Chapter 102 - Cosmic Joke

“Just do as I say...” Argus began.

Following Argus’ instructions, Yuzu gently poured a third of the ceramic bottle’s contents into the silver bowl. The milky white liquid had a sweet and alcoholic aroma to it that caused Yuzu to lick her lips subconsciously.

Placing the bottle back in her pocket, she stepped back and clasped her hands together. She closed her eyes, bowing her head and repeated the words that Argus told her to say.

These words were spoken in an ancient language called Fortus, which Yuzu was unfamiliar with. However it wasn’t important that Yuzu understood exactly what she was saying, but that she maintain the deeper intention.

“We are calling upon the owner of the shrine to communicate with us.” Argus said, “If it helps, imagine your prayers channeling into the shrine. Now repeat after me...”

Yuzu mimicked the words Argus spoke, replicating the flowing ancient speech that rose and fell in a rhythmic pattern. The soft consonants and gentle vowels felt elegant yet filled with an innate power. As she repeated each phrase, her whole body began to tingle. She could feel the blood pulsing through her veins and capillaries, and she became intensely aware of her heartbeat as it reverberated through her like the beat of a drum.

These increased sensations only served to increase her apprehension and anxiety at contacting a higher being, but she’d already made up her mind. Regardless of whether the God of Fate (or whoever it turned out to be) was benevolent or evil, it was better to find out who exactly was on the other side than continue on in ignorance.

Tell me who you are. Yuzu prayed with determination.

Several minutes passed, but no message arrived. In fact, Yuzu felt a strange sensation that she didn’t understand.

“It’s like there’s a block at the shrine.” Yuzu said after some contemplation. “I feel like the energies are reaching the shrine, but get lost and jumbled, with nowhere to go.”

“That’s strange.” Argus said with a frown, “It shouldn’t stop there. Normally you would feel the energy dissipate if it were unanswered. If the entity didn’t exist, or if it chose to ignore the call, the result would be the same as well.”

Yuzu shook her head, “That’s not what’s happening. I definitely feel that the energy has been locked within the shrine.”

Argus thought carefully for a moment when suddenly his eyes lit up. “Could it be...”

He bit on his thumb as he instinctively shook his head, as if to discard the thought that had come to mind. His eyes turned to look at Yuzu as he contemplated the chance that his guess was correct.

“What is it?” Yuzu asked, catching his gaze.

“Let us try the ritual again.” Argus said, “This time, I will perform it.”

Yuzu stepped aside as Argus stood in front of the shrine and clasped his hands. He muttered the prayer under his breath, the same words that he had assisted Yuzu with in her attempts.

As he prayed, Yuzu suddenly became aware of an illusory light that was gathering at the roof of the shrine. The aged stone started glimmering as if there were tiny gems embedded across its surface. Yuzu intuitively felt that these changes in the shrine were visible only to her.

A symbol of five concentric rings began to glow at the front of the shrine’s roof as a thin beam of light shot high up into the air.

Yuzu understood what was happening before she processed it in her mind. The light curved through the sky and flew towards her like a ribbon, and emanating from it were the illusory sounds of prayer.

Yuzu reached out with her spirit body and grasped the thread. The prayers became more vivid as she intuitively understood the words being chanted to her.

Oh Exalted Being of Fate
I am your faithful servant
I offer you a gift of aether
In hopes that you will bless me with your name.

A tiny smirk appeared at the edge of Yuzu’s lips as she sent a response down the thread.

“You should know it already, but thank you for the gift.”

She felt a surge of energy as she accepted the ribbon of prayer. Her connection to the shrine solidified once more as the symbol on the shrine glowed brightly in her spiritual vision. She felt a tug on her body and she knew that it meant that the shrine was ready to send her into the white world.

Argus lowered his hands and looked up from prayer as he turned towards Yuzu. Though his eyes were serious, he couldn’t help but show a small grin. “So, I suppose that answers our question.”

“The higher being of the shrine is me?” Yuzu asked.

“Yes.” Argus nodded, “When you prayed to yourself the energy had nowhere to go and simply became stuck, as it was being pushed away and attracted simultaneously. My question then is, how did you come to receive this shrine?”

“It must have been due to the chest.” Yuzu said.

“That is the logical explanation.” Argus replied, “But it’s a very shallow one. I have not heard of any items that can bestow such deep and powerful connections in this manner.”

He shook his head in agitation. ”A shrine like this is painstakingly crafted and infused with an incredible amount of energy in order to form the connection to its owner. The investment in energy is not something a mortal can manifest or direct.”

Argus threw up his hands as he started pacing back and forth. Steam seemed to be coming out of his ears as he barrelled down the track in his train of thought. “I have never heard of a shrine transferring owners. Is that even possible? And even if it were possible, what would be the motivation in giving up such an important artifact?“

“No, it makes no sense. What kind of being does such a thing? And where would that being go? Surely there would be traces of such a being around here of that being’s existence. But there's none-” Argus looked around the darkened plateau, almost shouting, “There’s none!”

Yuzu’s eyes narrowed in concern as she noticed Argus’ actions become increasingly erratic.

“Argus...” She said, reaching over to the boy. As she touched his arm, an incredibly cold chill shot through her fingers. She recoiled her hand, grasping it with the other as she felt her fingers go numb. “Argus, stop.”

“...And even if there was motivation, what kind of being has the power to transfer ownership to a mortal?” He raised his hands to his head and clutched at his hair as his voice rose, “I’ve never heard of such a thing. It must be impossible! And yet, I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes. Could it be a trick? Could this be some strange, cosmic joke? Agh! Rrrrghh!”

Argus started groaning incoherently as it seemed like he was about to tear the hair out of his head in agitation. As he continued to spiral into a manic trance the grey fog that was concealing them began to flicker and strange stars began to sparkle within the mist. Yuzu’s spiritual intuition suddenly rang in her ears in warning.

“Argus!” Yuzu stepped forward urgently and reached out with both hands to grab Argus by the shoulders. She shook him violently as a bitter cold coarsed through her arms, but she could only hold on for a few second before she couldn’t stand the freezing pain. Throughout this Argus seemed unaware of her presence as his words changed from Nianese to a strange, foreign language.

Out of desperation Yuzu made one last attempt.

Slap! The boy’s fervent cries suddenly came to a halt as he was flung sideways from a solid blow to his face. He hit the ground, arms flailing as he fell into a puddle of muddy water with a splash.

Yuzu stood over him, massaging her palm as she winced in pain. Her arms felt like they were frozen to the bone, yet it didn’t numb the pain but rather amplified it. She stood in shock, her eyes wide half in shock at her own actions. She hadn’t ever slapped someone before.

“That hurt-” Argus pushed himself up to his knees as he wiped his eyes with the back of his arm. He looked up at Yuzu while holding onto his cheek with his other hand. Seeing her annoyed scowl, the thoroughly soaked boy’s face lit up in a wide, sheepish grin, “You could have warned me.”

“I didn’t know how to stop you.” Yuzu said quietly, “You were scaring me.”

“I know.” Argus rubbed his cheek as he nodded, “Thank you for knocking me out of that.”

“Sorry, I didn’t think I was hitting you that hard. I’ve never hit a small boy before.”

“You did a fine job of it.” Argus replied, standing up finally as he winced, “I think I’m going to feel this for a week.”

“Are you feeling better?” Yuzu asked.

Argus took a deep inhale through his nose, exhaling slowly. His expression grew solemn as he nodded, “Yes, I am. Thank you. It seems that your course of action was effective at breaking me out of the that downward spiral-“

He interrupted himself to look at her pointedly, “Not that I’m asking you to employ that technique again, if a similar situation were to occur in the future.”

“I agree.” Yuzu said, still massaging her tingling hand. The cold in her limbs was starting to dissipate, leaving only a dull ache. “I’ll find something other than my hand to hit you with next time.”

“Maybe I’ll just take care to control my thoughts around you.” Argus said, chuckling nervously. “Proper prevention staves off the cure, after all.”

Argus shook his head, “But that is for me to worry about, at a more appropriate time... Right now, our biggest concern... is you.”

Argus fell quiet as he contemplated the problem once more. Yuzu didn’t interrupt him, though she kept a close watch over his countenance. His eyes grew stern, and he would occasionally shake his head, but he seemed to keep his thoughts under control.

His appearance was a bit ridiculous. His hood had fallen off and he had not bothered to replace it. He was soaked to the bone yet completely unconcerned about it. He looked far too serious for a ten year old boy. Yuzu almost felt like telling Argus not to worry about it, that perhaps they should return to the city before he caught a cold.

“I suppose what’s most important is not why or how you have come to reach this place, but rather what are the ramifications of this arrangement.” Argus said softly, unaware or unconcerned with Yuzu’s thoughts, “If there is a higher being out there, assisting you, then what does it want? If there isn’t, then what strange acts of fate have conspired to grant you these powers?”

“Finding the answer seems simple enough to me.” Yuzu said.

“Yes, it is, isn’t it.” Argus sighed. “Somehow, we both knew this would be the case from the start, yet confirming that this is the best course of action still seems mildly irritating. It annoys me that for all my knowledge and connections, I’ve been unable to pierce the mystery. Instead, the more we discover down this path, the less we seem to know!”

Yuzu grinned, “You really can’t stand being in the dark about something, can you?”

“What can I say? I’m a Keeper of Knowledge.” Argus smiled back. “My creed lies in uncovering the mysteries of the world.”

“Well, we know exactly where to find the answers to this mystery.” Yuzu said, looking towards the shrine.

“Indeed.” Argus followed her gaze. “They’re all hiding inside that ornate chest.”