Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 427: Ulysses

Chapter 427: Ulysses

"Despite only being a few days into the Long Night, a lot has happened already," Albus remarked with a heavy sigh as he perused the newspaper he carried with a heavy expression.

"What does it say?" Alex inquired as he leaned back in his chair.

"What else?... Death and wanton destruction, of course. Those dastardly vampires did something to the Nighteye and now the Month of Astra that’s always been dangerous is ten times worse. Honestly, this is all just rather annoying."

"I didn’t think you’d be such a patriot for the Empire."

"Hmmph, what patriot?... I’m only worried those bastards could attack Hillsborough at any time."

"We just have to hope that it won’t happen, also, stop talking about such terrible things," Rose said as she emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray with biscuits and two cups of piping hot tea.

Setting aside his newspaper, Albus moved to help her. "You could have asked me to come and do this. There’s hardly a need to stress."

"Oh please, give it a rest. I’m not a child that can’t do anything."

"But you just recovered from an illness, you should rest."

"And I have rested plenty, so leave it be, now sit down and let me work."

Faced with his wife’s insistence, Albus had no choice but to do as he was told, earning a chuckle from Alex.

"What’s so funny?" Albus inquired begrudgingly while Rose set the tray down and placed a cup for Alex.

"Would you like some sugar?" Rose inquired sweetly as she picked up the sugar container she’d placed on the tray.

"Just a little bit."

"Alright." Nodding softly, Rose put a bit of sugar in his tea.

"I’d love some as well," Albus said at the side.

Rose snorted. "Go back a few years and then I’ll consider your request. Till then, enjoy your tea."

Then to Alex, she remarked. "If you need anything, dear, I’ll be in the kitchen."

"Alright." Alex nodded after which Rose turned to leave only to pause as a certain thought crossed her mind.

"Is there a problem?" Alex promptly inquired, noting her pause.

Rose turned back and with a warm smile remarked. "Well, I thought it best to share some good news with you to lighten up the rather cold and dreary atmosphere."

"Oh?"

"Would you like to tell him Albus or should I?"

"Ah, about that matter?" Albus sighed, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before addressing Alex. "Well, you see, after much extensive thought, I and Rose have decided to adopt a child."

Alex’s eyes widened at the surprising piece of information. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, and we would love for you to be their godfather." Rose joyfully added.

"I’d love to," Alex replied excitedly before adding. "But how soon do you plan on the adoption?"

"If not for the unfortunate circumstances rocking the Empire, we’d have started the process this week."

"Ah..." Alex muttered, his expression rather complicated as he was unsure how much longer he’d remain in the Empire.

Noting his expression, Rose inquired. "Is there a problem, dear?"

"... Not at all," Alex remarked, deciding that it would be a simple matter to take a day off from work to grace the occasion.

"Wonderful. Well then, that’s all for now. As I said, if you need me..."

"You’ll be in the kitchen. Noted."

Flashing a smile, she turned and made her way back to the kitchen.

Albus grumbled. "One would think she was married to you and not me."

Alex chuckled. "Any news?"

"I’ve already sent the research paper to the TruthSeeker branch situated in the Empire. We should have gotten some response by now but due to the current situation, it would take some time before our paper is approved. I’d reckon we’d be called in to defend it at that time."

"And the other matter we spoke about?"

"The Branches of the Absolute?"

"That one," Alex replied.

"Well, I reached out to a few contacts, especially those who majored in History. Records on the subject are few and far between, but they are there, give me a moment."

Rising to his feet, Albus headed to the bedroom before emerging a few minutes later with three medium-sized books.

"These are the best amongst the bunch and even then, they are more akin to religious texts than anything else. I won’t lie to you, finding more information on the Branches would be difficult if even the TruthSeekers have nothing on them."

Alex couldn’t bring himself to deny his claims as it indeed held water and that was where it turned problematic.

With the Mantle of Darkness and Godstone captured Alex found himself unsure of how to proceed as he had no idea where the other Branches may be.

He’d hoped for some sort of direction by reaching out to Albus considering his connections amongst the TruthSeekers but it seemed he had been too optimistic.

At this rate, he may be forced to reach out to Nyx for guidance, an option he did not wish to utilize unless absolutely necessary considering how they’d parted ways.

Taking a deep breath, he picked up the books Albus had brought and rose to his feet.

"Are you leaving already?" Albus inquired.

Alex nodded. "Though I’d love to stay, I’m in a hurry, so I’d have to leave now."

"I’m a hundred percent certain Rose is in there cooking up a meal for you, what am I supposed to tell her?"

Maintaining a warm smile, Alex remarked. "Do extend my greetings to Rose and tell her I’d be more than happy to eat her meals more when next I come over."

"Hah, fine then. No problem."

"I’ll be taking my leave now," Alex remarked after which he snapped in a flash of black and white, and departed from the professor’s living room.

***

It was a well-lit room with candles of varying sizes placed at strategic locations.

A young man with hair the shade of copper, wearing a toga and a wreath of flowers, knelt on a mat with a scroll before him.

His palms were placed together with his head down and his eyes closed as though he were in deep prayer.

Then, he bowed to the altar ahead of him which held the likeness of an anthropomorphic being that seemed to be an amalgamation of land, sea, and sky animals.

He repeated this a few times before his prayer session ended, followed by him taking out a bottle of ink and a quill.

Taking a deep breath, he began to practice writing though the language he wrote in was one far removed from anything Razan.

Just then, there was a knock at the door drawing his attention away.

In a voice that seemed more feminine than masculine, the man answered by utilizing a heavily accented version of Razan. "Who’s there?"

"Are you done with supplication, Ulysses?... Our guide has arrived and your father wishes for us to quickly head out." a familiar voice answered from the other end though the language used was unlike anything from Ra’as.

The boy answered in a similar tongue. "I just finished, Uncle Timon, I’ll be out in a moment."

"Alright, quickly, I’ll wait for you."

Wasting no time, Ulysses paid one last supplication to the anthropomorphic being before rising to his feet and picking up his tools.

Once done filling up his satchel, he proceeded to put on rather thick clothing before hanging the bag over his shoulder.

Stepping out of the room a few minutes later, he found his uncle Timon standing outside, wearing a similar attire to his own.

The latter was quite fit, just like the younger Ulysses, despite looking to be twice the young man’s age.

"Ready?"

"Mn."

"Then let’s go."

The duo headed to what could only be described as a makeshift living room where five others were waiting with a notable figure amongst them.

It wasn’t that the person was significantly more powerful or the person carried a mysterious aura.

Nay, it was simply because the person wasn’t human and was instead a Cryptid, a Hyena to be exact.

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