Card Apprentice Daily Log

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, TSR Guild Headquarters

"Master Wyatt, as we mentioned when we requested this meeting, we have some urgent information regarding the Emissary of Light that we wish to share with you," the Saintess began. Before she could continue, I cut in, asking, "First, tell me what it will cost me."

I already suspected that whatever she intended to reveal was the same intelligence Sansa had given me: that the Emissary of Light, along with his allies and their forces, had gathered two hundred miles from our city, ready to march, seize the city, and capture me. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"No, it will cost you nothing. It is free. Please consider it a gift for our first meeting," the Saintess said generously before delivering the news. "The Emissary of Light mobilized his forces this morning, departed the Empire, and is now headed toward this city."

Had I not known that the Emissary of Light was hunting her, seeking to claim the relics and the last living descendant of the Demigod Godson, I might have genuinely been moved by her gesture. Unfortunately for her I knew.

"Haha, that was the urgent news you wanted to convey to us? It’s not only late, it’s outdated."

After the Saintess spoke, Corey burst into laughter, pointing straight at her face. In that moment, the Saintess felt no regret for her long life of celibacy. If her own child were this rude and unbearable, she would have hanged herself for failing as a parent.

She also felt an instinctive revulsion toward Corey and her pet snake, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why.

Refusing to let the moment pass, Corey pressed on. "The Emissary of Light and his allies have already gathered at the two-hundred-mile mark from this city. If not for the blood storm sweeping across the five regions, they would have attacked by now."

"Saintess, please don’t be angry. Corey means well," Eliza stepped forward quickly, offering an explanation as she noticed the Saintess’s face turn ghastly pale, caught between rage and humiliation.

"Big sis Eliza, there’s no need to fear this little fake, body-snatching Saintess. If she’s troubling you or holding you hostage, just tell me. No, better yet, just blink twice and I’ll have Lil’ Baem deal with her," Corey blatantly said to Eliza not only insulting the Saintess but threatening her. Clearly she was unhappy with how carefully she was treating the so-called Saintess. At the same time a stray, irreverent thought crossed Corey’s mind. She wondered whether the Saintess peed standing up or sitting down.

Hearing Corey’s words, Eliza didn’t dare blink. Though the Saintess could be a little uptight, once you got to know her, it became clear that she was genuinely kind and fiercely loyal. Despite her strength and exalted status, she treated her little brother as her lord, placing him above herself because of the duty she had been assigned millennia ago.

Eliza glanced at her younger sister’s troublesome friend, bit down on her lower lip, and finally spoke. "Corey, come. Why don’t you show me the campus while I am here. What do you say? It’s so huge and beautiful."

"Yes, Corey. Go show Eliza around," I ordered, my gaze never leaving the Saintess, my attention fixed on her possession of Paul’s body.

What fascinated me was not the act itself, but the condition of the vessel. Paul Whiteburn was still alive and in perfect shape, merely slumbering while the Saintess made use of him. It took me a moment to unravel the secret behind it, but when I did, the answer was clear: Paul had willingly handed his body over to her.

"No, I won’t," Corey rejected my order outright. Then, fixing me with a stern look, she said, "Wyatt, stop treating me like a little kid who only knows how to stir up trouble. If I can’t deal with these lowlifes, how am I supposed to avenge Park?"

Without waiting for my response, she turned toward the Saintess and added, "I wasn’t talking about you. I meant the Emissary of Light and his allies."

"I didn’t think you were talking about us until you said you weren’t," the Saintess replied honestly. Jake and Eliza gave subtle nods, quietly agreeing with her.

"Well, I wasn’t," Corey muttered, offering no further explanation. Then she looked at me and said, "I’m not a screw-up you have to clean up after anymore. Give me a chance to prove it to you."

I couldn’t help but take a second look at her. Having become one with her darkness, she was no longer the troubled teenage girl she used to be. With Lil’ Baem at her side, she was, in all honesty, a force to be reckoned with in the Card World.

"I can help, Wyatt. Use me," Corey pleaded, noticing my hesitation. I shook my head once, then relented. "Fine. Stay."

Turning my attention back to the Saintess, I said, "As you already know, we’re aware of that information. Is there anything else you’d like to add or discuss?"

I noticed the absence of panic on Jake’s and Eliza’s faces when Corey revealed that the Emissary of Light was already near and not alone. The only logical explanation for their calm was that they believed it wouldn’t affect them. That, in turn, meant they had a plan already in motion, one they were confident enough in to stake their lives on.

Which raised an obvious question. If that was the case, why come to me at all? Why offer gifts?

The Saintess cast a brief glance at Corey before speaking. "Since time is not on our side, I will get straight to the point. If you don’t mind answering, may I ask, how do you intend to handle the coming war?"

"We fully intend to face them head-on with my forces and show them that we are not easy to mess with," I answered the Saintess with a straight face.