Magical Soul Parade

Finn had only just shut his eyes when he suddenly felt a hard shove that jarred him awake.

He snapped up, alert, and saw Keeva's face not far from his with her hands held to her lips in a shushing motion.

"We've got company," she whispered.

Finn activated Null Perception instinctively and stood to his feet, eyes searching for the threat and quickly spotted a trail of lights in the distance, heading towards the town.

He walked up beside Thalia and observed the procession with Error Vision active.

"Who are they?"

"I don't know…" Thalia replied. "They practically snuck up on us. We didn't sense them or even see their lights before they were too close."

Finn frowned at that. A force this large and this brightly visible should have been visible for miles across the flat desert. Unless someone had deliberately concealed them until the last moment. Which suggested sophisticated magic… or in this case, divine intervention, which wasn't comforting at all.

"Thankfully Keeva wasn't too deeply asleep and heard our call to cast a disguise spell," Ailin muttered. "Those guys seemed to have sensed us before that."

"There's definitely something divine in there…" Deacon stated flatly as his eyes glowed golden in the dark of early dawn.

"Without a doubt," Finn seconded with a frown. He could literally sense the divinity pulsing from the whole company of carriages. Especially the one in the middle. An exquisitely crafted carriage that was leagues apart from others in glamour even from this far distance and despite the dim surroundings.

His stolen divine essence responded to that distant power. Not with hunger this time, but with something closer to recognition. Like calling to like across the sand. Finn forced it down, unwilling to let any divine signature leak from him, especially before he understood what they were up against.

The procession headed towards the town in the distance where figures started to converge at the gates.

"Huh? Who are those?" Tavian asked with a puzzled look. "There weren't any guards at the gates last night, were there?"

"They're believers of the Radiant One," Deacon said, observing the truth of their identity from this distance. "These are likely high-ranking believers within the city. They must've known this force was coming and prepared to welcome them beforehand."

"Let's move," Thalia ordered decisively.

Himothy immediately grunted, punching his fist against his palm in anticipation.

"Now you're finally speaking my language. I cannot sense this divinity you guys speak of. But I do know there is a strong challenger in that party," he took a deep breath, and everyone's eyes widened as they watched him about to roar a declaration.

"—"

Thankfully, Osric spread the effect of his silence concept and erased all sounds of the Glory Bearer's loud roar.

The big man turned back, visibly pissed that his declaration was silenced, but instead of showing his discontent, he made to charge down the sand dune and head towards the procession.

But immediately he took the first step, his body was yanked back with force.

Thalia held him firmly by the wrist like a vise, unmoving.

"We move at my pace," she stared him dead in the eyes.

Finn lifted a brow in surprise.

He knew Thalia was physically strong from seeing her in training sessions back in Astoria. She had basically perfected blending her order magic into her physique to somehow enhance her strength.

Finn couldn't wrap his head around the interpretation she must have spun to actualize her magic in such a form and to such an extent, but she had done it anyway. Even enforcing her bones through Somatic Transmutation.

But he didn't know she was this strong.

Enough that she could hold the Glory in place firmly. Someone whose concept was literally geared towards explosive strength.

Himothy frowned. And his frown only became deeper with each passing second he tried to wrestle his arm from Thalia's firm grip.

It wasn't until Thalia released his arm of her own volition — after seeing him begin to take it as a challenge, something to triumph against, an opportunity to feed his glory concept — that he was free.

His body shot backwards in a physics defying way, launching into the air and tumbling down the dunes from the abrupt cessation of hold against the amount of force he was applying.

But already, Thalia's goal had been achieved.

The company in the distance had entered into the town already.

Thalia and the others proceeded towards the town, their alertness kicking back into place.

Finn was especially alert, analyzing the implications this new party towards his plans.

Everything had just accelerated. His window to claim the Guardian's identity had shrunk from days to hours. Maybe less. Whatever divine force had arrived would move quickly to consolidate control. If Finn wanted to steal the Guardian's faith, he'd need to act before the Radiant One's influence became absolute.

He and Deacon shared a look for a second, before Finn turned his gaze forward resolutely.

He would see how things would proceed before deciding what to do next.

.

.

They slipped into the settlement just behind the rear of the company of caravans.

Up close, the procession was even more impressive.

Finn could see Merchant wagons mixed within the company. They formed the outer ring, but even at that, these weren't normal traders. The goods they carried were luxuries. Gold, silk, exotic spices. Wealth on display, meant to impress and intimidate.

The message their presence was trying to pass was clear: Follow the Radiant One, and prosperity follows. Reject him, and remain trapped in poverty and isolation.

It was a sophisticated form of conquest. Not just military or religious, but also economic. These merchants would establish trade routes, create dependencies, weave the settlement into a larger network where the Radiant One's influence was absolute. Even if some resisted religious conversion, they'd be trapped by material need.

But the position of these merchants at the furthest exterior still told a lot about how the Radiant One's religion was structured.

Because further in the ring of caravans, closer to the center, were warriors. Not guards or mercenaries, but real, full-blooded, trained warriors. They wore armor that gleamed even in the dim pre-dawn light.

Each of them carried weapons that looked ceremonial but well-maintained. And the discipline with which they moved spoke volumes of their level of skill. Their mannerisms and professionalism almost reminded Finn of Flumen Arcane Knights back in his own world.

The warriors surrounded a carriage right at the center. The same carriage Finn and the others had spotted from the distance earlier.

It was massive. Gilded and painted in gold and white, covered in sun symbols and flame motifs. Eight horses pulled it, each one pure white and draped in golden cloth. The wheels alone were nearly taller than Finn.

But what drew his attention, what made his Error sense prickle with wrongness, and his divine essence with familiarity, was the aura around it.

The carriage emanated heat that had nothing to do with temperature. Light that seemed to bend toward the carriage rather than away from it. And a pressure, subtle but unmistakable, that made the air itself feel heavier.

There's someone extremely powerful in there…