Archbishop Adriana was very curious about Hildegard, the Holy Flame Empire's new Monarch.
The reason was the Blazing Sun in the sky. She could tell that it was asleep, yet some of its authority had fallen to Hildegard.
A sleeping deity could not actively bestow such a blessing, which made Hildegard particularly unusual.
Then there was the Sun Sect.
Adriana had little interest in taking over the Sun Sect. She followed the teachings of Dawn, not the Blazing Sun, and there was still a distinction between the two.
"The Blazing Sun's precise condition is a matter of great importance."
"It could determine whether the Lord of Dawn has briefly awakened and can see the darkness beneath the light of the Pan-Plane worlds."
Inside the palace of Monarch City, Adriana showed no fear of the city that had once stood up, and she faced Hildegard with neither servility nor arrogance.
"You can sense its existence better than I can."
"It seems to have acquired a physical form—"
Adriana's words startled Hildegard, but fortunately, they stood far enough apart that Adriana did not notice her reaction.
Hildegard knew that the Blazing Sun had acquired a physical form. She had never told Ryan because she understood that this was something extraordinary—and terrifying.
Archbishop Adriana had guessed it. How could Hildegard not be shocked?
Beyond that, did Adriana's description not imply that the Blazing Sun had previously lacked a physical form?
What exactly was the nature of its existence?
And was the reason it could not return to the Eternal Kingdom that it now had a physical form?
If so, could she also infer the forms of the other twelve Great Beings in the Eternal Kingdom—no, eleven—even including the Lord of Dawn?
Hildegard did not know. Through her conversations with Ryan, she had learned