At this time of day, the city was bustling with vitality while the sun stretched for thousands of miles.
In fact, even that dilapidated-looking area had a few stragglers gathering around. Fortunately, the unit owned by Rufus was sealed off by the constable prior, so they didn’t have to worry about any squatting problems. This was assuming that those stragglers were sane and of the correct state of mind.
This begs the question: Did that man, Terry Mondie, request this unit in particular for its environment? Or the fact that almost every incidents that occur on this street goes unnoticed by the constables? Either one was very likely.
While carrying these thoughts, Ulrich and Victor strolled down the same street where Dulvis was ‘blessed’ by Rosaline. Howeverc this time, it was different for Ulrich.
Being a Weaver and a Shadowmancer of the First Rank, Ulrich wasn’t as terrified. As a matter of fact, he was able to discern and see through some truths behind that tussle, which had eluded him at first.
“What are you thinking about?” Victor asked from behind, noticing that Ulrich was quieter than usual.
Wouldn’t you like to know, weather boy? Ulrich chuckled and shook his head.
“Rosaline should be a Shadowmancer, correct? What rank is she at?”
Hearing this question, Victor's foot paused in the air, though he quickly pressed it down and opened his mouth.
“Haha!” He laughed, then moved closer to Ulrich and leaned into his ear, “She’s a Shadowmancer, of course! You should be aware of this during your awakening.”
Did she ever directly admit to this?
Ulrich gave it a thought, then realized—Indeed, she did indirectly imply that she was a Shadowmancer. Perhaps he was too occupied with various matters that this detail eluded him. Regardless of the reason, Ulrich clicked his teeth after knowing that he missed that point.
“However, you cannot judge her through conventional means.”
“What do you mean?”
Victor didn’t answer immediately and merely stared at Ulrich. From the look of it, he wants to tease the newcomer by playing mysterious and building suspense.
Even without your eyes, you’re still fooling around? Subconsciously, Ulrich raised his palm and hoped to plant a new mountain on Victor’s face, but stopped midway.
Victor wore an oblivious smile, then said, “Did you ever wonder how I summoned Rosaline?”
Immediately, Ulrich's body jolted, and his hand froze. His lip twitched as his jaw tightened, though not a sound came.
That’s right, how come he never thought of this? Victor is clearly a Galebreather, so how is it that he was able to summon Rosaline using “Shadow Gate”? From the name alone, this spell must be of the Shadow Path.
At the same time, he recalled another ability—Shadow Leap. Ulrich manifested this ability in the dream through an incomplete awakening. Thinking about it again, the way Rosaline appeared after Victor’s channeling was similar to Shadow Leap, albeit the process and result were slightly different.
And so, how was it that Victor, a Galebreather, was able to use the spells belonging to the Shadow Paths? There were only two explanations!
“An external item, or a ritual?” Ulrich uttered under his breath.
“That’s right! Although the abilities of each path are fixed, it is possible to borrow or directly use the abilities of other paths through various means. This can be in the form of an item that contains the runes of that path, or a ritual which is pointed toward that path.”
“And as a Watchmans under the Night Mother, I can use “Shadow Gate” by performing a sacrificial rite through the Mother. This is a privilege that we Watchmans enjoy. Of course, we bear the cost corresponding to the ritual being held.”
With that said, he returned to the topic regarding Rosaline and said, “Rosaline is a special case, this is due to her status as an Oath-sworn. You may not be aware of this, but within the Churches—Not just the Churches of the Night Mother—The Oathsworns are considered a blessed of the Gods!”
A blessed? Someone who is graced with the blessing and bestowment directly from the Gods?
“Thus, some ritual which costs us an eye may as well cost her nothing. After all, our statuses are completely different in the eyes of the Great Mother, and so, the costs we bear are different.”
Ulrich thought he’d understood Rosaline’s status and role after learning about the Repository seal. However, it looks like Rosaline's status was even more extraordinary than he’d ever imagined.
At the same time, Ulrich had a rather intriguing thought. So he pulled at this thought and gave it a voice, “What’s the requirement for being a Keeper or Oath-sworn?”
Hearing this, Victor's face twisted. Despite having his eyes closed, Ulrich could feel the gaze directly, as though they were looking at him in contempt.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Tch, if you don’t want to tell me, so be it… Why are you making that face?
After a brief walk, they arrived at their destination. And as expected, there was an officer stationed near the building, patrolling the area.
“Do you mind letting us through?” Ulrich said, his hand revealed the inspector's badge.
Seeing this, the officer narrowed his brows, though looking at Victor's appearance, he couldn’t help but ask, “Who is this, a friend?”
“No, it’s my colleague. He suffered an injury during duty.”
Immediately, the officer hissed with cold breath and offered his condolences. After doing so, he made way for Ulrich and Victor, then stood guard outside. As they entered the hall, the first thing they noticed was the trail of blood that had long dried up.
Seeing this, Ulrich frowned, and yet Victor didn’t seem affected in the slightest. Was it because he was blind? Or was it because he’d already seen this sight so many times it became part of the job? Either way, Ulrich was a little startled.
It made sense, seeing as it was Victor who scryed into the building, which led to the mutation of Dulvis that night. So for Ulrich, this was his first time seeing the origin—the place where everything began.
It’s been days already, but the smell of blood is still fresh… At the same time, he could feel a prickling sensation poking at his side, so he turned his head. Victor noticed Ulrich's subtle abnormality and grabbed him.
“What’s wrong? You noticed something?”
Why do I feel like you’re not really blind?
Ulrich nodded, though quickly, he realized Victor probably couldn’t see him, so he answered, “Yes. I feel something strange.”
“That’s normal. As a Seer, you should trust your instinct. Your spirituality is more sensitive than that of an ordinary Weaver. For a Seer, your instinct is a warning, or ‘foresight’, which manifests as a certain abnormal feeling.”
Hearing this, Ulrich had a thought, “This sounds like an act of divination, though, the effect is passive?”
Victor smiled, applauding his quick understanding, “That’s right.”
“So, where do you feel is the most abnormal?”
Ulrich followed his instinct and crossed the first room, stopping at the second. From there, he entered and found a half-finished cigar resting on the ashtray.
Cigars? This is what my spirituality is telling me? What does this mean?
At the same time, Victor noticed that Ulrich had stopped. Subconsciously, he can’t help but question, “Is it here? What is it?”
“A half-finished cigar.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
For a moment, a silence grew between them. However, after giving it some thought, Victor urged Ulrich to inquire his spirituality and find the source of this ‘instinctual feeling’.
“Think carefully. Your spirituality reacts to your thoughts and desires. It manifests those feelings and subconsciously feeds you with the corresponding feedback. This can be a form of warning, which indicates danger to your own life or the life you care about. Or it can be a certain foresight, which affects you directly, or indirectly.”
Ulrich stared at the cigar, then sank into deep contemplation.
A warning to my life? And the life I care about? There’s only one commonality that can threaten both of these factors—The Twilight Order. By killing Lewis Smith, a member of the Order, I had inadvertently garnered their attention. There’s also the matter of Selena…
If that’s the case, then the cigar is a clue from my spirituality, which may or may not help me divert these dangers? Following those notions, then is the cigar a symbol, or a literal meaning which connects with an event, or a person?
However, Victor had said, this could also be a foresight, which stems from the future that can affect him. Though this event has yet to occur?
Once again, Ulrich could only come up with one name that matched this description—The Twilight Order.
Warning or foresight, it involves the Twilight Order… Why do I have a feeling we're fated...? With that thought, Ulrich cleared his voice with a light cough, then spoke in a low voice.
“The Twilight Order. I believe this cigar is linked to an event or person, which hasn’t happened yet, that will affect me either indirectly or directly. The question is, what clue does this cigar represent?”
Victor gave it a thought, then smiled. At the same time, Ulrich discerns the idea that was written on Victor’s face.
“A direct divination!”
Ulrich, with his knowledge, can perform a dream divination. From this, he could obtain a major revelation that could clear all, if not most of his doubts. As for the core of the question, it can be as simple as: The event or person that is linked to this cigar.
With that idea in mind, Ulrich took the cigar, then sat on the clean spot against the floor. After which, he asked Victor to guard his body.
“If it involves the Drowned Gods, return directly. Remember, do not look directly at things you shouldn’t look at, or listen to things you shouldn’t hear. Regarding this, your spirituality will instinctively warn you if it’s dangerous.” He said gravely, though there was a rather deprecating smile on his face as he tapped on his eyelids.
“I am aware.” He sighed.
Finally, Ulrich closed his eyes and repeated the steps in his mind.
The person, or event related to this cigar. . .
Due to the absence of information, this dream scrying is considered partial and incomplete.
Since that is the case, a symbol to anchor oneself is unnecessary. This is because Ulrich's astral body will follow the thread of origin from this ‘object’, thus, an anchor is useless and might even hinder his destinations. However, besides the concept of anchor, there was also another lifeline he needed.
I need a totem…
A totem is a sort of charm that tethered his physical location to his astral body, a kind of silver cord that connects the two. This totem is essentially an object that he carries on his person in the dream realm. If this totem is shattered or destroyed, then his silver cord will be severed, leaving him stranded.
After giving it some thought, he conjured the totem in his mind—A bronze hairpin.
There weren't many requirements for the totem that was created, so as long as it meets one requirement—The totem must hold a significant meaning, or connection to the Totem Holder. And for one reason or another, Ulrich's totem of choice was this particular bronze hairpin, the kind that shouldn't exist in this world.
Now that he formed the totem, he closed his eyes and entered a dream scrying state, moving through the waves of turbulent 'sea' that existed beyond the surface world.
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