Veil

The satchel had vanished, in its place the bare branch sat unmoving. A moment passed, before the sound of the metal door opening filled the space. Luke heard footsteps before Aerin stepped into his omniscient range, on her way towards the pond in the middle of the garden. On her shoulder sat the very satchel Luke had touched to enter the vision.

Approaching the pond just as Aerin pulled a small glass vial out of the satchel and began to fill it with water from the blue pool. As soon as he stepped past the last tree before the clearing with the pool, Aerin cocked her head suddenly, almost losing her grip on the vial she held.

"You again?", she said, the words repeating the earlier echo Luke had heard.

Luke remembered his earlier conversation he'd had with her and realized that this current version of her didn't know who he was.

"Hello", he said awkwardly as he stepped closer to her.

If Aerin was alarmed to find a stranger in her garden she didn't show it, instead she seemed more curious than worried.

"Who are you?", Aerin asked.

Luke decided to forgo telling her he was a chosen, so as to save as much of the vision time as possible.

"My name's Luke, and uh I guess I'm from the future", Luke said awkwardly.

Aerin said nothing for a few moments, her face betraying no emotion other than curiosity.

"Huh", she said.

Luke frowned, "huh, that's it?", he asked.

He had expected her to laugh at him, or to deny his words, or to call castle guards to arrest him for being in the castle in the first place. Instead, she didn't seem surprised at all, instead she had a curious tilt to her body, as if his being from the future was expected.

Aerin shrugged, "it's rare but it happens sometimes. Those of our blood with the Daranthian can see through time and space, and on very rare occasions they even bump into one another. My father once the lady Evernight herself", she said with a smile. "The weirdest thing is your name, I'm unfamiliar with it."

"Uh, its actually short for Lucian", Luke said, having not expected that answer. "What's Daranthian?", he asked.

Aerin tilted her head, "That's the demonic term for your eyes, in common it means Soul bane.", she explained.

"Soul Bane", Luke tasted the word, 'I guess that means it really was my eyes that destroyed the panther's soul', he thought internally.

"So our eyes, their connected with the omniscience skill?", Luke asked.

"Of course, shouldn't you already know all this? You have the Daranthian after all", Aerin questioned.

Luke hesitated, debating whether or not to reveal he was chosen but in the end decided against it. Partly because the future version of Aerin didn't know he was chosen, and he didn't know if teller her now would have repercussions, and partly because he didn't want to repeat the previous conversation.

"I'm from far into the future, a lot of the knowledge from this time is gone", Luke explained.

Aerin seemed to think his answer over before accepting it with a nod.

"Still, why aren't you wearing a veil? Don't you know that's dangerous?", she asked, again her words reflecting the echoes he'd heard earlier.

"A veil, you mean like the blindfold you're wearing?", Luke asked.

Aerin nodded again, "yeah, aren't you worried about hurting someone?", she asked.

"Not at the moment, honestly I haven't really needed one yet", Luke answered.

"You haven't needed one? In the castle?", Aerin asked, a deep frown appearing on her lips.

"Uh-no not really", Luke answered honestly, "I can always make one before I do though", he added quickly, not wanting her to think he was planning on hurting anyone.

"You can make a veil!?", she asked in surprise.

Luke paused for a moment, "uh yeah, it's just a blindfold, right? All I'd need is some old cloth", he said, his voice unsure.

Aerin giggled, "you can't just use a normal blindfold to cover your Daranthian", she said.

"I can't?", Luke said with a frown.

"No, your eyes are too powerful for that. You need an enchanted blindfold, like mine", she answered.

"Oh", Luke said, "do you know where I can find one then? In the castle I mean", he asked.

Aerin thought for a moment, "well they're hard to make, but seeing as you're from the future then I guess you could have mine. I'll probably have several by then, if I'm still alive that is", she said.

Luke found the way she casually talked about dying strange, but he supposed it made sense considering how she didn't know how far into the future he was from.

"How would that work?", Luke asked.

"Simple, I'll leave my satchel on one of the trees and sometime in the future when I get a new veil, I'll leave this one there for you", Aerin explained.

"Won't someone eventually move it though, like a servant or a garden keeper?", Luke said, pointing out the flaw in her plan.

Once again Aerin cocked his head as if sensing there was something wrong with his suggestion.

"Of course not, only those of awakened Infernus blood can enter the Evergarden", she explained.

"What?", Luke asked in shock.

"You didn't know that? The eternal flame will reject anyone not of Evernight's bloodline", Aerin said.

'How is that possible? Is it because the system thinks I'm an Infernus, come to think of it those voices also said I was of a strange bloodline, the blood of Herod I think.'

Questions began to burn in his mind, but he focused on the task at hand. If he could get a veil, then he wouldn't have to risk passing out every time he met something that wasn't a husk.

"What about your descendants, won't they eventually move it?", Luke asked.

Aerin thought on that, "No I don't think so, I'll make sure the message is passed down not to move it until you come along. But even then, I don't think it'll be a problem, its rare one of our line is born, and even rarer one awakens", she explained.

Luke remembered the satchel and realized that there was a chance she was right. While he also made a note of what she had said.

'If the system changed my body to reflect the Infernus line, does that mean I'll have trouble having children in the future?', he wondered.

Then he couldn't help but internally laugh at himself, he was in far too desperate circumstances to be worrying that far into the future.

"Thank you", he said, after realizing he had gone quiet a moment too long.

"You're welcome", Aerin said, sounding pleased.

"Back to the Daranthian, could you explain it to me. Specifically, the whole soul-destroying part of it?", he asked.

"Well, it doesn't destroy all souls. Just those of weaker beings, a king or a emperor, maybe even some lords can resist it. Though the latter might find doing so extremely hard", Aerin said.

Luke recalled the names of the different ranks, "okay but how does it destroy souls, and how is it connected to the omniscience skill?"

"Hmm", Aerin thought for a moment before answering, "father says our eyes are a doorway into omniscience. So, in other words it presses the full weight of infinite knowledge onto the souls of others. Since their souls can't handle the strain of all the knowledge, they eventually shatter. As for how its connected to the omniscience skill, its simply that the eyes allow us to access the omniscience skill, they are what allows us to comprehend the knowledge we interpret in our heads", she explained.

Luke frowned at that, "but if its omniscience that destroys the souls, why isn't their brain destroyed as well. Why isn't our brains or souls destroyed for that matter, after all we're the ones with the skill", Luke asked.

"That's because the knowledge doesn't affect the creature's brain but get pushed directly into their soul. That's why your eyes will still affect something near you even if you don't make eye contact with them. Although doing so will make the process occur faster, and will cause less strain on your body", Aerin explained, in a lecturing tone.

"As for why our souls aren't destroyed, it's for the same reason we are able to use omniscience in the first place. Our bloodline traits, more specifically the fact that our brains are not the same as regular humans. We were born able to block out information subconsciously, at least until we reach a level where we know longer need to do so. That's also the reason there are no other bloodlines in eternity that possess the Daranthian or omniscience", Aerin said.

Luke nodded at the words, memorizing them while also being surprised at Aerin's use of medical terms such as subconsciously and process. It seemed this world's knowledge was more advanced than his own during their medieval age.

"So, does that mean our Daranthian doesn't affect anyone else with a Daranthian?", Luke asked.

"Well, obviously not. Otherwise, I'd be a husk right now, wouldn't I?", Aerin asked with a laugh. "You also don't have to worry about affecting anyone if they are outside the range of your omniscience", she added.

Luke gave an embarrassed smile, as he went over all the information he had learned.

"Why do we get tired after we destroy souls then?", he asked curiously.

Aerin's previously good mood seemed to vanish completely.

"Have you destroyed any souls?", she asked darkly.

Luke hesitated, and then decided it was best to answer honestly.

"One, on accident. It was some sort of panther thing, a Rock Panther. I got close to it, and it just happened", Luke explained.

Aerin was silent for a moment, "poor creature", she said with a sigh. Then she lifted her head in his directly with her lips pursed.

"You might have done it one accident, but do you realize how much that creature must have suffered before it died? Having your soul destroyed is the worst fate one can suffer; it not only places the victim in extreme agony, but it also leaves then a hollow husk of their former selves. It's the cruelest thing you can possibly do to something, and it's heavily forbidden by the empire and the church. You should feel relieved you only did it once, and even more so that you subject a person to that pain", she scorned him, the way a teacher might when a student did something bad.

Luke paused for a moment, unsure of what to say. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't know", he eventually said, at a loss for any words to defend himself with.

'That means that every husk in the castle had not only had their very selves stolen but had suffered in agony as they were left shells of their former selves', Luke thought.

The idea of someone doing something so cruel to so many people not only left him sad, but also angry. Luke hadn't known any of the people who had turned into husks, but he could remember the way the panther had spasmed in what he now knew to be immense pain. More than that, the very thought of someone losing their identity seemed… wrong.

Luke no knew the gravity of his eyes, and what they could do if not held in check. The realization scared him more than he wanted to admit, he would need to make sure too always keep them covered, if he truly was able to get his hands on a veil.

Aerin's blindfold wasn't turned to him, but he knew she was watching him all the same. Eventually her facial features softened, the ones Luke could make out anyways.

"It's fine, just make sure to destroy the husk's brain if you haven't done so already. The priests of eternity say that's the only way to set the fractured soul free after it's been destroyed. Otherwise, the beast's soul won't be able to reach any afterlife, even if you don't hold any gods it's the right thing to do", Aerin said.

Luke hesitated, then nodded. He wasn't religious himself, but he supposed there was a sort of mercy in her words.

"Alright", he agreed. "Does that mean that souls are destroyed a lot? I thought you said the Daranthian is rare", he asked, hoping to change topic to avoid his own guilt.

"It very much is, but our eyes aren't the only way to destroy a soul, there are other forms of magic that are capable of it. There are even a few forbidden rituals", Aerin explained.

Luke nodded at that; thought back to all the husks he had killed.

"So, destroying somethings soul doesn't destroy its body, just everything that makes it…it?", Luke asked.

"Yeah, that's a simple way of putting it but it's the right idea", Aerin agreed.

"So does that mean the creatures without souls are still alive, technically that is?", Luke asked, remembering how none of the husk's hearts had beat.

"Not really no, at least they don't act as though they are alive. They don't breathe, eat, sleep, or anything else a normal living creature does. Some of the older ones eventually start to move, usually doing so out of pure instinct. While the old ones, like those in the forgotten lands are even capable of attacking anyone who wonders too close to them", Aerin explained.

"It's like over time they start to get certain aspects of living back, father says some of them can even see or hear. But without a soul they only use these senses to instinctually find and kill anything they can", Aerin added grimly.

'All the husks I've run into seem to be capable of hearing, how old does that make them, how old does that make this place?', Luke couldn't help but wonder.

"I see."

Aerin nodded at that, then a smile crossed her lips. "Alright then, now since your my great great-grandson or something similar. Come over here and let me show you how to properly tie your blindfold", she said, before pulling the silky red cloth from her eyes.

It was the first time Luke had seen eyes like his on someone else, they looked the same. Crimson with catlike pupils, staring out in the distance without any focus.

Luke took a step forward but didn't bother crossing the total distance towards Aerin. They both knew he could see her just fine, so her calling him over was more of a gesture than a command.

Aerin tied the blindfold in a delicate knot that seemed far to loose to hold it over her eyes. Yet the veil held, while she tucked the two remaining lengths of silky cloth into slits that had been made on either side of the back of the blindfold. The result was a perfect loop the settled around her head, with no slack or leeway.

"That's the proper way of doing", she explained as she finished her tying.

Luke nodded, not sure why she hadn't just tied it into a normal knot but decided it must have been a noble thing.

"Before you go, can you explain these fruits to me?", Luke asked after a second.

"The Rawi? They're mainly used for training the young to endure pain, but eating one gives you all the nutrients you need for an entire day", Aerin explained.

Luke frowned at her quick explanation, unable to imagine a child havening to endure the pain of eating one.

"Why does eating them hurt so bad?", he asked.

"I don't know, it just does", Aerin explained.

Luke opened his mouth to ask another question when the world flashed white once more, and he was standing with his hand on the satchel once more.

'Damn, I didn't even get to ask about the system calling me an Infernus', Luke internally cursed.

Then deciding to look at the bright side, he opened the satchel to find the silky red veil inside.