[Later that evening]

The group, excluding Caelum, gathered in the main living room, each dressed in comfortable clothing; Lunar, Declan and Vaelen sporting loose white blouses whilst Geneve draped in a rugged, dark brown shirt that matched well with her dark brown pants. They all sat scattered around on chairs and couches, their eyes set on Vash, the only one standing in the middle, sporting a positive demeanour.

“Alright! That was quite the first day, heh?” he began. “How are you guys feeling?”

“It was alright,” Declan yawned. “Definitely easier than I expected.”

“I’ll have to agree with him on that,” Geneve chimed in, her arms crossed. “It felt very ‘natural’, especially the bare bones of our training, summoning the Grimoires.”

“Yes, you may have asked yourself how you could have possibly been able to summon your Grimoire without prior knowledge or form of cultivation,” Vash said, slowly walking in circles. “The answer is quite simple.”

“Not everyone in this world is born with Sequencer characteristics. Those who are born without make use of Divination Tools, which are practically Hex-infused weapons that allow for one to reach the same potential as a Sequencer. However, there lies one important difference…”

“…While non-Sequencers do require a hefty amount of practice and knowledge on how to use their Divination Tools, Sequencers have the luxury of being ‘naturally gifted’ when it comes to adapting to their Grimoires. In other words—

—any Sequencer may have been able to summon their Grimoires at birth. However, the Initiation Ritual is thankfully something that prevents things like this from happening.”

“Then, do non-Sequencers have to go through their own ‘Inquisition’ to master their Divination Tools?” Declan asked with a curious tone.

“It is not as straightforward as you lot arriving here for training,” Vash responded, looking at Declan over his shoulder before walking in circles again.

“Divination Tools are everywhere, despite the government attempting to intervene with the accessibility of them, by establishing a requirement of a ‘DT Certificate’. They are classified as ‘vacant relics’ that range from seven, the least problematic, or, better said, dangerous, to zero, which… speaks for itself.”

“Much like regular potion cards, Divination Tools can be crafted, bought, and discovered. Again, even though the DT Certificate poses no real issue, as anyone could just hide their Tools at their discretion, the fact that Divination Tools are explorable doesn’t necessarily mean they are ‘easy’ to be found, or used.”

“Why?” Declan asked, as Lunar and Vaelen visibly became more interested; With Lunar, seated on a single chair, listening along with head resting on his left hand, and Vaelen, sitting next to Geneve, crossing his arms in contemplation.

“It’s simple,” Vash began once more. “These Tools generally cost a lot of money. If your regular Frank wishes to get a hold of, let’s say a grade-five relic, he can already expect to face prices in the thousands from any merchant. However, Frank is able to engage in Quests in exchange for potions, or other relics in order to craft his desired Divination Tool—

—But, then again, there are consequences tied to him failing a Quest, the prices he has to pay in order to complete his Quest and the severity of the Quest. You can initiate an easy Quest, but that will take you a significantly longer amount of time as opposed to more difficult ones.”

“So, essentially…” Lunar spoke. “People who have lots of wealth are able to buy whatever they’d like?”

“Not exactly,” Vash said. “Let’s get bold and assume the improbable possibility of a grade-three relic being for sale. We’re getting really bold here, since only relics from grades seven to five are commonly sold, with four being a great rarity. Because of this, most, if not all people will go and look for the relics on their own. This also explains why non-Sequencers tend to die in casualties a lot more than Sequencers.”

“Yeah, I can understand that,” Declan responded, nodding. “You mentioned the ‘DT Certificate’, but is there no governmental intervention concerning high-level relics? What if some crazy lunatic gets a hold of a super dangerous relic? Given its power, chances are they would be able to make their deranged fantasies come true, no?”

“Exactly, which is why assemblies such as the Zephyrs exist. Have you lot not been taught about their significance at school?”

“We have,” Declan sighed. “But they’re honestly not that interesting to me. They’re basically the ‘police force’, or better said military and defence arm of Deneve, whilst the Monlay Assembly is just an excuse for nerds to associate themselves with a nice-sounding title, and the Luria Assembly… I don’t even know what they’re doing exactly, honestly.”

“Maybe Vaelen would like to enlighten us, no?” Lunar smiled, yet Vaelen did not reciprocate an answer, prompting Declan to step up, walk towards him, and give him a firm pat on the shoulder.

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“Don’t worry, Vaelen. Caelum’s gonna be fine.”

With their attention gravitating towards Vaelen, Vash was the first person to have noticed Caelum sluggishly descending the staircase towards the living room.

“Ha! Speak of the Devil!”

They all turned their heads towards Vash and then towards the trajectory of his gaze. As soon as they were met with Caelum’s figure, also dressed in a loose white blouse, their eyes widened in surprise, as Declan immediately leapt over the couch and stormed towards Caelum.

“Goodness gracious, man. We really thought you wouldn’t be waking up anymore!”

“Okay, that’s a stretch,” Geneve added, walking towards them with crossed arms. “How are you feeling, Caelum?”

Caelum held his head slightly lowered, his mind wandering off for a moment. He remembered Lunar reciting a passage from the Golden Book, which visibly caused his face to turn crestfallen; Yet, somehow, none of the others noticed, or rather assumed he still needed to wake up properly. He shrugged his thoughts off, and asked them with a tired tone,

“…What happened?”

“You collapsed again, my friend,” Declan chuckled. “You tried summoning your Grimoires, but it seemed like it didn’t work. Would you like something to eat? Have a water?”

“It’s fine, I just feel a little drowsy.”

Vash then began walking towards them with a closed smile.

“I’ve heard about the situation, howe-”

“Wait, Vash,” Declan intervened. “What’s going to happen with him?”

“Let me finish, Declan,” he said carefully. “Caelum, you don’t have to worry about anything. Summoning a Grimoire for the first time can also potentially bring side effects to one’s body. It may be reasonable for Caelum to develop a lighter complexion because of this.”

His words threw everyone, except Declan, off in some way. They never heard something like “side effects” potentially bringing harm to one’s body for summoning their Grimoire for the first time. The three of them threw quick glances at each other before Declan took the word once more.

“You think so?”

“I know so,” Vash responded. “I’ve experienced it first hand. Look at this.”

He pulled up his right sleeve and held his arm in the air, exposing a strange, black stain that looked similar to a cut mark, as if he took black paint and slid it across his forearm.

“Thankfully, this is not a battle-inflicted wound,” he continued. “This has been with me for decades, back when I also started out at this temple. It looks as if a part of your body just decides to remove all of its melanins. No, even worse, as if Nichts, the God of Darkness ‘Himself’, took ‘His’ sword and slashed my arm with it. Freaky, isn’t it?”

Caelum remained silent, which prompted Declan to mutter his name in a worrying tone before he mustered up the courage and responded to Vash.

“Thank you… for understanding.”

“Of course! But, as your Master…” Vash began, putting his sleeve back into place. “I am required to ask you if you’re okay with being blood tested. The Gaian Administrative Office already suggested this procedure. It’s nothing serious, just a small extraction and you’re good to go.”

“Wait,” Vaelen said, breaking the comfortable atmosphere. “We’ll talk about this first.”

“…That’s fine. You have forty-eight hours. Additionally, since you’ve missed the first day of training, I’ll come by and pick you up at six in the morning, so you can catch up with the rest before we continue with the second day. So be sure to at least try and get some sleep tonight.”

“I understand, thank you…”

“Very well,” he smiled. “I should get going now, got some other things to take care of before I’ll be considered done. Keep the young fella in good hands, alright?”

“Of course! We got it!” Declan exclaimed as Vash opened the door with his final words.

“Great. See you all tomorrow!”

Several moments after Vash’s departure, Geneve broke the silence, turning back to the group.

“Did you guys buy what he said regarding Caelum’s condition? I surely didn’t.”

“Neither,” Declan responded. “But, he’s a good guy. I wouldn’t blame him for being so dubious.”

Lunar then took a firm step in front of Caelum, staring at his defeated figure as he spoke with a serious tone.

“Caelum, would you like to try it once more?”

“What?” Declan interjected, holding Lunar’s right shoulder in protest. “Lunar, you need to stop being so pushy sometimes, man. He just woke up from an unwanted series of events. Let him recollect his thoughts before he tries!”

“I agree with Declan, Lunar,” Vaelen said, frowning his eyebrows. “You’re being too much right now.”

Caelum then raised his hand, speaking with a comprehending tone.

“It’s fine.”

Declan and Vaelen were visibly surprised by Caelum’s answer, while Lunar and Geneve remained as placid as they were before. Declan even tried to convince him to understandably wait and hold off for some time before trying it again, yet Caelum insisted.

“For some reason, I don’t feel like collapsing anymore. Let me do it again.”

“Caelum, are you sure?” Vaelen asked.

“Yes, I am sure.”

“Let’s take a step backwards,” Lunar suggested. “He probably needs some space to effectively concentrate.”

The three of them made their distance as Caelum began focusing on his own mind and soul once more. Several minutes of pure introspection passed by, until he could feel a single stream of aura encapsulating the right side of his soul. It felt as if the two auras were divided between two different parts, with the aura on the left side of his soul entirely barren, but the right side full of energy.

He then directed it to flow out of his right hand, and as soon as his aura brushed against the tip of his fingers…

…A Grimoire appeared, and he did not collapse.

It was the beautifully-polished silver bow with Gothic engravings etched on its facade. It floated gently next to him, and he grasped it gracefully, surprising everyone around him as they beheld his Grimoire.