Chapter 73: Beware!

"Traditions are facets of the veil.

"The veil itself is a seamless whole, but human cognition is limited, rendering it impossible to comprehend everything behind it all at once.

"Traditions are the angles found by those who came before—a specific direction from which to observe, understand, and harness the world behind the veil."

The document listed the five major traditions.

Richard read through them one by one, using his pencil to translate each entry into his notebook.

The Solar Tradition, Solaris.

A tradition associated with order, light, and healing, tracing its roots to the innate sun worship of major ancient civilizations.

The text noted that practitioners of the Solar Tradition could use ether to replace organ functions.

They could use ether circulation to maintain blood flow or supply oxygen.

The Hearth Fire Tradition, Ignis.

A tradition associated with forging, transformation, and alchemy.

Practitioners of the Hearth Fire Tradition did not view ether as pure power; they treated it as a raw material.

Alchemists of the Secret path and certain Scholars belonged to this tradition.

The document specifically noted that crafting and modification were the core disciplines of the Hearth Fire Tradition.

"The silver-backed engravings used for sealing, the holy water used for exorcism, the crystal balls used for divination... these things do not fall from the sky. They must be crafted by someone."

The Abyss Tradition, Abyssi.

As he reached this entry, the writing style shifted once more.

The previous two traditions had been described in a neutral, academic tone, but for the Abyss Tradition, the author's tone grew heavy.

"Deep within the veil lies knowledge, truth, and countless things that existed long before the dawn of human civilization.

"Practitioners of the Abyss Tradition attempt to touch those things, using human minds to comprehend non-human logic."

"It is the most dangerous tradition, yet also the most alluring."

"The barrier to entry for the Abyss Tradition is exceedingly low. Anyone can peer into the depths.

"However, the threshold to return from those depths is impossibly high. When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."

The Moon Hunting Tradition, Lunae Venatricis.

The orthodox lineage of the Monster Hunters, directly tied to hunting, purification, and expulsion.

Most Hunters who walked the Path of Blood Ignition belonged to the Moon Hunting Tradition.

The document's phrasing here was terse and sharp, perfectly matching the temperament of the Moon Hunting Tradition itself—cut the nonsense and get to work.

"The Moon Hunting Tradition does not care what the world behind the veil looks like, nor does it care about the true nature of ether.

"It only cares about one thing: if something from behind the veil crosses over to this side, how to send it back, or how to eradicate it completely.

"The more direct the method, the better; the higher the efficiency, the better."

His grandfather Gerard had mentioned in their conversation that three generations of the Ashford family had walked the path of the Hunter.

Given the description of the Moon Hunting Tradition, it was highly likely that the Ashfords belonged to this lineage.

The Web Weaving Tradition, Textrix.

A tradition associated with sealing, divination, and fate; it was the primary home for those on the Secret path.

"Practitioners of the Web Weaving Tradition understand the world behind the veil as a web.

"Sealing is the severing of threads, divination is the tracking of threads, and the weaving of fate is the rearrangement of threads."

"Web weavers do not stand on the stage; they manipulate everything from behind the scenes."

"By the time you realize you are caught in the web, the threads have already pulled tight."

Richard sketched a simple diagram of the five major traditions in his notebook, drawing five rings arranged around a representation of the veil.

Each tradition corresponded to a single facet of the veil, yet even pieced together, the five major facets did not constitute the entirety of the veil.

Beneath the drawing, he jotted down a line of his own understanding:

"Human cognition is limited; traditions are but approximate cross-sections of the infinite veil perceived through that limited cognition."

The final section of the text discussed the advancement requirements for a Major Adept.

"Advancing to Major Adept requires the practitioner to choose a tradition and complete its 'second Signature' ritual. This time, it is no longer as simple as signing one's name on a supernatural item."

"The form of the second Signature varies by tradition and will not be expanded upon here.

"What must be emphasized is that the second Signature signifies your formal integration into a lineage system.

"Your Signature will be recorded upon the core of that tradition, and from then on, your actions and reputation will be irrevocably bound to the tradition as a whole."

"You no longer represent only yourself."

The qualitative change it brought was described in only a single sentence, but it carried immense weight:

"A Major Adept begins to possess the ability to influence the surrounding ether field.

"A Practitioner manipulates the ether within their own body, a Minor Adept transforms ether into an extension of their physical form, but a Major Adept's ether radiates outward, altering the environment itself."

Richard paused his pencil and drew a line under that sentence.

Altering the environment itself.

He recalled the trick Gerard had shown off—the crushing pressure of his ether field, released solely onto Richard while the people beside them remained completely oblivious.

What if radiating ether outward to alter the environment were magnified ten times, or a hundred times?

The document merely offered one casually stated line: "A Major Adept no longer fears armies of ordinary mortals."

Richard rested his pencil on the spine of his notebook and continued reading.

As he recalled, the final few lines of this section had been written in a different ink color, slightly lighter than the main text. They must have been added on after some time had passed.

"The five major traditions listed above are currently the ones with the greatest numbers, the most complete lineages, and the most systematically organized structures."

"Yet, there are far more than just five facets to the veil."

"Just as a mirror can reflect from countless angles, the world behind the veil is being carved up by countless modes of cognition."

"Beyond the five major traditions, there are numerous smaller lineages scattered across the world.

"Some are so ancient that their origins can no longer be traced, while others are so young that their founders are still alive."

The narrative tone of the appended paragraph shifted. The author had clearly hesitated for a long time before putting pen to paper, but had ultimately decided to finish the thought:

"You who have read this far have perhaps already begun to envision your own path of ascension."

"I must remind you of one thing."

"Whether it is the five major traditions or any other lineage, the rank system draws the same line at the level of Major Adept."

"Practitioners below that line, no matter how powerful, can still be understood by ordinary people."

"Their strength is magnified human strength, and their Perception is extended human sensation;

"Although their lifespans are stretched somewhat by ether, aging and death remain their certain destination."

"The entities above that line... I have deliberately used the word 'entities' here rather than 'practitioners,' for they have already begun to deviate from the category of humanity."

Richard's pencil paused on the paper.

He thought back to the flora encyclopedia he had flipped through on the third-floor bookshelf of Greenwood, and the sequence of ranks he had deciphered from it.

Virtuoso, Master, Archon.

Three ranks hung above Major Adept, and the descriptions in that text had grown increasingly sparse the higher they went.

Virtuoso had only been given a few words, Master just half a sentence, and Archon had not even been provided a definition.

Now, he had a rough idea why.

The phrasing in the document was extremely cautious; every single word had been weighed before it was set down.

"A Major Adept's ether has already deeply fused with their physical body, but the scale of that fusion remains within a controllable range.

"They still need to eat and sleep, and they will still die if a dagger is thrust into their heart... though an ordinary dagger would never be able to pierce them in the first place."

"Upon crossing the line of Major Adept, things begin to change. Ether is no longer a tool possessed by the practitioner, nor merely an extension of them."

"They themselves will begin to become a part of the ether."

"The boundary between the two dissolves, and the significance of the physical body diminishes."

"Upon reaching this stage, the meaning of the word 'living' becomes entirely different from what ordinary people understand."

The document did not expand further on this, opting instead to conclude the entire section with a single passage.

"All power comes with a price tag."

"For every gift you receive, the veil will take something of equal value from you."

"At the lower ranks, this toll is almost imperceptible.

"The wax consumed by the burning candle is minuscule, and the light brought by the flame far exceeds the cost."

"But a candle is only so long."

"The brighter you burn, the shorter the remaining wax becomes."

"Some practitioners choose to stop after ascending to a sufficient height.

"Partly because they can climb no further, and partly because they look down and realize they do not have much wax left beneath their feet."

"But others do not stop."

"They turn into something else. Perhaps they are stronger than humans, perhaps more enduring than humans, but ultimately, they can no longer be called human."

"As to what that 'something else' actually is..."

"Cave! (Beware!)"