…

  A few days after Diell Day, Adam was busy cleaning up after having lunch by himself. The weather had remained cold, with occasional snow flurries. It seemed like winter had set in early this year. In the past few days, Marc’s funeral was held, and Bruenor had been sent out to another post somewhere. Adam had been more or less isolated from the various aspects of being a Passenger for this time.

  He was anxious the entire time.

  Despite orders from the military to not use magic or perform a Shift until he was summoned, Adam felt uneasy. His headaches had strangely disappeared ever since he had used the ruby charm to kill Marc, but this didn’t mean that he wasn’t concerned about his experience. He had kept up regular contact with Hellig, Hannah, Gusto and Jezebel, and went to the nearest church to pray three times per day and receive regular blessings from the priest there. Despite the promises of Bruenor and Hellig, Adam wasn’t sure if the emperor had actually intervened to cure him or not. He also had no idea when this “part time job” would start, and was eager to Shift again.

  As he was ruminating over the various changes in his life over the past few days, he heard a knock on the door. Walking through his living room to open the door, he saw a familiar face. Hellig’s blonde hair was neatly combed, and he was wearing a yellow leather vest over a green undershirt and black pants. He seemed unbothered by the cold.

  Hellig nodded to Adam. “Adam, it’s time for our orientation. Bring nothing with you besides yourself.”

  Adam nodded and, without looking back inside, stepped out and closed the door behind him.

  …

  This specific room of the palace side of the imperial residence was lavishly decorated. Chandeliers made out of gold and silver hung from the ceiling that seemed to stretch into the heavens themselves. Golden leaf patterns were embedded into the creases of the floor and walls, making the entire room feel like a cascading pattern of falling leaves on an autumn day. Inside this room, Adam stood next to Hellig and Hannah, who wore her blonde hair in a tight bun. Gusto was next to Jezebel, quietly whispering something into her ear that Adam was unable to make out.

  Tap. Tap. Tap.

  The sound of a cane striking the ground in steady, deliberate rhythms met Adam’s ears. It was a sound that instantly brought him to attention, straightening his back subconsciously as his hair stood up on end. The effect was transmitted to the rest of the group as well, even the royal guard Hellig.

  An aged and elderly voice sounded from behind him.

  “Adam Broek and friends, my name is Juhend Sureb, you may call me whatever you wish.”

  Turning around, Adam saw a 1.9 meter tall man dressed in incredibly formal wear- a full suit with a black tie and white dress shirt. His pants had golden chains hanging from the pockets, and his belt was made out of a deep red leather that seemed to give off an air of authority. His cane was made out of a deep black wood, with a silver head in the shape of a wolf’s visage. Silver lines tracked down the cane into the base, which had a nearly mercurial luster to it, seemingly flowing with liquid as it tapped onto the ground with each step. Juhend’s silver hair was thick and neatly combed back, and his eyes were the color of fog.

  “Sureb?” Hannah’s voice sounded anxious.

  “As in, the Sureb? The leader of the exorcists of the Church of the Many Winged Angel?”

  Juhend gave a slight smile.

  “I happen to have a specialty, but I actually do other work on the side. This is a personal favor to the emperor from the Angel, is all. If you all would follow me, a ritual room has been prepared for our use.”

  Juhend led the way through one of the many hallways inside the palace. The tapping of his cane served as the only sound Adam could hear- even the sounds of his own breathing seemed to be faint in comparison.

  Juhend Sureb is as close to a demigod as anyone in the Physical World, I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually is one somehow and just hasn’t made it public… The Church has a great deal of influence, but why would some on Sureb’s level be in charge of some small task force that was created on a whim? There must be a deeper meaning for his presence, those attacks were anything but simple…

  Adam felt bubbling anxiety enter his stomach. Not for the first time since that strange Shift he completed, he felt that matters were brewing just underneath the surface he could sense.

  Eventually, Juhend led the group into a ritual room. Its walls, floor and ceiling were all made out of a fog colored stone, and a series of stone altars were on the floor. On each lay a group of ingredients- a still bloody human heart, a vial of clear water and a faintly wispy cloud-like material.

  “Our work for this task force is done in a different Realm, so I hope you are no strangers to a Shift.”

  Juhend looked at Jezebel as he said this.

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  “I have prepared a remedy for Miss Jezebel so you do not come into harmony with the Realm on accident. With that said, it would truly be easier if you were willing to Shift traditionally.”

  Jezebel glanced at the ground, but shook her head no, apologizing under her breath.

  “Very well. Then we shall begin the ritual. Hellig, you may go first.”

  Hellig nodded and stepped towards the first of the altars. It came up to his waist. He bent down, picking up the vial and the cloudy substance, which seemed to spill out of his open palm and coalesce and reform, as if it was acting under its own gravity and was only held to his palm by the surface tension.

  Slowly and carefully, Hellig sat down and crossed his legs. He took out a trio of small candles and lit each, working clockwise, and placed them into small, pre-dedicated spots on the altar. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes as he slowly dripped the vial of water onto the bloody human heart on the altar before him. With each drop, he exhaled, and with each pause in the dripping, he inhaled. Once the vial was empty, he gently placed the wispy cloud to the back of the altar behind the human heart and directed his spiritual energy towards the material. He began to chant in an ancient language. Hellig’s eyes opened, but within them were circular symbols, constantly shifting and changing their appearance with each word he uttered.

  “I beseech thee, oh sacrifice. Please, do not be in vain. You have given unto the world what you may, and you are requested to do a final task. Serve as my Anchor to this Physical World, so that I may not be led astray by the machinations of Devils or spirits. I offer unto this sacrifice the clear spring waters of a moonlit lake. I offer unto this sacrifice the brain matter of a djinni. Take my ingredients and open up the path through the cosmos so that I may arrive at my destination unharmed.”

  Soon, the wispy material began to approach the heart and intermingle with it, as if the two were superimposing. Eventually, the heart began to fade away, as if it was an illusion or a dream. Hellig’s form faded alongside it, until the words of the ritual could no longer be heard by anyone in the room.

  “Adam, you may go next.”

  Adam nodded and made eye contact with Hannah. She was firm and standing straight. As he passed by her, he heard her whisper “Good luck…”

  He wore a smile as he approached the ritual altar and sat down with his legs crossed. Taking out a trio of candles from underneath the altar, he lit each one slowly and methodically placed them clockwise in pre-dedicated spots. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes and took out the vial of water, slowly dripping it onto the human heart, each drop corresponding to an exhale of his breath and each pause corresponding to an inhale of his breath. Once he sensed the vial was fully emptied, he gently placed the wispy cloud to the back of the altar and directed his spiritual energy towards the material. If it wasn’t for the fact he was already a Passenger, he might not have even been able to direct this strange material at all.

  Thankfully, he could sense the spiritual energy it possessed, and was able to gently guide it towards the heart at the center of the altar. As he began to feel the spiritual connection between the two materials strengthen, his body began to speak in a language that he did not know. His eyes opened on their own, with circular symbols appearing in them without his knowledge. He was utterly focused on the spiritual tension between his own form and that of the ritual materials.

  “I beseech thee, oh sacrifice. Please, do not be in vain. You have given unto the world what you may, and you are requested to do a final task. Serve as my Anchor to this Physical World, so that I may not be led astray by the machinations of Devils or spirits. I offer unto this sacrifice the clear spring waters of a moonlit lake. I offer unto this sacrifice the brain matter of a djinni. Take my ingredients and open up the path through the cosmos so that I may arrive at my destination unharmed.”

  After a couple of minutes, he felt as if he was breaking through a dam and coasting on a massive wave. He felt slightly motion sick and he heard the sound of roaring blood gushing in his head, but did not dare open his eyes. It was one of the most basic things to learn before Shifting- if you see something you aren’t meant to see, you might lose your soul!

  Soon, the feeling of coasting subsided as he felt grass beneath his feet. His ears were faintly ringing, but that was within expectations. He opened his eyes and beheld a new Realm.

  The sky above him was deep and dark, with countless stars of light. However, unlike the Physical World, these stars whirled and twirled, as if they had a mind of their own. It was half euphoric and somewhat intoxicating just looking at them. Around him, he could see trees and grass, not unlike the species of the Physical World. Of course, he knew that if he inspected them closer, it was highly likely he would discover any number of unique qualities in these species.

  It seemed to be night, but he couldn’t be sure. Turning around to get his bearings, Adam saw Hellig walking towards him.

  “Adam, it’s about time you stopped by. We were getting worried.”

  Adam’s face turned quizzical.

  “I don’t know where you ended up after you Shifted, but you certainly took your time getting here. It’s been three hours. Juhend was about to go out looking for you with the Cherubim.”

  “Cherubim? What are you talking about, three hours? I just Shifted!”

  Hellig’s face was shocked.

  “That’s impossible, Shifting is nearly instant, you had to have gone somewhere, somehow.”

  He looked back behind him towards a glittering lake. Its waters seemed to reflect the sky perfectly.

  “Come on, the others are worried sick, Hannah was nearly ready to start a fight when she saw you weren’t here. Oh, don’t be alarmed by a Cherubim if you see It.”

  “W-what?”

  Adam stammered as he hurried to keep pace with Hellig, who was walking towards the surprisingly bright lake.