It was official, William was a man built on a foundation of pure exaggeration.
He had warned Lou that Edith was "usually" in a foul mood.
That was a lie.
She was only in a foul mood when William was in the room. The moment the gold-embossed doors had closed behind them and they'd stepped into a private carriage outside the library, her demeanor did a complete 180.
The carriage was now rattling through the cobblestone streets of Ypisisti, headed toward a place Edith called the "Black Market for Magic."
Sitting face-to-face with her, Lou realized she wasn't just the cold captain he'd met in the office.
She was chatty.
She asked about his lodgings, his old life, and the topic he actually gave a damn about, what he knew regarding spirit energy and the Hunter's path.
Since he was a Seer, the conversation naturally turned into a lecture. William had tried to explain things, but since he wasn't a Seer himself, he'd left out all the technical details that actually mattered.
"All Seers have visions, boy, but I need to know the extent of yours," Edith said, her white, sightless eyes fixed on him as if she were reading the air around his head. "Tell me what you've seen. Both past and present."
He didn't have much to say about the past, Klau's memories were a blurry mess, but the future was a different story.
He described the vision of Mrs. Aldrich's death he'd inherited from the original Klaus, and then the gut-wrenching details of Albert's murder.
"The problem is, I can't tell when it's going to happen," Lou admitted, his voice tight. "The visions don't usually come with a timestamp..."
He trailed off, his heart skipping a beat.
The vision of the city's destruction, the one with the woman in black had come with a very specific date.
May 1, 1776.
The thought of it made his stomach do a slow, sickening roll.
Fuck... I shouldn't have brought that up. If I tell her I saw the apocalypse, she'll either think I'm insane or use me as a human radar until I break. She could even believe me, but I'm not sure if I can trust her yet.
"William tells me that you can see the exact time and place of the events?" Lou asked, trying to steer the conversation back to her.
"I can," Edith said, her head nodding slightly with the rhythm of the carriage. "But it requires focus and refinement. You need training, Klaus. In time, you'll be able to see exactly as I do, but it won't be easy. You'll need to reach at least Grade Three before the fog truly clears."
Grade Three? Lou leaned back against the leather seat. I'm probably sitting at a bottom-tier Grade Five right now. I'm a long way from being a pro.
According to Edith, he had to complete an official, supervised mission to even be evaluated for a grade. Apparently, his midnight run to the witch's cottage with William didn't count because it hadn't been "logged."
Typical bureaucracy, even in a secret society of ghost hunters.
But Lou's mind was already racing ahead. He needed to know the ceiling of his power. Was he just a glorified crystal ball? Was tracking spirits and having bad dreams the only thing a Seer could do?
If I'm going to be in the line of fire for the 'Mother of Ruin,' I'm going to need more than just a heads-up that I'm about to die, he thought. I need to know if a Seer can actually fight back.
"Is seeing all we do?" Lou asked. "Or is there more to this 'vision' than just watching people die?"
Edith smiled, a thin, knowing curve of her black lips. "Well, you can see the future, can't you? That's more than most men ever get."
"But how does catching glimpses of people dying help in a fight?" Lou asked, leaning forward. "I mean, if a sword is swinging at my neck, does knowing it's about to happen really change anything?"
"Death isn't the only thing a Seer can see. If you're skilled enough, you can see the immediate future. Short, jagged bursts of the 'now' before it even happens. You can predict an enemy's strike before they even think to move their arm." Edith paused as the carriage lurched over a pothole. "There's more to it, of course. You'll get your answer soon enough once we reach the Black Market."
Lou leaned back against the leather bench. Predicting a strike is fine, but it's not enough. What if I see an attack I'm too slow to avoid? What if the future I see is just me getting flattened?
"Can a Seer learn other techniques?" Lou asked. "I mean, besides just being a human crystal ball?"
"A dangerous question, but an important one," Edith said, her sightless eyes seeming to pierce right through him. "It is possible for an awakened soul to pursue multiple paths. A Seer could technically learn to manipulate light, storms, earth, or even reality itself. But it comes with a price most aren't willing to pay."
She lowered her voice. "It is incredibly rare for an awakened to master two or more techniques. Ninety-five percent of those who try succumb to Corruption. And once the rot takes hold of your spirit, there is no cure. We have to eliminate the corrupted before they turn into something... else."
Ninety-five percent? Lou felt a chill. Those are terrible odds. That's basically a suicide mission.
But then his mind drifted back to the woman in the black hat and the date of the apocalypse. If he stayed a pure Seer, he'd just be the guy with the front-row seat to the end of the world.
If there's a five percent chance I can get stronger, I'll take it. I didn't come to this world to be a victim.
"You aren't actually considering it, are you?" Edith asked, her tone sharpening. "I wouldn't recommend it. You could master the Seer path and reach Grade Two, like me. That's more power than most could ever dream of."
"Is Grade Two the limit for a Seer?" Lou asked.
"No one has ever gone beyond it," Edith said, her head tilting as she listened to the sounds of the street outside. "That's not to say it's impossible, but the history books are empty past that point."
Empty, huh? Lou thought, a small, reckless grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. Sounds like there are a few records just waiting to be broken.
The carriage slowed to a crawl before finally coming to a dead stop.
"We've arrived," Edith said.
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A/N: The world of the Awakened is governed by diverse Spirit Techniques. While common paths include the manipulation of Light, Earth, Storm, Wind, Shadow, Fire, and Ice, there exist more complex and esoteric domains such as Time and Space. Among these, the Seer path is the rarest which is considered a celestial gift granted to only a select few.
Most Awakened humans commit their entire lives to perfecting a single technique. While it is technically possible to pursue a second or even third path, the cost is often more than a soul can pay.
Attempting to bridge multiple spiritual domains invites Corruption. This is not merely a physical toll, but a psychic erosion that leads to:
Incurable Madness: The mind fractures under the weight of conflicting spiritual laws.
Loss of Humanity: The soul is consumed, leaving behind a hollowed husk or a monstrous entity.
Despite the 95% failure rate, the impossible has been achieved. Throughout history, a handful of legendary figures have successfully mastered two techniques. Even rarer are the anomalies who have mastered threewho arebeings of immense power whose names are etched in the annals of the Sanctorum as both miracles and warnings.