For the next few hours, Ryo and Floyd worked together on the overall design of his sigil. Ryo was responsible for where the runes and arrays should be located, while Floyd drew it all out. It shocked Ryo to see how amazing Floyd was at drawing. After several trial versions, they had finally almost finished. Now the only thing left to do was add some magical syntax, which was something only Ryo could do.
"Thank you, Floyd."
"No worries."
"Just don't drag me along on these things again. I would appreciate at least a warning before being yanked away from my wife."
The warmth drained from his body, as Ryo's knees gave out. Falling to the ground, he clutched his chest, feeling as if something was crushing his heart. He gasped for air, his body spasmed on the ground. Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, Ryo writhed in pain. The world around him dissolved like sand in the wind. And what remained after the last grain of reality was blown away, was the blank nothingness of the void.
The pain stopped as a strange cold sensation overcame him, followed by a floating sensation. Then Ryo felt like someone was tugging on his chest, guiding him to some unknown destination. His eyes fluttered open, and around him was an endless sea of stars all around him. Covering his mouth, he forced himself not to throw up, as his vision began to swim and blue. Closing his eyes tightly, he spent several minutes trying to collect himself, not sure what was happening.
Was this a part of the vision quest? Ryo asked himself, trying to make sense of what was happening.
Then as if answering him the deafening sound of bells then tolled, causing him to feel sick once again. DONG! DONG! DONG! But instead of covering his mouth like before, he clasped his hands over his ears. The sound of the bells was so strong, it made him scream out in pain. Yet, the bells continued to ring loudly in his ears. Then they stopped, and an ear piercing silence came over the area.
Slowly opening his eyes, he saw the surrounding space shimmer and take form. An enormous shadow made from the stars towered over him, its form flickered and moved like it was made from fire. Then two blinding orbs appeared, like two massive burning suns. That's when he noticed that the shadow took on a sentient form, with two arms, two legs, and a head. The two burning suns shifted into place, becoming two giant eyes. These eyes scanned the surroundings before fixating their gaze upon him.
"So you were a child of Kuzunoha" It stated in a low rumbling voice.
Ryo's mind stuttered, unable to process what he was seeing. Everything just seemed too impossible! This is just a vision quest, this is just a vision quest...He kept reminding himself, as he tried to back away from the colossal being. Yet, no matter how much he tried to move away, he went nowhere. It was like an invisible had locked him into place there. Trembling in terror, all he could do is look up at the star-being.
Then, like a lightning bolt, a thought struck him. Wait, Kuzunoha? Why would it mention her? Kuzunoha was the mother god of all kitsune, and the leader of all the kitsune gods. Some of his earliest memories were being taught how to properly worship her. But he had lost all his faith in her, when he was forced off the island. The elders were her direct envoys to the kitsune, and their word was her word. Why would he continue to worship someone that had caused him so much pain?
"What's your name, child of Kuzunoha?" The being asked, unmoving.
Although it was just a simple question, there was a weight to its words. Ryo's entire body felt like it was being squeezed, as if demanding him to answer the star-beings question. As time went on, the feeling grew in strength until he could hardly breathe. In between gasps of air, he answered the question.
"R-ryo."
The pressure he had felt squeezing him disappeared, and he was able to breathe normally again. His body felt like it lost all will to resist against the star-being in front of him. Ryo's instincts were screaming at him to try to hide or run away! But he was still unable to move, no matter how much he tried to struggle. He just couldn't get his body to do anything, it just drifted there in front of this enormous being.
"W-where am I? Who are you?" He panted, taking in long deep breaths so he could steady himself.
"Has the material realm fallen so far that I am not known anymore?" The star-being thundered, its eyes burning brighter.
"..." Ryo was too terrified by the intensity of its gaze, shaking like a leaf.
"It would appear so." The star-being muttered before adding. "But that does not matter."
"Child you have jumped into a vast ocean with no ship and no knowledge on how to swim. You must be liked by Sha-hara to have survived thus far." The star-being remarked, as it began gradually shrinking in size.
What's going on? Ryo asked himself as he watched the being continue to shrink. He had no idea what was happening or what it was talking about. The star-being kept getting smaller and smaller until it was only a little taller than he was. It glided forward until it was right in front of him.
"This is fortuitous for me, without your soul I would have kept slumbering." It said, stopping less than an arm's length away.
"M-my soul?" Ryo stuttered, continuing to tremble in fear.
"It burns like a raging fire in the sheol plane. If I didn't pull you into my domain, you would have grabbed the attention of others." It explained.
"Sheol?!" Ryo blurted out.
"Yes, did you not know?"
Sheol was where souls go after death, or so it was said. The books he had read had different opinions on what kind of plane it truly was. From what he read it was described as a land of eternal fog, where vengeful spirits lived. Others said it was like a great vortex in an endless ocean that would feed upon the souls. Whatever it was, one thing was certain, it was a very dangerous place.
How did I get here? Ryo thought to himself, his mind racing with answers. Was it possible that this was a part of the vision quest? If it was, wouldn't this be mentioned in the books? A dreadful thought then wormed itself into his mind, making his body go limp.
"D-did I die?" He muttered, looking up to the being.
"Yes, and no." It simply replied.
"You are on the border of sheol and the material plane. If mortals were to remain near the boundary for too long, they risk being sucked in." The star-being explained.
"But do not fret, you are now safe in my domain." It quickly added.
"Uh-T-thank you." Ryo replied, not sure how to make sense of this all
He was not dead, but something close to it. And some unknown-being had saved his life in its hands. How did I almost die? Ryo thought to himself, as he tried to think about what happened. Could it be that the elixirs the mistress gave him weren't brewed properly? Or was it because he didn't drink them fast enough? Ryo knew that he had drank them in the right order, because he had checked them before drinking.
"I do not do this out of kindness, child. Millions of souls enter sheol every year, without my notice. It is only because yours is unique that I was drawn to it." The star-being said, breaking Ryo from his thoughts.
"Unique?" Ryo asked.
"Child, why and how did you come to the boundary? I can tell you are not here naturally." The unknown-being asked, tilting its head to the side.
Like before, he felt a pressure squeeze his entire body, compelling him to answer the question. Unable to fight against it, Ryo began speaking about everything that was connected to why he was here. It was like once his mouth opened; it refused to shut itself. The being simply sat there nodding, not saying a word. He only stopped speaking when he couldn't think of anything else to say.
"I see." The star-being said.
"I have slept for far too long." It sighed, closing its eyes.
"Child, I request a favor from you as payment for saving your life." The being stated, opening its eyes back up.
"F-favor?" Ryo stuttered, dreading what it might ask.
"It is not possible for me to return, as I am now. I ask you to help me and bring revenge to those who forced me here." The being said, its eyes blazing with intensity.
"I-i-uh…" Ryo muttered, before being cut off.
"If you agree, I can provide you with power and knowledge you couldn't possibly imagine." The star-being offered.
"If you do not want to agree, I have no choice but to expel you from my domain and let you drift towards sheol." It added, its eyes narrowing.
Ryo couldn't think of another choice, but to accept. Unless he wanted to die, there was no other option he could think of. There were things he wanted to do and see, Ryo had felt like his life had only just begun. But deep inside of him there was something asking him not to accept. It was the side of him that was growing tired of being pushed around. He felt like his entire life he had been kept on a leash, and it was always in the hands of another. It was maddening constantly being led around by someone else.
Gritting his teeth, he pushed that feeling down, and reminded himself why he was here. Not just about making a sigil, but about gaining power and strength. To be helpful to Robert, when they escaped from the mistress and lived as free people. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself before asking.
"C-can I know what you are planning and who you want revenge against?"
"No." The star-being replied, shaking its head.
"But, let me show you my power, to ease your mind. Show me this sigil you created." It ordered.
"U-uh, how?" Ryo asked, still unable to move.
"Draw it with your hand and I will bring it to life." It stated, pointing to him.
Just as the being finished speaking, he could feel his hands twitch slightly. Slowly, he made a fist with both his hands before relaxing them again. Thinking back on what he and Floyd made, he traced it in the space in front of him. As he did so, a glowing trail of pale blue light followed his finger. Ryo was momentarily astonished at the sight before shrugging it off and focusing on recreating his sigil.
When he was finished the pale blue light at the end of his finger faded. Then the sigil floated in the area, before slowly making its way over to the unknown-being. For what felt like several minutes, it studied the sigil, saying nothing. Then he waved his hand across the sigil, shattering it into hundreds of pieces, before turning his attention to Ryo.
"I see. If you were to use this, it would limit your magic in both scope and power." The star-being remarked, shaking his head.
"Now, with my knowledge, let me fix it for you." It stated, before reaching out his hand and making a fist.
The broken pieces of the sigil began violently shaking, before coming back together. Then a stream of light came from the star-being fist and smashed into the sigil. Complex runes, arrays, and magical syntax appeared on the sigil. Everything seemed to swim into one another until everything settled into place. Once it was finished it pulsed with a brilliant purple light, before slowing spinning.
In his chest, he felt a wanting for it. Like the sigil before him was a piece of him he had been missing, and now he was on the brink of being complete. Tears streamed down his face as he looked upon the beauty of it, the feeling of oneness with it. He couldn't help but reach out to touch it.
"You feel it do you not?" The being asked, dropping its arm to its side.
"That is the feeling of your soul resonating with the sigil you see before you. With this you will be able to unlock your full potential in the material plane." The being explained.
"Now that you have felt my power and seen my knowledge. What say you?" It asked him, as the pressure returned.
"I-i…" He started to say, before losing his words.
"Why do you hesitate, child? What holds you back?" The unknown-being asked, its eyes widening.
"W-well…." He mumbled as he explained.
The only thing holding him back from accepting was the mistress. Seeing this sigil, he was sure she would do everything she could to pry the information on how it was made out of him. Because there was no way she would believe just he created this sigil. It was too perfect, too flawless, and most of the things in the sigil were foreign to him. The only thing that remained of the previous sigil was the overall design.
"I see. You need not fear your mistress, I will hide all this from her." The star-being stated, relaxing its gaze.
"R-really?" He asked, dumbfounded.
"It is a trivial matter, for one such as I." It remarked, nodding its head slowly.
Although Ryo had his doubts, there wasn't any reason for him to deny this. Even if this being was lying, the alternative was still death. And if the mistress learned of this, then it was still better than dying. She would keep him alive, and till she learned about everything she could.
"T-then I agree." Ryo said.
"May I know what you want me to do?" He quickly added.
"For now, you need to increase your power, then we will speak about what I need from you." The star-being replied.
"O-okay," Ryo hesitated before asking. "How will I contact you?"
"The method you have used now will be fine. I will pull you into my domain once I see you." It explained.
"W-what about the sigil?" Ryo asked, looking up at it.
"Open your mind to me, and I will give you the gift of knowledge." The star-being answered, lifting up its hand towards him.
"O-okay." Ryo responded nervously.
Closing his eyes, he took a quick breath, before trying to relax his mind. As he did a prickling sensation could be felt, as the very center of his brow. It was a strange sensation that was neither good nor bad; it was as if his brain was becoming numb. Then something felt like it was wriggling around in his skull, as flashes of information trickled into his mind. As time went on, the information turned into a mighty river, causing him to grit his teeth in pain.
Then there was nothing, no pain, no information, no strange sensations. Slowly opening his eyes, he could see the unknown being turn around and walk away. Over its shoulder it waved at him and said.
"It's time for you to return to the material plane. I have given you what I have promised. Grow in strength and then come and find me, I will have more for you then." The being said, before snapping its fingers.
***
"Damn her!" Robert grumbled, hitting the side of the cabin.
Looking down at his arm, the sight of the pearly white bones sent a shiver through him. He didn't know much about magic, but had seen several healing spells over the course of his travels. From what he could remember, there was nothing remotely like this. He hadn't really questioned it before, but that changed the day Ryo left. Now he tried to watch the cave as much as possible, keeping an eye out for Ryo. He had spent several late nights watching the mouth of the cave, waiting for the lad to return.
The reason he was so worked up about it was because he had started to piece things together. It all started on the day Ryo left to go down into the cave. Before that, the high elf had used the rod on Beth and him, so they wouldn't try to stop Ryo from going with her. Usually that wouldn't have stopped him, but then she threatened both Ryo and Beth. Robert didn't think that crazy knife ear would threaten them like that. All he could do was gnash his teeth and watch the boy run off into the belly of the beast.
That night he had spent hours examining the wooden handle of the axe he had used during the accident. Before he thought it merely a freak accident, but looking at everything closely it was too coincidental. The wood around the break on the handle didn't have any dry rot, no bugs, and seemed fine. Yet it had snapped a few centimeters below the heel, causing the head to come flying back, slicing off his arm.
Not only that, but he remembers on that same day she had asked him to chop some firewood. She knew there was plenty of it already stacked in the woodpile. Plus, it was still the early summer, there was no need for firewood. So to him it was likely that she somehow caused the accident. But he didn't quite understand for what purpose?
Regardless of it, Robert planned for them to escape as soon as possible. He had already talked to Beth, and had her pack sacks filled with food, and hid them in the cupboards. As soon as he saw a chance, Robert would take it. His instincts told him they were in a spider's web.If they stayed there any longer, the webs would be wrapped around them, preventing them from ever leaving.
***