Occlumency of Faceless Men! (II)

"Now look closely," the Chief Bishop told Kai. "When one's emotions are not in check, meaning Control, not Lock, these emotions trigger a memory in one's mind."

A red thread of light, representing unchecked emotion, came out of the wand and touched one book on the Bookshelf. The book left its row, opened up itself, and a set of letters with a green line running in between them showed itself to them. Kai knew the red thread of unchecked emotion had just triggered a memory.

But it didn't stop there. From the open book, many black threads burst out. Some of the black threads revolved around the opened book, but a few of them got thrown towards the Bookshelf. The moment they touched the books, they too flew out, opening up by themselves.

"These black threads are thoughts," the Chief Bishop said. "When an emotion triggers a memory, more often than not, this memory triggers thoughts related to this memory. If not Controlled, then these threads trigger more memories, which trigger more thoughts.

"It would keep going on until it all becomes a convoluted, never-ending cycle. So, have you realized how crucial it is for one to Control one's emotions? By locking them, you are just timing the bombs. It's a tested and rejected theory."

Kai had to nod.

The Chief Bishop flicked the wand again. The Bookshelf returned to its previous appearance with the books lined neatly in it, leaving behind one book that hovered outside the shelves and a single black thread revolving around it.

One memory and one thought, Kai reflected. Then, a perceptible but transparent sphere appeared around the Bookshelf, including the stray book and the black thread.

"Occlumency is Controlling your emotions, Accessing your memories, and Preventing your thoughts from getting accessed by a foreign party, using a barrier," the Chief Bishop concluded. "If your emotions are disarrayed, then it would cause an abundance of thoughts, which would in return weaken the barrier, making it easier for a Legilimens to access them. Once getting a hold of your thoughts, a Legilimens can trace them back to the source and access that memory. So all things must be in tune with each other."

At last, Kai had to agree. He had to accept that the lessons he had received on Occlumency and Legilimency from Meg were like two children playing around at the sight of a new toy.

"Now, most wizards who have arrived at this conclusion, by following some other theories but with weak foundations, assign books to the memories," the Chief Bishop said, as the Bookshelf and the barrier vanished. "And you can see the reason for it.

"It's simple, easy to access, and can be expanded as much as one like. With time, with just a thought, one can access any memory, even those from the past, eliminating the need for remembering. They combine it with a barrier of a maze, or other complex forms, structuring their entire defense around these things. But the ancient faceless men had come up with better alternatives, using Multiverse Interdependency."

"How?" Kai asked, not getting the reason for it.

"For example, in place of the Bookshelf, a man has a computer," the Chief Bishop said, flicking a wand. A PC appeared on a desk, its monitor showing a window containing many folders and files. "A man has assigned the memories to various files on this computer, and they can be accessed by a simple search function with pinpoint accuracy.

"For the barrier, a man has used a wall of 56-bit encryption, i.e. there are 2 to the power 56 possible keys to breaking into the system. For a Legilimens to break into the computer, not only he must know about this type of encryption but he must almost need to be quick about it. Or, one can use brute force against it too, a way that would give a man enough time to secure the defenses even more tightly."

This… Kai gulped. This is ingenious! What a brilliant way to limit stray and unavoidable attacks.

"It has its flaws too," the Chief Bishop continued. "A wizard with high Mana output could force his way into the System. Here lies the advantage of this structure. A man can just create new files and folders with random encrypted data and use them to hide files containing sensitive memories.

"You must have heard of Professor Snape. He is a powerful wizard and a master of hiding his true memories under the false ones. It's the same effect, but Snape's process of getting those results is considered too crude among the faceless men. If a man can make it almost impossible for unlearned Legilimens to break into the System using only 56-bit encryption, then you can imagine what the result would be using 128-bit and 256-bit encryption."

Kai licked his lips.

The Chief Bishop then shook his mind. "A man knows it looks good at one glance," he told Kai, "but the best defense is the one which a wizard is the most familiar with. You must create your own structure for it to be unique and unbreachable.

"For the next six days, you have full access to all the notes, mentioning the hundreds of different unique structures used by ancient faceless men as defenses using their own Multiverse Interdependency. Refer them, and in case of doubt, seek Simon. Simon is the best Occlumens below the 6th floor. He would be the most suitable guide for you. We will meet on the morning of the 7th day."

Saying that the Chief Bishop stood up, and walked away without sparing Kai another glance, his black and white cloak billowing noiselessly over the stone floor. When Kai walked out, lost in his thoughts, he found Simon standing outside the doorless room.

He smiled, making Kai recall how hideous it was. "Follow me," Simon said. "Let me show your chamber for the coming week."

Simon took Kai through a hidden tunnel outside the gates of the 3rd-level basement and stopped in front of a barred door. Kai heard some incomprehensible whispers coming out of Simon's mouth, but before he could make sense of them, the door opened.

The smell of old books and scrolls hit his nostrils instantaneously.

"It's the library," Simon said, entering the chamber. "Simon will be your librarian, and you have free access to the Occlumency section. There are rooms behind the last bookshelf. We will stay there."

The place was dark but clean. Kai was just about to ask for the light when Simon clicked something out of his sight, and hundreds of gas lamps lit up, lined in the little chambers into the walls. Kai even felt the faintest hint of a breeze, telling of a meticulous ventilation system.

It was then Simon beckoned him with the gesture of a hand, and pointed at something.

Kai neared him and saw his fingertip almost touching the wooden board hanging on the side of a bookshelf. It was worn, but even then Kai could read the word Occlumency clearly on it.

Kai tilted his neck and saw the Bookshelf running farther into the library on and on like a wooden snake. He saw many books on various fields of psychology, magical theories, and ancient scrolls; probably on Multiverse Interdependency, he later guessed.

A smile crept up on Kai's face.

"Only the books on this Bookshelf will open themselves to you," Simon said. "You are not to linger around the other Bookshelves."

Kai heard and ignored. His hand went out for a book titled — Thoughts: An Aristotelianism View, pulled a stool to the table under the light of a lamp, and sat down.

"Are you going to stand there for 6 days?" Kai offhandedly asked, his fingers opening the book.

Simon chuckled, silently. "Of course."

***************

Bonus Chapter Deal (applicable for both Webnovel and ScribbleHub readers):

 1. 70 Power Stones per day: +1 Bonus Chapter

 2. 90 Power Stones per day: +2 Bonus Chapters

 3. 750+ Powers Stones (at the end of the week): +3 Bonus Chapters (can stack over the 2nd point)