After about five seconds, Captain Ottis took a deep breath, brows furrowed, then stared at Ulrich in the eyes.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.” He answered immediately.
“By accepting this offer, you are, in all intents and purposes, given a ‘trial’, and should you pass, you will officially be a Watchman. Your fate will belong to the Great Mother. And you will be a Watchman till death, where you return to the Mother’s embrace and enter ‘her’ divine kingdom.” He said, his voice didn’t drop a single note as he continued.
“In the event that you, unfortunately, meet death in the process, we are obligated to compensate your closest family. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
Captain Ottis' face slowly shifted, and a slight smile of appreciation grew on his face. However, Ulrich can’t help but raise a question that’s been simmering in his mind.
“Is there… a contract?” He asked, unsure if there was a stack of papers hidden somewhere. In fact, even when he joined as a civilian staff member, he didn’t have to sign anything.
Everything so far seem to be done through word of mouth, which was strange, considering that the Ministry was thorough in their process. Ulrich couldn’t quite put his finger on the essence of this matter.
“Haha!” Ottis Owen laughed, almost falling off the frame of the door.
“Being a Watchman is the contract. Men write contracts on paper and through words, but our ‘contract’ is with God; it is in our hearts. ‘She’ will be your sole witness the moment you swear an oath as a Watchman.”
“This is the eternal contract we carry as the hunter of night, blessed by the ‘night’, and graced by the ‘night’.”
Hearing this, Ulrich's face dropped.
Witness by God? Doesn’t that mean when I’m using the washroom, ‘She’ is watching me? Isn’t that a little… Thinking about this, he shivered, then cleared his thoughts immediately.
Forgive this blasphemous non-believer!
“What about the runes, do I get to choose?” He asked, hoping to distract himself from having strange thoughts.
At this moment, Erwin nudged his glass frame, then raised his hand before speaking,” In matters of divination, Shadow is the best rune, and Shadowmancers are the best at divination. This is because it is related to the Shadow Realm."
Hearing this, Ulrich recalled a detail from the book of Revelation in St. Samuel,” The Great Mother, the Lady of the Night?”
“That’s right! Our Great Mother domain lies in the ‘Night’, which includes ‘Shadows’, ‘Secrecy’, ‘Darkness’, ‘Dreams’, and 'Twilight'. You may not know this, but each Weaver's first rune is known as the ‘Vital Runes’. This rune is a ‘seed’, a ‘path’. It cannot be changed. And there cannot be more than one Vital Runes at a time.”
“After the Vital Runes, advancement required continues accumulation of lesser Runes, eventually, carving another, higher rank rune on top of the vital one. In that sense, each rank requires a different rune, and each rune has a different inscription, as well as formula.”
“Of course, we will not force you to become a Shadowmancer— this is only one of the two options. The other is Dreamweaver.”
“I will say it first, the Ministry is in possession of the complete Shadow path runes. As for Dreamweaver, we only have up to rank 4 at most.”
Erwin took note of Ulrich's silence as a form of hesitation, or confusion, and allowed him to took in the information at his own pace. After all, back when he was in Ulrich’s position, he also faced the same dilemma.
However, they weren’t aware that Ulrich already had experience with one of the two mentioned runes—the Shadow Rune. In fact, he even became a Weaver, albeit flawed, through a ritual.
Shadow, this is the one I’m most familiar with. It is also the safest choice…
Regarding this matter, he didn’t think too hard about it. The answer was already there in his mind— all he had to do was pick it up.
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“I’ll choose the Shadow Rune,” He said, nodding his head.
“Good choice.”
With that said, Captain Ottis stood straight and shook the stone dust off his shoulder, then looked down the hall,” Fortunately, the material for the Rank 1 Shadow Rune is already in our possession— all we need is to refine it.”
“For now, just rest. It is best that you recover until your optimal condition before attempting an awakening.” After advising him, he turned to walk away, but realized there was another matter.
“Sorry, I forgot. Don’t forget to file a formal report. I’ll have Rosaline show you since Victor is still out of commission. I’m sure you have some questions for her as well.”
“Alright.” Ulrich nodded, watching Captain Ottis' figure disappear from the doorway. As for Erwin, he stayed to ensure that Ulrich's condition wasn’t abnormal, after which, he left.
Clearly, everyone was busy, especially after the recent event.
At this moment, Ulrich lay on the bed, alone. He stared at the ceiling, his hand was raised, not to reach towards it, but to hold the silver earring in the air.
Strange… very strange! My mind feels fine now, but I still can’t recall where I’ve seen this before…
He didn’t feel the need to bring up his strange ‘feeling’ regarding the earring to Erwin or Captain Ottis— that would be ridiculous. In the end, Ulrich stuffed the earring in his shirt pocket, letting the matter rest.
Four days passed. Based on the clock on the wall, it was about ten at night.
On the second day, Victor woke up, though his movement was sluggish and scrambled, like his mind couldn’t quite control his body well. Fortunately, he was able to maintain a relatively clear state of mind and speak a little.
However, his eyes were still the same. He was a blind man. According to Captain Ottis’s words, this was the backlash of the ritual to the Great Mother, made worse by the corruption stemming from an external source.
Normally, his eyes would’ve recovered in a week at most. But now, they had to find a way to purify this corruption before it can naturally recover.
In that sense, Victor's eyes are now considered ‘cursed’. If anything, at the very least, he wasn’t permanently blind. And as a Galebreather, having an eye or not didn’t hinder his ability to perform his duty that much.
By day four, Victor had recovered most of his injuries, physically and mentally, except for the curses on his eyes. This speed of recovery shocked Ulrich. The efficiency of the Doctor under the Ministry was indeed terrifying, although they looked like a quack on the outside.
“You’re leaving, already?” Victor whispered, his face turning to Ulrich’s bed.
“Yes, I think I’m ready to do it now.” He said with a smile worn on his face.
Could Victor ‘see’ his expression? Or at least, read his attitude? Ulrich didn’t know, or perhaps, he did not wish to know. Every time he looked at Victor, at his face, and specifically, that empty blackness in his eyes, it was like staring at a mirror.
In that mirror, there was an image, a reflection that gasted his heart.
Presumably, Victor noticed Ulrich's silence, as well as his motionless posture, and smiled gently,” The price that I pay, this is a cost that I am willing to bear.”
“And I hope,” His voice lowered, almost to a whisper, “You will succeed, become one of us, survive. Everyone here once had a past, and we are all nestless birds, hurdling in the midst of an eternal storm.”
Ulrich's expression blanked as he pressed down on the black cap and headed to the library down the giant stone corridor.
The door of every room in the corridor was massive, almost 3 meters tall. They were carved out of stone, and when it opened, he could see the thickness of the wall. Ulrich could only assume that it was at least a meter thick, right?
These doors… Why do I feel like it's made to survive a nuclear fallout?
As he stepped inside, his face lit up with bewilderment.
The interior was unlike what he imagined. Everything, from the books to the table, blended with the natural formation of the cave. The shelves were made of stone, and on them, countless thick books were etched into the grooves.
The further he walked in, the stronger the scent of leather, candle wax, and herbal mix became. Eventually, he arrived at the long table and wooden chair lying in front of a massive bookshelf.
“You’re here so soon?” Rosaline's soft voice came from behind a stack of books. Her head was peeking through the top, revealing that tint of brownness.
“Yes, good evening to you, ma’am.” He answered duly with a courteous bow.
During his four-day stay in the Sanctuary, Ulrich learned about Rosaline ‘true’ identity, which made him shift his attitude. Her title was the “Keeper”, an exalted status that placed her as the spokesperson for “God”, and in this case, the Great Mother.
Every Keeper was disciplined and trained since birth in Minityrsa at the Holy Cathedral, with the sole purpose of bearing the voices of the Great Mother. After their training, they are stationed in parts of the five luminants to echo 'her' grace.
For Rosaline, it was Belham.
In Belham, Rosaline was a true person of status. Let alone Captain Ottis, who is only a captain of a single team of Watchmans, even the Bishop had to show her respect should they meet directly.
“Ulrich, do I look that old?” She said seriously, though there was a lightness to her voice that was hard to transcribe.
“No…”
“Then call me Rosaline.”
“Alright—“ He paused, then sighed,” Rosaline.”
Hearing this, a smile grew on her face while Ulrich powerlessly shook his head. He lifted the black hat and let it rest on his head, then stirred the conversation back on track.
“I’m here to undergo the awakening.”
Immediately, Rosaline lowered the book in her hand and stood up, revealing her delicate eyes and fair skin. As the candlelight flickered, a tint of red flushed on her cheek.
“Are you certain?”
Why do I feel like I’m getting Deja Vu hearing this question over and over again for the past couple of days…
“I am.” He nodded.
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