Chapter 10: Spectator Jerry

Xio never thought it possible that the sacrificial ritual could look so majestic. Of course, she had never really gotten into rituals in this world, but she had never expected it to look like that. 

Her heart pounded with anticipation at a conversation she had with her new leader some time ago, every word resonating as if she were living it all over again.

'Is this the chance to survive that Mr. Kenway mentioned? The reason he said to wait was for the Scarlet Monarch to regain 'His' strength so 'He' could help Fors?' Xio, while she found herself ecstatic that her friend would now be safe, a part of her couldn't help but frown.

Hadn't he said to wait until mid-October? 

'So that's getting an answer from a God...' Fors thought, somewhat stunned at the spectacle she had just witnessed. Her stomach heavy and her faith wavering.

If the Scarlet Monarch responded to the sacrifices and what Adryan said about extending a hand in situations of danger or if we encounter a disaster... 

'Could the Scarlet Monarch save me from the ravings of the Blood Moon?'

She still had what the man had told her several weeks ago etched deep in her heart and soul.

One of the few ways to survive was to receive the protection of a God during the ravings. Something she had given up because no matter how hard she tried, no matter how fervently she prayed, no matter how many tears and sacrifices she offered... The God of Steam and Machinery never responded to her aid.

But if the Scarlet Monarch could do it-!

"Your destiny is not with 'Him', "Adryan interrupted the pair's thought as he pulled something out of his pocket and began to play with it in his hands.

"What?" The writer whispered in confusion and some fear, her mind already going through the worst-case scenario.

"Your destiny is not with the Scarlet Monarch." The conspirator explained himself better calmly as he tossed the object in his hands up and down.

His words did not at all please a certain woman who gave him a fiery glare.

"Is this your way of mocking us, Kenway?" Xio asked through her teeth as her fists clenched in barely contained anger.

The writer found herself confused and devastated, but before she could do anything, the red-haired man threw the object in his hand, which hit her forehead with a soft thump.

The thump snapped her out of her descent, and she looked up dazedly at the man in front of her, who still had his hand outstretched and a smile on his face—a smile that, contrary to what she expected, was soft.

"Don't be alarmed, Miss Fors, even if your destiny is not with my Lord, that will never mean that 'He' will leave you to your fate." With a smile, the red-haired man pointed to her lap.

Unconsciously, Fors looked down at the object that had struck her. With some surprise, she saw that it was a folded yellowish piece of paper.

"The answer you were looking for is in that letter. Once you read it, you can kiss your problems goodbye with the Blood Moon." With a mysterious smile, Adryan turned away and began to clear the altar table. His voice in the air carried a silent trap whose hook was too juicy to resist.

The hope that had become embers that were about to be extinguished exploded into flames that burned the emptiness in her stomach. With slightly trembling hands, Fors grabbed the folded paper and prepared to open it. Her blue eyes glittered like precious gems.

Xio had moved to her side and was staring at the paper, her green eyes also glowing but the Arbiter kept her composure better thanks to her experience.

As soon as the yellow paper was opened, Fors saw some words in Loen, and she began to read them aloud before thinking what they might be.

"The fool that doesn't belong to this era, the mysterious ruler above the gray fog, the king of yellow and black that wields good luck..." 

Fors's huge grin froze as her eyes lost all their sparkle, and her skin paled almost instantly to a sickly shade of white.

Xio's hand went to the hilt of her sword so fast it seemed to teleport there. But before she could unsheat it, a fleeting memory struck her, and her furious expression turned to complete exasperation.

"Your humor really is sickening, Mr. Kenway." The blonde said with a snarl as she dropped her sword. The woman put her hand to her head at the migraine that attacked her due to the rapid rise of her blood pressure to her brain.

"I'm sorry, but I had to do it." His tone carried no hint of regret. Turning to the younger novices, Adryan continued, "Take this as a lesson, never, ever read anything out loud. That will only make people see that you are mentally retarded, and you will die faster."

With a slow, pained movement, Fors' pale, horrified face turned to look at him, "Huh?"

"What? Did you forget already? The Fool and The Scarlet Monarch are allied, and you are in no danger of being corrupted or harmed for saying the honorific name." Adryan explained calmly as he began to prepare the potion.

"Uhu..." Fors muffled with a faint nod, her eyes lowered to the paper in her hands, and a horrible shudder passed down her back. Quickly folding the paper with trembling fingers, the Trickmaster tucked it nervously into her robes.

'I should never have come... I should have stayed home...' The Writer wailed with crystalline eyes, already regretting her decision greatly.

"That was cruel, Princess. Don't you have a heart?" Flora teased, somewhat amused at the stupidity she had just witnessed.

Who would read a letter aloud?

Adryan didn't answer. He just prepared the clean Cauldron he brought in his briefcase to start preparing the potion.

"Jerry, Serena, come here." Without wasting any time, the more inexperienced duo quickly complied with the call by getting off the couch and standing next to the black-haired man.

Without looking at them, Adryan passed a piece of paper to Jerry, "This is the Spectator's potion formula, I have the ingredients here so let's prepare it.

"Have you been practicing Cogitation like I told you to? "

As soon as she heard that her potion would now be made, the little girl's grey eyes sparkled with excitement, but controlling herself, she nodded. 

"Yes, Mr. Kenway."

"Perfect; as soon as you take the potion, I want you to use it. The danger of losing control when consuming a Sequence 9 potion may be low, but it should not be ignored." 

"...Understood." Swallowing some saliva, Jerry nodded tensely. 

In yesterday's classes, Mr. Kenway touched on the subject of 'Losing Control', so she knew well what that meant and the danger it would pose for the rest of her life.

Adryan let out a soft sigh and turned around. On one knee, he got eye level with the little girl and grabbed her shoulders. His gaze was serious, and his eyes were cold.

"I'll ask you one last time. Are you sure you want to do this? There's no turning back once you take your potion. This is the last chance you have."

Jerry looked with an emotionless face into the man's black eyes, "I've never been so sure of anything. I refused to lose loved ones because I was unable to protect them."

"..." Cold black eyes met cold grey eyes. After a few seconds, Adryan nodded and stood up. He turned around and finally looked at the only normal person in the room.

"Serena, I want you to take this as an example. Once your body is in better health, I will also give you your potion, but for now, you will have to stick to watching."

The older woman gave a weak nod, and while the thought of waiting bothered her a little, she was confident it was for the best. "I understand, Mr. Kenway. I'll do my best to fatten up."

"...Alright..." Adryan commented without saying much more.

Turning around and grabbing the first vial containing the 80 milliliters of pure water, Adryan looked seriously at the women.

"Before making a potion, we should always start with the supplementary ingredients. The main ones are best left to the end..."

The black-haired man took his time explaining the process of making the potion, even pausing at various times to explain any doubts Serena and Jerry expressed. 

After a combination of lecture and practice, the Sequence 9 Spectator potion was completed. With calm and nimble hands, Adryan poured the contents of the cauldron into a cup.

Not a drop remained in the Cauldron, something he made sure to mention. While it might be a sign that the potion was successfully made, one should not rely too heavily on it.

The potion appeared to be a sticky silvery liquid with countless bubbles, creating a serene atmosphere as one watched them move.

Extending the cup to Jerry, who took it with a serious face, the black-haired man looked at her seriously.

"One extra thing: completely ignore the taste. These things are not tasty, and they don't leave a good aftertaste.

"Remember. If at any point you feel yourself slipping, repeat these words." Adryan then said the prayer for help to the Scarlet Monarch in Hermes and repeated it several times so Jerry would learn it.

Seeing that the girl nodded, he continued. "They are the honorific name of my Lord; when you learn Hermes, you will be able to understand them, but it doesn't matter if you don't know it now."

With all the preparations done, Adryan sighed inwardly and nodded. "Whenever you are ready, Jerry."

The young Half-Spectator returned the nod. Her eyes lowered to the cup she held in her hands, whose grey color reflected the silver of the potion. The potion appeared to be a sticky silvery liquid with countless bubbles, creating a serene atmosphere as one watched them move...

Unbeknownst to anyone, Adryan entered a state of Semi-Cogitation. In case something went wrong and Jerry prayed, he wouldn't have to waste time drawing the sphere from scratch.

While all that was going on, a better but still pale Fors looked at Xio doubtfully.

"Are you fine with this?" she whispered.

A golden eyebrow raised, and the Arbiter looked doubtfully at her friend. "What do you mean, Fors?"

Biting the inside of her cheek lightly, she continued. "You're okay with a child drinking a potion? I thought someone like you would be more against it."

A sad smile bloomed on Xio's face at such a question. She could only shake her head. "I'm fine with it; it's her decision. Besides, with the apocalypse coming upon us, she better be strong so she can protect herself."

"That's not exactly the truth, is it?" her closeness with Xio showed, and Fors immediately noticed how she had hidden her true thoughts.

Upon being caught, Xio said nothing and just watched the young girl who was about to take her first step into a horrible, dark world.

As she watched as the girl looked determinedly at the potion, her figure began to change. The curly brown hair turned a beautiful black and the skin became slightly paler, the eyes turned green.

That girl turned and smiled happily at her. She was gentle and full of life, and she had on her right wrist a small green bracelet...

Her smile was a smile that the Arbiter knew she would never see again.

Her emerald eyes became moist. Xio closed her eyes and let out a faint sigh. After a few seconds, she opened them again, a huge sadness and regret in them.

"If she had been one, perhaps she would still be here now... If a child can become strong, then I have no problem with them doing so. That way, monsters won't be able to take them away..."

Fors' eyebrows raised in shock; all her doubts as to why the fair Xio agreed to this were resolved. With a sad look on her face, she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder in support. 

Xio didn't look at her best friend. She kept her eyes on Jerry.

Unaware of Xio's thoughts, the little girl closed her eyes and raised the cup to her lips.

Gulp!

As Adryan had said, she ignored the taste of the potion sticking in her throat and just concentrated on consuming it all.

When nothing else entered her mouth, Jerry wasted no time and quickly entered the cogitative state as she had been taught.

After a few seconds, some horrible murmurs began to ring in her ears, tempting her to listen to them. But she ignored them as she was taught and focused all her attention on Cogitation.

A small ball of light was redrawn over and over again in her mind... little by little, the murmurs became fainter and fainter until they disappeared as if they had never been there at all.

Jerry did not come out of the Cogitation but stayed in it a little longer. Her breathing calmed, and her heart was beating quietly.

After another 30 seconds, she finally opened her grey eyes, which shone thanks to the lamp's light. She could immediately feel the change in herself, and more details and emotions were revealed for her to see.

Her attention was not focused on the rest but remained on the proud smile of her hero, who ruffled her hair.

Jerry couldn't help herself, and a big smile filled her face.

"Congratulations, Miss Spectator. You are a Beyonder now." Adryan said, happily watching with his spiritual vision as the girl's once soft but turbulent and slightly transparent silver aura became an ethereal silver that moved like a wave. 

His smile grew a little as he watched the aura intensify for a moment before taking on a slightly calmer and more serene colour. 

Jerry also looked surprised as her eyes widened and her mouth hung down in an 'O'.

"Mr. Kenway... Is this feeling..." the girl asked in astonishment, and he nodded.

"Looks like it's a day of celebration. Congratulations on digesting your potion." His words caused those present to stare in amazement at the little girl who had a cocky smile on her face.

'In East Borough, the number of homeless children made her just one of the crowd. Never drawing attention to herself and being ignored. In order to survive, she had to search and observe for any chance, she analysed people's movements and learnt their actions so she could steal better.' Adryan thought calmly. 

'In a way, she's been acting like a Spectator all her life.' With a smile, the black-haired man ruffled the little girl's hair.

Looking up from the girl who was enjoying the pampering, Adryan looked at his team.

"While we can't do anything until we complete the Church assignment, that doesn't mean we can't prepare for it," he said.

"First mission, find Beyonder gatherings. If anyone finds a clue or sign let the rest know by the method we talked about. We have 10 days for the mission, until it arrives stay out of trouble." 

The mission commissioned by the Church would fall next week, Thursday, August 30.