Inside the church, at the kitchen.
Once there, I brewed a pot of tea for us both and then poured Cassandra a cup. After that, I said, "So, you seem to know who I am. You introduced yourself too, Cassandra... but like, who ARE you actually?"
Cassandra took the cup of tea with a grateful smile. "R-Right. I guess I should start there. Um... Like I said, I'm Cassandra Ilion. I'm from the Apollo Familia..."
I paused.
Cassandra noticed and quickly waved her hands around. "I-It's not like that! I'm not spying or doing anything! Nobody even knows I'm here!"
"Uh huh..." I poured myself a cup of tea and then sat down across from Cassandra. "I'm going to need a bit more context."
"Right. Yes. Of course you would. Um... You know Miss Misha, right?"
"Misha?" I tilted my head, thinking. Then I remembered. "Oh, Eina's friend. One of the other dungeon advisors. She's the one with pink hair, right?"
"Y-Yes!" Cassandra nodded and said, "That's right! She's my advisor. And she said you were the one who listened to my oracle, right?"
"Oracle? ...Oh yeah, that weird riddle thing. Did it help? I wasn't sure if I got it right."
I remembered that. It was a bit weird, actually. If I remembered right... "For whom does the bell toll? Cursed blood, burning anew. Fallen moon, love shot through... That one, right Cassandra?"
Cassandra nodded, a relieved smile on her face. "Yes! That's the one."
"Did you ever figure it all out? And was it for a quest or something? Maybe a secret area in the dungeon?"
I heard that there could be a few of those around. I'd never found one myself, personally... but that was because Dungeon-chan had a habit of just entering murder-mode when she saw me.
...Oh, actually. In hindsight, that one time I fell through the floors by using my magic sword might be it.
Just as an analogy... and definitely NOT for real. But if this world was hypothetically a game, I definitely triggered a random event by having the magic sword on me at that time and using it.
Probably like an 'anticheat' measure.
I WAS operating with overpowered equipment at the time...
Cassandra shook her head. "I figured out a few of the lines in hindsight, but... No, that's not important." Cassandra looked at me with a serious gaze and said, "Mister Bell. If I told you that I received an oracle of Orario's destruction... of the gods being cast down and the end of times coming... would you believe me?"
I paused. "...Am I... uh, a central figure in that hypothetical oracle?"
"Y-Yes, actually. How did you know?"
I coughed. "Ah. That's just... Well, I had a feeling." I paused. "Would said hypothetical oracle involve Tia- I mean, Hestia being harmed in any way?"
Cassandra paused. "W-Well... I saw Lady Hestia using her Arcanum, so... I-I suppose so? I-It was a bit unclear what happened next..."
"Okay." I nodded. "I'm taking you seriously." I conjured my handy-dandy soul-bound quantum magic thingy notebook... the one that only I could use, see, and read, and said, "Let me have it."
"P-Pardon?"
I nodded. "Give me the oracle. Trying to avoid fate tends to end poorly, so we'll just interpret it and unambiguously fulfill it instead."
"...Pardon?"
I blinked. "What? Do you not know how prophecies work?"
"R-Rude! Of course I... I mean, I kind of do... But- Wait." Cassandra blinked. "How do you know how oracles work, Mister Bell?"
"Ah. Well..."
I thought back to an infamous 'boy-who-lived' and his prophecy. Then I thought back to the numerous fanfictions I'd read playing with the interpretation of that prophecy before it was actually played out in Deathly Hallows.
"...I have experience with seemingly absolute wordings when it comes to prophecies, we'll say. Now." I twirled my pen and said, "Let me have it."
Cassandra stared at me in awe.
I stared back with confusion. "Uh... Cassandra?"
"S-Sorry! It's just..." Cassandra lowered her head. "...You're the first person who's taken me seriously when I mention my oracles..."
"Ah, well... You have a rather infamous name. I know another Cassandra who had visions of the end. People didn't believe her and a kingdom fell. She also had a, um... rather unfortunate ending. So I'd rather you not share your namesake."
"...I beg your pardon?"
"Don't worry about it. Anyway, prophecy?"
"A-Ah. Yes. I brought it with me..." Cassandra reached into her robes and laid a sheet of paper on the table. "H-Here you are, Mister Bell."
"Alright, let's see what- Well." I read over the lines and let out a nervous laugh. "This is... rather specific."
---
The will of rebellion surges.
The oracle of destiny fails.
The future of Orario vanishes.
Artemis has fallen.
Freya has surrendered.
Apollo has erred.
The family of Loki shall rise, taking the throne.
The flames of Vesta shall burn, sealing the myths.
The madness of Dionysius shall scatter, rousing the spirits.
Beware, the era of gods draws to a close.
Beware, the era of monsters rises.
Beware, the era of humanity descends.
The will of rebellion surges.
---
Rather than a prophecy, it was more of a dictation.
The will of rebellion surges...
That was definitely me.
The oracle of destiny fails... If Cassandra was the one who gave the previous oracle, that would be explained by the fact that I broke it. And considering she came directly here, it could be fulfilled by the fact that me knowing about this is leading me to break it.
But the rest...
"...You're saying you saw this, Cassandra? How?"
Cassandra shifted in her chair. "I have a skill called [Seer]. It gives me prophetic dreams, but they're usually left for interpretation. This time though..." She nodded towards the paper. "Those words came through. Again, and again, and again... Then scenes too. I drew them, but I wasn't able to bring them all with me..."
"That's fine. But hm..." I placed my hand on my chin to think. "Alright. Let's walk through this. If this is a prophecy, the structure matters. And if you were deliberately shown these words, then they're pretty set in stone."
Cassandra winced. "Y-Yes. That's what I believe as well... B-But as far as I can tell, there's no way to avoid it." She paused. "...But you're speaking like you think there's a way, Mister Bell?"
"Well, avoiding a prophecy is how you make it happen. Even gods can't dodge those. The solution isn't running from it, but ensuring it comes to pass on our terms. But let's analyze it. First off, there are 13 lines. Considering your previous oracle was about a bell tolling, the symbolism is important. Each of these lines corresponds to a toll of destiny, meaning the fact that there's one more indicates destiny is now off kilter. There's a 13th hour here that shouldn't be."
Cassandra's eyes widened. "That's... Yes. Yes! That makes perfect sense!" She quickly read the lines again and then pursed her lips. Probably remembering her previous prophecy. "D-Do you have more pen and paper, Mister Bell?"
"Sure. One sec." I reached into the nearby cabinet and pulled out some pieces of paper and a pencil before handing them to Cassandra.
She took them with a nod and then quickly scribbled out her previous prophecy.
---
For whom does the bell toll?
Cursed blood, burning anew. Fallen moon, love shot through.
For whom does the bell toll?
A fool, a hero. The one, the zero.
For whom does the bell toll?
Drunken madness breeds innovation. Heroism thriving within
devastation.
For whom does the bell toll?
The liar, the play? Or the storyteller, today?
---
"...There are eight lines." Cassandra murmured. "Eight is the number of completion. Infinity. Perfection..."
I read over the prophecy and said, "...Huh. That's ominous. It's eight lines, but four pairs. And four is associated with death and endings."
Cassandra froze. "That's... Yes. That's true. Then this oracle..." She tapped the page. "This is the oracle of destiny that failed!"
"Probably. That seems to be setting up a scenario where the world goes to hell and then people rise up. But clearly, that didn't happen. If I had to guess, that would be Monsterphilia. But we got past that with... not minimum chaos, but definitely not the absolute 'ending' that implies."
Cassandra nodded. "I see. But..." She glanced at the latest oracle. "What about this then, Mister Bell?"