Somewhere beyond this world, there is a land of endless darkness. Some called this place the land of the dead. Others, the underworld.
Since ancient time, it was commonly known as "The Depth". Here, the concept of light become vague, and even life itself is questionable. When looking into the horizon, it is possible to see a familiar golden hue.
March, or rather, Lewis woke up as the familiar sight of the dark environment greeted him.
The first thing he felt was the dreadful cold of the depths, followed by a weary fatigue.
If Yin San was here personally, he would be shocked!
Because in the distant, there was a projection of a giant tree emitting golden hues. This hues became the only source of light in the vast depths.
What was that place? And who is that figure?
Unlike Autumn, he quickly orientated himself, then used various methods at his disposal to inspect his state.
As a deep diver of the depths, there were creatures of all kind that can affect you without even being present, or noticed.
Nothing… There are no abnormalities… Seeing this, he was even more fearful.
What he experienced was definitely not mere dreams. Therefore, for his inspection to yield no abnormalities is the greatest abnormality of all!
For a moment, his fear urged him to return to Castle Light, the headquarter of the Deep Divers in order to request a cleanse from an Inner Divers. But he stopped himself.
Mr. December… If he wanted to harm me, I would have already been harmed…His method is extraordinary! He noted in his mind.
Seeing as he was 'fine', he decided to hold off on running back to Castle Light.
Then, he turn toward the golden tree in the distant, noting down the time in his heart.
"Fourteen pulses…"
Instead of returning to Castle Light, he wanted to explore the Depths further to look for records of its history as well as corresponding secrets.
He was sure that Mr. December would be greatly interested.
If I have the time, I must retrieved my hidden stash of 'notes' that Mr. December wanted… I-I wonder what secret it holds.
Perhaps this was an opportunity that he has been looking for this entire time. At the same time, he can't help but remain somewhat cautious.
…
It was a dark gloomy night. The moon could be seen peering through the mass of gray clouds. Occasionally, a ray of moonlight would land on the ground, before disappearing.
Yin San sat in his small room with the window slightly open.
Every now and then, the scent of fresh rain would drop down, followed by the creaks and flaps of the wooden window frame as the supporting stick struggle to keep it open.
At this moment, Yin San was sitting at his desk. His eyes glued onto a blank piece of animal hide, as though it was holding a piece of his life.
His action invites a wave of ridicules among the servants as well as clan members, but he didn't bother entertaining their mockery.
This was deliberate.
Before he could even grind the ink, a shadow tugged at the corner of his vision.
He quickly raised his head, greeting an appearance that somewhat startled him.
It was a woman. Her face was hidden behind a starry veil, as if it contains the greatest secret in this world. Yin San eyes caught onto the otherworldly dark robes that draped over her figure from her neck down.
She was like a still mannequin in the storm of the night.
"You have a… familiar scent…" She said, her voice was soft. If not for his keen hearing, the rain outside would've drown her words.
With her sudden appearance, he can't help but be alarmed inwardly, yet outwardly, he maintained an indifferent look.
It's Madam Arianna… I didn't think she would appear this early… That make sense, all her appearance is in relation with the time in which I enter the mysterious space…
This wasn't his first encounter with her. In his first life, he met him not long after he obtained his golden finger. In the second life, he also met her not long after entering that desert. The connection between her appearance seemed to related to the white castle.
Yin San assumed that she was attracted by the aura of the white castle. But he couldn't confirmed this suspicion, as there was no way of testing his theory.
Out of habit, he perform a series of psychological examination on himself, to make sure he was not in a state of dreams. Something he learned in his past life. He knew that against a true powerhouse, it was useless.
But this was the only method he had on hand to deal with anyone that may be controlling, or spying him in his dream in an attempt to pry information.
After all, he is currently an ordinary person, not a dustborn. Any extraordinary means must be met with great caution. And even if it was useless, this series of precaution shows that he was cautious.
After making sure that he wasn't in a dream nor being controlled or spy by anyone, he let out a sigh of relief.
At the same time, he perform a series of mental exercise to help prevent himself from recalling certain information or knowledge that would endanger him.
"Madam Arianna, it is my pleasure to meet you." He greeted, standing up to offer her a slight bow, followed by a low smile.
He took the initiative to speak in Lomese, the language of the Lom Kingdom, one of the nation outside beyond the Crimson Shore.
She didn't reply to his greeting, her puppet-like eyes scrutinized him, as though to understand his secrets for a long time.
He met her scrutiny with ease, not worried about the secret regarding the desert nor castle.
Only when she finished did she speak.
"You know me?" She murmured, speaking Lomese as well. Her tone is now dull and inanimate, like a written script.
Despite Yin San using Lomese for his greeting, she wasn't concerned. As for her question. Yin San had his own guesses toward her origin and the faction behind her, but chooses to keep it to himself.
Now is not the time, He reminded himself.
He did not directly answer and instead said," No, but I have heard of you…"
This was technically not a lie. And even if he wanted to, he couldn't lie in front of her presence. The difference in their status was too great, any conceit would easily be detected by her.
Even in his past lives, at his peak, he would still have to show respect in front of her presence.
She was one of the few people that he was willing to trust and hope to maintain a friendly relationship with.
She nodded, not inquiring the specific details. It was unknown what she had in her mind, but Yin San believed that it was just her curiosity which attracted her attention.
The aura of the mysterious castle above the desert can attracts someone like Madam Arianna… I need to be more careful in the future. He thought.
I can't be there won't be other people who can sense this aura… After his advancement ritual failure as well as encountering that golden haired man, he grew more wary in this life.
She let out a low whisper before disappearing.
"Okay." She' said, her figure melting away into the background, as though she was an illusion conjured by his mind.
Seeing this, Yin San smiled as her lingering scent filled the small room.
"I have a feeling we will meet again," He whisper quietly, not caring if she heard it or not.
For now, Madam Arianna only hold a slight curiosity toward me… Fortunately, she is not malevolent. I hope to request her assistance in the near future… Of course, he knew the price would not be cheap.
Yin San once again examined his physical state. After a series of psychological cues and tests, he formed the conclusion that was indeed Ma'am Arianna, not a conjured dream or illusion by someone else. And more importantly, he was relatively fine.
Yin San didn't think much of their first encounter and throw it in the back of his mind, then focus his attention on the blank animal hide in front of him.
His first and most important goal is to become a dustborn. And for that, he needed some preparation beforehand. His preparation hinges on one key question.
What is a dustborn?
Dustborn are extraordinary being that utilize dust. There exist two kind of dust, innate dust and external dust.Innate dust come in the form of talents, whisper, and echoes.
Meanwhile, external dust refers to the naturally found dust in the wild. For example, firefly dust which produce light, or Three-Leaf locus which is used for healing. Although it is called 'dust', they can come in myriad form, some big and some small.
When a dustborn first awaken, they are thus a rank 9 dustborn.
In mysticism, this number hold great significance. It symbolizes the end of a great cycle and the beginning of another.
Rank 9 is the threshold between a human and a superhuman. The ordinary, and the extraordinary. It signifies the end of one's humanity, and the ascend of one's extraordinary.
Upon becoming a dustborn of rank 9, they are usually granted three talents, two whisper, and in extremely rare cases, one echoes. This number is not precise as each person potential is different. Thus, people tend to use this as a measure of one's talent.
These talent, whisper, and echoes are at random. They appear like a deck of cards in one's spiritual mind. You cannot choose your talents, or whisper, or echoes, it is granted.