Chapter 24 : Calm

Sunrise.

The birds merrily flew about, hunting for prey. The villagers were just getting up, while the variety of shopkeepers in Bellpot have already prepared themselves for another day of commerce.

Katachi had already begun following the pebble trail before the sky even cleared up, and stopped at a small shrine just as its rays gently glared into his eyes. The clouds, drifting between him and the sun, filtered the light and made it tolerable.

In the shrine, some food and rice were respectfully placed into several wooden bowls and a pair of chopsticks lay on the stone tiles. On the side of a shrine hung a rabbit's foot on one of its tiny pillars, and a sign with Sharyu Zuku's name, in its original, Ohdean language, suspended on the innermost wall.

Katachi kowtowed once at the tiny shrine, and turned right, towards the wilderness.

He bravely walked into the forest on blind faith.

*** ***

Something felt off.

K : (... Whew... I'm tired already...)

Katachi had not even taken 200 steps from the shrine before he was persuaded by his muscles to rest on the soft, mossy roots. He sat on the moss to regain his strength, and slowly absorbed his surroundings. A sound of water flowing could be heard somewhere, but the source location is unknown. The cicadas nearby created a merry, pleasant ambience, and contributed to the serene atmosphere around.

K : (... This is a rather nice place... The morning is as cool and fresh as ever.)

He glanced around more, taking it all in. The birds on the trees chirped, signalling each other the locations of fruit and branches. A lazy looking Oilskin snake was resting upon a branch, waiting patiently for the sun to warm its poikilothermic body. The little Flowermane bees had begun drawing nectar and pollinating the flowers that is to become fruit. The trees rustled at a gentle pace, moving in tandem to the slow, soothing breeze flowing inland from the sea.

Something felt off.

K : (... I feel weird, like I'm forgetting something... I wonder what this feeling is?...)

Katachi slowly rested his head against the moss, and adjusted himself to a comfortable position.

K : (Is it because I've woken up too early?... That probably isn't it. I'm used to waking up at this time. But why do I feel so... Tired? Maybe the rocking chair last night wasn't as comfortable as I thought it was?...)

The moss, ever inviting, was of a warm and moist texture, to the perfect extent of it being almost surreal.

Something irked Katachi. Something felt off. There was nothing dangerous around, the surroundings was comfortable and serene enough for anyone's guard to drop, but something was bugging Katachi.

It felt as if the entire area had been attuned by something, or someone to create this place.

K : (... Maybe I'm over-thinking things... Still, this feeling is uncomfortable. I wish I knew what it was- ! Oh! Right, I can do just that, can't I?)

Katachi felt his left hand over the thick, heavy book strapped onto his waist, and reassured its presence.

K : (Okay. It's here. If this Word of Power is truly as powerful as it says... Then I should be able to know exactly what's wrong. 了解! Understand reason for discomfort - Self!)

(There are birds and oilskin snakes about. Why aren't they eating the cicadas?)

K : "!!!"

A soft 解 was heard in the back of his head, before that strange voice spoke to him.

It was strange. The birds and snake do seem a bit too calm over the place. The cicadas are still unharmed, even when there are many birds about. Not a single bird was seen eating a cicada, or even a worm. They also seem unperturbed by Katachi's presence in the forest. It was also strange that this voice sounded different from the whisper heard when Katachi used 定, but that wasn't as important to him right now.

K : (...! That's right! An area that calms... This place is a calm and peaceful zone. Which means... The Word of Power, or the Sealed Room for it, must be nearby!)

Katachi quickly stood up and glanced around the area, trying to look for the location of the dimensional rift, or at least for something that looks golden and glowing.

K : (... Nothing, huh.)

With no luck whatsoever, Katachi sat back down on the mossy root.

K : (... Now that I think about it, this new Word of Power... It really is powerful. I've never even noticed that the cicadas around the area were left alone by these animals, but... It felt like I knew the answer all the long, except it surfaced only with the aid of this Word of Power. I would guess that the limit to this power is really high, maybe much, much higher than my own limit. Shelly did warn me about being specific when using this Word of Power, lest I kill myself with it...)

K : (... Rekter had all this power on him all the long, and he abused it... So many people in the world abuse power for their own benefit. Who's to say, but I fear the day I become a monster similar to them...)

Katachi stared at the small ant crawling on top of the mushroom before him for a few seconds, absorbing his sorrow and reflecting its action against his own.

K : (... That little ant has it easy. Simply living for a few months, collecting leaves and bark and the like back to the nest every day, without worry over things like 'plenty' and 'scarce', 'good' and 'evil', 'right' and 'wrong'... Even though it works hard to its dying breath, at least it lives a life without such misery. It doesn't have to think much - That little ant simply acts. I wish I were like that ant, living on and doing the things I like without having to worry about others. I wish I were some hero who could put an end to all of this without facing much resistance. People have suffered and conflicted enough over these Words of Power...)

His fists clenched hard - Had he not cut his nails, he would probably have bled from self-inflicted injury.

K : (... It must end. Even if it is not by my hand, this madness must end. Even if all I have done here is wasted, and I die halfway through this journey to someone else who is also collecting these Words of Power, all of this insanity... It must end.)

With his will to search for the Words of Power rekindled, Katachi took assertive action.

K : (了解! Understand location of Word of Power in the closest proximity - Self!)

That voice echoed in the back of his head once again.

(The Word of Power within your body, 定.)

K : (... That surprised me. I wasn't expecting it to detect 定... I probably need to change what I want to understand. 了解! Understand location of Sealed Room in the closest proximity - Self!)

(To your right, walk towards the tree with a branch that splits to three. Behind that tree, stand to the left of the rock, and stick the dagger completely into the earth above the only blade of grass and apply Fixate Dimension on the dagger. An entry to a sealed room is located there - Rip the dagger out of the earth, and enter the dimension.)

K : (... !!! Whoa! I didn't know it could give such specific instructions!...)

Katachi was shocked by the knowledge granted by the Word of Power.

K : (... I didn't even know I could fixate and tether a dimension onto another object... This magic... Exactly how powerful and endless can it get? If, for example, a person got their hands on 解, merely knowing to use the term Understand will allow one to become anyone he wishes. Official, king, minister, hunter, rogue, someone with an intensive knowledge of Auser, teacher, magus, anyone they want to become could be easily obtained...)

Katachi stared at the thousand-paged book strapped to his waist.

K : (... A mere modicum of its power could allow anybody to exponentially increase his intelligence and precedence level at the same time... This is able to benefit the righteous, and raise a fine duke to rule the land. But, it is equally capable of plunging the greedy into a mad thirst for power and knowledge, until they eventually destroy themselves in their own avarice.)

He tapped the book with his left hand, to reassure himself that it's still there.

K : (... This cannot go on.)

Katachi stood up, and walked towards the rock behind the tree with a three-branch. Behind it, a Caciabear slept to the right of the rock.

K : (... It's so calm that even predatory beasts like this bear can be soothed to rest...)

*** ***

Pulling the dagger up from the floor, a strange rip across the space was observed.  Katachi peered at the slight, colorless distortion of space. It made the world seen through that tear appear black-and-white. When he reached his hand into it, the space seemed to devour his hand - It was still present, but it could not be seen at all.

K : (... Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Here goes...)

Without any form of safety and preparation at all, Katachi leaped into the dimensional tear.

*** ***

Katachi was greeted by a rather long corridor made entire out of some sort of faintly glowing stone. The corridor seemed plain, but the blocks all seem rather uneven, in a strange way. They seemed inviting, and ominous at the same time. It wasn't possible to tell which rocks would be stable, which rocks would trigger a trap, or anything of that sort.

K : (... Here goes. 恒定! Constant status - Self!)

A golden 定 formed on his chest. With a safeguard present, Katachi treaded over the corridor cautiously.

He tried to step on the rocks that were already depressed, because they seemed the safest should they really be a trigger for some horrid trap. After taking 37 steps on the depressed tiles, Katachi safely made it to the second section of the long corridor, marked only by the unlit torches.

Katachi took his first step -

K : (-!!)

- and the first depressed stone he stepped on sunk even further.

K : (... Not good...)

A rumbling sound of sorts was heard. It was originally on the floor above him, then it passed his head, and then the noise seemed to be coming from beneath him. It was like a serpent or badger or something was released, digging around and around the corridor he has to cross.

Katachi tried the second depressed stone block, and that sunk even more than the first - So much, that it made a squarish hole on the ground, which trapped Katachi's whole leg.

K : (!!! I have to get out!)

Katachi pressed his arms against the floor, trying to pull out the stuck leg. The rumbling sound gradually got closer... Closer... And it was now right underneath Katachi.

Something hit Katachi's leg, which wedged the leg between the stone blocks and itself, and caused the entire corridor to shake slightly. All the stone blocks that could sink right through the corridor were shaken slightly, and all their locations were revealed - If somebody had paid attention, they could have known which stone blocks would fall right through, and cross the corridor safely.

K : (... ? Something hit my leg...)

Katachi, still confused as to what happened, heard the second rumbling coming.

The second 'thing' too hit Katachi's leg, and once again the entire corridor was shaken up. This time the vibration was far stronger than before - So strong, that some of the loose blocks had already fallen all the way through, while those that have not are so obviously sunken that avoiding them has become easy.

Katachi didn't understand what was going on.

K : (... Only one way to find out. 恒定! Constant status - Dagger!)

Katachi drew his wooden dagger, and hacked away at the blocks trapping his left thigh. When a perfectly functional object's status won't change, its prime is maintained - In a sense, it can be regarded as indestructible. Against the stone blocks that are supposed to be much tougher than a mere wooden dagger, Katachi was surprisingly able to chip off the stone blocks instead.

Katachi finally managed to break one of the blocks loose from the corridor's construct, and free his left thigh. Pushing his arms against the other stone blocks, Katachi lifted his body slightly, slipped his right leg into the hole, and dropped down confidently.

He landed solidly on the ground, his two feet planting into the earth - It wasn't the healthiest method to cushion the entire force of the fall like this, but because his body was set to 'Constant', Katachi didn't take any damage from that fall.

Katachi looked forward, and understood what had hit his left leg.

Two boulders that were broken down into pieces were stuck in what seems to be a track for them to roll on and on continuously. Katachi's left leg, with its status set as 'Constant', was not crushed, or affected in any way - It had simply bumped into the boulders, and caused them to go awry from their common tracks.

K : (The rumbling stopped... So these were the things rumbling in the walls. What a strange, yet cruel trap, though - Destroying their legs like this for the price of a Word of Power is merciful enough, I suppose. I'd have imagined that all the traps in this room were meant to kill. I thank Segus that my status was 'Constant'.)

Katachi, with his status still 'Constant', set his velocity to 'Constant' as he jumped toward the corridor. He traveled through the air, and landed back onto the glowing stone corridor.

The loose blocks were obvious by this point, because of the shockwave from the boulders crashing into each other. It was a simple matter to step only on the blocks that were higher than the others.

*** ***

Reaching the end of a corridor, Katachi sees a strange space on the wall swirling round and round, like the time when he tried to create a whirlpool in a small bucket.

Something... Something was behind that.

Katachi checked the Word of Power on his chest, and assured himself that his status is 'Constant'. With his current status 'Constant', he wouldn't be able to get hurt at all, and because his status is 'Fine' and 'Sneaking', he could move about freely unlike that time at the Sage Raufid Young Magus Tournament's preliminary rounds, where he was 'Fine' and 'Falling' even when he had plunged headfirst into the ground.

Holding his dagger up in a fighting stance, Katachi slowly approached the swirling portal, ready to attack anything that might pop through.

Slowly, he peeked his head through the portal, and saw an amazing sight.

The entire design of the room was extravagant. There is a large bed, a size appropriate for royalty, there are many little butterflies in the area, the floor is clean and well-polished, and the ceiling and walls are well-decorated with wonderful art. There is a small table, or rather, a counter, with elegant chairs at the sides, and on it were two exquisite, royalty-class glasses of some blue-colored liquid. A couple lay asleep peacefully on the huge bed, and the area was scented with Tinjengel.

K : (... This... This is a Sealed Room?... Bertund had said that they were rare because most, if not all, have been found by the other Words of Power hunters already...)

In the center of the room, was a pretty, white parrot resting on a bird stand.

On the bird stand was the golden colored word 安 placed on it.

K : (!! There it is!... Wait. I have to be careful about this. I don't know what might happen.)

Focusing his attention on the golden 安 word, Katachi thought.

K : (... 了解! Understand phenomena - Self!)

The same, stranger dry voice echoed in the back of his head.

(The word 安 is not in any creature's possession, and so its magic is leaking out. The property leaking out is 'Contentment'.)

K : (! 'Contentment'... That means the affected are content with something, doesn't it? I thought it was a little bit weird how 'Calm' could stop a Caciabear, but if it's contented with simply sleeping away, that would make sense...)

Katachi slowly approached the stand, while the white parrot eyed the young boy.

"What do you want? What do you want?" the parrot crowed.

K : "... I want simply to absorb the Word of Power on your stand into this book."

"Okay!"

The parrot flew off, and landed onto the table in the room, next to the two glasses. Katachi, staring at the bird stand, held his book out, and opened to a new page.

K : (... Here goes nothing, then. 锁定! Lock within book - 安!)

安 slowly faded off, and was reformed in his book.

K : (... There we go.)

"RRRRAAAAAAAARRRR!!!"

The parrot shuddered and let loose a frenzied cry all of a sudden, and transformed into a crow. Its feathers dyed black, its wings outstretched, the glasses next to the parrot were sent crashing into the ground. With a few caws, many other black crows flew in from the broken window, and a whirlstorm of crows torrented around the room.

K : (!? What- What is this?!)

The crows flew around and around, destroying everything around them. Katachi still had his 'Constant' status held up, so he was fine and unharmed, but bearing witness to the utter destruction of everything while one remains unharmed is a terrifying phenomena, even for the most trained magi and berserkers alike.

A black, ominous twister of death.

It swallowed everything in the room. The walls were scratched and pooped upon. The couple in bed were reduced to their skeletons, their blanket torn up so badly if anyone asked it would be replied with something along the lines of it being from a scrap used for patchwork. The butterflies were absent - presumably eaten by the crows. Feathers and scraps and remnants of the objects in the room scattered all over the floor.

And when the destruction was complete, the crows flew out of the same window they came from - How it was achieved was unknown, for the scenery outside was simply a strange swirl of inter-dimensional space. Finally letting his guard down, Katachi released the Word of Power held on his chest, and took a good look around the Sealed Room.

It was all destroyed. Clawed, pecked at, rammed against, smudged, everything was defaced from a suite of the nobility class to one of the abandoned, run-down inns of some little town.

K : (... My god. This happens when you take a Word of Power from a Sealed Room?...

... Perhaps it's a bad idea to take a Word of Power after all. This place was so beautiful before I came in and ruined it... I'm glad that I've managed to collect this Word of Power so nobody else would misuse it, but it's a bit depressing to see the full effect of the damage done by my actions. My selfish wish caused such destruction...

... Was this... Why they had wanted to seal these Words of Power away in the first place? Then, why did I have one in the first place?...)

With mixed feelings, Katachi exited through the swirling portal he came in from.

He slowly walked through and balanced himself across the stone blocks.

He exited the dimensional space at the start of the corridor, and was back at the small outskirt of Bellpot - It had changed as well.

The Caciabear sleeping next to the rock disappeared. The cicadas stopped crying. The Oilskin snake resting on the branch lay limply on the branch, unmoving. The birds were gone. The trees were the only thing that didn't seem to have changed, but they probably were affected in some other way just like everything else.

Katachi didn't even bother about all of those things.

Eyes staring at the floor, Katachi continued the trudge back to the Demanti's hut.