"Unless you can comprehend darkness, you won't be able to define my spirit," Lady Jasmine whispered.

  At her words, Masa Ed’s vision snapped back to normal. The golden glow vanished from his eyes. He found Lady Jasmine watching him closely, her fingers idly twiddling with his own as she studied the fading light in his pupils.

  Comprehend darkness? he mused. She’s basically saying my level is too low. Fine. I’m just starting—no need to rush.

  "Yes, Lady Jasmine... sorry, Mother Jas," he corrected himself. "You said my spirit vision mutated. Isn’t that a talent? An upgrade to the average spiritual vision?"

  "Did I?"

  "You did," he insisted. "You said my 'inner eyes' are rare, even capable of evolutionary growth."

  Lady Jasmine remained silent for several beats, her attention seemingly pulled back to the papers on the desk. Finally, she spoke without looking up.

  "It is a talent—a boost. But didn't you say the seed gave you a taboo?"

  "The no-killing taboo, yes," Masa Ed replied matter-of-factly. "I just want to know if I can have both. An exception to the rule?"

  "No." Lady Jasmine shook her head faintly. "You gain a taboo or a talent. It is a fundamental edit written into the fabric of reality by the editor of the power system. If your mutated vision didn't come from the seed, then it has nothing to do with the power system's trade-off. What exactly did the seed give you?"

  "Only the taboo," Masa Ed admitted, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "But then, what’s the source of the mutation? It can’t be random."

  Lady Jasmine leaned in, her fingers framing his eyelids to widen them, peering deep into the iris. "It might not be a mutation at all," she murmured.

  She pulled back, falling into a pensive silence that lasted nearly a minute.

  "You should be one of them, but you clearly are not," she continued, her cryptic tone causing Masa Ed to frown. "Only Eldest Sister would know for sure." She offered a small, knowing smirk.

  Masa Ed 'fuppled'—he sucked in his lips and widened his mouth in a look of pure exasperation. Every answer she gave only added a new layer of mystery.

  "Who is your—"

  "Mr. Eda, let’s get started," the angel of a woman—Margaret—interrupted.

  Masa Ed rolled his eyes as she flashed a shameless, bright smile. "We should finish your registration before we reach the Tower. Unless you don't want to look around the ship?"

  Lying bitch, Masa Ed thought with a chuckle, recognizing the deflection.

  "Okay," he sighed, leaning forward and propping his chin on his palms.

  Margaret beamed. "To begin, I’d like to introduce you to the Head of the Special Division—the one formally accepting your training request. The—"

  "Who?" Masa Ed interjected with a sneer.

  "Me," she chirped, shoulders squared with pride. "I am Margaret Goldy Brown, Director of the Golden Lantern and the future bride of the spiritual—"

  "Okay, I get it," Masa Ed cut her off. "Let’s move on."

  "You’re no fun," she pouted, though she quickly slid a piece of paper across the table toward him. "Mr. Eda, by the Golden Laws, we must provide you with an alias. Every practitioner must break ties with their mortal roots—names included. It is the law of the era."

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  Masa Ed paused. "Are you saying spiritualists abandon their families?"

  "Not exactly," Margaret began, but Lady Jasmine intervened.

  "She has a family. She was born into a powerful family of practitioners. The law applies to those crossing over from the mortal realm," Lady Jasmine explained. "It maintains the barrier. The Golden Court’s first duty is to protect mortals; order in the spiritual world is secondary. Do you understand?"

  "Kind of." Masa Ed turned back to Margaret. "I can choose any name, right?"

  "No. Some names invite too much trouble. Would you like me to choose for you?"

  Masa Ed gave her a wary look. "I have an idea. Let me think..." He looked up at the chandelier, searching for something with a grand ring to it. While he was lost in thought, Margaret’s pen flew across her parchment with suspicious speed.

  "I’ve got one!" she declared.

  Masa Ed looked down, his face instantly crumbling into a scowl as she turned the paper around. Two bold characters stared back at him: BLACK KING.

  Lady Jasmine snatched the paper, her brow furrowing deeply. "Little Meggie, what are you up to?"

  Margaret didn't answer. She was already busy stuffing papers into a file, a professional, "receptionist" smile plastered on her face.

  "Mr. Black, your registration is complete," Margaret said, her tone suddenly formal as she stood up. "Your admission to the Tower will be finalized when we dock in fifteen minutes. See you then!"

  She vanished from the chamber before Masa Ed could utter a word of protest.

  "She’s always been like that," Lady Jasmine said with a sigh. "Once she has her clutches in you, she won't let go."

  Masa Ed chuckled playfully. "It’s not like I won’t comprehend darkness anyway."

  "And that is exactly her goal," Lady Jasmine replied seriously. "Do you know what 'King' means as a name in our world?"

  "No. Tell me."

  "You will have to brace yourself. 'King' is the most ambitious name possible. To bear it is to tell every other practitioner that your goal is to chain them—to make new laws. Practitioners treasure their 'illusory freedom' above all else. To them, a 'King' is an enemy to be eliminated before he grows too strong."

  Masa Ed smiled. "So, displaying the ambition is an insult to their ego? They can't stomach the idea of a peer rising above them?"

  "Exactly. And 'Black'?" Lady Jasmine’s expression darkened. "That should be your real concern. It was the alias of a once-in-an-era genius who attracted catastrophe. People came to believe the name itself was a magnet for misfortune. Reality resonated with that belief. To bear the name 'Black' is to invite bad luck to follow you like a shadow."

  "I see," Masa Ed nodded, his eyes reflecting a new, bright light. "It’s all about symbolism."

  "Something similar. It has to with weight of intent. You should visit the library after your full registration, I believe you will learn a lot."

  Weight of intent. Masa Ed weighed in his mind. What Lady Jasmine said at the end barely manage to register in his mind.

  Whilst he analyze and dissect, Lady Jasmine fetched a book on the table.

  "Compendium of the initiates." She interrupted his thought and passed him the book. "How much exactly do you know about the reigning power system?"

  Masa Ed collected the big book. "I don't know, I am new."

  "Indeed, you are new," Lady Jasmine pinched a tuft of his hair in endearment. "Turn to page ten."

  As she instructed, Masa Ed flip the pages of the book until he reached the tenth page were he focused on a diagram similar to the one in the previous chamber and the tree realm during his initiation.

  "Bottom left." Lady Jasmine specified.

  Slowly, he traced his finger tip on the book until he reached its bottom left where a print reads:

  [After initiation ceremony, an initiates gains the ability to speak and understand the language of the spiritual world. Among HEAVENLY ABILITIES locked away, spiritual vision(the inner eyes) is certainly unlocked. Others that might also be unlocked includes, 'body instinct', 'hypersense'...]

  He paused reading and raised his head.

  "Lady... Mother Jas, why haven't my language changed?"

  "It has changed." Lady Jasmine smiled. "The issue is you are yet to understand what it means to speak a natural language, a living tongue. Since we concluded your initiation, what you have been speaking isn't your empire language but the language every practitioner speaks; its a language embedded in the fabric of reality; you automatically speak and understand it; you only lack the awareness of its translation layer in your mind."

  "Its like a starter pack?" Masa Ed rephrased. He spied at Lady Jasmine face for her reaction to his choice of word.

  At it, Lady Jasmine smiled. "You are talking about that little box thing you connect to a broad screen and play?"

  Masa Ed mirrored her smile. He nodded. "Yes."

  "Lady... Mother Jas, how do spiritual people communicate with mortals? You know in my case, you and margaret could talk to me before my initiation." He added.

  "Our language." Lady Jasmine replied. "Our language allows for us to understand and speak any mortal language, it is an encompassing system. You can say it is the foundation of every mortal language in existence and those yet to be developed. Its a little complicated. You should read more on it in the library, I am certain you will understand more."

  "I get it." Masa Ed nodded, beaming. Because he was out of more question to ask her, he returned his focus to the pages of the big book where he wants to learn more.