The young man accepted the substantial weight of the fountain pen, the icy sensation of the cold metal against his skin causing him to tremble ever so slightly. He bent his head low, meticulously writing his name upon the paper stroke by single stroke, behaving as carefully as if he were sculpting a masterpiece, filling in the lines along with some basic information regarding his address and the specific amount of money that had been lost.
By the time the Arbiters had finished packing up their belongings and departed from the premises, it was already approaching noon.
They had wasted quite a significant amount of his precious time, even consuming the meager amount of tea leaves remaining that the old priest had left behind specifically for the purpose of entertaining distinguished guests. However, looking down at the appendix stamped with a bright red seal currently resting in his hand, Alex felt that every second spent was completely worth it.
He had never once imagined that the lost money could actually return to him in such a miraculous manner.
"Do you believe what he said?" On the way back to the city, while passing through a rugged path filled with gravel and stones, Hughes asked Wood.
"No one can lie fluently in front of an Arbiter without their heartbeat or soul fluctuations being detected," Wood replied, looking at the form Alex had filled out. The young man's handwriting was delicate and neat, written stroke by stroke with great seriousness, proving that he had been properly educated and raised by that respected senior predecessor.
"He indeed did not lie, at least about what he sensed and experienced," Hughes shrugged his shoulders, casually kicking a pebble on the side of the road.
"He just has something to hide, some small secret to protect himself," Wood continued, his gaze looking toward the distant horizon: "But then again, who doesn't have secrets?"
...
"Alex."
After determining that the footsteps of Hughes and Wood had traveled far away and disappeared behind the thick row of trees, Alex hurriedly took action. He ran to the corner of the house, removed the dust cover, and began to reassemble the white bone fragments of Elias, piecing them together one by one.
Clinking sounds rang out clearly as the bone joints were reconnected. The tall, stark white skeleton gradually took shape and came alive once again before his eyes.
"Did I manage to deceive them?" Alex asked Elias, rubbing his palms against his trousers; sweat was pouring out due to the extreme tension he had felt just moments ago, causing an uncomfortable, sticky sensation on his skin.
Elias shook his head, his cervical vertebrae swaying left and right; this action on a skeleton looked a bit funny and bizarre to behold.
"Alex, they did not doubt your words," he said, his voice echoing directly in the boy's head: "But your eyes betrayed you. You were unconsciously looking in this direction, looking toward the corner of the house where I was hiding."
"Then what should be done?" Alex could not help but worry, his face changing color in fear. If those Arbiters became suspicious for this reason and returned once more to search the house, would Elias be captured by them and destroyed?
"It is fine," Elias bent his body down lower to be at eye level with the young man: "They will not harm you. And they also do not have the ability to detect me."
"But if a higher-level Arbiter wants to take you away..." Alex pursed his lips, his hands trembling helplessly; he was powerless and unable to stop such powerful individuals if they chose to act.
Elias, however, was much calmer, appearing completely unconcerned about the prospect of being discovered: "Alex, even in this miserable state as I am now, I am also an Angel of the God; the nature of my life is much higher than theirs."
Let alone these two newly initiated extraordinary individuals, even the person in charge of the Arbiters in the entire Dune district would be completely unable to detect the existence of Elias if the angel intentionally concealed himself.
"I am afraid I will expose you, that my clumsiness will harm you," Alex lowered his head, his voice tiny and fragile. Naturally, he did not worry about Elias's strength; he feared that he himself would become the breaking point, becoming a burden to the War Angel.
After all, he was too weak, just a mortal not worth mentioning in the grand scheme of things.
"It is fine." Elias placed a bony hand on the boy's shoulder to reassure him: "The Judge and I are both servants of the Goddess."
That is right.
Alex raised his head, his eyes brightening again with realization; how could he forget such an important matter? Elias is an angel of the God, and the Judgment Angel—the powerful figure standing behind the Luminous Church—is also an angel of the divine; They serve the great Goddess of Light together.
But if that were the case, why did Elias not leave here, return to the Kingdom of the God, return to the celestial realm? Was it related to the doubts he had not yet answered for Alex? The dark secrets that the boy could not know...
He was still too weak; a little knowledge about the extraordinary world made him dizzy, gave him a headache, and made him feel nauseous. If he continued like this, would there be a day when he truly died from knowing too much, his soul shattering into pieces?
No, he must become strong; he must grasp his own destiny.
"You said I could rely on this thing to perform witchcraft," Alex looked back at Elias, his gaze determined. He slightly anxiously pulled off the old scarf, revealing the zigzagging black lines that looked like roots spreading beneath the skin of his neck: "So, how should it be done?"
Elias squatted down, his empty eye sockets dark and lifeless, staring intently at the mark. Alex looked into him, feeling as if he were being sucked into an endless nothingness. Although the skeleton always radiated a holy aura, the fear of death was a nature deeply rooted in the human soul.
He could not help but shudder once due to the sudden coldness.
Elias did not know why the boy trembled, only thinking he feared the act of borrowing power from this mark of unknown origin to steal divine power. He comforted the boy gently: "Do not be afraid, I am here." The white bone fingertip pointed lightly forward; the cold fingertip touched the black ring-shaped mark on Alex's neck: "Let me see, which system its power ultimately belongs to..."
Elias suddenly stopped, withdrawing his finger sharply as if he had been electrocuted.
"Is there a problem?" Alex asked anxiously. He was used to Elias always speaking halfway; what the angel did not say out loud was certainly dangerous things that Alex could not be allowed to know.
This white bone angel thought quite thoroughly and carefully in this regard.
"There is nothing dangerous right now," Elias said after a long moment of silence: "Tonight we can try a little, letting you borrow its power to become an extraordinary person, stepping into the real world."
Alex was secretly excited, his heart beating with a heavy thumping rhythm, and asked: "Is any preparation needed? Candles, silver knives, or blood?"
Previously, when the old priest was alive, occasionally he saw this elderly extraordinary person perform some strange magic for purification. Before the magic began, she always used all sorts of items for the altar, drawing magic circles to beg for the pleasure and favor of the spirits.