Sister Elvyn's original technique did not include any alchemical influence but Siderius himself had advised her to incorporate Alchemy Signs in order to elevate this technique.
By using the Signs, the beast influence could be revealed more vividly and thus, made the process much easier to do.
The signs for Nine Rings had ten different variations.
The first variation was called the Northern Eye, it was used to manipulate one's chemicals in the brain to reveal their most intimate aspect of their mind.
Originally this sign belonged to the Alchemists and was used to manifest their soul. However, as Siderius had experimented, it was also effective to manifest the psyche of the witch hunter's mutation. So naturally, he added it to the Nine Rings.
The Northern Eye contained five signs.
The first sign involved the left hand. The thumb, index and middle fingers stood straight. The ring and little finger bent. Then the hunter moved his left hand to cover his left eye with the index and middle finger.
The second sign involved the right hand. It was similar to the first sign and the hunter had to put his index and middle finger on his right eye. The difference was the hunter needed to touch the back side of the fingers on his eye instead of the palm side like the first sign.
The third sign involved both hands. The hunter drew a rhombus in front of his forehead with the stretched index and middle fingers.
The fourth sign was to make a triangle with your two hands, palm pointing outward, index fingers and thumbs touching their counterpart.
The fifth sign, covering your entire upper face with your palms stacked on each other. Left hand under right hand, palms pointing at your face. Then, slowly drifting them apart.
As Siderius slowly drifted his palms apart, inside his mind, a white owl appeared.
It was Fluff, the owl of which he had killed and gouged out its eyes.
Fluff was floating inside Siderius' dark mind space. Its eyes were soulless. Its body was in perfect condition, not in the state of which it had been killed.
The Northern Eye opened his mind and revealed the owl. Next, he needed to restrain it with the first ring.
The first ring was called the Ring of Sense. It was also the name of the Alchemy Sign sequence.
The Ring of Sense restricted the psyche of the beast to not influence the sense of the witch hunter, preventing him from being fooled by any illusion caused by the mutation.
Ring of Sense only had three signs.
The first sign had the right hand make a circle with its index and thumb, while the left hand straightened out under the right hand.
The second sign had the two palms shaping a sphere in the air while in motion.
As Siderius was shaping his sphere, a faint blue sphere started to form around the owl. It formed slowly with each movement of his two palms.
He stopped once the owl was completely covered inside the sphere.
The third sign had the left hand clenched into a fist while the right hand wrapped around the left fist entirely.
As soon as Siderius did that, an actual ring appeared on the surface of the sphere. The faint blue sphere slowly got absorbed into the ring, making it denser and more defined.
"By touch and taste, by scent and sound.
No chaos placed, on hallowed ground."
Siderius mumbled the verse of the Ring of Sense. With it, he slumbered into a deep state of meditation. His breathing was calm and his muscles relaxed. All the strains on his mind were slowly untangling one by one.
His mind was still present and aware. Even more so than usual. He could feel the wind, and make out the sound of the surrounding area clearly.
Siderius directed his mental energy, which appeared as the blue energy sphere, into the ring. The longer he meditated, the more energy got converted into the ring.
Time passed unknowingly.
[PSYCHOSIS -2]
Siderius' first meditation was completed. He opened his eyes again and called upon the floating window of the S.Y.S.T.E.M.
[S.Y.S.T.E.M.]
[USER: Siderius 'Snow' Satterblade]
[ ATTRIBUTES ]
|Strength: 3|
|Agility: 4|
|Perception: 2|
|Stamina: 5|
|Endurance: 6|
[WITCH HUNTER RANK: OCULUS EXTIMA I]
[ALCHEMIST RANK: NONE]
[SIGILS SLOT: 1/1]
[SIGIL:
[MERCURY EXTRACT: 53/100]
[PSYCHOSIS LEVEL: 71/100]
Siderius let out a long relieved breath.
The meditation took one hour. He had to focus intensely to make sure the signs were executed correctly and that they had connected to his meditation technique.
Additionally he had to regulate everything with his breathing and muscle. It was not an easy task.
However, it did not put any more weight onto Siderius' mind. Instead, it had liberated it.
Siderius felt much better than before and his mind was clearer. The benefit of lowering your psychosis. One hour of meditation was equal to two psychosis points.
The first ring was not yet completed and would need more meditation in the future. Once the ring manifested totally and the sphere was dissolved, the first ring would be finished.
After the meditation, Siderius slid into his shelter of leaves and branches. His body was exhausted from all the work he had done.
With the campfire burning to chase away wild beasts, Siderius closed his eyes and drifted to slumber.
He dreamed. A dream of a witch.
Siderius saw himself as Fluff, hanging around in Lyara's room. Her room was luxurious with silks hanging all around. Her silhouette showed up behind the curtains, showing her alluring curves and the blossom of a body. For a young woman, her body developed nicely, better than most women he had come across.
And then Lyara walked out from behind the fabric, showing herself fully in front of Siderius.
"My love, Snow. How did you manage to sneak into my dream?" Lyara said.
Siderius looked down and saw himself no longer the owl but as Snow. The youthful body that was still wearing the guard outfit.
So this was the side effect of grafting a familiar. Its connection to its master still lingered even after its death.
"Can the all-knowing witch Lyara Starcrow figure out the answer?" Siderius said with a sarcastic tone. His hands were behind his back and he walked around Lyara like a predator judging its prey.
Siderius' voice annoyed Lyara. Heart-shaped rings appeared in her eyes and she drilled into Siderius' private thoughts. She had done this many times and took control of many men.
But this time, when she looked into Siderius, a vast space of darkness and a pair of sharp unrelenting eyes looked back at her.
The eyes snapped her out of her spell and chased her away.
Lyara shrieked and held her head.
"How powerful! You only just awakened and are already able to resist my charm." Her annoyance was completely gone. Now there was only appreciation and desire.
The more she looked at Siderius, the more she wanted him. He was beyond anything she could imagine. An angelic face with the potential of a Major Witch.
"Return to me, Snow. Return to me and I'll show you how to develop your power. A talent like you shouldn't be wasted out there.
Siderius closed his eyes, his hands were still behind him. Suddenly, a grey giant claw reached out from the darkness and scratched the floor.
The claw startled Lyara, making her step back.
"What the?"
"Do you really think I need your pitiful help, witch?"
Siderius waved his hand and the claw slashed at Lyara. Her body was destroyed in a blink of an eye and her head dropped on the floor.
"Enjoy your last few years." Siderius approached and picked her head up. "Before I come and ruin it all."
Siderius thrust his fingers through Lyara's skull, killing her in her dream.
Lyara sat up from her bed, breathing heavily and sweating from the imaginary pain. It was only a dream. It wasn't real. But it felt so real.
Lyara mumbled. "Already learning tricks… You keep surprising me, Snow. I must have you. No other witch can have you."
With Lyara casted out of his dream, Siderius was finally able to sleep soundly.