The Gambit of the Faceless God — Epic Fantasy

It was the next day. Soon after Caelum had risen at around 5:30 AM, he prepared himself for today’s training. Because he wasn’t aware of how to dismiss his Grimoire, he was surprised to see that both of his Grimoires were already siphoned back into his soul. The mysterious book that once lay beneath his pillow was no more, as he could feel its aura shrouding himself from within.

…Seems like you really can’t keep your Grimoire up for as long as you wish.

Alright, Caelum, let’s just… focus. Vash is surely going to want me to summon my Grimoire. I just need to find a way to only summon my bow.

But… how do I do it…?

Perplexed, he sat on the edge of his bed, dressed in a dark green billowing windbreaker robe, with an opening at the center that revealed a glimpse of his inner garment beneath. He was thinking about how he could possibly display advanced control over his Grimoire.

Think…! I only have around thirty minutes before he’s going to arrive here… It shouldn’t be that hard, right?

…Alright… eh…

He stood up, and contemplatively began walking in circles. It was still well early in the morning, so he had to remain as quiet as possible to prevent waking his friends.

Think! What did Declan say again? Or, was it… Vash?

Argh! I don’t know, but it has to be linked to how one normally summons their Grimoire.

If we take that into consideration, summoning a Grimoire by manipulating your soul pressure, or, at least imagining it, is enough to succeed.

So that means…

…If I ‘imagine’ manipulating my soul pressure at just one side of my body…

“Yes-!” he exclaimed instinctively before realizing he had just shouted loudly in the middle of the morning.

“…”

Okay! Let’s try it! But, which side should I choose?

…That Grimoire…

Yesterday, when I tried summoning it, only my bow appeared. But that was only because, somehow, it had already been summoned.

However, I can still faintly remember how I felt when summoning them in front of the others…

It was…

…My right hand, yes. It must have been.

Alright, let’s just do it with my left hand…

With a deep sigh of determination, he closed his eyes, and began meditating. The fresh and gentle sunlight bathed both the chamber and himself in a serene atmosphere. It did not take long before he could feel the two separate auras flowing inside of his soul—

—And just as he presumed, the aura on his right side was unquestionably more sinister than the one on the left, judged by his sensation every time he attempted to focus on the right side.

And thus, like a gentle blow against a dandelion, the aura on his left side began flowing towards the edge of his fingertips. As Caelum pushed it further, he could feel a sensation similar to a balloon forced to spew out all of its air; And when he opened his eyes, he fortunately only saw the beautifully-polished silver bow with Gothic engravings floating right in front of him.

This was something unheard of.

Manipulating one’s soul pressure on this level would have required an adequate amount of training and knowledge. Despite being granted a Sequencer’s natural ability to summon Grimoires, for Caelum to actually exploit the flow of his soul pressure and have it extracted from the left side of his body would have made Vash extremely impressed. Yet, understandably, Caelum wasn’t aware of the gravity of his deed.

Nevertheless, he was visibly elevated by his success, and decided to push his limits even further.

Okay, well… now I need it to be gone.

I will just assume that, to expel one’s Grimoire… you’re supposed to act like some sort of vacuum.

It makes sense, doesn’t it?

I would just have to imagine sort of ‘siphoning’ my soul pressure from my Grimoire to make it vanish.

Having built up confidence from managing to summon only his bow, he amicably raised his left hand and pointed it towards the floating silver bow. He then closed his eyes, and began imagining sucking the life force from it.

His fingers began to quiver, as he could feel his aura returning to his body, as if he was injected with some sort of fluid that would spread backwards into his arm like some sort of wild-spreading virus.

As soon as he felt like there was no more aura left to siphon, he opened his eyes.

“…It works!”

He took a deep sigh of relief as he stared into his left palm.

I guess I will only be depending on this one.

It is kind of unfortunate that I wasn’t able to be excited with my bow, but I’ve always wanted something like this. It is perfect.

Though, I can only hope I’ll be able to succeed like this in front of Vash…

With another sigh, he let himself plummet on the bed, and wordlessly gazed at the ceiling.

I wonder how sis and mother are doing.

…They must be missing us so much already.

But! It’ll be fine. I feel much better than yesterday, and a lot less depressed, so it won’t be long before we will visit you both.

My first day at the academy, huh…

Well, I won’t count the ritual as my ‘first day’, putting the incident aside. At the end of the day, all we were met with was a dark corridor none of us could barely discern well.

So, this will be my first day!

I can’t wait to meet the other students as well, honestly. That Qlint guy seemed pretty cool.

And, ah, right, what was his name again…? Batolomew? Barthomew?

…Forget it. I’ll just ask him what his name is when I meet him.

I can still remember the other individuals who were present at the opening ceremony. They definitely knew each other well; I could feel this kind of ‘chemistry’ both Vaelen and I have with the others.

…Whatever may await us on this journey, it is bound to be something… interesting.

Alright! Time to get up!

***

[6:15 AM: The Gaian Academy]

Soon after departing from the dorm alongside Vash, who donned a simple white blouse with black pants, they both traversed the beautiful, sunrise-laced landscapes and architectures before arriving at the grandiose academy. At the front courtyard, situated in the middle, were towering twin statues. On the left was one depicting Urdall, draped in an encapsulating windbreaker that obscured His face. He placed His palm on the crown of a kneeling figure resembling a middle-aged woman with long hair dressed in an ancient layered robe, the God of the Gaian Wanderers, Valeria.

Caelum watched the magnificent statues with awe as Vash, walking in front of him, looked back at him over his shoulder.

“It’s a beautiful morning today, isn’t it? Have you managed to get some sleep?”

“I have, somewhat,” Caelum smiled as Vash squinted his eyes in question.

“Somewhat, you say? What was it? A nightmare?”

“Hmm, I guess you could say that.”

“Ah, well, don’t worry,” he chuckled. “The second training procedure will be happening at around three in the afternoon. It is quarter over six at the moment, so that’d be close to nine hours.

I will be sure to take things slowly as I did yesterday with the others. This way, you’ll be able to keep on track despite the information you’re about to receive. Sadly, we have to get through this quicker than usual, but I guess not everything goes how you want it to go, right?”

“Yeah, I understand,” Caelum responded, suddenly widening his eyes afterwards. “Oh, Vash, about that blood test…”

“Hm?”

“We talked about it, and decided it would be a good idea to undergo it.”

“Ah, perfect! We’ll discuss this further after today’s training procedure. If that won’t work, I’ll be sure to reach out tomorrow.”

The both of them, upon entering the academy, made their way through various of the dimly lit, Victorian-styled labyrinth-esque hallways and corridors, each comprising paintings, or bust statues of important figures within the Gaian Temple. It had a distinct smell, one that strongly resembled smoked cigars mixed with brewing alchemy potions. It was quite pleasant, and accentuated the pristine feel Caelum experienced.

They eventually arrived at a spacious U-shaped courtyard that was surrounded by balconies leading back to the academy. Vash took the lead and stopped right in the middle, asking Caelum with an easily understandable tone.

“Alright! Let us start off by explaining the nature of your Grimoire. You’ve already tried summoning your Grimoire before, right?”

“Ah, well, yes…” Caelum said, walking towards him as his windbreaker robe billowed around him. “I tried it last night, and it seemed to have worked out for me, at last.”

“I see…” Vash nodded, crossing his arms. “Your body must have finally adapted to the changing atmosphere, then. That’s unusual since it should’ve been able to adapt to your higher soul pressure as opposed to non Sequencers. Anyway, please summon your Grimoire for me.”

“…”

As Caelum slowly lowered his head, trying to re-enact his methods from earlier this morning in his head, Vash spoke once more, his eyes fixated on the troubled young man as a gentle gust of wind flew past their figures.

“Remember, take a series of deep breaths, and imagine your inner aura erupting from within your body.”

With a quick and determined nod, Caelum concentrated on the left side of his soul once more. Obeying his telepathic command, his aura began to flow outside of his left hand, resulting in the appearance of his majestic silver bow.

Vash widened his eyes and began to clap proudly.

“Perfect! That’s a very beautiful-looking Grimoire! So, as you already know, your Grimoire is the manifestation of your soul. Think of things that you have ambitions for, or dreams you wish to achieve.

When I look at your bow, I think of an exuberant soul who has a strong love for freedom, or maybe roaming the skies as an arrow would. Am I getting close?”

Caelum chuckled as he grasped his bow.

“Yes, you are. I often enjoy spending time on the ships, or simply exploring Ventoria, despite having already been to most places.”

“That’s what I mean! Your Grimoire is, well, ‘You’. It is often considered to be your ‘second finger print’ because of its significance. What about dismissing your Grimoire? Do you know how to do it?”

“Ah, well, for me, it would seem logical if I were to just imagine me sucking away the aura of my Grimoire, but… I’m not sure if that’s correct.”

“It actually is one of few ways one is able to make their Grimoires vanish. Go ahead, try it out.”

“Sure!”

Knowing that Vash could never be aware of his recent success, Caelum demonstrated his natural talent; raising his left arm with his eyes closed, resulting in the vanishing of his Grimoire. Vash nodded silently with a bright, closed smile, before congratulating him.

“Good job. This normally takes a few days for someone to take a hold of, but it seems that you’re able to comfortably manipulate your soul pressure.”

“Thank you,” Caelum responded.

“Because you have now manifested your Grimoire, you are now also able to perceive Earthen Beings. Have you ever been taught this at school?”

Erm…

…Ah, wait!

It was when… Vaelen and I attended that one class…

“I have!”

“Splendid,” Vash smiled. “Enlighten me.”

“So, basically, humans born with Sequencer characteristics are able to act their five senses, touch, smell, sight, hearing, and taste onto Earthen Beings. These are organisms that exist beyond the normal human frequency… right?”

“Very close!” Vash responded. “Yes, you were right about the fact that Sequencer characteristics allow for humans to interact with things that normally aren’t meant to be seen by normal people. However, there is one important thing to note:

This may sound confusing, but despite being born with Sequencer characteristics, you weren’t able to perceive Earthen Beings until your Grimoire was manifested. This is acknowledged as the ‘Gaizer Productivity Spectrum’. It originates from the well-known Gaizer Vynal; a scientist and philosopher who lived during the Third Age.

He was one of the first to question the source of our uniquenesses. During his journey, he discovered another problem soon after he was met with an Earthen Animal for the first time. He wanted to know why he wasn’t able to notice these beings before becoming Awakened. In essence, a single Earthen Being he once captured brought his answer.

That being was only able to see him when his Grimoire was summoned. After spending a tremendous amount of time researching and conceptualizing the anatomy of that single being, he came to the conclusion that the projection of a higher frequency was only able to be brought into reality after one would realize their own projection. In other words—

—the projection, or, actuality of anything of a higher frequency, is only able to be seen after one has realized, or summoned their Grimoire.”

“…I see,” Caelum said carefully. “But, then, what about the Earthen Beings? Do they not see us?”

“They do see us, but they can not interact with us. It’s exactly like how spirits of the deceased will attempt to touch you or speak to you. You won’t be able to hear them, but they can hear you. The same goes for touch and speech.”

That’s… a little creepy… Caelum thought to himself. Vash somehow seemed to be aware of his inner distress. He chuckled it off, as he continued,

“Do not fret. The entirety of Deneve is mostly free of Earthen Beings, with the only exception being the Great Eastern Forest.”

“So, you’re basically saying that I wasn’t able to perceive those beings because I hadn’t summoned my Grimoire yet?”

“Precisely! As soon as you let go of your Grimoire, so will you let go of your sixth sense. Now, while this may have sounded straightforward, you may be thinking of occasions where you found yourself in a battle against an Earthen Being…”

“I mean, wouldn’t I just be able to turn off my Grimoire to save myself?” Caelum asked, tilting his head to the left.

“That seems reasonable, yes. Well, sadly, it’s not as easy as you may think. Let us go back to Mister Gaizer really quickly. The Productivity Spectrum was not his only theory:

He had another one called ‘The Adaptation Complex Theory’. It referred to an Earthen Being able to adapt to one’s Grimoire. The reason why humans without Sequencer characteristics are able to see our Grimoire is because it exists within both realms of frequencies.

Now, you will have to take the Productivity Spectrum into consideration. Because of this theory, Earthen Beings, whilst engaged in any sort of activity with a person’s Grimoire, are able to adapt to both frequencies over time. This means that even after you have dismissed your Grimoire, the Earthen Beings are, for a short amount of time, able to intervene with you even on a normal frequency.

This is also in correlation to the duration of when you summon your Grimoire and dispel it. This is something even Gaizer wasn’t able to penetrate, but since it connects to the Adaptation theory, it made a lot of sense for people. In essence, any Earthen Being is theoretically able to instantly adapt to a normal frequency, despite how fast you may make it vanish. However, this is entirely dependent on the speed of the Being’s reaction, since their adaptation lasts significantly shorter than it would when they were able to adapt to one’s Grimoire over a longer amount of time.”

Caelum, despite understanding what he said, still felt a little overwhelmed by the theories. He remained silent in response, which was a clear indicator for Vash to slow things down a little.

“Getting a little too much?” he asked.

“A little, yes. But, I think I understand.”

“Then summarize it for me.”

With a deep sigh, Caelum adhered to his request.

“…So, Grimoires are the manifestation of your soul. Your second fingerprint. Due to the Grimories, we are able to see mystical beings that only exist on a higher level of frequency. The explanation for this is Gaizer’s Productivity Spectrum theory. It concerns the nature of the connection between us, and higher frequencies. Or, better said, organisms that operate on those frequencies.”

“Last part?” Vash said calmly, jestingly raising his eyebrows.

“Ehm, the last part was… that the beings are able to adapt to normal frequencies.”

“Over time, yes,” he nodded. “The longer you interact with them, the easier it is for them to adapt to our normal frequency.”

With his arms crossed, he stepped towards Caelum with a bright demeanour.

“Anyway! I think it’s time for some coffee. Come, let us head to Ventoria and share some breakfast.”

“Right now? Didn’t you say that we had to get over this quickly?”

“I did, but, I guess I was being a little dramatic. With your sense of understanding, I believe we’ll be finished in no time. To do so, you’ll have to be properly invigorated!”

“Alright!” Caelum chuckled, following Vash’s trail back inside the academy.