A Hand-Woven Universe 116 115. A Divide

Sarah and Feylin stood on opposite sides of the group from each other. Tobias watched on expressionlessly, however he very clearly had his own thoughts running through his mind. But he was wise enough to know when and how to address them.

The same could be said for Raelith.

Regrettably, Feylin was still young. Even being a member of the Order of Life, he had the hot blood of youth running through his veins.

Sarah looked at Feylin flatly. She was hoping it wouldn't end up like this, however she wasn't expecting things to occur the way they did.

Just before Noone had arrived, everyone in the party was preparing the supplies and the cart they would be using. Tobias, Sally, Rae and Feylin.

Sarah had been talking with Jakobson, so she was absent.

Eventually Sarah decided to accept the book, holding onto it so Jakobson wouldn't have to. She could see that it was a weight that Jakobson had carried for far too long.

They walked together out into the courtyard. Jakobson knew this would be the last time he saw Sarah and Feylin for a long time, he wanted to leave them on a good note.

When they arrived at the courtyard, the group simultaneously looked at Sarah. Strange expressions crossed the faces of the three from the Burian. Only Feylin did not notice anything odd.

"Sarah!" He smiled, as he sensed the subtle strength flowing out of her body. "You finally advanced, huh? That's good." His voice was friendly, he was truly happy she had managed to work through what Tobias said and advance anyways. Sarah's face was carefully controlled, she kept a light meaningless smile on her lips. She knew he would find out eventually, but she didn't know how to approach it right now.

As he sensed the strength emanating from her, he couldn't help but feel that the power was somewhat different from his own. Tobias, Rae and Sally however were able to tell immediately.

Sally had on a bitter smile, like she had just bitten into a sour lemon. "It looks like you weren't strong enough in your faith and had to go find another god to take you in." Her voice bit through the air, directed towards Sarah.

The entire group froze, even Tobias and Rae were not expecting her to call it to attention so abruptly. Tobias shot a harsh glare her way, but she merely looked to the side, pretending not to notice. Jakobson frowned but said nothing, he was not unfamiliar with her type within the order.

As the words sank in to Feylin's ears, he was stunned. What? He glanced back at Sally and then to Sarah.

"Sarah… What have you done!?" Feylin's eyebrows scrunched up. He honestly didn't understand what Sally meant, but there was a sinking feeling in his chest.

He extended what little aura he had from advancing into a first level cleric, using it to surround her, feeling out her energy for himself.

The calm smile on Sarah's face melted into a blank expression when she felt what he was doing. Feylin knew that he was committing a faux pas – to try and analyze someone else at the same level of power as himself - but in this moment he didn't care. He wanted to know if what Sally said was true.

Within her eyes, sadness could be seen. This was not how she wanted this to go down. Sarah didn't even bother to look at Sally.

"Fine." Sarah's quiet resignation only entered Jakobson's ears who stood next to her. He frowned further but said nothing… Suddenly Sarah extended her own aura. Like a tidal wave of chaotic energy, Feylin's aura was immediately engulfed and consumed by hers, displaced in space. Feylin's face blanched as he sensed what was happening.

It seemed that whatever blessings she had received from Hoar, she was at a higher level of power than Feylin when he advanced. She continued to use her aura to surround Feylin who was shocked by what was happening. Suddenly sweat appeared from his body, he looked into Sarah's eyes and began to shiver.

Before anyone could say anything, Sally snorted and extended her power around Feylin, protecting him from Sarah's aura, glaring at her for being so presumptuous. Feylin immediately breathed in relief. The energy he felt from her was suffocating. Sarah said nothing, and began to pull her energy back.

Instead of leaving it there though, Sally's eyes narrowed at Sarah. She pushed her energy out further, corroding Sarah's energy and attempting to overwhelm her in strength. Sally was many levels above Sarah as a life cleric. No matter how strong the energy gifted to Sarah was, she wasn't able to fight back in the slightest.

When everyone noticed what she was doing, Tobias immediately spoke up. "Sally! Stop!"

However, she ignored him, it was too late.

Sarah frowned, the pressure from Sally was causing her head to pound and it felt like her entire body was being compressed from the outside. A small bead of sweat appeared on her brow as the energy continued to surround her.

Suddenly, a new voice entered the mix. "Do you fucking dare?"

A wave of sharp power rushed over the entire group. Like being dumped into a barrel full of needles, everyone's skin began to prickle uncomfortably, and goosebumps formed on their flesh.

The aura Sally had been exuding was immediately disassembled, shaken into uselessness by the newcomer. Sally's face paled at the suddenness of it and she had to swallow back the gross feeling of being disconnected from her god. Noone did the same thing he did with Raelith, but on a larger level. The sudden backlash had almost shaken Sally's mind into useless stupor.

Everyone looked over, seeing Noone walking steadily towards them. His eyes were dark, and white light practically glowed from his pupils. The pulsing lines on his body cast intimidating shadows on his own flesh. His face was expressionless.

Silently, the pendant on his chest pulsed excitedly.

Suddenly Noone's eyes widened as he stared at Sally. Compressing a portion of his energy into a needle, he shot it through what remained of Sally's aura and caused it to pierce into her mind.

Sally's eyes went wide, her face paled even further and her brain throbbed in pain. She closed her eyes, gripping her head, swaying onto one knee.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Tobias's voice shook the entire courtyard. Suddenly even Noone's strange divine sense was shattered. However, Tobias did not attack Noone, so he was able to hold onto enough divine sense to ward off a backlash.

Tobias took it easiest on Rae, who stayed out of the way during the entire exchange. However, everyone else in the party was not so lucky. This was especially so for Sally.

Sarah knew that nothing more would happen since Tobias had stepped in, so she willingly withdrew all her energy.

Feylin hesitated but did the same.

Only Noone continued to emit a small portion to show he was not willing to fully back down, however he also wasn't going to challenge Tobias. As far as he could tell, it looked like Sally caused the problems, and maybe Feylin.

In truth if it wasn't for his ability to manipulate the shape of his divine sense, he would never have been able to pierce through Sally's energy. It was more of a trick than anything - he didn't want to cause a scenario where he would actually have to go all out against her.

When everyone calmed down enough, Tobias finally receded his aura.

"Jakobson." Tobias spoke solemnly. "Did you honestly pass on that path to her?"

Jakobson only nodded. He was not ashamed of it. In this world, every path was viable. He knew Tobias would understand, even if the man didn't necessarily approve. This is why he was okay with Sarah continuing to travel with him. However… he glanced at Sally, but said nothing.

Noone watched on in silence, he had already done enough. The rest needed to be handled internally. When he looked towards the cart, he could see Raelith casting a weird stare in his direction.

After a few moments, Feylin finally recovered enough of his wits. Suddenly being overwhelmed by so many different energies left the young cleric feeling like he was caught naked in a blizzard. He glanced at Noone, who met his gaze evenly. "When did he get so strong…" Feylin thought, looking away.
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Finally, he looked back at Sarah… looking into her eyes. He realized he had acted impulsively.

"Sarah…. I'm sorry. I was too shocked." Feylin spoke quietly. "What order are you a part of now, Sarah? Please."

Sarah looked at Feylin. They had been friends and members of the same Order since they were teenagers. She didn't want to lose that. However, she didn't know how this would continue in the future either.

"I advanced as a paladin, using the Oath of Vengeance. My sole god who I pray to is Hoar." Sarah spoke loud enough for the entire courtyard to hear, doing her best not to shy away from the stares of the many clergymen who had taken care of her these past few years.

Various expressions crossed the faces of everyone present. Tobias could vaguely tell what type of path she had chosen, but he didn't realize she would choose to follow such an extreme god. This sentiment was felt by Rae as well. However, Raelith seemed to not care. To her, Sarah was Sarah. She had known a few Vengeance Paladins in her time. Although they chose to go about things very differently, they weren't bad people. Usually.

Only Sally made a disgusted face, saying nothing.

Feylin's face was blank. He was shocked, and didn't know what to think.

"Why… Sarah?" He asked. It was a simple question, Sarah didn't even need to stop and think.

"I had no prospects within the Order of Life. Like Tobias said before. Even if I advanced, I would eventually hit a plateau. A block I would not be able to ascend past." She sighed.

"I realized that I clung so tightly to the Order of Life because it was the first place to take me in after I lost my home, and my family. It was my comfort. However, it could not take me where I want to go."

Feylin looked at her. Like a memory blowing to the surface of a storm, he suddenly remembered words she had spoken to him while they were trekking back from their assignment to capture Noone.

It was after he had found out Sarah managed to learn the miracle to summon weapons, and she summoned a chain.

"'Why chains?'" He asked her. "'Because…'" Her voice was soft and carried no further than his ears. "'There are things in this world that deserve to be chained to hell.'"

Feylin shut his eyes. He realized that he had been too naïve. This whole time… it had been like this. He had just refused to see it.

Finally, he chuckled to himself, saying nothing.

"Alright." Tobias's voice was heavy as he spoke. "Everyone, go get your packs ready. We leave in one hour. We will not have another incident like this." He looked directly at Sally. "Sally. You stay here. We are going to have a talk. Raelith can grab your bag."

Sally did not dare to speak back. Ultimately, she was still a student, and Tobias was a grand-paladin. He was above her in seniority and directly in charge of her within the order. However… she glanced at the rest of the party. Sarah, Noone, Rae. Even Jakobson.

Noone returned the glance, giving her a cold stare.

The group dispersed, all with their own thoughts.

Chapter end