By The Blood

I see, Karl noted silently, remaining quiet as they continued walking through the swirling mist. He carefully avoided certain spots where filth had piled up, as well as puddles of stagnant water that had turned completely blood-red over time.

This went on for several minutes, with Vin constantly leading them to dead-ends, muttering to herself in frustration. Each time she realized her mistake, she groaned and changed direction. She seemed lost, growing increasingly furious with each failed attempt at whatever she was trying to accomplish.

"Why the black can't I find him?!" she growled, raising her rapier as if to slam it into the ground, but quickly stopped. Switching to her fist, she prepared to strike the cobblestone, but again, stopped just before making contact. "Why aren’t my bizarre eyes working?"

Bizarre eyes? Didn’t she divine where the man would be? Or did it not work? Karl wondered, pondering for a moment. Perhaps divination isn’t all-powerful, though he couldn’t be sure of that.

After a few more minutes of consideration, he finally asked, "What are bizarre eyes?"

Vin turned to him, her gaze scrutinizing him once more. "Why do you want to know?"

Karl shrugged, looking away. Yes, he was curious, but not enough to risk revealing something to a woman who could sense his lies. Silence was key when dealing with her.

Vin studied him for a moment longer, then walked a few steps through the mist before speaking. "Bizarre eyes are a type of spell that allows one’s eyes to see things usually hidden from sight—traces of mana, invisible spirit beings, or even trails of the Astra."

Spells? Karl thought, his interest piqued.

"Their strength, like most spells, depends on the user’s mana potency. The higher your class, the stronger your mana," Vin explained.

Karl understood most of what she meant, so the explanation wasn’t as confusing as he had initially believed.

Such a power would be very valuable, he thought. Considering the strange occurrences during Fredrick’s hypnosis, Karl realized he might not have been so startled if he had possessed bizarre eyes. He could have distinguished between what was real and what was illusory.

Against his better judgment, Karl asked, "How does someone gain that power?"

Vin turned her gaze toward him again. Damn it, he cursed inwardly, realizing she might be suspicious of his interest. What if she lied, telling him something that could lead to his harm? He wondered if it would have been better to remain silent—perhaps Fredrick or Anette knew the secret of these eyes.

After a few seconds, Vin answered, "Like most spells, it requires High Astra." She turned a dark, misty corner, where no lamp-pole stood—or perhaps they had all been drained by shadow wisps. "But to fully control it, one must also control their mana. High Astra tends to activate forcefully, which weakens the user simply by seeing it. If someone without such control imprints it on themselves, they would shrivel up, die, or if they’re a Sanguine, they’d break down."

So it’s not just Sanguines who can use High Astra? Karl recalled the feeling of weakness that came when he had heard her divination. But how does one control mana? He glanced at Vin, debating whether to reveal this weakness of his. After a few moments of deliberation, he decided against it.

"For now, why don’t you use these?" Vin said, pulling out a pair of glasses from her pouch. The frames were black, and the lenses seemed to be made of some kind of transparent, bold crystal. There were faint markings on the temples that glowed with a soft white light, and just looking at them made Karl feel a sudden wave of weakness wash over him.

Karl frowned. Did she know he was going to ask about gaining this knowledge? Or did she just happen to carry a pair of these glasses with her? It doesn’t make sense for someone who already has the power to still carry something like this. It almost seems like she wanted to give them to someone... me?

Vin glanced at him, still holding out the glasses. "I knew you would ask for them," she said calmly.

His frown deepened.

"Or more accurately," she continued, "I knew someone would ask for something like this. As for who, well..." She shrugged. "Divination rarely gives the full understanding—it’s always ambiguous."

Her reason seems valid... but still, Karl thought as he examined the glasses more closely. They were simple, almost crude, with lenses that seemed to have been roughly cut. He glanced at her Freehand, noticing that some of the jewels there bore a resemblance to the lenses of the glasses. Did she take some of those jewels to make these?

Karl remained silent for a few minutes, and the frown on Vin’s face deepened. "Damn it! Just take the glasses!" she snapped.

Karl jolted back, his hand instinctively reaching for his sickle. What was that?

"I understand the hesitation to take something from someone who practically kidnapped you. But you need to realize, you're dealing with someone who could kill you without even needing this." Vin waved the glasses around casually. "In situations like this, what’s the point of being reserved?" Her piercing gaze locked onto him.

Karl frowned, his hands clenched in irritation. He felt the annoyance rising and instinctively wanted to sigh, but he held it back. Instead, his gaze returned to its usual solemn state as he reluctantly took the glasses from her. As his fingers trailed over them, the growing sense of weakness intensified.

"When the weakness reaches a certain point, take off the glasses, not unless you want to break down," Vin said softly.

Calm down, calm down. Gradually grow stronger, and all of this will stop, Karl told himself.

He brought the glasses close to his eyes but didn’t put them on immediately. Instead, he held them at a slight distance, peering through the lenses from afar. He was hoping to see something different, anything that would let him avoid wearing them directly.

Nothing. No changes. Just the same world.

After a few extra moments, Karl steeled himself, bringing the glasses closer and finally donning them.

Everything twisted into a chaotic scene.

Darkness swirled everywhere in the mist. No, it was more like a vague layer of darkness draped over everything.

Within that darkness, white stars blinked in and out, some large enough to attract other stars. Faces emerged from the depths—smiling, laughing, mocking, hungry, and frightened—all staring directly at him. He also noticed a tall stone pillar stretching skyward, and instinctively, his eyes followed its height... but he stopped.

Something inside him warned against looking at the sky. Intuition? Regardless, Karl trusted it—at least until he was strong enough not to care.

Amidst the swirling darkness, strange white markings floated in the air. Some clung to houses, while others drifted aimlessly. They resembled the symbols on the glasses—not exactly the same, but written in what seemed to be the same language.

The weakness inside him grew with each passing second, but his curiosity drove him to peer deeper, searching for more.

Then, he saw something.

It was bizarre, with a body resembling a balloon and large, round eyes. The creature’s black, balloon-like skin glistened like a carapace shell. Below it, countless slimy tendrils floated through the air. The thing seemed to drift aimlessly, confused about where it was going.

Suddenly, the creature's eyes moved—locking onto him. Startled, Karl stepped back. A long, eerie smile curled across the balloon’s head, and it shot toward him with a whistling speed. Karl let out an involuntary yelp, his hands shooting up to yank the glasses from his face.

The vision vanished.

He turned to the side, staring at Vin, whose gaze remained piercing. "What did you see?" she asked.

"A balloon head with tendrils," Karl replied honestly, his voice steadier than expected despite the lingering fear. He saw no reason to lie—especially to someone who could probably sense it anyway.

"That’s because you looked too deeply," Vin said, looking away. "Sometimes, just knowing is fine. But trying to understand everything brings a whole host of problems. When dealing with the Astra, trying to see everything is a death sentence. Protect yourself by focusing only on the surface."

Karl internalized her advice before asking, "Why are you doing this? Using bizarre eyes?" He was no longer comfortable with Vin holding all the cards. It was time he understood what was happening.

Vin cast a glance at him. "It’s possible that the driver was taken by an evil faction, a Sanguine, or even an alchemist who wants to use human components for something." She paused. "Whoever it was is likely hiding behind a veil, concealing their whereabouts."

"And the bizarre eyes can see through the veil?" Karl asked.

"Yes, in theory. Just as the strength of mana correlates with the power of the eyes, the same applies to the veil. Chances are, I can’t see it because of the mana gap."

So whoever this is must be stronger than her? Karl thought. Or maybe it’s just a guess. He glanced at the glasses again, wondering, How potent is my mana?

"Wouldn’t a better view help..." He trailed off, leaving Vin to interpret his meaning.

She nodded, and they both leaped into the air—cutting through the mist—landing on the wooden roof of a nearby building.

Karl glanced at Vin. Is she as strong as me? Or is her jump just powerful? He hadn’t asked for a better view just for the sake of it—he was testing, looking for any flaw or weakness in her capabilities. If he could find something he excelled at, he’d be able to exploit it in case things went south.

He suppressed another sigh. The city stretched out before them—tall keeps rising into the sky, some cutting through the mist with their iron spires. The moon glowed gray, its light clashing with the overall redness of the dark sky. From this vantage point, he saw few houses with lights on, though a handful of streets seemed illuminated.

Lowering his head, Karl was careful not to accidentally peer into the sky. Then, he donned the glasses again.

The chaotic scene returned. Darkness swirled like a tide, veiling everything. The stars blinked on and off—some large, others small. Karl controlled himself, suppressing any curiosity to explore further, focusing only on what was necessary. He waited a few minutes, stabilizing himself before casting a wide glance over the city.

He was careful to avoid looking in certain directions, especially toward Thales Cathedral or the enormous statue of the Pure White God that loomed over the city. He remained cautious—after all, if seeing something he wasn’t supposed to could be dangerous, what better place to avoid than the Ministry and the very statue of the god they worshipped?

Taking cues from the results of the divination, Karl limited his focus to the part of the city he was in. He continued scanning for a few minutes when, suddenly, something caught his eye.

In a straight line of his sight—so small he could have easily missed it—there was a building. It wasn’t two stories tall like many others, but rather a single-story structure, larger than the surrounding buildings. It likely once belonged to a nobleman.

Using his augmented vision, Karl zoomed in on the building. Draped over it was a thin, dark purple veil. It looked like a curtain, drawn to cover the structure, but Karl could still see through a parting in the fabric, allowing him to glimpse what was inside.

The veil descended from the sky, but Karl didn’t dare look up to see where it originated. For all intents and purposes, this seemed like exactly what Vin had been searching for. He quickly took off the glasses, feeling the creeping weakness intensify with every second. He glanced at her, watching as her eyes continued to dart around the city for several minutes.

He waited even longer than he had expected. So she can't see it. Which means my mana is more potent. I suppose it’s due to Karl’s unique state, he thought.