Haytham took a step and it felt heavy. But he knew he couldn't delay any longer; he needed to atleast make an effort. He lifted his hand above the parchment and noticed it was shaking. Although he knew what was going to happen next; he wasn't prepared for it.
He looked towards his grandfather and said, "What will happen when the parchment absorbs my blood?"
"You will be held as the second party of the contract; which means you will have the obligation of solving Mr. Sebastian's problem." said Robert nonchalantly.
"B-but I don't know anything about that. I don't know what to do." said Haytham with uncertainty.
*Sigh* "Do not worry Haytham. I will be right beside you to guide you."
While this exchange was happening between the duo of grandfather and grandson; Sebastian had started to feel a bit uncertain.
"Wait a minute!! Are you going to use me as an experiment? You are handing over my case to a child? To someone who doesn't even know what he is doing?" asked Sebastian frantically.
"Fret not Mr. Sebastian, this child is my grandson. He is incapable of failure, especially when I will be standing right beside him. Besides it doesn't matter who does it, the real beauty is that after today you won't have any problems sleeping peacefully." said Robert.
"That sentence makes it sound like you plan on killing me." said Sebastian with fear.
However after a few back and forth, Sebastian finally relented. In the meantime Haytham had managed to calm down knowing that his stern yet reliable grandfather will be right beside him.
Haytham placed his hand on the parchment. He felt the same pain that Sebastian felt yet he didn't scream like him; to which Sebastian felt a bit embarrassed. After that the parchment glowed in a reddish colour and then went back to its original state. Ellie picked up the parchment and then disappeared into the same room from where she had brought the parchment.
"Mr. Sebastian, please follow me." said Robert while gesturing to Sebastian.
The trio went into another room where there was a single bed. The whole room was colored in black giving it an ominous feeling. The most eye-catching aspect of the room was the crescent moon shaped semi circle rune beneath the bed.
Robert gestured to Sebastian to lay down on the bed. In the next second Ellie arrived with a glass in her hand and offered it to Sebastian.
"What is this?" asked Sebastian with doubt.
"This is a mind calming drink. It is made up of warm water, honey, lemon and a few other herbs. It will help you sleep better. If you are skeptical about it then I can taste it for you." said Robert.
"No, it's fine. I don't even care anymore." said Sebastian dejectedly while taking the drink from Ellie and chugging it.
After drinking the concoction, Sebastian laid down on the bed in a straight comfortable position. As soon as he laid down, the rune beneath the bed began to glow a pure white colour, and in a few moments faint snoring could be heard in the room. Sebastian had fallen asleep.
Robert looked towards Haytham and said, "Come on Haytham, you've got your first assignment today and as long as you follow my instructions everything will go smoothly."
Haytham nodded in response.
Robert pulled 2 chairs right beside Sebastian's bed. He sat down in one of the chairs and instructed Haytham to sit down in the next one. Haytham did as he was instructed.
"Now listen carefully to what I am saying, because I will say this once and then you will have to do the same thing thousands of times for the coming years. Do you understand?" said Robert resolutely.
Haytham again nodded.
"Good. Now what we'll do is we will close our eyes and meditate. In reality what we will be doing is we will be searching for Sebastian's energy. You cannot see somebody's energy with your naked eyes which is why it is better to close them. The energy of a being is always in the form of a faint line and it is always hovering near the person connected to them. You must open all your senses to detect this energy; and when you do you must connect with this energy inorder to enter the being's subconscious. Do you understand?" asked Robert sternly.
"I DO!" replied Haytham for the first time with confidence.
"Hmm. We shall see. Now close your eyes and meditate."
Haytham did as he was instructed. He was made to meditate everyday since childhood by his parents as well as his grandfather. It had now become a habit yet never once had he managed to sense any type of energy. It was maybe because he was unaware of its existence and never tried to look for it.
Haytham closed his eyes and meditated. He cleared his mind; controlled his breath and focused on his surroundings. Yet even after a couple of minutes he couldn't do it. He scrunched up his forehead, his breathing became ragged; he wanted to quickly catch up with his grandfather.
"Young master, you are trying too hard. Please relax." Ellie's soothing and calming voice entered Haytham's ears.
"Trying not to think about something is the same as thinking about it; you must forget about everything that has happened; there is nothing you have to do or accomplish; right now you are floating around in nothingness."
Ellie's smooth silky put Haytham in a calm state. With her voice he was finally able to calm himself. In his mind he was floating and flying among the clouds. Suddenly he felt a faint sensation and looked towards its direction. His gaze was fixated on a faint neon red line; he focused on the line and suddenly his whole surrounding changed into complete darkness. He tried to look as far as he could but there was nothing but darkness.
*Sigh* "Finally!! Took you long enough."
Haytham looked towards the source of the voice and found his grandfather staring back at him.