"Astra Ashfall, the younger brother of the Phoenix Emperor. It is said that he used to have great relations with his brother; even when the Phoenix Emperor got crowned, Astra supported him without any complaints," Aurelius spoke softly as he pondered the turn this conflict had taken shape into.
His voice carried a remembrance as if he had studied this event closely, and why not? His own dynamics with his brother were a major concern for him.
"Everything was going good until he killed his nephew with his own hands. Of course the prince was born again, but the memories and training that prince had achieved in those countless years had gone to waste after his rebirth; he had become an illiterate, untrained prince with only basic instincts of his own species.
"The prince lost a life and was left with only 8 more now, which was one less chance to revive. In a fit of rage, the emperor did not kill him outright but set up a decree that he would be imprisoned forever in the cellars of the Ashfall Empire."
Aurelius spoke; he knew how much the highborn phoenixes valued their reserved lives. And like every major racial trait, their own had a downside too; the phoenix, who was revived by the divine embryo, lost all the memories of its previous vessel.
Nature never let a single race be invincible; that is why the rebirth was also as much of a curse as it was a blessing. The person would be revived at the exact same age, but the brain would reset, making the individual lose all manners, spells, techniques, and experience that had sharpened that individual into who he was.
Aurelius continued.
"On top of that, the emperor invoked the trial of fire on Astra, a custom in imperial phoenix texts. If a family member commits a grave crime, they are supposed to go through a trial of fire every five years. If they lose in the trial, one life gets deducted, and if they win, they get to keep that life until the next trial."
It was not just a trial but a cycle of suffering designed to test both strength and will repeatedly over time.
Yue gulped as she listened to the backstory of Astra; she knew what the trial by fire was, and it was a horrible thing one could go through. The implications were clear to her, and none of them pointed toward a stable or predictable outcome.
"So, is there a chance that this Astra lost a life and, with that, all his memories as a part of the Ashfall family, and now he ended up with the cult somehow?" Yue asked.
"These filthy swines will answer that soon," Aurelius spoke, pointing at the elders hurled up together.
"Even if he lost his memories, which most of the pheonixes do after rebirth, he should still be living in the cellars of the Ashfall Empire and not running loose." Andrea spoke while looking at the others in the room.
A brief silence spread through the whole room before Aurelius nodded a bit and assured Andrea, "After I hang these cultists at the center of the imperial capital and declare the destruction of the Clayman cult to the whole world, I will personally visit the Ashfall Empire and talk to the emperor regarding the case of Astra," he said, looking at the still-leaking piece of flesh on the floor.
His fingers slightly rubbed on the blood in his hands. He had calmed down now, and his heart was numb and relaxed at the same time; there was no happiness of victory.
The absence of satisfaction made the victory feel incomplete, as if something essential had slipped away. From the start he had been itching to kill Agrath with his own bare hands; he wanted to inflict pain on him and make him regret ever messing with Aurelius.
"You ought to take care of all the subsidiaries and branches of this cult across the whole continent." William turned and looked at him.
Among the flames still burning in the background, he saw the rest of the hounds coming back from their search without any clue.
The returning hounds confirmed it silently: they had not found the unknown target, and the order had been a waste the moment the information about Agrath’s death was spilled out.
Aurelius just nodded with a serious expression while looking at the disguised William in front of him. "Thank you for your assistance, Lord Indigo."
William nodded silently before commenting, "Take care of your brother as well; it does not take a big head to understand what has been his intent and alignment."
He was hinting at collusion with cults; he wanted Aurelius to swallow the hard pill and stop giving Daniel the benefit of doubt.
"Don’t let your own blood become the reason others who look up to you spill blood in return for their loyalty."
"An emperor is not crowned because he has special blood; he is crowned because his blood carries a promise to the land." The blue raven spoke with a straight tone, redefining the meaning of authority in Aurelius’s mind.
Aurelius looked down a bit before nodding lightly.
The blue raven gave everyone one last look and waved silent goodbyes before slowly walking towards the exit of the room.
"Wait!"
Before he could leave, he was stopped by Yue; her tone was still unsure and unsatisfied, as an unaddressed curiosity still lingered in her mind. Her hesitation was not doubt but a need for understanding.
"I know you won’t tell us about your organization’s purpose, but you can at least tell us about yourself, your race, your past, and what your own motivation is behind serving such an organization," she asked.
Blue Raven looked back lightly; his frame then turned towards Yue. "The organization is a single body; we ravens are just the limbs of that body, while our lord is the mind. I am a hand devoted to serving him. If you have any questions about me, ask the lord, the mind."
"When will we meet your lord??" Yue asked. The question came out almost instinctively.
A chuckle escaped Blue Raven’s mouth. "When the flames of evil are too hard to bear for us, the lord will descend." He spoke before turning to leave the room.
"Is he a god??" Yue asked, hearing the blue raven talk about descent; only gods had descended on this continent ever.
Hearty laughter escaped Blue Raven’s mouth; he shook his head. "No, he is just a mortal with an immortal thirst for something beyond anyone will ever be able to grasp," he spoke before leaving the room; his laughs echoed even after he left.
The crackling of fire didn’t stop the silence among the people in the room from feeling any less intense about his words.
"A mortal," Yue murmured silently; the word did not settle easily in her mind.
"I don’t believe him," Aurelius spoke before turning and returning back to his next steps.
Andrea, meanwhile, turned to look at the fazed-out Yue.
She did not reply; she just sighed and held Yue’s shoulders tightly before patting them lightly and leaving her behind to oversee Aurelius’s work.
But suddenly she turned around and looked at Yue’s back. "Yue," she called out.
"Yes," Yue replied without turning back; her gaze still remained on the door.
"Later, I want your help in divining Tammy’s disciple for his safety," she said. The request carried urgency, though it was spoken calmly.
Yue turned slowly and nodded absentmindedly while her thoughts remained fixed on those words the blue raven had just left her with to decipher.