After the awkward conversation with Administrator Nanchoko, Belite was led to the corridors of the unknown place as he and Blazing Fury walked along the corridors.
Belite had briefed them about what his "Essential Heart" was, and he had to take the help of Him to succeed in fooling them. But still, he thought it was worth it since revealing his real Essential Heart would be suicide.
And he possessed two Blessings as well, which was very catastrophic.
"So you have the Essential Blazing Fury Heart... Good, good! I finally have someone to replace me!" Blazing Fury's laughter rang out loud. "Though it's a pity you can't walk on the Circles of Fate... Even though it's for the betterment of yourself, it's a pity to me." He didn't hide his discontent and disappointment in his eyes as he spoke.
"So you have a Blessing of Future?" Belite asked, ignoring the middle-aged man's blabber.
"Ofcourse," Blazing Fury nodded tiredly. "Even though that has caused me to work at least eighteen hours a day without rest due to how my Essential Heart works... And I have to continue on this tight schedule till I advance to the 8th Circle..." He scratched his chin. "...Or Class Eight according to normal citizens."
"Oh..." Even though he still hadn't properly understood what those so-called Circles of Fate, Essential Heart and the Blessings meant, he managed to gauge a rough estimation of the man's predicament as he asked cautiously. "What's your Blessing then?"
The middle-aged man let out a chuckle, as if it was ridiculous that Belite was asking him the question.
"You seriously think I would tell you the secret one's supposed to take to their graves?" He sneered.
'As expected... My situation forced me to reveal my Blessings.' Though he wasn't that worried as he still had his second Blessing, Wish hidden, it was still unpleasant having revealed the Cold Touch. Though he was sure he had to reveal it in the near future due to how troublesome it was.
"Didn't you explain your Blessing to your superiors?" Belite asked.
"No? I didn't tell my Blessing for none, my circumstances and Blessing were different from yours kid."
Belite sighed as he nodded. "Alright," he asked while he pointed at his left chest. "Mind explaining to me what an Essential Heart, Essential Heart Manifestation, Blessings, and Circles of Fate are?"
Blazing Fury chuckled.
"Aren't you bored after hearing Miss Nanchoko yap, you still want to get a headache?"
"Sure, I'm all ears."
Blazing Fury snorted. "Fine, as a fellow Seeker with the Essential Blazing Fury Heart, I will tell you."
"But for the convenience of your own and mine, let's divide the categories into Essential Heart, Blessings and Circles of Fate."
"Firstly, Essential Heart. What is it and how is it formed? In fact, it's still a mystery to us on how it's formed. The Essential Heart Manifestation is almost like a slowly spreading disease and Seekers with Prophetic Blessings have revealed that — Every single person in the world going through Essential Heart Manifestation is inevitable."
Belite was stunned but after some thought, he frowned. 'Doesn't this means I'm not all that special?'
Observing Belite's expression, Blazing Fury chuckled. "Don't worry, there aren't that many Seekers... Yet." He sighed. "My reaction was almost the same as yours albeit I was a bit disappointed at why I got the Blazing Fury Heart... "
Belite was slightly curious even though his heart was this so-called Essential Eternal Chaos Heart.
'Looks like this Essential Blazing Fury Heart isn't mainstream?'
"After going through the Essential Heart Manifestation, an exoskeleton forms atop of your Red Heart as we call it now. Remember, It's also your most robust defence and your most known weakness."
'My most robust defence and most known weakness...'
He lit up a cigarette as he smoked out a puff of rings in the air, showing that he was quite proficient and experienced in smoking.
"As for the only path of advancement one walks on while they don't have a Blessing of Future, it's the Path of Heart.
"You must've gotten general details about mana right? So let me tell you in a short summary, Seekers use magic to cast spells - and to cast spells they need mana - and mana is absorbed by your Essential Heart." He raised his hand as a wand slid down from his sleeves.
He waved the wand a little as its tip glowed, which eventually separated from its origin, forming into a star shaped light that flew around Belite, which dispersed after Belite caught it.
"See this? To perform magic, I need mana and to use and store more mana within my Essential Heart, I need to perform my 'duties' as a Blazing Fury." He exhaled puffs of rings as he inhaled them back again. "And in fights of attrition, those with the largest mana pools usually win."
"And for me or everyone, even those with the Blessing of Future, to gain larger pools of mana, they have to follow what their Essential Heart means... No, they just need to be 'swept away by the tides', not that they could avoid it ofcourse." Noticing Belite's bewildered expression, Blazing Fury sighed.
"You know how Fate plays a big role in all of this right?" Belite nodded at his question as Blazing Fury sighed, his next words making Belite frown. "Those with Essential Hearts...
"Attract the Fates' of their hearts, as well as others."
"For example, since our Essential Heart is Blazing Fury, we will be embroiled in fates related to Blazing Fury. In fact, don't be mad at yourself if you get embroiled in something that makes you so furious you want to just take out a gun and shoot everywhere."
'Since my Essential Heart is Eternal Chaos... Goddammit!' Belite swore after a very long time, feeling drained. 'This means I will be embroiled in chaos 24/7?!'
'I'd rather die!'
Witnessing Belite's startled expression, Blazing Fury sighed. "The best Essential Heart according to me is Knowledge Seeker and Peace Keeper. The former makes you come across countless knowledge, which will then be bought out by the Government at a very handsome price and you'll also be their pet — as after Last Embers, information is all we need in this unknown yet familiar world."
Blazing Fury let out a chuckle as he said. "Hehe, as for the latter, you can guess the rest."
Belite composed himself thoroughly and gave a smile as he nodded. "I presume Seekers who possess both of these don't need to worry about what Blessings they have?"
"Not at all!" Blazing Fury shook his head furiously. "The former would be pampered by the government all day long and wouldn't need to care about resources to improve their mana pool... As for Peace Keepers... They'll be leading a different kind of 'lifestyle' to care about petty powers."
"Even among the countlessly unknown Essential Hearts, I doubt any of them could triumph over Knowledge Keeper."
'Countless.' Belite didn't pay any heed to the middle-aged man's zealous comments as he took a deep breath.
Belite sighed and nodded as he asked the question he had been deliberately avoiding from the beginning in a roundabout manner. "Still, wouldn't it be better if Seekers who received Blessings of Past received another Blessing to make up for the difference?"
"Hmph." Blazing Fury harrumphed. "Kid, Blessings are on a whole another level, receiving two of them is more or less saying you're the Sovereign of the world."
Belite's heart shook. 'I'm an anomaly, huh?' He chuckled to himself bitterly. 'Just like every time...'
Blazing Fury blew away the remnants of the extinguished cigarette and stamped on it with his foot as he took out a new one.
"Sigh, ordinary things like caffeine, alcohol and tobacco lose their touch once you become a Seeker. You need them stronger." He lit the expensive and unordinary cigarette as he continued.
"Alright, we are here." He said, looking at the door in front of him which he soon opened.
Going inside, Belite noticed that the room was pure white, with a table and two pairs of chairs on opposite ends.
He went ahead and noticed lengthy papers placed on a side of the table.
"Please sit." Under Blazing Fury's watchful gaze, Belite sat down. "What's in front of you is a Divine Vow. You know how to read and write Common Language right?"
'Divine vow?' Belite's heart shook. 'This is bad... Hey! You, what should I do?'
Belite nodded as he asked. "Divine vow?"
"You know the local temples right?" Blazing Fury asked, feeling surprised that the boy wasn't illiterate. "Even though the Gods are dead, their remnant powers are still running amok."
Belite nodded and with a slightly trembling hand, he took out an ink pen on the side as he read the lengthy papers.
It listed the do's and don'ts of a Seeker and plenty of rules, even going as far as to explaining what each power of theirs meant.
"If all of this was explained here, why explain it on the way?" Belite eyed Blazing Fury suspiciously as he pondered his chances of escaping out of this room.
"Small talk, kid." Blazing Fury replied plainly with a shrug. "Please hurry, you might be a free lad but I'm not as such."
Belite nodded and read the document, inevitably heading towards the Essential Heart Manifestation paragraph.
Everything was the same except as Blazing Fury explained, making Belite wonder if the middle-aged man sitting in front of him was reciting a script.
But there were still some lines that were unsaid:
"Essential Heart Manifestation could be said as a Seekers starting point of walking towards the path of their Fate. It doesn't matter what Blessings they received, they will walk on their destined Fate of their Heart."
"Heart Manifestation has three stages regardless of the Blessings."
'Three stages...'
"A Seeker's Mana Pool increases as he or she walks on the Path of Heart. Even though refusal is agreeable, denial isn't."
'What do they mean? Aren't they the same?'
As Belite skimmed through the vow, his expression turned to that of horror in the end, but he didn't show it outwardly.
As at the end of the vow was:
"A copy of the Divine Vow sent to the Peace Keepers by the Temple of Light
This vow shall be signed between the participants under the watchful eye of God as per the following terms."
Frowning, Belite took the pen and filled in the details about his now public Blessing, Cold Touch in a playful manner, "My Touch Kills," and Blazing Fury filed the details about the Essential Heart as Belite signed it with no option. He thought of trying to find a way out and a way to barge out of here but his resistance was short lived after seeing the name 'PeaceKeepers'.
'The name everyone in the continent, regardless of their nation, knows.'
Amidst his puzzlement as to why he wasn't blown to Smithereens due to his anomaly and falsehood, Belite handed the vow over to Blazing Fury, who signed it and stamped it with a Peace Keepers stamp.
"Alright, since you know your circumstances, you will enroll tomorrow."
Even though Belite understood some of it after reading the vow, he asked. "Why though, why the Cvoilics Royal Magic Academy?"
Blazing Fury sighed. "Even though in the public's watchful eyes, the Temple and the Alliance cooperate with each other, it isn't the same in the shadows."
"They conspire against each other in the shadows..." Belite nodded, knowing how politics worked from his bitter life in the slums. "And the Royal Magic Academy, being the weakest party in the conflict with the greatest influence over all the Academies of the world — has been chosen as a stage for those of the Alliance and Temples to conqueror."
"But not under the control of the Everlasting Alliance, the Cvoilics Royal Magic Academy completely refused...." He flashed a grin. "Until we pressured them so badly that they finally agreed to let an informant/ally, each of the Temple and Alliance inside."
"Hmph, even though it was us getting the upper hand and negotiating, they let the Temple in as well... To keep it balanced."
Blazing Fury sighed as he walked up to him and placed his hand right above his head in the air before frowning and retracting it, remembering the boy's Blessings.
"But since they are fond of this so-called balance... They have requested for a new Seeker who has just went through Essential Heart Manifestation and can blend in with other students. " He laughed. "We don't know whether the Temple has one, but we surely do now."
He pointed at Belite.
"It's on you, my dear friend. A loyal informant of Peacekeepers of the Everlasting Alliance."