12. Spirit Society (I)

A vortex of azure flame.

The roar of their descent thundered in Raziel’s ears, his dark hair whipping at his face. A frenzied chorus of voices alternated between soothing him, warning him, and bestowing blessings upon him. His skin soon numbed from the licking flames and he struggled to twitch his fingers.

Water splashed as he was unceremoniously dumped into a river.

The water, black and frigid as ice, lapped at Raziel's knees. Yet, it was the sky above that seized his attention - a vast expanse of soft, velvet night, illuminated by a ribbon of celestial blue light.

“Take my hand,” said the [Priest] calmly.

Raziel’s line of sight met the man’s calves. He looked up and up, his gaze finally meeting the man’s kindly face. Raziel grasped the [Priest]’s offering hand, pulling himself up from his humbling position.

Before them stretched an endless lake, its surface as sleek as glass and as black as midnight. Lotus petals drifted on the water, each gently cradling a candle that glowed with a serene blue light.

He recoiled as something chillingly cold brushed past him.

Under the water’s surface floated a sea of ghostly masks. Thousands, millions of them.

“This is the Nexus,” said Father Linus. “Look - “

The man gestured towards a black obelisk that pierced the river's surface. It was hard to make it out against the dark of the river, even with his [Hyper-Vigilance]. Raziel squinted, and soon saw that dozens of obelisks surrounded them.

Father Linus rapped on the obelisk right behind them. Raziel whirled around. The obelisk's slick, black stone seemed to swallow the surrounding light. Yet, when Father Linus laid his hand upon it, blue glyphs faintly glowed to life, only to quickly fade away the moment he broke contact.

“Remember, this is our gateway back to Bramblebog. If we take the wrong one, it would be disastrous. A few gateways are broken beyond repair, while others require more than just mana to activate. Worse still, there are gateways that could cast us halfway around the world, possibly into a dungeon or, Zu’en-forbid, directly into a raid.”

Raziel touched the obelisk. Nothing happened.

Father Linus said, “Channel your mana through your fingers.”

Raziel’s brows creased, trying to get his mana to cooperate. He sensed his soul generating mana as effortlessly as a flame emitting light - a subtle and natural process. He could feel the mana circulating through his meridians. However, no matter how he strained his body and willed, he couldn’t figure out how to disrupt the flow and purposefully channel his mana.

“Some practice is required,” said Father Linus with an easy-going smile. “Don’t worry about it. I can reactivate the gateway for us both when we need to leave.”

Raziel tried channeling his mana once more, but the glyphs failed to light up.

How had Raziel done it with his [Vilehound] Beast Cards? Truthfully, he hadn't actively done much - the moment he placed the Beast Cards into his core, they seemed to forge a bond with his soul. He didn’t need to pour mana into the cards to release his beast summons. He didn’t need to consciously make his soul generate mana either - it was a process as natural as breathing.

In this sense, Raziel was akin to an infant who knew how to scream and cry without being taught, yet he still couldn’t do simple actions such as walk or form words. He was a true beginner.

“Is this Nexus place in the Spirit World?” asked Raziel.

“It’s another spot between the mortal world and the Spirit World.” Father Linus wrung out sections of his cassock. “To enter the Spirit World, we must give up our identity. To enter the mortal world, we must regain it.”

“Identity…?” muttered Raziel, dread coiling in his gut.

Thousands of ghostly masks floated under the lotus petals, ominously lit with soft blue light.

“The correct term is Facade,” hissed the crow [Wraith], perching upon the tip of the obelisk. The glyphs exploded in vivid azure light, spinning and whirring and writhing. The [Priest] fearfully batted the crow off.

“If you break the gateway - “

Raziel had never seen a bird bleed with such obvious disdain. “Hmph.”

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“Wait… how can you travel through the gate? You’re a spirit,” said Raziel.

“I’m a [Vagrant]. Not even death can take that away from me,” said the crow haughtily. “I belong everywhere.”

Raziel’s eyes widened, recalling a class he was offered. [Vagrant]. Maybe that class was a lot more powerful than he’d originally assumed. For a brief second, he felt heartache at how quickly he’d abandoned that class option, but then he remembered that without the [Hunter] class, he wouldn’t have stood a chance at defeating the [Vilehounds]. Especially not the [Alpha Vilehound].

The [Vagrant] class wouldn’t have saved True Leaf Terrace.

The crow fluttered to Raziel’s left shoulder, talons piercing through the linen of his shirt and scraping his skin. Though it felt like the [Wraith] was clearly suppressing himself now, the crow still emitted cold pressure that hurt the inside of Raziel’s ear. “You should be less worried about me, and more concerned about giving up your face.”

Raziel’s expression softened.

His identity, his facade, his face. He couldn’t wrap his head about something taking it away from him - but it was better than losing his life, wasn’t it? He could put his life on the line to search for Kindred. In contrast, losing his face while he was in the Spirit World was a much better deal.

Still… he found the idea extremely creepy.

“Father Linus, have you done this before?” asked Raziel.

“I’ve been in the Spirit World a few times,” confirmed the [Priest]. “The more time we spend here, the more challenging it becomes to reclaim our ‘Facade’, the essence that anchors us to the living world. However, as long as our trip is quick, there’s nothing to worry about on that front. Unlike your ancestor, my primary concern revolves around malicious and violent inhabitants of the Spirit World.”

The crow’s talons dug deeper into Raziel’s skin. “Then be worried about me, priest.”

Father Linus threw the crow a side-ways look. “I always am.”

It was clear that Father Linus and Raziel’s ancestor had some kind of history together. They didn’t trust each other at all. However, Father Linus had baited the [Wraith]’s help by inviting Raziel along.

The local spirits must be in a terrifying state if the cautious Father Linus was resorting to such unreliable methods.

Father Linus had mentioned something interesting earlier…

Raziel’s ancestor had died the day he was born.

While Raziel’s mind had the tendency to forget things that he didn’t find interesting, he was certain his parents hadn’t mentioned an uncle or brother dying when Raziel had been born. Raziel glanced at the crow, and the wispy red light glowing from its eyes.

“Raziel, watch me closely,” said Father Linus, breaking him out of his thoughts. The man knelt down, submerging his head in the river. After a while, ghostly tendrils started to surround his head. Then, his face swept away, joining the sea of Facades.

The [Priest] stood up again and looked towards Raziel.

He wasn’t completely faceless.

The man still had eyes, a nose, and a mouth, however everything unique about his features had been sanded down.

While that was creepy on its own, Raziel suddenly had a far more disturbing realization.

He couldn’t remember what the [Priest] used to look like.

Quickly going through his memories, the man was either fully turned away from Raziel, or the sunlight was obscuring his features so that Raziel couldn’t get a good impression of the man’s face.

“The two of you are mortals, so you don’t have too much to give up,” said the crow.

The [Priest] and Raziel glanced at each other.

“Raz, I can still send you back through the gateway if you are hesitant,” said the [Priest]. His voice was unremarkable and could’ve belonged to anyone.

“No…” Raziel ran a hand through his soaked hair. “I want to do this.”

He had to do this.

If something were easy, then everyone would be doing it. Even Raziel knew that if he wanted to get anywhere in life then he needed to start getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. It was really the quickness of all this that Raziel found startling. A few months ago, the only magic he’d ever experienced was the Dark Forest’s sinister trappings. Now, he was about to willingly give up his face.

Raziel bent down, hovering his nose over the smooth, black-glass waters. “Will it be easy to find our faces again?”

He didn’t ask the [Priest] this, but the mysterious crow who knew so much.

“If you don’t stay very long,” murmured the crow. “But if you lose your Facade, then even I can’t help you.”

Giving the crow a single, serious nod, Raziel dunked his head in the river.

His ears filled with the soft singing of a thousand voices. The longer he kept his head underwater the louder they grew in volume. Raziel grit his teeth - the process wasn’t painful - but his soul seemed to be arguing against it, pumping mana through his body like he was facing mortal danger.

Fingers wound around his collar, yanking his head up. Raziel gasped for air.

He met the burning red eyes of the [Wraith], who now wore a human form. The man looked at him dispassionately. “Don’t fight it.”

“I’m trying -” gasped Raziel.

His words were choked back, water filling his throat and lungs. The [Wraith] held him down by the neck, his touch burning cold. The [Wraith] was doing something to pacify his soul - Raziel’s mana circulated sluggishly in his meridians - unreactive, even as he choked and thrashed.

A warmth came over his face. Suddenly, the ice cold water felt rather pleasant in temperature. The hand trying to drown him felt human. Those fingers lifted his head back up out of the water. Raziel desperately gulped down air.

He watched as his face floated away from him, resisting the urge to grab for it.

“I’m shocked you’re so agreeable to Raz participating in this trip,” said Father Linus, his tone giving nothing away. “I thought you’d be trying to convince him to turn back at every juncture.”

The [Wraith] released Raziel’s collar, causing him to fall, spluttering into the river. The [Wraith] gave Father Linus a truly dark little smile. “You don’t become strong by being coddled.”