About 15 minutes before Elias arrived at the main gates of the academy, the Director in charge of the prestigious institution—Professor Conti, stood silently inside his office, overlooking the hustle and bustle going on within the college estate.

His modestly decorated office was enveloped in a solemnly tranquil atmosphere, the occasional clicks from his antique gentleman clock being the only source of sound present within the space.

His mood seemed to be heavy with conflicting emotions of worry, as he silently watched as the five church delegates made their way out of the golden estate in their personalized carriages and coaches.

He slowly thought back to their previous conversation, ruminating over the ominous revelations that had been revealed by his former acquaintance—Archbishop Francis.

The fact that there was a chance of something, or even possibly someone, being able to directly influence and control the intangible waveforms of ether was mind-shattering and vastly unexpected, bringing with it several dreadful possibilities that could be brought forward by such a situation.

It was a known fact that ether was not only the foundational basis for the paranormal aspect of the world, but it also acted as an important building block for divine authority and its representation, playing just as an important role in this process as the Divine Dust from the gods.

So not only would an individual capable of influencing ether be able to actively control and manipulate the very nature of both the paranormal and supernatural nature of the world, but they would then also be able to infringe onto the authority of divinity, expanding their influence and affecting the standing of both the orthodox and unorthodox religious gods.

Depending on their mood they might even be able to instantly cause Apostles to lose themselves and succumb to madness, all by simply willing the ether acting in conjunction with their divine authority and wisp to run wild.

This possibility was a major threat to the balanced system of peace that had been hard fought for, one that threatened to topple the whole world over its head.

The now melancholic academy director took a long and hard drag from his pipe, relishing the sensation of naturally fresh herbs and aromatics in his lungs.

He let out a puff of smoke in silence, all the while keeping his gaze fixed on his positively energetic young Apprentices who were busy walking around the estate below.

Professor Conti felt an ominous dark cloud settle over his heart as if these bright days of peace and tranquility were approaching a fast end.

He maintained a few more minutes of solemn silence, before sighing wistfully while moving to exit his office.

There was no need to wallow in dejection, all he had to do was protect this institution his predecessor had trusted him enough to leave in his care, all the while getting his students and employees ready to face the air of change.

Because the change was coming, and it was coming fast.

...

Annoyance.

If Elias could use a single word to describe what he was currently feeling, that would be it.

He was annoyed, frustrated and most of all very... confused.

He had come to the Silent Archives to investigate the nature of his relationship with his newly acquired Oddity but was left feeling a lot more confused and frustrated.

He had spent the entire night in the archives sifting through book after book on Paranormal Studies and he had still come up short.

A lot of the books only lightly touched on the general topic of Oddities, most of which Elias was already aware of since a majority of it had already been covered in their introductory classes.

Nowhere did it talk about how a person and an Oddity could be linked, making Elias quite irritable and very frustrated.

He hadn't enjoyed a wink of sleep the previous night, even going as far as skipping dinner due to the sheer urgency of the situation.

Now even with all his sacrifices he was still back to where he started, further ruining his mood and making him feel annoyed.

He looked across his shoulder, spotting Lars deeply engrossed in an open book in a secluded corner of the library-like chamber.

Curiosity got the better of Elias so he decided to check on what his brother was doing, as it wasn't like he was making any headway himself.

He silently walked up behind Lars, who didn't notice his presence and continued to peruse the contents before him.

Elias quietly paid attention to this scene, before releasing a soft sigh and stealthily moving back to his previous spot.

He turned his head back to once again observe his brother, his face heavy with complex emotions.

Lars was currently engrossed in different books related to research into homunculus creation and alchemical science.

The books were spiraled with images of different artificial body models, detailing the possibility of the successful transplantation of souls from a failing body to a newly created, artificial one.

Lars was deeply engrossed in his reading, with his only obvious forms of movement being the periodic turning of pages.

The reason for this newfound interest was obvious; he was researching methods that might provide him with his own body.

Elias looked up to the vast ceiling of the archives with a heavy gaze, taking in the vast expanse of light reflected around it.

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Because of how many problems they had so far, Elias had failed to notice his brother's yearning for his own personal vessel.

This was a topic they had talked about multiple times before arriving at the academy, one that had seemingly been pushed out of their schedule due to more urgent matters. Lars was also the type of person who wouldn't actively bring up the fact, as he was much more considerate towards Elias than he most times seemed to be.

This made Elias suddenly feel a pang of guilt, as he felt like he hadn't been prioritising Lars as much as the latter did to him.

Lars had been at the forefront in solving most, If not all, of Elias's troubles since childhood, making Elias feel like he ought to do the same. His relationship with his brother was one of the most precious things to him, as they were often almost always together, experiencing the throes of life from the same perspective.

Their bond was unquestionable, and the love they had for one another was without contest.

Elias pulled out the blue-covered book he had converted to a diary, penning down a new addition to the list of priorities which read; 'Make sure to get Lars a body.'

Elias gazed at the new line for a few seconds, before slamming the book shot with a contented expression before standing up to scan through the archives.

'Come to think of it, Isn't the information kept within the archives segregated into regions? I bet some of the higher shelves in the outer region might have the information I'm looking for since it seems to be quite high-level.

'Hmm... Since the information kept in these first rows of outer shelves is accessible to we the students, and we the students are Disciples upon orientation, doesn't that mean that the books in the second row can be accessible by an Apostolic Deacon?'

Elias slowly took measured steps towards the proximity of the second row of shelves, scanning and observing the area intently before making a daring advancement into the bordered-off region.

He stood in close proximity to the shelves for a few seconds, not observing any noticeable changes or differences in his surroundings.

Elias then sighed in relief, now confirming the validity of his daring hypothesis. If he was wrong he was already prepared to dart out of the region and vacate the archives, before coming back in when all had settled down.

'It seems I was correct. This makes things easier, as I'm sure the wealth of information I need on a lot of questions I have can be found here since clearance to higher-level details starts at the official apostolic level.

'Hmm... I seem to remember Senior Sophia warning me about the temptation of certain books within the archives. I was previously confused as to how I had yet to experience it but now the reason seems to be quite clear, I was always at a higher level when compared to the books I was reading.'

Elias had kept to the designated area throughout his current employment period, only categorizing and glancing through the books designated to Disciples in the outer region.

Since he had become an Apostle soon after his employment, Elias didn't have to worry about experiencing the call of knowledge from these lower-level books because his ether resonance was much higher than their own.

If it was a regular person who hadn't stepped onto the divine path, Elias was quite sure that they would have already been frequently harassed by the temptation in these books.

The fact that Elias hadn't also experienced the temptation from the closest outer row to him was also explainable, as he was already an Apostolic Deacon which matched its clearance level.

The circumstances seemed to check out, which made Elias much more confident in his earlier deduction.

'The time is almost 5 am, and Senior Sophia usually clocks in at around 8:30 to 9 in the morning. This means that I have a couple hours to secretly do some research before class starts.'

Elias then moved to lock the doors of the archive, so he would be notified of the arrival of Sophia by the turning of the lock.

He cautiously surveyed his surroundings to make sure that no one was watching, before activating his Finger Lines and using it to pull numerous books on preferred topics to himself.

The young man then dove into his research, as the grandly lit archive was once again enveloped in solemn silence.

...

At about 10 minutes past 8 in the morning, Elias stood up from his reading position, stretching his body in a bid to relax his stiff muscles and joints.

He had been sitting for the past 3 hours, engrossed in his reading and not making any unnecessary movements unless he absolutely had to.

He had an obvious look of satisfaction on his face, a testament to the fact of him getting the answers to some of the questions he had.

'Ahah... So that's how it is.'

Elias had found answers to the questions he had about his linked relationship with Ebonshade, a particularly extensive paper that described the mundane-supernatural connection between mortals and Oddities.

The phenomenon was regarded as Spiritual Tethering, and it was a way to bind an Odd entity or object to one's consciousness, creating a type of symbiotic relationship between the two.

An Oddity that undergoes Spiritual Tethering would experience a vast reduction in their instinctive hostility and aggression, making them achieve a balanced state of equilibrium between their chaotic and rational nature. This comes as a result of them reflecting on the rational consciousness of their host, which in turn allows them to instinctively 'Learn' and draw from the host's coherent state of mind.

Odd entities tethered to a host can even go as far as showcasing a state of intelligence and composed behavior, while the objects are able to exhibit a state of dormancy and harmlessness.

In turn, the host also benefits from the relationship, as the tethered entity is instinctually compelled to act in favor of their host to ensure their protection. If lucky, the host can even achieve a safe amount of genetic mutation, which would lead to them naturally exhibiting certain supernatural traits of the Oddity tethered to them.

This is a rarely observed phenomenon, as you and the Oddity in question would need to build a deeper relationship for this to happen.

Spiritual Tethering itself did come with its risks, as one would not be able to bind themselves to an Oddity with a bigger ether pool than themselves, lest they put themselves at risk of contamination and instant overall mutation.

Elias was satisfied with his research for the morning, thinking that he would have been able to do so much more if he had thought up the idea earlier.

He honestly would have liked to do a bit more reading but decided to wrap up early as Sophia would soon be arriving as per her normal schedule.

Click...

Just as Elias had thought, Sophia had marked her arrival, strolling into the archives with a cup of steaming hot chocolate in hand.

She had her hair styled into a bun today and was carrying a pile of books in her other hand, making her look like a civil worker.

She threw Elias a lazy glance, nodding to him with a slight smile before settling into her desk.

Elias hesitated for a moment before deciding to approach her, as he had a question he urgently needed to ask.

He then gave her a light greeting, before asking her the question on his mind.

Elias wanted to know about the Oddity Professor Windsor had talked about a while ago, the one that had something to do with the sea route between the Estica and Lytton ports.

The man hadn't brought it up again after he had mentioned it the first time, making most of the students either lose interest in it or forget entirely.

Not Elias though, as he had always had it at the back of his mind to get the answer from someone else.

After hearing about the details from Elias, Sophia took a sip from her steaming chocolate drink, all the while lazily tapping her fingers on her desk

"I see... He must have been referring to the Displacement Map. It's no major secret... among all of the numerous Oddities in existence, it is the most popularly known among we the students."

"The Displacement Map? Could you be more specific, senior?"

Elias couldn't resist asking, as the name sounded quite normal and unimpressive.

Sophia sighed at the sight of work so early in the morning, before turning towards Elias with tired eyes,

"Yes, the Displacement Map. It's an Oddity hidden beneath the Naric Sea... and one that distorts the distance between the locations around the Naric Sea route."