Seeking the path

"Grimoire!" Hugo exclaimed as he observed the mysterious changes happening to the cover of the huge book.

In a matter of seconds, the pentagram and hexagram ceased their cycles and settled back on the cover of the book. The current appearance of the star-figures was not much different from the simple geometric-sketches originally printed on the book-cover.

Hugo could sense a bizarre connection with the star figures – albeit faint.

The book's color was no longer dark-brown but blood-red. Its whole outward appearance was now mysterious and creepy. It gave him the impression that it had been soaking in blood for eons.

[Does this have something to do with the Owl or the token? And why do most of the items in my spiritual world appear tinged with red or golden color?] Hugo wondered as he started inspecting the token hovering before the Owl - Bundi.

The token had completely lost its dark luster. It was now a dull shade of gray with no mysterious ciphers surrounding the hooded-skull and scythe symbols.

As Hugo gazed at the token, it started trembling intermittently while leaking out a petrifying primordial aura… And in the blink of an eye…

"Pah…"

A sound similar to a gunshot thundered as the hooded-skull and scythe distorted into an ashen dark mist that hovered just above the token.

Suddenly, the mist materialized into a dark hooded-skeleton carrying a menacing dark scythe with a large purple eye embedded in its blade.

Gazing into the purple eye on the scythe, Hugo could discern a sprinkling of dark ciphers glittering within its iris. The ciphers moved randomly, leaking a primordial aura of terror.

Despite the strange ciphers' minuscule size, they were crystal clear in Hugo's mind.

Among them were dark roosters, dark anchors, dark crosses, and few other eerie symbols that could only be found in very ancient graveyards. The dark ciphers contrasted deeply with the purple hue that gave Hugo the impression that the eye was alive.

Hugo could feel his entire psyche get disoriented by just looking at the ciphers for a meager few seconds.

As Hugo forcefully curbed his curiosity and turned away from the purple eye, an aura so ancient and daunting permeated the whole formless space.

Hugo felt waves and tsunamis of killing intent, attempting to overwhelm his core consciousness. He was overwhelmed by sheer blind terror as he sensed the killing intent and ancient aura of the creepy skeleton-creature.

[Why did the Matriarch and the others let me continue carrying such a terrifying token?] Hugo wondered as he suppressed a shiver. He was scared shitless by the creature and its scythe.

He could now see why the Matriarch and the Blacksmith were concerned about the token. Nevertheless, it was completely illogical to leave such a frightening item in the hands of a 'child'.

"Oh… No, you won't little guy." Hugo heard the ancient voice of the Owl - Bundi wash over the whole formless space as the killing intent slowly vanished.

"Even the avatar of your progenitor would not dare to appear before me, but here you are in my domain…"

"Are all the posterities of the ancient mystics puddle-headed these days?" Bundi sighed as glittering ciphers short out of her green eyes and enveloped the hooded-skeleton.

The hooded skeleton's size started to shrink… and in a matter of seconds, it was back to its original size.

"Arghhhh... Mark my words... no one ever escapes our grasp. We shall be back." A bone-chilling cry filled with anger could be heard as the skeleton was forced back into the token by Bundi's spells.

"Yeah… Yeah… Yeah… I will await your grand arrival." The Owl replied, her tone filled with contempt.

"What was that?" Hugo asked as he tried to suppress his mounting panic.

Hugo was apprehensive. A lot of frightening entities kept on mysteriously appearing in his spiritual world. If this status-quo in his spiritual world was maintained, he would at one point be murdered inexplicably in his sleep.

"Don't worry young fella. That was only a blessing in disguise. You have already obtained some ancient spells even before qualifying to enter the 'Trans-cosmic Pyramid'. What a lucky chap!" The Owl sighed as she repelled the token back towards Hugo.

"What qualifications? And why is this a blessing in disguise?" Hugo asked as he studied the token which had returned to normal. The hooded skull with a scythe had also turned back into a dark raven, the symbol of the God of Darkness - Erebus.

"It is a blessing because you managed to activate the Grimoire even before entering the Pyramid. I hope that you are not thinking that you own the pyramid. Are you?" Bundi questioned, her tone condescending.

Hugo chose to ignore the Owl's sarcasm. Only the phrase 'activated the Grimoire' was on his mind.

"The Grimoire! How do I use it?" Hugo inquired, as he once again started scrutinizing the hovering blood-red book.

In his first few years in this world, Hugo had been very curious about this treasure that hovered in his dream world. However, after being constantly repelled by the overwhelming pressure of the book, his interest began to wane until it bottomed out.

"This is a very fascinating 'toy' that many in this world would kill to acquire." The Owl's replied, her tone playful.

"How do I use the Grimoire?" Hugo once again queried. He was worried that the eccentric Owl would once again abruptly leave without responding to his questions.

"Won't you find out if you open it? Where is the fun in telling you everything?" The Owl replied, her tone apathetic.

"How do I become a mystic?" Hugo hurriedly changed the topic as he saw no hopes of getting an answer about the Grimoire. He could easily investigate its mysteries after becoming a mystic.

"Aren't you one already?"

"No... I would like to learn how to cast spells… to fabricate ciphers and runes on artifacts, to wield the mana of Gaia. Can you please tell me how I can achieve these few objectives of mine?" Hugo asked, his tone meek as if he was proposing to his childhood crush.

"Hahaha…" Bundi laughed in response.

"Young fella! You are already a mystic, but just haven't realized it yet." The Owl sounded amused.

"I am sure that I have no mystic powers. How do I gain the capability to cast spells?"

"A shepherd can take his herd to the stream, but he will never spoon-feed water to the animals," Bundi sighed in response. "Do you want everything to be handed over to you on a silver platter?"

Hugo couldn't help but crease his brows as he stared into the green eyes of the unreasonable Owl.

"Aside from that Psyche-Mental-Exercise, you have never discussed anything about mystical powers with me." Hugo protested.

"What have we been talking about all this time?" The Owl countered.

Hugo's mouth twitched noticeably as he glanced at the ancient Owl which had attained the almighty state of being shamelessly unreasonable.

"How do our previous discussions about reality, wisdom, and so on help me become a mystic?" Hugo couldn't help but spread out his arms to emphasize his growing frustration.

"Okay young fella! I won't tease you anymore. But you have to listen very carefully to what I am about to say before making a decision." The Owl's voice was solemn.

Hugo nodded, indicating his consent.

"The path to becoming a powerful mystic is akin to swimming upstream in a turbulent river. Once you are on this path, there is no going back…" The Owl paused looking at Hugo who was now very attentive.

"If you stop moving upstream, you will be ruined by the turbulent waters of the cosmos. So, do you still want to become a mystic knowing that your soul may shatter with a single stumble?"

"Yes." Hugo's voice was firm.

"Is this your greatest wish?"

"No. Just one among my grand goals."

The Owl sighed in response.

"You are already a mystic, but you haven't tapped into the mystical power. The sole reason being - your body has yet to mature and meet the requirements to use such power…"

"That is why the churches and organizations have very strict restrictions about children training their mystical powers."

"Is there a way for me to train before reaching the required age?" Hugo hurriedly asked as he did not want to wait for three years before becoming a mystic.

One of Hugo's most treasured lessons from his past life was to never waste time. In his previous life, there was never enough time to do all the things he wanted.

As time wasted was never recouped, he had vowed to use every minute in this new life. He was already deeply frustrated about wasting the past few years.

[I need to start using every second and every minute of this new life. I don't want to be filled with regret at the end.] Hugo vowed in his mind as he waited for the Owl's reply.

"The only way to advance towards my goals is to seek out the path to becoming a mystic as soon as possible. Only then can I pursue the mysteries of the Universe." Hugo mumbled as he looked into the Owl's green eyes.

****

Concurrently in a humongous cavern…

This was a land of emptiness… An emptiness filled with nothing but frightening darkness and chilling silence.

No structures stood in this place. There were no trees, no grasses, not even a single mushroom. No birds sang, no animals stirred, and no flies buzzed.

An ash-gray castle stood alone on the thick black ash that passed for the soil on this wretched land.

In one of the numerous rooms of the castle, a middle-aged man was carefully examining a dozen or so skulls haphazardly placed on an ash-grey wooden table.

"The token in Giza has disappeared!" He muttered as he looked up from the skeletons.

"Should we check it out?" A creepy voice sounded behind him.

"Not now. Wait a few months. Those old fogeys in Giza are about to get busy. We shall have all the time we need to select enough lambs and a few shepherds to fill up our quota for the next few years." He replied.

"Are you really not joining? Gaia is also your land, you know…"

"Why would I fight a losing war? I will leave it to those idiots. It changes nothing…"

****