May Soul Dissonance Bow Before Me

Chapter 2

There was a moment of silence before a strange magic circle appeared in the center of the room, and the light emitting from it gradually grew brighter until it encircled the entire room. The light was blinding, but it didn't hurt. Instead, it felt warm and cozy. As it washed over everyone, it felt more like being embraced than being pulled into a portal.

A soft and gentle voice spoke into their minds. It gave them a similar feeling of comfort that being around Cale gave them – only it was much deeper, as if her divine power was actually reaching right into them all and touching their very soul.
"Will you accept my invitation and my assistance?"
Each of them spoke their affirmations aloud, and a moment later, the warm white light disappeared, and they found themselves standing before an enormous palace that seemed to be made from pure gold.

The whole palace looked like solid gold, taking everyone by surprise. However, what shocked them even more was the glow of sunset that dappled the clouds in the vast sky around them all. A floating gold castle in the sky was a little too fantastical for them to even consider that this was anything but the divine realm of the Goddess. Everyone took deep breaths, and one by one, they began to congregate around Cale as they waited for something to happen.

The doors of the golden palace soon opened, but no one appeared, and Cale could sense everyone around him becoming restless. However, a moment later, a disembodied voice spoke from somewhere above them.
"Welcome to the Domain of the Overlord of Time, the Golden Annual Palace. I assure you no harm will come to you while you are here – so there's no need to panic or be in distress. Please proceed inside. All your questions will be answered, and the situation will be explained to you once you're all settled in."

The voice is very different from the ethereal voice of the goddess that they'd heard when they consented to come here.
"Who are you?" Alberu turned sharply in surprise at the sound of his father's voice. "Why did you bring us here?!"
"Your Majesty— Royal Father," Alberu corrected himself. After the war and his coronation as the First Emperor of Roan Empire, many things had changed between him and his father and his father had asked for a chance to repair their broken relationship which he was trying to do, but there were still many habits that were harder for Alberu to break.

Cale looked around sharply, as he realized there were several more allies and people here than those that had been with them in the Super Rock Villa when he and his family had accepted the Goddess invitation – to name a few, Whale King Shickler, Toonka and Harol were here along with the Endable King Fredo Von Ejellan, the Jungle Queen Litana, and even Molden's Queen Jopis.

Seeing them all here caused a strange realization to dawn upon Cale's mind.
"Did you also accept the invitation from the voice of the Goddess?" Cale asked them, his gaze eventually landing upon the former King Zed Crossman since he seemed to be the one most perturbed by the teleportation to this place.
"Goddess? Well, I did hear a voice offering assistance."  Several scrutinizing faces stare at Zed and then turn toward Cale.

"How odd... do you— Have you all perhaps also been having nightmares that can't be explained?" Cale asked and then twitched in surprise when everyone flinched slightly at his question. His gaze soon returned to the former King whose expression became bitter with regret and concern when his eyes settled upon Alberu and then shifted toward Deruth – there was regret and grief in his eyes which Cale had been seeing far too often as of late in the eyes of his beloved family.
"I haven't been having nightmares, but I have been seeing strange things." Zed Crossman finally answered.
"I see..." Cale muttered. "Alright... well, in that case, you're in the same boat as us." Cale briefly explained to the former king and everyone else who didn't know about this that just like him, everyone that had been brought here were experiencing similar things, but to a much greater degree.

At his words, Zed's concerned gaze moved to fixate on Alberu, who blinked in surprise at the sight of his father's expression of genuine concern and then looked toward Cale when Cale addressed the disembodied voice from earlier.
"Regardless, you should at least introduce yourself since we know you're not the goddess."
"Hmmm? Very well then, I am called Naur. I am the First Apostle of the Goddess Grigori. I was ordered by My Goddess to welcome you and guide you to the Palantír Hall. My Goddess will arrive there shortly, so please proceed inside."

Everyone had many questions. They wondered why Naur didn't appear before them physically and also what exactly he meant when he said he was the 'First Apostle'. They also wondered what he meant by 'Palantír Hall'. However, since no one voiced any questions, Naur remained unaware of their curiosity and instead calmly guided them into the golden palace. The hall they arrive in is large, and there are an array of couches and loungers spread across the hall.

However it's the enormous circular window that shows a vibrant azure sky – unlike the sunset that had been bathing the Annual Palace gold when they arrived, that caught everyone's gaze. Even the tables laden with food and drinks do not hold as much interest as the glass window does.
"Excuse me, Naur-sir... but what is this? Wasn't it just sunset outside?" Rosalyn asked curiously. She couldn't sense any Mana – nor any type of divine magic from the window.
"The hall you are currently in is called the Palantír Hall. That large window is called the 'Palantír'. It is the tool created by My Goddess, which enables those who use it to see places, other worlds, or even events of the past, present and future. In simpler terms, it is the tool My Goddess intends to use to show you the Akashic Records of your world. The closest artifact or device your world has in comparison would be a Video Communication Device or a Cintamani."
"It's huge!" Raon marvels flying a little closer to ogle at it.
Naur chuckles overhead and hums in amused agreement.
"Yes... Well then, please have a seat. Goddess Grigori will arrive soon." 

The guests do as they've been told. Taking their seat unconsciously gathering around Cale – as if still instinctively aware that he is their sole connection to their own sanity. The silence lingers for several minutes, and then the crimson curtain concealing an alcove in the dim shadow beside the Palantír began to glow as a bright light from within the alcove seeped outward. A moment later, the light disappeared, and sparkling iridescent misty Mana with a crimson hue and golden specks spilled like a fog around the edges of the curtain.