"Alright."
Dunn kept his eyes forward. Sensing that the lady had something to add more.
Selina smiled, applying a hint of humor to her voice. "I don't plan on becoming a fugitive. So I'll be accepting your offer."
Dunn finally turned to face Selina. His voice pleasant. "Are you certain you want to join us?"
He's still somewhat skeptical of the lady. However, it had lessened as time passed by.
Selina nodded briefly, then initiated a short courtesy before replying. "Yes, I am certain."
Her reason stems from the awareness that even if she finally went to face her fate. Her lack of combat prowess and experience would held her back greatly.
An aspect that reading mountains of books wouldn't suffice!
"Then take a look at this deed. Heh, as you may have known, people now call it as contracts." Dunn produced two contract copies from the table drawer.
Unlike Selina's recent impressions of the captain. His demeanor had significantly loosened, partly from the fact that the star of that 'show' had finally proved her innocence, now becoming a fellow guardian.
There were not many clauses, and most of them had been mentioned by Dunn Smith. The emphasis was on the confidential clause. Violators were tried in the tribunal courts of the Church of the Evernight Goddess instead of the kingdom's courts. It was akin to how soldiers and officers were sent to court martial for trials.
A five year contract... Selina read through it, quickly skimming the salary part, she answered. "I have no issues about the contract."
"Alright, you can go ahead and sign it." Dunn pointed at the dark red fountain pen and ink.
Selina tested the fountain pen with a paper waste before drawing a breath. Then, she signed both of the contracts with her name: Selina Roy.
She had no stamps at the moment, as it had never crossed her mind. So instead, she used her thumbprint.
Dunn received the contract, took out a stamp from the drawer, and stamped on the end of the contract and a few key parts.
With that done, he stood up and returned a contract with one hand, and reached for Selina with the other saying, "Welcome, from now on, you are one of us, and please note that the contract is confidential as well."
Selina stood as well. Received her copy of the contract and shook his hand, she asked. "Shall I address you as captain from here on?"
"Yes." Dunn's grayish eyes seemed especially deep in the dim surroundings.
After shaking hands, the Dunn finally occupied his seat and set the contract aside to the table's drawer, saying in a drifting tone, "Ms. Roy, You're quite like Klein Moretti now that I think about it."
"Pardon?" Selina was caught slightly from Dunn Smith's words.
"I'm saying is that similar to your situation. Klein, before entering as a Nighthawk, had also experienced a predicament, just like yours." Dunn shared casually.
"Beyonder-related events?" Selina asked out of curiosity.
Dunn gently laughed it off by saying, "However, now, you two seemed to have gain a new beginning. I'm happy for the both of you."
Selina sighed softly. "I'm grateful to hear that."
Her gaze casted at the stamp on the contract. It reads: "Nighthawks Squad, Tingen City, Awwa County, Loen Kingdom."
"Using the 'Blackthorn Security Company' as a disguise..." Selina muttered audibly. "I assume there were previous signboards before this one?"
Dunn nodded briefly and produced a piece of paper from the drawer.
It was stamped with the stamps of the city government and the police department. The content were as follows: "Seventh Unit, Special Operations Department, Awwa County Police, Loen Kingdom."
"The first four units are the regular police responsible for general security, like the VIP Protection Unit and Key Installations Protection Unit. And from unit five onwards are the ones dealing with supernatural incidents in each city. Our unit is responsible for incidents related to the followers of Evernight Goddess in Tingen. If there are different types of followers, then we divide the area accordingly; we are mainly in charge of places like the north, west and the Golden Indus region."
Dunn briefly introduced, "Unit Six of the Mandated Punisher squad under the Church of the Lord of Storms is in charge of the pier region, the east, and the south. The university area and the suburbs are under Unit Five, which is the Machinery Hivemind squad in Tingen."
He sighed as he humored. "I'm just reciting my past introduction..."
"I see..." Selina remained open-minded. She then asked. "The public sees the building as a servicing company. With this disguise, what do we usually do if we're commissioned?"
"Well, we'll accept them; heh it's not a matter to be concerned with as long as it doesn't affect our operations." Dunn said slowly with humor. "Any earnings would be considered additional bonuses, so our members are quite willing to take those jobs. Anyway, the market for trivial and troublesome matters have been monopolized by private detectives such as finding dogs and lost items."
"Speaking of, how many members are in our unit?" Selina asked out of conveniency of the topic.
"Supernatural incidents aren't common, so there are even fewer beyonders. There are only six formal members of the Nighthawks in the entire Tingen City, including me. Heh heh, as for civilian staff, there are now seven, including you."
Upon committing the words into memory. Selina nodded with her head and finally asked an eventual question. "Captain. What do you know about the phenomena known as a beyonder losing control?"
For someone who had a first-hand experience through her body. Selina know only so much as to its conclusion. The subsequent effects and its cause was still unknown to her.
Upon hearing Selina's question, Dunn looked out of the window toward the corridor that led to Chanis Gate. He brought his pipe that oddly wasn't emitting smoke. Taking a deep whiff before his voice turned reflective and fleeting.
"Heh, I thought you already knew the dangers of the beyonder world that you have chosen... Well, since you asked. Selina, Have you heard of the creation myth?"
It wasn't my 'actual choice'... Selina thought of the former body's effort to escape through any means necessary.
"Yes, I have heard of it before... I believe it was usually taught through reading The Revelation Evernight? Among them, the Book of Wisdom and the Letters from the Saints mentioned the myth of creation."
She steadied herself and answered honestly, "The Creator awoke from Chaos and shattered the darkness, creating the first ray of light. He then fused himself completely into the universe and made up all of existence. His body became the land and stars. One of his eyes became the sun, while the other became the crimson moon. Some of his blood rushed into the seas and rivers, nourishing and nurturing lives.
"His lungs turned into elves; His heart turned into giants; His liver turned into treants; His brain to dragons; His kidneys into the feather serpents; His hair into phoenixes; His ears into demonic wolves; His mouth and teeth into the mutants, and His remaining bodily fluids turned into the sea monsters, of which the essence was Naga."
Selina kept her recollection. However, upon coming to a certain point, she realized how this myth was quite similar to the creation myth of Norse mythology as well as Chinese's pangu.
The beliefs of both this world and hers have something in common!
When she paused. Dunn noticed this and decided to continue. "His stomach, His small and large intestines, and the evil parts of His body turned into devils, evil spirits and other various kinds of unknown malevolent existences. His spirit became the Eternal Blazing Sun, the Lord of the Storms, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom..."
"His wisdom... gave birth to humanity. That was the first Epoch, the Chaos Epoch."
As a past bookworm before becoming a secretary. Selina couldn't help but revel at how detailed this world's creation myth, that gave every part a meaning.
It was like a children's song, in rows playing a choir within a cathedral.
Furthermore, it was also present in the scriptures of the Evernight Goddess. The Churches of the Lord of Storms and God of Steam and Machinery also had similar descriptions. None of them alleviated themselves or devalued the other gods.
This can either meant that the myth is real or a product from a long period of strife before compromising somewhere within the Fourth Epoch.
With this in mind. Selina had another question to add. She asked. "It seems... quite strange...
"The Eternal Blazing Sun, Lord of Storms, and God of Knowledge and Wisdom were born directly from the Creator's spirit. Meanwhile the Goddess isn't."
Dunn retracted his pipe with a smile. "You asked very similar questions from Klein."
Selina doesn't know what to answer. Instead, she wearily replied. "Really? Well... How pleasant..."
Seeing her noncommittal response. Dunn set his eyes back and returned with a question. "Repeat the Goddess's full title."
Without effort. Selina recited in a manner similar to how students are to a teacher.
"The Evernight Goddess is nobler than the stars and more eternal than eternity. She is also the Lady of Crimson, the Mother of the Secrets, the Empress of Disaster and Horror, Mistress of Calm and Silence."
Dunn then commented lightly with humor. "Heh, same manner of responding..."
The remark wasn't relevant that Selina dismissed it with a soft smile.
With the intention of only lightening the mood, which was somewhat achieved. He resumed in a guiding tone and asked. "What does the Lady of Crimson symbolize?"
"The red moon." The moment Selina answered truthfully, she immediately understood.
"Then which part of the Creator did the red moon come from?" asked Dunn with a smile.
"A single eye." Selina instinctively kept her gaze to remain at place, away from Dunn.
"I see... The Goddess wasn't in any place below from the the Lord of Storms who was formed from a third of the Creator's spirit..."
"Correct." Dunn replied as if mentoring an ace student.
For the Churches of Mother Earth and the God of War, the two likely had similar explanations. The exception was the God of Steam and Machinery who had been born too late to find a reason; thus, their church had been weak in the past thousand plus years. It was only with the invention of the steam engine that they seized the opportunity to truly be on par with the other gods.
Dunn stroked his pipe gently.
"Humanity was born out of the wisdom of the Creator, so we have clever and extraordinary brains, but lack other magical powers. However, from the creation myth, we can form a simple but clear conclusion. Everything stems from the same origin."
I see... Selina echoed the last lines into memory.
"According to this conclusion, humans, who are protected by the gods were able to resist the other creatures: the giants, devils, and the mutants. Over time, they gradually figured out means to obtain the power of the Beyonders. That is by using the corresponding parts of the evil spirits, dragons, monsters, magical trees, flowers, or crystals and combining them with other materials to form potions. By consuming and absorbing the potion, one will gain different powers. This is common knowledge among mysticism studies."
Dunn did not elaborate in detail and only gave a brief introduction. "In this process, our ancestors relied on painful lessons to discover that if they were to consume high-grade or extraordinary potions, it would easily lead to tragic consequences. There are three possible outcomes."
"Which... Three?" Selina slowly asked in a long time.
As if reminiscing and realizing that he's reciting his past exchange with a certain Nighthawk member. Dunn calmly listed.
"First, mental death and the complete breakdown of a body. Every piece of flesh would become a terrifying monster. Second, their personality will be changed by the powers contained in the potion. They will turn cold, sensitive, irascible, cruel, and indifferent. Third, well..." Dunn put down his pipe and smiled warmly at Selina. "How was your impression of the Nighthawks?"
Selina was taken aback. She didn't expect the captain to brought such an unrelated question to an explanation.
However, she returned with the same demeanor while politely retracting the conversation back. "They're... quite reliable and very resourceful. Which made me ask questions that have led to this exchange. Particularly, the three outcomes."
Dunn loosened himself and resumed.
"The third is mental disorder. Turning crazy on the spot, becoming more devilish than the devil. This is what it means by losing control." He emphasized the words 'losing control.'
Without waiting for Selina to probe. He sighed silently and continued, "After a long period of experimentation and exploration, together with the birth of the Blasphemy Slate, humans have finally perfected the potion system. We formed a tiered system that chains into stable progression paths known as Sequences. The lower the number in a Sequence, the higher the grade of a potion. At this point, the seven major churches each control at least one complete Sequence. Besides, there are also incomplete 'paths' that they have gathered over the past hundreds or thousand years."
"Slate of Blasphemy?" Selina acutely noticed this tidbit.
This was mentioned by The Hanged Man from their first gathering!
According to The Hanged Man, the Blasphemy Slate was the most critical factor of a potion's system formation and completion!
However, this seemed to contradict what Dunn had said.
"Those were things created by some evil gods. As for which era it appeared, what it contains or what's so special about it, I am unsure as well. If you discover any clues, you have to immediately report it to me. It deserves the highest level of response," said Dunn vaguely. "I mentioned one of the types of losing control. I'll now tell you the remaining four."
"Very well." Selina pushed the matter about the Blasphemy Slate at the back of her mind and listened attentively.
"Although humans have clever minds, they lack extraordinary powers, it is not absolute. There are always a few lucky ones; perhaps I should call them the unlucky ones. They are born with relatively higher perception. Well, it also means the ability to sense spirits. They can hear voices that others cannot hear and see things that others cannot see. They have partial characteristics of Beyonders."
While Dunn spoke, he looked at the empty air around him and watched Selina uneased. "In other words, if they are half a Sequence 9 Beyonder and have fixed characteristics. Oh, Sequence 9 is the lowest grade in the 'chain...' In short, they can only choose a corresponding, fixed Sequence pathway. If they consume other potions, the effects might range from mental disorders to a loss of control, or even worse, death."
Selina nodded briefly.
"The third kind is similar to the second kind. Once you choose a Sequence chain, you will be forced to go down that path. There will be no room for regret. If you were to consume potions from the corresponding Sequence of other 'paths,' there will be a high probability you will get mixed, unusual and warped powers. But it is almost certain that you would be in a semi-deranged state; sensitive and irascible, cruel and bloodthirsty, and silent and melancholic.
"And there is only one such opportunity. After that, regardless if you consume the potions from the original path or potions in the present Sequence, the only result is a loss of control. The outcome could then be mental death; alternatively, the body breaks down into monsters or even transforms into an evil spirit." As Dunn spoke, he turned his eyes back onto the window.
Selina, who was now alarmed and in state of fear, took sometime to ask. "And the fourth kind?"
"The fourth kind, heh heh. That is the most common problem. When we consume potions to gain powers that originally belong to extraordinary beings, we undergo an unnatural transformation. Therefore, we would more or less be affected by the remnant spiritual powers. While perhaps the symptoms might not manifest and are undetectable to others, it will definitely lurk in one's mind. If one rushes to consume the corresponding potion ranked higher in the Sequence before fully grasping the extraordinary powers the potion brings and eliminating the subtle traces, the madness will accumulate, increasing the chances of losing control..." Dunn suddenly fell silent.
After a short pause, he said with a sigh, "As per the internal rules of us Nighthawks, even if a teammate were to make a great contribution, they must have consumed the last potion three years ago and be examined before they can be promoted. Even so, there are still many who lose control every year."
How terrifying... Selina drew a gasp, recalling her own experience as she asked, "Then what about the final kind?"
There was no trace of a smile despite Dunn's curved lips.
"The fifth kind is the most common reason for a loss of control. For Beyonders, one's spiritual perception would be enhanced more or less. The smaller the number in the Sequence, the more enhanced their perception. Therefore, they would hear what others cannot hear, see what others cannot see, and encounter things others would not encounter. They are constantly met with mysterious enticement and illusionary bewitchment. Once they are overstimulated or have greedy desires, they will slowly go down the path of losing control."
As he spoke, Dunn settled his eyes toward Selina, his gray pupils reflecting her figure.
His tone turned bleak as he said, "The founder of the Nighthawks, Archbishop Chanis once said, 'We are guardians, but also a bunch of miserable wretches that are constantly fighting against threats and madness.'"