I sat near the center of a room, sitting on a soft carpet and with my legs crossed. I fiddled with the flat crystal while Allan worked on the seal on my back.
“Can you try pushing mana to your left hand?”
I moved the crystal to the other hand and followed his instructions.
He didn’t say anything after but continued his work
I, on the other hand, continued to rub my fingers over the crystal, trying to get a read of what the runes beneath its surface might read.
This goes beyond archaic, if even Allan can’t read it.
I pondered the countless runes that had been lost to time, never to be seen by another soul. Who created them and how did they infuse such inconspicuous scribbles with intent and purpose? To create something that previously had no meaning and give it life.
The lives of these profound architects and runelore masters. How similar were they to ours?
Regardless of how they lived their lives, and whatever meaning they derived from it, I didn’t know. To me, it held a scary similarity to the runes on that artifact, unknown and possibly lost forever.
Yet I know by evidence of these runes they existed, they lived.
I sighed and stretched my arms, almost forgetting that Allan was still working on the seal. I could only speculate about their lives, and this irritated me for some reason. Almost as if knowing how they lived could help me figure out this artifact.
I then remembered the illusions that assaulted my senses back at the temple, and the rabbit like beast folk I saw.
“Allan, have you ever considered that cryptids may just be people from the past?”
His hands stopped moving, and he didn’t answer for a while.
“I don’t really need to consider.”
I frowned and turned around to look at him.
“What do you mean?”
He fiddled with the seal some more before closing it shut and rising to his feet.
“I guess this would be the best time to tell you this, given since you have just encountered some.”
After closing the seal, he got up and walked over to his desk.
“Most cryptids are just manifestations of corrupted mana. Birthed when things…organic or inorganic, absorb enough ambient mana and form a mana core. Ancient ruins, cities overgrown by forest, destroyed temples, mass graves, those are prime areas for cryptid formation. We don’t yet know why those places are a hotspot for cryptid birth, but most assume that the sudden death of those born in the lost ages had something to do with it.”
His eyes focused on me and his tone changed slightly
“Then there are the things called shadows. You asked me if cryptids aren’t just people from the past, well this is it. A soul that refuses to pass on because of lingering attachments to the physical world. Just simply killing them is impossible, and they are often much more sinister than regular cryptids. They are not alive, and their body is mana made manifest just like a cryptid. You must either seal them to be dealt with later, or make it that their attachment no longer keeps them bound to this realm. We sever that attachment by finding and fulfilling a condition.”
I wasn’t all that surprised by this revelation. The wolf and black swordsman fit the description exactly, but what I didn’t understand was this condition he spoke of.
A man that transcended death to see a mission completed, and a city of people killed for it. In the end, both got dragged into centuries of suffering, locked in a limbo. The souls of those people wanted the man dead, but even when they got it, the curse remained.
So what was the condition then? All I did was to allow them to sleep peacefully until reincarnation. Or maybe that was it? They simply wanted to rest.
As casually as I uttered those words to myself. I still hadn’t yet come to terms with what had just happened. It just felt all too surreal.
Lyria described the red mist gathering to me and then being blown away by a flash of light. Tiny motes of light were all that remained after the flash, drifting up into the sky.
I was at its center, unconscious and standing upright.
From my perspective, things happened way differently.
The feeling of freedom I felt, the magic that coursed through my veins, the image of a circling maelstrom of mana. I truly felt like I had escaped my body.
Before that point, those restrictions felt normal to me. Now that I had experienced it, the weight of my shackles was more than noticeable.
“As far as I want this to be all, this is far from it,” Allan said, as he snapped his finger to get my attention.
“Do you remember those cultists you encountered?”
I nodded. “Yes, I do. Who exactly were they?”
“They call themselves the children of the red star, and they worship a strange entity called the singularity. They believe that if they can manifest this being on Gaia, it will help us become our true self. To them, it is the one and only deity, praised and revered by all the folk of the lost ages. Which I think is false, but who knows, regardless if it may or may not be, they believe it to be so, and follow it to the point of fanaticism.”
He paused for a moment and searched his desk for something and then pulled out a handbook.
“The power that the singularity grants them is strangely similar to what shadows emit, but that power is dangerous. If they can’t handle the power, it drives them to insanity. They become almost like cryptids themselves.”
He scribbled a few notes in his handbook before placing it into a nearby draw.
“They see anyone that rejects their delusion as enemies and will not think twice to either exploit or destroy them. So what do you think would happen if they found out someone, somewhere on Gaia, can rid the world of this power?”
He paused and let his words marinate before continuing
“They become enemy number one.”
He then coughed and gestured for me to stand.
“That’s enough of that for now, but I need to know. Are you planning to meditate anytime soon?”
“Maybe two days from now? I answered.
He frowned. “Why wait so long?”
“I’m close to my next breakthrough,” I answered. When I do begin, I may need several hours to ensure that it does happen. A few upcoming tasks may get in the way, so I am choosing to postpone it. Lyria wants us to meet up for something today and tomorrow I volunteered to help Allana with carrying her potions to the western shopping district. I may even stick around to help her sell a few.”
I then walked over to the pantry and scanned the items inside. I expected the usual paper bag stashed with pastries and hard sweets, but only got a few loaves of bread. Nothing enticing, so I made my way back to the room where Allan sat.
“Good to see you’re making friends.” He said. “Although, the young lady seems to prefer keeping to herself.”
Allan was right in that regard, even after several weeks of meeting up during the week and setting up the stall. She rarely bothers to speak to me, and when I say speak, I mean, communicate. The most she does is give instructions where necessary or to thank me for helping. If I try to start a conversation, she often answers with one word replies or simply shrugs or nods.
Given the circumstances, I assumed it was difficult for her to work while keeping up a conversation with me through writing, but I really do want to get to know her.
As someone who grew up amongst yokai, I can’t help but see humans from an outsider’s perspective. I am a human, but I still felt a slight difference that distanced me from them or any other race.
I had so many questions I wanted to ask, but the atmosphere is never good enough for such a conversation. Our relationship had been strictly business, which was not what I wanted when I volunteered to help.
Maybe I’m actually not all that good at making friends.
My shoulders sank and I ran my fingers through my bangs for a moment, wondering what I should do next.
Allan noticed this and messed up the very hair I was trying to fix.
“It seems you have a lot coming up. So I won’t bother you much, but whenever you do plan to meditate, let me know ahead of time. I would like to monitor you during the process.”
I let him pat my head and nodded.
“I will.”
I then turned my head and noticed the neatly ironed suit hanging on the wall in another room.
“Will you be heading to a meeting soon?” I asked.
He glanced around before finding the suit as well. He grinned and placed his hands on his chest.
“No, I got a date tonight, and with a gorgeous merfolk woman who is also a princess. Though I never expected her to say yes, I simply asked as a joke.”
His grin faded as he contemplated something before shrugging and smiling once again. He turned around and took a deep breath, as if preparing himself for something to come.
“She should be here in an hour, so if you don’t wanna be a third wheel, I suggest you skedaddle.”
With my hand already on the doorknob, I returned his smile.
“Then I will be out of your hair. Bye and good luck.”
I waved him goodbye and jogged down the hallway.
I didn’t realize that all that time had passed, and I was now late for whatever Lyria had planned for us.
