Chapter 64 - Answering The Call

In the crowded, bustling Tye-An Street, Char Char sat on a bench under the bright glow of a gas-lit lantern. She watched the crowd, looking for the familiar faces of her new friends from earlier that afternoon.

After handing the biltishrooms to Hakuya, Char Char had returned to the market and strolled around idly by herself. She had avoided returning home, concerned that she would be stopped from going out again in the evening. Kai and Firuzeh had arranged to meet her at 9:30PM, so she had a lot of time to kill.

After eating dinner and wandering around the market for a while, Char Char ended up simply going to the meeting spot to wait. It amazed her how the market seemed to get even busier after the sun had set. Many of the people were dressed in work clothes, but there were also many youths hanging out and spending time in groups.

The din of the crowd was even louder than it had been in the afternoon, so when a scream came from one of the upper floor windows behind Char Char, no one seemed to hear it.

Even Char Char took a moment to look around, confused as to where the sound had come from or if she had even heard it. As she stood up, she suddenly felt a wave of nausea flood through her body. The wounds on her left arm ached as she placed her hand on her chest to brace herself from the feeling.

A few startled cries broke out in the crowd as a number of people in the crowd fell to the floor looking ill. Most people were unaffected, but about one in every ten looked like they were feeling as ill or nauseous, and a few had collapsed to the ground.

“Sam? Sam, oh lord!” A panicked voice cried out from the stall across from Char Char.

A man had fallen to the floor, groaning as vines and fronds started rapidly growing out of sores all that were budding all over his skin. The crowd around him backed away as a woman, likely his wife, held on to him not knowing what to do.

Char Char started to run over to the couple when another wave of nausea spread through the streets. This time, Char Char fell to her knees as she fought the urge to retch. A long, anguished howl reverberated through Char Char. She clasped her hands over her ears, but it didn’t do anything to stop the howling.

The glass window two stories up from Char Char shattered as a figure fell out of it and landed in a pile of glass and splintered framing. He appeared to be dead as he lay unmoving on the road, his arm and neck bent in a grotesque manner from the fall. Dozens of black vines coiled and twisted around the unmoving body, some of them topped with bloodshot eyes.

“Stay away!” A man appeared in the window above, waving his arms frantically, “Don’t get close!”

The people below looked up at the man in the window as the figure suddenly lurched forward towards the nearest person, grabbing onto the man’s leg. Across the road, the wife of Sam began screaming as her husband began clawing and biting her savagely. Several people tried to pull him off her as others started running.

Screams erupted throughout the crowd as everyone began fleeing from the infected individuals that had shown up across the market. The streets suddenly became a chaotic mess of noise and panic as people ran in random directions to escape the unfolding horror. Groups from other streets began to run into and over each other in conflicting directions as no one knew where safety lay.

Char Char pulled herself back up to standing, narrowly avoiding being trampled by a lady who was looking behind her as she ran. Behind her, the man who had been grabbed by the figure that fell out of the window was yelling for help as he kicked at the face of the parasite’s host.

Char Char immediately ran over and repeatedly stomped on the arm of the host until it lost its grip. She grabbed onto the man’s hand and pulled him a few feet away as he struggled to get to his feet.

“Are you okay?” She asked, looking down at his bloody, mangled legs. He didn’t respond, his face contorted in intense pain.

“Let me help!” Another man ran up to them, grabbing onto the injured man’s arm and slinging it over his shoulder.

“Thank you!” Char Char said.

The two men took off as Char Char followed for a short distance before turning around to look at the host. Due to its broken leg, it had a difficult time standing and moving. Its distinct, strange appearance was striking enough to cause people to give it a wide berth as they ran down the street.

Seeing that she wasn’t able to help the injured man significantly, Char Char didn’t bother to accompany him. Her boot collided with something on the floor, and she looked down to see a thick wooden rod that had been broken off of a knocked down stand.

A look of determination filled her eyes as she wielded the rod and took off into the market.

~

In the domed chamber deep within the ancient library, all was silent and still once more. The polished stone floor in the chamber was littered with paper, with mounds of it piling up around the edges of the room like drifts of snow.

Yuzu and Argus stood in silence, recovering from the ordeal with the piece of Argus’ soul that had been locked in the book. The glowing geometric lines on the wall and ceiling slowly faded around them as the energies in the room dispersed.

The dying light of the chandelier finally prompted them in to action as they retrieved their candle holders and lit them.

Without a word Argus led the way out of the chamber. The door slid shut behind them as they re-entered the massive cylindrical central spindle. They climbed the winding spiral stone stairs that hung in the darkness. Time seemed to stretch on forever. The walks that extended outwards at various points were the only indication that they were making progress.

Eventually they reached the platform at the top of the stairs and walked across the arched bridge that spanned the gap where the grey fog billowed downwards in an endless waterfall.

The walked through the hall of records below the silent silhouettes of chandeliers. They passed through the giant stone gates engraved with mysterious, complicated symbols.

The full moon hung overhead in the ancient hall outside of the library gates, shining its silver light down through the curved glass ceiling with metal frames.

As they walked down the vast empty hall, the giant stone gates slowly closed until they shut with a resounding boom that disturbed the grey fog that floated across the floor.

Before they reached the end of the hall Argus stopped. Yuzu paused, watching the boy with quiet, patient eyes. The satchel bag hung around her shoulder, its broken strap knotted together as a temporary fix. She cradled the ornate chest inside the bag with her hand, watching the strings silently for the whole journey out of the library.

As such, she already knew what Argus was going to say.

“I promised you the answers to three questions.” He said softly. “I apologize, but I feel quite weak at the moment. I think I will need a few days to absorb this piece of my soul. If it is alright with you, I can answer one question for now, and when I’ve recovered I can fulfill my end of the deal.”

“That’s fine.” Yuzu said, having already prepared her question. “I would like to know, what is the white world that I’ve entered in these past few days?”

Argus looked at Yuzu in the eyes as the colour of his green eyes seemed to darken and saturate. He raised a hand to stroke his chin gently.

“It is the lowest of the four planes of existence. The most fundamental. The plane closest to the ocean of aether that feeds all life. It’s known as the Aetheric Plane.”

“The Aetheric Plane is bound most closely to the domains of Knowledge and Fate, although the two domains are attuned to it in different ways. When you enter the white world, your consciousness enters your aetheric body, allowing you to perceive the aetheric plane and interact with the world through it. Your specific attunement shapes the way you perceive and interact with it.”

As Argus spoke, Yuzu’s mind naturally followed and came up with questions and observations based on her experiences. Argus seemed to read her mind and continue his explanation along those lines of thought, answering her follow up questions without requiring her to voice them aloud.

Yuzu felt like this was his way of extending the value of her otherwise simple question.

“Typically when a person’s consciousness enters a different plane, their other bodies remain in their respective planes. This is the basis of astral and spiritual projection, for example, where the consciousness leaves the body to explore the other worlds, leaving their physical body behind. But as for you, your physical body leaves the physical plane and temporarily resides within your astral body.”

Argus began walking again towards the exit at the end of the hall as he continued his explanation.

“In order to enter the astral plane, you need to be highly attuned to it. As a Candidate you are far from the point where you can do it on your own, but that chest of yours provides the means to do so. As you become stronger, not only will your ability to influence the aetheric plane increase, but so will your ability to enter it at will.”

“Since your attunement and personal spiritual strength is not high enough, the chest requires an external source of spiritual power to send you into the white world.”

“Is it dangerous?” Argus echoed Yuzu’s question that had been burning subconsciously in her mind. He closed his eyes as he thought carefully about the answer to that question. “To some extent, every action that is related to the world of the Exalted holds danger. The higher the level, the greater the risks. Because you are visiting the plane most attuned with the crude and chaotic energy of life, there is always the danger of being swept away in the aetheric undercurrents that flow through the world.”

The deep, mysterious look in his eyes faded as he smiled up at Yuzu, “But for now, as long as you don’t venture too deep into the white world and listen to your spiritual intuition, there is not much danger all. You are already quite attuned to the energies of Fate.”

The door ahead of them swung open silently as they approached it, beyond which was the cold, dark grey hallway below the Import Shop. They stepped inside, leaving the timeless moonlit hall and the grey fog behind.

“Is this answer to your question acceptable?” Argus asked.

Yuzu took her time to digest the information before nodding, “Yes. Thank you.”

Argus was about to say something when suddenly he looked up and to the left. At the same time, Yuzu felt a deeply unsettling ripple of energy flow through the space. Her eyes naturally looked up and left towards the source of the ripple.

“That was...” Yuzu said quietly.

“Demonic corruption.” Argus said, “Something is happening outside.”

“I had a premonition of this earlier this afternoon.” Yuzu said, her eyes widening as she recalled her vision of the panic in the streets.

“May I?” Argus asked, reaching forward.

Yuzu nodded, holding out her hand to make contact with Argus. He closed his eyes for a moment as he digested the information of her premonition.

“You want to help.” Argus opened his eyes as he released her hand.

“I didn’t say that.” Yuzu denied instinctively, looking at Argus as if he had just revealed something embarrassing. She wasn’t going to say it. She wasn’t even going to acknowledge it.

“I apologize.” He smiled softly, “I know I promised I wouldn’t speak your mind.”

There’s no use arguing, is there? Yuzu frowned as she found herself feeling annoyed at her own feelings. With a sigh she said, “Even so, what can we do?”

Argus looked thoughtful for a moment, mulling over the situation.

“My soul has not yet fully merged with the shard from the book. It’s affecting my spiritual balance. I’m not in any shape to provide direct assistance at the moment. Even if I was, my abilities are not suited for this matter...”

“But yours are.” Argus looked up at her directly, “Especially if...”

Yuzu pulled out the ornate chest, looking down at it quietly as she completed his sentence, “...I use the white world.”

Argus nodded, reaching his hand out towards the chest without touching it. “I will lend you some of the power of this space, as much as I can.”

The five-ringed crest on the lid of the chest began to glow with light as Argus channeled energy into it, “The rest is up to you.”

Yuzu looked down at the crest, biting her lip in a brief moment of hesitation. Her body and hair turned white as she touched the crest. A blinding light burst out, enveloping her body. She looked up at Argus and locked eyes with him.

“You’re welcome.” He said.

Yuzu heard his reply to her thoughts as she vanished into the light.