"Sealed Artifact 3-0611… that's the Quiet Hair," Crestet said in realization.
It had once belonged to a colleague of his, a sixth-rank operative. After the man's death, his supernatural essence fused with his hair, forming the artifact.
Like most sealed artifacts, it was born from the remnants of the dead.
The man had been a Spirit Soother in life.
The artifact inherited that ability.
Anyone touched by the Quiet Hair would lose desire. Lose emotion. Stand still in perfect calm.
It could suppress targets as strong as fifth rank.
The cost was simple and terrifying.
If it wasn't removed every two hours, the subject would lose their emotions permanently.
"Leave us," George said. "I work better alone."
Dunn hesitated for half a second, then nodded. The others followed him out.
The door shut.
Silence.
George stepped toward the writhing mass that had once been Old Neil.
His power moved.
Fast.
Precise.
In less than three seconds, the corrupted supernatural essence was extracted and separated.
The pollution tied to the Hidden Sage was stripped away.
Old Neil's form collapsed inward, the grotesque flesh dissolving, reshaping.
When it was done, an elderly man lay on the ground.
Breathing.
Human.
Still suppressed by the Quiet Hair.
George didn't wake him yet.
Instead, he focused on the extracted essence.
This time, he did not enter the gray fog.
The fog weakened divine interference.
He didn't want that.
He closed his eyes.
"Source of the corruption."
A strange light appeared in his inner vision.
It wasn't a shape.
It was a torrent.
A flowing river of abstract symbols and concepts, luminous and shifting.
Knowledge given form.
The Hidden Sage.
The moment George's divination locked on, the torrent surged back along the connection.
It slammed into his mind.
Information detonated inside him.
Arcane structures.
Forbidden formulas.
Deep metaphysical truths.
For ordinary beings, this would mean instant collapse.
Madness.
Transformation.
Even high-tier operatives would struggle.
Because this was direct exposure to a corrupted god.
George did not resist.
He opened himself wider.
He consumed.
Soul body.
Astral body.
Etheric layers.
Mental constructs.
Spirit vision.
Ritual theory.
Summoning protocols.
Ancient languages.
Giants.
Dragons.
Elves.
He absorbed everything.
The Hidden Sage was forcing knowledge upon him.
George welcomed it.
Had this continued indefinitely, he might have drained the entity dry.
But the Hidden Sage was no mindless force.
It noticed.
For over ten minutes, the torrent poured in.
George did not falter.
Did not break.
Did not even flinch.
That was abnormal.
The flow abruptly stopped.
No matter how George provoked the connection, no more knowledge came.
The Hidden Sage had sealed the channel.
George exhaled slowly.
"Fine," he muttered. "I'll finish you properly one day."
Unlike the orthodox gods, he had no hesitation about devouring a corrupted one.
The divine balance of this world was fragile.
The seven true gods maintained order, even if for selfish reasons.
They required believers as anchors to retain sanity.
Without them, even gods could fall.
That insight alone was worth the effort.
George opened his eyes.
A vast library now lived inside his mind.
He removed the Quiet Hair from Old Neil.
The suppression effect washed over him harmlessly.
Old Neil blinked.
Confused.
Weak.
Alive.
George escorted him out.
"It's done."
Dunn stepped forward first.
Emotion cracked through his usual composure as he pulled Old Neil into a fierce embrace.
"You're still here," he said quietly.
Klein's relief was visible.
Leonard, ever the poet, forced a grin.
"We paid good money for you, Old Neil. Don't think you're retiring now."
Even without supernatural power, Old Neil could serve as a consultant.
A teacher.
Experience still had value.
George's gaze drifted toward Leonard.
Handsome.
Careless posture.
Poet's air.
And something else.
A second presence.
Subtle.
Deeply hidden.
A soul layered within a soul.
George hadn't noticed before.
Now he had.
Parasite?
Possession?
Whatever it was, it was powerful enough to remain concealed even from trained operatives.
Interesting.
Very interesting.