Leo wasn't sure whether he could trust the old man. But he didn't have many other options at the moment. If this man really knew something useful, turning down his help would be foolish.
So, after a brief hesitation, Leo decided to follow him.
They walked towards a corner of the archive, following a path the old man seemed to know by heart.
Leo couldn't help but feel confused.
He was certain he'd explored nearly every corner of this place. Yet he couldn't recall ever seeing this particular section before.
Did I somehow miss it?
He glanced around, trying to figure out where the old man was taking him. Nothing looked familiar.
Still, he chose to keep his doubts to himself and followed along.
"Haha! I know what you're thinking, lad," the old man said with a chuckle, as though he'd somehow read Leo's mind. "But you should know that sometimes, the very information you're looking for doesn't always sit on a shelf beneath a name that gives it away."
Leo blinked.
Okay. That's either really profound or really annoying.
He couldn't decide which.
The old man stopped in front of a shelf near the back wall. It looked ordinary. Same dark wood. Same dusty spines. Nothing about it stood out from the hundreds of others Leo had already searched for.
Then the old man reached out. Pressed his palm against the side of the shelf.
And the entire thing shifted.
Leo's eyes widened.
Wait. You said the book would be on a shelf. You never mentioned it was hidden behind some secret door!
He stared at the old man, who had suddenly burst into hearty laughter. The old man seemed to be enjoying every second of Leo's confusion.
Wait a minute...
A horrifying thought struck him.
Don't tell me this old geezer is some kind of perverted old man who kidnaps young boys like me! And in his own house, no less?!
A shiver ran down Leo's spine.
Damn it! Should I run?
Before he could decide what to do, a sharp pain struck the top of his head.
"Ouch!"
"Damn it, lad! What on earth are you thinking about me now?"
The old man stood beside him with one hand raised. He had just delivered a firm knock to Leo's head. His face was twisted into an expression of pure exasperation.
Judging by the look on his face, he had somehow figured out that Leo's thoughts had taken a rather questionable turn.
With pure annoyance on his face, he asked, "What kind of nonsense is going on inside that head of yours?" the old man grumbled.
Leo clutched his head with both hands. He rubbed the spot where he'd been hit. His face scrunched up in frustration.
Damn! Does this old man have some kind of mind-reading ability or something?!
God, what in this bizarre world is this?
Leo glanced at the old man warily. His expression twisted into a mixture of irritation and disbelief.
"You obviously said it was here! But you never mentioned it was hidden somewhere inside this place!"
The old man's expression shifted from irritation to laugh in the blink of an eye.
"Ha ha ha! Of course! It's hilarious watching you get so dumbfounded over something so simple!"
Watching the old man laugh so heartily at his expense, Leo couldn't help but wonder if the man was some kind of sociopath.
Seriously. What kind of old geezer enjoys messing with people this much?
THWACK!
Another sharp knock landed on the exact same spot on Leo's head.
"Ouch! Damn it, old man!"
The words slipped out before Leo could stop himself.
THWACK!
Another knock.
"Ow!"
A few tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. He clutched his head, glaring at the old man with a mixture of pain and indignation. But when he saw the old man raising his hand again, whatever courage he had left promptly vanished.
Leo pressed his lips together.
Not a single word escaped him. He didn't even dare open his mouth. Afraid that the slightest sound might earn him another knock.
"See? You should learn to respect your elders!" the old man declared. He burst into laughter once more as he stroked his long white beard.
Leo could only stand there in miserable silence.
Leo was starting to think this old man could read minds. Seriously. That could explain how he always seemed to know what Leo was thinking.
Because there was no other explanation. Every time Leo had a thought he shouldn't be having, the old man somehow knew. Every single time. For heaven's sake.
For now, Leo decided to keep his mouth zipped.
And especially his dam running thoughts.
---
They both walked towards the passage.
The path wasn't some hidden tunnel like Leo had imagined. More like a narrow passage may be almost ten meters, the way widened as they walked. By the end, it opened into a small room. Almost 300 square feet, if he guessed.
First thing Leo noticed? A high-backed armchair near the wall and a few books scattered around it. Fifty, maybe. Enough to make the place feel like a private reading corner. Only for one person.
But what really caught Leo's eye was a crooked stone fountain standing nearby. Almost four feet. With a twisted base and blue water flowing through the cracks.
But there was another magical sight he witnessed. The floating blue sphere above the fountain.
It just... hung there. Like there was no gravity around it. It appeared to be a deep blue orb. Suspended in mid-air. Little ripples of energy flickering across its surface. It didn't drift. Nor did it sway. As if something was holding it in place.
That wasn't even the weirdest part.
It was the water coming out of it. Straight from the sphere and streaming down into the fountain below.
Leo stared for a second. Tried to figure out where the water was coming from.
Because the orb looked smooth with no holes. And no cracks on it.
And yet somehow, water flowed from it.
Leo just stood there. Eyes locked on the fountain.
"Do you like it, lad?" the old man asked.
But the old man couldn't hear any response from Leo.
Because he kept staring at the fountain. Like he was mesmerized. No, that wasn't it either. It was more like something had its hooks in him. He couldn't look away even if he wanted to.
The sphere floating above the fountain shifted its colour from deep blue to pitch black.
As the old man watched, his eyebrow eventually quirked. Something flickered in his eyes. Just his right one. Like he'd just found something far more interesting than he'd bargained for.
It didn't last long. The old man's eyebrow settled back to normal. But a faint smile crept onto his face.
He stepped closer. Placed a hand on Leo's shoulder.
"Haah... Young lad. You planning to stand there staring at it all day?"
Leo gave a slight jerk when the old man's hand landed on his shoulder. Honestly? It was done intentionally, though.
In the blink of an eye, he snapped back to his senses. His gaze shifted from the strange fountain to the old man beside him.
"What is that thing?"
The question slipped out before he could think of anything else to ask.
The old man chuckled. Stroked his long white beard.
"Don't worry about it, lad. It's just one of my little playthings. No need to bother with it. Besides, it won't harm you."
Before Leo could ask anything else, the old man changed the subject.
"Haah... Young lad. Have you forgotten why you came here in the first place?"
With that, he turned towards a nearby bookshelf. Pulled out a book. Its appearance was old, with a worn-out cover and a faded spine with no writing on it.
Without warning, the old man tossed it towards Leo.
Caught off guard, Leo hurriedly reached out his hand and caught it.
But soon a small cloud of dust burst from the cover. Sent him into a coughing fit.
"Cough! Cough! Damn... What is this? How long has it been since you dusted this place?"
But the old man only had a laugh on his face. Seeing this, Leo could only lose his words.
He looked at the book. It looked rather simple. With not much decoration.
The old man continued, "Tell me, why do you think a ritual is necessary for Awakening?"
Leo stared at him for a moment before answering.
"I don't know the exact reason. But personally? I think it's some kind of trigger. Something that initiates the process."
The old man nodded.
"Not bad, lad. You're half right. It does trigger the process. But the proper way to put it is that the ritual initiates the Awakening by bypassing certain conditions and eventually lets the person awaken their Doctrine and manifest their Persona. Whether their ability remains similar to what others might expect or entirely different."
He paused.
"However. When an Awakening fails, it means the conditions required for the process haven't been bypassed. In other words, the ritual wasn't able to help you cross that threshold.
It's just, If you want to attempt Awakening a second time, you'll have to find those exact conditions and fulfil them."
The old man's expression hadn't changed. But his demeanour had. Gone was the mischievous old geezer. In his place stood someone who looked like an experienced tutor with immense patience.
"But there's a catch, you see. We humans always look for the easiest way to accomplish something. We always want shortcuts. Avoid unnecessary trouble and get straight to the results.
As you see, ritual is one of the examples of mankind's shortcuts."
He stroked his beard.
His gaze settled on Leo.
"But there's one question people often overlook. How exactly are you supposed to accomplish something if you don't even understand or what you're required to do?"
Leo fell into deep thought and said, "So I need to figure out the conditions for Awakening again. Or, perhaps more precisely, I need to pass some kind of trial."
The old man let out a hearty laugh.
"Ha ha ha! You're really a clever lad!"
He walked and sat on the chair while leaning slightly on his cane. A mysterious smile appeared on his face.
"Yes, you need to pass a trial. But that's not the real catch."
He paused. Let the words sink in.
"The real challenge is figuring out which trial you're supposed to pass in the first place."