"Whisperer," I repeated.
Deep within, I knew this was significant.
It wasn't just a word, it was my next tier of advancement. Tier 6: Whisperer.
The realisation washed over me, bringing with it a surge of understanding and purpose
As the pain faded away, I focused on the Visionary ritual and the information I had just garnered. The pieces began to fall into place, and I comprehended the nuances of my new abilities. A Visionary was, in many ways, an advanced version of a Watcher.
While a Watcher could see glimpses of the past and future, static and unmoving like a framed picture, a Visionary could see and hear scenes unfold with greater clarity.
By focusing on a specific moment, a Visionary could extract detailed information, piecing together the past like a detective solving a mystery. The further back in time the scene was, the more challenging it became to scan, but even so, this was easier than peering into the future.
To a newly advanced Visionary, looking 24 hours into the past was comparable to peering 24 minutes into the future in terms of difficulty.
At first glance, this might seem less advantageous since a seasoned Watcher could see days or even weeks into the future. However, a Watcher couldn't hear a scene or see it play out in detail. As a Visionary, I had a far greater upper hand in the battle for information.
I stood up, my body still aching from the ritual, but my mind was sharp, filled with new insights and abilities. This advancement wasn't just about power. It was about understanding and knowledge, seeing beyond the surface to the hidden truths that lay beneath.
Remembering that Alexei had conducted the previous ritual for me made me come to a realisation that I never could understand until now.
By conducting the ritual by oneself, you are provided with various pieces of information such as the next tier and abilities, then Alexei's actions made perfect sense.
Could it be that during my Watcher ritual, Alexei had absorbed the information intended for me? This practice of the ritual, authorised by the churches, seemed designed to slow the advancement of their own official Arcanists. By giving out knowledge sparingly, they ensured that each step was deliberate and considered. No wonder official Arcanists took so long to advance, as Darius had previously implied.
That would likely mean Alexei must either be of the same pathway or at the very least possess detailed knowledge of its progression and abilities.
For non-official Arcanists, the rules were different. They might already possess knowledge of their next advancement, but that advantage would dwindle as they approached higher tiers due to the lack of readily available materials beyond tier 6. As well as the ever-present uncertainty and fear of losing control and turning into a Lamentor.
With so many thoughts, I was becoming drained and tired. Every ounce of energy was sapped from my body.
After a weary sigh, I deactivated the bounded field and stumbled to my bed. Sleep claiming me almost instantly.
Morning arrived with a gentle caress of sunlight streaming through the window. I awoke feeling different—lighter, stronger, more aware.
The room around me seemed brighter, every detail sharply defined. All of my five senses had subtly sharpened, a clear sign of my advancement.
I stretched, feeling the newfound strength coursing through my limbs. Exhaustion had masked these changes last night, but now they were unmistakable. This was the result of my progress, the passive advancement benefits of becoming a Tier 7: Visionary.
After a quick breakfast, I made my way to The Den on Argyle Lane. The city was bustling around in the white streets. A patchy layer of crisp snow had formed on the sidewalks overnight, and the carriages that were constantly going past had created dirty tracks on the roads.
With how cold the weather was now, it would become increasingly more common for people to take carriages or just stay home settled next to a warm fire.
Arriving at The Den, I stepped inside to find Jean seated in the lobby, engrossed in his newspaper. As I entered, he glanced up, a familiar smirk on his face.
"Hey, Eli," he greeted.
I nodded in response, my mind still processing the events of the previous night.
Jean returned to his paper but quickly looked back up. "Oh yeah, the Boss wants to see both you and Caius. When he arrives, I'll let him know. Darius should be in his office."
"Okay," I replied, heading inside to wait for Caius.
Only a few moments later did Caius arrive and we both made our way over to Daruis's office.
The door to his office was slightly ajar, allowing a sliver of light to spill into the hallway. Before I could knock, Darius' voice called out, "Come in."
We stepped inside and found Darius seated at his desk, a glass of amber liquid in his hand.
He took a sip from his glass, savouring the taste before setting it down. "Caius gave me a brief rundown of what happened in Rex's office," he began. "But I need to know more."
Caius leaned forward. "We got lost somehow. After Eli got those pages from the storage room, we tried to leave but ended up in a completely different place."
I interrupted, eager to clarify. "We went through the door, and it was like we were taken somewhere else entirely. The room completely changed, as if we were transported."
Darius muttered under his breath, "That would be Pink." He paused, his eyes narrowing in thought.
Setting his glass down on the desk, he continued. "Pink has a wide range of artifacts, both known and unknown. It's not surprising that you'd encounter something like this in his very estate. Not only does he have a penchant for items that can manipulate space and time—which makes sense seeing that he runs the arcanist supplement chain—he's also a well-versed Arcanist of the space authority and the mental domain from what I know."
Darius sighed, leaning back in his chair, the leather creaking under his weight. "From what I remember, Pink was a Cartographer, a Tier 6 Arcanist with the ability to manipulate the space around him within the minds of others. But given the level of mental shattering and nausea you all experienced, he must've advanced to become a Tier 5: Lampest of the Navigator pathway. At least in the last five years or so."
I nodded, the memory of that disorienting sensation still fresh in my mind. That explained a lot. It felt like our minds were being twisted. Not only was he disorientating our perception, but he was also causing our minds to shatter themselves to cause an anemia-like effect.
"And Rex," Darius continued, "he seemed to be a Doppelganger from the Forger pathway. A Tier 6, capable of creating illusory duplicates of himself. But I don't know the full extent of their abilities, both Rex and Pink. They're both more dangerous than I initially thought."
"Ah yes," Darius said. "Going back to Rex, what else did he say."
I recounted the details as best as I could. "He mentioned Eric Crowe and his Diary. It supposedly holds a wealth of information about the second era, known as the Era of Fleeting Light and Lingering Darkness. Eric travelled with someone named Cris.
Rex also spoke about The Black Rose, saying they've been around since the Great Calamity. For some reason, The Black Rose wants Rex dead. This might apply to others as well."
Darius frowned, his brow furrowing. "There were others, yes. Caius did mention that before. I visited the Church of the Keeper of Time last night to see the Priest, Pablo. They've taken someone named Lorenzo into custody. According to what was said by Rex, Lorenzo is with The Black Rose, right?"
"That's right," Caius pointed out. "Rex said a few names; Lorenzo, Pandora, Uvan and Vertigo."
"Ah yes, Pandora too," Darius said, his tone grim. "Elias, you and Fleur went to take out Pandora, didn't you? Fleur told me she was taken care of, but according to Pablo from the Church, she's nowhere to be seen."
Confusion settled over me. But Father August back in Fallholt said they took care of her, right? No, wait—he only mentioned that someone intervened and dealt with her. It wasn't the Church. So, Pandora is still out there somewhere, as possibly either a half-formed Lamentor of some kind, or something else entirely.
Darius nodded, his expression serious. "Other than Pandora, who remains unknown, and Vertigo, also an unknown, we might be able to find a lead through Uvan. I'll get Felix and Mar to scout around Leode to see if they can pick up on anything. With Rex having been in Leode recently, as well as Lorenzo, it's possible the others are around too. Though Rex mentioned they might be targets for elimination by The Black Rose higher-ups, it doesn't mean they haven't left. Rex only left Leode recently."
Taking a moment to digest the information, I finally mentioned the most alarming part of my encounter with Rex. "He said Vertigo wants to bring ruin and chaos to Leode."
Darius's eyes widened, a spark of urgency igniting in his gaze. "Then we need to act fast. Whoever this Vertigo is, if their plans involve something imminent, we can't afford to waste any time. It might not be the most reliable information to go off of, but I'd rather be prepared for this if something does go down."
"I'll be sending Mar to scout for Uvan, as well as Felix too. We need to try and understand The Rose's motives through their members. If, like Rex, they've abandoned the ship, it would pose a significant threat to The Black Rose. We need to get to them first."
Darius looked at each of us, his expression resolute. "Dismissed."
Caius and I left the room, the urgency of our new mission weighing heavily on our minds. Neither of us were to do anything till Mar and Felix gathered information so all we could do for now was wait for our next orders.
As we stepped into the hallway, we saw Lucas arriving, a sluggish-looking Fleur trailing behind him.
Hey Fleur, Lucas," Caius called out, his voice echoing down the small hallway.
Fleur, clutching a steaming cup of something strong, groaned and waved a hand dismissively. "Quiet down a bit until I'm more awake," she muttered, her voice thick with sleep.
Caius chuckled, holding his hand to his mouth to stifle the sound. "Rough night?" he asked, his tone lighthearted as we walked over to them.
"More like a rough morning, heh," Lucas said, pulling out a pack of cards from his pocket and holding them up with a grin. "Care for some downtime?"