Flame!
The fire, seeming to be satisfied, blazed vigorously before shrinking down as if compressing itself into a flame the size of a palm. It flickered fiercely, maintaining a constant temperature as if insisting it needed no more food.
Jinseong inserted the end of a stick into the shrunken flame, igniting it. With a crackling sound, moisture evaporated, and the tip of the stick caught fire.
It was too small to be called a torch, resembling a symbolic flame that one might imagine a long-ago wizard wielding as a staff.
He waved it around, then rhythmically tapped it against the floor again.
Thud!
Thud!
A dull sound echoed once more. However, with each tap on the floor, the sound morphed, resembling the noise made when striking a hollow piece of wood.
Thud-thud!
Thud-thud!
A gentle vibration.
A large resonance.
The simple act turned the sound into something musical, filled with a primal essence that resonated within Iarin’s brain. Her eyes gradually lost focus, her thoughts cleared, and she became absorbed solely in the vibrations and sounds surrounding her.
Noticing Iarin’s dazed expression, Jinseong brought the mistletoe and the owl he had levitated before her. Then he stepped back and hugged her tightly.
The intensity of the embrace was such that even the body of a trained warrior felt slightly breathless.
“Uh, huh?”
Startled by the sudden hug from Jinseong, Iarin jolted awake.
She instinctively tried to pull away from him. But as she moved, Jinseong tightened his grip and said,
“Don’t escape, focus on the owl in front of you.”
“U-uh?”
“Hurry.”
Under Jinseong’s firm tone, Iarin stared blankly at the owl.
The drowsy owl stared back at her with a dumbfounded expression. She wanted to focus on the owl, but the warmth of another person’s body made it hard to concentrate.
“Empathize.”
“What do you mean?”
Thud-thud!
Thud-thud-thud!
Holding her, Jinseong resumed tapping on the floor.
A sound much more profound than before resounded.
He made sure to have the flame over the Robur oak inhale the smoke of the white powder.
Soon, Iarin’s eyes began to lose focus again.
Her mind hovered between consciousness and unconsciousness.
Due to the repetitive sounds and vibrations, alongside the ‘special effects’ stemming from the mushroom fairy’s remnants, she had fallen into a daze, perceiving external stimuli as if experiencing them in a dream. Furthermore, as her oxytocin levels rose due to Jinseong’s embrace and the mushroom powder, her ability to empathize significantly increased while her tendency to reflexively blame diminished.
Jinseong whispered in her ear.
“Look. There is a warrior before you.”
“Y-yeah…”
Iarin replied drowsily, her eyelids half-closed.
“Look at those majestic eyes. Those eyes can pierce the dark, akin to a beast prowling through the night; not a single enemy can escape their gaze.”
“Mm…”
“Observe those ears. They won’t miss even the slightest sound of footfalls, and even wrapped in a shroud of pitch-darkness, they can’t escape those ears. As a warrior guarding family and self, there’s no better set of ears than those.”
“Uh-huh…”
“Wrapped in wings, you hide in darkness, incredibly agile. Cloaked in the light-fur of the night, you can see the enemy while remaining unseen, blending seamlessly with the tree’s colors, you can wait as one with the wood. But in your hands lies something sharp; that will become the weapon of a blood-drained warrior.”
Jinseong’s words flowed nonstop into her ears.
“The sun blazes, illuminating the world, revealing your form. Claws soaked in blood shine in the sunlight, and what once resembled bark has transformed into feathered armor. That figure is the epitome of the warrior—a truly beast-like warrior.”
Jinseong began to manipulate the mistletoe to envelop the owl.
“Little warrior. There stands one you must aspire to be like. Look closely. Behold the eyes of that great warrior. Those eyes can pierce through the dark and walk the night as if it were day. Can you do the same?”
“Yeah… I can do it…”
“Little warrior. Look at those ears. They can even detect the sound of dried leaves crunching underfoot. Can you achieve that?”
“I can…”
With Iarin’s half-lidded, dazed response, Jinseong started attaching feathers and fish scales to her. The raptor’s feathers clung to her neck and shoulders, while the fish scales formed shapes on her fingertips, curving and sharpening like the raptor’s.
“Little warrior. The winged garment made from pulled raptor feathers lies there. Rightfully, a warrior should possess it—do you have it?”
“I… um, no, I have it…”
“Little warrior. Look at that gleaming blade. Observe the weapon that can tear open an enemy’s belly and pierce through their skull. Do you possess something like that?”
“I… um…”
Jinseong whispered softly in her ear.
“Behold the warrior’s bravery.”
With that, he tore open a blood pack and sprinkled it over the owl. The blood of the same type as Iarin’s drenched the owl’s entire body in a vivid red. Jinseong conjured droplets of blood to hover in the air, meticulously coating the owl red without a drop landing on the ground. Eventually, when the owl was completely stained red, he maneuvered the mistletoe to envelop it entirely.
The sight resembled prey caught in a spider’s web, turned into a cocoon.
Jinseong swung the flaming stick about to further ignite the mistletoe. Slowly, the cocoon-like mistletoe began to change shape. It twisted several times, its contours forming arms and legs, and a bump resembling a head protruded.
Personification.
Projection.
Enhanced empathy due to increased oxytocin levels.
Heightened body temperature from trance state and solar influence.
Alpha wave brainwaves.
The negative symbolism associated with a suitable sacrifice for Crom Cruach—’the scapegoat’ and ‘firstborn’—were transferred unto the owl.
All his actions spoke loudly.
Here lies the offering.
Here stands one deserving of the offerings’ grace.
And, according to proper rituals, the sacrifice must be made.
The fruits of this must be bestowed!
Jinseong plunged an oak branch into the now-ash statue made from the mistletoe. Instantly, the wooden stick turned to ash. Together with the ash created from the burning mistletoe, it shot vertically into the sky and disappeared, leaving only perfectly cooked bird meat behind.
Jinseong picked up the meat, dusted off the ash, and approached Iarin. Iarin, still dazed, was awakened by the aromatic scent of meat wafting towards her, and she blinked at the unknown bird meat placed before her.
“Uh, what is this?”
“The ritual is complete. Now you may eat this.”
“Re-really?”
“But you must eat all of it by yourself. Can you do that?”
At Jinseong’s inquiry, Iarin smiled.
“I can take down ten!”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
“Ah, but… do I need to eat the innards or bones?”
“The innards will’ve vanished without a trace, so that’s fine. Never eat the bones. Eating bird bones can weaken your own bones and become toxic. And you must eat the eyeballs, but as for the ears… it might be risky to eat the cartilage, so just avoid it altogether.”
“Got it. So just be careful about the bones, right?”
According to homoeopathic magic, it was believed that consuming agile and light creatures made you just as nimble.
It was said that eating the eyes of creatures with sharp vision would improve one’s eyesight, and if one ate a strong creature, one would gain their strength in kind.
This came from the belief that consuming beings with special attributes allowed for the sharing of their characteristics and abilities.
“I’ve finished eating!”
In just a few moments, Iarin had devoured an entire bird.
Seeing this, Jinseong nodded and said,
“Let’s go.”
*
“I wonder when they’ll arrive…?”
On the sofa in the suite, a witch with brown hair was staring at the door, waiting for someone.
