The Bridge

Shrugging the trivial feather from his shoulders, Kanito moved his eyes along the ray of light to trace its origin.

'Where am I?'

Turning back, he saw the feather lying normally on the dark ground, it wasn't wet, moreover, what aquatic animal can possibly have feathers? This re-confirmed that it was not the bottom of the lake, or atleast there was no water in this place

'Now what should I even do? They said that the breaking of the Zeroth Lock will connect me to the supernatural, it seems like the baptism is already taking a toll.'

He decided to explore the area in the direction of the faint ray of light, however he was fearful of the unknown as anybody would be.

'Where can a person possibly go from the bottom of a lake? To the sea god Poseidon's domain?' It hesitated him even more. 'Is the light coming from a bioluminescent animal? Is this place a secret realm of an evil god? Is this how death feels like ? Is it Heaven? Hell? Nothingness?'

The darkness in front of him opened up into a dimly lit tunnel, a strange old man with a lantern in his hands stands with an equally confused expression on his face. He wore a simple, brown robe made of leather and wore wire-rimmed, circular spectacles.

"Who is there?" The old man lifted the lantern to his face and saw Kanito with an utterly bewildered face.

'Is this old man supposed to be my first enemy? Hoosh.. good thing Poseidon didn't send a Kraken.'

"Sir.. what is this place?" Kanito tried to sound as honest as possible, he showed some aimless movements and hand gestures to emphasize the uncertainity he is feeling.

The old man with a skeptic look observed Kanito, then he said, "Whoever doesn't know this place cannot enter this place either. Stop lying to me. What were trying to do in the Revolutionary World? Answer me!" He shouted in rage.

The confusion in Kanito heightened, but he again realized another thing. He needs to stay composed and act diplomatically. The old man is also a human and old men love to get their ego catered so a clever talk will clear the misunderstanding. Moreover, to uncover more details about the mysteries of this world, he needs to stay humble and respectful.

'Okay, clear your mind, everything will be fine. In this world, supernatural is a natural event. I will talk my way out.'

Putting on a face of innocence, he spoke, "Sir.. I don't even know what the term 'Revolutionary World' means. Please believe me."

With a mature and humble voice, he spoke, "I believe you possess profound wisdom and experience, analyze me then. You will see that I don't hold any special power, nor am I a spy or a criminal."

The old man took off his spectacles and saw deep into Kanito's eyes. "I cannot see the Zeroth-lock in your Light Space but there are still numerous locks, stacking one above another. You are in your invoking phase it seems, you are yet to wield an enchanted candle."

Kanito nodded to everything the old man said, not that he understood everything but still terms like 'Zeroth-Lock' and 'Light Space' weren't unfamiliar.

'Archpriest Rougen also peered into my Light Space and told that it's dark and silent. Is the Light Space a term for soul?'

The old man rubbed his chin, "Uh huh.. have you gone through a Baptism?"

"Yes! Yes sir yes!" Kanito's eyes immediately lit up, the terms used in that world are also being used here and Kanito has certainly gone through the ritual of Baptism. Finding one familiar term in this unknown world was a big win for an outsider like him.

"But young, quirky boys like you are often used as spies of different factions, they have their Zeroth-Lock broken and don't advance further. That way, they can navigate the supernatural yet don't become a mythologer. I cannot ignore that." The old man again put forth a challenge for Kanito.

'Ahh.. spies!'

For some reason, Kanito felt an instinctive need to confirm the presence of the mysterious, silver candle in his pocket. This was a powerful artefact for sure, being capable of doing interwordly teleportation, but still, instead of deflecting or denying the man' words, Kanito took a risk again.

He said in a bold, confident tone, "You can check my outfit, they don't look like a spy's outfit. You can even search my pockets if you want, I am totally innocent."

"No, that's okay, my wisdom is enough." The old man said, relaxing his expressions, his brows were still arched.

While escaping the prison earlier, the only thing that saved Kanito was his courage to move against fate. The courage saved him again, even in this precarious time. However the phrase "Awfully convenient" sprang up in his mind again.

"Mythology is not practiced in the Human-Beast World, even if it was, there was no way for you to travel all the way to The Revolutionary World, not in the modern age, Are you from the Revolutionary World?"

Kanito tried to move closer to the man, moving was extremely difficult in this place but still he managed to somewhat get closer to him, "I don't even know what Revolutionary World is. And will you kindly tell me where I am standing right now?"

The old man then shared a detail, "In the transitioning years of Toesh and Modern Era, world ending calamities struck the Human-Beast World. To save the mythologers, Goddess of Mortals commanded the migration of mythologers into the Revolutionary World. She sought the help of my Lord Hermes to build a connecting bridge between the two worlds, feel grateful, you are standing on that ancient bridge!"

The detail shocked him, however before he could come up with a reply, the old man annotated, "However, this bridge is made from Wing Domain abilities, being a Mortal Domain, I don't think it will be able to last a few more years. I will be free from my duties of a watchman then."

The statement concerned Kanito, he asked, "If the bridge doesn't last, then what will be of you?"

The man laughed, his mirthless laugh was like a rustle of leaves, it hid the poignant hints in his voice, "What will be of me? I would die probably. But atleast I would die with honour. After death, when I will be sent to The Underworld, I will proudly claim before Hades, that I once served Lord Hermes."

The old man noticed how Kanito was more worried him even though they don't know each other. To change the topic, he asked, "Your clothes suggest you are from the Human-Beast World, more specifically, the Southern Continent. You are not supposed to possess any mythological powers, then how did you travel to the Revolutionary World?"

Kanito hesitated, the mysterious candle and the match which he hid for so long was finally brought into limelight.

'If I reveal about the candle, it will probably clear the mystery of my absurd teleportation to that world, the Revolutionary World. But what if I land in bigger trouble? If this candle is a great artefact, something that I shouldn't possess then it will create misunderstanding.'

Thoughts and reasons buzzed across his mind, finally, he decided to reveal the candle to the old man, "Please don't suspect me, but I didn't willingly go there, I was absurdly teleported, the reason is.." he produced out the silver candle from the pockets of his cloak, the candle shimmered and even outshone the yellow flame of the lantern, "One night, I found this candle lying by the wall of a building, I lit it up so that I can have an illuminated path to my home, but when I did, it teleported me to the Revolutionary World."

The old man examined the candle, and with a serious voice, asked, "What match did you use to light it."

Kanito took out the silver-plated match with red and black designs, "This one." he said softly.

For a second, it looked like the old man shivered in abject horror, as if the presence of the candle was an anomaly, an affront to congruity and order.

"That is a sage-tier match of Space Domain. It is an enchanted candle of the Divine Domain : Space!" The old man declared profoundly.

"In the Sixth Age, humans are not supposed to ascend in Divine Domains. What deity are you? Tell me!"

What Kanito feared the most happened, it created a misunderstanding.

'Argh, why did I do it? Idiot, naive, dumb me! I could've easily crafted a fake story but I didn't, I made a dumb decision again. Murphy's Law is indeed on point!'

"I am as human as you are, sir. If you desire, I am even willing to give up the candle." Kanito spoke in an honest tone.

"Oh no no, I am not bold enough to steal an enchanted candle, let alone a candle of a divine domain. Stealing a mythologer's candle is equivalent to taking away their life. It's a sin that even my merciful lord will not forgive."

'A magical candle capable of interwordly teleportation. That sounds cool.'

"So I guess there are two ways to travel between both worlds. One is by lighting the candle and another is by using this bridge made by Hermes?" Kanito asked as he contemplated the possibilities.

"Lord Hermes! Do not call my lord by his common name, only cardinal priests and high priests are permitted to do so. And yes, this pathway between the two worlds can be accessed through the Baptism Lakes. It's connected by the St. Lucas' Lake in Human Beast World and by St. Promius' Lake in Revolutionary World."

'Should I mention about the god of sun, Akhmis? Also if greek gods are real in this world, shouldn't Apollo be the god of sun? Or is Akhmis the same as Apollo?'

"When I immersed my body in St. Promius' Lake for the third time, I found myself in this dark, connecting bridge like area." Kanito spoke with awe and trepidation.

"Indeed, three is the holy number of the Great Akhmis." The old man said, surprising Kanito with the mention of the Sun God.

"You know The Dazzling God of Sun, Akhmis?"

The old man's eyes tinkled with amusment, he smiled and said, "I do. He is an acquaintance of Lord Hermes. Even though the Sun God is from the Pantheon of Jarvis, my social lord has built connections with him. My Lord is indeed the greatest of all traders, isn't he?"

"He is!" Kanito felt a deep seated reverence and admiration for the messenger god, he painted a respectful view of Hermes in his mind.

'Hermes was one of the twelve Olympians, sure, but I never knew he was this relevant. Building connections across different pantheons? That's impressive. Like this bridge, like Hermes and Akhmis, there might be a lot of factors that tie the two worlds together. I have to be more careful. Only if I had a notebook, I would've joted down every bit of information I get.'

"I think we have talked enough, what is your name, young man?" The old man asked with a gentle smile.

Trusting the old man, he took his name, "Kanito Aramishi." Pausing for a moment, he asked, "And you?"

"A humble servant." The man smiled again.