Elias gazed at the ethereally thin lines streaking all across his room, his face bearing a hint of obvious awe and amazement.

Web-like streaks stretched as far as his eyes could see, encompassing the entire student dorm, turning it into a makeshift spider cave illuminated in the incandescent moonlight.

The luminous glow of the silver lunar moon reflected onto these thin lines, granting them a type of ethereal shimmer that made them seem like stretched bodies of formless starlight.

Elias continued to gaze in wonder, obviously drawn to the scene before his eyes. Lars slowly materialized beside him soon after, his usual carefree and sarcastic expression replaced with one of glaring and unhidden intrigue.

The pair stood silently in the dark, their forms blending into the backdrop, making them appear like a man and ghost duo standing silently within a dimly lit secluded spider cave.

Elias peered down onto his right hand, observing the point of attachment of these seemingly infinite lines which appeared to be his singular five fingers.

He felt a subtle innate attachment with these webs, like they were now an extension of his right hand, making him conclude that he could easily bend them to his will.

Elias then took a deep breath to steel his nerves, before attempting to alter the shape and direction of the lines closest to him.

These lines suddenly bent and changed direction, merging while taking on the form of a singular net-like silhouette. All of the lines around him curved inward, merging into the net right in front of Elias's face, as if responding to his unspoken command.

This abrupt change of form caused the web lines making up the net to dim further, as if they would snap and diminish with the slightest addition of force.

Elias felt a sudden wave of fatigue envelop him immediately the lines moved to merge into each other, his eyes cloudy and hazy, as if he was being pulled into sleep. He felt as if his head was being knocked around on all sides, causing his consciousness to wane and his control over the lines to become considerably more difficult.

It felt like most of the lines were resisting his command, their reluctance to shape shiff evident from their stiff nature which was taking a toll on his mind.

That was when a line of words present within the description of this Runic Invocation jolted out of Elias's memory, a description which was all important to the utilization of this particular invocation,

'The strings are essential tools that exist to be wielded, their rigidity depending on their wielder's determination and will.'

Elias gritted his teeth, his left hand wiping off the cold sweat on his forehead and his eyes displayed a crazy look of determination.

He moved to endure the pain, deepening his control over the strings as he attempted to change their forms once more.

His head felt like it was being torn apart, and his hands felt like they were holding up the weight of the entire world.

However, instead of slowing down, Elias accelerated the forming of the strings even further, gritting his teeth through the pain and displaying his fiery determination.

Lars looked at his brother with astonishment in his eyes, surprised at the fact that he hadn't collapsed due to the shared amount of mental fatigue he was going through.

Elias stood silently in the room, his forehead covered with sweat as he closed his eyes, threading through the pain as he moved the lines to different directions in the room.

The lines stiffly followed his commands, as if Elias's will was not able to totally overpower their resistive nature, taking up numerous parts of the room in a considerably slow motion.

Elias finally couldn't bear the pain anymore and let out a yelp, dismissing his control over the lines before falling back onto the floor.

PAH!

The previously everpresent contours swiftly diminished soon after, dissolving in a flurry vastly similar to illusory forms of shattered glass.

Elias sat on the floor panting, his entire body drenched in sweat. He didn't appear to be in any immediate danger, but the fatigue from maintaining the lines seemed to have taken a massive toll on him.

Lars floated close to his brother, observing him attentively before heaving a sigh of relief.

"Phew... It seems like you are okay."

Elias slowly recollected himself, turning towards his twin with a glare. "Do I really look okay to you?!"

Lars coughed awkwardly, apparently realizing how weird that must have sounded.

"Ahem... What I meant was you look better than I expected, at the very least it's not the worst-case scenario. You just seem very fatigued, which I'm sure will be alleviated by a good night's rest."

Elias eyes Lars with obvious disdain, before scoffing and looking down to observe his body.

Indeed, what Lars had said was true—he wasn't in any immediate danger but only felt quite tired, and even seemed to be slowly, but steadily recovering.

His body seemed to be slowly absorbing the Ether from his surroundings, causing it to slowly fight back against the fatigue.

This caused Elias to recollect one of the essential principles pertaining to Runic Invocation usage, a principle he had been lucky enough to come across during his midnight study session.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

After the full usage or cancellation of an invoked rune, that particular Invocation would not be accessible to the Apostle for some time, at least until the body naturally absorbs enough Ether to once again activate it from the surroundings.

This downtime differs from Apostle to Apostle, and is non-determinant on the subject's Apostolic ranking, but instead depends on the user's innate bodily constitution.

According to a research paper published by Cardinal Newman—a True Scholar of the Church of Truth—during the Old Testament Calender, attaining a physical constitution in tune with ether can be caused by various situational examples, with some being more dangerous than others.

Being born in a location with high ether density, conceiving around the period of the Solstice Shower, and having Apostolic parents as well as parents with a high density of ether themselves—were some of the ways a person could have a constitution naturally in tune with ether, as highlighted by the case study.

Cardinal Newman specified the benefits of a physical body acceptable to ether, stating that it could be the determining factor in a dire situation of life and death, as being able to use your Invocations a little bit faster is in itself an untradable advantage.

He also specified the risks regarding this, as ether itself was an energy source that even the gods had no direct control over, meaning that over-saturating the body with ether could lead to dire consequences.

Ether was what was responsible for granting mortals the ability to wield divine power, but it was also responsible for creating all of the chaos and darkness in the world, as its existence was as much a beacon of light as it was a festering cancer.

Mutated beasts, paranormal entities, the dark creatures from hell, malevolent spirits filled with hatred and bloody ghouls that feast on the flesh of man—every one of these cataclysmic omens of evil was created due to the presence of ether, an energy source which seemed to be neutral in the direction of good and evil.

Mundane people wouldn't be able to defend themselves from the creeping darkness without the presence of ether, but there would also be no calamitous dangers without it, meaning that it was a sharp double-edged sword.

That was why hyper-absorption of ether was warned against, as it could lead even Apostles with divinity to become nothing more than maddening beasts.

Elias attempted to feel the flow of ether rushing into his body, his eyes narrowing as he felt the time it would take for him to once again invoke the rune of Finger Lines.

He felt like it would take him no less than four to five hours, which was definitely fast when compared to the estimated average.

In the same paper written by Cardinal Newman, experiments showed that the average absorption time of an Apostle should be within twelve to fifteen hours, with the minimum being an eight-hour downtime and the maximum being anywhere around twenty to twenty-four hours.

This was the standard time duration adopted by the five churches, making it become widely accepted by all Apostles worldwide.

Experiments showed that anything above or below the minimum downtime would be a cause for worry, with the minimum being an increase in ether absorption leading to unseen complications and dangers, while the maximum denoted underutilization of Runic Invocations, as they would take too long to be accessible to the user, thus leaving them less equipped in potentially dire situations.

That was why Elias felt a bit of panic, as his downtime was well below the minimum range mark.

Elias shared this revelation with Lars, causing the duo to shift into contemplation.

Elias was the first to break the silence, his voice calm, composed and without fear. "Actually, I don't think this is as dire as we think."

Lars perked up, surprised at how calm his brother was.

"Oh?... And why do you say that?"

Elias ran his hand through his hair, a gesture he had gotten so used to doing.

"The answer is quite simple really, and that is the bizarre nature of my Echelon of Faith, particularly my current Apostolic Seat." He continued, his gaze deep. "A Dion Deacon seems to be an Apostle that is naturally in tune with ether, granting them the ability to peer at its normally nonexistent forms present in the world. This unnatural synergy would most likely lead to a drastic change within the body of the subject in question, as utilizing an ability would most likely lead to a type of resonance between the two.

"I am not only able to see ether but I am also able to wield it, turning its naturally formless nature into something seemingly rigid. It would be quite strange if I didn't get a natural increase in my absorption as a result."

Elias turned towards Lars, his eyes deep and calm, "Besides even if the paper from Cardinal Newman was reviewed and cleared by each of the five churches, it is ultimately still a case study, a tool used to instill a careful nature into the mind of the Apostles of that generation. The way it was worded makes it seem like an avenue to dissuade Apostles from unnaturally trying to increase their ether absorption, which is where I think the true risks lie.

"But in my case, this is quite natural, as it appears to be the inherent nature of my Echelon, so I think I should be fine."

Lars lingered in silence, mentally running over the details of his brother's analysis. He too felt that it made sense, as what was normal for one person couldn't possibly apply to every single person. He felt like as long as they at least didn't try to forcefully absorb more ether, they should be fine.

Lars eventually nodded his head with a somber expression, "Alright, that makes sense. As for your control over these strings, I think you need to practice more often to gain rudimentary control over them, as they seem quite stubborn."

Lars gazed deeply at Elias, his eyes amused and hiding a laugh.

"Also you might not have noticed but there has been a strange tattoo on your forehead for a while now."

Elias looked at Lars with confusion, before latching onto the hidden meaning of his statement while scrambling to look at himself in the mirror.

What met his sight was the reflection of his sweat-filled face, with a tattoo-like engraving hovering close to his forehead, missing one of its three segments.

This engraving was similar to the silver lunar moon and gave off an almost ethereal and magical silver light.

Elias was instantly drawn to its mystical light, moving a finger to it with a bit of interest and hesitation.

"So this is what a Totemic Tattoo looks like. Wow... it looks even more magical than it was described in the books."

Elias showed no shock at seeing the tattoo but instead seemed to know what it was.

A Totemic Tattoo was the divine emblem of a particular Echelon of Faith, as well as its most obvious characteristic representation.

It comes in a symbol pertaining to the divine authority of the Echelon in question, as well as serves as a numbering system for the amount of Runic Invocations available to the use of the subject.

After the usage of one of the available Runic Invocations, the Totemic Tattoo would lose one of its segments, showing that one rune had been successfully invoked.

This display cannot be hidden, as the Totemic Tattoo will instantly materialize on the Apostle's forehead once a rune has been invoked.

The Totemic Tattoo acts as an Apostle's unspoken symbol of absolute power, as just the sight of it can instantly cause any non-Apostle to instantly become wary and apprehensive.

From what Elias knew, Totemic Tattoos came in the form of divine representations, as it was foundationally tied back to the Echelon's authority.

Apostles under the Echelon of Ruinition had a flame-shaped Totemic Tattoo on their foreheads, while those under the Echelon of Life were blessed with the symbol of an oak tree. The Apostles of Possibilities had a clock-shaped totem for a symbol, with those under the Law and Order Echelon having one shaped like a judiciary scale.

The Apostles of Sapience had an engraving in the shape of an opened tome, making it quite obvious that the Totemic Tattoo only came in shapes directly related to the deity's authority.

This caused Elias to shift into thought, as he shifted his gaze onto the lone radiant silver moon in the night sky, as his voice became nothing but a silent murmur,

"Does that mean that this unknown deity also has relevant authority over the moon?"