Chapter 65
"What's with the ring? You got a new girl?"
"No, it's my father's urn ring."
"...What? Why would you make a ring out of your father's remains?"
"That's how we do it in the Voodoo Cult."
I looked up at the sky. It was a moonlit night, and I could feel the cool breeze. Come to think of it, winter was approaching. I sighed, and a white puff escaped my mouth.
"We preserve death as an object and hold on to it."
"So, you believe your father's soul is inside that ring?"
"No, my father's soul is currently traveling through the unseen world."
"...I have no idea what you’re saying. You guys are really confusing...but then again, it’s not like I really want to understand either.
The young man in front of me stretched and yawned. He seemed to be around seventeen to eighteen years old, at the oldest, nineteen. He seemed to be around my age. For some reason, he looked familiar.
I smiled. "I have to pass this ring down if I ever have children."
“Having children, ey? You should be worrying about the step before that. You think you can get married?"
"Marriage, huh... I'm not sure."
I looked at the ring on my left pinkie. The memorial gem embedded in the center glistened in the moonlight.
Somehow, it felt like there was someone gazing through the other side of the gem.
I stared straight at it, and felt the gaze stare back. Our eyes met.
"I'll figure it out somehow."
Crack!
Suddenly, a crack appeared on the gem, and darkness seeped out of it. The darkness, in turn, turned into more fissures, spewing more darkness, which turned into more cracks. Just like that, the word shattered into tens, or rather, hundreds of pieces.
Eventually, the world turned to dust and disappeared. Behind the shattered world, pitch-black darkness greeted me.
*
"Cough! Ugh...!"
I opened my eyes. My head throbbed painfully. My heart beat weakly. I felt nauseous. I groaned and pressed my forehead against the ground, retching for a while. Tears flowed uncontrollably, streaming down my cheeks and dripping to the floor.
"Ha... Haa... Whew..."
[What happened? You suddenly collapsed, and now you're retching.]
"Legba. Did you see that hallucin-hallucination? Wait, it wasn’t a hallucination spell. What the hell..."
[Let’s calm down your breathing first. You're breathing too heavily.]
Black dots floated and danced in my field of vision. I felt like I would pass out from the dizziness. I did as Legba advised and took a deep breath. The black dots that were clouding my vision slowly disappeared, and my vision returned to normal.
"Phew..."
After barely regaining my composure, I wiped away the sweat on my forehead. Not only was my forehead drenched in cold sweat, but so was my whole body. However, I didn’t even have the strength to wipe away my sweat. An overwhelming fatigue had swept over my body and had left me strengthless; I could not move a single limb.
"Legba." I mustered some strength to talk.
[Before you talk, take a drink. You've perspired too much. You’re too dehyrated and might go into shock.]
"I'll drink later. How long was I out?"
[Well, it was too short of a time to judge. You were out for around two seconds.]
Two seconds. I burst into a hollow laugh. I couldn’t believe it, but that wasn’t of importance. I had felt the wind bringing a chilling sensation to my fingertips. I had seen the moon shining bright and white puffs of breaths that had floated through the night sky. I had smelled the characteristic musky but cool smell of autumn. Every sensation I had felt remained vividly etched in my body.
"It was not a hallucination."
As the memorial gem embedded in the ring cracked, a spell flew out from the fractures taking the form of mist, knocking me unconscious, and sending me into a dream. The dream was both surreal and vivid, and it felt as if I was peering into someone else's memories.
"It's a 'memory implantation' spell."
Simply put, it was highly likely that I had been ensnared by a memory implantation spell, an enthrallment spell. Through that spell, I had seen a glimpse of my father's memories. My father must have imbued the spell so that it would activate when I put on the ring.
"...Ha-ha."
Although I had never shown signs of wavering even under the influence of advanced spells, I had fallen prey to a mere wisp of mist. It only made sense that my father was responsible for the spell I had fallen to.
Even Legba had called him the "monster of spells," showing how adept my father was in spells and Voodoo magic. Despite my strong resistance against spells, I couldn't resist my father's spell. In other words, only my father possessed the skills to cast a spell that could penetrate my spell resistance.
[You seem like you’re going down the road of becoming a madman, muttering to yourself and laughing all of a sudden. What did you see that made you like this?]
"I think I saw my father's memories."
[Do Myung-Jun? You’ve glimpsed at his memories?]
My father's name was Do Myung-Jun.
I nodded. "The ring was enchanted with a memory implantation spell."
[Memory implantation... So you're saying he was able to infuse a spell into an object? It seems like he was more talented than I had imagined.]
Memory implantation was an enthrallment spell, but it wasn’t classified as a lesser, intermediate, advanced, or superior. Since it was a spell that only my father could use, there was no point in assigning it a level. Hence, it was categorized as a spell outside the grading system. It was my father who originally classified spells, but that was beside the point. There was something else that was more important.
"Why?"
I was thinking about the man I had glimpsed beyond my father's memories. The man appeared to be a close friend of my father. He had jet-black hair as dark as night and deathly pale skin.
It was Sung Yu-Da.
Inside my father's memories, the man who had been my father's friend was undoubtedly Sung Yu-Da, the former inquisitor, current cardinal, and father of Ha-Yeon. The word enemy could not hold the amount of hatred I felt for this man. No, he was my archnemesis.
"How could you do that to your friend... That bastard...!"
According to what I had seen, Sung Yu-Da had personally poured oil, set fire, and ultimately killed my father, his ‘friend.’ While I had long been aware that he was responsible for massacring tens of thousands of Voodoo cultists, I had no idea he was a betrayer who personally killed his friend. I had thought he was just a simple bastard, but upon closer inspection, he was an unsalvageable piece of shit.
"Ha."
I let out a deep sigh and rose from my seat. For a moment, it felt as if the room was spinning under my feet. Perhaps it was due to dehydration or various psychological factors, but I felt dizzy. I steadied myself against the wall with my left hand and barely made it out of the room. Ji-Ah looked surprised at the sight of me and took a few steps back.
"Cult Leader, have you taken care of your business?"
"Not yet. I, uh, where's the refrigerator? I want to drink some water."
"Oh, I’ll, I'll bring it to you."
Ji-Ah hurriedly walked to the refrigerator, soon returning with a glass of water.
I took the glass from her and downed it. I felt better after I drank the water. The dizziness that had been tormenting me for a while subsided.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Um... you’ve been going at it for a long time. It's already been an hour," she said out of nowhere as I handed her the empty glass.
For some reason, her face seemed incredibly bewildered. It was the first time Ji-Ah had made a face so apparent with emotion.
Puzzled, I tilted my head and said, "It’s usually a process that takes a long time."
"Well, of course. I’ve heard it takes different amounts of time for different people, but I was worried you were pushing yourself too hard and straining your stamina..."
"An hour is not that long. It's fine."
A Voodoo Cult ritual usually lasted anywhere from half a day to sometimes extending up to three days. Finishing a ritual in one hour was incredibly fast.
Ji-Ah hesitantly said with a complex expression, "Your stamina is really, um, impressive."
It sounded like a compliment, yet it didn't. Her tone was strange.
"...Well, I've been exercising these days. Anyway, I'm going back in."
Leaving Ji-Ah staring at me with a troubled face, I quickly entered the room. The room was filled with undisturbed mist. The air was dense and murky, making it hard to breathe. Nevertheless, I made my way through the mist and headed to bed, but I had no intention of going to sleep. I sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at the ring on my finger. The jewel had suffered the aftermath of my father's spell and was fractured.
My father had infused a spell into the gem embedded in the ring. The gem seemed to have been made from my grandfather's remains. Compared to other objects, It seemed easier to contain spells in this ring.
If that was the case...
Could I infuse this ring with my spell?
Like my father, if I could store a spell within this ring, It would enable me to use spells without having to draw a spell array.
Perhaps I could use it to cast spells in the middle of a heavily surveilled city or even in F.A. If I succeeded, it would greatly help me in the upcoming Holy Name of Charity re-election test. No, if I could succeed, obtaining the Holy Name of Charity would be a piece of cake.
[However, the chances of success are low. Compared to your father’s skills, you pale in comparison.]
"I know."
However, the sweet plans would only come to life if I were to succeed. As Legbah had said, my skills were far inferior to my father's, and the chances of success were slim.
"Still, I have to give it a try."
I had no intention of giving up before even attempting the challenge.
I unleashed Voodoo magic.
*
"Ha-Yeon."
Sung Yu-Da looked at Ha-Yeon with sharp, cold eyes.
Ha-Yeon stood before him, her hands placed politely in front, and her head deeply bowed. The atmosphere was rigid, and there seemed to be a hierarchical relationship between the two. At first glance, it seemed more like an interaction between a master and servant than a father and daughter.
“Your practical training exam scores are lower than expected.”
“...”
“I heard your first exam, are they called... midterms? are coming up. There’s always a chance to make up for the lost marks during the written test. There’s no need to worry,” Sun Yu-Da said as if he was trying to provide some comfort.
But to Ha-Yeon, his words brought no comfort at all. To her, it sounded more like: ‘Your practical assessment scores were extremely lacking. Pick up the slack in the written exams.’
It felt like a new weight had been added onto her already heavy shoulders. It felt like her body would sink into the ground due to her weight.
"I understand." In the midst of that pressure, Ha-Yeon managed to respond.
Then she turned and headed back to her room.
"Ha-Yeon, have you decided which specialization you want to pursue?"
However, Sung Yu-Da's question stopped Ha-Yeon in her tracks. She forced herself to maintain her composure and turned her head.
"I'm thinking of working toward becoming a priest."
"Priest. Priest... Yeah, it's probably better to go in a direction that suits your aptitude,” Sung Yu-Da said as he touched his eyebrow.
He seemed dissatisfied.
Ha-Yeon nodded without saying a word. She tried to squeeze out a smile, but her effort was in vain.
"How's school?"
Sung Yu-Da continued to ask questions, to which Ha-Yeon gave vague answers. Yet, Sung Yu-Da's questions didn't cease.
"How are your relationships with classmates? How about your teachers? How's your studying going? What are your plans for the upcoming practical training?"
Sung Yu-Da bombarded her with predictable and banal questions. In response, Ha-Yeon replied with equally banal answers.
Finally, the incessant questioning from Sung Yu-Da came to an end. Ha-Yeon bowed her head and tried to return to her room.
"...Ha-Yeon, there seems to be a first-year student with the 'blood of purification' in F.A."
However, once again, Sung Yu-Da stopped Ha-Yeon before she could escape.
Ha-Yeon swallowed hard, frozen in place. Cold sweat trickled down her forehead. Ha-Yeon calmed her nerves and opened her mouth. "Is that so?"
"He’s in the Class of Charity, and the student's name is Sun-Woo. Have you heard of him?"
"No, I don't know who, uh, that is."
Ha-Yeon lied. Her lies were easy to see through.
But Sung Yu-Da was oblivious to the lie because he had not laid his eyes on her once from the start of their conversation.
"In that case, you should get to know him. Make friends with Sun-Woo. It will make things easier for you in the future."
Sung Yu-Da instructed Ha-Yeon to become friends with Sun-Woo as if it were the obvious thing to do. It was only natural for a member of the Purification clan to become friends with someone who possessed the blood of purification. There were no exceptions. There was no room for negotiation or rebellion. After all, it was a given that all members of the purification clan had to marry a carrier of the blood of purification.
In the end, Ha-Yeon reluctantly nodded.
"Yes, I understand."
Her voice sounded fragile, as if she would burst into tears.
"And it seems there are many useless novels and comics in your room."
"..."
"Don't get too absorbed in those things. It's prime time for you to study hard more than anything else, so let's not waste your energy on other things."
Sung Yu-Da stood up abruptly from his seat and strode towards Ha-Yeon.
Ha-Yeon trembled and lowered her head. Her shoulders quivered in fear.
"Remember, you are a member of the purification clan."
Sung Yu-Da looked down at Ha-Yeon, who was trembling, without a hint of affection in his eyes as he spoke.
"...Yes, I understand."
Ha-Yeon's voice, in response, sounded so fragile, as if she could burst into tears at any moment.
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