The Wandering Spirit

We left the train station in no time, and went on our way to the Northern House. As always, the streets of central were clean, not comparable to the ones in the outskirts. Each and every man and woman had a tendency to play gentleman here. They acted with strict accordance to the traditional royal conduct, the nobles only. Commoners were looked down upon due to this very fact that they did not behave as a royal should be. Social, and economic factors were of course there as well. The major reason was that they did not have mana, which was often treated as a "noble's privilege." The younger armymen especially treated them with coldness, as they were supposedly the peak of a magician's service to the kingdom.

"To tell you the truth: this is not the first case of its kind."

Heinrich interrupted my train of thought. My tired gaze quickly shifted towards him. For this to not be the first case can only mean that there has been unusual activity with the spirits.

"There have been two cases, a murder and a spirit sighting by a commoner. At first, we could not find the link between them except when we were informed of another case in the outskirts."

I knew from just hearing it who the eye-witness that saw the spirit must have been.

"Was the eye-witness in the spirit-seeing incident a man called Lukas Weber?"

Heinrich looked at me in affirmation. He must have known that I had once investigated this man as well.

"He is currently in custody. We cannot look over it this time, despite his circumstances. But I tell you, his senses cannot be trusted. He speaks like a madman, all about the Heavenly Lord and salvation. He is quite a hassle to handle. The murder case especially has my mind occupied, as it is a locked room case. A strong barrier was put across the perimeter, after a warning letter had been sent."

A warning letter was not present at the scene this time. I was curious, but I had a strong premonition behind who it might've been that had sent the letter.

"Oulanem."

The name escaped my mouth, as it synchronized with Heinrich's voice. From the sights to the mysterious spirit involvements, the character showed up in every part. Then, I stumbled upon a detail which I had overlooked. How could he know about the library? While spirits can psychologically interfere with mana users, they can only show their own imaginations. Was the library an illusion all along? Yet, the fact remained that I had fallen.

"A dream….."

The words escaped my mouth again, and it preoccupied my thoughts for a while. I could not differentiate between facts and fallacies. The mere happening of my transformation to another person must serve as enough proof of me falling to sin. What if the spirit orchestrated it all? Then, to what avail did he do it? I felt all this thinking was futile. I felt a gaze stare at me, watching my every move, and trying to guess in advance to counter it.

I had lost track of time completely, and the sun had set already. It seemed we must stay by a nearby army outpost. Then, a question suddenly came to mind.

"Heinrich, did the murder happen in a library?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

I realized that the body found at the scene must have been my body. I failed to grasp at the reason I asked this question, and I kept my hand at my mouth as if I was about to vomit. I could not tell. Was I losing control of my conscience? This must be the omniscience that Lukas was talking about. To know all branches of time unconsciously, yet to not be able to do anything about it, is truly frustrating.

"Well, you would not find the body anymore at the scene."

Heinrich seemed to have realized what I meant by it. Now, there must be a link between Lukas witnessing the spirit, and me falling into temptation. There was no doubt about it. After all, Lukas was experiencing the same omniscience as me. He must know from mere premonition, a part if not completely, what was going to happen to him. He must know the meaning behind this "waking up," and I must ask him about it at an instant.

I started to feel drowsy. I closed my eyes slowly, and a voice repeated again in my ears.

"Murderer! Murderer!"

I saw the door, the gun, and blood again. I was now in the library again. I navigated through the books, which mentioned blasphemous records. Among them, I saw one book titled "Lux." It was a classic story of the Heavenly Lord, as he descended from the clouds, and brought salvation and redemption to the men that resided in the Kingdom. At the end, the Heavenly Lord, along with the men who accompanied him, were crucified. Among them, was a thief who insulted him, and he was called "The Wandering Spirit," which was cursed to walk the realms till eternity to come. Until the second, final salvation will come to men.

The man that cured the spirit, was simply, the Light. At least, that was how the story went. The Light sacrificed his life. In exchange for his life, the wandering spirit was given back his volition, and conscience. Supposedly, the Light was created for this sole purpose.

I woke up again. Morning had come by. I did not understand the significance of this sight, and I could not tell if it was merely a dream or something else. Again, I felt a gaze, waiting to judge my next set of actions, and the turn of events that would unfold. I failed to shake off this feeling of premonition that gathered around me like a thick miasma. I felt uneasy, and confused at everything. I must rush to the Northern house and ask Lukas. That was the only lead that I had right now.

The army output was oddly well set-up, with quite spacious rooms. The room which we resided in was luxurious as well, with proper cupboards and a dressing table, unusual for a living quarters.

"This is not a room for regular men in service. It is especially made for men who are sensitive to spirits."

Now that Heinrich mentioned it, there was a strong barrier surrounding the room.

We had left early for the Northern house. Now that I recalled, it had been a while since I had been there. I started to feel nostalgic, remembering the days I had spent with other armymen, especially Frederich who worked directly under me. He was a person whom I could easily rely on. His occasional cooking was especially exquisite, mostly when I had fallen sick or had to work extra hours on duty. At the same time, I felt a headache from the amount of work that awaits me. The book again lingered with uneasiness in my mind, yet I could do nothing about it. It was simply out of my reach to do anything about it.

We had reached the Northern house by evening, at the 6th hour.

"Lukas Weber is right now being interrogated. We will meet him the instant we enter the place."

He warned me. He must have read what had happened to me the previous time I had met him. I opened the door with caution, and found Lukas Weber sitting right in hindsight.

Now, hIs straight face quickly turned into a smile.

"Praise to the Heavenly Lord!"

I realized the meaning behind the dream.

"Someone, quick! Stop him, he is going to kill himself."

It was all too late. Lukas meant "the bringer of light," after all.