Time had left deep marks upon this arrow; its exterior was a perfect piece of art and an antiquity. As Shade gazed at the arrow within the mahogany box, whispers echoed in his ears. While the image of the arrowhead seemed to be imprinted upon his mind, those strange murmurs and the inexplicable thoughts arising in his heart urged him to immediately plunge the arrow into his own heart.
Shade craved the power of knowledge, and the arrow seemed to crave the gaze of the outsider watching it.
He took a deep breath, concentrating his mind to resist the influence of the relic. He extended a finger, and the moment it touched the bone-chilling, golden arrowhead, "her" voice rang out in his ears
【Thaumaturgy—Ancient Voice triggered. You have learned a fragment of a story from the First Epoch.】
【The ancient God of Wisdom once wrote the myths of mortals upon the lands of the First Epoch together with the Sages of the Silver Moon. The Recorder silently wrote all; the Mentor who guarded knowledge polished the arrows of knowledge and power, sheltering the mortals who sought light within the lightless darkness. The Ancient God once said: "Knowledge is hidden in the world, wisdom is concealed in the soul. The wise are like water and shall inevitably depart; the foolish are like fire, burning all things to ash."】
Directly touching this Sage-grade relic required immense resolve. Even though Shade possessed extremely powerful mental strength and believed his convictions to be firm, he still had to summon a great deal of determination to close the box after hearing "her" narration.
"This item contains the power of the Ancient God [Mentor of Secrets]. One of the three conditions for the Chosen Ceremony has been satisfied."
He closed his eyes, trying his best to forget the whispers he had just heard and driving the image of the arrow from his mind. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Professor Drake, who had recovered, looking at him with some concern.
The Professor and Shade had both seen the [Arrow of Knowledge of Akenora] in the wooden box, but the Professor did not show any strange expression, as if he were seeing nothing more than an antique.
"Professor, do you not feel anything special?"
"What special feeling?"
Professor Drake asked curiously instead
"Are you asking if I remembered something? My apologies, I simply feel that this arrow is very familiar, but I still do not know how it exactly came into my hands."
Shade frowned slightly. The wooden box served as the containment measure for the arrow; because Shade had not removed it, the whispering element did not directly affect the two of them. However, the mental influence brought by gazing at the relic, as well as the impulse to use the arrow arising from the depths of the heart, would occur as long as one looked at it.
"Look again."
As he spoke, he opened the wooden box once more. Shade immediately sensed the relic's influence again, but Professor Drake still seemed to feel nothing, as if the object in the box truly were just an ordinary antique.
"There is certainly nothing wrong with me, so there must be something wrong with the Professor."
Shade continued to watch Professor Drake, who became even more perplexed
"Is something wrong with me?"
"I contacted Professor Tyris Manning of Tobesk, and he praised you as a person of great intuition. Facing strange phenomena, you were always the first to notice something was wrong, and you could always find the most appropriate direction for research."
Shade pursed his lips
"Since you returned from the adventure with the 'Goddess of the Lake,' does this peculiar talent still exist?"
The Professor recalled for a moment and shook his head slightly
"That adventure and the fact of my broken leg had a great impact on me. Yes, since that adventure, I have indeed become much duller."
Shade thought back to the first time he came to Professor Drake's place and received the photograph bearing the "Swamp Witch's Curse." On that occasion, he had also been immediately affected by the curse, while Professor Drake had felt nothing at all.
"It seems your wish also included erasing some unique talents."
Shade spoke cautiously, and the Professor's expression grew even more grim
"God, just what kind of wish did I make back then?"
He lowered his head to look at the teacup in his hands; the billowing hot steam blurred the Professor's glasses.
Shade had some new ideas. He opened the box again, and this time, he took the arrow out directly
"Professor, I want to use this arrow to prick your finger."
Although Professor Drake did not know what Shade intended to do, he did not object. Thus, Shade very carefully used the sharp arrowhead to make a small cut on Professor Drake's finger. Because the wound was too shallow—merely a flap of skin—the Professor had to squeeze hard before blood seeped out.
The old professor frowned slightly, lifting his gaze from his finger to look at Shade, who held the arrow
"How interesting. It feels as though some knowledge has appeared in my head."
He tapped his head
"Fragmented knowledge... it seems to be about ancient insectivores. Oh, what is all this?"
Shade asked himself in his heart
"If I remember correctly, when an ordinary person is cut, they either become a Gifted or die slowly. But when a Ring-Wielder is cut, they..."
【Gain some eerie knowledge in their head.】
Shade pursed his lips and gestured for the Professor to shake hands with him. After the handshake, Shade confirmed once more that Professor Drake was an ordinary person.
"In the letters from Professor Manning organized by Dorothy, it was stated that Professor Drake was extremely ambitious and spent his life pursuing knowledge and wisdom. And the descriptions of the Professor's special physical condition in the two missing letters—experiencing hallucinations and enhanced bodily functions—perfectly match the state of a Ring-Wielder after awakening... I think I understand."
To prevent any errors in Father Nobel's description of the relic, Shade used the arrowhead to cut his own finger. He felt that wonderful sensation of pain and noticed some eerie knowledge flooding into his mind.
Suddenly, he frowned. Among the knowledge related to sin and living sacrifices, there was a set of ancient characters. Shade had seen those characters once before.
"Professor, do you remember the book we found the last time we were searching through the letters? The one with the strange writing that said [Knowledge is Power]?"
"Yes, you were the one who translated those characters for me."
The Professor, who was pondering the strange phenomenon, nodded.
"I have a guess. Is it possible that those words were written in the book by you?"
"But I do not recognize those characters."
"You don't recognize them *now*, but that doesn't mean you didn't recognize them *before*."
As he spoke, Shade took out the book and asked the Professor to compare the letters and rewrite them. The letters of the ancient script were like complex spirals; even copying them by sight would result in something quite different from the letters themselves. But after the Professor wrote them with a fountain pen, although there were slight differences, it could be basically determined that the writing in the book was the Professor's handiwork.
"But what does this represent?"
Professor Drake still did not understand.
"This arrow..."
Shade considered for a moment and decided to reveal part of the truth first
"A certain peculiar group of people can obtain knowledge by touching this arrow. But the problem is, Professor, you do not belong to this peculiar group."
"Peculiar group?"
The Professor looked at Shade hesitantly. Shade reached out and touched the teacup on the table; in the old professor's surprised gaze, the tea shimmered with a silver light.
He dripped the tea onto his own injured finger, and then dripped some onto the Professor's finger. After a dozen seconds, the wounds on both their fingers vanished completely.
Professor Kansas Drake gaped
"The rumors are true? There really is such a thing as occultism and supernatural powers?"
"You shouldn't be so surprised. Senior professors of history and folklore like you and Professor Manning couldn't possibly be unaware of this. It seems you truly have forgotten. More accurately, perhaps you do not belong to a special group now, but all signs indicate that you once did."
The old man was completely bewildered, while Shade narrowed his eyes
"What's very interesting is that I've investigated your background, and much of the evidence proves you are just an ordinary person. This isn't a cover-up by the Goddess of the Lake—Her cover-ups have intentional loopholes—but your background as an ordinary person is very normal. In other words, your time as what I call a 'special person' was extremely brief. Coupled with the other effects of this arrow—that an ordinary person has a chance to become a Gifted when cut..."
Although the Professor completely failed to follow Shade's logic and was even more confused, he was profoundly shaken
"You've found the truth?"
"Professor Manning's praise of your amazing intuition was, in itself, very useful information."
Lacia believed her sister, the little princess Angelina, also had the talent of a Ring-Wielder but had not yet reached the age of awakening, precisely because the little princess also possessed amazing intuition.
"In your letters to Professor Manning, you once mentioned that you suddenly became very healthy; your diary also mentioned that you saw some hallucinations. These, in themselves, indicated that some changes were occurring within you."
Shade looked at the photo on the table of Hald Ondiba and the Professor
"You had a very good relationship with him, and he was the holder of the arrow; when he was unexpectedly captured, the arrow was actually in your hands. This shows that your change was related to him. A priest I know once said that Mr. Ondiba might have unknown followers within Huntington. Your reputation is excellent, and I don't believe you are a bad person, so your wish wouldn't be... Professor, please answer one question for me!"
Professor Drake was stunned by Shade's serious expression
"Young man, I can handle it. Ask."
"Suppose a possibility: you spent your whole life pursuing a certain goal, but when you actually achieved it, you were terrified by the goal itself. In that case, is it possible that you would give up your life's pursuit, even at a great cost, just to forget it?"
The Professor's mouth opened slightly
"I don't know. But if I really gave it up, then my life would be too tragic. Are you saying..."
Though the Professor was elderly and some of his talents had been erased, time brings humans more wisdom. He guessed some of the truth.
Shade nodded slightly, and then saw Professor Drake wear an expression as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning. The old professor let out a deep sigh and slumped in his wheelchair, looking older than he ever had before.
"Although I cannot prove my hypothesis, I think I have reached a conclusion. The Goddess of the Lake granted your wish, and I used conjecture to fill in the gaps of the reasoning process. This is certainly not rigorous, but fortunately, I am also a person of strong intuition. This is likely the truth."
"Mr. Watson, you said that investigating what happened to me was a trial given to you by the 'Goddess of the Lake'?"
"Yes," Shade nodded.
"Do you intend to use your current conjecture to tell her that you have completed the trial?"
"Yes."
The Professor raised his head and looked at him pleadingly
"Take me with you, Mr. Watson. I beg you, take me with you. I don't want to say that I am so old I only have a few years left to live, but I beg you, Mr. Watson, take me with you to visit the Goddess of the Lake once more. Let me know the story of the past, even if it might be the final journey of my life."
This meant Professor Drake would occupy one of Shade's precious wish slots. Shade looked at him and tapped the mahogany box
"This arrow belongs to me now."
"Very well, young man."
The Professor struggled to keep his eyelids open to look at Shade, the light in his eyes appearing like a final flare of vitality
"When do we leave?"
Shade looked at the midday sunlight outside
"Let's leave after lunch. I'll rent a carriage."
After a moment's hesitation, he added
"Professor, since you already made your choice in the past, why bother knowing the truth? It might only make you more miserable. I have the letter Professor Manning wrote to you; the professor from Tobesk encourages you to live actively. Perhaps raising a cat would be quite nice."
He placed the letter on the desk, but Professor Drake simply leaned back in his wheelchair and stared up at the ceiling
"I simply cannot bear to enter the grave with questions."
They remained in the study for a long time, neither speaking another word.
(End of Chapter)