Hal indeed had no interest in the Nexus stone and even if he ever wanted to see it found or used, it was only out of curiosity to see how effective or useful it could possibly be with him already having his influence spreading with his Devil seed.
He was willing to bet that the influence of the Nexus stone was in no way greater than that of his Devil seed but he also wondered if the wielder of the Nexus stone could discover what he was doing with his Devil seed.
Would the Nexus stone grant them an amazing sensory advantage and sensory attachment to the landmass that was the Haron continent and reveal to them that he had his Seed planted and was already spreading his Devilish influence.
He was curious...
While he did not look like it, Hal was still very much invested in this search of Tanya's.
Anyway, Tanya believed him when he said he had no interest in the Nexus stone and she looked down for a brief second which was enough for Hal to take a few steps away from her as he walked towards the office door.
As he passed Lena, he reached out to her and stroked her cheek... While she did her best to remain calm and not give away how much his touch affected her, it was still quite evident to Hal who chuckled.
Hal had his hand on the doorknob when Tanya finally raised her head,
"Your pay..." she began but Hal shook his head,
"No need," he said.
He had no need for her blue gems or the merit points and what he did want and had his eyes on, he was sure would be his eventually... only a matter of time.
Once he was out of the office, Tanya retrieved the orb from her spatial ring and she slotted in the newly acquired pieces that clicked where they should and gave off a mild green glow.
Just a few more pieces and it would be complete.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtIf all went well, then by the time she was out of the monument of Ordinances, she would not only have an Abstract Ordinance but would also be receiving the last few pieces that were being retrieved right at that moment.
Alas, the closer she got to getting the orb complete, the closer she felt like the deadline of her choice (between Hal and her rule as Empress) was getting.
She sighed as she felt warmth emanating from the spot where Hal kissed her on her cheek.
She was soon joined by Lena who said nothing as she knew her Princess did not need a conversation at the moment but instead would be satisfied with her(Lena) just being there for her.
...
Two days later, the opening of the monument was at hand, and everyone interested in receiving an ordinance had already made their way to Gelread valley which was a stretch of dead land separating the border of the Haron/Human continent from that of the Dystopian continent.
Right there in the middle of Gelread valley was the monument of Ordinances.
Large at the base and narrowing the taller the monument got until it tapered at the end.
The monument was bright white and beautiful with yet a simple look to it while also having a lot of Runes etched all over its surface.
The runes etched on the surface were similar to those used in runemastering and yet looked and felt alien all the same with no runemaster present being able to accurately read what they said or even reproduce what their effects probably were with their Astral energy.
That said, as Hal eyed the runes, he occasionally felt like he could read them... Noting that they were a truer version of Runes but not really understanding what that meant.
Even Grimoire couldn't help.
Gelread Valley was large and had been more than enough to contain the armies of both the Haron continent and the Dystopian continent during their many wars and yet, the Monument was so large that it covered the width of the Valley so that its edges (the edges on the monument) were touching on the borders of the Haron and Dystopian continents.
Making it so that no one, no Dystopian or Haronian, would even have to step on the Gelread valley ground to enter the monument.
From the sides of the monument spread a pale and see-through demarcation that spread all over the Valley to ensure that no one could cross the valley into the opposing Continent.
It was forcing peace upon the Nexus world for as long as the monument was present.
Not even Saints were capable of flying over the demarcation that very well-stretched upward past the height of the monument...
This was quite a necessary detail because while the monument was tall to match its large base (which narrowed the taller the monument got until it tapered at the end), it was not so tall that a cosmic saint could not fly to the top and even above it.
It was not really known what the extent of the demarcation height was but to be fair, not many were trying to get over it because that did not guarantee a successful invasion of the opposing continent.
Anyway, the demarcation was thorough and the peace was ensured/forced.
Of course, being a cynical person as he occasionally was, Hal doubted that the monument (which was very likely sentient) actually cared about the conflict between the two continents as it felt, to him at least, that the monument just wanted them to save the fighting and blood bath for when they were inside it.
After all, for all its demarcation, the inside still looked set to be the location of a battle royale.
Everyone interested in the monument was here... From Imperials to common folk strong enough and well-learned enough to know of the monument.
A few of those close to the very end of the mass of crowds occasionally looked over at the young man with Doxon blue eyes who was flocked by a mass of ladies that quite easily grabbed attention even though they were just minding their own businesses.
The young man was obviously Hal who was at the very back of the masses and the ladies with him were Melinda, Sassy, Rita, Marla, Amelia, Emily, Karmen, Olivia, Lillian, Valerie, Nicole, Vanya, and Jelena.
Basically, every one of his women who knew about Ordinances and wanted one was present and the names mentioned only referred to the ones actually close to where he was.
That said, for those who were closest to Hal, their attention was mostly on Marla who had herself wrapped tightly around Hal.
She could not care less that they were looking and was only excited to finally be able to touch Hal again.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmShe had spent the last year in Sapphire city planning the spreading of Hal's faith and as fulfilling as all that was, she just wanted to be with him again and have him treat her as cutely as he always did.
Hal had nothing against her tight hold on him and even patted and kissed her head occasionally while he eyed the large, white monument that he was feeling drawn to probably because of his connection to the Primordial principle of Order.
Eventually, as she held on to Hal, Marla began to feel a disapproving look at how clingy she was being to him and she was soon looking around for that disapproving look.
Her eyes soon fell on Valerie who had Indeed had the disproving look.
Normally, Marla would probably have let it go but most likely because Valerie was a new face, she did not feel like letting it go and she did not let it go,
"What are you looking at?" she asked with such an aggressive tone that she actually startled Valerie who was confused as to what she had done wrong.
"What?" Valerie asked and looked over at the other ladies who were trying hard not to show how funny they found the confused look on her face to be... Especially for the likes of Rita, Karmen, and Olivia who knew how Marla was.The source of this ᴄontent is (f)ir(e).nᴇt
Marla did not care about Valerie's confusion, which she felt was fake, as she quickly lay into her in as low a voice as she possibly could,
"Who do you think you are to turn your nose at me hugging my man? Do you know how long I have touched him last? Huh?
Don't you even dare look at me with those judgy eyes because if you piss me off, I'm gonna pull them out of your head."
Valerie staggered and looked once again at the other ladies with quite a few of them looking like they were finding it really hard to hold back laughter,
"What exactly did I do?" Valerie asked again, the question posed to the other ladies as well.
Marla narrowed her eyes and she still did not let go of Hal as she said,
"Are you deaf or something? I just said at you did... You looked at me"
"So what, I can't look at you?"
"No, you can't look at me..."