crystal ball. He could feel a strange heat emanating out of it. As he focused on that, he suddenly felt his Sagely Totem - the 『Aspect of the Sun』, reacting to it.
He felt his consciousness being swept away by an irresistible force and found himself standing in front of a phantom who wore a small smile as he looked at him.
"Hello there, Young Sage...or should I say, Cedric Stormrider? That\'s your name, right?"