Whoooosh!
The wind intensified and then began to settle, and as it did, it took on shades of black, white, and grey. As the three colours swirled and collided and bled together, the candle representing himself swelled and tore open into a full-sized ethereal doorway. The Scale sigil glowing with faint golden light blazed to life alongside it.
"It worked!"
Vincent immediately returned to the room of the Land of Chaos.
Above the Scale, a hazy doorway now hung in the air, radiating golden light. Waves of spiritual force pulsed outward from the gap around its edges, setting everything in the room trembling.
He could now confirm: although the Land of Chaos differed significantly in function from Above the Grey Fog, the ritual mechanics of sacrifice and acceptance were fundamentally the same between them.
There was only one remaining question to verify — could he pull a petitioner's spiritual body into this place?
Vincent returned to reality once more, and sacrificed a notebook and a pen through the offering-gate into the Land of Chaos. Then he immediately went to the desk in the sitting room and wrote out a message: Is that you, Bernadette?
He waited on the platform for a while, but no reply came from Bernadette. With a slight sigh, he returned to reality.
"I've gone to all this effort getting everything set up — and somehow I'm still running around like a headless chicken. How does that even happen?"
All that shuttling back and forth had consumed a large portion of his spirituality already. He needed to push through the last experiment while he still had enough left, and then get to bed.
"Vivienne."
Moments later, Vivienne entered, her long violet dress sweeping behind her. "Your Majesty."
Vincent kept his expression neutral. "Vivienne, I need to ask a favour of you."
She immediately inclined in a small bow. "Serving Her Majesty is simply my duty. Please, only say the word."
"This is different."
Vincent's tone grew more serious. "There is some risk involved. I need your consent first."
Vivienne replied without a moment's hesitation: "Of course, Your Majesty."
"..."
Honestly — what has Bernadette been feeding this woman? This level of loyalty and obedience puts the Imperius Curse to shame.
"I need you... to pray to a mysterious presence."
Vivienne blinked, then nodded. "Understood!"
Noticing the flicker of concern in her eyes, Vincent let the corner of his mouth curve into a small smile. "Don't worry. I've already established a connection with this presence in advance. It is nothing like the Hidden Sage — it bears no malice toward those who pray to it."
He added, "More than that — this presence is actually something of a sworn enemy of the Hidden Sage. In the future, it may very well help us stand against him."
"That is wonderful news!" Vivienne's expression broke into genuine delight. "Then Her Majesty need no longer fear that wicked god's threats."
"Mm."
Vincent handed her the slip of paper bearing the three-segment Honorific Name. "Go on."
"I've already communicated with this presence beforehand. After you pray, you will receive a Blessing of some kind. That Blessing is not without conditions — from this day on, you will need to carry out certain tasks on its behalf. But as your contributions grow, it will Bless you with more and more powerful abilities."
Vivienne straightened with quiet resolve. "I understand. I will not let you down!"
She gave a bow and stepped back out of the room.
A few minutes later, that azure light — from the Thirty-Third Heaven — flashed once more through Vincent's mind, and the faintest of sounds reached his ears.
Enter.
In the Land of Chaos, golden radiance was pouring from the ancient Scale and spreading outward like water filling a room.
Vincent pulled over a chair and sat down before the Scale. He channelled spirituality into the golden radiance — and there, within the light, Vivienne appeared, hands clasped together in reverence, eyes closed, an expression of taut prayer on her face.
It was plain she was still nervous. As someone long acquainted with the Beyonder world, she knew better than most that praying to an unknown presence rarely ended in anything other than disaster and misfortune.
Vincent did not rush to respond. He kept channelling spirituality and, simultaneously, sent a mental directive: using his Shadow Trader ability, he let his spirituality flow through the Scale and reach out to envelop Vivienne's spiritual body, attempting to draw her into the Land of Chaos.
Nothing happened.
The spirituality he poured out vanished like a stone dropped into the sea — swallowed whole, leaving no trace. A faint sting began to prick at him — the warning sign of spirituality running dry.
"So it seems either my technique is wrong, or the Land of Chaos simply doesn't support pulling people in."
On reflection, that made sense.
The reason Klein's Above the Grey Fog could pull people's spiritual bodies in was because it existed within the spirit realm — drawing in a spirit was perfectly natural. But the Land of Chaos? Whatever its nature, it clearly had nothing to do with the spirit realm or spiritual bodies — otherwise there would be a direct overlap in authority, and that made no sense.
Actually, thinking about it that way, it's quite logical.
So Vincent wasted no more time, and used what little spirituality he had left to give a quick response: "Good. Bernadette has kept her word, and I will honour what I promised her in turn."
"Receive my Blessing. You will gain a special ability. In exchange, from this day on, you are to serve me. And as your contributions grow, I will grant you more — and more powerful — extraordinary abilities."
"Remember: you must not reveal my existence to anyone."
With that, he took out the contract he had written using his Shadow Trader ability and cast it toward Vivienne's image. The parchment shifted instantly from solid to insubstantial — passed through the golden radiance — and materialised in Vivienne's hands.
Phew —
Vincent let out a long breath, severed the connection, and returned to reality before his spirituality ran completely dry — sparing himself a repeat of last night's unpleasant experience.
Meanwhile —
After Vivienne finished reciting the three-segment Honorific Name, she clasped her hands tightly together, closed her eyes, and waited in tense silence. Despite the Queen's reassurances that the presence had been contacted in advance, the fear remained.
Whatever it may be, it will be what it is.
Even so, not a single shred of hesitation touched her resolve. Without Her Majesty's charity all those years ago, she would have shared the same fate as the other street children she'd grown up beside — dying of starvation in some nameless alley. If by some miracle she'd lived to adulthood, the only future ahead of her would have been selling herself on street corners just to survive. She would never have known a life like the one she had now.
In the middle of her wandering thoughts, a veil of pale golden radiance swept across her vision. Within the mist sat a blurred and indistinct figure — features invisible, yet radiating an enormous, unmistakable pressure. A voice came from within, vast and authoritative: "Good. Bernadette has kept her word..."
The sound of it shook Vivienne to her core. She hurriedly gathered herself and bowed her head.
"Remember: you must not reveal my existence to anyone."
When the final words faded, a piece of parchment appeared in her hands. It detailed the tasks she was to undertake for the presence, and the rules she was to follow.
Vivienne immediately found a pen and signed her name at the bottom.
The next instant, the parchment burst into grey flames that appeared from nowhere. Simultaneously, a searing pain erupted across her entire body. Her field of vision collapsed into only black, white, and grey—
A few minutes later, as the pain slowly ebbed away, Vivienne lay curled on the floor, her clothing soaked through with sweat, her face the colour of chalk.
She forced herself upright, felt the changes taking hold within her body, and murmured quietly:
"Broker..."
To be continued…
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