Unfortunately the Church did not have the money or the influence to rule a citadel themselves. All the citadels had been conquered around them, so most of the meetings were held in the waking world.
In Aether's new house. Actually, Veynar turned out to be homeless, so he was living with him. As for Seraphine, since she was the priestess of the church she had decided to live with them too.
Where did Aether get the money? Well he did some mercenary jobs for a few months and combined it with his savings he had when he was a performer.
He had bought himself a house from a nice neighborhood. It consisted of three floors, the ground floor, the first floor and the basement where they had a sparring center and their sleeping pods.
It had four bedrooms and a separate toilet for each of them. Three of the bedrooms were occupied while one was empty.
Currently Aether was cooking a meal while wearing an apron. He was dressed in casual clothing, a black sweater and a pair of baggy dark sweatpants.
"Where is the food??" a shout echoed through the the corridor, making Aether's eye twitch. He had opened up his doors to these ungrateful brats and they even boss him around while staying in his house?
'I'm going to kick them out one day.'
Soon the dinner table was ready. They were sitting around the table and chugging the food down like starved wolves that had been left hungry for a while.
Everyone around this house was too lazy to cook! So as a good host, Aether took the matters to his hands.
"You would make a great housewife."
Seraphine commented, Veynar nodding in agreement.
"Yes, you should have agreed to that marriage proposal sent by the song clan."
Aether gave them both a blank stare, which was not taken seriously as they looked at him with smug expressions on their faces.
"It has been over months since that happened. Forget about it."
After they all escaped from the forgotten shore, everyone was scouted by the great clans. This included marriage proposals and some other things, like high ranks and riches. Some survivors accepted these proposals and some decided to become independent awakened.
Such were the Fire Keepers lead by Cassia. Sunless himself and many more. Unfortunately or fortunately Nephis could not return the waking world for unknown reasons, she was trapped in the dream realm, alone.
Aether himself had been offered a marriage to a saint.. that saint being Beastmaster. He had thought Theola would do so, but Beastmaster must have been fascinated that Aether could do what she can while being a sleeper.
Well, anyways, Aether did not accept the proposal. So the song clan and the church had a strained relationship as of the moment. Their base of operations were in the rivergate, which was controlled by one of the great clans Valor.
As for what happened to the Church of the Godless, they quickly gained some reputation and soon after they settled in the waking world, they resumed their job. Seraphine and Veynar had both earned their true names. Beneath The Moonlight and Last Horizon, respectively.
Aether could not translate Seraphine's true name, however Veynar's true name could be translated into a whole sentence: That he was the only thing in the horizon that they will ever see.
As for the moment, the church members were doing mercenary work and charity work for a reasonable price, so their services were sought after.
"So, did you guys recruit the girl I brought to rivergate?" Aether asked as he finished his meal.
"She agreed to join, although the person I sent to her said that she was very reluctant to join." Seraphine raised a brow, crossing her arms. "You didn't do anything to her did you?"
"No, of course not. I just made sure she was indebted to us."
"Anyways... she will meet us once it is midnight in the outskirts of the rivergate. She said that she has a request."
That prompted Aether to narrow his eyes. He had given an ascended memory and saved her life, yet she still wanted something from him.
"We will go and see."
He would see if her skills were truly worth considering. He had taken a peek into her attributes, they were unique. First, one of her attributes gave her a commanding presence. Second, she had a talent in modern day technology and engineering, this was exactly why Aether had done his best to made her indebted to him. Having affinity to technology was not something you saw everyday.
Other than those, she had two more attributes. One gave her skill in spears and the other gave her a knack for analyzing territory.
He hoped that her aspect was as good as her attributes. Or else, he would be highly disappointed.
***
Lyea was waiting in the outskirts of the rivergate. The sky had turned dark once again, the stars were truly beautiful without any light pollution. She was an awakened now..
She was wearing the armor that man had given her, and she was holding a silver spear with a pointy blade just in case any abominations lurked in the forest.
After some while of waiting, she saw three figures approaching her. One was the man that had escorted her back to the rivergate. He was as eerie as ever... and the two people next to him.. they were practically celebrities, she recognized them instantly.
She had been reluctant to join these guys because she was creeped out by the guy, but after doing some research about them, she now knew that each of his followers were powerhouses.
Lyea needed a cohort. A cohort that was powerful enough, and driven enough to get even more powerful.
"Good evening. My apologies for making you wait." Aether offered a smile.
"No need to apologize... I had arrived earlier than the scheduled time."
"I heard you had a request if you wanted to join us."
"That is indeed true, I want you-"
Before she could continue, The Blasphemer stopped her by holding out a hand.
"Tell me, why should I even listen to you?" His smile died down, replaced by stoic facial expression. "Before jumping out to requesting something from me, tell me, what can you offer?"
Lyea looked at him with a baffled expression on her face. He had shut her down so quickly! This man was beyond rude, he did not even wait to listen so she could tell him what she offered him.
When she boasted of her Sacred-rank aspect, Seraphine's eyes twitched, and Veynar let out a low whistle. Yet Aether didn't even blink. His silence was heavier than any words.
As Lyea turned her gaze back to Aether, she realized that he had not even flinched. How was he so unbothered? Did he see Sacred aspects daily or something?
"Well? What can your aspect do?"
"Well.. I can create memories from anything with soul shards. Although the enchantments are random."
And for the first time, she saw it. He was definitely interested now, a smile appeared on his face.
"As for my second abi-"
"You are recruited."
"Let me finish!" Lyea had raised her voice at him, not really liking how he kept interrupting her words. "If I am in a cohort, the ones fighting alongside me and myself gain an all around augmentation according to my importance of that cohort."
Aether nodded. Seemingly impressed by her abilities.
"Anyways... as for my request. This request will also aid you for the future." After making sure they were listening in closely, she spoke up once again. "I want to travel to Europe and save a friend that is stuck there. She is an awakened just like me, her abilities are weather and plant manipulation. If you save her, I will work for you and I will make sure she also joins the church."
Lyea could tell that the man in front of him was rather reluctant to agree. After all Europe was in ruins, getting there was going to take months, coming back too.
"Alright."
Lyea's eyes widened. "R-really?"
"Yes. Since you are newly awakened, it will be an opportunity for you to train for a few months. Because after coming back from Europe, I am planning on challenging the second nightmare."
***
A few days later.
"I hate this.." Veynar muttered as he walked alongside the others. He was forced to dress in a fine suit and even comb his hair. Now he looked less like the scarred swordsman he was and more like some aristocratic gentleman, the kind that drew too many eyes from the people around them. His jacket was black with subtle silver embroidery tracing the cuffs and lapels. A deep crimson tie stood out sharply against his pale shirt, and polished leather shoes.
"You will live," Seraphine replied, unfazed by his complaints. She had dressed just as elegantly. A fitted dark skirt brushed neatly above her knees, paired with a tailored charcoal-grey blouse whose fabric caught the light with a faint sheen. She left the top two buttons undone, a deliberate touch of rebellion in her otherwise immaculate appearance. Her hair was bound into her usual twin tails, but instead of ribbons, she had tied them with thin strips of black silk, giving her an air of both sharpness and grace.
"But… why are we dressed fashionably, exactly?" Lyea questioned. Her outfit was sharp but practical - a high-collared white shirt tucked into slim-cut trousers, both covered by a tailored dark navy coat that brushed against her thighs when she walked. Silver cufflinks gleamed at her wrists. Her crimson her was tied back in a high ponytail.
"The environment demands it… Perhaps you should look around and see," Aether answered with his usual calm. He was wearing a white shirt beneath a pale waistcoat, over which rested a tailored black coat that fell in clean, deliberate lines. His trousers matched the coat, perfectly fitted, and a simple silver brooch fastened his collar in place. A black eyepatch covered his left eye. The end of his hair was tied in a low ponytail that hung over his shoulder.
People around were dressed in suits too. The only ones who were not dressed that way were the soldiers that were guarding the APC's and airships around.
Soon a man with a big belly approached them, extending a hand towards Aether.
"Greetings Awakened Aether. It is a pleasure to meet you. We have prepared your orders, would you like to come and see?"
"Greetings to you too sir, please, lead the way."
And then.. the man led them to a big APC.
"Holy.." Seraphine muttered.
The armored personnel carrier's (APC) design was a stout, sleek, and predatory machine with a solid frame made of composite alloy armor. It had six mighty wheels, each as tall as a human and as tough as the alloy hull of the APC.
"The APC is designed to be mobile, with wheels connected to a robust suspension system and short integrated limbs that could be extended from the vehicle's frame. It also has powerful boosters that enables it to sustain autonomous levitation, hop over short distances, and even move across the water as an amphibious vessel."
There was also a massive steel wedge raised above its wide snout, which could be lowered to the ground, turning it into a semblance of a heavy siege ram. With this sharp catcher lowered, the APC appeared capable of tearing through walls, debris, natural obstacles, and the flesh of the Nightmare Creatures with equal ease.
"You... bought this? How much did it cost..?" Serpahine asked with a worried tone.
"Well, ninety percent of our savings. But not only for this."
Seraphine's face went pale as she clung onto Lyea for support. Ninety percent..
Soon they entered the APC.
The front of the APC was dedicated to the pilot's cabin, which has various control panels and switches. There was enough for a couple more seats. The reinforced windshield was long and narrow, but it provided an almost panoramic view of the surroundings.
The vehicle's midsection was allocated to a small living room. There was a modest lounge room, as well as a smaller galley and a partitioned hygiene compartment. Five sleeping nooks were situated on the opposing walls which can function as a dedicated sleeping pod.
A cargo compartment behind the lounge area acted as the armory and integrated engineering workstation. The engineering compartment was located beneath the floor and ran the entire length of the vehicle.
At the very back of the APC is the command and communication suite. A big holographic table, a powerful console connected to the APC's antennae array, and a set of monitors that received the same input as the ones in the pilot's cabin were all present.
On top of the APC, there was an non-functioning turret. Aether had some plans with that thing.
"This was all, are you satisfied?"
"Yes.. It is exactly just like I imagined it."
"Alright.. shall we move on to your other order?"
Aether nodded his head, not paying attention to Seraphine who was about to embarrass them all by crying out loud just because she lost some money.
The second order was waiting on the landing pads beyond the hangar. Resting on its gear like a predator crouched to strike, the craft's hull gleamed with a muted steel-black finish, its sharp frame traced with faint blue seams that pulsed like veins. Twin tilt-rotors flanked its sides, massive engines that could shift seamlessly between vertical lift and forward flight.
The nose was sleek, angular, with a long reinforced viewport wrapping the cockpit. Above, small stabilizer fins jutted from its spine like the ridges of a hawk, and the tail split into a forked design that made the whole machine look eerily alive.
"This," the quartermaster announced proudly, "is the Skycutter. VTOL-capable, fast, and quiet enough for deep territory insertions."
The rear ramp hissed open, revealing a compact interior. A row of modular seats lined each wall, with harnesses dangling above them. The cabin was wide enough for gear crates to be strapped down in the middle, but small enough to keep movement tight in flight. The cockpit was separated by a reinforced door, but narrow windows let them glimpse the dual pilot seats and the glow of the flight systems.
Panels on the walls carried weapon racks and compact storage lockers, while dim overhead lights washed the cabin in a pale glow.
"It can carry eight passengers and light cargo. Range: nearly a continent on a single charge. And unlike most craft this size…" the man tapped the armored plating with his knuckles, "…it can shrug off a few abominations chewing on the hull."
Aether's lips curved into a faint smile. "Perfect." He said as summoned a bag full of soul shards. "Lets turn these into memories."