Xane stared at the paper with wide eyes. It was full of strange symbols he couldn't recognize. He asked Zayn,
Zayn clicked. [Nah, just a bunch of symbols.]
[No, that's not the case. I read the family name written below the big family crest in the Awakening Hall.]
[Just check the suit. It must have the family symbol.]
Xane paused and looked at the neatly folded suit. Sure enough, he saw a small silver spear surrounded by a red aura—the Zenaris family symbol.
Below it, a word was embroidered in gold. Even though it looked foreign to him, he was somehow able to read that it was the family name.
Fascinating. He compared the letters on his suit with those on the paper, and sure enough, there was a huge difference between them.
Then he paused, noticing something even more absurd.
At this, Zayn said, [The word on the suit must be in the common Zerathian language. It's much curlier compared to the words on the paper.]
Xane nodded.
Zayn mentally froze, then scanned the letter up and down. With the spacing between the symbols, sure enough, there were ten sentences on the paper.
He noticed that the symbols at the top were straighter, gradually becoming curlier—almost like a hybrid. But the last three didn't look like a language at all.
[Yeah, it looks like Viyron used different codes to write each sentence. In the worst case, all ten sentences might be in different languages.]
Xane nodded.
[True, but decoding this thing will take a hell of a lot of time.]
Xane couldn't deny that. From what he saw in the vision, he knew Viyron must have planned that whole ritual and had been aware of its dangers. This letter could reveal the truth about why they were here.
He started folding the letter back and asked Zayn,
Zayn thought for a bit and said, [It's hard to say. These symbols could be anything. But considering Viyron's trial preparations, these symbols may relate to the cursed land of chaos.]
Xane couldn't deny that reasoning.
Zayn thought for a moment and added, [Well, I believe we'll get some clues from the Hex Art of Rituals.]
That went over Xane's head, but at least one of them had some clue about it. He was about to ask more about these hex arts when he heard a loud voice.
"Change. Quickly."
The maid's cold, bored voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked around and saw that both maids had already finished their work and were now staring at him.
He sighed, wasted no time, and tucked the letter into his pocket. It was best to keep it with him. He grabbed the blue suit and pulled it over his body.
The moment he wore it, he realized the suit was two sizes too big for him. He checked himself in the mirror and saw both oversized shoulders sagging. It made this clown outfit even worse.
The only decent thing about the suit was the golden embroidery on the collar and cuffs, but the oversized fit completely ruined it.
Zayn commented, [Looks like we're getting someone else's spare suit.]
Xane rolled his eyes.
They didn't have much time to complain, as the senior maid said, "Come with me."
She picked up his briefcase while the second maid handed him a pair of old, worn-down shoes.
He slipped them on and followed the maids through the labyrinthine corridors of the Zenaris estate.
The twisting hallways were eerily silent, lit only by the blue gems embedded in the ceiling, casting a dim blue glow. From time to time, he saw a maid or two cleaning, but beyond that, the place was deserted.
By the time they reached the tenth corridor, Xane couldn't help but ask Zayn,
Zayn thought for a moment and said, [Well, the Zenaris family is one of the biggest noble households, with around 10–12 inner families, plus a battalion of army members and their families. All of them live under the same roof.]
[Oh, don't worry, it's not like all of them live here all the time. Think of the grand Zenaris estate as a gathering place, where everyone comes together for the Awakening Ceremony.]
At that, Xane recalled the hundreds of people present during the ceremony.
[Yup. You can think of Awakening Day as a festival where all the families gather.]
Xane smirked.
He hadn't forgotten how the warriors had surrounded them. Judging by how calm everyone was, this was clearly not their first time doing this.
There must have been others like him—some unlucky ones might not have even survived.
He didn't know the exact reason behind it, but now that he understood more about this world, things were starting to make sense.
It probably stemmed from the cursed land.
There may be a chance that some entity could take over those who entered the trial and use them to cross into this world.
In a way, he and Zayn had done the same, taking over the dead Viyron's body.
Well, in a sense, Viyron being an outcast was working in their favor.
No one seemed to be particularly close to him.
Xane stopped overthinking as he saw the corridors ahead widening into a massive central hall with multiple connecting corridors.
At the opposite end of the hall, he saw a massive metal door.
At its center, embedded in the steel, was a large Zenaris family crest, which he had seen a few times now.
A few red-haired kids like him were walking toward the silver gate.
As he approached the gate, he spotted two guards standing on either side. On the far left, there was a small door where others in blue coats were passing through while their maids carried their luggage to another corridor next to the silver gate.
The older maid slowed down before the gate and said, "Young master, you have to go in by yourself." With that, she took off to the side corridor, leaving him before the silver gate.
Zayn said, [Well, we're getting closer to the story.]
Xane took a deep breath and walked toward the small door. It was time to see what this world had to offer.