…not divine huh.
I guess that makes sense. Everyone has fight in their hearts, even if they're not sorcerers.
There has to be someone divine left on this island.
Ezra twisted and turned in his bed, but the low, unfamiliar buzzing outside his window kept him awake— or maybe it was the moon, shining with a brightness that rivaled the sun.
Omi…
Omi has to be divine. Most dynasty emperors are.
But he's just a prince.
"Hey, can't get any sleep?"
An unfamiliar voice.
Ezra's eyes snapped open— then widened.
A woman he had never seen before hung from the shadows of ceiling above him, as if gravity simply didn't apply to her.
He couldn't react. Couldn't make sense of it.
The one thing Ezra always chose to avoid.
They stared into each other's eyes.
But nothing.
"Purple? I don't know why you always cover them, they're pretty." She said, tilting her head.
"Who are you?"
"Rena," she replied.
She drew closer every second, yet for some reason Ezra wasn't on guard. He was stuck in thought, a realisation— this was the second person he ever made eye contact with and felt nothing. He braced himself for that moment.
"You seem capable," she said now at the end of his bed. "I been doing some ground work on this infestation and found something interesting."
It took a moment for Ezra to snap back into reality.
"You're one of the Hanazaki sorcerers?"
She chuckled briefly.
"Nope. I'm a SOL-watcher."
Ezra quickly realised who she was with context.
"I don't think spies are supposed to tell you that they're a spy." He said sheepishly.
She looked out the window, pointing towards a larger building within the estate. It lived among the angelic gardens and was woven with the same materials as the castle.
"I'm not the only one watching you, and I don't appreciate scavengers stalking my prey."
Ezra's face washed blank with his mouth hung open.
"I thought you were good at figuring things out?" She shifted the direction of her finger, this time pointed towards one of the fox statues sat beneath the castle.
"I think this conflict is more civil than supernatural." She added.
Ezra leaned over the side of the bed, grabbing his glasses and shirt. Finally some rest after a distortion raid and sword training on the same day— and dealing with Gia.
"Something to do with the war...?" He paused briefly. " wait— why are you telling me this anyway?"
She opened the window.
"Ciros a bore. I watched him for almost a year straight... He's as clean as they come."
She leapt through the window, gracefully landing I'm the floor below despite being more than thirty feet down. Ezra rushed to the window; only to see her looking up at him.
"So what you're saying I'm dirty?" He shouted out to her.
She brushed her finger against her lips; prompting him to lower his voice.
" I'm saying you're weird—Anyway come with me."
Ezra buttoned up his shirt and leapt down to her. Lately he'd found himself surrounded by people with sharp tongues, loaded with sarcasm— Pedro, Gia. Like he was a magnet for the genetically witty.
But this woman was different. Truly blunt ended; each word clean and precise, somehow cutting deeper.
The two of them kept in the night's silence towards the building Rena had pointed to. It was removed from other housing, laying in a garden courtyard. Even under the night sky the greenery shimmered emerald or jade.
They paused a few inches from the building.
"Wait here." She said as she sunk into the darkness.
Ezra sat watching, confused why he even followed this random person in the first place.
Whilst drowning in his thoughts he looked up to suddenly see the door, followed Rena's hand calling him over.
Book shelves. Files. Dusty cabinets. And a desk kindly decorated in silk by the local spider population. Nothing more than an average storage office.
"Takeo Hazanki, is the main advisor to this dynasty. All this paper work belongs to him."
Ezra stood patient and frustrated waiting for Rena to cut to the chase.
"He's recently been sending letters back and forth to several officials across the island." She said,
"What's that got to do with the distortions?"
Rena walked over to the desk, opening one of the draws and pulling out a record book.
Titled: Light and perception.
"The Hanazaki dynasty is famous for birthing one of the strongest divines to exist, the nine tale divine."
She flipped to a random page, recalling it effortlessly.
"However this divine isn't innate... It's born from ritual."
Ezra's face reflected his attempts to put together what she's saying. He scratched his back.
"Still trying to see how this links to the distortions."
This time she pulled a card from her pocket. The front cover featured a rainbow drawing the words 'happy birthday'. She opened the letter, shoving it into Ezra's face.
"Mr Takeo has been trying to learn this ritual— as well as how to find the reikin in the estate."
Ezra followed the ink across the card. Tracing every word with his fingers, mouthing the words as he went through.
"I can't read this language." He scratched his cheek.
She sighed.
" I've been intercepting Takeo's mail. He seems to be in cahoots with a group wishing to overthrow the prince, it seems Omi abandoned the nine tale ritual."
"So you think he is working with someone ash scorched, that can open distortions?" Ezra asked.
"Just a theory. It would explain the random distortions opening up around the barrier of the estate."
She started to leave the building, Ezra following shortly behind.
"There's a distortion that opens up north of the estate by the bank. It appeared three days in a row around this time." Rena whispered as they left the area.
***
They arrived at the river bank. It painted a reflection of the night sky and the pink leaves of the trees that guarded water. It looked too open for hiding. But the current moved fast. Fast enough to generate the sound of splashing through the flowing water.
However the water couldn't hide the sound of whimpers.
"You hear that?" Ezra looked around.
After a short search they found it.
Sat beneath the tree, eyes as wet as the soil by the bank.
A small girl.