After the medics came and I got myself healed, I followed Kaisar outside and found myself in the back of the terrace.
Not gonna lie, I was pretty excited. I could imagine how my life would turn around from this point. Still I didn't trust Kaisar that much. But he saved me and told me his secret, I guess he couldn't be a bad guy.
Kaisar pulled out a storage dice and summoned a mount for us. It looked like a chariot with two seats arranged vertically. A Land Speeder. I did not expect Kaisar to have such advanced technology in his pocket. Well, I didn't care that much. I hopped on the backseat of the vehicle and prepared myself.
As we rode to the guild, Kaisar started speaking.
First he said that the technique Soul Weaver gives you everything you need to be a mage: mana, ability to cast spells, and a specialty. The specialty given to you is completely random, just like when you are born.
Then he mentioned something about a Soul Caster. That was the part I didn't understand. He said, to use a Soul Weaver specialty, you need a Caster, which is like another you that lives inside you. I guess it kind of makes sense, because magic can only be used by connecting to the "you" in the spiritual realm. He did mention that that part was not important, so I ignored it.
We flew pass the highway and reached the south side of Blade. We entered Blade Woods and ended up in a small plain. Kaisar got off his mount.
"What are we doing here?"
"Entering the guild hall. Soul Weaver style."
Kaisar touched his chest, and suddenly, a dim light shone from his palm. His hand turned into a grab, and he pulled out an object. I went over and peeked over his shoulder. It was a card that was shining very brightly, too brightly you could not see what was on the card. That must be the Caster.
"Open the gate."
As if following his order, the card released a magical aura, and a translucent door appeared in front of us. Kaisar put one foot in, and beckoned for me.
As we stepped in the door, our surroundings changed immediately. I found myself in a giant bird cage, or something like that. In front of me was a row of small houses, and a large chapel-like structure stood among them. This looked more like a secret hideout or a hidden utopia than a guild hall. There was literally a whole series of small houses.
Kaisar led me into the building, which apparently was the actual guild hall. There were rows of chairs, which looked a lot like the ones we had in the chapel. Actually, this looked almost exactly like the chapel I was from. I feel comfortable here.
On the rows of chairs sat people of different races and ages, at the front stood a figure, dressed in an old robe that covered his entire body, and a hood was worn over his head. His long silver beard hung over his robe. He certainly looked like a grand mage, or even a saint rank mage.
"We are awaiting your return, my child."
"Hey, Grand Master."
So HE is the grand master. I mean he certainly looked like a "master" of some sort.
"Do I need to bow or something?"
"Nah. We don't do that here. Just like a family is fine."
I kind of expected him to say that, and it got to me more than I expected. Although the sister in the chapel also wanted us to be like a family, the children there weren't all that nice to me.
"The one next to you must the chosen one, Nazareth." He gestured to me as he said.
"Yes."
"Then come over, my child."
It was no surprise that he would know my name. He must have been searching for me for some time.
"No delay. Our children have been waiting for a while already. Here, stand here."
The Grand Master led me onto the little platform that he was standing on. I looked at the audience. Actually, guild members to be precise. I just felt like I was attending a prize giving ceremony. They looked very friendly and welcoming. I was one of them. Manaless, and chosen. We were all the same now. I just feel like we didn't need everyone here. It was too grand.
But finally…I am not the odd one alone. We were all the same.
The Grand Master did seem like a nice person. Judging by how he picked his members and how he treated them, he really was like some kind of all-loving father. I will call him gm.
Gm lifted his staff, it was a wooden staff with no decorations or engravings whatsoever, just a walking staff.
"O children of Soul Weaver, hail to our new member, Nazareth!"
The members clapped in unison.
"Now, we shall begin the ritual. Too remember, Soul Weaver is not just a guild but a mutual…"
"Faith!"
"With the same…"
"Ambition!"
"And we all, shall be one."
The speech ended with a round of applause. I don't enjoy ceremonies like this. Especially when I am one the stage. I bet this is part of the Soul Weaving thing.
Gm's staff was enchanted, and it glowed in purple shimmer. He started chanting in an unknown language. All of a sudden he struck with his staff, and when it happened, I lost consciousness immediately.
I opened my eyes shortly after that. But there was no guild hall. I was in a white room. It was all empty. I felt like I was dead. Suddenly a figure came out of nowhere and walked towards me. And I saw it. It was a young man, no, it's me. Grayish white hair, average male body, tired eyes. Yes, that's me. The only thing that was not so accurate about the "me", was that he looked much more confident than me.
"We finally met."
The other me started talking to me. I wanted to say something, but my body was not reacting. I looked at my legs, they were transparent.
"Bare in mind, I am only here because of a spell. The connection between us shall never exceed the limits of a specialty."
Wait what? What was he saying? Also, I have never heard that mages could talk to their spiritual self like that. It made sense that a person's spiritual self was another version of that very person, because specialty meant connecting to the parallel in the spiritual realm. But I did not know you can have it talk to you like this.
But that was not the point. What he said next was even weirder.
"I shall not take over you, and you shall not overpower me. My will is yours, and you power is mine. But we are two, yet also one.
Ah, it's time-"
Wait!
I have a lot to ask!
Then I opened my eyes. I realized I did not open my eyes back then. I was still unconscious. Now that I'm back to reality, I found myself screaming in pain. My body was burning in blue flames. It was my mana pulsing. I could see the blue light flowing in my veins. I looked at the people. I could see their veins shining. In their chest, was a card, their Caster. Each person's Caster shone, revealing their uniqueness and power.
A card appeared in front of my eyes. At first it was too bright to be seen. Then, it became something translucent. The card then rose and flew into my chest.
The pain finally faded, and the light in the people's veins disappeared.
Then I stood there, gasping for air. I thought mana was like some kind of power surging in your body, but I don't feel anything different.
"Very well my child. Everyone, this is the birth of a Soul Wea-"
Suddenly, I felt a twisting pain in my stomach - no, my soul. Then suddenly, blood came out from my mouth. The mages sitting down all stood up, some of them even held out their hands to cast a spell. Kaisar eyed at me, but gm looked calm as ever.
"Oh...child…"
And again, for some reason, I ended up in the white room again.
"Our connection exceeds the specialty. But this is none of our faults."
"I-"
I looked at my legs, they regained some colour, but I still could not speak properly.
"We are not two, and not one. Something has interfered. A third presence."
"A thiR d P reS eNC e--"
His voice suddenly turned into something unusual, and I was back in reality in an instant. What kind of evil magic is this?!
"Child…I think…"
Gm hesitated for a while, and talked to Kaisar.
"Oh no. I think I know what Grand meant. Someone has interfered. And it is not a mortal presence. It's the big deal."
The third presence…
"I suppose the ritual ends here. But we will need to further discuss this issue. Leave, you may."
The mages left the chapel, leaving Kaisar, gm and I there.
Gm then told Kaisar something secretly, and left with the crowd.
Damn. Bad luck just follows me everywhere! It is like it doesn't even want me to have one second of luck!
"Nazareth,"
Kaisar's perpetual smile faded away. He looked at me solemnly.
"We can't expect everything to go our way."
"Just get to the point."
I did not expect everything to go my way. I just wanted one single thing to go my way once.
"You have a specialty oddity. It's a big deal. You are in trouble."
Holy Horython. Here we go again.