Lunar’s room, despite having been here for less than an entire week, already “felt” like a room fitting for someone like him. The entire dimly lit room, embellished with scattered occult books and artifacts was tinged with the smell of leather and cigarettes wafting off a smoker’s clothing. On the right side of the wall, a large, brown-coloured dreamcatcher hung over his dishevelled bed.

  He closed the door behind me as I stepped inside. And as if the reverberating sound of the door closing caused me to discern the room closely, I soon realized a large, occult circle with intricate carvings painted on the ground, right before my feet.

  I nervously gulped before sounding my words. Lunar had been a close friend for many years… However, just like Vaelen, I never really managed to wrap my head around his strange hobbies, or better said, activities of interest. Nevertheless, knowing who Lunar was and how much he cared for me as a comrade, that dreadful sensation was soon washed away.

  “How’d you know about this portrait, Lunar?” I said with a now carefree tone, burying my left hand in my pockets.

  “You seem to have forgotten my obsession with the occult,” he chuckled as he passed me by. Attempting to fish something out of the sea of objects in the far right corner. “Things like this are as insignificant as blinking unconsciously.”

  “Right…” I chuckled along. “I totally forgot.”

  “Ah, I forgot to ask you,” he responded, pausing momentarily. “How did you feel today? Managed to recover your mind from the recent events?”

  “To a degree, yes…” I sighed, dropping onto his bed.

  “Hm, given you’ve most likely had a good conversation with your brother, you must be feeling quite better, I presume. Quite commendable considering you weren’t given that much time to recuperate your mind.”

  “I know, right? Soon after waking up, besides the drowsiness and feeling light-headed, I could consume the amount of information Vash gave me well. So it really is both weird and commendable.”

  “Do you remember anything prior to collapsing?” he said, turning towards me as he held various dark objects in his arms. “Was there anything you saw?”

  “…Good question,” I responded slowly, averting my eyes. “I can’t remember, honestly.”

  “Is that so…” he muttered. “Well then. If anything happens to rise up your mind, don’t hesitate to tell me about it.”

  He turned back to his corner full of objects and finally fished out a dark red chalk stick that was wrapped around in a black piece of paper.

  “Dreams can have many interpretations; it may be about a dangerous figure chasing you, saving a cat, being hung on a cross…

  …the possibilities are endless.”

  “…Anyway,” I retorted. “The portrait?”

  “Right,” he nodded. “The portrait. Have you ever heard about it?”

  “…Not really, no.”

  “As said before,” he began. “This is an ungraded artifact. Meaning that it is not bound to the grading system—therefore there isn’t a specified danger level or the sort associated with this artifact.

  You may have gotten intrigued by the last part of its name: ‘All’. In simple words, this is a magical portrait that has the answer to everything and anything you are supposed to know. The reason why it has ‘All’ in its name is speculated to be because the portrait’s knowledge is infinite, and infinity equals to All, the Golden God.”

  “I see. So all I have to do is ask the portrait what my abilities are?”

  “Precisely,” he nodded. “You’re lucky since this is your first time using this, since there exist an invocation rite one must go through before being able to even speak to the portrait. You don’t have to do anything other than speak to it as soon as I summon it.”

  “Got it.”

  He walked towards the occult-like symbol and signaled me to take a seat within it.

  “Take a seat in the middle of this circle. This is going to take a few minutes. I’ll have to perform the ritual and make you repeat what I say. You will eventually be brought upon the portrait itself.

  One thing before we start: It might seem frightening for the first time, but I can assure you that nothing awry will happen to you. All you’re going to want to do is simply ask the portrait what your current Seer abilities are.”

  “…Okay.”

  As I took my seat and crossed my legs, I closed my eyes and closely listened to Lunar as I was told to. I could feel his body encircling me, presumably gliding that chalk stick over the circle, or drawing additional symbols… I couldn’t tell.

  It felt as if the atmosphere of his room started to slowly pull itself into my own body. He didn’t sing a magical chant or play a magical instrument in order to enchant me. His soft and calming voice was enough to inebriate me in his atmosphere. And right before I knew it, he gently placed his hand on my forehead.

  “Repeat after me.”

  I frowned slightly after he said this.

  What was it…? Something… something like a small, burning sensation that originated from the depths of his palm, lightly grazing itself against my forehead just enough for me to feel it.

  It must be something related to this ritual somehow, I thought to myself repeatedly before Lunar would speak again. Sadly, when he did begin to speak, I was left with no room to think for myself.

  “Our Father who sits above The World.”

  “…Our Father who sits above The World…”

  “He whose breath and word gushes life.”

  That burning sensation grew stronger, as if this incantation became flames meant to burn me who had to repeat the words.

  I frowned harder this time, desperately attempting to spew out the words.

  “…He… wh… who…”

  Right as I voiced out those three syllables…

  …Something clicked.

  Even though my eyes were already closed, it felt like they were closed “again”. A double darkness, one I had only seen twice so far.

  It felt as if a black vortex suddenly materialized beneath me, and sucked everything around me in complete darkness. I tried to open my eyes, yet the darkness never wavered. As if I needed to open my eyes “again” in order to see properly.

  I grimaced, twisting my face as I pierced the air around me with a loud scream. However, that “scream” only existed in my head. In reality, I hadn’t moved my mouth, nor opened my eyes even in the slightest. Everything happened… inside of me. As if I grasped consciousness of my own soul who became the victim of this unearthly sensation.

  I screamed and I screamed, rolling and looking around to see where Lunar was, until something clicked once more, causing me to stand frozen on my feet.

  Small, light footsteps were then approaching me slowly from behind in this world of darkness. I then remembered Lunar’s words, that “Nothing awry would happen to me”. Trusting his words, I gulped and turned around, and voiced out my confusion.

  “…H…He-”

  Wait…

  …I don’t feel that burning sensation anymore…!

  Is it… because of this place?

  I only realized too late.

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  My speech was impeded by this sudden realization. I felt no pain anymore, nor did there seem to be any wounds on my body.

  It all seemed to just be in my head…

  However, right when I wanted to talk again…

  …A second voice emerged from the darkness.

  “The burning… has ceased.”

  Followed by the feminine-sounding voice, stepping into my field of view was a young, slender woman, who was blindfolded by a white cloth that matched well with her gray hair and weathered old robe of the same colour. She had a strange looking complexion; it appeared light blue, but not quite discernable due to how dark it was.

  Nevertheless, I decided to not feel afraid of her appearance. This must have been someone related to the portrait, or someone significant in relation to the ritual.

  “Pardon me. Is this… the Portrait of All I am speaking to?”

  “So… it was you,” she spoke with the same unsettlingly direct tone. It caused me to remain silent for several seconds before speaking once more.

  “S- sorry… I have come to… ask you something.”

  She remained silent in response.

  Because of this, I took one step forward, and stretched my right palm in the air in explanation.

  “I want to know what my Sequ-”

  …Hands. Dark, dark hands.

  No, perhaps, tentacles. Something similar to tentacles.

  I couldn’t see what they were. But I could feel what was happening to me.

  From below, a dozen of “things” resembling hands or tentacles clutched onto my legs, and started crawling their ways towards the upper half of my body, like the hands of tormented souls desperately trying to pull me down to the Abyss.

  I shockingly strained my body, looking around me to see what was happening, or who was getting a hold of me. Despite my attempts, the prevailing darkness that encapsulated me and the lady in front of me seemed like it was spectating the moment with silent laughter at my purposeless attempt to free myself from this entanglement.

  I screamed once more as I stared at the lady, who simply stood in complete silence, wordlessly listening to my desperate sounds of agony.

  “H…help…! Ngh…mmmh!!!”

  One of those “things” wrapped itself around my mouth, blocking it entirely. I was forced on my knees, and eventually fell on my back, my eyes widening in complete despair.

  I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t think. Nothing made sense anymore. Just a moment ago, I was in Lunar’s bedroom, attempting to get me to speak to the Portrait. Yet this was no portrait, this was a demon, or… someone who meant harm to me…

  Even wriggling around was no option for me. I was like a piece of soulless wood being tangled by numerous ropes, strongly being pulled downwards. I became a statue, unable to process any form or concept of motion.

  And before I knew it…

  …The darkness consumed me once again.

  -Geneve-

  I knew something was going through Vaelen’s head. His face said it all. I didn’t assume he behaved so sedately just because his younger brother would be undergoing further preparation.

  The two of them, despite being brothers sharing the same blood, seemed like an eccentric child often being scolded and frowned upon by his sulky parental figure, which often brought a lot of… problems, and dynamics between the two. In other words, their wholesome “fights” with each other was nothing new to Declan, Lunar and me. We’ve grown quite used to it.

  However, there were be moments when one of them would display odd behavior. Different than the “norm”. Odd behavior that stemmed from the seemingly usual, unserious fight they had, such as now.

  I didn’t assume they had a brawl with each other whilst being outside. Something was bothering Vaelen despite faking a smile, or pretend as if everything was fine.

  Because of this, I came to the conclusion that he was still bothered by Caelum’s circumstances. So I slowly made my way up the stairs, and traversed the hallway, passing by everyone’s rooms until I got to the last door, and gave it a few gentle knocks.

  “Who’s there?” he asked, his muffled voice breaking through the closed door.

  “It’s me, Geneve. Mind if I open the door?”

  “…I don’t. Come in.”

  As I slowly pushed the door open, a fresh breeze of the outside wind pressed against my face, tinged by the smell of fresh flowers that came from a pot of roses standing in the corner of the room. The atmosphere evidently felt more “lighter” than downstairs that was filled by foody aromas from Kasey’s cooking.

  He sat on the edge of his bed, hunged over, his back facing me. As I stepped inside, I let out a sigh, closing the door as I spoke to him.

  “Declan’s started to get too noisy with the cook. Thought why not settle here for a little while?”

  “Well, there’s unfortunately not much I can do to entertain you, Geneve” he responded, standing up as he turned towards me. “I’m not feeling so energetic today.”

  “And yet you’re still awake,” I chuckled, crossing my arms. “I can only safely assume that something is on your mind.”

  Not considering what he would think, I calmly took a seat on the edge of his bed, facing him with a closed smile.

  “I’m able to lend an ear. What is it?”

  He let out a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

  “You’re just like Lunar. It only takes a glance for you to realize that there are things on my mind.”

  “I wouldn’t dare to say that,” I chuckled, hanging my head. “Lunar is his very own category. In a sense, you could say that some of his genius has rubbed on me.”

  He wordlessly turned around, gazing out the nearby window in silence as if it were his response, prompting me to continue, resting my head on the bed’s support.

  “…He told me that he tried to have a talk with you, but you weren’t feeling so cooperative.”

  With his back now faced towards me, I turned my head towards his figure, finally breaking the ice.

  “Still worrying about Caelum?”

  I could notice his right hand slowly bawling into a fist. He responded with a composed, but serious tone.

  “…If I told you I’ve grown suspicious, what would you do?”

  “Be more specific,” I responded. “What do you mean by ‘suspicious’? As in the current situation revolving Caelum, or Caelum himself?”

  He relaxed his eyebrows, remaining silent. I continued.

  “…Are you really telling me that you’re suspicious of your own brother?”

  “No, I’m… not…”

  “Then what do you mean?”

  “I just…” he muttered, lowering his head. He then dramatically turned towards me, his long black hair flowing along the motion. “What would you do if you stood in my shoes?”

  “That’s a rather ambiguous question, Vaelen,” I sighed, standing up. “You seem like someone who knows what he is supposed to do, aren’t you?”

  He let out a sigh through his nose, and slowly regained composure.

  “…Lunar said something similar to me that evening. That my brother needed me… I understood what he said, but…”

  “You feel responsible for this?”

  “Yes, well… kind of.”

  “Listen, Vaelen, I totally understand how you’re feeling,” I began, stepping towards him. “It’s only a natural reaction of an older brother when, out of nowhere, something like this happens to their younger sibling. You being such a religious person makes it much worse, too.”

  He lowered his head, his eyes aimlessly staring into the distance.

  “I studied the Golden Book for many years, Geneve. There are just way too many similarities between Caelum and the prophecy. It is equal to telling a math teacher that one plus one equals three. It doesn’t make sense for the teacher, because he knows it equals two.”

  “…While it may not be as bold as that example, I still find it reasonable,” I sighed, crossing my arms. “His skin turning pale may really be a side-effect of the summoning of two different Grimoires.”

  “And how would you explain the two Grimoires, then?” he asked, frowning. “Is that not enough reason to assume he has two different souls residing within him?”

  I remained silent in response.

  “Exactly,” he said aggressively. “You can’t come up with an excuse because there can’t possibly exist one. You can’t have two separate Grimoires while housing a single soul. That is impossible.”

  “Well, did you notice anything peculiar about him throughout the years?” I asked, raising my head to meet his eyes. “If he truly housed a second soul, wouldn’t that cause him to grow dual-personality-like behaviours? Or any mental condition that contrasts with his body housing two souls?”

  “…That doesn’t matter,” he shook his head. “This could easily be explained by assuming that his ‘second’ soul was awakened as soon as his second Grimoire materialized into being.”

  “You never know, Vaelen. The world of Livayae is large and fantastical enough to make it safe to assume that there could be another reason for this cause. At las, this conversation is purely based on the hypothesis of the Ritual Master. We never saw his second Grimoire. He would have undoubtedly summoned it by now after his training.”

  This finally seemed to get him. But it was true.

  We never saw Caelum’s supposed ‘second’ Grimoire. Despite not being well versed in how everything goes in the Gaian temple, it wouldn’t be bold to bet that, for some strange reason, the Ritual Master lied about the situation. It is much akin to Schrodinger’s cat box; Because we never personally confirmed the Ritual Master truly saw Caelum summon two separate Grimoires, we are forced to assume the latter. We can’t either confirm nor deny this possibility of him owning two Grimoires until we ‘open the box’; In this case, personally finding out through Caelum whether or not it is true that he houses two souls within his body.

  As he remained silent, I continued, adding on to this belief.

  “It would be disingenuous to say that you’d trust the words of the Ritual Master over your own brother’s. In Lunar words: Your brother needs you. Locking yourself up in your room and waiting until the next training procedure begins isn’t going to make things better.”

  He took several moments before responding. In a way, I could truly imagine how conflicting it must’ve been for him. The Gaian Administration was of course a pre-established, ancient and holy place. For one of its Ritual Master to accuse Caelum of something like this would of course sound convincing in opposition to the words of his brother.

  But, in the end, Caelum is his brother.

  “…You’re right,” he slowly nodded. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay, Vaelen,” I said, chucklingly, patting his shoulder. “Why don’t you accompany me downstairs? I think some distraction may help you well.”

  “I’ll be there in a moment.”

  “…Are you sure?”

  “I promise,” he responded, a closed bittersweet smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Our lunch should be ready anytime soon anyway.”

  “Alright then,” I said smilingly, turning back towards the door. “I’ll see you downstairs.”