Chapter 192: Hail Before Storm (8)


    "Hmm..." ke calmly closed his eyes upon hearing the request from Shinto. "To tell you all that I know of the goals of the two sides? Well... That may be a difficult question to answer. Even for me."


    "...a difficult question to answer?" Shinto slightly raised his brow at the statement. "Am I not supposed to know about this?"


    "No, no. You''re well intent to know about such things," ke hurriedly shook his hand as he corrected himself from the misunderstanding. "It''s just that... Putting it into words may seem ratheroff? To say the least."


    "It may seem rather off?" Shinto mumbled to himself as he still couldn''t understand why the question was difficult. "What do you mean?"


    "To put it simplyDepending on what I say, you may take it differently," he coughed. "From the goals of the two sides to their intentions, it''s rather a difficult topic to exin about. But, no matter. If you wish to hear it from me then very well."


    Soon speaking out in a hushed voice that could no longer be heard at a distance, Shinto and ke began their conversation in regards to the ''goals'' of the two sides. Both seemingly different, yet appearing to be the two sides of the same coin.


    "Let''s begin with what you''re curious about most. The side of divinity," nodding his head, ke soon began his exnation. "I''m sure you know of what exactly they are, but... I''ll get to that matter first." he continued. "to start with, the beings of ''Divinity'' stems from the people of the heavens. The Judges of Good and Evil, the Messengers of Heaven, the Bringers of Justice and the Generals of Elysiumall of them are the ''Divinity'' who you''ve had the chance to speak to, or perhaps... ''The chance to hear from them''."


    "...people of the heavens," Shinto muttered out to himself as he was taken back by surprise at the fact that they were of otherworldly beingsangels and the like. Though perhaps he knew that they were outside of the spectrum which governs the mortal realmhearing it from ke himself had a different impact. "So that''s the side of Divinity, huh?"


    "Yes. That''s the side of Divinity. They are the people of the heavens," nodding his head, he soon sighed. "As for their goals... To put it in a simplistic wayAnything that befalls under the radar of Evil will be vanquished regardless of ethics. Likewise, anything that befalls under the radar of Good will be protected at all cost. The Divinity beings know nought but to follow anything else but that mindless concept."


    "To deal with good and evil as they see fit... I guess that would typically be the mutual understanding of all parties, huh?" Shinto nodded his head. "Then... That leaves me with a question. With Bareth likely being a beast judged as ''Great Evil'', howe I''ve never heard a thing from them? What does that make their goal?"


    "...that," ke uttered out with uncertainty. "The beings of Divinity are so and so. At times... Their goals are clear. However, at others, it is vague," he helplessly shook his head. "We of the Shadow side don''t necessarily contemte well with them. So... We''re mostly at each other''s throat when in the same room. Thus, the reasoning behind their decisions and sucheven I cannot bring to light."


    "I see. Then let''s go with the Shadow side now. What are the goals? From what I''ve heard from Kiara, she said it was just to serve the Shadow Diviner. Though... Is that really all there is to it?" Shinto questioned. "Ever since you''ve first arrived here, you''ve been sharing your knowledge with the rest of us, and well... With how there was certain information from a long time back, just what''s the involvement of the Shadow Diviner in all this?"


    "I''m sure Kiara has already told you that even the previous Master himself knew nought of the goals that he seeks," ke reasoned. "So, for me to provide a definite answer to help aid you in understanding behind his duties to that of a Shadow Diviner... I, unfortunately, am unable to help with that."


    "It''s fine, ke. For now... I''m just working towards understanding everything so far," Shinto reassured him. "The only thing I want to know is... Just where does the side of Shadow stand? If the Divinity wants justice, then what do you want?"


    "Hmm... Speaking on behalf of the Shadows..." ke reluctant;y spoke out. "our main goal is to just follow along the path of the Shadow Diviner. Whether it''d be a path of good or evil, we''ll see through it as we trust of his judgement."


    "..." Shinto kept quiet at his exnation. There was nothing new that was added to the table from what he had already known previously.


    "...however. That is on behalf of the overall goals of the Shadows. Or perhaps... What I should say more specifically is that those who actually follow the Shadow Diviner are the ones that fall under this category," he stated. "The beings of Shadow are from all sorts of different races. For me and my siblingswe''re of the Shade''s Race. For our reason to serve is but because we''re indebted to the Diviner."


    "Right... Kon and Kiara told me about that," he nodded his head. "...but, that reason only applies to the three of you. As for the others..."


    "I''m sure you''ve heard of the ''Purgatory Blood Queen of the Night'' who is a vampire, right?" ke continued. "The beings of Shadow is as I said, beings of different races. From the Shade''s, to Vampires, to Werewolves and to Draconians. Those of the dark races who serve under the Shadow Diviner will be made known to you as time passes. For now... Some has remained uncontactable over the past decades, but you''ll meet them soon enough."


    "I see. So, what you''re saying in regards to all this... Is that, unlike the Divinitythe goals of the Shadow differs from individual to individual?" Shinto tilted his head in question.


    "Yes. The goals are as vague as that of the Divinity for some. Even among our ranks, we don''t get along too easily," he shook his head helplessly. "But that isn''t of concern to you. So please do not worry."


    "Right... Then, myst question. Is there anything else for me to note?" he asked. "Like for example; What should I watch out for in the future?"


    "...what you should watch out for in the future?" ke raised his brow. "Hmm, if you must ask... Just stay safe whilst you fulfil your duties. That is all you need to know. Everything elsees with due time."


    "Everything else wille in due time, huh?" Shinto sighed as he rubbed his hands together, slightly warming them up. "...well, that''s it for now I guess. Thanks, ke," he smiled. "Now anyways... Shall we head nearer to the campfire? Being at a distance from it won''t get rid of this frostbite debuff, and I''m cold."


    "Of course, go on ahead first, I''ll be right behind you," ke nodded his head as he soon noted that Shinto had begun walking away from him. In the next moment, the man sighed solemnly, staring at Shinto''s back from behind whilst muttering out. "...the Shadow Diviner of the new generation, from what I''ve seen of you... You''re rather the same, huh?" he chuckled. "If you wish to understand Master''s goal... You''ll have to find out yourself. Though... Perhaps I should''ve also wished him good luck? Staying safe just won''t do..."


    Continuing to mutter to himself, ke shook his head as he rid of the thought. Soon after, he began walking over towards the small campfire built by the group. "Well, no matter... Those hardships are still a long way to go. The Shadow Diviner will have plenty of time to grow."


    ...


    <em><strong>Thuck thuck thuck...</strong></em>


    Certain footsteps resounded through the stone floors within the lit hallways of what seemed to be a castle, as a man that appeared to be youthful with short messy orange hair could be seen making his way through it whilst giving off an aura of holiness around him.


    "..." Continuing step by step down towards the end of the hall where a door had been in cethe man spoke out upon reaching to the entrance whilst knocking once. "Metatron. I''ve arrived at your summon."


    "...ah, Raphael? Pleasee in," a male''s voice protruded out from the other side. "There are some things we need to discuss on."


    With a nod, the manRaphael, opened the doors of the room and headed in. In the next moment, he was greeted by the sight of a man with longvish hair and a face that seemed to hold great diligence and honour whilst seemingly looking into a small orb on his desk.


    "Please, have a seat in front of me," Metatron gestured over to Raphael. "Would you like some tea? I''m sure you hadn''t had your afternoon tea break yet."


    "...Metatron, your holiness. Why did you summon me here all of a sudden?" Raphael tilted his head with a questioning demeanour whilst ignoring Metatron''s gesture. "You know that I''ve got my hands full with the recent emergence of all the monsters that have been sealed away. So, I''m busy as it is providing the necessary blessings for the people below the middle realm alongside Uriel. So... You calling me at a time like this is..."


    "Ah... So you would like straight to the point?" Metatron nodded his head. "Here I was hoping you''d finally take a temporary break from your duties with an excuse, but it is what it is. In any case, I presume you''ve heard of the Diviner appearing once again within the middle realm?"


    "...the Diviner," Raphael uttered out in thought. "Yes... I''ve heard the news from the recent rampage of the Blood Queen and some of our fellow generals. But what does that have to do with the summon? Is he not in his weakened state? He can''t possibly help us with either of three beasts that cause great destruction. Especially one such as Bareth."


    "Patience, Raphael, I''ll get to it soon," he nodded his head. "In regards to ''Bareth'', the beast of eternal winter that brings about a hail every step it walks..." he calmly spoke. "Did you know that the Diviner had some involvement with his awakening?"


    "...I''ve heard since one of my pupils borrowed my power," Raphael nodded his head. "But, his involvement was just attempting to stop the one who did it, no? At least, that''s the gist of the situation that I understood from."


    "Yes, yes. His involvement was just attempting to stop the one who did it," he replied to Raphael''s uncertainty. "So, for the past hour during their fight, I had been attempting to make contact with him through my personal channelsHowever, it is unfortunate that all attempts have been blocked."


    "...perhaps it''s the doing of the Shadows, the Blood Queen maybe?" Raphael answered. "But, that''s beside the matter. Please get to the point, Metatron. I''ve no time for your small talk. Just what do you want?


    "It''s simple. All I want you to do is to get into contact with the Diviner," he stated. "As his duties will soon start, I would like to establish a proper rtionship with him. As our first impression was rather... Offputting to say the least, I would hope to have one of my trusted pupils mend it."


    "...me?" Raphael raised his brow. "Your holiness... You know I''ve got my duties to do as well. Ignoring that, I do not have ess to the channels that are in line with the Diviner. So having me contact him is rather..."


    "Oh but you do," Metatron smiled. "You said that you gave permission for one of your pupils to use your power, yes?"


    "...yes. I did say that one of my pupil, the White Priest, had asked for my blessing for the sake of defeating the perpetrator, but..." As Raphael muttered out in uncertainty on where the conversation was goinghe was quickly interjected.


    "Then, you have all means to contact him," Metatron nodded his head. "Raphael, please get into contact with your pupil and request her to aid us."