9 Occult Knowledge

Laemno gently clasped the triangular mirror, a flicker of determination shining in his silvery gaze.

He eyed the mystical writings on the otherwise pristine surface, reading them one last time.

The payment has been made. Three questions for three answers. I have already answered one, and two remain. I await your queries, Honored One.

It hadn't changed since he had made the blood payment last night. While he was reticent about using such an item, there was no other way for him to accurately assess his situation.

He planned to use the triangular mirror to ensure the notebook wouldn't harm him. If that were the case, it would confirm his previous analysis about the second assassin being actually a helper. He would still have a third question to use for his escape, as well as whatever was contained inside the notebook.

In Laemno's current circumstances, he had no choice but to use those items. He doubted anything else could allow him to break out of the Great Sanctuary of Priene and survive the Sacrificial Ceremony. With seven-to-eleven days until his public sacrifice, he had no time to lose.

"Mirror," Laemno spoke in Heriperan, noticing the written lines shifting as soon as he addressed it. "This is my second query. What is this notebook?"

As Laemno's youthful voice trailed, silence settled inside the spacious bedroom.

The black lines disappeared from the triangular mirror, and it trembled slightly in his hand. Cracks abruptly spread on its surface, followed by the irritating sound of two pieces of glass grinding against each other.

What's happening?

Surprised by the sudden development, Laemno was about to put the mirror back on the table when it calmed down, its fissures slowly closing.

Lines of black ink swirled again under his silvery gaze, displaying two words in Heriperan:

Another question.

"Huh?" Laemno couldn't help but vocalize his confusion. Could it be that the notebook is scarier than the triangular mirror?

Taking a big breath to slow his pounding heart, Laemno focused on the mirror again. After some deliberation, he asked, "Can this notebook help me escape safely from Hierapetra?"

He purposefully kept the question broad to glean the most information possible from the answer. It included his goals of remaining safe while escaping Hierapetra—a natural development of surviving the Sacrificial Ceremony.

Darkness immediately spilled out of the mirror, covering the entire bedroom.

Soon, the scenery completely changed, revealing a vast, open valley under the pitch-black moon and the seven-pointed star. Laemno saw himself sitting on a puddle of blood, surrounded by vaguely humanoid black spots on the ground. He was cradling the notebook against his chest, his gaze disturbingly vacant.

Right afterward, eyes opened everywhere.

In the night sky, on the scorched soil, and even across Laemno's skin—everything had bleeding, silvery eyes.

Laemno woke up from his daze at that exact moment, his head throbbing with the same pain he had felt following his transmigration. The agony made him stagger backward, and he softly landed on his bed, still clasping the triangular mirror.

What did I just see...? Was that my future?

At some point, one of the mirror's edges had dug into Laemno's palm. Blood trickled down his slender forearm, but instead of landing on the ground, it froze against his dark grey skin. Black vessels spread from the mirror, voraciously drinking the red ichor like a thirsty beast.

It kept draining his blood without stopping, far exceeding the mere droplets it had claimed during the first payment.

Does this mean the mirror increases the amount of blood to be paid with each question?

Laemno winced from the pain, exhaustion slowly washing over him due to the rapid blood loss.

At this rate, I'm going to pass out. I can't imagine what I'll have to pay for the third one.

The black vessels retracted after a full minute, leaving a slight gash the size of a thumb on Laemno's hand. Streaks of dark ink moved on the triangular surface, writing once more in Heriperan:

The payment has been made. Three questions for three answers. I have already answered two, and one remains. I await your last query, Honored One.

Laemno read the message, his expression twisting into a self-deprecating smile.

Marvelous. I have no idea about what I've just seen, and I'm pretty sure I'm on the verge of unconsciousness due to blood loss. Well, at least I'm not dead, so that's a plus.

He tied part of his tunic around his palm to cover the injury, then put the triangular mirror back on the table. Cautiously, he reached for the decrepit-looking notebook, feeling its leathery surface with his fingers.

If I use this notebook, the scene shown by the triangular will become true, right? From the looks of it, I was in a valley, meaning I managed to at least escape Priene.

Laemno glanced through his room's floor-to-ceiling window, his silvery eyes focusing on the sky. The receding sunlight and serene atmosphere indicated that it was close to the evening, though what interested him most was the seven-pointed star that still shone brightly even at this hour.

That's what I thought. It looked much bigger and brighter in the scene shown by the mirror. It should reach the same size in roughly five days. That's two days earlier than my lowest estimate for the Sacrificial Ceremony's date. This is precious information. Now I know when to act, which leaves only the hardest part—the preparations.

Laemno picked up the notebook before sitting on his bed again, somewhat relaxed despite the looming danger.

Gambling isn't my forte. I'm the kind of person who leans towards meticulously prepared plans with the least amount of risk involved. However, my hand is weak right now. I need to be bold, especially when the tools at my disposal are this limited. My escape plan has to be finalized in less than five days. There's no time to lose.

"Well then, dear helper," Laemno's fingers slid under the notebook's binding, carefully opening it. "Let's hope that what you gave me will be useful."

The first page was mostly blank, with a single sentence written in the middle. It was a strange script, different from Heriperan or anything Laemno had ever seen.

The second page was full of the word Congratulations, repeated over and over in the common language. It filled every available space on the papyrus, and the penmanship differed each time as if a group of people had scribbled it.

The third page was where things started to get extremely bizarre. It was a series of rules, also written in the common language:

This notebook is separated into eleven sections of three-to-five pages. Respect the order.

Do not show this notebook to anyone.

Do not speak of this notebook's content to anyone.

Do not read this notebook's content aloud.

Do not read more than once any page marked by blood.

Do not ignore any warning.

Do not trust your senses.

Do not trust your mind.

Do not open the second section before leaving Priene.

Beware of Their gaze.

Chills ran down Laemno's spine after reading the last two rules. First, it confirmed that they were made specifically for him.

Second, it revealed that he was being watched by someone.

Whose gaze should I be wary of exactly?

Gulping down a mouthful of saliva, Laemno turned to the fourth page, where the first section visibly started. It was titled Preliminary Knowledge in reddish ink, followed by thick blocs of text in Heriperan.

As soon as he started reading, he felt the cold touch of an invisible shroud blanketing him.

His surroundings darkened, his body tensed, and his senses sharpened to their limit. He could hear the armored guards speaking outside his wing's entrance, smell the incense prepared for Father Agathon's funeral pyre, and feel the resounding steps of clergymen gathering in the Temple's gardens.

However, none of those mattered. Laemno's entire focus was on the thin, swirling lines of black writings under his silvery gaze.

This is... This is the occult knowledge I was looking for. The actual key that would allow me to escape this prison. No wonder so many rules exist. This notebook holds the very secrets of magecraft... and I've never been this terrified of something in my life.

The first thing covered by this section was the existence of Mana. It was known under more names, such as Flow of Corruption, Sea of Malice, Vile Ichor, and many other ominous terms. As a form of energy that wasn't originally part of this world, it was seen as a corruptive force that twisted not only the laws of physics but also the sanctitude of life and nature.

According to this text, it initially spilled from a mysterious and feared realm called the Reverse Boundary of the World during the First Era, or Primeval Epoch.

Mana flowed in the atmosphere with various densities but rarely interacted with beings unaware of it. Still, on the few occasions when it came into contact with sentient life, it would cause the decay of body, mind, and soul, often leading to death or madness.

This explains why this world's religious institutions heavily repress any occult knowledge. Merely learning about Mana could cause endless calamities.

That risk aside, what was the most dangerous about Mana wasn't its corruptive nature but rather the monstrous lifeforms it birthed.

Dead Spirits, Natural Spirits, Sea Monsters, and the worst of them all—Eidolons...