Chapter 314 - Vague and Specific

“The Trial of Succession is not actually named in Shuma—the Sun God’s— prophecies. It is an interpretation of the sacred texts, given a name by the guru-chi for convenience.”

Cecil spoke in a relaxed tone as they walked down a bamboo lined path. The curled locks of his long golden hair fluttered peacefully in the morning breeze. Char Char kept stealing a glance at them, envying how posh and elegant they made the tall, gorgeous man look.

“The guru-chi— Those are the priests of the Sun God?” Char Char scrunched her brows in concentration as she tried to wrap her head around the information Cecil was telling her.

She walked apace with him, keeping a close eye on his movements in case he made any sudden movements.

What a strange situation… Char Char thought to herself as she continued the conversation that had an almost casual air to it. Just a few nights ago he had nearly killed her and her friends, and now he was telling her valuable information like they were close allies.

Blood dripped off her clothes and her sheathed sword, leaving a dotted trail and blood-specked boot prints on the dirt path as they walked. She was on edge, but at the same time she followed the flow of the situation and maintained a calm outward posture.

Cecil nodded, having given a brief explanation of the guru-chi to Char Char already, “My companions have one of the few copies of the scriptures that survived the fall of the Sun God’s rule, perhaps the only copy that isn’t safekept by the guru-chi themselves.”

“The prophecy about the Sun God’s inheritance, right?” Char Char nodded, “And you’re saying the trial is happening here, right now?”

“That’s the rumour.” Cecil said, somewhat wistfully. “Like I said, the circumstances of the trial are somewhat nebulously defined, though the conditions are specific— their prophecies have a tendency to be that way. In this case, it’s clear that once certain conditions are met, the key to the inheritance will appear. The guru-chi’s main purpose is to raise an heir and appear at the right time and place to seize that inheritance.

“The group of circumstances and this final goal has been lumped together by them to form the Trial of Succession.”

On their left just beyond the bamboo the white plaster walls of the Reza residence and red clay roof could be seen. Cecil did not seem interested in entering the complex, a fact which Char Char was silently relieved about. Instead they were taking the long way around the complex, heading deeper into the estate.

As for why they were going into the estate instead of running out— That matter had been settled shortly after Cecil had calmed Char Char down. Simply put, they couldn’t leave the area. The estate had been closed off from the outside world— Cecil had even let Char Char confirm it herself.

Not much farther down the path in the direction where Cecil had come from a strange grey mist obscured the way, blocking sight of the world beyond it. This mist extended in a wall around the estate according to Cecil, which Char Char accepted.

The closer she walked to the mist, the more her spiritual intuition gave off a warning. Without a doubt walking into the mist would be incredibly dangerous, if not directly fatal.

From the outside the estate looked normal, with the guards at the gate seemingly unaware of the strange situation not even one hundred meters down the path. Even Cecil had been unaware of the trap until he had passed through the wall of mist from the outside. Like Char Char, he had no intention of braving the mists directly, and his words implied that it would be difficult to leave even using his exalted methods.

Thus the two were made unlikely allies by the circumstances, a decision which Cecil seemed far more comfortable to make than Char Char. He’d asked her about the blood and why she’d been running. After some hesitation she decided to be honest, noting the strange disappearance of everyone in the estate, except for the maid girl who she had had to kill.

Char Char kept the story of that disturbing battle short, and thankfully he didn’t press her for details. She didn’t even mention that the corpse was still moving as she retreated, merely saying vaguely that she wasn’t sure if the servant girl was alive or dead.

It was technically true.

Cecil didn’t comment or question her story, but simply started walking. Her account of the situation seemed to be enough to open him up to explaining what he knew.

“How can a prophecy be both vague and specific at the same time?” Char Char asked.

“It’s quite simple if you read them. The prophecies speak of a key to the Sun God’s kingdom that can only be obtained by one that has passed the Trial of Requirement.”

“Another vague and specific trial?”

“They seem to be fond of them… Again, the name is given by the guru-chi, though the mystery around this one was figured out a long time ago and is common knowledge among them.” Cecil rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “For the Trial of Succession the main pieces are that the chance will appear after a ‘blood eclipse’, ‘under the moon’s visage’, in a place ‘where the light of knowledge shines’.

“Blood eclipses are extremely rare, they only happen every few hundred years. It’s specific, but vague since it’s unclear if a particular eclipse is the eclipse referred to in prophecy. The line about the moon’s visage is interpreted as the next full moon after the eclipse.“

“Perhaps you’re thinking, it isn’t the full moon for a few days yet.” He paused, looking up at the overcast sky above with a pensive expression, “But for some reason the guru-chi are moving… Part of why I’m here is to figure out what’s aggravated them and caused them to act sooner than expected.”

Is it a full moon soon? Char Char frowned, thinking about the last time she looked at the moon, and when that meant the next one would be. The state of the moon wasn’t really something she thought about normally.

“What about the place where knowledge shines?” Char Char asked.

Cecil glanced at Char Char with a thoughtful expression. Her enhanced intuition told her that he had the answer, but that he was considering whether or not to share it with her.

“This is something that has stumped the guru-chi for centuries.” Cecil said eventually, “Each time a blood eclipse shows up they make the best guess they can and congregate at the places they think are most likely for the Trial to occur.”

“And that place is here?” Char Char asked.

“Indeed.”

“So the strange things that are happening here are part of the trial… What exactly is going on?” Char Char frowned.

“That, I do not know. The prophecy only states the conditions necessary for the ‘key’ to be revealed, but it doesn’t detail what exactly will be required to obtain it.” Cecil said honestly, “This is another thing that I am curious about…”

They passed the back wall of the main complex, reaching a junction in the path. It took off to the left, heading toward the back gates— the visitor entrance that Char Char and her entourage had been formally received at the day previous— with the other part of the path heading toward the gardens and servants’ quarters.

As Char Char continued walking forward Cecil stopped abruptly. The cease in motion was so sudden that Char Char instinctively reached for the hilt of her sword and turned swiftly to face him.

“What now?” She asked sharply, an edge to her voice betraying her tension.

Cecil himself looked more confused than anything. He frowned, reaching his hand forward. It stopped before his arm was fully extended, “There’s another wall here.”

“There is?” Char Char tilted her head. She had already passed Cecil but hadn’t been stopped.

Cecil extended his ring-adorned hands, pressing them against the invisible ‘wall’ that separated them, even leaning into it. Char Char would have thought he was a very convincing mime in different circumstances.

She reached out her own tentative hand to try to touch the wall, but didn’t feel anything at all. She then walked ‘through’ the wall, standing beside Cecil, then back across it again without noticing anything.

A bewildered grin crossed Cecil’s face as he put his full weight against the invisible wall. He tried both running and jumping and both times he simply stopped unnaturally in the middle of the air.

“You don’t sense anything at all?” He asked, shaking his head as Char Char walked back and forth across the line.

She simply shook her head, having no answers herself.

He rubbed his chin with his hand, elbow cradled in the other as he thought deeply for a moment.

“I hesitate to use special means to breach through. Up to this point we seem to have avoided rousing the unwanted attention— or at least they haven’t made themselves known to us. Breaching the wall forcefully might change that for the worse.” He said, “You, on the other hand…”

His words were cut short as the distant panicked scream of a man interrupted the silence, then was suddenly cut short. The hairs on Char Char’s neck stood on end as she gripped the hilt of her sword.

She turned to look at Cecil, who had a genuine look of disturbed concern on his face as he looked down the path. He pressed against the wall, instinctively wanting to investigate, but was stopped from proceeding.

After a moment he met her eyes. An unspoken understanding passed between their gazes. The cry was from someone who needed help.

“Go.” He said, reading the intent in her eyes. “I’ll do my best to catch up.”

She took off down the path without further hesitation.