Interstellar Age

Chapter 167 The Dark Sage

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There was a curious look in Lunaria's eyes as she gazed upon Erich's shaken appearance. A slight inflection was noticeable in her voice, as if she did not believe that Erich could possibly see what she intended to do. 

"What's not possible?" 

Erich looked deeply into the woman's golden eyes, which were almost identical to that of her daughter. He did not even believe it himself, but what he had witnessed in his vision was the only path forward. There were no alternatives, which meant that this was certainly going to happen. But it didn't make any sense whatsoever. And thus, Erich appeared unwilling to say what fate had in store for him. 

At the same time, Erich entered a state of mediation once more, where nothing had changed, other than a few minor details, for example. In the very next moment, Lunaria grew impatient, and demanded an answer. 

"What did you see? Tell me!" 

Unknowingly, Lunaria had laid her hands on Erich, and touched an outsider, much like her daughter had done. She was so eager to hear what Erich had seen that she was literally shaking him while kneeling between his legs. Which caused Erich to avert his gaze from the woman and her bountiful cleavage. There was an embarrassed look on his face as he spoke of what he had seen. 

"You're.... You're going to kiss me?" 

Lunaria felt as if the heavens had just collapsed on her. She indeed intended to kiss Erich, partially as a way of mocking fate, and those who believed they could see its will. It was such an absurd thing to do, especially in these current circumstances, that there was no way Erich could possibly predict her actions without actually seeing the future. 

Now she felt embarrassed, just as much as Erich did. And an awkward silence sat between the Alfheim Empress, and her prisoner for several seconds, before the woman threw out all reason, and did exactly as Erich had predicted. 

The kiss that was shared between Erich and Lunaria was a long one, lasting for several minutes. During this brief moment of intimacy, Lunaria wanted to get all the lust she had for Erich's species out of her system, and thus she made sure that Erich fingered her moist cave of wonders, until she climaxed all over him. 

It was only after she came that the woman realized what she had done and abruptly stood up. As for Erich, he had no idea how this had happened, and was as shocked as when Celestia proposed to him. He quickly activated his foresight to see what would happen to him next. But multiple paths presented themselves. 

In one of them, Lunaria would make love to him in this very cell, while in another she would order the guards to execute him on the spot. Ashamed that she had given into her base desires, which she had spent the last three hundred or so years avoiding. 

And in another future, Lunaria simply left the cell with a confused expression on her face. Of course, Erich could only see thirty seconds into the future, so he had no idea which of these futures was the one that would lead to his survival. But there was nothing he could do in any of them to make such a fate more certain. Instead, he sat back and waited for destiny to reveal itself. 

It turned out that the third path was reality, because Lunaria took one look at Erich, her face filled with a mixture of shame and desire, before exiting the cell. She would not return for the rest of the night. Leaving Erich alone to worry about what would happen in the morning. 

---

After leaving Erich's cell, Lunaria visited her daughter's, where Celestia was gazing rather defiantly at her mother. As if there was nothing to say about her current predicament. That lasted for about three seconds, before the young Elven beauty realized something was dreadfully wrong with her royal mother, which she was quick to inquire about. 

Lunaria paced about her daughter's cell, afraid to speak her thoughts aloud. But she had nobody else to vent to, other than the foolish girl who had caused such humiliation to their family. Of course, what she had just done herself was far, far worse than anything Celestia had done. And if anyone were to find out, there would be hell to pay. 

It was only after Celestia yelled at her mother in a worried tone that the woman snapped out of her frantic state. 

"Mother, what's wrong? What happened?"

Perhaps partially out of her wits, Lunaria confessed what she had just done to Erich, something which shocked her daughter to the core of her being. 

"I kissed him, that silver-haired boy.... He saw that I would do it, and I did it! What was I thinking?!?!" 

Celestia was furious. After all, the Sages had said she was the one who would be charmed by Erich, and bound to his will. But then again, she was practically the spitting image of her mother. Was it possible that the sages had mistaken her for her mother? No, that didn't make sense. How could such a monumental mistake occur? Ultimately, Celestia had no choice but to express her outrage at what her mother had done. 

"You did what? Mother, how could you? Here you are about to execute me for hugging the man, and you went and did something so shameless with him! I can't believe you right now!?!"

It was only now that Lunaria realized she had confessed to her daughter about something that could ruin their family. She then looked at her daughter with a cold gaze, seeming to have recollected her wits, which had previously been scattered about. 

"Celestia, you are not to say a word of this to anyone! If you promise me that, I will pardon you both. However, I will not permit your union. It is clear to me that these Sages' abilities are not as clear cut as either of us ever believed before.

And Erich seems to be the only one who is willing to cooperate with us. I've always suspected that the Sages never truly had the Alfheim Dominion's best interests in mind, and are instead working towards some ulterior goal. But Erich can be molded into a powerful weapon to use against those bastards if they should ever bare their fangs against us. 

I can't execute him now that I know his ability is real, but I also can't permit the two of you to be together. I will come up with some bullshit excuse in the morning to pardon the both of you. But for now, you must keep his ability a secret from everyone. Especially the Sages. I have no idea how they will react once they know the truth."

Celestia, while happy that she and Erich weren't going to be executed, was a little disappointed in her mother, who seemed to have developed an interest in Erich for more than just his abilities. Still, a win was a win, but now she had more important questions on her mind. Like who was the real heroine of Erich's story? Was it herself? Or her mother?

---

Meanwhile, in the enclave where the Alfheim Sages dwelled, the old men and women who made up their ranks were in a heated discussion. Naturally, they could not peer into the life of Erich, as he was the one who shared their ability, and was thus shielded against those who sought to use their powers against him. 

But they could ascertain certain things by the destiny of those around Erich. Thus, after observing the recent events through the fates which were tied to the Alfheim Empress and her youngest daughter, a fierce debate broke out about whether it was Lunaria, and not Celestia, who would be the one to enable the the Dark Sage and his rise to power. 

"We have known about her proclivities towards Germanic men for some time.... Now that she has a chance to act upon those desires, she is bound to do so! If it is true, and this Erich Jaeger is the Dark Sage, then it would make sense that Empress Lunaria, and not her daughter Celestia, will be the Bloody Bride! We have already seen one empress throw away her sanity for this man. Who is to say that another will not do the same?" 

However, another Sage was quick to give voice to a dissenting opinion. One which aired on the side of caution. 

"It is unclear whether or not Erich is the Dark Sage as we have seen through the weave of fate. While the Germanic Star-Empire has recovered faster than we initially thought they would, after suffering a near annihilation at the hands of the Naraku. They are still millennia away from becoming a sub-galactic power, let alone a galactic power.

And need I remind you that the Germanic race does not have the lifespan for a member of their species to lead such efforts? I still believe the Dark Sage will come from a long established power, rather than a recent upstart, no matter how promising it is. If that is the case, then it would be Celestia, not her mother, who will fall for the Dark Sage's charms!" 

This was a very convincing argument to most of the Sages, that is until, the one who had previously spoken made an even greater point. 

"And what if Lunaria is the reason behind the Germanic Star-Empire's rapid restoration? What if she one day gives them the technology to obtain immortality, despite their race not naturally having the genes for it? Will you say then that Erich is still not the Dark Sage?" 

Ultimately, with these two conflicting interpretations of the future, the Sages were forced to treat both possibilities as reality. With a heavy sigh, the Grand Sage spoke his thoughts on the matter, before concluding the meeting. 

"It is still too early to tell. We must watch and wait until it becomes clear who our enemy is. And only once we are certain of the future, and what fate has in store for the galaxy, will we strike! Until then, we must continue to monitor the situation, and all potential candidates who might be the Dark Sage."

With that said, Erich had become a primary suspect for the man who was prophesized to set the Galaxy ablaze in his wars of conquest. A man who the Sages of the Alfheim Dominion referred to as the "Dark Sage".