"Hehe, Kors. Before that, this new recruit needs to view the Codex." Suppressing his unease, Gin tried to divert the topic of the conversation.
The poised tentacle before Gin then turned its gaze towards Shin; it moved in an investigative motion from bottom to top like a hound trying to sniff a stranger. Stopping before Shin's face, the voice spoke again.
"He smells foul. The stench of rotten spirituality."
"It seems you're losing your touch, Kors…" Gin joked at the slender cloaked figure, "… he's barely three days Awakened."
Silence returned to the grand library; even the quiet flipping of pages turned mute. The cloaked figure inside the circular desk then propped itself up with the help of seemingly countless tentacles. It hovered its cloaked 'body' before Shin, only uttering a single word, "Alas…"
Then a single tentacle lifted itself from the darkness of the cloak and tapped the tip against Shin's forehead.
…
A new flood of information burrowed itself into Shin's mind; however, this time the discomfort he experienced was minuscule compared to what he had gone through earlier with 'He who devours fate'. To him it felt like a mere pebble disturbed the calmness of his mind, as opposed to the gigantic meteor that almost collapsed and evaporated everything in his head.
Words began to form and were strung into sentences that led to phrases and entire new passages regarding the world of supernaturals.
The Codex described the familiar concepts of the Waking Hour, Hollows, the categorisation of supernatural entities and even Essence Pearls.
But there was also a lot of unknown information that Shin had never heard of before.
The nature of supernatural abilities: the different paths of Shaman, Psychic, Evoker and Warlock; intricacies of Charms and some details regarding Artifacts among many more tidbits.
…
Retracting the tentacle from Shin's forehead, the cloaked figure introduced itself in its grand articulate voice, "I am the keeper of these tomes. You shall address me as Kors, Recruit Shin."
"You know my name?" Shin replied, still recovering from the new influx of information.
"I know many things. My powers are rooted in the domain of knowledge. When our minds connected, we exchanged information…" The tentacles then converged together and guided the cloaked 'body' back to the middle of the circular reception desk.
"…just as you have gained knowledge, so have I." The grand voice echoed across the library.
"Now if there's nothing else, begone. Before you disturb the peace." Kors stated without any reservation.
Kors then turned his attention back to the silver-haired Gin, seemingly not forgetting the prior interaction.
"And one copy of 'Foundations in Ritualism' for him; add it to my tab." Gin quickly prompted.
Sending one of his numerous tentacles in the direction of a faraway bookshelf, before swiftly retreating it with a book in 'hand', Kors then presented it before Shin.
Foundations in Ritualism. Shin glanced at the title before politely taking it. "Thank you, Kors."
"Digest all you learnt from the Codex and then study the contents of the book. You may find some clues as to why that ritual you used spared only you. And perhaps you might bring closure to your heart." Gin instructed.
He then hesitated for a moment before he added. "And listen, kid, I suggest you take some time and think about what your future plans may be. I know you didn't directly choose it, but this life can be dangerous. Set a goal for yourself; it does not have to be a grand purpose. Just something to work towards."
"Anyways, return to the room. Someone will come fetch you tomorrow and assign your duties."
Gin then let out a smile, even folding his eyes. "Now then, let me talk to Kors…"
…
Back in the temporary quarters, Shin sat on the single-sized bed with his back against the wall and the book in hand. Silently reading through the first few pages of 'Foundations in Ritualism', he had found many interesting points.
All rituals have to abide by the laws of exchange, no matter how small. The things that can be exchanged predominantly depend on what is being summoned.
Momentarily reflecting on this evaluation, Shin recalled the shadowy figure they had summoned in the basement. Then what did we exchange to summon that thing?
Returning to the front of the book, he then drew his finger along the index, trying to find mention of any sections related to dealings in rituals.
Section 8 - Chapter 65: The Laws of Exchange.
Then quickly flipping through the pages, he found the corresponding entry.
Rituals targeted to entities of specific origins will use designated materials or conjectural creations as compensation.
For example, summoning an entity from the Death domain will make use of hyacinth flowers during the ritual.
If one were to use a conjectural creation as compensation, then a suitable example would be 'prayers of worship'. Prayers targeted to entities by use of epitaphs will contain some spirituality as payment.
BE WARNED. Entities that bear epitaphs are those of immense power. And these rituals will more than often take more than offered, including your soul.
Closing the book with a complicated sigh, Shin closed his eyes, trying to calm the turmoil in his head. Reading the book had given some insights as to what could have happened. But now he felt that things were a lot more complicated than expected.
Placing his hand above his empty chest, where his heart should be. Shin tried to find the answers to the questions consuming his thoughts.
Was my heart exchanged in the ritual? But how am I still alive? At least I think I'm still alive. Nobody has acted strangely towards me so far…
Opening his eyes and letting out a strained groan, a thought softly left Shin's lips;
"A goal…"
…
Knocking on the glass door multiple more times than needed, an annoyed feminine voice spoke from the other side, "Come in, Gin."
Opening the glass door made way to an office room, with a wooden desk opposite the entrance. Behind the desk clad in a militaristic garment, sat a woman. She had the airs of maturity; her skin barely put her over forty years old, but her head was covered in grey. The most notable feature, however, was the black eyepatch on her left eye.
"Old lady, you always know it's me!" Gin exclaimed with a big smile.
Further contrasting the woman's disciplined appearance was her feminine voice, which spoke in irritation at the silver-haired guest.
"You are the only one in the entire Silver Palace that would seek to annoy the Director. So what do you want this time?"
Leisurely plopping down in the armchair opposite the director, Gin then reached into his coat's pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Which he nonchalantly dashed onto the desk.
"I would like you to transfer this rookie to my team."
The director picked up the paper and quickly scanned through its contents.
"Meiko Shin?" Her uncovered eyebrow raised.
"You may be the team leader of Squad 0, but don't forget elite teams need elite members. This one has zero field time or merits."
Tut tut. Gin retorted, still carrying a smile.
"Indeed, old lady; however, I believe he'll flourish better under my command instead of being an ordinary grunt."
"Oh? Do tell," she replied in intrigue.
"After I took him to receive the Codex, I then sent him back to the quarters. ThereafterI had a conversation with Kors, and he revealed the most interesting revelation."
"The boy is cursed." Gin said it simply; however, the sentence carried multiple meanings.
"To be able to walk through the entrance of the Silver Palace and not be purged, this means that it is no ordinary curse." The Director added the answer.
"Indeed." Gin confirmed her assessment. "And when I took him for the 'Rebirth' ritual, 'It' actually spoke to him."
"'He who devours fate'?" Her voice rose sharply.
Simply nodding his head, Gin then added his own insight, "All of it points to 'Them'; why else would 'He who devours fate' interact with him?"
The director's single eye dimmed, trying to connect the dots and find an answer.
"If it is one of 'Them', then the biggest question should be why him. This record shows he had no interaction with the supernatural prior to that ritual. Even the spiritual energies on the scene only pointed to a Spirit-class entity being summoned. Getting cursed by any one of 'Them' is unavoidable death."
"Either he is cursed, or… or…" Her eyes darted to attention, seemingly having connected everything.
"Either he is cursed or he is an Apostle." Her gaze was fixed on Gin as he remained leisurely seated in the armchair.
This time his smile grew even wider, betraying all intentions. He fixed his posture and sat upright facing the Director. "Who knows. But I am willing to take the chance."
The Director simply sighed, seemingly anticipating a burdensome outcome.
"The other squads will hate you for this."
"Pffft them, so be it. So what do you say, Director?" The glint of excitement in Gin's grey eyes was surging.
"Fine." The Director abides, "I will send word to the Grand Council regarding this development."
"Request Approved."