The Seeker | Volume 2

It wouldn't be a bad guess to say that they moved to the Katshin Empire to hold back any corruption and to deduct the possibility of hurting anyone else. But why wouldn't they either kill themselves due to the symptoms of losing control or straight up isolate themselves? 

I kept staring at the diary grimly before shutting the book and pushing it aside, closing my eyes while the countless possibilities ran through my head.

All of a sudden, I felt a rush of warm energy through my lower stomach as if I was about to throw up. But upon closer investigation with spirit calling my intuition didn't tell me that I was about to throw up; but rather that I had semi-digested the Order 8 Wraithcaller potion.

Even at the level of Order 8, I didn't begin to see any major changes in my body besides an increased sense of intuition. Was this Routeway I was forced to enter mostly affiliated with mental aspects or an increased sense of intelligence?

How would I gain the power of the Apocalypse if at Order 8 when other seekers would gain an increased aptitude in divination, physical characteristics, or a strange new ability? I had an increased intuition.

The symptoms of semi-digestion were mainly unclear over the next few hours. All I really felt was an increased sense of tiredness and a tiny cold rush in my body every once in a while. Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door. When I approached the door and opened it; a man with a long brown coat and a mustache was standing there, gazing inside with curiosity. 

The man nodded slightly before speaking. "My name is Mr. Alexander Debios; a prominent historian. I saw your advertisement plastered near the historical society and I couldn't help but be intrigued by what it said."

"I never told you the address," I said with a little caution as I looked into the man's brown eyes. After a few moments of silence, he chuckled before responding. "Us seekers can do quite a lot, can't they?" He tapped his head in a joking manner before picking up his golden inlaid cane that sat against the doorframe and entering the complex.

His previous words seemed to resonate in my ears. I sat down across from this visitor and raised an eyebrow. "What Routeway are you on, and what Order?" I asked, picking up a half empty teacup before suddenly standing up and dumping into the sink. It was only when I began to boil some new tea that Mr. Debois responded. 

"I'm an Order 5 of the Divinity Routeway. At this level I'm able to remember information quickly and read people's intentions. You seem a little afraid, but I assure you I mean no harm, child. At Order 1; at the level of an Angel, you aren't exactly that strong from what I've read, but I don't really want to progress any further from what I am now, for I am happy I'm in my current Order." 

At the level of an Order 5 you would be considered a half demi-god from what I've read, but the face that Mr. Debios doesn't want to progress any further and told me that he didn't want to increase the possibility of losing control with every Order he advanced. When the man wasn't looking I secretly laced the tea with the transparent liquid I concocted, stirring it with a little spoon.

"I do like my tea with a little extra sugar, it tends to warm my spirits." He said with a smile as he combed his mustache with a small hand-held brush. I nodded as I scoured Aaron's cabinets, looking for some sugar. After searching for about 30 seconds I found some sugar and put it inside of the tea, before approaching Mr. Debois and putting down the 2 small cups.

"Anyways, may I know your intentions for coming here?" I asked, sipping my tea which was a lot more sour than the usual Seraphis blends that would be imported from the Indun Empire. Ever since I had slightly gotten over my distaste for tea I began to try different blends in an attempt to find one that suited me.

The man fell silent for a few moments before taking out a piece of wrinkled paper and sliding it to me. When I picked it up it was a cut out portion of a news article published last Sunday. The article's title was in bold black lettering: "SALE FOR STRANGE IMPORTED MATERIALS". When I looked back at Mr. Debios, he chuckled.

"You did say this was a material exchange committee, right?" He asked, his hands neatly folded. I nodded, putting the paper down and sliding it back towards him. "I assume you want something from there? If so, what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow out of sheer curiosity. 

Mr. Debios suddenly grabbed his cane and flipped it upside down, before screwing off the end piece and allowing another piece of paper to fall out; this one much smaller and more wrinkled up.

"There are raw and exotic materials that I currently need. As a historian I work at the museum, and it came to my attention that someone robbed one of the exhibits, stealing an artifact from the previous epoch, a talisman." 

"A talisman? Is the thing you're looking for a device or tool you could use to track down the thief?" Mr. Debois nodded, holding the paper in his hands and unfolding it. The photo was black and white, and a little blurry. From what I could see it was a deck of cards, the cards were all laid out in a row, flipped over to reveal symbols on the back. 

"Cards?" I asked, leaning in closer and pushing my glasses up to get a closer look at the blurry image taken. "Did you take this photo?" Mr. Debios shook his head. "This photo is over 2 weeks old. I originally hired another person with similar services to you to track down the cards, but they mysteriously vanished." His voice gradually became more serious as he spoke. 

"Similar services?" I asked. Even though I wasn't one to believe in coincidences, the tiny probability that the person who had the same "service" as me was also looking for the Zourist Family, but their intentions could be different. 

"Yes. His name was Ian Vinigrad. His service was also a material exchange committee. Except he didn't seem to have an exact location of meeting. Instead he'd always jump around and do whatever he pleased; hoping that I'd follow in his footsteps." Mr. Debois explained.

"And you said he mysteriously vanished?" I asked as I sipped my sour black tea. Mr. Debois nodded with a little uncertainty.

"I surmise you asked him to retrieve the cards as well?" Mr. Debois nodded again, putting his drink down before speaking again.

"Maybe his vanishing isn't a coincidence but rather the cards are involved to a certain extent. Do you know what exactly these cards do, and their origins?" 

"37 cards were made. Each card had the Order 9 characteristics of every Routeway. The user could be able to replicate different Order 9 abilities and traits of a Routeway. But only 1 card can be used at a time, or else they would lose control due to the overload of abilities." He explained, stretching his back.

"Why exactly do you want the cards? Are they any factors that come into play? Is your status as a historian in peril?" I asked as I pushed my teacup away from me; feeling full.

"My wife is ill, and I hope using these cards could help heal her illness. Her sickness is beyond that modern medicine is capable of treating, and I surmise that divine intervention is the key."

Suddenly, Mr. Debois looked down at his watch and his eyes widened, realizing the time. He stood up abruptly and was headed towards the door; but suddenly I stopped him.

"This is a material exchange committee, not a detective's office. I need something in return, Mr. Debois." I said, folding my hands on the mahogany table.

He turned back to me and sighed softly in disappointment as he grabbed his hat off the rack and put it on his head. "Unfortunately I don't have the time, we can contact each other through letters." He said in a hurry as he slammed the door.

I was left alone inside Aaron's living room with Sara's diary sitting on the table. These strange cards that Mr. Debois' request only came in the reference of a blurry image, so I had no choice but to do a divination in regards to their origins and current location.

I entered Aaron's now empty lab, the usual smell of boiling liquids, vials and test tubes; including the one with my black blood. I approached the vial and studied it for a little while, realizing that it no longer bubbled, and instead sat still even above the lit flame. I turned the knob and extinguished the fire before taking the vial of my blood out of his hollister and approaching the tale I did previously with my last divination 3 weeks ago.

Different types of divinations required different substances, so I had to use only my own blood rather than the 2 drops of Ink-Walt squid blood. I grabbed the rest of the ingredients and grabbed the sun-charm from inside my vest. 

After setting up the ritual I closed my eyes and said in my head: "This divination will tell me the whereabouts of the cards, the intentions of the user, and all possible outliers." 3 times in my head. I then grabbed the card that Mr. Debois gave me and lit it on fire by turning the hollister back on.

Suddenly, my vision grew hazy and my surroundings went black. Within this dream-like state I saw images flashing around me. One was the mad king Izuku, one was the cards laid out like in the photo, another was Raymond, I also saw Khorvath's illusory image and The Umbridge pointing its finger at me from a place beyond my knowledge. 

"3rd Burrow street, 3rd Burrow street." Illusory voices sounded in my mind as I reopened my eyes. After a little contemplation and cleaning up I headed out the door with the address in mind, hoping to secure any more clues.