The windows of the house on the periphery of the residential block was covered with curtains. Adori had covered every single opening the moment they arrived at their house.
Their small cottage was covered so well that not even the evening rays of sunlight were able to seep through. This had been a ritual for her, ever since she ran away from her homeland.
She gave no chance for anyone to peek through their house. Not even a single passerby would be able to have a glimpse while she entered the State of Unity.
Adori folded the clothes she threw around that morning. She wanted the room to be neat and tidy. It was like how people prepared themselves for an oncoming winter.
The winter here obviously being the physical effects Unity would have on Adori.
When a Veyrathi first enter a State of Binding with Yvelari, a spiral mark would appear on their body. This was an indication that they had formed a bond with a Yvelin and were considered a fully-fledged Veyrathi.
The location of the mark often differed between each Veyrathi. Some would have them on their wrist, while some would have it on their back. Adori's was located on her right shoulder.
This mark was important for each Veyrathi. As the entire flow of their power originated from their mark. It was a link between Veyrathis and Yvelari.
When a Veyrathi awakened their link, the bond responds to their will. However, while Veyrathis were still in the first stage called the State of Binding, they wouldn't be able to use the power of the bond yet.
This was because they could not yet control the surge of power they would feel from their mark. It was why every Veyrathi learned Containment during this period in order to use their bond—thus the power of their Yvelin.
After learning Containment, the mark would take a form depending on the five specific bloodlines of each Veyrathi. Since Adori was of a Seer line, her spiral mark had undergone a change into that of an eye.
From the moment their mark underwent a change, Veyrathis would then learn The Flow. It was like chanelling the contained power of their mark into their whole body.
The faster they learned The Flow, the stronger they would become and enter the higher stages of States.
Since it was a State and not a spell Veyrathis entered when they used their powers, those with weaker control of The Flow often has to endure its physical effects.
This was what Adori was preparing for—the oncoming lethargy.
When she folded the last cloth lying carelessly on the floor, she looked around in satisfaction. Now, their room had turned back to looking like it was being cared for, not like the one where the sight alone suggested the living area of animals.
She plopped down on her bed and looked at her watch. It was almost five in the evening when she was ready to use Unity. She gazed toward Emis who sat on the lower end of her bed.
"Let's start," she muttered.
The moment she said those words, Adori put all of her concentration toward the mark located on her shoulder. As if responding to her will, the mark pulsated and flared with heat.
The mark was glowing gold. Emis' body had also evaporated into a black smoke the moment her mark activated. Golden runes danced around the smoke as it flowed around their bedroom.
Adori used The Flow then. She used all of her concentration to channel the power surging on her mark toward her eyes. Adori felt it flow. However, she could only channel a small amount to her eyes while containing the pulsing heat of power in her mark.
It was like trying to let a small amount of water flow toward a stream all while holding onto a floodgate.
The moment she guided the power of the mark into her eyes, the dissipated body of Emis descended onto her eyes. Adori's eyes shot opened with a golded hue. The runes of Emis' body were now dancing inside her eyes.
She had entered the State of Unity.
The power of a Seer was to peek into the future, glimpse at the past, and look into the location of anything and everything—from objects to a person.
The moment a Seer uses their power, they will enter a Vision Space. It was on this space they will see and find what they were looking for.
Adori was trying to glimpse into what had happened with Elias after he entered the alleys near the port.
***
[Vision Space]
Elias was walking around the alleys. He was alone inside the narrow paths. In his hand was a paper Adori was sure was what she saw from when he questioned her inside the station.
She wanted to take a peek inside that paper. She really was. But luck was not on her side as her vision space was still in the beginning stages and all the sights she saw were blurred.
He looked back and forth the alleyways and the paper. It was as if whatever he had written there had greatly confused him.
Adori felt unsure of why that was. After all, who doesn't understand their own thoughts written down on a paper?
He rubbed his head again and again looking around the alley. As if to make sure he was on the right path, he pointed his finger on the paper and looked around again.
He must not be where he wanted to be, as the detective moved from where he stood and walked towards his right. He looked around again. Then he walked and turned towards his left. Adori followed from behind.
Suddenly he stopped.
He looked at the walls of the buildings there. He approached one of the walls and ran his hand on one the writings of that wall.
Adori squinted to see what it was. When she finally decode the writings inspite of all the blurriness inside her space, she felt like jumping out of joy.
It was names. To be more precise, it was the names of Cale, Seren and Finn—the three kids who disappeared—written on the wall. She did not need to think too much to know this was definitely the spot Rebek had talked about.
When Adori turned her gaze toward Elias again, she felt a burn on her mark. It was an indication that she had reached her limit.
If she did not want to harm her own body, she had to leave the space then and there. It was non-negotiable and definite. Nevertheless of how much she wanted to peek into Elias' investigation further, she would have to wait for another time.
She concentrated on The Flow again. This time, instead of guiding it toward her eyes, she let the power flow back to the location of her mark.
Just when she was about to leave the space, she heard Elias muttering something under his breath.
"So this is where they were last seen," he said.
***
Adori suddenly shot up from her bed. Her body was covered with sweat and she was heaving for breath.
She looked at the watch situated on her beside table. It was ten minutes past five. It had been a whole ten minutes she was inside her vision space.
It was the longest she had ever used the State of Unity. Adori frowned on that realisation. After all, the kickback was about to be legendary for this one.
I should have prepared some medication.
She frowned some more and flopped back down on her bed. Emis—who already reverted back to his original body—sat beside her.
"What did you see?" He asked.
"The kids were last seen in the alley."
"In the alley?"
"Yeah, it seems they have their own spot there."
Emis mulled her words over. "Must have been easy to take them from there."
Adori turned her head toward him, also thinking. "Could be. Do you suspect the old man?"
"Kind of. Did the detective run into him too?"
"No." Adori's forehead got wrinkled as she thought further. "During my vision, he hadn't run into him. But who knows after that?"
"I don't think he would survive if they both ran into each other." Emis said as a matter of factly.
Adori turned toward Emis again. She thought of what Emis had said about the old man—how he felt the aura of Veyrathis from him. If that was true...
Then what about me?
Stronger Veyrathis can sense the aura of weaker ones. It was because the weaker Veyrathis couldn't contain their mark completely even after learning Containment in the first stage.
This often lead to them leaking.
"If what you said about the old man was true, and he really was half-Veyrathi... Do you think he knows about me?"
Emis slowly regarded her. He was quiet after Adori asked him the question and from his expression, it looked like he was thinking deeply about it.
"The chances are there," he started. "But as I mentioned before, he's half. The aura he gave off wasn't that of a full-Veyrathi. And you know very well about half bloods."
Adori remained silent.
"What I mean to say is 'don't worry'. The only thing dangerous about him is the evil I felt from him," Emis gently continued.
Adori truly wished what Emis said was true.