The Seeker | Volume 2

It was confusing why I saw different images flash by my eyes even if they weren't directly related to the cards that Mr. Debois needed. But as someone who is an Order 8 seeker ready to completely digest the potion, it wasn't a very smart move to not contemplate numerous scenarios and dig up clues wherever one could. 

3rd Burrow street was on the outskirts of the kingdom among the hoodlums and people whose stomachs looked like they could cave in at any moment. They all had sunken eyes that emitted fear, and they all seemed to cower away as they noticed me coming their way. The air smelled like something I've never smelled before, and it was something I couldn't bother to discern. 

"And the council said they loved everyone here." I sighed as I knocked on the address. A few moments later I saw a black cat leap from the closed window, looking at me with curiosity. I looked back at it for a few seconds before my attention was drawn to the door opening.

A gruff man with medium length black hair and a stubble opened it, his black eyes showing confusion and a little anger, which was probably due to my more in-style clothing. I cleared my throat before speaking. "Hello sir, I've come here to discuss things with you." 

…

Within the confines of the market, Ling and Palsy both looked around. They had no intention of buying food, but rather of scouring the crowds in hopes of finding a viable candidate to ask about Isaiah's whereabouts. 

Ling leaned against a street lamp while curling his hair, while Palsy shuffled through an open newspaper, carefully eyeing the crowd. Suddenly, a police officer with short, wavy blonde hair and a monocle walked through the crowd, he approached a booth and pulled out 2 silver Lumin in hopes of purchasing 2 loaves of bread at an affordable price. 

Ling walked over and tapped the man on the shoulder, causing him to turn around in puzzlement. "The market doesn't close for about 5 more hours. So we're hoping you could come with us." He said. 

The officer adjusted his monocle and spoke in confusion. "Who are you? I've never seen you around." Ling didn't say anything else as he gestured towards Palsy; who beckoned the officer towards him. 

The blonde haired man with the monocle sighed softly before approaching the man, his eyes locked on the figure. "I surmise you have some things to ask me?" he asked. Palsy nodded as he gestured down the street, dropping his newspaper.

"We're hoping to be allowed into the station. My friend here is a detective from the Katshin Empire, I'm an officer. We hope that you will allow us to investigate a particular incident that has got our attention." Palsy suddenly pulled out the blurry photo of the flesh blob. When the officer saw this his eyes widened.

"I saw that before, inside Isaiah Wall's jail cell. How'd you get this photo?" the officer asked. "I possess my own sources. Newspapers from here are often exported into the other kingdoms. Although it's quite strange I haven't heard much circulation in regards to the anomaly." 

"Well, such things are often put on the backs of the newspapers where not many people would read, because the words are too complicated for them to decipher. You do know this place has moderate literacy rates compared to the other kingdoms, right?" 

As the officer allowed them inside the station, he led them underground where all of the most dangerous criminals were kept. At the end of the hallway, there was a large and thick iron door with a large lock. The officer took out a key and opened the door, revealing the situation inside.

There was the flesh blob on the ground, still pulsating slightly and its limbs extending and contracting in a manner that resembles a human's breath. Ling and Palsy both approached the creature, and realized that there were holes inside its body, leaking cold and stale blood.

"You killed it?" Ling asked in a somewhat angry manner as he turned back to look at the officer, who adjusted the monocle on his right eye. "It was protocol. We would have sent it to a research society like The Ember Retribution, but even touching such a horrid thing with one's bare hands would be deemed dangerous; for it is beyond our comprehension at the time." he explained. Palsy observed the creature's sulking, pulsating body with a tiny bit of foreboding, seeing that all of its eyes were closed and its body continued to expand and contract slowly as if still breathing.

"Do you know why it's still moving?" He asked, looking back at the officer. He shrugged. "It's beyond my current knowledge, but many people have come to observe and surmise about the creature and its origins, but who knows; it could possibly be Isaiah."

"Didn't Isaiah Walls escape?" Palsy asked as he looked at the open jail cell, noticing a symbol engraved into the wall. It was the depravity sigil, the same sigil that Mr. Hampshire had on his forehead before he exploded. He carefully approached the sigil before hesitantly placing his finger onto it.

All of the sudden, his vision changed and warped, revealing illusory images. When his vision was able to resurface, he saw the earth. But this wasn't the earth he knew,it was surrounded by a transparent, blue barrier that emitted light and sounds that echoed throughout the cosmos.

All of a sudden, pairs of illusory eyes appeared in the cosmos, all gazing towards earth and the barrier that surrounded it. The earth soon began to glow a bright green color, and it exploded in a fiery dance of emerald flames.

Within the destruction seemed to be a figure with a large green cloak and green hair that matched it. His face was freckled and his eyes were also green, containing no emotions beside anger, pain and fear. 

"The mad king spells destruction, the mad king spells destruction." illusory, layered voices resounded in his ears, tearing though his mind. Suddenly, his attention was dragged back to the eyes staring at the world, a particular pair of eyes that were dyed with a bloody glow.

…

"Following complications I surmise you are unaware that I was told to come here." I said as I looked at the man who looked back at me with confusion and some annoyance. He replied in a gruff voice. "Who are you, boy?" 

"My name is Isaac, and I have some questions for you. Did you ever know a man named Alexander Debois?" I asked. The man rolled his eyes widened a little as he nodded slowly and crossed his arms. "I did." 

"Were you looking for a deck of cards?" 

"Cards of the divine?" He asked. I nodded, now knowing the name of the cards that Mr. Debois was looking for. "Is your name Ian Vinigrad by any chance?" 

He shook his head. "No, but I knew him. I was his business partner. He started a small material exchange committee in hopes of acquiring the cards. But unfortunately he was murdered by someone, or something." 

"Do you know why he was searching for the cards?" Even after I knew that Ian was murdered rather than a disappearance, I still couldn't help but feel gravitated towards the card's intention, which strangely wasn't leaked in my divination. 

"He never clarified it with me strangely. I was always hesitant whenever he held a meeting, but I couldn't help but always attempt to discern it with clues and social cues. But he must have caught on, for he never revealed any information besides the fact that he wanted them to begin with." 

"So that means he might have had evil intentions? Would you mind if I do a divination within your house as a way to possibly leak any information?" I asked. The man didn't respond for a while, looking back towards his cat with a bit of worry and a sense of foreboding.

"You'll have to pay me, I can't afford to keep Mushi much longer so I'll need to purchase cat food from the market." He clarified, his voice holding an odd change into sadness. "I'll deliver the Lumin after my affair." I said as I entered the house and stood inside the living room. I was a little uncertain as I looked around the dark space, taking notice of the amount of candles within the space. Was Ian Vinigrad also one for divinations? Was he doing them to prevent this man from getting a hold of anything about his intentions by prying into the future?

"By the way, what's your name?" I asked as I carefully grabbed a few candles from the top shelf above his fireplace. "My names Dexter." he replied with a small smile. It was strange that Dexter had let me into his house without much defiance, but perhaps he just wanted to feed his cat. I noticed how skinny it was and it made my heart ache for the creature. 

I lit the candles without saying a word and put the parchment paper onto the ground along with the spare ingredients I had packed into my satchel. I poured my black blood into the parchment along with the raven's feather and other components. Suddenly the formula glowed a dim mix of purple and red, and I brought it to my lips.

When I drank the formula my surroundings changed, everyone went to black like it always did and the images and clues didn't appear, but rather I ended up inside the afterlife with the pillars and dark colored fog. Suddenly a malevolent and evil voice echoed in my ears.

"I won't help you, Apocalypse. I won't hurt you either. Just give in and allow my control, it's the only way for everyone's survival." It didn't take an idiot to realize that this was the half-mad Almighty one talking to me. 

The horns on my head started to glow a bright red and a pair of illusory wings completely composed of shadow emerged from my back, similar to what happened when The Umbridge extended my divine protection. Was that an instinctual gesture made by my body as a form of protection? Was my divine protection trying to break through into the after-life?

I looked around frantically and realized that The Umbridge was nowhere to be seen, only the crimson moon that usually appeared when they used their powers; an after-effect of harbinging the moon properties he absorbed from the dead Nightshades.

The moon's light slowly became more radiant until it engulfed the entire after-life, threatening to tear into my mind and destroy my soul projection. My body suddenly was engulfed in crimson flames and I let out a loud groan of pain as I attempted to control myself and prevent myself from losing control. 

I instinctually wrapped my body with my illusory shadowy wings in an attempt to protect myself from the crimson flames, but it did little to nothing. The moon began to grow brighter and bigger until it was the size of the regular moon. I soon found myself standing on the very moon in space, except I didn't need a helmet to breathe.

I saw another figure on the moon, it was Palsy; who was staring at the earth with a grim expression. I approached him slowly, hoping that it was him and not anyone's malicious projection. When I tapped him on the shoulder his form disappeared into a fit of crimson flames similar to the ones that just engulfed my body. 

The earth exploded and numerous pairs of eyes emerged from the cosmos, all looking at me rather than the chaos. A figure soon materialized out of crimson energy, a tall figure clad in fiery black and red armor carrying a spear twice their height. The illusory seal on their chest began to glow, the light soon spread throughout their entire body, giving it true shape and features, its consciousness no longer being controlled by its user. 

I felt an instinctive urge to reach out towards the figure, but I backed away in fear. My breathing began to grow heavier as they landed on the rocky surface of the moon, looking directly at me with its worm-hole like eyes.