"Show me your thumbs."
"Left or right?" I asked.
"Both," Emma replied.
"I didn't ask you!"
"But she's right," said Phillip, sighing.
In response, Emma and I extended our thumbs toward Phillip, who swiftly cut them with his glowing green knife.
The cut was so quick that I didn't feel the pain until I saw the blood.
It wasn't that bad, though.
"Come, place your thumbs on the 'ludus'!" (The glass sphere on the altar.)
We did as instructed and waited for the next command.
"Now, repeat after me..."
"Our Mephisto,
Before you, I stand as a Seeker, ready to explore your path of rebirth.
Grant me your enlightenment and guidance to understand your teachings and implement them in my life.
In humility, I promise to seek your wisdom and honor your message.
May your light illuminate my life and fill my soul as I journey on this eternal cycle of rebirth.
I humbly request to be accepted into your sacred community and to walk your sacred path.
Mephisto, guide me on my path to enlightenment. Krasas."
"Welcome as a part of the church!" Phillip said solemnly.
I looked around thoughtfully and asked, "And now?"
"You woodhead!"
"Can you write?" Phillip asked, smiling.
"No!" Emma and I replied simultaneously.
"Then this is your first task: learning to write! Come, follow me!"
We left the temple and went to a clay house owned by Phillip.
"But Phillip!" I said. "I want to explore the Dungeon, see its beauty, and witness the Core in person!"
"Everything in due time!"
"But..."
"Tell me, Lärry, where does your dream come from?" Phillip asked.
"From my mom's stories, and I love nature!"
"All right, but don't you want to learn more, and where do you think this love comes from?"
"Um..." I hesitated.
"Woodhead!" Emma chimed in.
I stuck my tongue out at her and looked at Phillip.
"Well then, it's time to practice!"
"But you didn't answer my question!" I protested.
"I will, but first, we must transcribe 'The Chronicles of the Eternal Cycle.' They were lost during the 'Reditus Diluvii,'" Phillip explained.
"Don't we get some kind of symbol for becoming Seekers?" Emma asked.
"Yes, but I need to mix the right ingredients first. So be patient!"
We nodded and sat down in chairs. Phillip went to a board and grinned, saying,
"Let's begin!"
...
"Are you coming, Emma?" I asked her excitedly.
"I'm already here, blockhead!" she replied, just as excited.
"It's about time!" she added. "Finally, we'll learn something about our religion. A whole week of writing! My hands are drier than usual because of this chalk!"
Mia liked to complain and tease others, at least that's what I had noticed.
But I wouldn't let her tease me anymore; after all, I'm already an adult!
"Why are you smiling so foolishly?" Emma asked.
"I'm not smiling foolishly; you are!" I retorted.
Oops, I covered my mouth and scolded myself.
To change the subject quickly, I asked Emma, "What do your parents do for a living?"
"I told you yesterday! Since you seem too dumb to remember, woodhead, I'll tell you again!"
She looked at me expectantly.
I clenched my teeth and said nothing.
Seeing that I didn't react, she continued cheerfully, "Woodhead! Woodhead! Woodhead!" she sang happily.
"Ugh, you little troublemaker!" I exclaimed and chased after her.
Emma ran off, laughing.
I chased after her, wondering why, for the past few days, she had been faster than me.
We should come together and who get blamed for being late? Me!
"Unfair!" I shouted after her.
...
The sun was just setting, and in its last rays, I headed home.
I went over everything in my mind so that my stupid head wouldn't forget.
"Krasas... comes from the cycle... 1. Seekers, 2. umm, Disciples of... Rebirth. Ugh! So much to remember!" I was a bit frustrated.
Every morning, the meeting point was just after sunrise. We would write for an hour on some strange leather, then eat, and then write again until the afternoon.
After that, we finally got to learn something. We could leave when the sun set!
"I really miss my family sometimes..." I mumbled.
When I got home, my mom greeted me with a hug. We were at eye level, so she didn't have to bend down.
"Welcome home!" she said softly.
"Hello!" I replied.
"How was your day? What did you learn?" she asked.
Just like every evening, I told her about my day as we sat at our dining table.
She always listened with a smile, whether I complained about something or talked with excitement.
She would just smile and say she was happy for me.
However, this evening, everything felt a bit more distant.
Sensing that, as a truly grown-up person, I asked, "Is everything okay, Mom?"
"I can't hide it from you, my big boy," she said, her eyes already welling up with tears.
"Your youngest sister, Hilde, she is... gone," she sobbed and began to cry.
*Thud*
My heart skipped a beat, and it felt like I was drifting away. I saw things blurred, heard nothing, and couldn't think clearly.
"But Hilde is still alive! I saw her this morning!" I stammered at first and then shouted.
My mother shook her head, and I ran into the bedroom, screaming, "HILDE!"
Robert and my two other sister looked at me, but Hilde wasn't there. She was gone.
What did that mean? No, why am I crying? I'm a man, and I'm grown-up!
"Stop! Stop running!"
But I couldn't stop the tears.
My mother came, hugged me, and we lay down. Then she whispered that Hilde was already in the temple and would be freed tomorrow.
...
The next day, tired from not sleeping, I went to the meeting point.
I only met there because Phillip wanted it that way.
"Good morning, woodhead!" Emma greeted me.
She tried to annoy me the whole way there, but strangely, it just rolled off me.
Upon arrival, Phillip immediately confronted me with a question.
"Haven't you learned anything?"
I looked at him in confusion.
"What's the first fundamental rule?" he asked sternly.
"Uh, belief in rebirth?" I asked softly.
"Correct. So why are you so sad?" Phillip asked.
I pondered while Emma looked around aimlessly between us.
"I don't know, Phillip," I sobbed. "It still hurts, despite that. Maybe I'm still a child?"
I hung my head and cried softly.
"Come here, you big baby!" Phillip said.
He tried to hug me, even though he was a head shorter.
"To this day, I don't understand why you're so obsessed with being an adult at almost seven years old."
"Well, my mom always said I was the oldest in the house and had to look after
my siblings in case she returned to the cycle."
"And now Hilde is dead!"
Phillip patted my back and asked if I wanted to perform Hilde's liberation.
I nodded, "But I can't do anything yet, can I? I'm still just a Seeker!"
"It'll be fine; you just need to try your best."
"But..."
*Thud*
"Don't argue!"
"Okay."
Then Phillip smiled and said solemnly, "Today is the day! The first day of practical training!"
"Finally!" Emma said.
"You need to understand that this is the first step in ascending the hierarchy,"
Phillip said. "Now is your last chance to back out."
"No way!" Emma exclaimed.
I thought for a moment and gave the same response.
"Well then, here we go!" Phillip said, relieved.
...
We were now standing a little away from the temple.
Hilde's liberation was scheduled for the evening, so we had some time to practice.
"Pay close attention and learn," Phillip said with a smile.
Then his soul stone lit up, and a small green flame ignited in his palm.
"So, what do you think? How does it work?" he asked.
Emma and I stared at him blankly.
"Hahaha! Your faces! Just kidding," he chuckled.
"A silly joke, and he's supposed to be our teacher!" Emma remarked.
Ignoring Emma's comment, Phillip began to explain.
"Inside your body, there are mana veins through which mana flows. This strengthens your body a bit, and you can control it through these veins."
We nodded.
"One fundamental aspect of using magic is to feel and control mana. Normally, the soul stone is the center of these mana veins, so you should focus on it."
"As you can see, your soul stone is still a dull grass green. The more mana you gather from the outside and channel artificially through it, the clearer it will become."
"First, try that, and then we'll move on to the first magic skill."
Emma and I nodded again. We sat down, and I attempted to attune myself.
Focus. Focus. Focus!
But my thoughts are wandering some times to Hilde.
I squinted my eyes and concentrated, as Phillip had instructed, on the soul stone. I fidgeted a bit until Phillip admonished me.
...
"Argh! I don't feel anything!" I exclaimed.
"Quiet, woodhead! I'm trying to concentrate!" Emma said.
I glanced at Phillip, who had somehow acquired a stone rocking chair.
He lay in the sun with his eyes closed.
His half burnt, wrinkled face and dull gray scales looked surprisingly relaxed.
"Phillip!" I called.
"Hmm?" He opened his eyes, looking like a ghost.
"Just keep trying! Eventually, it'll work. Now *yawn* let me take a little nap."
"Could you at least give me a tip?" I complained.
"A tip?" He pondered. "Your status!"
He smiled and closed his eyes again.
I grumbled to myself and continued trying.
Midway through, Emma gave up and said she was going to eat.
It was already afternoon, but she hadn't returned yet.
Phillip had just woken up and didn't seem to notice Emma's absence.
I was still struggling and thinking about the tip he gave me, trying to make it work.
"Hey, do you feel it yet?" Phillip asked, startling me.
I jolted awake, nearly falling asleep.
"No!" I replied, frustrated and surprised.
"Why don't you give up then? You seem tired," he suggested.
"I have to beat Emma somehow, and..." I said quietly.
"Why is that?" Phillip inquired.
"Well, she's so much smarter than me! I can tell, and I'm just... dumb," I admitted, feeling embarrassed.
"No one is dumb; they might just be less talented in certain areas. But everyone has a talent; you just need to discover it," he tried to encourage me.
"So, you agree with me?"
"Well, you did notice it, so you're not that dumb!" Phillip chuckled. "Just trust in Mephisto, and you'll find your way!"
I nodded.
"I'll give you a little tip that helped me too. When you access your status, a minimal amount of mana is used, in your soul stone."
"And?"
"Try focusing on your soul stone when you open your status. Maybe you'll feel something."
"Ah! Thanks!"
I wanted to try it right away, but Phillip informed me that it was time to free my sister.
"Oh, how could I forget..." I said, feeling down.
I had been so focused on mana that I had completely pushed it out of my mind. I felt a bit embarrassed about it.
"But Phillip! What do we do now? I didn't succeed!"
"What didn't you succeed at?"
"I want to free Hilde!"
"Well, you should have tried harder. Now let me handle it!"
"You're mean," I said, tears welling up again as my emotions resurfaced.
I stuck my tongue out at him and headed towards the temple.
My mother was already there, along with my other three siblings.
I hugged them all and was happy to see them. I held back tears because I was supposed to be an adult now, especially in front of Robert.
Then we all went into the temple together.
Phillip was there now, and Emma seemed to have shown up too.
I sat with my family, watching as Phillip approached Hilde's lifeless body.
He thanked Mephisto and the Dungeon, then asked for Hilde's soul to be reintegrated into the cycle.
He created a calm green flame and slowly let it descend onto her body.
Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! I thought the whole time, but my eyes still welled up at the sight.
Nevertheless, the sight of the green flame was strangely beautiful, and I wished I could do it too.
After this we buried her ashes and said goodbye to her. Weh also wished her a happy new life.
In the evening, I didn't say anything and quietly went home with my family.
...
"Congratulations!" Phillip said solemnly. "You are officially a Disciple of Rebirth now!"
"It's about time!" Emma said. "You took your sweet time!"
I just nodded and looked into the mirror expectantly.
Under my left eye, there were now two tattoos arranged vertically: a circle with a flame in it.
Phillip explained that they were connected to my soul stone, which is why they shone the same grass green.
__________________
[Status]
Name: Läry Potter
Title: Disciple of Rebirth
Age: 9 Years 3 Months
Species: Skalari
Level: 1/3
Exp: 0/200
Mana: 42/42
Muscle Strength: 3
Muscle Agility: 4
Body Control: 4
Stamina: 6
Skills: [Green Fire Magic; Competency 2],
[Atmospheric Mana Sensing; Competency 2]
__________________
He had apparently finally found the right materials and was able to create these tattoos again.
They were lost during the storm, just like half of his face.
Now that I think about it, it looks quite creepy.
Well, now he had five Eternal Flame marks under the left eyes.
He was already quite high in the hierarchy, so his tattoos glowed brighter, as his soul stone was purer.
I was really proud; I had worked on this for almost three years, and I had finally achieved it.
Emma had become a Disciple half a year before me, but I didn't care about that now.
Not much had happened over the last few years, except for my growth.
I was now 173 cm tall at the age of close to 10.
We had transcribed "The Chronicles of the Eternal Cycle" during that time, which allowed us more time for training in the last six months.
Phillip had started teaching me melee combat two weeks ago, although it was mostly theoretical.
So far, nothing substantial had come out of it; magic had been easier for me.
He wanted me to travel the Dungeon once I became a Faith Ambassador, pursue my dream, and search for new groups of Skalari that had arrived here over time.
I was looking forward to that.
I was just saying goodbye to Phillip. Emma had left earlier, as usual.
"Why is she better than me?" I muttered in frustration as I walked along the path towards home.
Then I hummed a song.
I was admiring the trees, which had grown quite tall now, almost 3 meters, and were bearing juicy apples, pears, and more.
Mama said they had brought them with them, in the Dungeon.
When I got home, I picked a red apple; autumn was beginning.
We had to start harvesting soon, as waiting wouldn't yield results.
The fruits took too long to grow once autumn arrived, and they were more likely to be eaten by insects then.
As I reached for a red apple, the ground suddenly began to tremble, then more strongly, causing the tree's leaves to rustle.
Just as suddenly, it stopped.
"Weird earthquake," I muttered.