Satiate selected.


    The Star had dimmed, and darkness encroached upon the plaza again.


    Grade 2 (2%)


    Shards: (1)(-1)


    Trial Status:


    Aspirants: (275/1000)


    Proficiencies:


    Strands: Grade 1 (58%)(+42%)


    1: Shape: Cube


    Strand Manipulation: Grade 1 (61%)(+48%)


    Artifacts:


    The Unwritten Grimoire: Grade 1 (35%)(+24%)


    Unused Pages: (0/5)


    3: Nether Well (Corrupted)


    2: (Corrupted)


    Paper Poppets: Grade 1 (25%)


    Poppets: (3/3)


    Permissions


    Hector had made a few notes.


    One: draining a single nether well from his grimoire increased the percentage by a dozen. The drained pages weren''t damp, but still kept their black color. Hector hoped it wasn''t a permanent thing. The Pillar had been vague about its description. Another issue was that the pages were constantly leaking the nether; he''d have to refill them frequently.


    Two: The darkness did not reach the fortress. There were flames along the walls, and he could see figures on top of them. The number of Aspirants had increased, they were most likely the other Aspirants. The Star had most likely drawn them in; It was quite visible in the dark.


    Hector had seen the number of Aspirants drop a few times during his routine. It kept track of the deaths as well. At least, that''s what he assumed. Theoretically, a thousand individuals had to be alive for the indicator to become full. That also made him curious—why didn''t he see anyone other than Sebastian?


    Hopefully, he would return with more shards, otherwise he''d have to find another safe house. The Faceless and Strix would populate the streets, and he didn''t want to be here for that. The water—the nether level had already increased notably, and it coated the stone bricks.


    He was a bit carried away with his shaping, and had used satiate. That meant he had one shard left. Even here he was bound to currency.


    The initial safe house, the one with metal grilles and door, would work. It was secured and close enough to the plaza for ease of access. He''d have to deal with the paper serpent. Hector hadn''t forgotten about the scabbed bite mark he had.


    Footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Hector stood up and shaped the strand back into a needle. As much as he wanted to continue, he couldn''t shape a strand and communicate at the same time.


    "Tell me, Hector. Why are you still here?" The outfit Sebastian wore had not changed; he still wore that white suit and red tie. His appearance change. He was more bruised than before, and his suit had a tinge of dirt on it.


    Hector closed his grimoire and tucked it under his arm. "I could ask you the same question, Sebastian. Why aren''t you over there with the rest of the Aspirants?"


    Sebastian''s eyes darted to the grimoire, then gave him a smile with a gold glint under the lantern light. "Let''s say I had a disagreement with the occupants over there," he said, then held up three shards. "The poppet?"


    "Here," Hector said, then exchanged a clean poppet for two shards and left one in Sebastian''s hand. "Tell me something I don''t know. What''s going on at the tower?"


    Sebastian narrowed his eyes, then pocketed the remaining shard and poppet. "They''re getting ready for the night, but you already know that, don''t you?"


    Hector took a glance at the dimmed Star. "Anyone with eyes would notice a sunset."Stolen story; please report.


    Sebastian paused and rubbed his chin. "Fair enough. Let me tell you something else then," he said. "Someone had already reached the highest grade."


    The highest grade? Was there a limit? "Elaborate."


    "Like I said, someone had reached the highest grade possible." He paused again and wet his lips. "You know how to use the Pillars, don''t you?"


    Sebastian tilted his head towards the Obsidian Pillar. "The Pillar in the castle wouldn''t let anyone go past grade five, not until we''ve begun the trials. It''s all rumors. I wouldn''t rely on it."


    So we had to keep a thousand alive, and there were more Pillars. "Who? Who has reached grade five?"


    Sebastian smiled and rubbed two fingers together. Hector rolled his eyes and threw another shard at him. That left him with one shard.


    "The one in the white armor. Hard to miss," Sebastian said after some thought.


    "That''s all?"


    "What could I say? They never took off the armor. Another rumor has it they''re the first to be here, and they caused the light."


    The first Aspirant? Sebastian wouldn''t give him anything else, not without more shards, and Hector wouldn''t operate at a net loss. "Our business is done. Will you be back?"


    "These dolls are useful. Very useful," Sebastian replied with an amused tone. "I''ll be back. Will we meet here?"


    Hector snapped the grimoire closed, then shook his head. "No, let''s meet at the gray house over there," he said and pointed at the building he previously visited. It would not be safe to meet in the plaza, not after the star was gone.


    Sebastian gave him one last smile, then turned around and walked into the darkness. The Star had been extinguished. Hector''s gaze lingered on his back.


    Sebastian did not keep a light source, and he wouldn''t go back to the tower. Interesting.


    It would have been convenient to meet at the house with the metal door, but it was a safe house for a reason. Hector didn''t invite strangers into his space.


    He exchanged the shard for another fresh set of poppets, then set off to the safe house.


    On the path to the house with a metal door, he encountered the Faceless. They lifted themselves onto their feet from the pool of nether, as though they''ve been lying face down in it. The thin layer shouldn''t have covered the prone bodies, yet they emerged from it.


    One of his poppets became damaged with... whatever the Faceless did to him, and the other from manipulating the nether essence.


    Are the Faceless still human? Would it be unethical to harm them?


    The Faceless breathed and, had the anatomy of a human without the face, but they posed a danger to him. They followed him and threatened him with their presence. They consumed his valuable resources by their existence.


    Therefore, they should not be allowed to exist.


    Hector willed his strand to gather nether essence from the pool of water at his feet. It turned midnight with strings of liquids floating around its thin body.


    He wouldn''t restrain himself against the Faceless, not when they stood in between him, survival, and progress. Human appearances wouldn''t matter when they were a threat—a liability.


    They would crowd around him if he didn''t cull their numbers, and that would increase their lethality exponentially.


    Hector ignited the strand and launched it at the Faceless.


    One benefit of the needle strand was that it''s half the size of the sphere. That meant he could create more in rapid succession if he focused solely on it. Combined with the abundant nether at his feet, he had no issue igniting several in quick succession.


    When the first needle lodged itself into the thigh of the Faceless, several more followed up, turning that body part into a pincushion. The needles melted skyward, and blood filled the deep puncture wounds.


    The ruptured artery ensured a quick death for the Faceless.


    He performed the same action for the other three Faceless. The poppet had half of the head left. To his disappointment, the Faceless didn''t have any shards on them.


    Hector heard a shriek and decided he''d hurry to the safe house. The journey back had been uneventful, and he barricaded the metal door behind him.


    The house had not changed.


    The book and torn papers were scattered on the ground, and the serpent was hiding somewhere in the house, which he''d have to deal with.


    Logically, the serpent hid in one of the books, since that was where he first found it.


    Hector made his way to the bookshelves and opened the book one by one while keeping the needle ready. He didn''t know how useful a needle would be against the serpent, but it was better than nothing.


    The serpent had been hiding in a book titled: The Fundamental of Rituals. It assumed the form of the same circle of words. Hector didn''t fire the strand, not yet; he had an odd idea.


    Would he be able to use the serpent instead?


    The poppet would shield his mind from the information attack, and he would digest the information rather than... reading the book. It would be more efficient.


    He pressed a finger against the circle of letters, then poked and prodded at it. Hector didn''t know what triggered the serpent. Hopefully, this would do the trick.


    As he predicted, the serpent sprung out of the pages, ruining another book, and bit into his arm. A poppet ripped, and the information had been injected into his mind.


    This time, he was ready and gripped the serpent before it could slither away.


    Hector focused on stilled his aching mind and the loud ringing echoing inside of his skull. Like before, Hector slowly sorted the information, separating the useless bits from the useful ones.


    Then Hector understood what a ritual was.


    If spells were temporary tools and instruments, then rituals were the machines to enact permanent change.