Game of Succession

Although the Thread of Melody helped create a more serene and peaceful environment for the mind, and, in turn, made it easier for the spellweaver to be able to think in a clearer and more sensible manner, as well as freeze emotions of extreme anger, regret and happiness, it was not able to make the mind think faster nor make it able to adapt to situations faster. At most, it could make one's reaction towards a situation calmer and more sensible.

And since Angel had never been in a seemingly illogical, insensible and extremely confusing situation such as this, the twelfth sense, which lay dormant in the mind and in various areas across the neck, hands, chest and other parts where the fifth sense was most dense, simply froze all that Angel felt by cutting off his source of physical feel.

By doing this, it made Angel's mind freeze as well—although only partially, so that normal movements and actions wouldn't be acted out on mere physical instinct—since it couldn't cope with the sudden lack of feel.

It was after Angel and Hou'yi had walked down the stairs and crossed a floor made out of indigo and pale yellow grids that his mind finally started to unfreeze.

'This sounds surreal,'he heard himself say.

Hou'yi, ahead of him, stopped and waited for Angel to catch up, then smiled at him and started walking again. 'If I may ask: How so?'

Angel stared at the archer, silently observing the uncombed dark brown hair and calm smile that rested across the face, then the light brown eyes which seemed to hold no emotion.

'You don't smile right,'Angel said quietly, and the images of his parents and grandparents, smiling, flashed through his mind.

Hou'yi nodded, still smiling. 'Perhaps I do not, and perhaps I do, and it is you who are mistaken. Does it matter?'

Angel's mind processed this. 'No, I suppose not.' Then he blinked, and almost like in a trance, said again: 'This sounds surreal.' He looked around the hall, then at the gridded floor, then back to the space in front of him. 'Why is there no-one here?'

'Because there doesn't need to be,'Hou'yi said, making Angel blink, then frown as he looked away from the archer.

Angel's mind seemed to suddenly whirl as the twelfth sense completely went back to its dormant state, allowing him to be able to think about what he couldn't before. 'Why do you want me as a subordinate?'

Hou'yi seemed surprised, and then he smiled apologetically towards Angel. 'Ah, it seems that I have left that part out in my explanation. Of course, the answer is very simple: You, Angel, are a genius like no other. Well, I say "like no other" in how someone like you has never appeared in Stone-Dwelling history. Your thinking ability is simply fascinating—you are far above anyone else your age in the matters of research and weaving. Of course, compared to people like Light Novae Era, Kandle Joseph, Jess Queen, Lancer Cheslsy; Orion Joseph, you would be normal at best.

'However, that does not deter the fact that you are a genius. Not all geniuses are as genius as others, but all far above anyone else not a genius—after all, geniuses are still geniuses, no matter how less of one they are compared to another.'

Hou'yi fixed Angel with a stare, his light brown eyes cold and emotionless; his face to match. 'You are a genius, and that is why I want you.'

Angel stared at Hou'yi for a while, then continued walking towards the end of the hall. 'What genius are you, then? Prodigy in archery and hunting? The best Sh'e'sh'ou from the house of Hunters?'

The archer laughed slightly, catching up to Angel. 'No, Angel, I assure you, I am no genius in hunting—on the contrary: archery is merely my hobby, albeit one that keeps me alive.'

Angel nodded, accepting the answer, before watching Hou'yi open the doors, which led to another, smaller hallway—although still large, small in comparison to the giant hall before it— carpeted in brownish-red and yellow-green cloth, with sets of doors on all sides.

'This is where we keep the volumes. Since the volumes we have can't fit in one room, we dedicated a corridor to it.' Hou'yi pointed to a door. 'You can know what will be inside the rooms by reading the symbols atop the doors.'

Angel nodded again, looking around the corridor, before spotting a 'Jess Queen and the Study of Tapestries and Threads' and walking over. However, before heading inside, he was mildly surprised to find 'Archers and Bowers', 'Swordsmanship' and other such more physical activities on glowing carvings above many doors in the hallway.

'We are a family of hunters, after all,'Hou'yi said quietly. Angel briefly noted how he hadn't heard the archer's footsteps when he walked—for some reason it seemed that the fact had never occurred to him before, despite the work of the Thread of Melody in Angel's foundation. 'Well then, I'll leave you to it. A cook shall be sent here soon.' And with that, the archer was gone.

Angel looked around again, his mind deciphering all the possible places someone could hide—of which there was only three—then turned and opening the door of 'Jess Queen and the Study of Tapestries and Threads', headed inside.

In the room, Angel found a chair and a desk, where he sat down and placed his notebook. 

For a few minutes he sat there, staring ahead, before a cook arrived with a tray of food, bowed, and left. 

Then he silently ate the food, and when he finished, put it aside and started looking for volumes which could help him among the few bookshelves.

In the end, he found two—one a short and thin book that was written by Jess Queen's brother in the form of an informative private journal, and the other an article talking deeply into Jess Queen's signature written by an anonymous person that showed diagrams and examples of how different Jess Queen's signature was to others', and how it was possibly the best signature one could have on an imprint.

Angel opened the first book by Jess Queen's brother, as well as his notebook, got out a pen, and started to read.