He fell.

It was a horrible, helpless feeling, his body twisting uselessly as he tried to land well— but he had no warning at all, and it was a futile attempt. The metal whip cracked against his back ribs, and he achieved a new personal best for pain.

“You’ve shamed me!”

No ⸻

“You’ve shamed us all!”

His screams grew louder and louder. A strange numbness was spreading through him, he tried to move his hands and his legs but nothing happened. Maybe, maybe—

“My great-grandfather raised Shahxith into a monster. Your grand-aunt made it into a weapon fit for a Warlord. And I took that gem and handed it to you and you LOST IT!”

Crack came the whip.

A spray of red spread over his vision.

“In the name of my father, and his father before—”

No. He wanted to say. No, no, no—

“I Ordo Bergott—”

He tried to raise his arm. He felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. But he had to try. He had to—

“BANISH YOU FROM THIS CLAN ⸻”

…

…

Olfric woke up in the familiar bedroom that Zuken Banksi had provided for him. His entire body was covered with cold sweat, and his chest hurt. Breathing in and out steadily, his nose caught some half-remembered scents. Sandalwood, and the scent of tree sap. It reminded him that the floor beneath his bed was consecrated, as was every wall, door, floor and window, blessed by prayers to Amaterasu, until the very humm of Faith was permeating every inch of the walls and the very stone from which the room was built.

It made him feel safe. Kept those shadows from returning. It did nothing to keep his mind from troubling himself with the memories of him being flogged by his father, but at least that was preferable to the coldness and the darkness that caught him off-guard even now.

When he was alone.

Or he closed his eyes.

Or when he found himself staring in front of a mirror.

In his memories, a twisted caricature of a girl with crimson demonic eyes leered at him in mad satisfaction and whispered—

⸻Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Sleep and let me inside you ⸻

Olfric shivered and shook the image away. That demon was dead. And if not, it was away, somewhere, hiding in the depths of that destroyed cave. It had attacked him back when he had first ‘killed’ Lukas Aguilar, and had come within a hairbreadth of corrupting him and twisting his soul into a demonic caricature that knew only of Sin and carnage. Olfric still remembered how those shadowy tendrils slipped into his eyes and mouth and nostrils as he screamed and screamed endlessly, while every single bone and muscle of his body was reinforced past limits he had never known and unleashed a strength that could only belonged to a nightmarish creature that had no place in the land of Eternal Light. A power so deep and dark and tasted like black grapes and—

He shook his head again.

Guess the experience was still able to affect him. The consecration around him could keep away external influences, but did nothing against the corruption gnawing within his own heart. For if that wasn’t true, then why else was he—⸻

Olfric pulled at the wad of papers he had before him. He had dozed off right on his table, with papers strewn all around him. Half of them were filled with sketches of half-drawn pentagrams and endless scribbles, with circles and triangles and all kinds of shapes and symbols that could only make sense to an insane mind—

Or an apprenticing spellcrafter too traumatized to do anything else.

“Con—constraints won’t do it,” He mumbled to himself, looking at his jottings. “Constraints won’t do it. Need harmonization. Need to harmonize it. But— but—”

He grabbed a new piece of paper and began scribbling across it.

…..assimilation of mana into the individual will only corrupt it. Five sides, five elements, a perfect balance of the spectrum is required to unleash the power but adding constraint will only lead to explosion. Need harmonization. But how?

Can’t find it. Can’t find it. CAN’T FIND….

Olfric grabbed the page with both hands, twisted and wrung it upside down, and tore it apart, before throwing it away. Seeing the torn fabric slowly float its way down to the ground reminded him of a certain blonde aeromancer and that only made him angrier.

He wanted to blame her.

He wanted to blame her.

This mission— it was all for her. She was the reason Banksi had chosen him for this misdeed. She was the reason he had entered that accursed land of shadows and demons. She was the reason he had walked out of the group and attacked the Outsider and—

And he lost his kami Shahxith.

⸻My great-grandfather raised it to become a Monster. Your grand-aunt made it fit for a Warlord. And You Lost it⸻

His father’s words still rung in his ears. They were harsh, but every word he spoke was true. Ordo Bergott was a rigid man that lived by a code, and ruled over the Bergott Clan with an iron fist. Ever since Olfric had been a kid, he had been provided with the best instruction, the best resources and the best opportunities to become the best he could be. Ordo had taken him under his tutelage and made an Adept Spellcaster out of young Olfric by the time he had finished his bladecraft and spiritism apprenticeship at the Shrine. And once he was ready, Ordo had gotten the strongest Water-type kami in the Clan and offered it to him— all in hope that one day Olfric would become a worthy successor to his own name.

Instead—

He had joined a sacrilegious mission.

He had been foolish enough to be possessed by a demon.

And he had lost Shahxith.

Olfric had proven his unworthiness, and Ordo had punished him for it.

By flogging him mercilessly and throwing him out of the compound. No Clan to call his own, no home to return to, and no heritage to prove himself against.

He was no one.

A nomad.

Like Tanya.

The irony of the situation was not lost on him.

In that respect, Zuken Banksi had been a miracle in his life. The significant fortune Olfric had gained from the mission, plus with Banksi allowing him to stay at the mansion and offering him an endless number of ‘jobs’ provided him the needed distraction and the opportunity to gain Experience and Level Up.

And now finally, he was ready to get his kami.

And he would get it.

He’d show his father.

He’d get his name back, no matter what the cost.

Picking up the wad of papers, Olfric began to scramble through them all over again. Corrections. Plans. Equations old and modified. Calculations that followed the Empire’s thaumaturgy and those that outright ignored it.

He’d solve it.

He’d find a way.

A way to use the ‘skills’ he had gotten from Shahxith. Skills that were ‘useless’ until he managed to gain a mana-forge of a similar synthesis rate. A way that would allow him to get the best of both worlds— the unleashing of delimiters of the bremetan body as demonstrated by the possession, and the complete control of the possessing spirit through modification of the Shikigami Ritual.

All he needed was--

“Olfric?”

He lifted his head up, and found himself staring at Elena’s face. As if by magic, the unending frustration fizzled out of him, leaving nothing more than a lingering apprehension in its place. That and an abject curiosity as to what Elena was doing in his room, and a sense of self-deprecation at being so unmindful as to not notice the sudden intrusion into his quarters. He stood up, and met her eyes a second time.

“Sorry, did you need something?”

“Uh,” Elena appeared unsure. “I thought Zuken might have mentioned it to you…”

“Mentioned what?”

“He asked you to teach the Shikigami Ritual to the Outsider.”

Olfric arched an eyebrow. “Are you serious?”

Elena tilted her head curiously. “He really didn’t tell you about this before?”

“Must have missed the memo. Came in late last night. But whatever, the Shikigami Ritual is to be taught to Asukans and Asukans alone. Not alien Outsiders dropping from whatever rock in space and thinking they’re the next coming of Kagutsuchi.”

“He’s enlisted Aguilar’s help in helping you gain your kami. Plus, with the Convocation, it’s safer if Aguilar has a kami and not—”

Olfric didn’t need to hear any further. It was true that he was an Adept in the Onmyodo Arts, and the best person to teach the Outsider about Asukan theology, doctrine and spellcraft, but he wanted nothing to do with that man. At the same time, he was objectively aware that saying ‘No’ wasn’t an option, regardless of how the ‘request’ was made to him. Zuken Banksi was his sponsor and bedrock in the current conditions, and denying him of something so trivial would only make things sour between them.

At the same time, he had to grudgingly accept that Banksi’s actions made sense. Olfric wanted a powerful substitute for Shahxith, and to capture something of its level, he needed to go into the more dangerous borderlands. Having Lukas Aguilar— as much as he despised the man— to aid him was the pragmatic thing to do. Plus, the Convocation would be divided into three segments, one of which was the Choosing. Tanya and Lukas, as much as he hated to admit it, had a far greater mana and lifeforce output than he did. And while Tanya lacked physical strength in general, she more than made up for it with her blitz attacks. Between the two of them, it would be easy to eliminate other contestants and move into the main event where Olfric could prove his worth.

“Yeah,” He replied, if a bit sourly, “I can teach him, I suppose. But I can’t guarantee it’ll work for him.”

Elena gave him a one-arm shrug. “Maybe it wouldn’t, but he can perform Pyromancy and Metamancy. Maybe exposure to the other types of kami could—”

“Cause a reaction and activate his powers,” Olfric caught on, “much like how I have Shahxith’s skills in me, not that I can use them.”

“But he can.”

Olfric frowned. “Yes. He can.”

He thought he saw a strangely amused expression on Elena’s face but ignored it. The changeling wasn’t his first choice of people to be around but the anomaly mission had given him an acquired taste of being around her. The fact that he had sought shelter in the Banksi mansion didn’t help either.

“Tanya’s giving him a general briefing, so I came to get you for the details.”

Olfric studied Elena with his cold, discerning eyes. He had often wondered if Tanya shared a deeper connection with the Outsider other than their encounter in the anomaly. For someone who was practically a stranger, Tanya seemed to naturally gravitate towards Aguilar a bit more than what Olfric was comfortable with. Just what was it that she saw in him that she didn’t see in...

Olfric paused and immediately perished the thought. Tanya was a Sinner. And her gravitating towards an alien only spoke about her own unnaturalness. That was the reason behind his discomfort. Nothing else.

“Fine,” He growled. “Let’s get that done.”

Olfric paused just outside the threshold of the living room, letting Elena enter the room within him. Sounds of laughter were trickling out of it. Not raucous laughter, but something softer— something indicative of genuine mirth, of good-natured enjoyment. Whatever it was Tanya was discussing with Aguilar, they were certainly enjoying themselves.

Olfric wasn’t certain what kept him out of the room. He hesitated— as if the light-heartedness and the humor were a barrier— and he instead remained in the quiet, solemn hallway. He watched from the door, and wasn’t able to completely suppress his longing to join in.

“But jokes apart,” He heard Tanya speak, “Tengu, Marid and Ghul— those are the three you’d generally see around. Mostly the first two. I think I only met a ghoul-tamer once, back in Baramunz.”

“What are you waiting for?” Elena called out. Blinking, Olfric shook his head and stepped in.

And just like that, the room fell quiet. He could see lines of tension form around Tanya’s face, no doubt forming her own conclusions about what he was about to do or say. The Outsider on the other hand, lost his jolly mood, and instead, took on an indifferent mask. He did not draw power, but the expression on his face told Olfric an entirely different story.

They’re tense, Olfric realized. And the worst part, I can’t even blame them. I tried to kill Aguilar, and I didn’t score any points with Tanya. And now I need their help to get me a kami. By the Light, I’m so hope—

The rest of his thoughts flickered out as he felt an overwhelming peace. The emotion slammed into him like a sudden weight, squeezing his emotions dry, as if crushed by a forceful hand. His fear was puffed out like a candle, and even his inner conflict seemed to go silent.

Slowly, Olfric wondered why he had been so worried. Between the three of them, he was the scholar in Onmyodo Arts. Without him, the Outsider would fail at getting a kami. Plus, Olfric himself was Zuken’s candidate for the Choosing. The only reason he was helping these two was to get timely aid in the future.

This was a bargain. A transaction. Nothing more, nothing less.

“So,” He voiced aloud, looking at Aguilar, “I heard you needed some help in getting a kami.”

“Really?” The Outsider replied in a half-amused tone, “and here I thought you were window-shopping for one.”

“Behave!” Tanya warned Aguilar, eyeing him.

Olfric eyed Elena, who looked utterly unperturbed and then back at the bolt door. He was certain everyone in the room was watching him. Not for the first time, he cursed himself for losing Shahxith. Being in a vulnerable state like this was….

Insulting.

But he couldn’t afford to show weakness either. Weakness killed. He had to pretend to ignore his hesitation. Logic and instinct told him to take advantage of the Outsider’s power and Tanya’s skills, just like he had made use of Banksi’s support and his willingness to keep his word. Calmly, he sat down upon the floor, maintaining a neutral distance from both. This… would require some diplomacy on his part.

“You’re right,” He sighed, “I lost my kami in the anomaly, and I’m looking for one. A strong water-type, preferably another marid if I can help it. And I’m told you need someone to teach you the Ritual so that you can get your own.”

“It'd be for the best,” Elena chimed in. “We don’t want him to get persecuted.”

“She’s right,” Tanya supported. ”It’d be safer.”

“So you help me get this down,” The Outsider replied, “and in return, I—” He glanced at Tanya, “we help you enter some borderland and get you a new kami?”

Olfric winced. There was bluntness and then there was this.

“Yes,” He admitted, “that’s exactly what this is about.”

Tanya snorted quietly.

“Great,” Aguilar chirped, “No point wasting time. Let’s get started, shall we?”

Olfric blinked. Maybe there were benefits to being this blunt after all.