Click, clang, Click
The grating metal door swung open again revealing a fiery red visage.
"Hello, blasphemer. I'm Cyprus, member of the inquisition. I have a few questions to ask you." the young man asked
"I see, then ask away." I said with a smile
He smiled in return, "We already confirmed that you don't know where the book is exactly, but we do fear that the heretical book might be found by another and corrupt them, the inquisition is asking you if you have any clues." His eyes shined with a familiar sheen.
So I guess I just can't say that I don't have any clues at all, that would be a lie. This question is phrased better than my father's but it's still not phrased well at all.
"I do, in fact have clues and guesses to where to book may actually be." I said
His crimson eyes lit up, "Really! What is it." He asked
"I know it can't be that far, I don't have the status for sending it past a 20 mile distance and it most likely won't appear underground, it should be limited to being above the surface.
With that information, chances are that somebody already has it." I said
"I see, I'll report what you said, have a good day, prisoner." He finalized
"Oh, another thing!" I said while raising my hand like I was at class.
"What is it?" Cyprus asked, clearly intrigued
"This." I said, flinging a coin through the black-iron bars inscribed with smaller stars of different colors circling a larger multi-colored star at the center.
"This is the sorcerous symbol of Astris, I made it earlier." I explained
"It allows the wielder to use the Astris aether inscribed in the symbol to cast Astris sorceries, albeit at a weaker and stiffer level. Due to this fact, I advise you to never use them a fight between sorcerers, especially against Astris sorcerers. Although it does help if you ever want to use the uniqueness of Astris." I explained further.
"Uniqueness of Astris?" He asked, perplexed.
"Uniquenesses are the special abilities and advantages certain branches of sorcery have over each other. Astris' uniqueness is related to locating, I was thinking it could help you find that book.
"Thank you, I'll also go report this. It not laced with black magic or something, right?" He asked with that same shine.
"Of course not" I responded. "There is no such thing." I said truthfully
"Okay, bye then." He said closing the door with three familiar sounds.
Not laced with black magic indeed, there is no such thing as black magic. Sorcery by its very nature, is a neutral art.
As for why they didn't didn't search me for the coin beforehand, they did. They just couldn't find it. It's for the same reason I'm not scared of them seeing my sorceries. It all links back to uniqueness, here's the thing about Astris sorceries: they can't be seen, heard, felt, or detected in any way unless someone is in the appropriate 'position'.
This also means that an Astris sorcery also cannot affect anyone in an inappropriate position for it. Sadly you can't perform undetectable surprise attacks with Astris.
I looked up, blackness. I could almost imagine it. The Sun.
Luna's Town, Inquisitor's office
In a fancy moonlit office, Cecilius Calypses, a man with a matching blue hair and eyes with a silver and black coat and gloves was looking at a strange coin.
"It's too dangerous for now, I don't believe my son would intend to really harm you Cyprus, and I believe in the power of the Mirror's Gaze, I don't believe that even a heretical spellcaster like Mathias would be able to completely lie in front of it.
But with what the rumors and circumstances suggest about my son, you should have never even taken the risk of picking it up.
Inquisitor Cyprus, check in with the priests to purge any influences that touching that coin may have given you. As for the coin sigil itself, I don't know what to make of it. I've never seen anything like it before.
I can't confirm that the coin does all that my son said it did and what really makes me uneasy is that he didn't even elaborate too much on it.
Cyprus, you really should have pressed him further. Unless it is without a reasonable doubt that the 'Astris Symbol Coin' poses no genuine threat to the wielder, the item itself will stay under lock and key.
As for the heretic, Mathias Calypses himself, I will pay him a visit personally about that coin and lead a class for anyone who interacts with him to not just take anything he gives you. After all, Inquisitor Cyprus, we still don't know how he even got the coin past inspection to begin with.
You are dismissed." The head Inquisitor said
Inquisitor Cyprus then left the Head Inquisitor's office promptly, traversing through the underground black-bricked tunnels the local Inquisition was located in, eventually climbing the stairs leading to the church.
It was new moon, so there was no sermon today, allowing Inquisitor Cyprus to have a 1 on 1 cleansing with the priest.
The church of Luna was a surprisingly big building, technically the biggest building in Luna's Town due to religious reasons.
Although there are buildings just centimeters smaller in size.
The church opens up to the main prayer room with a moondial instead of an altar. The blue-stained glass windows positioned perfectly to reflect moonlight on every seat and the moondial.
After a few moments of prayer and admiration, the Inquisitor was welcomed by a white-haired female priestly attendant to head to the top of the church where Lunar Priest Marlo was waiting for him.
It seemed like the Head Inquisitor sent a notice beforehand. Probably even before he told him to go to the church to begin with. Such foresight would be in line with Cecilius' style.
He then started to climb to steps all the way to the belltower until he could fully see the moonlight coming from the top of the spiral staircase.
When he reached the top, it was a remarkably perilous place, there were no guardrails and the fall would be lethal.
Of course with a giant church bell taking up most of space as well, didn't help the situation.
The slightly overweight lunar priest smiled and spoke to the inquisitor, "Your boss said you needed a basic cleanse?" He asked
"Yes, Head Inquisitor Cecilius said that I came into contact with something that was possibly unholy." Cyprus said
"Very well, very well. Let me take a take a look and cleanse any possible depravity." Said the black-haired lunar priest.
"Oh, luna,
You are the mirror of the night sky"
The overcast clouds circling around the moon became reflective and in those reflections the hopes and dreams of the believers could be glimpsed.
He continued, "Please allow me to cleanse the foreign influences from your believer,
Oh hallowed moon."
The surroundings immediately became monotone, like a silver gradient was projected on all sorts of things.
Upon the lunar priest's pointer finger shined a white point of light projected an illusory image of the moon, its craters warping and shifting.
When the lunar construct stabilized, the priest lifted his pointer finger and touched the Inquisitor's forehead with it.
In that instant the scene the lunar priest saw changed, he was standing in a black void surrounded by faint glimmers of stars from a place far away yet ever present, as time passed the stars got brighter and brighter as they got closer and closer.
Like Marlo could touch them but they were just out of reach. Only if he came a little closer, only is his arm stretched a little farther. Only if he-
Ding, ding, ding
A familiar chime resounded throughout the infinite space, in this mysterious and wonderful sea of stars, the was a bell chime which reminded him of home.
Turning his head his eyes laid on a scene with close and far images stacked upon of each other, a short wooden table covered in a red table mat with a rusty dinner bell situated on top of it.
"From home we dream of the stars and from the stars we dream of home. We all want what we do not have. It does not matter what it is." A deep yet light voice echoed.
"So right now what do you want, the stars or the home?" The voice asked
Marlo looked conflicted his face scrunching up with indecision, he looked at the stars with wonder and then looked back at the bell with a reminiscent expression, walked over and rang it three times.
He then put the bell down and looked up to see a blue haired blue sitting on the floor.
The boy looked at the priest with a forlorn expression, "It seems you are also, chained by god."
With that phrase the priest fell, falling forever downwards at an impossible speed, the stars blitzing past him. The colors blending into one as an incompressible speed eclipsed him.
Feelings never that were never felt approached him, along with thoughts he never thought of with sights he would never see, always in the peripheral, always staying out of focus.
They formed stars and constellations and then faded away, one after another.
He then saw feelings he always experienced, thoughts he thought of routinely, and sights he always saw blend into a single indescribable instantaneous moment, like his entire existence was displayed within a single frame.
BAM!
The lunar priest laid with his head broken and bruised on the black bricked road, forever staring at the moon.