novelburst
Chapter 142 - 146 "Ashes
Chapter 142 - 146 "Ashes
Chapter 142: Chapter 146 “Ashes
Heidi did not notice anything unusual in her father’s tone.
“Yes,” she nodded calmly, “I just went to Mr. Duncan’s antique shop with Fenna, had a few words with Mr. Duncan, then administered hypnotherapy to Nina, and afterward, Fenna and I returned together.”
When she got to the end, she hesitated for a moment, pondering whether to tell her father about the things regarding the fire that she had learned from Nina, as well as Fenna’s strange reaction to hearing about it. But in the end, she decided against it.
She still vividly remembered Fenna’s uncharacteristically grave expression in the car; there might be dangerous secret powers involved in this matter, and it could be severe enough that speaking up might invite prying eyes—although her father, like her, was also a true Believer of the God of Wisdom Rahm, and could be considered half Transcendent, he was similar to most Believers in that he resembled a pure scholar more than someone adept at dealing with those dangerous entities directly.
Maurice still wore a calm and gentle expression on his face as he nodded lightly and said, as if offhandedly, “You did spend quite some time there… Did you lose track of time chatting with Mr. Duncan? He indeed is someone with an insatiable thirst for knowledge.”
“Uh… no, not exactly,” Heidi suddenly seemed a bit embarrassed, “it’s just that… the hypnotherapy with Nina took a little longer than expected.”
“During Nina’s hypnotherapy?” Maurice’s eyebrows raised when he heard his student’s name, “Did it not go smoothly? Is her mental state poor? Was it affected by the museum fireincident?”
At her father’s barrage of questions, Heidi couldn’t help but want to roll her eyes, “You really care about your student, don’t you—relax, she’s doing fine. She was just a bit anxious, and after my relaxation guidance, she’s completely fine now and won’t be affected during the final exams. The delay I was talking about… was because of something else.”
Maurice made a curious sound, “Oh?”
“Aha, I might have been a little too exhausted lately,” she said with an embarrassed, dry chuckle, “After putting her under hypnosis, I fell asleep too and slept straight through until evening…”
“You fell asleep yourself during Nina’s hypnotherapy?” Maurice’s expression finally changed slightly, but he quickly regained composure, “That’s not like you.”
“People are prone to lapses now and then, and besides, it’s been so long since I had a holiday,” Heidi said impatiently, waving her hand, “Hey, let’s not talk about it anymore. I’m an adult now, yet both you and mom get so worked up if I’m late, it’s just one question after another…”
Maurice just quietly looked at his daughter for a few seconds, then his face returned to its usual gentle expression, and he smiled, shaking his head, “Alright, I won’t ask anymore—there’s still food in the kitchen, just heat it up. I’ll go and check on your mother.”
“Okay,” Heidi nodded, said goodbye to her father, and then headed to the kitchen. After taking a few steps, she suddenly turned back, “By the way, you were planning to visit that antique shop later on, right?”
“Yes,” Maurice stood at the bedroom door, the hallway wall sconce casting a dim yellow light, creating mottled shadows on his aged face, “Is there something you need?”
“I left in a hurry today and didn’t have a proper talk with Mr. Duncan about Nina’s situation. I am going to write a letter, if you could take it with you when you go.”
“No problem,” Maurice nodded, then muttered to himself as if speaking to himself, “I need to go there again…”
After Heidi left, the elder historian with graying hair just quietly stood at the bedroom door. He appeared to be deep in thought and after nearly ten seconds, he finally exhaled softly and pushed open the dark-colored wooden door.
The light in the bedroom was still dim; with only a small wall light on, the decorative style of the room was elegant, the faint yellow light barely illuminating the outline on the bed.
Maurice turned, carefully locked the door, and slowly approached the bedside.
“My dear, are you alright?” he spoke softly to the pile of writhing ash that maintained a human outline on the bed.
From within the pile of floating, writhing ash that vaguely resembled a human shape, a soft whispering sound emerged as if tenderly responding, and among the ashes, the almost-finished rope knot ribbon made a soft friction noise. The beautiful silk rope, pulled by the ashes, slowly wove in and out, steadfastly tying one knot after another.
“Yes, truly beautiful. Your craftsmanship has always been outstanding,” Morris heard the reply amidst the faint murmuring and smiled as he praised his wife’s knitting skills. “The one you knitted for me is still hanging in my study.”
The room fell silent, and in the dim light, time seemed to be deceived, freezing at this moment. But after half a minute, Morris broke the silence, “Heidi went out today and when she came back, a red agate bead was missing from her bracelet.”
The pile of ashes on the bed suddenly stilled, emitting a low grunt.
“Now, it’s still unclear what exactly happened; if that was an instance of our Lord Rahm’s protection kicking in, it indicates that Heidi faced a danger today that could’ve breached her mental safeguard, but she herself is unaware of anything, and I did not notice any malicious intent around her,” Morris spoke slowly, “It seems more like she unwittingly brushed past ‘something,’ inadvertently triggering the bracelet’s protection…”
Morris suddenly stopped and listened to the low whispers emanating from the ashes.
“Hmm, after my reminder, Heidi noticed the missing part on her bracelet. Therein lies the problem—she believes that the red agate never existed,” Morris nodded, “It’s a form of self-defense, possibly stemming from her intuition or perhaps from the ‘enlightenment’ of the God of Wisdom. But either way, this protection is preventing her from delving further into certain matters…
“Me? I want to investigate it on my own, by myself.”
The pile of ashes on the bed undulated slightly.
Morris shook his head, “There might be some risk, so I will pray and perform divination in advance, but I must make the trip—actually, I’ve been to that place once before. It seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary antique shop, inhabited by a diligent shopkeeper and an eager-to-learn child. At that time, I didn’t sense any malice or evil lurking there…
“So if the danger materialized in the shop during Heidi’s visit today, then the shop’s owner might also be threatened—my student lives there, and I must check on her.
“After all, I am her teacher and a servant of the God of Wisdom…” Morris said softly, then heard an almost indiscernible whisper from the pile of ashes on the bed. He listened intently for a long time before slowly shaking his head.
“No, we can’t disturb the cathedral… though their involvement might be more effective, their overly decisive approach could harm my student. To the guardians of the church, the priority of suppressing heresy and eradicating evil is too high, and moreover…” Morris paused, sighed softly, and continued, “Besides, I’d rather not draw the attention of the cathedral, after all… I am a wavering heretic in hiding.”
His voice was low as he gently gazed at the pile of ashes on the bed, at… his wife who had died in a great fire eleven years ago.
At her lingering shadow in this mortal world.
The ashes slowly rose, seeming to coalesce into an arm-like shape, gently caressing Morris’s cheek.
“I know… I know…” Morris bowed his head as if speaking to himself, yet as if confessing to some unseen entity, “I am a man whose faith has faltered, too cowardly to fully fall… The God of Wisdom granted me eyes to see through deception on that day, yet I weakly closed them, making unrealizable wishes. I wanted to keep you in this world, yet couldn’t completely fool myself… Instead, I’ve trapped myself in this most awkward position…”
He lifted his head and gently grasped the drifting wisp of ash, his fingers passing directly through the dust.
“How I wish I could be ignorant, like Heidi, so I could clearly see your other form… I haven’t seen you in eleven years.”
A soft voice came from the ashes, like sand rubbing together, like a warm little fire crackling, and as Morris listened to this sound, his mind gradually calmed.
“I understand, I understand… all this will end, the curtain must eventually fall on the stage, regardless of what day my wish is responded to, the time will come for the destined price to be paid. I have long been prepared to vanish cleanly and completely from this world when it comes to collect, not even the shadows of Subspace will be able to touch the real world through this ‘wish,’ but…”
Morris lifted his gaze to the contour of ashes in the dim light.
“But, until that day comes… stay with me a little longer.”