Walking down the hallway, I paused for a moment to make sure I hadn't misheard.

Yes. That was Freya… talking to… Was that Eyes?

Rounding the corner, I took the few more needed steps to reach the room from where the voices originated. Sure enough I found Eyes and Freya, the two standing together near a table. They were both so focused on whatever they were working on that I had not even been noticed, which for both of them was quite odd. Not only was Freya one of the most observant people I knew, Eyes too was not someone who you could typically sneak up upon.

Still, neither noticed me as I watched them for a moment. They were happily studying whatever was on the table, it looked like some kind of… was that glass…? It looked like an oddly shaped glass bowl, but there didn't seem to be any hole or entrance to it. Maybe it was meant to hold something? As if to display it…? But there didn't seem to be anything inside it…

I studied it and them as the happily chatted excitedly about it for a few moments before stepping away.

Although I was interested in what they were doing, I wasn't so rude as to interrupt what was obviously a good moment between them. Ever since Eyes had joined he's been busy, focusing on bettering our living conditions and the troubles we so desperately need handled… it was time he had something good happen in his life. And Freya likewise could use a good anchor, and a husband would be perfect for it. I'd been worrying about her running off one day, maybe her settling down and having a child or something would fix that.

Though it was odd… I don't think I've had a dream of their relationship, or any hint of it… Or maybe I have, and I simply hadn't noticed? I've actually had quite a few with Freya and Eyes in them, though not because they were the center-points of the prophecies themselves.

I hummed as I thought of many of our members, especially the newer ones lately, and wondered if I'd noticed any of them in my recent prophecies. Such as with children, or something to imply they would marry and propagate.

There were a few I could think of off the top of my head, most notably the Goddess and Vim of course… Or even my own child, but it was a tad shocking to realize I could only think of a handful at best.

Was that something I should be concerned over…? Or was it just something the gods had not deemed important, and thus didn't allow prophecies to focus on such aspects of life…? Even though it was such an important part of it?

Maybe the gods had not seen romance and having children as something of value. Or maybe they simply saw it as something so natural, so expected, that there was no point in wasting time or resources to foresee them. After all, all the ones I could think of were not from outright prophecies but coincidence. Such as Vim and his children. The only reason I knew of them was because I saw or heard of them in far more important prophecies... Basically things I witnessed or learned on accident while observing something far more important and serious, such as the end of the world or something.

"Speaking of that, I wonder what their names are…" I wondered. I knew his, Vim, and I knew Rennalee's, but I didn't seem to recall any of their children's names. Maybe I've written them down in one of my journals and simply have forgotten about it…

I should verify that. Knowing the name of their children might come in handy later.

"Lady Saint!"

Recognizing Morta's voice, I slowed again, and came to a stop once I saw the older woman hurry over to me. She had to take a moment to catch her breath, and for a tiny moment I feared her next words… but knew better than to actually panic. Morta was a lovely woman, but also the kind to panic even over the tiniest of things. Just a few days ago she had panicked over us changing the drapes in the common eating room, she had thought us changing the colors of mere window curtains was a sign of bad tidings.

"Morta," I greeted her as she took in a deep breath and calmed a bit.

She smiled and nodded. "Lady Celine… You have a visitor!" she said excitedly.

Oh…? I felt my heart flutter. It felt as if it was about to fly out of my throat as I glanced past her and down the hallway which she just came from. It did indeed lead to the entrance of the church!

"Who is it…!?" I asked, suddenly even more excited than she was.

"A young man! One of us, for sure, though I've not been able to verify he's a member yet," Morta said, her own excitement growing… though likely not because the moment was that exciting, even for her, but rather because of my sudden burst of excitement. She was simply feeding off of it.

Wouldn't be able to anymore. My whole body slumped and my shoulders suddenly felt very heavy as I sighed. "Oh… I see."

A young man? That would be neither Vim nor Rennalee. Rather, I suppose an older woman such as Morta might call Vim a young man but she had made a comment that he was for sure one of us. Vim didn't look at all like a non-human on first appearance. Not even on second or third glances either.

Morta obviously noticed my change in demeanor. She gave me a worried look and glanced around. "Lady Celine…? Is something the matter? Is his arrival a bad thing…?" she asked quickly, concerned.

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"No… no Morta, I just mistook this moment for another one. And…" I stopped talking as Martin rounded the corner nearby. He walked over to me, and I gestured lightly at Morta. "She's telling me of our new visitor," I told him, hoping to spark some insight from him.

"Yes. A whale of some kind, he was sent here by Berri. He's come to ask Eyes for help," Martin said, telling me more.

Oh…? "I just saw Eyes that way," I said.

"Ah! I'll go grab him!" Morta immediately took initiative and stepped away. Although I had not meant to send her, or imply she should do it, I went ahead and allowed her to go. Honestly now that I felt so utterly disappointed I almost didn't want to even get too involved in it. Though I knew I would, and soon I'd go see this whale. Until I saw him, and confirmed I didn't know him from a prophecy, I'd not let him leave.

"You looked upset just now. What's wrong?" Martin asked as Morta hurried down the hall I'd just come from, as to get Eyes.

"I mistook the moment for another. Should I be concerned over this new visitor?" I asked.

"Not sure… he's come to join the Society, and wants his family to join as well… but he wants help in building something. A pathway or road or something, I'm not sure," Martin said.

A… road…? That explained why he was here for Eyes, then. Berri must have told him to seek Eyes out here.

"Wonder where Berri found him… is she back too?" I asked.

"No. He arrived alone."

Hm…

I loved that girl, but honestly it was so hard to rely on her. You sent her to do one thing that should be quick and easy and she ended up being gone for months. She always seemed to get side-tracked, such as with this new visitor. She should have been back over a month ago, yet still she was out and about… Though I suppose I couldn't really complain since she was doing good things with her time and skills, at least.

"By the way…"

Frowning at Martin, more so over my own thoughts than him, I watched him glance around for half a moment before continuing. Which wasn't usual for him, he was usually so acutely aware of our surroundings that half the time he never needed to verify anything.

For a few moments I waited still, and yet he didn't speak up… so I frowned deeper at him. "What is it?" I asked.

Martin's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Your most recent prophecy… the one concerning fire in the sky?"

"Yeah…?" We already had our meeting about it yesterday morning… it wasn't typical he brought up such prophecies again after such meetings, unless of course we or he were getting ready to go handle them… and that prophecy was not something we needed to worry about for now. It'd be many years before we had to concern ourselves over half the world burning.

"We all trust you. We'd not be here otherwise… let alone be supporting you as we do…" Martin then said.

My frown furrowed even deeper. "Okay…?" Where was he going with this?

The young knight, who honestly I probably should stop thinking of as young, shifted ever so slightly as he gently sighed. "Some of your more recent prophecies… they've been… well, missing a few things," he then said.

Oh. "You've noticed," I said softly.

"Hard not to. It's a shock no one else has, really."

"Rather they're smart enough to not bring it up," I said. I knew for a fact many have noticed, such as Freya and some of her sisters.

A tiny smirk etched its way onto Martin's face as he nodded. "Correct. That being said… I'm sure it's safe to assume the thing you've been omitting, or rather the person, is all the same individual…?" he asked.

"For the most part," I said.

"Is it the one you keep sending people out to find…?"

I nodded.

"And yet we've been unsuccessful," he noted.

"You think?" I said a bit too sarcastically. I shouldn't be so snippy with him, he was such a loyal man. He didn't deserve such a thing.

Martin though didn't seem to even notice or mind my tone as he nodded again. "Why not tell me, Celine? Tell me more, so I can help you. Maybe the reason we've failed to find this… woman you are searching for is because of your hesitance to give us more information about her. If you can't trust them, how about giving me a shot at it?" he offered.

My heavy heart melted a little, and for a tiny moment I found myself liking the boy more than I already did. I was used to such undying loyalty, a lot of my fellow sisters or church members had such fealty… but this man was not a church member. He wasn't even religious. He was just… loyal to a fault.

"If I told you, it could cause issues," I warned him.

"But failing to find her will cause even worse ones, will it not?"

Gods he was right…!

I took a deep breath and sighed it out… and then heard people approach. I turned and watched Eyes, Freya and Morta all head our way.

"Fine… I'll consider it. We'll talk more later," I said simply, deciding to actually do so.

Martin simply nodded as I went to join the group and go meet this whale. I had many things to ponder and worry about, but I knew better than to ignore the immediate. Sometimes even the smallest and simplest thing was important enough to change history.

But that didn't mean I didn't think of Martin's offer while doing so.

Especially since it was such a heavy decision.

If I agreed to it, I'd have to tell him what it would cost him. To know. Because to properly find her, before it was too late, meant he'd have to know the consequences and what he could and couldn't do afterward… not to mention something even more personal.

If I did this I'd also have to tell him something that would possibly ruin his future. And it was a glorious future. To sacrifice it so…

But I suppose that was our life. To sacrifice.

We'll all have to sacrifice something, by the end. Even the Goddess and the God Slayer would… and if not even they could avoid it, then I wasn't sure if there was any point in us mere mortals hoping for a better outcome.

For now at least.