[Third Person Pov]

"I believe we have one more thing to discuss, my liege," Beatrice said respectfully after recalling her sheets where the designs of the Conspirators were laid out in careful detail. She adjusted the papers slightly, making sure everything was in order before continuing.

Lucian's eyes furrowed as he wondered what else could possibly be added. He let out a quiet breath, then gestured for her to continue. "Go ahead."

"You need an Altar of Retrieval," Beatrice said with a completely serious expression, her tone leaving no room for doubt or exaggeration.

"A what?" Lucian asked, staring at her with a perplexed expression, clearly not following at first.

"When mortals make sacrifices towards gods, those sacrifices do not simply vanish. They are transferred," Beatrice began, calmly explaining it to Lucian as if this were something obvious. "They arrive within the god's respective altar, a designated space where the deity is able to receive, observe, and make use of what has been offered. Without such an altar, those offerings have no proper anchor point."

Lucian exhaled slowly as the explanation settled in. "I see… so now people are making sacrifices in my name, huh… what a strange feeling," he muttered quietly, almost as if speaking more to himself than anyone else. His expression shifted slightly, not quite discomfort, not quite pride, just something unfamiliar.

"Feeling arrogant and like everyone's beneath you yet?" Thalia asked with a scoff, leaning back in her seat as she crossed her arms.

Lucian slowly turned towards her and tilted his head. "Isn't that… kinda like my default feeling towards everyone?"

Thalia blinked once, then again, momentarily stunned as she found herself without a response. A short pause passed before she started laughing, shaking her head. "Yeah, I suppose you have a point… why am I seriously in love with you?"

"Your words are causing me to have conflicting feelings," Lucian said, his expression shifting into a small pout while his smile turned slightly awkward. "On one hand… ouch, words hurt. Do you really need to question it out loud?" He paused, then shrugged lightly. "But on the other hand, you just technically said you love me, so it makes me happy to know you still love me despite my flaws."

Thalia merely shrugged, her teasing expression not fading. "Maybe the only reason I'm still around is your face, which is perhaps the only redeeming quality you have."

"Wow!" Lucian exclaimed before scoffing. "Yours is your big butt—Ack! Why do you always resort to violence!" he shouted as she immediately reached over and flicked him across the head. He quickly retaliated by flicking her ear, making her flinch and wince.

"You brat!" she snapped while holding her ear, then immediately leaned forward to try and flick him back.

The two of them ended up leaning across the space between them, arms extended, awkwardly slap boxing and swatting at each other without much coordination.

Beatrice simply stared at them with a half-lidded expression, completely unimpressed. She watched the exchange for a moment longer than necessary before inwardly sighing and clearing her throat loudly.

Both of them immediately straightened.

Thalia slid down slightly in her seat, trying to look less involved, while Lucian coughed into his hand as if nothing had happened.

"So the altar, yeah?" Lucian said, trying to return to the topic as smoothly as possible.

"Hm?" Lucian questioned when he suddenly looked down toward his shadow, his expression shifting as he felt something from within it asking for permission to speak.

"What's up?" Thalia asked, glancing down as well.

"My guys… they want to say something," Lucian said as his shadow began to stretch out unnaturally across the floor, darkening and shifting in shape. From it, his shadow soldiers emerged one by one, filling the room in a silent, controlled manner.

They moved into position behind Lucian and knelt in servitude, their presence heavy but disciplined. Lucian remained facing forward, keeping his back to them while Beatrice lowered her head further in clear reverence to his growing power and influence.

Without turning around, Lucian spoke plainly.

"Speak."

"Our liege," Ashura spoke. As one of his first shadow soldiers, his position and authority allowed him to act as the representative for the others. He remained kneeling, head lowered, voice steady but respectful.

"Please allow us to be in charge of creating your altar in your image. We want to be helpful and assist you in more than just battle," Ashura continued, not lifting his gaze.

"No one is more suited to create an altar in the image of your greatness than us," Golurk added, his voice deep and gravelly like a distant rockslide.

The others chimed in as well, each voicing their agreement in their own way. Some spoke up briefly, others simply nodded, but the intent was the same. They wanted to help, to contribute to Lucian's growing influence beyond just combat, to take part in building something that represented him.

Lucian let out a small sigh, but there was a clear smile on his face as his head tilted slightly to the side. "Alright, alright, enough. You guys can go ahead if that's what you want. If it makes you happy, I'm not stopping you."

A brief silence followed, then the group quietly celebrated among themselves. Subtle movements, a few exchanged gestures, some of them lightly tapping hands or giving small nods to one another. It wasn't loud or disruptive, but their excitement was obvious. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"We won't disappoint you, my liege," they said together, their voices filled with deep reverence.

"Don't worry, I know you won't. You guys never do," Lucian replied with a soft smile.

One by one, they began to sink back into his shadow, their forms dissolving into darkness. A few of them lingered just a moment longer, clearly moved by his words before fully disappearing.

"I'm seriously so incredibly jealous of that power of yours. It's so unfair," Thalia scoffed, though there was a hint of amusement in her tone.

Lucian didn't hide his expression this time, a smug smile settling comfortably on his face.

"So, is that all?" Lucian asked, raising a brow as he looked back at Beatrice with curiosity.

Beatrice bowed her head. "Yes, my lord. That was all I needed to discuss with you. I would not want to take up any more of your time on trivial matters."

"Okay, if you say so," Lucian replied as he stood up. Thalia followed shortly after, and Beatrice rose as well.

Lucian stretched his arms slightly, working out the stiffness from sitting, while Beatrice lowered her head again, nearly touching the table in a formal bow.

…

Lucian and Thalia walked out of her office with Beatrice guiding them through the halls.

"Thanks for the tour, Beatrice. Give Edna my regards as well. I'm sure she's working hard following my orders," Lucian said casually.

"Certainly. I'm sure she would be overjoyed with your acknowledgement," Beatrice replied as they continued walking through the church hallways.

At this point, they had covered everything. Every section of the church had been explored, every matter that needed discussing had been handled. There wasn't much left to do.

With one final exchange, they said their farewells to Beatrice. Lucian and Thalia stepped out the same way they came in, slipping behind the bookshelf and exiting the hidden passage.

"I feel a bit guilty not being able to reward them for their efforts," Lucian said, his tone slightly awkward as they walked.

Thalia scoffed. "Honestly, just telling them they did good seems to be more than enough for them. They treat your acknowledgement like gold and to them is reward enough"

Lucian sighed and shook his head, though he didn't argue.

On their way out, they ran into Alexia once again, the same tattooed girl who had helped them when they first arrived.

"How was everything?" she asked with a friendly smile. "Have you joined up and become a member?"

Lucian and Thalia both reached toward their chests and pulled out the black sun pendants, a parting gift from Beatrice before they left.

"Nice~ welcome aboard," Alexia said with a cool grin, clearly pleased to see them joining the same occult as her.

They talked with Alexia for a bit longer, keeping things casual, until she eventually had to excuse herself and return to her duties.

Lucian and Thalia did the same, heading toward the exit and finally stepping out of the library, bringing their visit to the Church of Paradox to a close.

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