16 Daffodil Street. Tingen City.
As mundanity swept Selina by her day. Her feet guided her back to her residence.
The Heath family wasn't present next door while her other neighbor appears to have no concern with her.
However, she didn't came back empty-handed.
Being held by her left hand was two paper bags, containing her recent trip down Delores Market, North of Municipal Square.
Inside were meat, pasta, and vegetables as lately she had been craving nutritions compared to her usual take-outs that seems tasty yet packed full of sugar.
When the door clicked open. Selina inspected her physique.
Her eyes turned slightly delighted as she sighed. Surprisingly, after all of that Desi Pie, I've only gained a little...
She withdrew her keys, returning it back to the compartment of her dress before pinching her stomach lightly.
Upon seeing a slight plump. Selina shook her head immediately and entered.
After placing the two paper bags onto the dining table she hastily organized them into each of their containers she had brought recently. Storing them into the cabinets below the counter.
There... She muttered.
Sensing the emptiness of the room, devoid of any soul. It made her realize how eary did Darkwill dismissed her.
Well... Since I have nothing to do...
Selina dragged herself upstairs and entered the bedroom.
From there, she saw the encyclopedia book nested above her dresser.
It was followed by her personal documents, the letter from the Church of Storms sent to her house and the invitation slip Martha Heath had given her.
Selina inspected the slip closely as she hadn't had the chance to do so before.
It reads: "Woodman Family, 32 Daffodil Street, near one of our family's clothing store.
"At July 30, will be the first anniversary of my family's settlement here in Daffodil Street, Tingen City. As the patriach of the Woodman Family, it is my honor to invite you to the anniversary of our arrival. Please attend esteemed guest!"
Selina quickly noticed the slip's invitation. They own a clothing store? Depending on the variety of clothing, their income can stand around two-hundred eighteen pounds per year, not to mention that it's one of their branches?
She habitually speculated the background of the Woodman Family.
And it's only been a year... Perhaps their residence might not be a terrace house...
Selina set the slip aside and took her usual towel from her luggage before heading to the washroom.
Gushes of water echoes across the hallway. Inducing it with a sense of someone present amidst the occasional footsteps of the pedestrians.
After a few minutes. Selina took her towel from sink and walked out of the tub, hair soggy and damp as wet patches cling onto her soft, delicate pale skin.
Yet her hair still glistens with that particular lighting, hinting of its natural health.
From the corner of her eye, Selina caught her reflection. Captivating waist and alluring physique made her slightly unease of the unwanted possibilities from occurring.
However, in a similar manner, she now also had the desire to indulge herself in the fashion aspect of the ladies.
During my time as a secretary, female co-workers from our departments often invite me to a spree, particularly the clothing store of malls...
In response, I would decline each time, anxious of myself... Selina sighed.
The next second, she lifted her arm, holding the towel draped around her body.
Once more, she inspected her body that unlike her thoughts before, didn't actually exhibit any increase in weight.
Rather, it became more aligned with her vision of herself.
Ah! Right!
Selina quickly loose her arm then turned her gaze behind.
She looked at the basket, nested at the side of the door.
It had an overflowing amount of clothing, all from the past five days.
At this rate, I won't even be surprised if I return to my bedroom, finding my drawers empty of clothing...
Feeling invigorated. Selina surrendered to the inevitability of chores, tying her towel strictly before lowering her body to the basket and began separating the the hard-to-wash clothes from the ones with white publics.
...
After instructing her golden retriever, Susie, Audrey paced around, seemingly worried. She too was uncertain if the ritualistic magic would result in anything odd.
"Let's do this..." Her eyes turned calm as she used her state as a bystander to view the imagined process. Soon, she came to a new arrangement.
Audrey unlocked the door to her bedroom and said to Susie, "Susie, sit here. If Annie and the rest try to barge their way in, immediately go to the bathroom to inform me."
In order to prevent any accidents, her personal maidservant had the key to unlock her door.
Susie looked at her enigmatically and wagged her tail thrice.
"Very good. I will let you choose anything you want for lunch today!" Audrey pumped her fist gently.
After exhorting Susie, she entered the bathroom. The square bathtub was three to four meters on each side. There was clear water rippling gently in it with steam emitting from it. It was quite a dreamy sight.
Audrey tidied up a rectangular table with many bottles placed on it. Then, she went back out and moved candles, sacrificial items, and a white robe over.
Immediately after that, she closed the bathroom door.
With everything done, Audrey heaved a sigh of relief and picked up a translucent light-blue bottle beside the four candles.
The cylindrical bottle shimmered dreamily under the light. In it was the essence oils she had distilled from a mixture yesterday. As an aficionado of mysticism, she had no lack of research regarding such items. She had many different kinds of pure dew, flower essence, perfume, essential oils, and incense that she brewed herself at home. As such, she had already finished the initial preparations according to The Fool's instructions.
"Moon flowers, gold mint, slumber flowers, fingered citron, and rock-rose... What an odd concoction..." Audrey mumbled softly. "Oh, one has to cleanse one's body and calm their mind before engaging in ritualistic magic. This is a form of reverence to the divine—uh, to the target."
As she went through the entire process in her head, she placed the ritual's essential oil beside her bathtub. She reached out and began disrobing what she wore at home.
Pieces of her silk clothing fell into the laundry basket one after another. Audrey coiled up her hair into a bun and tested the water's temperature with her hand. Then, she carefully stepped into the bathtub, allowing her body to slowly sink into the water's warm embrace.
"Phew..." She exhaled comfortably, finding herself warm all over. She felt abnormally relaxed.
I don't even want to move a single finger... Audrey forcefully pumped herself out as she grabbed the translucent light-blue bottle beside her and dripped a few drops into the water.
A waft of fragrance dispersed, filling the silence with a refreshing smell. Audrey breathed in a few times and nodded in satisfaction.
"Not bad. It smells really good.
"How relaxing. How comfortable...
"I don't want to move at all. All I wish is to lie here in silence...
"Silence, in silence... si...lence..."
After losing her sense of time, Audrey suddenly heard barking.
She opened her eyes in shock, looking to her sides in a daze. She had no idea when Susie had opened the door and entered. She was squatting outside the bathtub, looking at her with an exasperated look.
As she rubbed the corners of her eyes, Audrey felt that the water had cooled down quite significantly.
I-I fell asleep? She subconsciously asked herself.
Susie looked at her without barking or wagging her tail.
"Haha, the effects of that bottle of ritual essential oil sure is great. Yeah, really great!" Audrey chuckled dryly as she explained with a cheerful tone.
She stood up, retrieved a towel, and as she wrapped and wiped her body, said to the golden retriever beside her, "Susie, continue keeping watch. Do not let Annie and the rest enter!"
Only when the golden retriever left did she secretly stick out her tongue. She threw her towel aside and wore a clean white robe.
After closing the door to the bathroom, Audrey recalled the ritual she had memorized.
She picked up four candles and placed them on the four corners of the table.
A loaf of white bread at the top left corner, a bowl of Feynapotter noodles at the top right corner. Smells great, but it's a little cold... No! It's not time to think of this! Paella at the bottom left corner and Desi pie at the bottom right... Audrey set up the altar according to The Fool's descriptions seriously, shaking her head twice during the process.
After she was done with the preparation, she left her four candles lit. She picked up a silver knife and stabbed it into a pile of coarse salt.
After narrating the sacred incantation in Hermes, Audrey raised the knife with beautiful patterns and placed it into a cup filled with clear water.
After focusing her mind, she pulled out the silver 'sacred blade,' cogitating her spirituality to spew out and spread from her blade.
Invisible energy spewed out as Audrey held the knife and circled the altar once. When she felt that a spirituality wall was fully erected around her, she expelled all the uncleanliness and distractions outside.
Maintaining her Spectator state, she prevented her excitement and joy from affecting the ritual.
She put down the silver knife and picked up the tiny light-blue crystalline bottle and dripped a drop on each candle.
Sizzle!
A faint fragrance emanated as Audrey's body, heart, and soul seemed to attain tranquility.
She drew a breath as she lowered her head in reverence and began chanting the incantation in Hermes.
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era,
"You are the mysterious ruler above the gray fog,
"You are the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck,
"I pray for your help.
"I pray for your loving grace.
"I pray for you to give me a good dream.
"Moon flower, an herb that belongs to the red moon, please bestow your powers to my incantation!
"Fingered citron, an herb that belongs to the sun, please bestow your powers to my incantation!"
...
Right after Audrey chanted the incantation and hoped to cogitate the contents of her plea, she felt there was a stir within the spirituality wall. She saw a dark red star swirling on the back of her hand.
Her heart leaped as she hurriedly closed her eyes and calmed her heart to plead sincerely.
When everything was over, she surveyed her surroundings wondrously, but did not find anything odd.
"Is that all?" Audrey knitted her eyebrows slightly as she whispered.
...
The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck... The Fool that doesn't belong to this era... In the Blue Avenger's captain cabin, Alger Wilson in his windstorm robe was silently reciting the three lines of description he had heard in the afternoon. He seemed to be attempting to find clues of the person's identity through it.
He shook his head and stood up in a clearly vexed manner, but ultimately did not do anything.
Alger was not at ease inside the Blue Avenger, an ancient ship that was a relic from the Tudor Dynasty. Although he was already in control of the ship, he had a gut feeling that there were still many hidden secrets, just like the Blood Emperor.
Therefore, he planned on using the ship to test The Fool's powers but did not wish to attempt the unknown ritualistic magic on the ship.
Alger ruminated for a few minutes before leaving the captain's cabin and went on deck. He said to the few sailors, "We will be reaching the Rorsted Archipelago soon. We will be anchoring there for a day."
The sailors immediately cheered as they shouted in unison, "Thank you, Your Grace!"
As the ghost ship did not need sailors, there were very few sailors on board. There was no need to worry about their supplies, being able to enjoy fresh food and clean water. However, day after day of voyaging at sea and the nearly unending vistas exhausted them both physically and mentally. It felt like they were always repressed and tolerating something until they lost control.
As for the Rorsted Archipelago, it was a famous colony on the Sonia Sea. Their business was booming, and they had all kinds of industries.
"I simply can't wait!" A crew member gyrated his hips and sniggered a meaningful laugh that all men would understand.
...
Hours later. Unit 2 Daffodil Street.
The crimson moon high in the sky hung silently in the darkness. It illuminated Tingen City, the city of universities, as it gradually fell silent.
Klein stood in front of his desk and looked through his oriel windows to see the empty Daffodil Street. He heard the sound of carriages quickly galloping far away without causing a din.
He picked up his vine-leaf patterned silver pocket watch and snapped it open. He took a glance at it and drew the curtains, making the yellowish lights of the gas lamp reflect back into the bedroom.
Klein turned around at an adequate speed, locked his room, and switched off the gas valve.
The room was immediately covered in darkness. Only a sliver of red moonlight penetrated the curtains. It gave rise to an atmosphere perfect for many late-night folk tales.
Klein took out the silver knife he had applied for. He imagined the spherical light and entered a half-Cogitation state.
He focused his mind according to his previous practice, allowing his spirituality to spew out from the tip of his blade. Then, he allowed their motion to miraculously fuse with his surroundings, sealing off the room.
Following that, Klein put down the knife then made one incantation under his breath.
With one step, he proceeded forward, another added with a prayer. Then he turned to his left and did a similar step.
This went until he arrived back to the spot he had started. An exactly four counterclockwise rotation.
An unusual and very strange act of a regular person.
Suddenly, everything around him shifted.
The atmosphere became colder and consequently heavier. The unchanging roars and murmurs inundated him. With the same mania and pain inflicted on him, he did his best to control himself and withstood the most grueling and dangerous stage in his half-conscious state.
Klein could feel his spirit body float and ascend. The normalcy of the room faded, the space became darker.
With only the gray fog as a prominent image, it abruptly parted before him.
Towering masts of pillars stood majestically beyond the fleeting darkness. Light casted a massive dome that encapsulates an entire edifice.
Klein found himself seated at a high-back chair, designed with bronze that aligns with the long table before him.
Surrounded by an endless sea of gray fog.