The Apprentice (CoTE x LoTM)

Now that I think about it, should I try the ritual again?

As he went about his work—adjusting riggings on a boat, hauling heavy ropes—his mind shifted toward the ritual. The one that might have caused his transmigration in the first place.

At the time, the ritual had appeared to be nothing more than a pointless act. There was no immediate logic to it, and any possible consequence would be nonsensical. Yet, now, in this oddly similar-looking Earth, the implications were harder to dismiss. Given the way things unfolded, the ritual was the only potential explanation. Theories involving magic or fate were understandably difficult to accept, but it wasn't a question of faith—it was a question of cause and effect. The logic of the situation pointed to it being the catalyst, even if the reasoning was incomplete.

The ritual itself had been simple and unremarkable—nothing complex or grandiose. But something about it made Kael's religious upbringing feel uneasy. The action of doing so seemed to resemble a blasphemy.

Gods were were integral to the foundation of this world. Kael, loosely aligned with the Lord of Storms, wasn't especially devout. But he still has some reverence to the Gods. Kiyotaka's view of the gods, however, wasn't of unquestioning obedience but more of cautious respect. It's nearly a baseless assumption, but they could be exist here.

Kael didn't really see the point of formal worship, not in the way most others did, but his family, especially his younger sister, still took their piety seriously. The contrast between them often made Kael reflect, even now.

His sister practiced her faith with a fervor he found almost foreign. Every prayer, every ritual, every action was guided by the reverence she held for "Him". To her, the Lord of Storms was more than just a symbol—"He" was the protector of "Their" people, a source of divine inspiration and wrath. Their contrasting views on worship had often prompted reflection on his part, and now, by extension, on Kiyotaka's.

The Seven Orthodox Churches. They spanned a broad historical spectrum from the Evernight Goddess, the Lord of Storms, the Earth Mother, the God of Combat, the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, the Eternal Blazing Sun, and the God of Steam and Machinery. These institutions formed the very backbone of the society Kael knew.

Kiyotaka exhaled as he processed all this. The practicality of it all was apparent. Acknowledging the relationship between belief and behavior was essential, even if the application of those ideas didn't fit in neatly with his own priorities.

I haven't met them for the past few days... Maybe I should visit them tomorrow.

The thought slipped into his mind before he swiftly corrected himself. That is not my feelings, he contradicted. I had no real connection to them. 

Thinking about the residual of Kael's identity, he couldn't help but thought; the discrepancy between Kael's emotional responses and Kiyotaka's methodical, detached approach definitely raised pertinent questions—should Kael's human tendencies be suppressed? 

Was it truly necessary to remove those elements of his personality in order to reach optimal efficiency? 

In Kael's case, there was no clear indication that disregarding his humanity entirely would be beneficial. It wasn't a matter of function; it was a question of balance. Could I truly ignore these human nuances and rely solely on logic? Would that be advisable in the long term?

The idea of suppressing certain aspects of personality to optimize efficiency had its merits, but it also carried potential consequences. 

What if those human traits, seemingly irrational, provided a balancing factor in decision-making? 

Was emotional detachment always the optimal solution, or was there an inherent value in the way I balanced both? Even the smallest deviation from cold logic could cause significant disruption. 

It wasn't about emotions per se—it was about patterns, consequences, and the careful interplay between cold logic and human tendencies.

There are no certainties. Only tendencies. Only outcomes.

"—Kael, it's time to go home!"

The call from Horrace snapped Kael from his musings. 

He turned toward his colleague, offering a brief nod and a wave. "Go ahead. I'll take a walk first."

"Stay clear of criminals, okay?"

"Sure, thanks for the reminder."

With a quiet sigh, he shook his head and refocused on the present.

The evening had indeed come. It was time to head home, as the low glow of the sun signified the day's end.

Before making his way downstairs, he collected his pay for the day, moving through the payment process. The transaction was brief—sufficient, functional, and completed with an almost robotic precision. 

After slipping the payment into his pocket and adjusting his coat, Kiyotaka headed out the door, the cool evening air brushing against his skin. 

He did exactly as he told Horrace—going for a walk.

Kael was not a man driven by ambition, as he had mentioned before. Very few things, if any, truly piqued his interest enough to broaden his view of the world. In this regard, Kiyotaka was the opposite.

***

When Kiyotaka arrived at his lodging, he immediately began his search for a suitable space---he was going to perform the ritual.

The room he needed had to be devoid of distractions, isolated, and detached from everything outside. It wasn't an environment he sought out often—he was accustomed to processing things in the bustle of a more active setting. But for this, isolation would serve a greater purpose—that's what the book had instructed, at least.

He found the perfect room immediately. Small. Quiet. A narrow window with thick curtains blocked out any unwanted light. The door clicked shut behind him as he surveyed the empty space. It was as though time itself would slow here, separated from the busy world that lay beyond.

He set to work, arranging the candles. Four small, simple ones—nothing extravagant, just functional. 

If you were to ask where he got them from, well, he had steal them. Obviously.

They were placed in a precise rectangle. The edges weren't perfectly aligned, but they were close enough to create the necessary structure. As instructed, he set a fifth candle at the center, carefully ensuring there was enough space between them, their faint glow already working to separate the space from the outside.

Kiyotaka sat on the floor, arranging himself within the boundary. Legs crossed in a comfortable, balanced position. There was no tension in his back, no strain in his posture—just relaxation without slackness. He focused on aligning himself to the center of the rectangle, careful not to disturb the arrangement he had set so far.

Each action a step toward a goal---what that goal was, precisely, was less clear—but it didn't need to be.

The silence enveloped him. Kiyotaka took a deep breath, steadying himself. 

He hadn't expected to feel anything particularly unusual, but his mind did shift slightly. In the absence of noise, he turned inward, closing his eyes, and mentally projecting the chant to be recited.

"By the Earth below,

By the Sky above,

By the Flesh within,

Let the Curtain opened,

Mind to wander, Body to rest,

Through the Threshold, I am led."

The words slipped easily from his mouth, barely above a whisper, their rhythm steady and controlled. Three repetitions, just as instructed.

After the final repetition, Kiyotaka paused, taking in a slow, deliberate breath.

The surrounding environment receded. The room blurred around him, becoming a faint, muted frame to his internal state. Kiyotaka shifted his focus, narrowing it to the sensation of his breath alone—the soft rise and fall, the consistent rhythm. All other sounds faded, leaving only the quiet, internal hum of life in the background.

His mind continued to wander. As he breathed, the world outside his personal bubble grew distant, and his awareness expanded just a little more—still, unhurried, deliberate in its quest to understand the new boundaries he was crossing.

Then again, Kiyotaka thought, maybe nothing at all would happen.

Something did happen.

"—!"

A crimson light burst forth and swallowed him whole, not leaving him any chance to react at all.

***

In the Loen Kingdom's capital, Backlund. Inside a luxurious looking villa at the royal district.

Audrey Hall sat in front of a dresser. The markings on it were antiquated and there was a cracked bronze mirror on the surface.

"Mirror, mirror, awaken...

"In the name of the Hall family, I command you to awaken!"

***

She switched between many different sayings, but there was no reaction from the mirror at all.

After more than 10 minutes, she finally chose to give up and pouted her lips in grievance. She said in a soft murmur, "Father was indeed lying to me. He always tells me that this mirror was the treasure of the Roman Empire's Dark Emperor, and that it is an extraordinary item..."

Her voice trailed off. The bronze mirror which rested on the dresser suddenly glowed with a crimson light that shrouded her completely.

***

In the Sonia Sea, a three-masted sailboat that looked like an obvious relic was navigating through a storm.

Alger Wilson stood on deck, his body undulating with the currents at sea, maintaining his balance easily.

He wore a robe embroidered with lightning patterns, and in his hand was a quirky-shaped glass bottle. Bubbles billowed inside the bottle at times, frost turned into snow at times, and signs of gusting wind could be seen at times.

"We're still short on the Ghost Shark's blood..." Alger murmured.

Then at this moment, a crimson burst appeared in the space between the glass bottle and the surface of his palm. In an instant, it enveloped the surroundings as well.

***

In the fog of gray mist, Kiyotaka regained his sight quickly. He processed his surroundings in a state of confusion and then noticed the blurry figures of a woman and a man across from him, both seeming just as bewildered as he was.

Moments later, all three of them noticed a fourth figure, standing not far away, shrouded in the same gray mist.

What is this place...? Kiyotaka was naturally curious. He couldn't see what you'd call a floor, ceiling or any objects beside the gray mist. He also couldn't see the faces of the people with him no matter how hard he tried to look.

"Sir, where is this?" Alger asked, his voice echoing the confusion Kiyotaka felt.

But before the man could respond, Audrey spoke up.

"---and what are you planning to do to us?"