Chapter 17: Arcane Dilemma
As Captain Alton stepped into the dimly lit mines, his eyes quickly adjusted to the sparse light that flickered from the few lanterns and glowing arcane crystals. The mines harboured an unusual eeriness to it— empty; void of its usual clanks.
With a deep sigh, he lifted his right hand. A soft, reddish glow manifested forth, quickly shaping into what appeared to be a small moth of deep crimson aura. Its delicate, translucent wings shimmered ethereally, fluttering in a slow, mesmerizing rhythm that cast fleeting shadows pulsating against the walls.
It was the Act 4, Crimson Moth-Hound arcane spirit.
"Seek blood," Alton ordered, pointing forward.
The spirit, a beacon in the gloom, led him with unerring precision, its crimson light painting a path through the open expanse. Within minutes, the moth halted abruptly, circling above where a sizable crowd had gathered, maintaining a respectful distance.
It was an area seldom traversed— where the ceiling dipped low, crystals were sparse, and covered with undisturbed layers of dust that lacked many footprints.
"I presume this is the site of the incident? "Like a quiet spectre, Alton intruded, looking at the mountain of rubble ahead of him, bloodied limbs peaking from underneath.
"C—captain! You've arrived!!" As soon as the group noticed him, they hastily separated, like the parting of the red sea, a look of clear tenseness on their visage. "Y—yes! This is the place, sir!"
Acknowledging them with a nod, Captain Alton approached the debris, the crowd instinctively receding in his wake. His gaze then shifted upward from the chaotic scene to a lone figure amidst the dispersing crowd. A woman in a black robe— she knelt, her fingers tightly wrapped around an orb that glowed with a soft, golden light.
"Don't heal him," he calmly ordered.
"I haven't, sir! I'm merely confining his soul," the woman replied, her focus unwavering from the orb.
"How much longer does he have?" Alton's tone remained steady.
"I'm so sorry Captain!" Her eyes flickered with urgency. "Only five minutes!"
"Plenty of time…" The captain cracked his knuckles, the Crimson Moth-Hound beginning to orbit him gracefully.
Inhaling deeply, Captain Alton's eyes transformed, glowing with a bewitching light blue hue that shimmered brighter than any crystal. From his fingertips, delicate white threads of ethereal light spiralled out, weaving around him in an elegant dance. This luminous display enveloped his entire form in a soft, almost colourless aura, so breathtakingly beautiful that it drew involuntary tears from some onlookers.
Beyonder's Gaze
Truthseeker Threads
Whispers From Above
Accel Mind
And finally:
Crimson Moth-Hound
The truthseeker threads delicately lifted the debris, gently wrapping around the bloodied body beneath. Alton, standing amidst this spectacle, resembled a celestial seer, channeling the cosmos's wisdom, his figure bathed in starlight.
All five arcane spirits they had only heard about in tales weaved together as if they were a single entity. It was said that the use of all five at once would have caused nearly any mind to explode, overloaded with nearly limitless information.
All that one could do was stare in awe… So this was Alton Grey…
Not long ago, investigator was one of Sanctum's most esteemed and difficult professions, revered and respected by all. But the advent of lie-detecting spirits and artifacts eroded the profession's prestige practically overnight. Now, all that one needed to do was question those implicated with the crime, and piece it all together. There was little to no need for human insight— a job so simple even a lobotomized zombie was more than qualified.
Before this discovery, Alton was hailed as one of the gods of investigation. Tales of his uncanny deductions spread across all 21 continents; he was known to see through deceptions with but a few simple questions, or even with a mere glance. "Human lie detector" was no idle moniker. It was rumoured that in all his long illustrious career, Alton's conclusions had never once been proven false. He had an almost inhuman sense of truth and justice.
Even after the invention of the lie detector, he worked without it to prove himself, and once his investigation was concluded, he would then use it to verify his findings in front of a large crowd for all to see. Never once did his own conclusions and lie detector ever contradict each other — where Alton's mind pointed to guilt, the ethereal arbiters naturallyfcu agreed as if it were law.
In fact, it was for this very reason that the lie detector was recognized as flawless by the masses, and part of why Alton had such faith in it. The lie detector was absolute, and the world would be a better, more just place with its ubiquitous use.
He knew it all too well… Unclouded by falsehoods and misjudgments, none would be wrongly accused or convicted; no criminal could twist the truth in their favour. An ideal Alton fiercely championed - and to which he had devoted and sacrificed his storied career.
So why was it now… That for the first time in his life… nothing aligned…
Alton felt as though all the blood in his body had begun to flow backwards. He could not effectively describe the sensation, but in a word, it resembled horror.
His findings and lie detector were at odds…
The nature of the environment, the body's positioning, the pattern of injuries, the distribution of blood - all these details gathered by his arcane spirits.
Too meticulous to be an accident, yet at the same time too meticulous to be the work of a known idiot like Zephyr.
His findings screamed "guilty", yet the lie detector screamed "accident".
Even when they spoke during the interview… When he was expecting a lie, it turned out to be truth… He had hoped that it was a miscalculation, that once he'd conducted his investigation it would be resolved. But in the end, his findings corroborated his initial hunch.
How could that be? What could be missing?
Though he allowed Zephyr to use his slave mark, he made certain first it was not tampered with. It was absolute…
'Could it mean… that I was wrong?' He unwound his threads from Norman's corpse and gently placed him on the ground.
Sweat dripped down his forehead as he let go of his threads He felt a feeling unlike any other crawl up through his spine and play with his heart with its sharp shadowy nails.
The silence that followed his investigation was thick with anticipation. The guards and onlookers, who had been spellbound by his process, now waited with bated breath for his declaration.
There was a long, unnerving silence before Alton finally spoke…
"What's with the looks? You know this is all a formality. Of course it's all an accident!" He waved his hand with a casual grin.
"Ahahaha… I see sir… We did know the lie detector results, but it was our first time watching you at work… You are truly a legend captain…"
"CAPTAIN!!" Suddenly, a shaky voice cut through the mines. "30 SECONDS LEFT!! We have both "Call of Mortis" and an Act 5 resurrection spirit! Do we use or not!? I can't hold his soul much longer!!"
The much more common, yet fleeting call of Mortis allowed one to read the emotion of the spirit 10 seconds before its death, while the much rarer resurrection spirit forced the soul back into the body of the deceased, as long as it was sufficiently healed.
Those few seconds felt like some of the longest in Alton's mind, thinking as all looked towards him in anticipation…
"Use Call of Mortis!" He ordered.
Call of Mortis had a short lifespan and the spirit would die if not used after its formation if not maintained properly. He could not imagine its use anytime else. On the other hand, the resurrection spirit was not only rarer but far easier to maintain.
Though a pity Norman's death meant he could not be set free like the others, the worth of the spirit was far more, and using the Call of Mortis was nothing more than a convenience. It was not worth it. At least, that was what he convinced himself.
"YES SIR!!" The women opened her hand and brought out a dark spirit… A dark glowing shovel out of her left hand and used it upon the invisible soul.
"So… What does it say…" A guard questioned with a gulp.
The silence was long before the woman finally responded, taking a few seconds to catch her breath and wipe away the sweat.
"Relief and happiness were his final emotions!! Captain was correct after all! Oh! But of course, you're correct! This really was no murder, but an accident!!" She cheered, but when she looked at the expression of her superior, she saw something else, that she never expected ever to see.
'How…' Alton gulped. 'So I was wrong after all… He was innocent… No… I… I…' His mind, usually the perfect example of organization was in absolute mess and disarray intaking it all at once.
"C—Captain…?" She asked.
"Indeed he is innocent…" Alton sighed, shaking his head. "You…" He pointed at a man in the crowd. "Go release Zephyr from confinement and escort him back into his cell…"
"Y—yes sir!!" He nodded, and promptly left.
'Innocent… Yes… The only way he'd be guilty is if the lie detector was by passed… If he was more powerful than the lie detector itself and managed to suppress it… Or, a thought so wild… so blasphemous… yet… somehow, someway… more likely… him being a vessel that houses two souls…'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone