Chapter 162 - 149: Fall-Inducing Fire

"Alright, I’ve covered all the important points. Let’s begin the dive," Captain Field said. "Maggie has experience. You’re first."

The freckled girl walked to the center of the stone circle.

She held the Oak Short Staff horizontally in front of her and closed her eyes.

Richard watched from the side, using his Spiritual Vision to observe her state.

Maggie muttered a nursery rhyme in Ancient Gaelic. By the third line, her silhouette shifted slightly backward and to the left, toward the semi-circular wall.

Her feet hadn’t moved, yet her entire form had undeniably shifted back and to the side by less than an inch. A second later, she shifted back again.

It was only then that Richard realized she was "testing the door."

Her subtle perception had already found the location of the door, and she was confirming the angle at which to open it.

"I’ve found the door." Maggie opened her eyes.

"Then go through," Captain Field instructed.

Maggie took half a step back and to the side, and she vanished completely.

Seeing this vanishing act, the other Newcomers were left with their mouths hanging open.

Theodore, in particular, reached out and felt around a couple of times, but only touched empty air.

"She’s still there," Sarah told the other three Newcomers. "Look with your Spiritual Vision."

Richard, Edmund, and Theodore each extended their Spiritual Vision.

On the other side of the gray Curtain, Maggie waved at them, then shifted back over from the other side.

When she was standing in the center of the stone circle again, she opened her eyes.

"...How did it feel?" Theodore asked eagerly.

Maggie let out a deep breath.

"It was about the same as when my mom brought me," she said. "My vision was blurry, my ears felt stuffy, and my skin was a little itchy."

"Itchy?" Edmund asked, confused.

"Your skin reacts a little once the Ether concentration rises."

Maggie explained, "My mom said most Newcomers have this reaction. Once you get used to it, it doesn’t itch anymore."

"Did you see anything?" Richard asked.

"I saw you guys," Maggie said. "But not very clearly."

Edmund went up second.

He took a cross pendant from his chest, cupped it in his palm, and began to softly recite an evening prayer.

On the third line of the prayer, he took a step back and to the side within the stone circle, and he too disappeared.

On the other side of the gray Curtain, Edmund came to a stop, turned, and looked back at them.

Richard was third. He walked to the center of the stone circle.

Richard didn’t recite a nursery rhyme like a local, nor a prayer like a priest.

He used his well-practiced Quadruple Breathing.

At the end of the second full cycle, he could feel the Light Tree Leaves of the Throne of the Sun open to a certain critical angle.

He could feel where the "door" was.

During the exhalation phase of the third cycle, he took a step in that direction.

It all happened in an instant. The view of the material world receded completely from the corners of his eyes.

The entire outline of the Highland Summer House turned to gray.

Richard was standing on the other side of the door.

For the first time, he directly experienced the world behind the Curtain.

But this first experience was far from ideal; he seemed to have accidentally dived a little too deep...

The bonus from [Perception] was a clear asset in the material world.

But during this deep dive behind the Curtain, it became a downward drag of overwhelming sensitivity.

He felt like he was constantly sinking, a sensation much like being trapped in quicksand.

He heard a voice in his chest that wasn’t his own.

It was an invitation.

’Come down. Come down to this next layer.’

’This layer isn’t so thin. This layer has other things.’

’This was the distortion of his inspiration, amplified by the high Ether concentration. His own inspiration was deceiving him.’

Richard started to feel anxious, but he knew this was precisely the time not to panic.

The rhythm of his Quadruple Breathing hadn’t broken.

He immediately reversed the direction of his push, pulling himself back with the same amount of force.

The entire process took less than three seconds.

Soon, the stone house of the Highland Summer House, Captain Field’s face, the leather rifle strap in Sarah’s hand—the real world returned to his vision.

Richard opened his eyes. Those few short seconds had felt like a lifetime.

"You came back a little fast," Captain Field said, looking at him. "What happened?"

"I slipped in too deep," Richard said, wiping away his sweat. "I accidentally went a little too far."

"A little too far?" Captain Field’s expression changed dramatically.

"Yeah."

"...How many seconds were you in there?" The Female Hunter’s expression changed as well.

"Three seconds. After about two, I pulled myself back along the same path."

The two of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"Go through the Breathing Technique again," Captain Field said. "Stabilize yourself first."

Richard completed another full cycle of the Quadruple Breathing.

The Light Tree Leaves returned to their normal position, and the rotation of the Throne of the Sun stabilized once more.

"Go again," Captain Field said. "This time, halve the force of your push. If anything happens, remember to blow your whistle, and we’ll pull you back."

Richard began again as instructed.

The second push was much lighter. He could simultaneously see the gray silhouette of the Highland Summer House.

Richard pulled back again.

When he opened his eyes, Captain Field’s face was very close to his.

"Your inspiration is on the high side for a Newcomer. That’s a good thing, and a bad thing. Be more careful next time."

"Understood."

The last one was Theodore.

The boy from the stables wasn’t so lucky. He mumbled a Curse Spell, but was unable to complete the dive.

"Take it easy," Captain Field comforted him. "It’s not that you can’t do it; you just haven’t found the right way."

"Don’t try to force it." Sarah walked over at that moment and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Match my breathing."

With her help, Theodore finally completed his dive.

After pulling back, he squatted on the ground and threw up.

When he finished, he wiped his mouth, his face still pale.

"I spent ten years staring into that kind of darkness at the bottom of a mine," he said to the others. "And somehow, a single glance over there made me sicker."