Chapter 83 - Catalyst of Spirit
A surge of energy exploded through Edwin’s body as if it had been struck by lightning. As the catalyst shot down his throat it felt like his body was splitting into different layers of bright saturated colours. The spirits clamoured around him in a frenzy as they howled and shrieked. His senses were being overloaded as every muscle in his body began spasming.
But throughout the process Edwin kept calm. The five candle flames in front of him flickered vibrantly, each colour resonating with the different parts of his spiritual body that had phased out of him. The residual spiritual energy that he had channeled into the candles anchored his spiritual bodies in place, preventing them from separating completely.
With the help of the candles, Edwin’s focus remained undisturbed as he paid no attention the cacophony of intense sensations. Just like in his meditation, he disconnected himself from the world and from his body, and allowed those things to exist without disturbing the calmness of his spirit.
As he did, he felt a warm vibration stir inside his core. It was a calm and smooth, and as it expanded the crazy sensations he was feeling dampened and grew quiet. The vibration grew to a hum, eventually rising into a long, pure chime. This illusory ringing sound spread through his body and limbs and at that moment he felt an intense feeling of serenity and joy.
The multicoloured phases of his body calmed down and melded together. The spirits around him grew less agitated. A gentle smile formed on his lips.
He knew in his core that he had done it. He had completed the ceremony, and was now a Candidate of the spirit chain path.
He opened his eyes to see that the candles had returned to normal sized orange flames, and that the room wasn’t any different than it had been prior to taking the catalyst. The only indication that something had changed was the feeling deep in his soul.
“That wasn’t so bad.” He said to himself. He had been warned of the dangers of taking a catalyst, that people who were not ready had a risk of dying, or losing their minds. Some had disappeared into the spirit world never to be seen again.
Yes, it was a bit uncomfortable, but not as bad as he’d dreaded.
He remained motionless for a while as he resumed meditation, paying close attention to his body as he evaluated his condition. He was attuned to the spirit world now. He could hear spirits, and even communicate with them. He was more agile and his reflexes had improved. He also realized that he could feel his spiritual power and could draw it in from his surroundings.
He held out his palm and gathered his spirit into the air above it. A spectral flame appeared, hovering above his hand emitting a ghostly gray light.
His eyes widened as he couldn’t hold back a wide goofy smile.
“Cool!”
The sound of footsteps approaching towards the exterior door caused him to jerk around, the conjured flame fizzling out as his attention was diverted from it. Edwin’s regular sense of hearing had increased significantly as well. Even though he was in the smaller office within the suite with the door closed he could hear the sound of the officer in the hallway two rooms away through heavy walls.
He could tell that it was Finn from the weight and rhythm of his footsteps, and that Finn was alone. He heard the jingling of keys as Finn took them out of his pocket and inserted them in the door.
Edwin calmed down and put out the candles, then stepped out of the room, entering the common area at the same time that Finn entered.
“Edwin.” Finn greeted him, looking over the monk in a glance and not noticing anything particularly different, “Did you... take the catalyst already?”
“Yes.” Edwin said, “The ceremony was successful.”
Ceremony didn’t seem like the right word, but it was the closest term that he could come up with.
“So you’re now a Candidate.” Finn stated simply.
“That’s right.” Edwin nodded, suddenly feeling the need to straighten his posture. He felt pressure from Finn’s gaze, the same kind of pressure he felt from the senior monks in his monastery. Like he was being judged and measured.
His expression became serious as he touched the tips of his fingers together above his forehead and bowed deeply, “Thank you for supporting me, and for helping me find my master. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
He kept his gaze lowered respectfully and held the bow for a few seconds. Finn nodded, his footsteps heavy against the wood as he walked over to the desk in the room and sat down.
Each and every movement was crystal clear in Edwin’s ears. He could hear down to the rustling of the fabric of Finn’s uniform. As Finn passed by him, he could even faintly hear Finn’s heartbeat.
“I gathered information about what happened last night. The news is not good.” Finn said, “A monster emerged from the woods yesterday and attacked the city. Its aura spread through the entire city, corrupting the land and turning a number of citizens into monsters themselves.”
He didn’t give Edwin a chance to respond as he continued, “The origin of the monster was from a cabin which had been used to hold a ritual. While there isn’t much information on who is responsible for the ritual, one thing is certain - The ritual was being held by a monk.”
Edwin shook his head, his eyebrows narrowing as he instinctively denied the accusation, “That can’t be right. No monk would ever do anything like that. I don’t know anything about monsters or rituals, but the last thing a monk would do would be to put people in danger.”
“There are many monasteries out there, and many monks.” Finn said, resting his elbows on the table, “As a Candidate, you can’t stay locked into a childish view of the world.”
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“S-still... For a monk to cause this...”
“The description from our informant said that he wore blood red robes, and was able to travel through blood. The theory is that he can travel through the spiritual world using blood, and use it to strengthen himself.”
Edwin shook his head, feeling horrified at the idea, “I’ve never heard of this kind of monk before... That’s not anything we can do.”
Finn smiled gently at him, “Then you don’t have anything to worry about, right? That means that whoever caused the disaster last night is part of a different cult or monastery.”
“Right...” Edwin said.
“Also, the informant was a monk himself. A Disciple of Yuima from Huan. He was the one who originally fought the blood monk, though he only barely survived the fight.”
“Oh!” Edwin’s eyes lit up, “I know them! I, I mean I’ve met followers of Yuima before. And he was a Disciple... he must have been very strong. But that means the blood... monk... was strong as well.”
A brief silence fell over the room as Edwin digested the information. Finn rested his head on his hands, his mouth concealed by his fingers as he watched Edwin with a quiet, analytical gaze.
“If... If it really was a monk...” Edwin said softly, “Then what he’s done is unforgivable.”
“He’s still out there.” Finn said, “I was assigned to a special case team to investigate and find him.”
“Still out there...” Edwin muttered as he thought back to all the things he had been taught from being raised in the monastery. Lessons on humility and charity, discipline and strength.
Lessons on honour and duty.
“I have to do something.” Edwin said quietly as he came to a resolution, “It’s... it’s the duty of a monk to fight against evil.”
“You’re a Candidate now, too.” Finn said, “Your responsibility is even greater.”
“Yes. You’re right.” Edwin nodded.
He felt a sense of obligation bubble up inside of him, though he didn’t know how he was supposed to fulfill that obligation. After all, the enemy was strong enough to defeat a Disciple - A Disciple monk at that. And Edwin was just a mere Candidate. Not only that, he didn’t even know how to find the monk or what he would do even if he did know how.
He looked around the room, feeling lost in his thoughts, when his eyes locked onto Finn who was still watching him quietly. Suddenly, a thought entered his mind.
“You said that you were investigating into the monk... I can help you!” He stuttered as he suddenly felt like he’d overstepped his bounds, “I-I mean, I know that it’s probably official police business, and you can’t share the details with an outsider like me. But... I think I could be helpful, even if it’s just a little...”
Edwin trailed off as Finn’s eyes bored into him. He could never tell what the officer was thinking. Finn always had a cold, analytical look to him that intimidated Edwin. As the silence bore on, he began thinking that a senior officer like Finn would probably have his own contacts. People who were more useful than just a traveling teenage monk that only just barely reached Candidate.
Sweat beaded on the back of Edwin’s neck as he suddenly felt like he was too full of himself for reaching Candidate. When he’d told Finn that he’d successfully become a Candidate, the officer didn’t even bat an eye. It wasn’t significant to Finn, it was only significant to Edwin.
He’s probably an Exalted himself! Edwin thought, growing increasingly embarrassed about himself. He had an intense desire to melt into the floor and disappear.
Just as he was about to start apologizing profusely to Finn for overstepping his bounds, the officer nodded.
“Okay.” Finn said simply.
“You’ll let me help?” Edwin asked, feeling both surprised and relieved.
Finn sat back in the chair and stroked his chin thoughtfully, “Yes, I think you’ll be very helpful on this investigation. After all, you and I went up to Cloud Peak and discovered some very important information.”
“You mean... You mean when my Master said that something was going to happen? And that Noga wasn’t safe?” Edwin asked.
Finn nodded.
“But... No! The Cloud Peak monks are good people. They can’t have anything to do with this.” Edwin said, “Our monastery is very close to them, and I’ve never heard of them having any sort of connection to blood.”
“Even your friend Banmi felt nervous, and warned us that something was going on.” Finn said, but then shrugged, “I’m not saying that the Cloud Peak is responsible though. I’m saying they might have information that could help us. They might have known something bad was going to happen. They might have even tried to stop it.”
“Right.” Edwin said, feeling a bit better, “We need to go back and talk to them. Investigate. Is it too late to head back today? Or maybe we should go first thing tomorrow...”
“It’s good that you’re excited, but don’t get too ahead of yourself.” Finn smirked, shaking his head, “The police is handling this. I’m not saying that you can’t help, but there’s an order to things.”
“R-right.” Edwin stammered.
“If you think of anything that can help the investigation, then talk to me and we can look into it together.” Finn said, “Does that sound fair?”
Edwin nodded, feeling indeed that it was very fair.
“It’s getting late, though. I’m guessing you don’t want to spend the night here. Would you be fine if I got you a carriage back to the Zhao manor? I’ll come fetch you in the morning and we can start the investigation.”
“That sounds good.” Edwin said. “I’ll try to think everything I can that will help with the investigation!”
Finn smiled, standing up as he started walking to the door. “Okay, let’s get you back home then.”
They walked outside and hailed a rental carriage. As Edwin climbed in, Finn suddenly added offhandedly, “Oh, one thing I forgot to mention that might be helpful.”
“What’s that?” Edwin asked.
“The blood monk was wielding a sword. It was described as a shining bright white sword, that could attack even from a distance. Does that sound familiar to you?”
Edwin’s expression froze for a second, then he replied softly, “M..maybe. I’ll think about it and let you know.”
Finn smiled brightly, “Alright. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Finn slapped the side of the carriage to signal the driver to take off. Edwin waved to him and then sat back on the seat, exhaling softly as he looked up at the sky.
A conflicting set of emotions tumbled in his mind. Denial, guilt, anxiety. He’d lied to Finn just there by pretending the description of the weapon wasn’t familiar to him, when in fact its identity instantly came to mind.
This was the unmistakable description of Cloud Peak’s legendary Moonlight Sword.
His hands clenched in his lap as he refused to believe that it could be true.
~
Finn watched the rental carriage pull away with a friendly smile that vanished as soon as the cart turned the corner.
“That’s done, then.” Finn muttered to himself. His plan had gone off without a hitch. Rope Edwin in to the investigation, make it seem like it was the kid’s idea. Gain his trust.
Edwin was clearly clueless and not directly involved in the events, but he had a strong connection to the insular society of the monks. Finn could definitely make use of that. On the other hand, Finn didn’t know whether Ming Ru was guilty or not. Since Ming Ru had warned them to leave last night, Finn was willing to give him and Edwin the benefit of the doubt. If they’d remained, they’d likely be prohibited from leaving... or even killed, given the seriousness of the matter.
Regardless of Ming Ru’s part in this, between the warning and the Marked Devout wristband he’d procured from the guest room, Finn knew for a fact that Cloud Peak was deeply involved in the plot.
He gripped the small brass key to the office in his hand. This was the only memento that he had of his late mentor. The office that Chief Yun left behind was full of boxes of files. Finn had never asked about their contents, but he planned to go through every single one of them that night to see if Chief Yang Yun had left him anything that could help in solving his death.
Before that, though, Finn had one thing he needed to do. It was both related to the case, and deeply personal.
He hailed another carriage and stepped in.
“Take me to Central Noga Police Station.”