Unsealing Emptiness

As Ozul had ordered, he didn’t want any alterations in the pattern while copying, so even with hundreds of people at work, it took them a while to get enough copies.

The main problem was that not every member of the Three-Eyed Strangers had taken strict secrecy oaths. Some of the oaths for outer members had a few loopholes, and as such these people couldn’t be trusted with the task, as per Ozul’s order.

As a result, the number of people who could be assigned to this ‘simple’ task was significantly reduced.

Nonetheless, the organization’s normal operations were completely turned upside down. Those who hadn’t taken the secrecy oaths were all inquisitive, but getting any information was difficult because all those charged with the work risked their lives if they ventured to say anything to anyone.

. . .

Ozul reached the manor and except for in their estate, he didn’t notice a single human in visible sight. Even the manor felt a little empty.

.....

Outside the manor, quite a few people had gathered. Raymond and Alver were both in the middle of the crowd.

Unsurprisingly to him, his presence went unnoticed even as he arrived near them.

A couple of minutes later, he heard a voice, “Nephew?”

Alver’s voice attracted the attention of others including Raymond who beamed with a smile, “Nephew! Haha! You are as quiet as ever.”

“What is all this?”

“Ah, this? Well, I just thought that it might be the time to really move out. Everything else is already shifted from these lands now. It wouldn’t do any good staying here any longer,” Alver explained, “...Oh! You might have not seen this before! Everything’s almost done, just wait a few moments.”

Ozul didn’t get why Alver had that excited and mysterious smile on his face. He could only guess that maybe he was excited to show him something new.

Just as he had said, it only took a few more minutes before their men had finished making sure that everything was in place.

“Do you want to do the honors, Nephew? You just have to pour enough Mana in this crystal,” Raymond pointed towards the white marble pedestal that had a giant red crystal fixed on top.

“I will pass.”

“Haha. It’s fine. Let me show you. Come closer, stand in this circle.”

The circle Raymond pointed towards was drawn on the ground below. He and Alver were standing within that circle along with a few other old men. Alver’s female guard also stood beside him.

He went inside the circle, not suspicious of their motives as he could feel their emotions.

As he did so, Raymond put his hand on the colorless crystal and began pouring his Mana into it.

“Anyone below Rank-9 would never be able to activate this formation,” remarked a few old men who were also witnessing this for the first time.

The crystal grew brighter by the second and Ozul noticed the never-ending row of symbols drawn on the ground around the whole manor also began to light up one by one. By this time, he already knew what they were about to do, so he observed the process very carefully.

Despite it being the daytime with no clouds, the light emanating from the symbols and the crystal grew to a blinding intensity.

Although he could not see it, he felt it when all the symbols around the manor had lit up.

Right then, the ground started to shake, mimicking the effects of an earthquake. Despite that, everyone remained calm as they continued to observe the crystal on the pedestal.

*Zzzkh!*

The sound blasted, making everyone take a step back.

But that single moment of distraction was all it took and those standing in the circle along with the whole manor was shifted to a place outside the Desolate Border, hundreds of miles away.

The sudden change in the scenery brought a few surprised gasps from everyone except Ozul, Raymond, and Alver. The latter two smirked in unison as the formation had worked without any trouble.

The crystal under Raymond’s palm was cracked and it was almost a wonder how that pedestal remained standing, judging from its appearance.

All the symbols drawn on the ground had smoke rising from them; it was apparent that the formation wasn’t useful anymore.

Ozul stepped out from the circle and noticed quite a few people outside the manor as well.

Noticing his prying gaze at the people outside the circle, Raymond spoke, “The formation had to be set up on both sites. These men were already here.”

Ozul neither nodded and nor made it seem like he heard his voice as he made his way towards them as the other men scattered away to make sure everything was successfully transported.

“Ghaha! I almost forgot, you never visit us if it’s not anything important. So...? What’s the matter? Do we need to head inside?”

Instead of replying, Ozul made his way inside the manor. That was enough of an answer for the brothers who followed right behind him without minding his usual behavior.

In the garden, there were already three chairs. Ozul took one of them followed by Alver and Raymond. Alver’s guard remained at the entrance of the garden.

“So...?”

Instantly as Alver muttered, a small amount of Ball of Purity exuded out of Ozul’s body and made the same pattern he had shown the organization on the table.

“I want to find any clues about this pattern. Any clue, from anywhere... As long as it’s accurate. Also, I would appreciate it if there aren’t any rumors about a strange pattern spreading among the masses.”

Noticing the seriousness in his tone, Alver made a motion with his hand and the lady guard on the entrance immediately came inside.

Ozul figured that she was trustworthy enough for him to call her inside.

“Make a copy of this,” right after his words, the guard took out a paper and a pen from her Spatial Ring and instantly drew a copy of the pattern.

Ozul internally approved of her speed and the precision of the drawing before retracting the Ball of Purity.

Right after that, Alver stood up from his chair and walked out of the garden with the female guard. Following this, Raymond turned towards Ozul, “Of course we will not turn down this simple request, but Nephew... You should know that your organization is a lot more resourceful than you might think.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust my organization. I just wanted as much man power as I could get on this.”

His reply made Raymond raise his thoughts on the importance of the matter.

A few minutes passed before Alver came back with large strides.

“Nephew... I just confirmed it with the people who were keeping an eye on all activity of the Church. Did you know that both of them, at one point, were searching for something similar?”

Confirming that there was no one eavesdropping, Ozul replied in a low voice, “Yes. It’s about my limbs.”

The brother’s eyes sharpened at his reply. No matter how they thought about it, there was something strange about their nephew for the Church of Light to have been so interested in his limbs.

Alas, they knew that asking their nephew would bear no fruit. But seeing Ozul’s confidence in everything that he did put their hearts at ease. They felt that he knew what he was doing and wouldn’t have any problem even without their help.

Alver eyed Raymond before he again walked out of the garden. The seriousness of the matter was raised by another notch once they learned that it directly concerned the well-being of their nephew.

“I will immediately inform you if we find anything,” Raymond reassured.

Ozul felt a little gratified by how these two ‘uncles’ of his always tried their best to provide whatever they could to him and never once asked anything in return.

“He hasn’t returned yet?”

“He?... Oh! Father? We haven’t heard from him since the time he left. Hopefully, he will be back soon.”

This made Ozul raise his brows. Kure was a Rank-10 Mage and he should have long returned by now. He had left to confirm Ozul’s words about Darcia and the Sovereign’s death.

It made him a little uneasy, but he didn’t think much about it since he had confirmed the Sovereign’s Mana dispersing when she was buried under that lava.

“Haha! Don’t you worry about father. He has always been like that. Maybe he just liked the scenery and decided to stay there for a little while.”

“Hm.”

Ozul nodded without saying anything. He wasn’t worried, but as he owed so much to Alver and Raymond, he would rather not see any misfortune befall on them.

Even though he didn’t want to be tied down to this family, he now felt an obligation to return their favor in whatever way they needed.

“I will take my leave then,” with that, Ozul flew away.

He disappeared from Raymond’s sight in the blink of an eye, making him doubt whether their nephew had already surpassed them in strength.

“Heh... how could that be,” Raymond shook his head while chuckling. He didn’t think it was even humanly possible to surpass Rank-9 in that little time.

*Fwoosh!*

“Huh?-”

“I don’t know where we are. Give me a map.”

Ozul was back in front of Raymond, staring at him with a stone face.