Very steady.
Unhurried.
In the next second, a familiar voice rang out.
“I say, what are you two doing hiding here in the middle of the night? You didn't actually hook up, did you?”
Ryan looked up sharply.
Simon was standing at the entrance of the alley. He was holding a half-empty bottle of wine in his hand, his coat slung casually over his shoulder. The man looked thoroughly lazy and relaxed.
But the moment he stepped into the alley, Ryan suddenly felt the air shift.
That thick, sweet sensation from before was suddenly suppressed slightly by something.
Simon swept his gaze over the scene. Seeing the drunkards, he let out a soft click of his tongue.
“Winona, you've gone a bit too far this time.”
The smile on Winona's face finally faded slightly. “Simon, you really love poking your nose into other people's business.”
Simon shrugged. “Can't help it. This kid belongs to our archive. If you actually break him, I'll have to write his absence report next week.”
He glanced at Ryan as he spoke. “And he's only been on the job for some ten days. You won't even let a newcomer go?”
His tone still sounded like he was joking, but Ryan keenly sensed that Simon's state was completely different from before.
Especially his eyes. They were far too calm.
Simon's previous warning gesture suddenly flashed through Ryan's mind. He finally understood.
It wasn't that Simon was ignorant of these things. He had known all along, and he knew far more than Ryan did.
Winona gently swirled her wine glass. “You want to protect him?”
“Not really,” Simon smiled. “It's mostly that you're being too conspicuous. The East End hasn't been very stable lately. If you keep hosting these drunkard gatherings, someone's going to target you sooner or later.”
At those words, Winona's expression finally shifted slightly.
The alley fell silent for a couple of seconds. Then, she suddenly let out a soft laugh. “You're still as annoying as ever.”
Simon nodded. “A lot of people say that.”
As he spoke, he slowly walked in front of Ryan. The movement was completely natural. Just a casual step, but it positioned him perfectly to shield Ryan.
Thump... thump... thump.
It was the sensation of the Heart's pulse.
At the same time, Ryan suddenly felt his mind clear up a bit. That constant tugging at his desires was beginning to weaken.
Winona clearly noticed this as well. The drunkards behind her began to slow down, and their hazy, excited expressions slowly softened.
Simon suddenly sighed. “What a pain.”
Then he looked up at the men. “You guys, you've had too much to drink tonight.”
His voice wasn't loud. It was even a bit lazy.
Yet those men suddenly froze, their minds going blank for a brief moment. One of them even nodded subconsciously. “...Right. Too much to drink.”
Ryan's pupils contracted slightly.
Winona's smile vanished completely. “You're close to crossing the threshold?”
Simon immediately showed a look of disgust. “Don't talk nonsense. I still want to keep receiving my salary.”
After saying that, he glanced at Ryan again. “Can you still walk?”
Ryan fell silent for two seconds, then nodded.
Simon turned and walked out of the alley. “Then don't just stand there dazed. Go home.”
Ryan immediately followed.
As they passed Winona, the woman suddenly spoke softly. “Ryan.”
His footsteps paused slightly.
Winona looked at him, her eyes still as soft as wine. “Stop looking around blindly. The Lantern sometimes... burns itself out first.”
Ryan didn't speak. He simply followed Simon out of the alley.
Only after they had walked a long distance away did he finally let out a long breath. His back was completely drenched in cold sweat.
Meanwhile, Simon leisurely took a sip of his wine, then suddenly tilted his head to look at Ryan. “You really have some nerve. A little Lantern-bug who's barely touched the door, yet you dare to keep staring at a Grail disciple.”
The night was already deep. There were far fewer people on the streets of the East End. Only a few scattered drunkards staggered their way home. In the distance, the sound of a carriage passing over the cobblestone road could still be heard.
The gas lamps glowed in yellow halos through the fog.
Simon didn't walk fast. As he walked, he unscrewed his bottle and took another sip.
Ryan followed beside him. His right shoulder was still throbbing with pain. The punches he had taken earlier were quite heavy, and his mind was also incredibly exhausted.
Especially Winona's final words. They kept swirling in his head.
The Lantern burns itself out first.
Simon suddenly spoke. “Stop thinking about it.”
Ryan looked up. “What?”
“Her last sentence,” Simon said casually. “Grail disciples love to be mysterious and dramatic. The more you dwell on it, the easier it is to get sucked in.”
Ryan fell silent for a moment. In the end, he still asked, “Who on earth are you?”
Simon immediately laughed. “A formal clerk of the archive. A weekly salary of thirty-four shillings. An occasional part-time scribe. And I still owe the tavern owner half a month's tab.”
He spoke with utter seriousness.
The corner of Ryan's mouth twitched. “I'm being serious.”
Simon looked at him for two seconds, then slowly withdrew his smile. “I am too.”
He paused. “Don't always think of the extraordinary as some grand thing. In essence, this stuff is just a bunch of mentally unstable people crawling toward the abyss.”
The night wind blew across the street. Simon resumed walking forward.
“Do you think that after seeing the Glory, the world suddenly became mysterious? Secret organizations, ancient rituals, divine powers—it sounds pretty impressive. But in reality, most people end up dying in very stupid ways.”
Ryan didn't speak, because he knew Simon was right.
The things he had seen along the way had absolutely no sense of "grandeur" at all. There was only danger, pollution, and the constant feeling that he might go mad at any moment.
Simon continued, “Right now, you haven't even seen the door. You can only be considered to have had a tiny crack burned into you by the Lantern. Only that woman just now can be considered to have truly stepped inside.”
Ryan frowned. “The First Stage?”
“Yes,” Simon nodded. “Different places have different names for it. Some call it 'Aspect Opening', some call it 'Drinking the Secret', and others call it 'Touching the Door'. Anyway, they all mean more or less the same thing. It means you've actually completed an Ascension ritual and can stably use a bit of your abilities.”
Having said this, he glanced at Ryan. “As for you right now, you're only 'tainted'. To put it bluntly, you've got half a foot stepped in, but you're not fully inside yet.”
Ryan subconsciously touched his eyes. “Then, the Lantern's Ascension ritual...”
“Don't ask too many details,” Simon interrupted him directly. “The less you know, the longer you live.”
His tone was very flat when he said this.
Ryan still had questions he couldn't help but ask: “What about the stages?”
Simon didn't avoid it this time. “To put it simply, the First Stage is generally called Disciple. You've just acquired a Principle, you can perform minor rituals, use a bit of your aspect, and enter the Wood to explore a little.”
Then, he raised a second finger and continued, “The Second Stage...”
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