As he had always done when he was with Yuri, Alnea began by observing the physical variation in the endless layers of Oren surrounding him, the ones he could see. The undulations of the layers of Oren in the form of waves, with each individual layer having a different kind of wave. Sometimes, even the same layer had different kinds of waves. And sometimes, all the layers had the same kind of waves…

Regular waves, irregular waves, rational waves, irrational waves… Some of them were so irrational, that he wondered if they could even be called as waves anymore. Like the wave in the shape of a bird, that seemed to flap its wings, as it travelled through the layers of Oren, only to be eaten—crushed— by waves in the form of a tiger, running just a layer deeper than the layer where the bird was flying. Soon after eating the bird though, the tiger too got devoured by the waves of a deeper layer, tumbling across the Origin Sea in the form of a bull… How could what he was seeing be anything but irrational?

Fortunately, not all the waves were so unreasonable. If he looked carefully enough, he could find some rational waves too. Waves that were just waves. Like the waves on water. Or the waves on fire. Or earth. Even wind, and lightning… Elemental Series? Was this a Mystery of Creation then? No, that was not possible. Just one Mystery of Creation could not have so many different elements working together. At least not at the False Rank. Not even at the True Rank.

Besides, he could feel a faint sense of resonance forming between his Roots, and the Mystery around him. So, the Mystery could only be from the lineages of Day, or Night. Most probably from the lineage of Night… A Mystery pertaining to Series of Illusions. If that was truly the case, then comprehending the Mystery would be much simpler than he had initially thought.

Suppressing his thoughts into the Serenity of his Heart, Alnea shifted all of his attention back to layers of Oren around him. Or rather, to one particular layer of Oren, the one closest to him. Not because it was any different than the other layers. They were all the same. However, since the layer closest to him, he would be able to feel the greatest intensity of the Mystery from that layer, making it easier for him to comprehend the Mystery. As for whether he would be able to comprehend the Mystery…

Ignoring the unnecessary thoughts in his Heart, Alnea observed the individual waves in the layer. At first, they were like the waves that could be often seen on water. As he concentrated on them though, they changed their shapes, turning straight, and sharp, like a rotating box. And contained within that box was an oscillating circle that soon burst open, devouring the box it was contained in, only to have the circles break, and turn into lines, which returned the waves back to their starting point, ripple like waves…

No, not to their starting point. There was something different about the waves. Something… Not yet, Alnea reminded himself. He had to be patient. He had to observe carefully before making any moves. Only then, would his chances of comprehending the Mystery increase. But if kept observing the individual waves then…

And so, he forced himself to turn away from the individual waves, and focussed his attention to the larger waves that those induvial waves were forming collectively. A wave of Fire, that was beginning to burn his skin. No, not Fire. It was Lighting. And it was not burning, but pricking, and making him feel numb. The burn was just an aftereffect from… drowning.

He was drowning in Water. So, it was only natural that his lungs would burn. And the same was with his skin. It was not because of Lightning. It was because the cold of the frozen Water, ice, was too much for him to bear. And thus, his skin started to—

Turn into dust. To become one with the Earth. That was the only way to feel relief. To turn into dust, and be carried by the Wind. No, to become the Wind itself. Because that was what the waves were. Wind. Of memories. Of time long forgotten. Of—

Alnea pulled himself out of the strange state before the Origin Sea could lure him into its trap. Thankfully, he had come to his senses before the Origin Sea had begun with its temptations, or things might have become difficult for him to handle. But his near fatal experience did not dampen his mood. Rather, it made his Heart surge with excitement.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Drawn in the lure of the Mystery, he had all but confirmed what the Mystery that he was trapped in was. Next, all he needed to do was interact with it. So, after making sure that his Heart still had its Serenity, he reached towards the waves that were nearest to him, the waves that were a box, a circle, and a line, all at the same time. Because hidden behind those waves—

“What do you think a Mysteries are, Alnea?” his master said, inciting his confusion.

“Mysteries are Mysteries, master. What else can they be?”

“…That is most ignorant description of Mysteries that I have ever heard.”

“But is that not the truth, master?”

“…Imagine you are within the Origin Sea, and trying to comprehend a Mystery. How will you do it?”

“By observing it,” Alnea said. “And interacting with it. Just like Yuri.”

“…When Yuri was interacting with the Mysteries, and comprehending them, you were sharing her senses, and experienced all that she did. But did you comprehend any Mysteries?"

“That is because I was just sharing her senses, master. I was not really in the Origin Sea.”

“Exactly,” his master said. “You were just sharing her senses. So, though you may have experienced the Mysteries of the Origin Sea, you do not truly understand what they are. Mysteries are Mysteries… if do not change how you view Mysteries, then you will never be able to comprehend them, let alone create Arcanas.”

“…Then how should I view them as, master? What exactly are the Mysteries of the Origin Sea?”

“Mysteries… they are the essence of the Origin Sea. Its basic rules, and in consequence, of our world. So, if you wish to comprehend Mysteries, then first, you must understand their purpose. You must understand what role they are fulfilling within the Origin Sea, and how exactly are they fulfilling that role. Do you understand what I am saying?”

“Comprehending a Mystery… is it like understanding how a rule works? Like how I am breathing or walking?”

“…It is similar, but different.”

“…That only makes it more confusing, master.”

“Though I called Mysteries as the rules of the Origin Sea, they cannot be treated as just simple rules. Whenever Wanderers try to glimpse the rules of the Origin Sea, what they can see is how the rules are behaving with them. As such, what they comprehend is just a part of the rules that they can understand. And this part is what we call as Mysteries. This is why every Wanderer has a different interpretation of the same Mysteries.”

“Then the Glyphs…”

“I knew you would ask that question,” his master said, nodding in appreciation. “By engraving Glyphs on their Spirits, Wanderers, in essence, engrave keys to the rules of the Origin Sea on their Spirits. And when those rules interact with Wanderers, it is the keys on their Spirits that those rules interact with. This is the reason why two Wanderers, who engrave the same Glyphs, have similar understandings.

“However, this similarity in understanding extends only to the Glyphs themselves. When they go beyond Glyphs, and try to create Arcanas, they will have to interact with those Mysteries on a personal level, causing some differences in their understandings. And to create Arcanas, they will have to interpret those Mysteries according to their understandings, which in turn will become the source of the differences in their Arcanas.”

“…That does sound a bit logical.”

“Now, do you understand what Mysteries are?”

“…I have a vague idea,” Alnea said. “Basically, Mysteries are how we perceive the rules of the Origin Sea? No. That’s not it. It should be… how we think the Origin Sea is able to achieve certain effects… like transforming Oren into Fireballs, Wind blades… is that right, master?”

“That is not entirely correct either, but for all practical purposes, that understanding should do fine. For now. When you will interact with Mysteries, you will naturally come to understand their true nature.”

“The true nature of Mysteries…”

“Do you have any questions?”

“I do, in fact, have a question, master.”

“What is it?”

“If comprehending Mysteries is only about understanding how we can manipulate Oren to achieve certain effects, then why is that everyone’s understanding towards the same Mysteries are completely different?”

“…If we knew everything about Mysteries, then they would not be called Mysteries, now, would they?”