A well-built man with fair skin, wearing a black robe and his head covered. Hao Jing saw him as the same person he had seen in the ruins.
'Did he come into my dream? Who is he that suddenly talked to me? Did I have a sister? Strange dream!'
The robed man who spoke with Hao Jing was already in the center of the altar. Then, Hao Jing realized that many people were wearing black robes around him.
He looked to the right and left, clenched his hands tightly on his chest, and frowned. He thought these people were heretics and devil worshippers. It gave Hao Jing goosebumps, especially seeing a woman sitting in the center of the altar like she was about to be sacrificed.
His chaotic thoughts of fear made him unaware that he was also wearing a black robe. Then, Hao Jing remembered he was called 'Malt' as he woke up. As he pinched his face quite roughly, he felt that his skin was supple and delicate. He was shocked that his hands were pretty small for a thirty-year-old man.
He thought that this strange dream should end, perhaps by doing something painful, like falling from a high place or getting hit by a car. Those are the things that often wake him up from his nightmares.
An altar with high ceilings and torches on the walls. Everything looked dark with a slight light. Hao Jing remained standing, observing what happened afterward. He straightened up and tried to settle into the situation. Being in the front row forced him not to react strangely.
An echoing sound rang out from the center; a ritual was about to begin. The woman covered by the hood of her robe made a voice, chanting a spell. And the robed man stood behind her.
"Oh, praise the creator of existence; praise the angel of light; praise the gospel of enlightenment; praise the prophet of savior; praise the destruction of cosmos."
The woman put down a brooch on the stone floor. Around her was already a pentagonal array made of lapis lazuli. She looked down and seemed unconscious. During the twelve hours of waiting while standing, Hao Jing had already tingled three times and remained in position, wishing for the ritual to be over.
Bush...sheesh...aaaaaa...
The woman screamed in pain. The wind that appeared out of nowhere swirled around her body. A rift in the air behind her opened. And a yellow-colored human soul showed. He darted toward the woman's body, precisely into her vertebrae.
'What is happening here? Is that a Casper?'
Since the initial phase, Hao Jing thought that the woman would be a sacrifice. It turned out to be a soul-summoning ritual implanted in her bones. Even so, that was entirely strange and horrific.
'So, this is called the soul bones rites?'
"Congratulations to the Notiz family patriarch's eldest daughter, Cham Notiz." Everyone at the altar said it out loud.
A lady next to Hao Jing opened the hood of her robe and glanced at him with a smile. Her face exuded a warmth that eased Hao Jing's anxiousness. He rubbed Hao Jing's head in pride of the woman at the center of the altar. She said:
"My son, go to your elder sister and congratulate her on becoming a 'Haunted' tier lethalist." Hao Jing, without hesitation, accepted the order and congratulated his sister on her first success of becoming a lethalist.
"Sister, congratulations on becoming a lethalist."
"Ahh, Malt! Thank you."
Hao Jing scratched his head and tried to accept the situation thoroughly. Then, his hand grabbed the robe of the lady beside him, and he gazed at her.
"Mom, what is a lethalist? And the tier of Haunted?"
"Son, you know that the world is full of magic and wonders. People who can perform magic are known as occultists. They can use magic with the power of nature. A Lethalist can also do magic, but the source of their power is from the mystic realm. Most lethalists come from occultists. And your sister's tier is Haunted, the first tier of Lethalists."
"Oh, what about the soul summoned earlier?"
"Good question. Being a lethalist requires a soul. So, study well and seek opportunities to get a yellow or higher soul, son." Hao Jing sullenly stared at the lady, who turned out to be Malt's mother.
…
After the ritual, the people in robes began to disperse. A double-leaf wooden door with iron ornaments opened from the left of the crowd, showing a long tunnel where people passed through to leave the altar.
Hao Jing followed his mother out of the altar, passing through a fifty-meter-long tunnel that was sizeable enough to be the volume of a car garage. His older sister was standing at the altar with the man in the robe. At the endpoint of the tunnel, the path went uphill, and the rays of light cast vivid human shadows.
Seeing the bright light, Hao Jing held her mother's hand and gazed at the lush trees. The unpolluted air truly refreshed him. With his mouth gaping all the way back home, he had never felt such stunning nature.
Stopped in front of an ancient manor house and the surrounding garden. Hao Jing went inside with his mother, and the house was miraculously spacious, in contrast to the exterior view.
'This is true magic. What kind of world am I dreaming of?'
'I want to stay forever without any hard work and have a rich family. But I should finish my investigations, and I don't know why Editor Luna's dinner invitation makes me enthusiastic.'
"Malt, go to your room and rest," said his mother as she closed the door.
"Mom, I'm a little dizzy. Please guide me to my room." Hao Jing pretended to look ill because she had no idea about Malt's room.
Hao Jing was taken to his room, and his mother offered him some water to drink. He fell asleep lying on a wooden bedstead with a feather mattress.
…
Dark skies enveloped the night in the ancient manor house. With a yawn when he opened his eyes, Hao Jing was sure that he had to pack his backpack and re-watch the recording in the ruins. But the situation remained the same before he went to bed.
"God, is this dream going to continue forever? If it's not a dream, does that mean I have moved to another world?" He whined.
He tried to calm down and digest what had happened before all this. Investigation of ruins, the sound of Hutteran, people in robes, arrays, altars, soul bones, and the world of magic. The entire thing was frustrating.
'The name of the owner of this body is Malt; it seems like he is the second child of this family, and he is still young. Earlier at the altar, people congratulated the daughter of the head of the Notiz family. Hence, I am also part of the Notiz family.'
Moving from his bed, Hao Jing sought clues about his family and the world. To the right of her bed, a cabinet and two wooden bookshelves had moons carved on them.
To her left was a window that revealed a view of the garden. Hao Jing checked the books one by one and found a book titled 'Lethalist Soul' by Alaric Otranto.
'Interesting title!
Back on his bed with the book, Hao Jing gradually opened the book and was amazed to read the first page.
Being a lethalist means you must be ready to take or be taken. Great souls lead you to the true arcane secrets of magic and mysticism.
'A book with an outstanding preface! It felt horrible reading this.'
Thirty minutes passed. Hao Jing read with a skimming technique and was enlightened about the grade of the soul based on color: purple, yellow, green, red, blue, and black.
A person who wants to become a lethalist must have the foundation of occultist power. They should prepare objects related to the soul and lapis lazuli stones for the array, which can only be done at night. The soul bone rites can summon the power of human, animal, and plant souls.
If one wants to advance through the ranks, one needs strong synchronization among souls and the bravery to explore the mystic realm.
'This is akin to what I saw at the ruins, but the spells used there and here are different. If I'm not mistaken, there were five spells during my investigation.'
'I would rather finish this book today.'