The Oracle Paths

A moment later, Jake left Faye's secret vault with a satisfied and... sated smile. Crunch and Lord Phenix looked just as pleased and smug, the two clowns decked out in all kinds of flashy signs of wealth.

The cat was adorned with a heavy tiara encrusted with gemstones emitting a gentle energy boosting its wearer's Lumyst Aura. Its fluffy paws were also decked out in bracelets with various magical functionalities, its jewelry weight probably nearing its actual weight.

The turkey was no better, having managed to find and don a exquisite red-gold plated armor covering up to its beak. The only part of its body left exposed was the one it should have forever hidden: its wattle. The kind of saggy red skin reminiscent of withered testicles...

This armor could change dimensions to fit its wearer, suggesting it was originally intended for a more chivalrous mount, like a Titan of Featherfall's stature, for example.

Instead, it was Lord Phenix who had gotten his hands on it, for better or worse. Mostly worse...

As for Jake, while he at least had the decency not to flaunt all his new acquisitions in front of the woman he'd just robbed and the numb Archive Keeper accompanying them, he was undeniably the most shameless thief of the three.

Not wanting to risk a backlash in enemy territory, he refrained from using his bracelet's Space Storage or his own Inner Space, but it turned out that this annoying concern was actually extremely easy to solve.

Among the artifacts stored in Lady Faye's treasure room, there were several rings, bracelets, pendants, chests, and even clothing pockets with their own internal dimensions to stash whatever you wanted. The vixen, being a wealthy Saint and one of the five Radiant Conclave members, naturally had the cream of the crop in spatial artifacts.

Jake had selected a ring in silver metal with a simple design and no ornaments, but with a good storage capacity, and used it to store everything else. He first thought a ring wouldn't be enough to loot everything, but a cheap trick permitted him to do it: fill the storage dimensions of the other spatial artifacts before storing them in his own ring.

It was a common cliché from his past readings, but he wasn't sure it would work. It was because altering the space of an already altered space could in theory only weaken it further. And then, it seemed way too convenient.

After checking, Jake indeed confirmed that the storage capacities of the other spatial artifacts stored in the main ring were substantially reduced, but not completely. The enchantments and additional energy specific to these artifacts were still useful.

But even after filling his ring and all the other storage artifacts to full capacity, Jake realized that there were still less valuable things left to steal, like all kinds of more or less precious materials. Seeing himself as an indefatigable perfectionist, and having obtained an education advocating to never leave anything on his plate, he made a point of 'devouring' the rest.

All in front of the astonished and aghast eyes of Lady Lyria. The love at first sight hitting Faye was alas quite serious. Even having thus been stripped of all her painstakingly accumulated fortune, she was only joy and smiles.

Lyria should have been inwardly jubilant to see the bitch get cleaned out like this, but seeing her ancestors' mage staff just to have it thrown into Jake's spatial ring like a worthless trinket had notably dampened her spirits.

Lord Calyx's favorite painting hadn't escaped Jake's greed either. The three remaining Radiant Conclave members in the tower were also in a foul mood and only desired one thing: for the three foreigners to get out of there.

When the Archive Keeper convinced herself that the three bailiffs would leave without mentioning the fate of the prisoners - confirming to her that these foreigners didn't automatically know each other - Jake's professional rigor pushed him to interrogate the vixen one last time.

"Besides your treasures, is there anything else I should know about that might interest me?"

With this request, there was a risk that Faye would admit state secrets meant to remain forever secret, but although smitten with love for Jake, she hadn't lost the sharp wit that earned her reputation. In the presence of Lyria and Anthace reporting everything to the other members, she understood exactly what she could uncover without compromising her own position.

Considering that everything she had stolen from them was now publicly exposed, one or two more indiscretions obviously wouldn't worsen her case... That's why, after a guilty smile of apology towards the Archive Keeper; she blurted out without hesitation,

"The foreigners who infiltrated Lustris earlier managed to steal one of our Goblets of Ethershine, but many of them serving as a diversion didn't manage to escape in time. Most are dead but we've captured several hundred of them. They're chained in the Conclave Tower dungeons right now."

Hearing her colleague spill the beans with zeal, Lady Lyria couldn't help but sigh wearily. It was supposed to be her the dark spot in the negotiations, but it was the unyielding seductress who had ruined everything...

"Oh?" Jake raised an eyebrow in surprise.

It wasn't so much that he was concerned about their fate, but rather that he was surprised not to have felt their presence. However, when he remembered that the Conclave Tower was mostly enclaved in the trunk of Anthace, he put his failure into perspective.

Thus, Jake learned all about the operation with the mixed results organized by his side, or rather the King's Idol Alliance. The insectoid alien, Nathan, hadn't made such a strong impression on him during their last meeting, as he seemed to fade behind Cho Min Ho. According to his memories and the information he had read about him, the latter was in fact the Korean's Oracle Slave, which explained the absolute trust he placed in him.

The only detail that had bothered him was that, like all the insectoid aliens he had met, starting with the Krishs, their eyes were inhumanly cold, their expressions impossible to read. He had put it down to their anatomical differences, but generally his instinct didn't deceive him. This Nathan was surely more than the loyal and docile image he showed of himself.

The fact that he had managed to escape the Radiant Conclave despite the Celestial's intervention only strengthened this first intuition. King's Idol Alliance might be more impressive than the little credit he had given them so far.

Feeling the need to justify herself without really knowing why, Lyria hastened to explain why they hadn't revealed this information sooner.

"We always aimed to return them to you. It's just that it was supposed to be one of our assets for these negotiations. It must be said that many of these foreigners didn't just steal. The crimes inflicted on our citizens would have normally earned them the death penalty." With these words, her face twitched into a bitter grimace. These negotiations were a total fiasco. "At this point, you can just take them with you when you leave..."

Her exhausted and defeated tone said a lot about what she thought of her interaction with him. This Jake Wilderth had certainly satisfied her curiosity about the foreigners, but this was closer to an overdose.

The worst part was thinking that with everything he had just taken from them, the next time they met him on the battlefield he would be even stronger. It was not a reassuring prospect.

Jake was as tired of these shenanigans as the young woman and decided to wrap up the matter as quickly as possible.

"Take me to these prisoners." He gestured for them to lead the way.

On the way, he asked what the foreigners were guilty of that merited an execution without trial in her opinion, and by the end of his speech, Jake was as dark as the blond Keeper.

Rapes, massacres, unnecessary rampages targeting civilians and innocents having nothing to do with their goals. It seemed that no matter the stakes or the odds, there would always be scum committing the most abject horrors. Yerodes and Lamines, there were everywhere in every Mirror Universe.

It was like a weed impossible to get rid of. Barely weeded out, thousands of others replaced them.

Unforgivable!

Seeing his expression darken to the point of overflowing with pervasive killing intent, Lyria covered herself with a film of cold sweat, initially thinking he desired to kill her for openly expressing her regret at sparing his compatriots.

It wasn't until they arrived at the Conclave Tower, and once the prisoners were freed, that she realized with relief and astonishment that she was not the target of his murderous aura. For as soon as the first prisoner was in the open air, Jake scanned him with a bird of prey's gaze and snorted in revulsion.

The next second, an overwhelming spiritual and gravitational pressure fell on the Player, causing him to implode on the spot.