Graham had to pick up a call.
It took little effort to get up and find somewhere private, especially when both Han Li and Charity were too busy rolling about in their antics. So when he got up and left, he was quite certain that neither of them noticed his absence.
He made his way up the second floor, finding an unoccupied balcony.
The view below him was that of the villa parking with dark forests stretching out into the horizon. Aside from the booming music and laughter that came from within, the night was awfully silent. Graham pressed his phone to his ear. “Mr Walker.”
“Ah, Saint Graham. I heard you are doing quite well in New Lidway City.”
“…” Graham wasted no time to air his grievances with Board member Jonathan Walker, “And I’ve heard that you’ve been loose with your mouth,” he accused. “You are relatively new on the Greater Board. This will build a bad reputation.”
He heard a sputter and cough from the other side, “My dear, honorable Saint Graham. I’ve done nothing in attempts to antagonize you.” Each word was slowly articulated with a slight annoyed edge to them.
“…Likewise.”
A huff came in through the static of the call. The reception wasn’t that good. “…In fact, I had made this very call as a peace offering to you.”
“A peace offering,” Graham repeated, skepticism dripping from his voice.
“A warning. That I’ve no gain in telling you, mind you.”
Graham wished to correct him on that so he did, “Do not jest. There is always something to gain. Do not try to fool me, Walker.”
“Do you wish to hear what I have to say or not?” There was a click of a tongue, Mr Walker’s voice was slightly strained.
Graham weighed his options and decided to reel in his annoyance, “Go on.”
A sigh came from the other side, “Are you going to finalize that Li boy’s files or not? As it stands, his professional status is still pending. While he still legally falls under our jurisdiction in this case, it also means that the Greater Board cannot do much if the other sectors are searching for loopholes. This entire mess does not bode well for that half-blood, since he has effectively propelled himself into the spotlight after this entire affair—”
Graham cut him off, “Are you sharing pointless gossip or is there actual merit to your words?”
“…Patience, Saint of Eternity,” Jonathan Walker scolded. Graham was very close to reminding that man of who was really the senior between them. “The New United Merriva Sector has taken an interest. They plan on making their move in conjunction with your new S-rank mission.”
Graham couldn’t hide his displeasure, but luckily there was no one around him to witness the scowl on his face that appeared only for the briefest of moments. While annoying, he could have seen this coming miles away. The NUM was very particular towards supernatural beings. Though their methods were at times questionable, Graham would be the last to deny their overarching contributions to the good of humanity. The same could be said about the entirety of the Hunter’s Association. Graham didn’t need to like everything they did, but he would never go against them either.
However, as it stood, there was a stark conflict in interests between Graham’s intentions and the workings of the NUM. He was already conjuring a myriad of legal loopholes to evade any large complications but it remained difficult if Han Li wasn’t going to finalize any of his hunter’s registration files. The Greater Board would at least offer better protection to Han Li’s rights, but without a proper hunter’s registration, there wasn’t much they could do.
As for why the NUM was so questionable…
“…The NUM’s Department of Anti-Supernatural Research has a new chairman and I heard he’s even poorer in character than the last… Saint Graham, are you even listening?”
Bluntly, he responded, “No.”
“…”
“Thank you for the information. I shall take it into consideration before making my next move.”
Graham had every intention to hang up before Walker started yapping again, “And you weren’t even listening.”
“I heard enough, Mr Walker,” Graham’s response was pointed. “And you should know better than to speak about the DASR openly.” The Department of Anti-Supernatural Research was always rather touchy receiving any form of criticism.
“…” There came another cough, “The workings of the DASR is hardly a secret between the two of us.”
It was then that something caught Graham’s attention. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw Charity’s vibrant strawberry blond hair. She was laughing, face flushed with Han Li chasing her heels. Her hand was around Han Li's wrist to help guide his questionable balance. Neither of the two was walking straight.
“It’s protocol,” Graham snapped. “I’ve heard enough. I’ve things to attend to now.”
“Saint—” He didn’t let Walker finish his sentence and hung up. Graham hadn’t been lying when he said that he had things to attend to. His eyes trailed back to the two and saw them disappear behind a line of trees.
Just what were they up to?
…
Divination was the art of peering into a person’s soul, reality, and fate. It wasn’t like trying weird remedies from a witch doctor or even testing out a new blessed weapon without being used to its specs. Basically, there shouldn't be any weird physical repercussions, right?
Which was Han Li’s clumsy excuse as to why he didn’t think it was a big deal.
Also, he’d never received divination before, the service was much too expensive for him to afford.
So when Charity offered to try it out for shits and giggles, Han Li, in his drunken state, just thought why the fuck not!
And soon, Han Li found himself in the woods. Okay, not really because the villa was still behind them with that R&B remix and flashing lights.
Charity had him sit on a large rock where she too climbed on next to him.
“I don’t have my tools with me,” Charity hummed, “so we’ll just do something simple. Give me your palms, dear.”
“Aight,” Han Li struggled against his balance as he handed his palms over. Charity’s delicate fingers traced the back of his hands, her thumbs drew circles into his palms.
“Take a deep breath and relax,” Charity hummed, her voice dropped an octave and wormed its way into Han Li’s heart. He found that his eyelids were suddenly heavy and he was without power to fight them. “That’s it. Open the window to your soul for this one. What stars have chosen this helm to head? What stars have chosen to remain behind? Let us see the constellation under which you sprung.” Her voice trailed off, distant like a humming wind.
Charity’s eyes glowed with a shimmering gold before she too closed her eyelids.
At first, it was darkness which she saw. And then a sea that stretched out before her.
The waters were calm but they were black, not a single star could be glimmered, not in the sky, nor in the water’s reflection.
She took a tentative step forward, water splashed beneath her feet. It was ice-cold. This couldn’t have been the landscape of Han Li’s soul, there must have been something she was missing. A veil that she’d yet to traverse.
But she was calm, and with a smile on her face, she trudged onward, water sloshing around her ankles before it became deeper and deeper. The cold sank in, like ebony fangs. But Charity remained undaunted for she had divined the truth of many terrible and horrible things. She was not a top-tier diviner for nothing.
So she kept moving forward, even as the dark waters swallowed her whole.
It was so terribly cold. But this wasn’t her physical body so even when Charity gasped, gulping down the black water, she knew that she wouldn’t die. She knew that it was all but a defense mechanism for the soul to protect its truth. Through the numbing pain and the burning flares in her lungs, Charity found the strength to pry open her eyes.
A blinding light shone below her and when she tried to look down her vision was engulfed. Charity struggled against the currents but she was both adamant and determined with still alcohol in her blood. There was the barest outline of a bull's horns protruding from the pulsing red light. A dark circle was drawn there with a glassy dome. It constricted before expanding and oh.
It was an eye.
…
Graham approached with caution, he’d been too late stopping Charity from doing anything stupid. The two of them were already seated atop a rock, sunken into a deep trance. A glowing golden light flickered on Charity’s brow and Graham wondered what stars she could glimmer within Han Li’s heart.
“I didn’t think they were starting already.” A black wisp materialized beside the Saint of Eternity. Iszak had changed out of his bloody clothes into something more presentable; a simple white pullover and grey sweatpants. “Weren’t we supposed to do this all together? Tomorrow?”
“We are,” Graham confirmed.
But just then something in the air shifted.
Charity’s golden light flashed before going dark. A demonic power saturated the air but their expressions remained stony and calm. The flesh around Han Li’s forehead shifted, a bulge appeared at the center of his brow then a vertical slit—
Graham moved at once, lunging forward and pushed them apart, cutting off the physical connection between Han Li and Charity. The poor woman fell back immediately and Graham caught her in his arms. Han Li sat there calmly, his lashes fluttered. But before he could peel open his eyes, Graham dispersed a suffocating burst of divine power.
Han Li fell as well, and with his other arm, Graham caught him too.
“Oho?” Iszak’s silky voice was behind him, mirthful and excited. “What could that have been, I do so wonder. A True Third Eye? Is he a Higher Being? Just what is that boy’s father!”
“Not a word,” Graham said lowly, his glare like a vice when locked onto the vampire. “You will not utter a word about this to anyone.”
Iszak’s grin only grew, “Hm? Very well then, Saint Graham. I wouldn’t dare defy you.”
Any plan to continue this?
This is a mystery~