The intense and sudden pain that surged in Adam's body caused him to stumble back a few steps, his face laced with pain and confusion.
A sinister, terrifying and depraved language and an indescribable roar sounded in his ears. It filled his senses with extreme pain. He couldn't help but convulse as his vision rapidly blurred. All colors seemed to saturate and slowly blend like an impressionist painting.
As he opened his eyes to orient himself from the pain he was suffering, he looked. Adam saw a veil separating reality from something beyond it, with emotionless eyes staring through from behind the veil.
At that moment, his vision became a blur and although his mind felt light, it felt adrift in a boundless sea.
Slowly, his surroundings turned discernible. All the colors returned to normal as thin specks of light emerged slowly.
Around him were forms he found difficult to describe. There were transparent objects that didn't seem to exist. Deep down, there were lustrous brilliances of different colors which seemed to possess life or contain immense knowledge.
This is similar to what I saw during that ritual I performed with that honorific name...
As Adam instinctively looked down, he realized that he was still lying in his original spot, his body convulsing.
Suddenly, he came to a realization, causing his consciousness to sink abruptly and fuse with him.
Boom.
The faint light that was accompanied by shadows quickly dissipated as the colors returned to normal. The nonexistent objects instantly vanished.
The scene in the cave returned to normal, with Adam recognizing the gas lamps' light that were held by Osta and Adrian respectively. But Adam felt like his head was about to burst from the immense pain. Whatever he saw had countless images. His ears were overwhelmed by an ethereal murmur.
Knowledge surged forth from somewhere in his body, filling his mind and giving him an indescribable impact.
Adrian, who saw Adam lay down on the floor and convulsing, only had one thought on his mind.
Is he losing control?
Adrian didn't know how or why this happened so suddenly, but he didn't have any time to ponder.
In the next moment, Adrian rushed towards Adam, who was just on the floor convulsing in pain. Osta was just in a state of shock and didn't move from where he was.
He looked at Adam but didn't see any obvious sign of losing control. Instead, he noticed that Adam's spirituality had suddenly erupted uncontrollably.
No, he is not losing control. His spirituality is in chaos.
It didn't take Adrian long to realize. ''Of course, he doesn't remember anything, including how to perform cogitation''.
"Is your vision abnormal? Are you also hearing things you usually don't?" said Adrian, to be certain of his guess.
"Yes, Adrian, what should I do?" Adam pushed through the murmurs and asked.
"This is the resulting seepage of a potion's energy. You probably forgot the means to control it. Do as I say. Think of an object in your mind, something common and easy."
Adam quickly focused and envisaged his exceedingly overlarge shirt woven from silk. He recalled the feeling when he touched it and its exact size.
"Place all focus on it. Keep repeating it while creating the outlines. Does it feel a little better?" Adrian's voice penetrated into his mind like a gentle song.
As he imagined this, he felt the murmurs subside into a whisper before they vanished. The afterimages he saw no longer appeared a blur.
"It's better, thanks," said Adam, after calming his mind of chaotic emotion and exhaling.
He moved his limbs to stand up, but he was still stumbling. Osta rushed to his side and sat on a rock.
"What was that?" Adam asked, his head still a bit unfocused and dizzy.
Osta pressed the gas lamp closer to Adam's eyes. They had turned dark without any light.
Osta turned to Adrian and said, "His eyes have turned black."
"My eyes have turned black?" Adam asked
"This is a physical manifestation of a potion's powers. When you learn cogitation and how to converge your power, your eyes will return to normal."
"Can I learn it now? "Adam asked with urgency in his voice as he turned to Adrian.
"Yes. It's relatively simple, even for a Beyonder. Just now, producing an object in your mind to divert your attention and turning the energy seepage inward. Then you imagine something that doesn't exist in this world. This will take more focus, as there are no reference points," Osta explained.
"Well, there you go. Try doing it again." Adrian said.
Adam closed his eyes again and depicted the linen shirt in his mind. His concentration had improved. Random thoughts that surfaced would quickly vanish, leaving the shirt's outline.
He slowly let his mind turn blank and exchanged the object in his image for something that didn't exist in this world.
Adam then let his imagination run wild. He outlined strange and bizarre objects and shapes in his mind that gradually drew closer to each other, twisting and contorting in a very mesmerizing manner.
The objects and shapes stacked in some places and fused in some others as they gradually fused to form an amalgamation of shapes with different textures and materials. Adam's thoughts felt ethereal and everlasting.
His body and mind calmed. The objects that did not seem to exist, the specks of bright clusters of light, and the accompanying shadows appeared once more. They floated in the sky in close range.
He extended his spirituality bit by bit as he looked down at them quietly. He sensed it and took it in.
"Very good. Now you can open your eyes."
Adam slowly opened his eyes and asked,
"Are they still black?"
Osta held the gas lamp again and placed it near his eyes.
"They have returned to normal."
Adam sighed in relief as the peculiar alteration to his body had been dealt with
after getting Adam settled ,Adrian then asked a question.
"Adam, when you were in that state, what exactly did you see and hear?"
Adam recalled for a moment and said,
"I learned about some sacrificial knowledge and ritual magic. And I also, before, when I arrived in the catacombs, sensed hidden creatures lurking in the dark depths. And during the ordeal, I could also feel the real world wrapped in a thick veil. Beyond that veil, emotionless eyes watched."
Adam was talking about the strange things he felt the moment he entered the catacombs it was beyond his understanding and felt that Adrian might know what it meant.
The moment Osta heard Adam say those words, he stumbled back from fear and shock.
Adam was bewildered by Osta's actions before he heard Adrian simply say,
"Congratulations. You are a Secret Supplicant."
The words fell into the cave like a stone dropped into still water.
Adam's stiffened when he heard those words as he stared at Adrian intensely as if weighing his sincerity but after looking at his face and discovering no cracks in his expressions that suggested deceit or joke Adam knew what Adrian said was true.
"A... Secret Supplicant?"
Osta's expression had already changed moving from fear to a hint of confusion and unease.
Adam had not taken any potion here within the catacombs, how could he just suddenly be a secret suppliant and in such a place where creatures that should not be seen lurked within the shadows.
He looked at Adam as if he had suddenly become something far more dangerous than the young man who had been stumbling through the catacombs moments ago.
After Adrian had explained his theory that Adam had exhibited characteristics from three neighboring pathways specifically the Spectator, Bard and Reader, Adam felt that a part of the secret surrounding him had been solved and that all he had to focus on was finding a way to get a job and meet with individuals from the church of Steam and Machinery to figure out his ties with them and his family.
Now he is hearing that he might also be a beyonder from another neighboring, hearing this made him feel afraid and the thought that he was some kind of experiment gradually began to surface in his mind.
Adrian, however, remained calm as he started rationalizing for a likely reason for this unique set of circumstances that caused such a change.
the knowledge and experience you just described corresponded to the sequence 9 secret suppliant was suddenly unlocked or recalled after you met with a beyonder who is on that same sequence.
Adrian had realized Osta and reaction and had remembered osta telling him about what he sensed when he had become a beyonder. and adam had just said the exact same thing proving that he was a secret suppliant. but how can this be possible?
Adrian was just saying things the way he saw them but what he could not quite understand was the reason behind it.
this did not happen when Adam met with valentine or anyone from the pathway he was suspected of being from, this is unfamiliar territory and something unfamiliar could hold serious problems later on.
"Your reaction just now was not merely the ordinary awakening of a Beyonder's spirituality. You perceived the spiritual world, sensed hidden creatures, witnessed the veil separating the real world from something beyond it, and received knowledge concerning sacrificial rituals."
He paused.
yeah that's the knowledge I received after consuming the secret suppliant potion, but why did you experience this now, you did not drink any beyonder potion here. Osta said clearly.
Adrian turned to Osta and asked
Osta what happened the moment you shook Adam's hand?
Osta briefly recalled the sensation and answered while shivering
it felt like something that was kept restricted was let loose all of the sudden I can be sure that it was not from my body.
"Those are all consistent with the Secret Supplicant pathway."
Adam lowered his head and looked at his hands.
Secret Supplicant.
It felt familiar.
Not familiar in the sense that he had heard it before, but familiar in the way a forgotten word sometimes felt when it was suddenly spoken aloud.
As though something inside him recognized it.
He frowned.
"Then what exactly happened to me?"
Adrian exchanged a glance with Osta.
"You experienced the potion's influence without knowing how to control your spirituality. Your body and spirit were essentially trying to adapt to the Beyonder characteristics."
"Then why did I see those things from before?"
"Because you are already capable of perceiving portions of the spirit world."
Adrian's expression became slightly more serious.
"Even before coming here you were able to sense that something was always lurking in the shadows."
Adam raised his head as he realized his situation is beyond saving , after he calmed down his emotional state.
seeing this Adrian sighed and say. its is getting late lets go back.
With that Adrian and Adam said their goodbyes to Osta before leaving the Catacombs.
…
At Église Saint-Robert in the office of Angouleme de François, Adrian stood in front of the Angoulome de Francois
Angouleme sighed and asked in a serious tone.
what ?
"Sir, I have completed my assessment of Adam and his current condition."
"How serious is it?"
The Angouleme's expression gradually hardened as he waited for Adrian's answer.
Adrian hesitated for a moment before he began to speak.
"Sir, I believe there are numerous factors contributing to Adam's anomaly. At present, I cannot provide a definitive diagnosis."
"Then give me what you have."
"The first possibility is that Adam was born with characteristics belonging to two neighboring pathways."
The Deacon's eyes narrowed.
"The Spectator and the Bard pathways correct?"
"Yes. His manifestations are too consistent to dismiss as coincidence. I believe the connection may have existed from birth." his parents might've been Beyonders from the spectator and bard pathways and when they had him, he inherited both of their characteristics.
wait why would Beyonders from that pathway have any connection to the church of steam and machinery?
that's right the church of steam only had three pathways in their position they couldn't have gained access to spectator or bard pathway potion formulas and even if they did its highly unlikely they would've allowed the kairon family not advance through the savant Pathway or hermit pathway that they have full control over.
Adrian paused before continuing.
"However, I believe that at some point he also consumed a potion belonging to the Secret Supplicant pathway. I cannot determine when, nor can I determine how he obtained it."
"And the Reader?"
"That is where the matter becomes troublesome."
Adrian's fingers tightened slightly around his notes.
"Adam has displayed certain thought patterns and behavioral tendencies that resemble the Reader pathway. His manner of processing information, his observations, and some of his reactions are difficult to explain otherwise."
"Does he possess Reader characteristics?" Angoulome was heading straight to the point to confirm whether Adam possess beyonder characteristic from other pathways that he had attained through potions.
I have no way of confirming that sir and we have no evidence that suggests it up until now Adam had only shown behavioral tendencies of the reader but now he possesses knowledge that is from the secret suppliant." with this in mind its safe to assumes that Adam is more likely to be a secret suppliant than a reader.
"No evidence?"
"No mystical evidence."
The Deacon remained silent.
Adrian continued.
"We cannot detect any corresponding Beyonder characteristic within him. Therefore, it is equally possible that what we are observing is not a Reader pathway influence at all, but a consequence of corruption."
"Corruption capable of imitating another pathway?"
"We have never encountered anything quite like it."
A brief silence settled over the room.
"There is another matter," Adrian said. "Adam has displayed certain characteristics that could be associated with the Sailor pathway. However, unlike the Spectator and Secret Supplicant pathways, the evidence is insufficient. I have not observed enough genuine manifestations to conclude that he possesses any Sailor characteristics."
"So your assessment is that he is a Beyonder of five pathways?"
"No, sir."
Adrian answered immediately.
"That is precisely what I do not believe."
The Deacon's expression became more serious.
"If Adam genuinely possessed Beyonder characteristics from five pathways, his condition should be considerably easier to explain. We could simply assume an extraordinary mixed-pathway circumstance."
"But?"
"But his body does not behave as though it contains five complete sets of characteristics."
Adrian lowered his gaze to the report.
"We believe Adam has accumulated some form of corruption that allows him to exhibit abilities, thought patterns, and behavioral tendencies associated with pathways other than those he genuinely possesses. We do not yet know what mechanism could produce such an effect."
"Could it be an abomination?"
"It remains a possibility." but that's the only thing that makes sense I mean there must be a reason why the 5 pathways are neighboring in the first place.
Adrian's voice became quieter.
"But I consider it premature to reach that conclusion."
The Deacon leaned back.
"Then what do you propose?" if it is true that he gained spectator and bard characteristics from his parents and consumed the secret suppliant potion that's still within reason, regarding the method it was that sealed the beyonder characteristics can be possible through proper mysticism knowledge. the only problem is if its as a result of corruption he obtained the reader and sailor behavioral tendencies as the church of the eternal blazing sun is not on good terms with the church of storm and the church of knowledge and wisdom. furthermore we have to finish our investigation before the church of steam and machinery arrive to look for him.
he is trying to find a way to confirm such claims so as to properly understand Adam, although all this might just be theory it could threaten the foundation in which the beyonder world rests on. but what possible way could they have of confirming such claims?
"Testing."
Adrian finally looked up.
"We believe the safest method is also the most dangerous one."
The Deacon frowned.
"Explain."
"Allow Adam to consume a Sequence 9 potion from a pathway of our choosing."
Silence.
"We would monitor him continuously. His spiritual state. His mental condition. His body. Any changes in his spirituality. Any abnormal reaction to the potion."
"And if he successfully advances?"
"Then we will have established something important."
"What?"
"That his current condition is not preventing normal Beyonder progression."
Adrian paused.
"If he advances without losing control, then the abnormalities we have observed are more likely to be caused by corruption, external influence, or some other secondary phenomenon rather than an incompatible collection of Beyonder characteristics."
"And if he loses control?"
"We stop the experiment."
The Deacon gave him a long look.
Adrian's expression remained solemn.
"There is one final observation, sir."
"What is it?"
"Of all the pathways Adam has displayed signs of…"
He hesitated.
"The Spectator and Secret Supplicant pathways appear to have the strongest influence over him."
"The strongest?"
"Yes."
Adrian's voice dropped.
"Not merely over his spirituality. Over his mind and body."
The Deacon's expression changed.
Adrian continued.
"Whatever happened to Adam today appears to have intensified both influences considerably. His mental state and physical reactions were far beyond what I would consider normal pathway manifestations."
He closed the report.
"And that is why I believe Adam's condition is more troublesome than we initially assumed."
The Deacon stared at him for several seconds.
"Then we have a question we cannot yet answer."
Adrian nodded.
"What is Adam doing now?"
i gave him a book so he can learn some ritualistic magic. Tomorrow I will tell him the necessary mystism knowledge that he should know.
Angoulome nodded.
That would help mitigate the risk of an anomaly, we also have to fully understand his situation before a representative of the church of steam arrives.