"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, Larry, where does your dream come from?" Phillip asked.
"From my mom's stories, and I just loooove the nature!" I grinned thinking of the soft green grass and the wide open that awaited me behind the walls.
"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. I only sighed and shook my head as the pet name just seemed to transform over time.
"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!"
Emma 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! Blockhead!" 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. Even though she is smaller!
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 letting a tear drop vanish on the back of my hand. "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 grinning from one ear to the other her eyes sparkling the stars of the night.
"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.