The night prayers

"Allow me to proceed," uttered Alice, delicately pouring herself a cup of tea, "where we left off; focusing on the perplexing individual who assaulted the three towns. I suspect my father, the king, is somehow linked to the onslaughts on Netherwick, Rivergate, and Whitecrest. This conjecture arises from his peculiar responses to their ruin. He visited the towns post-devastation, and I overheard disagreements between him and the respective town leaders. Besides this, I've come across new data concerning my father's nemesis, who led the evolution of a potent organization with even the church's backing.

She paused briefly to sip her tea and then queried, "Does their name ring a bell to you?"

Upon Reo's denial, she proceeded, "They're denoted as 'The Night Prayer'. This faction comprises individuals who challenge the King's sovereignty, including a number of remarkably powerful figures."

Alice stated, "A while ago, people inexplicably began to disappear". Upon hearing this, Reo immediately recalled a newspaper he'd read while living with John and Sonia. It discussed the mysterious disappearances of residents in Luke burg city.

Interestingly, prior to these occurrences, one of the leading members of the night prayer group made an appearance in the city and overpowered the king's royal guard. Subsequently, this individual gathered many people in the city's center. Here, he proposed a method for individuals to acquire elemental capabilities. While not everyone was convinced, a select few were ready to risk their lives for this supposed power.

"The procedure was intentionally concealed by father. However, I managed to uncover a crucial aspect of it - the individual involved has to willingly choose to risk their life. Moreover, those with knowledge of the procedure were eliminated by father himself. Thus, to avoid their impending doom, those aware of the protocol would alternate between halting and initiating the process of becoming an elemental user.

"Does this imply an increase in the number of elemental users?" inquired Reo. Alice retorted, "No." She further added that the individuals undergoing the procedure to acquire an element face certain adverse effects. "A person gains a form along with the element."

"That sounds fascinating," commented Reo, only to be questioned by Alice about his views regarding the future outcomes for people who fail to uphold their elemental forms. "They undergo a permanent transformation into their chosen form. Unfortunately, they begin to lose their sanity as their form consumes their energy intensely, eventually leading to their death. However, the death is not even the worst part."

When individuals take on a new form, they often begin a deadly rampage. In response, the King engaged a fresh member of the royal guard, a man named Arron Sliver. His duty was to combat these forms before they could obliterate the city and slaughter innocent civilians. The authorities undertook this operation at night, to ensure the Luke burg city's days were safe for its populace.

Reo dismissed the notion as his midnight observation revealed an unscathed city, leading him to acknowledge the King's efficient efforts in tackling the problem.

Surprisingly, the King publicly appeared in the city to educate its residents about the negative repercussions of transformation, aiming at discouraging this practice. However, from then on, the night prayers began to rally against the King. These dissidents even lured town leaders to rebel against the King by offering them their heart's desires in exchange.

The towns that were obliterated were among those enumerated, and this concludes the information that I have to share.

I am impressed and at a loss to comprehend how you have managed to gather such a wealth of information, but I find it quite compelling.

Following these words, Alice proceeded to sip her tea and indicated that it was now Reo's turn to speak. Reo, still recovering from the astonishing information Alice presented, reached into his pocket. He brought out three out of the four pages from the diary and slid them across to Alice's side of the table.

Alice looked at the pages quizzically and asked, "What are these?" In response, Reo said, "You would find it intriguing when you read them." As Alice examined the contents of the three pages, Reo pondered on whether he should show her the 4th page. However, he felt a compelling need to decode the mystery of the invocation before he proceeded further.

Alice had completed her examination of the three pages with initial intrigue that developed into confusion. "What is the source of these pages and could you enlighten me about an elemental god?" she queried while she perused the trio of diary pages that gave rise to her curiosity.

"I happened upon these papers which have a connection to a disregarded segment of history. My difficulty lies in locating the following pages, with a view to understanding this concept of an elemental god, if such an entity indeed plays a role in these narratives," I responded.

"I extend my gratitude for the highly insightful information you have just shared with me. Let us enter into an agreement. If I stumble upon any additional pages of the diary, I commit to sending them your way subsequent to my assessment. Similarly, if you unearth any, do notify me."

Upon hearing her proposition, Reo promptly acquiesced. The prospect of securing the help of another individual of equal repute to search for the missing pages held significant promise for the task at hand.

After deliberating on the particulars about the diary pages and the king, they shifted the conversation to discuss the books they had perused from the library. They exchanged recommendations before eventually taking leave due to the advancing hour, after bidding each other goodnight.