Fleur's antics and Caius' laughter continued inside the Red Anchor for a while as they juggled drunken conversations when Lucas finally stood up and stretched.
"I think I'll go out for a quick smoke," he muttered whilst patting his pockets for his cigarette box. "Caius, don't leave till I get back. We still have to pay the tab. Oh, and make sure to keep Fleur from doing anything stupid."
"Aye aye captain," Caius replied with a flushed face and his hand up to his forehead in salute.
The air inside was stifling, the mix of sweat, alcohol, and raucous laughter pressing in on me. "I'll join you," I said, needing a moment to clear my head. "Could use some fresh air too."
We made our way outside, the chill of the evening air immediately biting at our skin. Snow fell softly, each flake catching the dim light from the street lamps, casting a serene glow over the otherwise dark street.
As groups of people continued to pass by, Lucas lit his cigarette, the small flame illuminating his face briefly before it settled into a steady glow. He took a long drag, exhaling a plume of smoke that seemed to merge with the night sky.
The noises of the night formed a strange symphony around us. The distant hum of the entertainment district, full of light and laughter, contrasted with the chaotic racket from inside the Red Anchor where Fleur and Caius were undoubtedly still going wild.
"You know, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one from the capital out here," Lucas said after a moment, his voice breaking the peaceful silence.
I glanced at him, not particularly interested but willing to listen just this once.
"I know what you're thinking," Lucas continued. "Why would someone from the capital want to move out here?"
I didn't respond, letting the silence stretch. The truth was, I didn't care much for Lucas's reasons, but I would rather be out here listening to Lucas than back inside the Red Anchor.
Lucas took another drag from his cigarette, the ember flaring briefly. "I was from Goldeen, an aristocrat too," he said, his tone almost nostalgic. "Family had good money, influence, the works. But it wasn't enough. It never is, you know? I wanted to get in good with The Legion, the other unit back up there."
Lucas then took another puff and flicked the butt out into the dark. "Things happened, and I had to leave. Now here I am, in this godforsaken place. Maybe one day huh."
It made sense. I had always thought Lucas was just some bum who smoked all day, but now I understood why he carried himself with that air of superiority. A stuck-up bastard from the capital, indeed.
Despite his arrogance and my annoyance towards him, in a way, I was similar and couldn't help but respect the fact that he wasn't giving up.
As an Arcanist in the Huntsmen unit, he was one of the best, although there weren't many of us.
I grew up more privileged than most too. A rather wealthy family too.
My father had a fairly financial position in the company he worked for and my mother didn't have to work at all because of it, meaning she could stay home and take care of me throughout my younger years.
It was an opportunity not many families had, and if Lucas had anything somewhat similar, I knew he could make it.
"Maybe," I said.
Without a word, I reached over and took one of Lucas's cigarettes. He noticed but didn't seem to mind. "Sure, go ahead then," he said with a shrug, offering me a light.
Lighting it up, I took a small inhale, the smoke filling my lungs with a burn, only to cough slightly once again. The cold air, the snow, the distant sounds of life—all of it combined to create a moment of peace. And just for a little while longer, we just took in the moment, watching the world pass by.
After the last of the embers dissipated into the night, we headed back inside only to find Fleur in a fit, pointing towards a random citizen just minding his own business, while Caius was trying is very best to hold her back.
"That...that guy said something! I heard him! He was insulting us, Cai!" Fleur shouted.
Caius was behind her, doing his best to hold her back by her arm. "Fleur, calm down! It's not worth it. Let's just have another drink, alright?"
Lucas, with a weary sigh, stepped forward and headed to the bar to settle the tab. He exchanged a few words with the barkeep, who nodded and took a few silver coins and a golden one from him
"Alright, let's get them out of here," Lucas said, motioning for me to help.
With some effort, we managed to drag Fleur, still muttering curses, and Caius, who was now beginning to sing, out into the night. The cold air unfortunately doing little to sober them up.
Lucas took the lead, keeping an eye on both of them as they stumbled and laughed their way down the street.
"Fleuuur, you're gonna get us in trouble," Caius giggled uncontrollably.
"Oh, shut up, Caius," Fleur shot back, her words barely coherent. "That guy deserved it. Nobody, and I mean nobody, messes with me. I'm the one large and in charge of this town."
Fleur whipped her head towards me. "It's that right?"
"Sure, whatever you say," I replied halfheartedly.
Lucas looked over his shoulder at me, his expression resigned. "Go ahead and get some rest, Elias."
I glanced at Fleur and Caius, who were now both attempting to climb a lamppost for reasons only they understood.
"Thanks," I muttered under my breath, feeling the weight of exhaustion pressing down on me. Whether it was the alcohol Fleur had forced on me or the sheer weariness from the day's events, I couldn't be sure.
Lucas just nodded. "It's gonna be a long night, but I'll handle them. It's happened many times before."
Turning and leaving Lucas to deal with the boisterous pair, I slipped away into the white streets of Leode without saying goodbye for the night.
The snowfall had started to intensify in the little time we had spent at The Red Anchor causing the snow to crunch under my boots as I walked for a few minutes towards The Church of the Keeper of Time.
Upon arriving, I pushed open the heavy wooden doors and walked inside the dimly candle-lit hall. There were a few patrons sitting in the pews near the front, and the priest Pablo who I had met before was up a the altar saying a prayer quietly with his head bowed.
In silence, I slipped into one of the pews and sat for a moment, letting my body soak in the atmosphere.
Finally, I bowed my head too and inwardly prayed.
"True God of Time, who spans the ever-rolling river of eternity, please grant me the wisdom, strength, success and clarity to achieve my goals in the coming future."
For a moment, there was nothing but the quiet hum of the church around me. Then, as if in response to my prayer, a profound sensation washed over me. Feeding into my glass bowl that sat with me in my soul.
It was a feeling I had experienced before in this sacred space. A deep, resonant connection that seemed to align my very being with the flow of time itself.
After another moment of silence, I stood up, slipped out of the pew and left the Church.
Making my way out into the cold night, I walked through the falling snow back home to Caius' place and entered through the always unlocked backdoor.
Going up to my room, I moved to my bed and reached under my pillow, pulling out one of the books Alexei had given me. Its worn cover felt familiar in my hands, a trusted source of knowledge.
Flipping through the pages, I quickly found the section on Tier 7: Visionary beside the other Tier 7 titles of Blinker and Warden.
Tier 7 Blinker was what Fleur was as an arcanist. Someone from the Time authority and the Physical Domain. Whilst Warden was the tier above Tier 8 Scout and was from the Soul Domain.
My eyes skimmed over the familiar text, refreshing my memory on the requirements and steps for advancement.
"Tier 7: Visionary," I murmured to myself, tracing the words with my finger. "The next step."
The book detailed the specific materials needed for the advancement ritual. For lower tiers, including Tier 7, most of these materials were readily available at underground markets, churches, or the headquarters of arcanist units like The Huntsmen or The Legion.
However, acquiring these items was only part of the process. The ritual also required the recitation of an incantation in the ancient arcanist language. This was why Alexei had also given me a book on the language, ensuring I had the tools necessary for my progression.
Thankfully in the time I had been progressing and waiting to be ready to advance, I had accumulated the materials that I needed both from the times I had been to the underground markets and from the Chemistry room when I was studying the Ancient Arcanist language in the Den.
I could have used the Eyes of a Visionary that I saw in the storage room back in Pink Stanway's Estate instead of the materials, but I already had them ready. The eyes weren't necessary unless I was performing a change in domain, going from the mental domain to a different one like the physical or soul domains.
I took in a deep breath and sighed.
I couldn't deny it, I was nervous.
For a while now, I had been preparing for this, going behind my team's back and readying myself for my advancement instead of following the official procedure by informing Darius and getting the Church to conduct my advancement ritual.
But that would take time, time that I didn't have.
Slowly, I took a step back after placing the book back on the bed with the pages open and went over to my drawers to pull out a few materials I had collected from underneath my clothes.
With the materials in hand, I placed them around me in the corners of the room. Not too far away but not too close. Just far enough apart to create a square-like shape encompassing me.
With the preparations nearly complete, I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. My heart pounded heavily in my chest as I reached into my pocket and retrieved a hollow marble, its aqueous-looking surface cool and smooth against my fingers.
Holding the marble out in front of me, I closed my eyes, concentrating on the flow of the glass bowl within me. I felt the energy seeping into the marble, infusing it with an imaginary, shimmering light.
With a final exhale, I let go, allowing the marble to fall to the floor. It landed with a soft tap, then dissipated into nothingness, releasing a slight chill that enveloped me.
The bounded field was set, blocking out any external interference and providing a measure of protection. It was quite commonly used within the Huntsmen unit for non-spacial arcanists. Lucas had used it when we infiltrated Fritz's house, and Jo used it back at the Theatre.
Alexi's book had stressed the importance of this step, emphasizing how it could help mitigate the risks of losing control during the initial phase of advancement.
Taking one last breath, I moved to the light switch and flicked it off, plunging the room into complete darkness. Similar to what Alexei had done during my first advancement to become a Tier 8: Watcher. The only sounds were my own steady breaths, my pounding heart, and the distant hum of the city beyond the walls.
Finally, I opened my mouth to recite the ritual, letting the foreign words slowly tumble out of my mouth in a chant.
The ancient incantation escaped from my lips, each syllable carrying an otherworldly resonance that seemed to vibrate in the air.
Throughout the room, the materials I had placed around me started to evaporate and flow into me, their essence merging with the glass bowl within my soul. The sensation was unlike anything I had experienced before—a combination of euphoria and agony as my body struggled to contain the influx of power. My glass bowl tempered and grew rapidly, expanding beyond its previous limits.
And by the time I reached the crescendo of the incantation, all of the materials had left the room.
For a moment, it was calm, but a storm soon erupted within me.
A new kind of pain came alive within my head, sharp and relentless, like a pick or a knife digging into my brain. I couldn't help but fall to my knees, clutching my head in a desperate attempt to contain the pain.
Otherworldly sounds began to echo in my ears, and without even opening my eyes, I saw visions—flashes of grey, red, black, and blue. My senses were in disarray as I began to visualise sound and hear colour.
Then, scenes played out before my mind's eye in rapid succession; a fiery red and swirling halo, black mist enveloping a black temple-like structure, a faceless figure with red horns wielding a scythe, and finally, four cream-coloured wings encircling eight floating golden eyes.
Just as quickly as it began, it was over. The pain receded, leaving me gasping for breath on the floor, drenched in sweat as I opened my eyes to see the brown wooden floor.
Slowly, I pushed myself up and sat on the edge of my bed, trying to make sense of the torrent of information that had been injected into my subconscious.
Among the myriad of words and phrases that were injected into my subconscious, one stood out with great clarity. I looked up, the word escaping my lips.
"Whisperer."