We stepped out into the foggy, damp streets of Bransy. As we walked toward the edge of town where the Mirror Dimension was rumored to be, Raphael started talking.
I didn't interrupt him. The topic he was discussing was obscure history, the kind of high-level knowledge I desperately needed.
"Let me tell you about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse," Raphael said casually, his hands tucked into his pockets. "In the early days of the First Dark, there were the most powerful Angels. Well, initially, it was only three."
"If there were three, how is it the Four Horsemen?" I asked, frowning at the contradiction.
Raphael chuckled softly. "The fourth was still just a demigod at the time. Anyway, right now, there are Four Horsemen. They are the most powerful beings, second only to the Gods themselves. They embody War, Death, Preservation, and lastly, an ancient being governing Time and Fate. Together, they make up the Horsemen."
Time and Fate.
The instant he said those words, an image of pristine silver hair and glowing amber eyes flashed in my mind.
Is Seraphim a Horseman? My curiosity about my ridiculous, overpowered companion deepened. And it made me wonder just who the hell this 'Raphael' guy was to know so much about them.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
Raphael leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "I thought it would be important information for you. You see, the Horsemen fought something rather peculiar in the First Dark."
"What did they fight?"
"Hmm. You may or may not know this, depending on what they teach in the Guild," Raphael mused, looking straight ahead into the fog. "They fought entities known as the Seven Deadly Sins."
A cold sweat instantly broke out across my back. It felt like I had just been punched in the gut.
He knows. Does he know? My heart hammered against my ribs, but my passive Fear Immunity clamped down on my physical reactions. I kept my face perfectly still, forcing myself to play dumb.
"Sins? What does that mean?"
Raphael stopped walking. He turned and looked at me.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
The silence was agonizing. The ambient heat radiating from his body felt suffocating. I was certain he was going to execute me right then and there in the alleyway.
But then, he smiled.
"Oh, Sins are the metaphorical avatars of extreme desire," he said dismissively, resuming his pace. "I am not entirely sure of the specifics, but yes, there are seven of them. Each is incredibly powerful and dangerous. Their ruler is Lucifer Morningstar—the King of Hell, or the Abyss, depending on whose imagination you believe. Anyway, where was I?"
"The Horsemen and the Sins," I prompted, quietly exhaling a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.
"Right. The Horsemen and the Gods fought a massive battle against them, won, and sealed the Sins away for the time being. The reason I am telling you this is simple: if the Horsemen hadn't sealed them, this beautiful, ruined world wouldn't exist."
He raised both hands, looking up at the bruised purple sky as if mocking the heavens.
Then he stopped again, his demeanor shifting instantly. He stepped close to me, placing his burning-hot hand on my shoulder.
"Which brings me to the main point, Lucian. The King is a fraud, and he is here in Bransy Town for his advancement."
I blinked, thrown off by the sudden change in topic. "Isn't it perfectly normal for an Awakened to seek advancement?"
"You don't understand." Raphael's eyes darkened. "The Royal Bloodline of London has a curse. They cannot advance past Tier 3. It binds them so they don't become too powerful and destroy the neighboring kingdoms. But Charles... Charles advanced directly to Tier 5."
The air around us suddenly spiked in temperature. It became blistering, painfully hot.
"Do you know how he achieved that?" Raphael's calm, smiling face vanished, replaced by a mask of absolute, burning fury. "He killed my sister."
I stepped back, startled by the sheer pressure leaking from him. "What... what do you mean he killed your sister for his advancement?"
Just as quickly as the heat flared, it vanished. Raphael sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Phew... my apologies. I get overwhelmed sometimes."
"Wait," I said, piecing it together. "You mean the King initiated the war with the Iron Kingdom himself? He let the capital burn on purpose?"
"Yes. He used the casualties of the war as fuel for a dark ritual to skip a Tier. That is how my sister was involved. She died a horrible death in the bombings so that the King could get stronger."
Well, I should probably feel pity for him, I thought. But my Constraint won't allow me to care about a stranger's tragedy. I focused purely on the logistics.
"So, that means he isn't fully Tier 5 yet, right?" I asked, ignoring the dead sister part entirely.
Raphael nodded, not seeming to mind my coldness. "He is stuck at Tier 5, but at ninety-nine percent stability. He skipped Tier 4 entirely, so his soul is unbalanced. He needs to enter the Mirror Dimension here in Bransy to hunt a specific Tier 4 monster and consume its Ether Crystal to bridge the gap."
Raphael looked at me, his eyes burning with a dark, vengeful intensity. "Which means I can finally take revenge for my sister."
I held up my hands, taking another step back. I didn't want any part of this. "Well, you do your thing, and I will do mine. I don't want to get involved in some high-tier revenge plot against a King."
Raphael chuckled, the warm, charming facade returning instantly.
"Don't worry, Lucian. I'm not asking you to fight the King. Just help me kill the Tier 4 monster inside the Rift so he can't get the crystal. Once the beast is dead, I will handle the 'King monster' myself."
He raised his hand—not for a formal handshake, but offering a low-five of mutual understanding.
I looked at his hand, weighing the risks. A Tier 4 monster meant a Tier 4 crystal... and I desperately needed the resources to grow my own power. If this guy wanted to do the heavy lifting against the boss, I could reap the rewards.
I brought my hand up and met his.
"Deal."