"But this person is different. He isn't rejected by the world, since he can use his powers freely. It's seems to be the opposite." Butler Fin pondered out loud. "You mean our perp has the world's will on his side?" Ray questioned. "He does" Butler Fin nodded in reply.
"I ask you Ray, when you left on your rampage, did you find anything strange?" Butler Fin asked. Ray creased his brows, his brain worked double time, eager to notice something that he had missed. Looking at his ward deep in thought, Butler Fin smiled wryly. He sure wished that Ray was as quick-minded as his wife at certain times. It wasn't that Ray was dimwitted or slow. It was far from that. But the Brute King was close to two of the brightest minds in the universe. In their presence and company, his sharp mind was nothing but a blunt dagger. One that was easily overpowered by their sharp and resilient blades.
"Just let me see the entire process of your rampage." Butler Fin sighed in defeat after waiting for over five minutes. It wasn't because he was impatient. It was rather a decision made based on Ray's expression. His ward looked out of sorts after the fourth minute, clearly no closer to an answer than he was four minutes ago.
"Okay" Ray consented. Once again, and for the second time today, Butler Fin laid his hands on Ray's head. After about ten seconds, he opened his eyes and said softly, "I see."
"What did you see Old Fin?" Ray pressed. He was very keen to get some answers, to understand what he had missed. He needed to know who the intruder was. He wasn't worried about the intruder though, and he had a good reason not to be.
"The man you burned with your unrestrained glow is the one that put the spell on you." Butler Fin declared confidently. "How is that even possible? It wasn't a clone Old Fin. And I saw his soul. No person can escape from the refinement of my fire." Ray exclaimed in disbelief. He trusted Old Fin, he really did. But he had burned the man to a crisp. His soul wasn't even spared the eternal agony.
"I never said that the man survived." Butler Fin replied. "And besides, normal people may not have any solution to your glow, but elder gods do." He continued. "Are you saying that…?" Ray hardly began his statement when Butler Fin interjected, "I know what you are thinking. No, it wasn't an elder god. But it was definitely an ascender."
Ray sat on the table and stared at Butler Fin, waiting for some answers. "It seems that this person was spying on the Assassins Association. If my analysis is correct, then a spell was placed on the poor assassin years ago. It seems that the lease, 'Lucid Dreams' was used on the assassin."
Ray listened intently, his face and his countenance resembling that of a grade schooler. He knew what the lease, 'Lucid Dreams' was. This spell was an uncommon one. And unlike its name, it wasn't a spell of clarity. It was as rare as it was dangerous. The name of this technique was an irony to what it really did. Meeting a user of this ability was dangerous, and this was why. Lucid Dreams trapped the soul of the victim in a solitary dimension, leaving it to wander for all eternity- unless the caster decided to spare the victim of the agony and return him to the land of the living. This ability left the body vacant, allowing the caster to leave an imprint on it. The imprint would then act as a liaison between the castor and the trapped soul, allowing the castor to see everything the body does, and the soul to feel as though it was the one doing these acts. It was just a small part of the soul that experienced the body's deeds, with a larger portion of it wandering around aimlessly in loneliness. There were two reasons why the imprint was left behind, and both were for the benefit of the castor.
The first reason was that no one had the time to occupy another's body. Unless it was absolutely necessary, many would be reluctant to do that. Occupying the body of another wasn't as simple as it seemed. It was like a seasick person on a ship out at sea. It was that uncomfortable. Supposing you were able to successfully overcome your 'seasickness', you would have to also act in the body as if it was yours. That plan was flawed since no one could act the same way a stranger did so easily. There was bound to be a slip up. The imprint allowed the small part of the soul connected to the body to unconsciously direct the body's actions, so the victim wouldn't seem strange to anyone. The second function of the imprint was to transmit information about the victim's activities to the castor. That way you get all the information you want, without actually being the investigator.
It sounded simple but the technique was near impossible to master. Ray had tried to study it once, but had failed. He was sure that if his wife was a spiritualist, with her high intelligence, she would succeed. This wasn't to say that the mastery of Lucid Dreams was dependent upon intelligence. If that was the case Ray would have mastered it. After all, people with average intelligence weren't worthy of being entrusted with the power of chaos, for how would they use it? Being a spiritualist showed that he was an intelligent man. It was only in the presence of his wife and his mentor that he become as dumb as the day was bright. Maybe it was the comfort brought by the mere thought that he didn't have to think so hard to arrive at the answers, for they would do it even better than him, but his brain became really sluggish whenever he was around them. Ray wasn't able to master it because it required another criteria, one that was even rarer than that of the spiritualists. But we'd get into that later.
"I can't believe you told him your secret." Butler Fin said wryly. Ray scratched his nose in embarrassment. He wasn't usually so careless. But how could he have known that there would be someone who can use Lucid Dreams in a small world like this one.
"When I taught you to never let your guard down, what did you think I meant? You don't keep your wits about you around gods and neglect them around mortals. You handle everyone as they are- as threats."
Ray quietly listened to his master's scolding. He had been taught never to let his guard down, and he hardly did. The day he finally did so was the day he had leaked out very sensitive information to a stranger.
"At least he isn't our enemy." Ray comforted himself. "At least you aren't beyond saving. It seems your brain has some use." Butler Fin chided. Ray didn't bother to defend himself. He was lucky that the stranger didn't seem to be an enemy. Why did he think this?
Well for starters, the person was spying on the Assassins Association. No person with such strength would bother to spy on mortals if he wasn't interested in something else. That meant that the intruder had been seeking for something else.
"The Dark God Seth. It seems we aren't the only ones after the Dark God. There is someone keener on getting his head than we are. And we were wrong. It seems Seth was summoned to this world years ago. He still isn't at full strength though." Ray calmly analysed. Butler Fin smiled in appreciation, "You are worthy of your title as a spiritualist."
As for the second reason why Ray was confident that this person wasn't an enemy, it was even simpler than the first.
"Anyone who can receive acknowledgement from the will you created, isn't our enemy. It wouldn't allow anyone with malicious intentions towards us or this world, leach of it."
This was the second reason. This was why Ray was so certain that the stranger couldn't be an enemy. From the moment Butler Fin had said that the person had the backing of the world's will, Ray ruled this stranger out as an enemy. He could breathe a sigh of relief since this person knew his secret. At least for now, this 'shadow' who remained unknown to them wasn't a threat- he/she was more of an ally.
Anyone who has able to listen in on their conversation would be gob smacked. It turns out that Butler Fin didn't only open a hole in the world's barrier, he actually restored the world's will!