Sunrise. The birds merrily flew about hunting for prey. The villagers were getting up while the variety of shopkeepers in Bellpot prepared themselves for another day of commerce. Katachi began following the pebbled trail winding up the cliff and stopped at a small shrine just as the morning rays gently shone into his eyes. The clouds drifting between him and the sun filtered the light and made it relatively tolerable.
In the shrine, some food and bread were respectfully placed into several wooden bowls and a pair of chopsticks lay on the stone tiles. On the side of a shrine hung a rabbit's foot on one of its tiny pillars, and a sign that spelled 紗竜.
K: ('Sharyu'... What a strange place for a shrine.)
Katachi prayed once at the tiny shrine and turned right towards the wilderness.
*** ***
K: (... I'm tired already.)
Katachi had not taken a dozen steps from the shrine before he was persuaded by his muscles to rest on the soft, mossy roots. He sat down to regain his strength and slowly absorbed his surroundings. A sound of water flowing could be heard somewhere but the source was unknown. The cicadas nearby created a merry, pleasant ambiance and contributed to the serene atmosphere.
K: (This is a nice place. The morning is rather cool and fresh.)
The birds on the trees chirped, signaling to each other the locations of twigs and branches. A lazy looking Oilskin snake rested upon a branch waiting patiently for the sun to warm its poikilothermic body. The little Flowermane bees began drawing nectar and pollinating the flowers that were to become fruit. The trees rustled at a gentle pace, moving in tandem to the slow, soothing breeze flowing inland from the sea.
K: (I feel weird. Like, I'm forgetting something... I wonder what this feeling is.)
Katachi slowly rested his head against the moss and adjusted himself to a comfortable position.
K: (Is it because I woke up too early?... That probably isn't it. I'm used to waking up at this time. But why do I feel so tired? Maybe the rocking chair last night wasn't as comfortable as I thought it was?)
The moss, ever inviting, was of a warm and briefly damp texture to the extent of it being almost surreal. Something felt awry. There was nothing dangerous around, the surroundings showed no signs of peril and it felt serene enough for anyone's guard to drop.
It gave the same feeling he experienced in the academy, as though he was within someone's vigilant gaze. It felt as if the entire area had been attuned by something or someone to create this place and he was inclined to believe that everything in the region was shaped deliberately, from the smallest sprouts to the largest rocks.
K: (Maybe I'm over-thinking things... Still, I can't shake this suspicion off. I wish I knew what it was- ! Oh! Right, I can do just that, can't I?)
Katachi felt his left hand over the thick, heavy book strapped onto his waist and reassured its presence.
K: (Okay. It's here. If this Word of Power is truly as powerful as I believe... Then I should be able to know exactly what's wrong. 了解! Understand reason for discomfort – Self!)
(There are birds and oilskin snakes about. Why aren't they eating the bees and cicadas?)
A soft 解 was heard in the back of his head before that unfamiliar voice spoke to him. He could see clearly that the animals stared at their prey unmoving yet none acted to consume the idle insects. Even if they were full and lacked the appetite to consume any of the critters, remnants of consumption like dung should have been about the area. Yet the zone he lay within was free of such signs.
K: (That behavior is definitely unnatural. If I pair it with the Demant's claim, there is definitely something acting up. This means... The Word of Power or the Sealed Room hinted by Bertund should be nearby.)
Katachi quickly stood up and glanced around the area, trying to look for the location of the dimensional rift or at least for something that looked out-of-place.
K: (... Nothing, huh.)
The naiveté of that decision quickly hammered him back into place. If it were that easy to locate the space where the Sealed Room was, there wouldn't be a need to warrant actual Hunters for the job. The danger of the act itself, let alone the difficulty, was usually enough to deter most from the mercenary-like job. Only the truly powerful or desperate would attempt to seek strength that made great men, even if they broke in the process.
K: (Now that I think about it, this new Word of Power... It's amazing. I've never even noticed that the cicadas around the area were left alone by these animals, but... It felt like I knew the answer all the long, except it surfaced only with the aid of this Word of Power.)
Was it not the folly of Man to misjudge themselves above all else? Or perhaps the phrase 'Darkest under the lamp' suggested a wisdom deeper than he gave credit for?
K: (I would guess that the power works more like a guide, a shepherd pointing me in the right direction... But I can't be too sure. It could be putting thoughts into my head. Shelly did warn me about being specific when using this Word of Power, lest I kill myself with it.)
He paused to recollect the events that transpired.
K: (Rekter had access to all this power before I took it, and he misused them. So many people in the world abuse power for their own benefit. Is the appeal of power that intoxicating? If that stands true, then I fear the day I become a monster like them.)
He grew weary of the many things he was powerless against.
K: (I wish I could just put an end to all of this without facing much resistance. People have suffered and conflicted enough over these Words of Power...)
His fists clenched hard – Had he not cut his nails, he would have bled from self-inflicted injury.
K: (... It must end. Even if all I have done here is wasted and I die halfway through this journey to someone else who is also collecting these Words of Power, all of this insanity... It must end, one way or another.)
With his will to search for the Words of Power rekindled, Katachi took assertive action.
K: (了解! Understand location of Word of Power in the closest proximity – Self!)
(The Word of Power within your body, 定.)
Shelly would be disappointed in him to have committed the mistake she specifically instructed him to avoid.
K: (That surprised me... I probably need to change the context. 了解. Understand location of Sealed Room in the closest proximity – Self.)
(To your right, walk towards the tree with a branch that splits to three. Stand to the left of the rock, stick the dagger completely into the earth above the blade of grass and apply Fixate Dimension on the dagger. An entry to a sealed room is located there – Rip the dagger out of the earth and enter the dimension.)
K: (What-!! I didn't know it could give such specific instructions!)
Katachi was shocked by the outcome.
K: (I didn't even know I could tether a dimension onto another object and completely omit using Roadless Path to weaken dimensions. This magic... The same applies to the 290 Words of Power I do not possess, don't they?)
The cruel truth was suffocating for him.
K: (If anyone got their hands on 解, merely knowing the term 'Understand' will allow one to become whatever he wishes. If it were a sigil far worse, then they would put themselves and others at peril.)
Katachi stared at the thousand-page book strapped to his waist.
K: (A mere modicum of its power could allow anybody to dramatically increase his intelligence and precedence level at the same time... This is able to benefit the righteous and raise a fine duke to rule the land. But it is equally capable of plunging the greedy into a mad thirst for power and knowledge, until they eventually destroy themselves in their own avarice.)
He tapped the book with his left hand to reassure its presence.
K: (I am really tempted to use Understand on the Word of Power itself... But the information overload might kill me on the spot. At this point, I'm not even surprised how Rekter succumbed to depravity. This cannot go on.)
Katachi stood up and walked towards the rock behind the tree with a three-joint branch. Behind it was a Caciabear sleeping soundly to the right of the rock.
K: (... Even predatory beasts like this bear can be soothed to rest?)
*** ***
When he pulled the dagger up from the floor a strange rip across space was observed. Katachi peered at the slight, colorless distortion of space. It made the world seen through that tear appear black-and-white. When he reached his hand out, the space itself seemed to devour his fingers – It was still present, but it could not be seen at all.
K: (Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Here goes.)
Without any form of preparation at all, he slipped into the dimensional tear.
*** ***
Katachi was greeted by a rather long corridor made entirely out of some sort of faintly glowing stone. The passage appeared plain at first sight but the stone blocks that comprised the floor were strangely uneven in a peculiar and jutting pattern. They seemed strangely inviting and ominous at the same time. It wasn't possible to tell which rocks would be safe, which rocks would trigger a trap or anything of that sort.
K: (恒定! Constant status – Self!)
With a safeguard present, he felt slightly safer and more assured about proceeding. Katachi traversed the corridor cautiously, taking slow steps and testing his footing carefully. He tried to step on the rocks that were already depressed because they seemed the safest should they really be a trigger for some horrid trap.
After taking a good number of steps on the sunken tiles he safely made it to the second section of the long corridor marked only by the unlit torches covered in growth and fungus. He took his first step on a part of the section joint that looked indifferent to the other adjacent tiles, but-
K: (-!!)
-the first stone he stepped on sunk downward.
K: (Not good...)
A rumbling sound of sorts was heard. It originated from the space above him, then it passed his head and rumbled from beneath him. It was like a serpent or badger or some horrifyingly large burrower was released, digging about the corridor before him.
Katachi tried the second depressed stone block and that sunk even more than the first – It fell through and made a square hole on the ground. Of course, since the full weight of his body was transferred onto the leg, he simply dropped and sat on the stone blocks around the square hole with his left leg dangling precariously.
K: (!! I have to get out!)
Katachi pressed his arms against the floor trying to free his leg fruitlessly. The rumbling sound cascaded along the walls and right underneath him. Something hit his leg which wedged the limb between the stone blocks and itself, rattling the entire corridor slightly.
The stone blocks were shaken slightly and some shifted out of their lodged positions – If one paid attention they would have known which stone blocks to avoid and crossed the corridor safely. Unfortunately, he had a leg through a hole so he could only see the immediate blocks before him.
K: (Something hit my leg?)
There was little time to notice, let alone respond to the second set of tremors. The second 'thing' too hit his leg, and once again the entire corridor was shaken up. The second collision caused the blocks to loosen even further, and even more stone blocks fell through the floor. While there were still trap blocks attached to the corridor, those were so obviously misplaced that avoiding them was impossible only for the clumsy or blind. Katachi didn't understand what was going on.
K: (I should free myself from this first. 恒定! Constant status – Dagger!)
Katachi drew his wooden dagger and hacked away at the blocks trapping his left thigh. Since the dagger could not be damaged, thanks to its status set as Constant, the act was akin to piercing paper pulp with a chisel. He managed to break one of the blocks loose from the corridor's construct and freed his left thigh. There was a whole group of blocks that fell and created a Pitfall-like trap ahead, so he proceeded onward to examine the situation.
It might have been dangerous to hop down, but the stone blocks below looked just fine. It was probably not that deep a fall so he lowered himself slowly. He landed solidly on the ground, his two feet planted in the strange space with little problem. However, it hurt his eyes a little looking at his feet and the Word of Power he wielded did little to mitigate the distortion effect he experienced.
The swirling colors that surrounded the space made everything appear as though it were in motion, yet his feet were perfectly stationary. He made a note not to stay in the region for too long.
Katachi looked towards the earlier section of the corridor and realized what hit his left leg. Two boulders that were broken down into pieces were stuck in a track winding along the corridor for them to roll on perpetually. Katachi's left leg, with its status set as 'Constant', was not crushed or affected in any way – It simply bumped into the boulders and caused them to go awry.
K: (So these were the things rumbling in the walls. It looks like the boulders were designed to pursue the people in the corridors so that when they get a leg trapped in the hole it would be crushed by the rolling boulders. Praise Segus that I'm all right.)
There were familiar jagged carvings on it that gave him a slight chill down the spine. He had a vague feeling they were related to an incredibly dangerous story he wasn't really sure would qualify as its source, yet would be mortifying if true.
K: (Yggn ad noasam, the depiction of Man's inherent nature? Or maybe it's some other spell that looks similar?)
In any case, the worst was over. He got back up to the corridor by setting his velocity to 'Constant' and thinned his body as neatly as he could while navigating through the pitfall. The trap's effectiveness had, by then, plummeted to pose a negligible threat.
*** ***
The end of the corridor was a strange swirl of chromatic colors similar to a marble cake of sorts. Something unsettling about its mere design gave Katachi a sense of apprehension. He briefly glanced at his chest to affirm himself that he was protected by the 定 to some degree. He peered his head through the portal and saw an amazing sight.
The most prominent furniture was a large bed appropriate for royalty. There were many little butterflies in the area hovering over flowers in a vase by the window, the floor rendered spotless and well-polished, the ceiling and walls enamored in the wonderful art of families reconciling.
A miniature counter with elegant chairs by the side sat in a small corner of the room, and on it were two exquisite royalty-class glasses of some blue-colored liquid. A couple lay asleep peacefully on the huge bed and the area was scented with the ever-faint hint of Tinjengel.
K: (This is a Sealed Room? Bertund mentioned that they were parts of citadels and castles decades ago, but I didn't expect one to be this grand. Why are there people here? Are they guardians or something? They look like they are sleeping, so maybe I should leave them be.)
In the center of the room was a white bird with a yellow plume resting on a bird stand with the golden colored word 安 placed on it.
K: (There it is!- Wait. I have to be careful about this. I don't know what might happen.)
He shifted his focus towards the golden 安 word and raised a query.
K: (了解! Understand active sigil phenomena!)
The hoarse and raspy voice echoed in the back of his head once more.
(The word 定 is filtered for selective effect and the property applied is 'Constant'. The word 安 is leaking power due to extended neglect and the property applied is 'Contentment'.)
K: (Contentment... That means the affected are content with something, doesn't it? I thought it was a little bit weird how 'Calm' could stop a Caciabear, but if it's content with simply sleeping away that would make a lot more sense.)
Katachi slowly approached the stand while the creature eyed the young boy.
"What do you want? What do you want?"
The bird crowed with a curious tone. Was it normal for birds to be capable of speech? He didn't know.
K: "I... I want to absorb the Word of Power on your stand into this book."
"Okay!"
The bird flew off and landed on the table in the room next to the two glasses. Katachi stared hard at the bird stand, held his book out and opened to a new page.
K: (Here goes nothing then. 锁定. Lock within book – 安.)
The rogue 安 slowly faded off and surfaced in his book.
K: (There we go-)
"RRRRAAAAAAAARRRR!!!"
It let loose a frenzied caw all of a sudden and morphed in cue to the cry of anguish. Its feathers dyed black, its wings outstretched, the glasses next to the bird were sent crashing onto the floor. With a few caws, many other black apparitions flew in from the broken window, and crows swarmed the room in a torrential storm.
K: (!? What- What is this?!)
The crows flew about destroying everything around them. Katachi still had his 'Constant' status held up so he was fine and unharmed, but bearing witness to the utter destruction of everything while one remained unharmed was a terrifying phenomenon even for the most trained magi and champions alike. The most accurate likeness to describe the mess would be a black and ominous twister of death. There were so many things happening in the room at the same time that he didn't even know where to look at.
It swallowed everything in the room. The walls were scratched and defecated upon. The couple in bed were reduced to their skeletons, their blanket was torn up so badly if anyone asked it was comparable to a scrap used for patchwork. The butterflies were absent – Presumably chased away, or even devoured by the monstrous avians. Feathers and scraps and remnants of the objects in the room scattered all over the floor in an unkempt twisted mess.
The destruction ended as quickly as it came. The murder of crows dispersed into black clouds and soot, a mere illusion that took a most impossible form. It was as though the room's grace from before a mere lie construed by his own mind to convince himself that his actions were of the lesser evil. Clawed, pecked at, rammed against, smudged, everything was defaced from a suite of the nobility class to one even the vagrants would steer clear from.
K: (Segus have mercy.)
Though he remained unscathed, the damage was irreparable.
K: (This... This is the consequence of my selfishness. Had I not taken the Word of Power, the talking bird would never have transformed and nothing would be ruined.)
Yet for some reason, his facial expression betrayed what one might expect.
K: (But there's nothing wrong with that. A talking bird is certainly not normal, not by any means. Had I left it unattended the possibility of the influence expanding may have increased, and soon the people in Bellpot would have contentment with sleeping like that couple on the bed, or... Worse. The dead may have risen to content themselves.)
But it wasn't as though that justification made the act any more inhumane than it already was.
K: (Contentment... It differs for everyone. For the couple, the company in each other's arms may be their ideal. But for me, I will only be content knowing the ones to come after myself can live in the peace I seek.)
With mixed feelings, Katachi exited through the swirling portal he came in from. He slowly walked through and balanced himself across the stone blocks. He phased through the dimensional space at the start of the corridor and returned to the outskirts of Bellpot – It was all changed as well.
The Caciabear sleeping next to the rock disappeared and the cicadas stopped crying. The Oilskin snake resting on the branch lay limply on the branch unmoving and the birds were gone. The trees were the only thing that appeared immutable and stalwart, but they probably were affected in some other way just like everything else.
He knew that the animals, no longer under the influence of Contentment, had long scattered into their respective roles in Nature once more. He also knew that the act removed a potential resting spot in Bellpot for the commoners to enjoy. Though he now wielded the Word of Power itself he did not know the correct characters to replicate the Contentment effect, let alone its pronunciation.
But that may be the greatest blessing one could ask for, to be incapable of using a power with such allure.
With his eyes affixed to the floor, Katachi continued the trudge back to the Demant's hut.