Dark Faïz (Book 2) [Completed]

Chapters 8-2

His eyes lingered a little longer on me, but I didn't give it much importance. Asarys' sigh forced me to give her a discreet nudge to remind her to keep her thoughts to herself. Indeed, I felt that they threatened to cross the edge of her lips. She glared at me in response. The elegant physique of this fifty-year-old with short, copper-colored hair made me almost forget that we had before us a shaman whose mission was to explain the laws of the universe to us. His strong forehead gave his face an oval shape, with smooth features and a round chin. His ears, although short, had strangely elongated lobes.

"If you would like to follow me?" our guide invited us after short presentations.

He turned to head inside the temple.

"We're a little late," apologized William in his footsteps. "Crossing the mountain and the glass bridge wasn't an easy task for everyone."

My friend's tone, tinged with irony, seemed to accuse us directly. The shaman's little crystal laugh echoed within the walls.

"As for the mountains, I apologize. I know how hard this walk can be. But believe me, it is necessary in order to assess your sensory level and...many other things besides. As for the glass bridge, I plead guilty. I allowed myself this little fantasy which, I admit, is in no way necessary in itself."

Asarys was about to open her mouth, but I grabbed her arm in time to stop her in her tracks, narrowly preventing her from unloading everything she had on her heart.

Issei entered one of the many rooms in the building. This one, like all the others, had no door. The place, lit by several hundred thousand candles hanging from the ceiling, gave an impression of depth with a play of light that made our shadows dance on the walls. The ground, representing the universe and its solar system, seemed to move slowly under our feet. This cosmic visualization was so realistic that it almost became hypnotic.

"I feel like an astronaut lost in space!" Ray exclaimed, stunned as he walked around the room. "How did you manage to create all of this?"

The shaman watched our reactions silently, hands in his pockets, then finally said, still in a quiet tone,

"It is an artistic work made from logarithmic maps."

"But where is the mechanism hidden?" asked Asarys, pointing to the floor. "All of this seems to be shifting."

"It is not so. It's just an optical effect," replied Issei. "Your brain voluntarily gives you a misconception of information."

"Why would it do that?" I asked, taken aback.

"Simply because you ask it. It has the power to transform the environment. You're far from imagining what it's capable of. The human body has immense energy directly connected to our thoughts. Our brain analyzes and processes a lot of data automatically without you even being aware of it."

Issei approached me. William immediately did the same. His need to protect me instinctively took over, which was not lost on the shaman, who gave a small amused grin. Then he slowly walked around me to finish placing himself right in front of me.

"A non-egregore. The embodiment of your divine soul is quite simply perfect," he whispered, seemingly subjugated by a spectacle that I didn't see.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand," I said, lost trying to catch his words.

William stood before me, snatching Issei from his contemplation and asking him,

"Do you know who we are? And why we are here?"

The shaman put his fingers to his forehead and began to pace the room, his face closed. He sighed deeply before answering.

"Yes, I know! It is I who have the heavy task of transmitting to you the principles of the universal laws."

Issei paused, his eyes heavy with meaning, then added in a whisper,

"How to show the light to blind people? You're just empty shells."

"I'm a Sylph!" William got annoyed at the guide's words. "It's no secret here. I think you are dealing with people who can believe and understand the irrational and the mysteries of this world."

"Here is the problem! Too much!" Issei retorted, raising his voice. "You believe until you become naive and forget your spirituality. You focus on details that are, in fact, only diversions in order to make you fail in the mission for which each of you has been chosen."

The man walked quickly and threateningly towards William.

"Did you listen to what I just told you? No, because you only select the information that you think is appropriate!"

The noise of the radio disturbed this meeting and reminded us that we were still being listened to. The shaman then raised his hands to heaven and exclaimed in a furious voice, pointing to the box hanging from Ray's waist,

"When I talk about diversions of the mind, I mean that thing! You are again disconnected from your energies. Turn that thing off immediately!" the man ordered, his voice full of anger.

"Impossible!" said William, glancing at the device. "We can't take any risks."

"Then we are done here!" replied Issei, moving towards the exit. "It's lost in advance."

Leaping in his pursuit, Ray called him to convince him to stay.

"Teach us, please. Here, on Eros, there is a stone, more precisely a ruby. It once belonged to a woman named Kushisake. We have to find her."

Issei turned around immediately and seemed to hesitate for a moment. In order to prove his good will, our friend grabbed the radio and brought it to his face.

"Team one, over," Ray said before breaking off contact with the outside world.