章 37: Looming Prophecy pt.1
It was morning and Marina found herself in front of the closed door of the office, while Lyceum's voice warmly invited her to come in. She had woken up early, hoping to be the first to arrive, so as to convince the man to reduce the likely punishments of Cragar's children.
"With permission," she said.
Marina crossed the threshold of the office. Dalia and Shirei were sitting in the armchairs. Mr. D'Agostini was behind the desk, while Aena watched from the window, probably checking the reconstructions of Ognia's house, according to Marina's deductions.
"I'm afraid you'll have to stand and listen until a demigod brings a chair," Lyceum said.
Marina smiled, "Ah... no problem!"
Dalia glared at Shirei, who stood up shortly after.
"You can sit at my place," he said, pointing to the chair.
Ien's daughter shook her head, "Thank you very much, but there's no need, Hollow. Really!"
"Yesterday you were in the infirmary, better to be careful with your recovery," he added.
"Yeah..." Marina involuntarily confirmed.
Mr. D'Agostini pointed to the chair, "The boy is right, Marina. You should sit down."
"All right...!"
Aena turned to look at them, "We don't have time for theater."
"I apologize, divine Aena, that was not my intention," Marina replied.
"My words are not directed at you," Aena said, moving her gaze to the two brothers, "Tell me everything that happened."
Shirei closed his eyes, seeming reluctant to speak. Before the Goddess could get further angry, Marina decided to speak up.
"I gave a practical lesson on the children of the six major deities and asked the two of them to kindly lend me a hand."
"Continue."
"Dalia demonstrated the powers of Cragar's children and Shirei acted as a guinea pig", Marina explained, miming the quotation marks with her fingers, "It seems that we underestimated the consequences of that demonstration..."
Ien's daughter looked down and stopped speaking.
Dalia leaned forward with her eyes closed, "It's all my fault, I ask for forgiveness!"
"Dalia..."
Marina raised her blue irises towards the divine Aena, whose emotions were still hidden by the mask covering her face. The goddess placed a hand on her back and remained silent for a few seconds.
"Dalia Arcesio," Aena murmured suddenly, "Go on. What happened next?"
A strange sensation spread through the room. Marina felt a veiled hand covering her mouth, as if someone was holding her heart in their palm. She didn't feel any ill effects, but that simple knowledge was scaring her to death. This was what it felt like to become a victim of Aena's powers, the one who could end up breaking other people's hearts with love.
In the literal sense of the word.
Dalia, Shirei and Lyceum must also have felt the grip of the goddess. Marina saw the park rector widen his eyes and gasp silently. Dalia was still bent over, trying to find the courage to open her mouth.
"Divine Aena, perhaps-" Lyceum tried to speak, but the Goddess silenced him with a look.
"I-I," Cragar's daughter coughed lightly, "I-I recklessly used my powers on my brother. I was immature, childish, and my classmates were nothing but victims of this."
The little girl's eyes began to water, soon some salty tears dripped down to wet the carpet.
"Shirei was distracted and I made him lose control. My brother is always calm and composed, I wanted to know his angry side."
"Continue, what happened?"
The tension in the air increased.
"Shirei changed, he seemed to be a different person. We tried to stop him, but he summoned a strange creature and ran away with the other boy."
Marina shifted her gaze to Aena, who seemed to be rather dissatisfied, "I want the details, describe the creature to me."
"It was a 'tenebrae'," Shirei finally replied.
Everyone present turned towards him. Marina wasn't happy with the situation they had gotten themselves into but her unbearable desire to know was making her jump for joy. He would finally spill the beans.
The demigoddess just couldn't contain herself. She had never read or heard of such a creature.
Before she knew it, she said out loud, "And what is that?"
"A being of pure darkness, Cragar calls it that," the boy glanced at his ring, "I know they have had other names over the years, but I call them simple shadows."
Marina moved her head from Shirei to Aena, the goddess' lower lip was trembling almost frantically.
"He told me that I am the only one who can create and control them, this is my true power," said Cragar's son finally.
"So that angel you summoned was a tenebrae?"
Shirei nodded, "I assume so, however I cannot describe or recall it. Until now, I've never seen one like it."
"And what checks? How does this power work? You generate or ev-"
"Quiet."
Aena's furious voice immediately silenced the girl and made Dalia double over. The little girl was crying loudly and had covered her ears with her hands.
Marina closed her eyes, scared by the goddess of love.
Aena walked slowly until she was almost outside. Her hands were clasped together, but it was clear that her fingers were shaking.
"Sons of Cragar, it is time to speak of the consequences of your actions."
Lyceum quickly interjected: "Are you sure about this? The boy was considered a hero for standing up to the son of Tefine, the other demigods view him with 'respect'."
Aena took a deep breath, "The demigods in class fought with the tenebrae, including you. I'm not going to let it go without the necessary precautions."
"S-he's right!" Dalia replied with a spasm, "I will accept any punishment!"
Marina was devastated to see her reduced to that state. Her best friend had often told her about the harsh life her adoptive parents had condemned her to, how her father was violent towards her and her mother. Ien's daughter had always shown disapproval towards those gestures, but Dalia had justified her father by saying that those were different times. The way the little girl paled in front of an authority figure made a knot tighten in Ien's daughter's stomach.
"Curfew at 10 p.m., every day. You will have to be monitored in your training by Marina. You will be forbidden to leave the Lilies Park."
Aena said those rules as if she were checking off a shopping list, wanting to get rid of Cragar's daughter as quickly as possible.
"If you break these rules, I will find out and you will end up no longer having a place in the park. That's all, you're dismissed."
Dalia nodded and stood up to take another bow, but the goddess of love dismissed her with a wave of her hand. The little girl glanced at the two demigods before heading towards the door.
"Until we meet again..."
Marina secretly raised her hand to greet her and smiled sweetly. Cragar's daughter wiped her tears and left the room, closing the door behind her.
"As for you..." the goddess said to Shirei, "The consequences will not be so simple."
クリエイターの想い 
Mavros_Laufbach
Mavros_Laufbach Tenebrae: Characterized by black skin or concealed by dark armor, these ethereal entities emerge from the darkness itself. Tangible and capable of attacking enemies, shadows retain their own consciousness, though they always obey the orders of their summoner. They reside in the Interworld and manifest in the mortal world only after being summoned. When a shadow is wounded or destroyed, it can be healed, but the healing time varies from one shadow to another and inflicts physical pain on the summoner, thereby imposing a penalty on the user of this dark power.
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