Aurelion materialized in a vast, dimly lit room filled with esoteric books and intricate drawings of advanced structures and technologies. A model of the solar system lay on a table, accompanied by a star map with constellations. A massive telescope extended through the open ceiling, pointing toward the night sky. Nearby tables were cluttered with notes and calculations.

Aurelion’s gaze was drawn to a black-haired woman lying on the floor, surrounded by a pool of crimson blood. She was completely frozen, her pain and mutation captured in a haunting stillness. Dressed in a traditional blue robe stained with blood, she appeared to have been trying to clasp her hands together in a silent plea for aid. Her body was in a grotesque state of mutation, with her skin splitting open to reveal pulsating eyeballs and her hair growing uncontrollably.

Seeing her suffering ignited Aurelion’s fury. He immediately approached the frozen figure and touched her forehead with his index finger. A burst of golden light erupted from the contact, bathing the woman in a healing glow. The light mended her torn flesh, dissolved the grotesque eyeballs, and restored her hair to its normal length. The blood on her robe evaporated, and her face regained its vitality, becoming rosy under the divine illumination.

With a final, apprehensive look at Thiara Knight, Aurelion prepared to confront the challenges that lay ahead.

Thiara Knight, once celebrated as a prodigious inventor and researcher of the First Era, had been compared to the revered Aleric in her time. Born to a modest yet wealthy family, she enjoyed a happy childhood, sheltered by affluence. However, tragedy struck when her parents fell ill and passed away, leaving her orphaned and struggling.

Despite her hardship, Thiara’s fortunes changed when she attended an exhibition organized by a faction under Aleric, showcasing groundbreaking inventions. Driven by a newfound passion, she invested her wealth in her dreams and aspirations. An introduction from a family acquaintance set her on the path to becoming a Goddess of Knowledge.

Her brilliance quickly propelled her to prominence on the Eastern Continent. As a demigod, her relentless pursuit of knowledge became her defining goal, leading her to seek the "truth" of existence. This quest led her into the ancient mysteries and ruins of the First Era, and it nearly cost her life.

It was during this perilous journey that Aurelion, alongside Cessian, encountered her. Aurelion’s instinct as an Arch Angels compelled him to save Thiara, recognizing her exceptional potential and the need for a high-sequence beyonder in his legion. Cessian, the Archangel of Fate, also discerned the uniqueness of her destiny.

Aurelion, though initially skeptical of her prospects, allowed Thiara to join his legion, cautioning her about the dangers of her unrestrained pursuit of knowledge. He warned her that some truths were best left undiscovered without adequate strength. Thiara took this to heart, learning from her mistakes and fulfilling her duties with dedication. By the dawn of the The Second Era, she ascended to become an angel.

Now, as Aurelion withdrew his hand from her forehead, Thiara’s brows twitched, and she slowly regained consciousness. Her first thought was whether she was still alive. The memory of being overwhelmed by an unknown entity, imparting vast and alien knowledge, left her feeling helpless and on the brink of destruction.

"Thiara, what did I tell you before?" A deep, resonant voice shattered her thoughts. Startled, she turned to face Aurelion. The sight of her lord standing before her, with his eyes glowing and the air thick with rising heat, made her feel even more inadequate. She was always the one who faltered and needed saving, and she was determined to change that.

"Don’t lose yourself in the pursuit of knowledge," Aurelion warned, his voice carrying an edge of concern despite his otherwise emotionless demeanor. The gravity of the situation, combined with future insights, led him to suspect that Thiara’s ordeal was linked to the unique nature of her Divinity.

Aurelion speculated that the crisis might be connected to the emergence of a hidden god, with Aleric’s influence looming large. He would have preferred the ascension of a human he knows about to the God of knowledge over Someone that's Completely starnger, but the situation remained unclear. He needed to consult with Aleric to unravel the truth behind these events and ensure that Thiara’s future would not be jeopardized by forces beyond her control.

“Mi..Miord, there were some minor mishaps,” Thiara stammered, struggling to stand straight as she regained her composure. She managed a strained smile, which looked more painful than reassuring. “I apologize for troubling you again.”

Despite her exalted status as an angel under Aurelion, Thiara, a proud and fearless individual, sought independence and self-reliance rather than always depending on her lord, unlike Orion. She was driven to grow stronger and advance along her own path. Repeatedly finding herself in troubling situations only intensified her self-reproach, leading her to wonder if the eccentric snake of mercury, with his dark heart masked by a boyish facade, had taken a particular interest in her.

Aurelion sighed, his gaze reflecting a mixture of concern and contemplation. With a wave of his hand, a table and two chairs materialized before them.

Thiara and Aurelion took their seats, her discomfort evident as she rubbed her temples, feeling the lingering effects of her ordeal. Though Aurelion had healed her, the trauma of having knowledge and information forced upon her left lingering aftereffects. It felt as if someone had crammed knowledge into her mind with a torturous precision, like a sharp object being twisted into her brain.

The scent of a soothing aroma jolted her from her distress.

“Drink this,” Aurelion said, offering a cup of steaming tea with a grassy, light fragrance. “It should help you regain your clarity.”

Without hesitation, Thiara took the cup and sipped. The dizziness in her head faded, and her spirit revitalized. Her mind cleared, and the remnants of her discomfort dissipated.

Staring in disbelief at the tea, she asked, “What’s the recipe, Milord?”

Aurelion’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “Do you like it?” He had brewed the tea himself, imbuing it with a touch of his divine essence, which contributed to its remarkable efficacy.

“It’s the finest tea I’ve ever tasted,” Thiara replied earnestly, her gratitude evident.

“Then, pray to me, and I’ll share the recipe,” Aurelion said with a smile, though his demeanor grew serious as he continued, “But for now, let us address the matter at hand.”

Thiara nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. “Yes, Milord,” she said solemnly. She touched her temple with her index finger, and a dim white light emanated from the contact.

The light intensified, extending from her temple and gently detaching. Thiara then moved her hand to the side of the table and let the wisp of light drift away, merging into the surrounding reality.

The world around them blurred and darkened, leaving Aurelion and Thiara seated at the table in a void of darkness. The darkness was soon pierced by a dim glow, revealing a scene of Thiara skimming through notes and sketches.

“This is my memory,” Thiara explained, rising from her seat and walking towards the scene. As a sage, she could effortlessly extract and project memories.

Aurelion followed, observing the reconstructed memory that matched reality almost perfectly, seen from Thiara’s subconscious perspective.

‘This bears a striking resemblance to the Pensieve from Harry Potter,’ Aurelion mused as he walked alongside Thiara.

“I was attempting to uncover some ancient secrets,” Thiara’s voice broke through his thoughts, her expression distressed as she pointed to the figure in the memory. “That’s when things began to unravel.”

Aurelion surveyed the scene as it shifted abruptly, revealing a blurry, partially-formed eye looming ominously behind Thiara. The eye lacked any discernible emotion or life, its presence cold and detached.

 In the memory, a faint beam of light shot from the mysterious eye, striking Thiara, who stood unaware of the danger. The eye vanished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving her to collapse under the unbearable flood of incomprehensible information surging into her mind. Reality itself began to fracture and distort, dissolving into a swirling chaos of fragmented data, leaving her disoriented and helpless.  

Thiara gasped, clutching her head as her mind teetered on the edge of overload. What had started as mere curiosity about the eye shifted into fear—fear that probing deeper could unleash something far more dangerous than she could handle.  

“Enough of that, Thiara,” Aurelion’s voice echoed through the fragmented space, calm and soothing, cutting through the turmoil in her mind.  

His words acted like an anchor, steadying her thoughts. Thiara raised her trembling hands and waved them with precision, causing the fractured space to collapse inward like a shattered mirror drawing itself back together. In an instant, the chaos dissolved, and they returned to their original setting, seated calmly at the table as if nothing had happened.  

“What was that eye, Milord?” Thiara asked, urgency threading through her voice.  

“That was the Divine Eyes of Sage,” Aurelion replied evenly, as though the incident hadn’t disturbed him in the slightest.  

“The Divine Eyes of Sage?” Thiara’s heart skipped a beat, her breath catching. Recognition dawned on her—this was no ordinary phenomenon. The eye was a manifestation of Hermit’s Uniqueness, a force embodying unparalleled knowledge and insight.  

“It shouldn’t...” Thiara began, her brow furrowing in confusion. Her understanding of Uniqueness was limited, but she knew one thing—it was not supposed to act independently. Something had disturbed its natural order. Either an external influence was at play, or something within the Uniqueness itself had gone wrong.  

“There is indeed an issue with it,” Aurelion confirmed, as though reading her thoughts with ease. His tone remained composed, yet the weight of his words hinted at the gravity of the situation.  

Thiara felt a chill settle over her. Whatever the issue with the Eye of Divine was, it was only the beginning of something far more complex—and dangerous.