Heaven's Darkness (Book 2)

Chapter 20 - Red

"So, how do you think Revengeful Souls got into the spirit realm?" I asked. "I thought Quint said only he could enter the realm and bring people inside."

"I am," he said. "I can enter the realm while I'm alive. The only other way to enter is through death."

"Is there a way to defy death like that?" Ashura asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," Quint admitted. "Honestly, I'm having a hard time coming up with ideas for how they could've done it."

Wow, Quint didn't know. That was a first. He was always the one that knew what was happening three steps ahead of everyone else. It must really be an enigma if the all-powerful Quint Umbra couldn't think of anything.

My eyes wandered to the counter behind Quint and Jeriah's bedside seats. A rainbow of vials and herbs adorned a wooden countertop, some leaves freshly diced on the surface. Sano must have left some unfinished work in here so we could have our little discussion.

Wait, vials...

"Quint, would it be possible for someone to concoct a potion to enter the spirit realm?"

His deep blue eyes locked with mine. "Why, yes, perhaps an alchemist could pull something like that off, but they would have to be masterful. They would have to have a hundred years of the practice under their fingers to even attempt something of that magnitude, but I guess it theoretically could work."

"Who around here is an alchemist, though?" Terra asked. "The only person close enough to one we know is Sano, and she's a healer, not a pure alchemist."

Master cleared his throat, reminding us of his presence. "If there's anything I have learned over the years, it is that some people are not who they say they are. I wouldn't go by known alchemists, but perhaps suspicious characters you could presume to be one. If someone has this level of power, they wouldn't flaunt it around. They would hide it."

"Is it possible for this alchemist to be Virdier?" I asked. "It always seems to point back at him."

"No," Quint denied. "There's no way for that to be the case."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Think about it. Virdier was with Jeriah, or, at least, nearby. He was monitoring the earthen realm. How could he be in the spirit realm at around the same time? That would be too quick a transition."

"He could've given his potion to some other people to use," Terra suggested. "Then, he could go about his business and ensure his life while other people did his dirty work."

Quint shook his head. "I don't think so. A part of an alchemist's magic is experimentation. They have to find test subjects for their potions while they learn to create them. A lot of times, the closest test subject is themselves, so they grow accustomed to that kind of lifestyle. That way, they get firsthand experience of what their potion does to the victim. It's the best way to research.

"If not out of habit, then the alchemist would want to go themselves because it was obvious they had a goal in mind. Why would they trust the job to anyone else but themselves? They created the potion for this sole purpose. If it really is a potion, the ingredients are probably impossibly rare. He wouldn't want to waste it on multiple attempts to achieve his goal. It would be easier to do it himself, so he could be sure the job would be completed."

"So, we have two people causing us grief, not just one?" Terra groaned, covering her face with her hands.

"I feel like this alchemist would have to be someone we'd least expect, not just a suspicious character. Maybe he's a Revengeful Souls member," Ashura suggested.