Snapping out of the trance Liam found himself lying on the stone floor of the conduit.
apparently he was one of the first to awaken from the trial, judging from the numerous bodies on the ground. Rubbing his sore head, Liam scanned the area for An Arcana.
arcana's are groups that come together to complete a specific purpose, the death march for example, is a group of information gatherers typically made up from rouges, of course, arcana's are rarely limited to one class for its workers although it is rarer to have an arcana made up of to many classes.
Liam, who became a hunter, was looking for an apt arcana official , what he didn't, expect was for the official to approach him.
"hello Liam, " hushed a serious voice
startled Liam turned around to see this new figure
"and who might you be...?" responded Liam questioningly.
inspecting the new arrival, Liam's Blue eyes watched a cool pale man, with his neatly combed black hair pressed against his pale white skin, dressed in a formal dark suit which matched the dark onyx eyes, he looked as if he was a phantom.
"Arthur Ludgear, at your service, like you I am an inquisitor, and like you, I too was approached like this," responded the gentleman as he adjusted his tie. "I am an official of the garden of Babylon, and I have come to recruit inquisitors,"
"righttt..., no offense but you seem like the kind of guy Gran would warn me not to talk to..." responded Liam sheepishly
raising his eye brow in response, Arthur's eyes hardened, "a warning as your superior.... Watch your tongue,"
turning around and walking off, Arthur gestured for Liam to follow, "you wont be finding any other arcanas, I've already laid claim to all inquisitors who awaken in this ceremony,"
not sure what to do Liam, place his hands in his pockets began navigating through the sleeping youths and followed after Arthur.
"so, what exactly does the garden of Babylon do then?" questioned Liam
"...we gather information, our network covers the entire country, then we sell information to the highest bidder," responded Arthur, his black eyes concentrated ahead.
stopping suddenly, Arthur held his hand for Liam to do the same. looking down at an unconscious girl
Arthur waited patiently, slightly curious as to what Arthur was doing, Liam prodded the girl with his foot, hoping for a reaction.
"don't," snapped Arthur
---
after around three minutes, the girl began standing up with tears rolling down her face,clearly distressed from whatever trial she went through,
grabbing her shoulder Arthur shook her
"Arthur Ludgear, at your service, unlike you I am an inquisitor, but like you, I too was approached like this,"
sniffing the girl responded, basic etiquette overpowering her current state of disarray "I-i am Kaino," before bursting into tears again
nodding Arthur continued, "I am an official of the garden of Babylon and i have come to recruit inquisitors, although you are a martial artist, i have chosen to recruit you as well"
Kaino, who appeared to have a moment of revelation, quickly responded, "o-oh, thank you for the offer, b-but I plan on joining a different arcana,"
"yes you wanted to join the "path of the dragon" Arcana, well, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that wont be possible," calmly stated Arthur
"p-pardon me, but my entire family is a part of that arcana, so I-"
"i've spoken with your family, Kaino, they have agreed to cut ties with you in exchange for a couple thousand Crowns,"
"eh..?"
-----------------
inside the carriage, Kaino was sniffling in the corner, after an awkward display of family bonds Liam doing his best to avoid eye contact with her.
Not sparing either of them a glance, Arthur was reading the morning paper.
sighing Arthur settled the paper on the bench next to him before leaning and shaking Kaino on the shoulder.
"Kaino, yes, I know you're devastated but could you turn your head to the left side for me, yes, just like that, thank you,"
with a sudden crack Arthur twisted Kainos neck at an awkward angle, silently, her body slumped over
suddenly on guard, Liam turned to Arthur,
"did you... kill her?!"
"no, of course not, I just needed a couple seconds alone with you, Liam," responded Arthur.
"you see Liam, once pushed to a certain limit, the soul will desperately try to save itself by evolving at a frightening rate,"
sweat trickled down Liam's face as Arthur's cold black eyes bore into him.
"it only has enough energy to do this once but it can cause individuals to awaken special abilities...
we call them Mantras,"
as Arthur picked up his cane, he twisted the handle to click it open, revealing a sharp black spike hidden inside like a sheath.
"my mantra was dubbed, ""status"" because I can use it to monitor people and see, well, their status,"
pressing the unsheathed spike against Liam's dress shirt Arthur continued.
"it's how I picked you out from the crowd, since inquisitors are highly valued at the garden... but when I mentioned "inquisitor" your heart rate spiked, the same way it does when you tell a lie..
so, Liam, what exactly happened in your trial. and more importantly..."
jabbing Liam's chest with the spike he continued,
"What. Are. You?"