Alissa mengusir utusan itu, lalu berlutut dalam posa piagam, siap berdoa. Dia memakai mahkota yang bertengahkan berlian besar bernama Kohinoor. Sejarah berlian itu dipenuhi darah, yang cocok mengingat kini ia digunakan untuk menghubungkan Dewi Permata guna membawa kabar perang.
Dia melaksanakan upacara yang rumit dan megah, setelahnya merasakan tatapan dewa-nnya menempel padanya.
"Yang Mulia, aku bertindak sesuai kehendakmu. Aku menemukan cara mengimpor berlian bermutu tertinggi dari realm lain — dengan diam-diam. Namun pengimpor itu punya permintaan."
"Permintaan?" suara yang cukup halus, santai, mengulang. "Jika orang itu bisa menyediakan berlian sesuai kebutuhan kami dari realm lain, dan membawanya ke sini tanpa menarik perhatian, maka aku tidak keberatan memenuhi permintaannya."
"Mereka meminta bantuan dalam perang yang mereka hadapi."
"Baiklah," jawab Adamas, dewi permata, dengan nada bosan. "Kirimkan legiun Swarovski."
"Aku akan melakukannya segera. Sanguis Pluvia tidak akan tahu apa-"
"Tunggu sebentar," tiba-tiba Adamas berkata, muncul di depan Alissa sebagai proyeksi. "Apakah kau bilang Sanguis Pluvia? Orang yang meminta bantuan kami bertarung melawan mereka?"
"Dari yang kupahami, dialah yang merancang seluruh pertarungan ini," jawab Alissa, bingung. Tentu dia tidak tahu apa yang terjadi di luar angkasa, tapi Adamas tahu.
"Biarkan. Aku akan urus ini sendiri. Tak perlu mengirim orang lain," kata Adamas, proyeksinya menghilang.
Dewa-dewa realm Asal semuanya, sampai tingkat tertentu, ditekan oleh Henali. Mereka makhluk lokal terkuat di realm ini, jadi Henali memastikan mereka tetap di bawah kendali.
Itu alasan Adamas dan dewa-dewa lain tidak ikut campur dalam konflik Henali kebanyakan waktu. Tapi berbeda dengan biasanya, kali ini dewa-dewa sebenarnya ingin campur tangan, hanya tidak punya alasan yang layak.
Sekarang Adamas punya alasan yang sah untuk campur tangan. Agak tidak sopan menyerang sesama dewa, tapi Sekhmet adalah anggota terbuang dari realm ini, jadi kalau Adamas mengambil sedikit keilahan miliknya dan menelanhkannya, seharusnya tidak jadi masalah, kan?
Kembali di Mirage, Lex menyaksikan bidang itu meluas melebihi kemampuannya merasakan. Banyak planet digeser ke Mirage, dan awalnya Lex pikir semua planet tempat pertarungan berlangsung dipindahkan ke sini. Tapi tak lama dia terbukti salah. Bukan semua planet yang mengalami perang yang dikirim ke sini, melainkan planet yang mengandung senjata atau jebakan yang bisa merusak realm Asal.
Saat satu planet meledak, dan planet lain melebur jadi genangan asam yang lalu hujan turun ke semua yang bertarung, pola itu jadi jelas.
Namun ketidakmasukakalan situasinya adalah pertarungan tidak berhenti. Jorlam muncul di Mirage, diikuti oleh pasukan naga, dan mereka terus bertarung. Hanya naga emas yang tidak ada.
Fahad dan Noor berjaga di sekitar Lex dan Lilith, jauh lebih waspada dari saat di luar.
"Sekarang Dao Lord telah bergerak, segala sesuatunya mungkin terjadi, dan bahaya melonjak drastis," kata Fahad dengan serius. "Kalau kau punya kesempatan mundur ke Inn, jangan lewatkan. Sampai saat itu aku akan coba menjagamu aman. Apa pun bisa terjadi di dalam Mirage."
"Tempat ini sebenarnya apa?" tanya Lex. Dia pernah mendengar realm mayor dan minor, ruang saku, dan lain-lain. Tapi belum pernah mendengar Mirage. Yang luar biasa, hukum di sini sama kokoh dan matangnya dengan realm Asal, tapi rasanya tidak persis sama.
"Mirage… adalah lamunan siang seorang Dao Lord. Kita benar-benar berada di dalam pikiran seorang Dao Lord, dan tidak ada cara tahu milik siapa."
Lex tercengang.
"Kita… di dalam pikiran Dao Lord? Berarti semua ini benar-benar terjadi, atau kita hanya menyaksikan hasil pemikiran mereka?"
Fahad mengangkat bahu.
"Kau tanya padaku, tapi siapa yang bisa kutanya? Satu-satunya alasan kita tahu tentang Mirage adalah karena itu protokol. Bahkan sebagai Henali, kita tidak layak belajar tentang Dao Lord."
Lex hendak bertanya lagi, tapi tiba-tiba dia memperhatikan sesuatu. Beberapa pejuang baru yang diteleportasi ke Mirage memiliki energi ilahi. Saat dia fokus, dia melihat mereka memakai perhiasan mencolok dan terang.
Itu berarti Dewa, atau setidaknya pengikut Dewa, telah bertindak, yang bagus. Energi ilahi salah satu paling sulit dilawan.
Belum selesai pikiran itu, dia memperhatikan hal lain. Beberapa orang menggunakan energi Profane!
Sebelumnya Lex tidak tahu apa itu jadi tidak pernah perhatikan. Tapi sekarang dia bisa merasakannya.
Saat Lex fokus, dia menemukan segelintir pejuang di planet jauh, mengontrol serangga yang memakan planet itu sendiri.
"Aku akan gunakan kesempatan ini untuk mengasah pedangku," kata Lex, dan Naraka bergetar di tangannya karena kegembiraan.
"Yakin, Lex?" tanya Fahad. "Ini bukan pertarungan terorganisir atau terkendali. Serangan Jorlam acak bisa memusnahkanmu, bahkan kalau kau melawan musuh setaraf."
"Siapa yang mau melawan orang setaraf? Itu membosankan," jawab Lex. "Lebih penting, aku yakin. Bukan namanya mengasah kalau di lingkungan aman. Jangan khawatir, aku akan jaga diri sendiri. Aku sangat sayang pada hidupmu."
Meski Lex bilang begitu, Fahad dan Noor tetap mengikutinya, meski mereka menarik perlindungan mereka. Sebagai pewaris Dao Lord, tidak mungkin mereka biarkan dia tanpa perlindungan. Lex tidak peduli.
Saat kemudian, dia berteleportasi ke planet dengan Profanites.
Alissa dismissed the messenger, and then got on her knees in a pious pose, ready to pray. She put on a crown which had a massive diamond known as the Kohinoor as its centerpiece. The history of that diamond was one filled with blood, which was apt considering that it was now being used to connect to the Deity of diamonds to bring news of war.
She performed a complicated and elaborate ceremony, after which she felt the gaze of her deity fall on her.
"Your majesty, I have acted according to your will. I have found a means to import the highest quality diamonds from other realms - discreetly. Yet the importer has a request."
"A request?" a rather smooth, relaxed voice repeated. "If this person can procure diamonds according to our requirements from other realms, and bring them to us without attracting attention, then I do not mind catering to their requests."
"They have requested aid in a war they are fighting."
"That's fine," replied Adamas, the deity of diamonds, sounding bored. "Send the Swarovski legion."
"I will do it immediately. The Sanguis Pluvia will not know what-"
"Wait a minute," Adamas suddenly said, appearing in front of Alissa as a projection. "Did you say Sanguis Pluvia? The one requesting our aid is fighting against them?"
"From what I understand, he is the one who orchestrated the whole fight," Alissa answered, feeling confused. She, of course, had no idea what was happening out in space, but Adamas did.
"Never mind. I will deal with this one personally. No need to send anyone else," Adamas said, his projection disappearing.
The deities of the Origin realm were all, to a degree, suppressed by the Henali. They were the most powerful local beings within this realm, and so the Henali made sure they stayed well within their control.
That was the reason why Adamas, and the other deities did not participate in the conflicts of the Henali most of the time. But compared to other times, this time the deities actually wanted in, but had no proper justification to enter.
Now though, Adamas had proper justification for interfering. It was slightly impolite to turn on one another, but Sekhmet was a banished member of the realm, so if Adamas took a little bit of her divinity and ate it up, it shouldn't matter, right?
Back in the Mirage, Lex watched as the plane extended beyond his ability to sense. Countless planets had been shifted to the Mirage, and at first Lex thought that all the planets where a fight was taking place were being shifted here. But soon, he was proven wrong. It was not that all planets there were experiencing a war that were being sent here, but the planets that contained weapons or traps that could harm the Origin realm.
When one such planet blew up, and another melted into a pool of acidic substance that then began raining down on all who were fighting, the pattern became a little obvious.
Yet the absurdity of the situation was that the fight was not stopping. The Jorlam appeared within the Mirage, followed by the army of dragons, and they continued to fight. Only the golden dragon was absent.
Fahad and Noor stood guard around Lex and Lilith, much more cautious than they had been outside.
"Now that the Dao Lords have made a move, anything is possible, and the danger has skyrocketed," Fahad said solemnly. "If you have the chance to retreat to the Inn, don't miss it. Until then I will try to keep you safe. Anything can happen inside a Mirage."
"What exactly is this place?" Lex asked. He'd heard of major and minor realms, not to mention pocket spaces and what else. But he'd never heard of a Mirage. What was incredible was that the laws here were just as sturdy and mature as the Origin realm, but they didn't feel exactly the same.
"A Mirage… is a Dao Lord's day dream. We are literally inside the thoughts of a Dao Lord, and there's no way to even know whose it is."
Lex was stunned.
"We're… inside a Dao Lord's thoughts? Does that mean all of this is actually happening, or are we just seeing the results of their thoughts play out?"
Fahad shrugged.
"You're asking me, but who can I ask? The only reason we even know anything about Mirage is because it's protocol to know. Even as Henali ourselves, we are not qualified to learn about Dao Lords."
Lex was about to ask more questions, but he suddenly noticed something. Some of the new fighters who were being teleported into the Mirage had divine energy. When he focused on them, he noticed them wearing bright and prominent jewelry.
That meant that the Deity, or at least the Deity's followers had taken actions, which was good. Divine energy was one of the most difficult to counter.
No sooner had this thought occurred to him that he noticed something else. Some people were using Profane energy!
Previously, Lex did not know what it was so he never noticed. But now he could sense it.
When Lex focused, he found a small group of warriors on a distant planet, controlling the insects that were devouring the planet itself.
"I'm going to take this opportunity to hone my blade," Lex said, and Naraka trembled in his hands out of excitement.
"Are you sure, Lex?" Fahad asked. "This is not exactly an organized or controlled fight. A random Jorlam attack could wipe you out, even if you're fighting enemies on your own level."
"What wants to fight people on their own level? That sounds boring," Lex responded. "More importantly, I'm sure. It can't be called honing if I'm in a safe environment. Don't worry, I'll keep myself safe. I'm very attached to my life."
Even though Lex said that, Fahad and Noor followed him, even if they retracted their protection. As an heir to a Dao Lord, there was just no way they could allow him to go unprotected. Lex didn't care.
A moment later, he teleported to the planet with Profanites.
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