The serious atmosphere remained for a while until Jing Yuan broke it.
"Let's not think of the worst-case scenario. If he held any malicious intent, he would not have waited until now. We can trust him for now."
"Yaoguang did not say anything about this. Xiao Yuan's words hold credibility."
Jing Yuan's eyelids twitched upon hearing his childhood nickname from Yueyu. This foxian had lived for thousands of years. She was there when Jing Yuan was still a child.
It wasn't just her. Most of the Arbiter-Generals lived long enough to outlast fifteen generations.
(A/N: One generation equates to sixty years.)
The lengthy explanation made Xuanquan nod her head. The former was, after all, the one with the highest seniority in this room.
"I will come back after meeting him."
Xuanquan's words served as the adjournment of the meeting.
*****
The Tree of Life was a system utilized by the First Spirit when it came to creating the Spirits. She sorted out the authorities she gave in terms of the Tree of Life. It was for such a reason that the embodiment of the spirits' authorities were Angels.
Looking at the final prompt Metatron sent silenced Aleph.
One of the rewards he got was a [Scroll]. It manifested its form literally—a blank golden scroll. The only strange thing was its 'nature' of pure complex information. Aleph did not have enough time to analyze it when it was then 'absorbed' by Metatron, causing the latter to fall into a deep sleep.
"Tree of Life…"
Aleph muttered these words lowly.
"Why did I have these thoughts today..?"
He closed his eyes and began his god-like processing ability. The world turned into a deep dark blue. The barest essence of eidos presented themselves to Aleph.
"Spirit King. That's it."
Previously, he tried to find the exact 'cause' behind the missing achievement he got. Unfortunately, he found nothing useful.
This time, he was able to pinpoint what caused his thoughts to stray in that direction.
"It's different from the First Spirit. Kurumi said that the ten Spirits were selected for a grand cause made by Mio Takamiya herself. She should not be connected to the Spirits like this…"
His [Spirit King] authority was strange. It allows him to form a connection amongst nine other individuals. They were then divided into several levels, much like the Tree of Life.
Aleph was the highest Da'at (Knowledge), followed by Kether (Crown) and Binah (Understanding). These spots were taken by Metatron and Kurumi, respectively.
As for the rest, they were still empty.
"Was it reacting because of Metatron..?"
He fell silent as thoughts flowed freely in his mind. His surroundings began to matter less as he formed countless conjectures about it.
The falling raindrops and the rays of the sun did not bother him. He was immersed in his deep thoughts as he explored his [Spirit King] authority.
This state ended during the fifth day after the denizens of Abundance were dealt with.
Ding-!
The sound of the doorbell woke Aleph up.
"Metatron… and Kether. It bears so much semblance with Him… The Abrahamic God."
The puzzle pieces gradually fell to their place.
With this newfound discovery, he curled his right fingertip towards the courtyard's gate.
It opened on its own, which surprised Xuanquan. Following behind her footsteps was Jingtian.
The moment they stepped foot into the courtyard, their surroundings changed.
Xuanquan did not mind the sensation similar to spatial shift. Xianzhou's Flagships used similar technologies in their earlier days to fit ten planets' worth of space in a single planet.
That was why Fanghu's external size was far smaller than the space inside it.
"Hum."
She slowly released her grasp over the Dao on her waist. She briefly looked at the sheathed curved blade placed on the plum tree's trunk. A mighty feeling akin to their Spiritus was emitted by it.
Xuanquan soon redirected her sight to the elephant in the room. The boy was wearing the same Izumo-themed clothing as before. He was sitting cross-legged with his face resting on his right fist. His elbow was placed atop his knees. His eyes were closed, yet he gave her the feeling of being seen through at a glance.
He would have been a normal boy who was brooding over something… had it not been for the fact that he wiped out an entire army of Abundance.
Aleph removed the tense atmosphere first.
Snap-!
An entire table and three chairs appeared out of thin air. Their designs carried the Mu Continent's taste, making them quite inconsistent with the surroundings.
In a blink of an eye, they found Aleph sitting on one of the chairs. He was playfully looking at the two of them.
This childish act left her quite stunned. Nevertheless, she was old enough to be able to hide her emotions in a jiffy.
Soon, the two of them sat across the table.
"Tea or coffee? There's also juice if you want."
""Tea.""
Their response was a unified one.
Aleph tapped his finger on the tabletop before a set of teapots and three cups appeared out of thin air. They were one of the minor rewards he gained over time, dubbed [West Palace's Jade Tea Set].
"I have a lot of random stuff lying around. Pardon me if it does not live up to the standard."
His carefree words earned a slight nod from Jingtian.
After pouring their cups, he initiated their talks.
"It's been five days. I do hope I am not labeled as a threat to be exterminated by now."
His lighthearted tone did not decrease his weight over Xuanquan's heart.
"It won't happen. You are Xianzhou's benefactor. One of the reasons why I came was to pass this."
A jade abacus with the shape of a horse was placed atop the table. The characters for "Fanghu" were tinily engraved behind its back.
"Hm..? Isn't this the Jade Abacus of Allying Oath? I am flattered."
She continued speaking while he examined the jade abacus.
"I was informed of your prior request. If it is fine, we can head out now."
"Hum..?"
Aleph redirected his gaze towards the girl. He was a master of hiding his emotions, thus it did not show when he saw Bianca—Durandal's—expy appearing right in front of him. He kept on playing the role of a carefree riddler.
It was just that her 'news' caught him off guard.
"Are you saying we can head over there now?"
Aleph asked with an interested tone.
"Pardon?"
"If it's fine, I can head over right in this instant. If your presence is required, I can bring you two…"
The eccentric "Emanator" presented his eccentricness for the first time.