Carol’s single statement sparked countless associations in Siles’s mind.
He didn’t rush to ask questions, only gazing at Carol while pondering the definition of Revelator in his heart, waiting for Carol to provide more information.
However, Miss Clayton didn’t have his patience. Upon hearing Carol’s words, she immediately blurted out a question: “Reenactment?!”
“Exactly, Miss Clayton.” Carol smiled and snapped his fingers. “All our power comes from things that happened in past times.”
He could tell from the gazes of everyone present that they hadn’t understood his words at all.
So he gave an example: “Simply put, suppose three hundred years ago, someone used a cleaver to kill a person. Three hundred years later, you learn of this incident and obtain some related items—for instance, this cleaver.
“Then, you can use the power of the potion to similarly use this cleaver to attempt to kill someone. This is the process of reenactment. Once you successfully reenact it, you can borrow the ‘strength’ of that previous killer.
“This way, it’s equivalent to your constitution and strength being enhanced. Killing someone becomes much easier for you.
“This is the simplest usage. Of course, I don’t hope that after you become Revelators, it’s only to kill your enemies. Striking with deadly force is not the way to solve problems.”
Carol said with a smile, satisfied to see everyone nodding thoughtfully.
He gave another example: “Or take this book you’re seeing now. Why can I shrink it?”
The very young man, possibly only sixteen or seventeen years old, asked impatiently: “Why?”
Carol then carefully took out a small piece of yellowed paper from his pocket and said: “This book, we call the ‘Box of Knowledge.’ The book’s first edition and original are kept in the Church of the Past, and what I’ve brought out now is merely a copy from the Society.
“And this paper fragment is part of the earliest paper used in the process of making, writing, and forming the ‘Box of Knowledge.’ This is a temporal trace.
“A so-called temporal trace is the trajectory of time. When applied to specific objects, it’s like that murderous cleaver, like this old paper fragment. There are other things too, which I won’t elaborate on here.
“…So, can anyone understand why I can shrink the book?”
Everyone looked at each other.
The elderly woman slowly said in her aged voice: “That’s not shrinking… that’s regression.”
“Exactly!” Carol nodded approvingly. “This small piece of paper was torn from the earliest Box of Knowledge. At that time, the Box of Knowledge was just a small booklet, far from as thick as it is now.
“As long as I reenact things related to ‘folding’ and ‘writing,’ and the ritual’s power acts on the Box of Knowledge itself, then the Box of Knowledge can regress to its earlier appearance.
“And once this power is severed, the Box of Knowledge will return to its current state.”
Speaking, Carol took out paper and pen from a nearby drawer and drew an ink dot on each side of the paper. Then he folded the paper in half, making the two dots overlap.
“This is the Revelator’s power! We can fold spacetime, allowing old powers to reenact themselves at this current point in time!”
Miss Clayton’s eyes sparkled with wonder as she hurriedly asked: “Can any past be reenacted?”
Carol smiled and explained: “A Revelator’s power comes from three parts: potion, temporal trace, and ritual. The specific process of making potions is quite complex, so I won’t explain it first.
“In any case, the potion is the key to leveraging the power of time. By comparison, it’s the force that allows that white paper to fold. After taking the potion, we can freely and ‘safely’ use the power of rituals for a period of time.
“The temporal trace, as I said, is something from the past, the trajectory of time. It’s the locator for leveraging the power of time. Without the existence of a temporal trace, when performing a ritual, you can’t determine exactly what power you want to reenact.
“The ritual is this process of ‘reenactment.’ If you want to borrow power from the past, then you must know what happened in the past and recreate it.
“If you want to borrow that murderous knife, then you must kill someone; if you want to regress the Box of Knowledge to its past appearance, then you must recreate the production process of that past form.
“…So, has everyone realized the prerequisite before a Revelator performs a ritual?”
All six new Revelators remained silent.
They hadn’t realized the so-called “prerequisite,” because in Carol’s explanation, everything seemed to happen so naturally and logically.
Take the potion, use the temporal trace, perform the ritual… then, the power of the past reappears in this world. Those past traces that had perished in the river of time see the light of day once more at this moment.
What prerequisite could there be?
Suddenly, Siles, who had only introduced his name since entering Room 666, spoke: “The prerequisite is that you must know what exactly happened in the past.”
Carol immediately laughed twice, praising Siles’s perceptiveness and wisdom, then straightened his face and said seriously: “Yes, you must ensure that when you use each ritual, you are already very clear about what exactly happened in the past.
“Because I know the complete process and stages of the Box of Knowledge’s creation, I can regress the Box of Knowledge to its original appearance. For you, even if you obtained this small piece of paper, you couldn’t alter the Box of Knowledge’s form.
“If you’re not clear enough, not certain enough, then don’t use that ritual—and don’t use temporal traces of unknown origin. These are all very dangerous things.”
Only then did the others have their epiphany.
Power was magical, powerful, but also dangerous and mysterious.
No one could know for certain whether the past hidden in history’s mist was truly as they knew it to be.
When facing and using power, they must maintain caution and composure.
Carol extended this topic a bit, telling several stories about improper use of temporal traces and rituals, mostly from beginners. Their endings weren’t so friendly—some died, some were maimed, some lost their reason.
This frightened everyone present, involuntarily showing serious and grave expressions.
Only Siles still maintained his calm and detached demeanor.
He just suddenly understood why he had been able to obtain that business card.
That he could discover the Grenfield Antique Bookstore’s existence first proved he had the potential to become a Revelator. That bookstore was probably an existence similar to the space behind the Historical Society’s door—something only Revelators could discover.
Under this premise, his conversation with Grenfield in the bookstore seemed like talking at cross purposes. Those who entered that bookstore were probably all Revelators, but Siles knew nothing.
Grenfield must have realized this.
When Siles mentioned he researched Age of Silence literature, Grenfield decided to give him this business card, to let him—at the very least—understand the dangers involved.
Researching Age of Silence literature would inevitably involve contact with traces of the past, including original manuscripts and handwritten documents from different periods—those were obviously cultural relics, a type of temporal trace.
Siles had the qualifications of a Revelator but lacked a Revelator’s knowledge and abilities. Who knew when he might “reenact” a ritual corresponding to a temporal trace and gain out-of-control power.
When Carol mentioned potions earlier, he said the purpose of potions was to allow Revelators to freely and “safely” use power for a period of time.
Safely?
Why specifically emphasize this point?
Probably because even without taking a potion, it was still possible—correspondingly, dangerously—to use the power of time. And according to Carol’s explanation, even after taking a potion, without understanding the specific meaning of temporal traces and rituals, accidents could still happen.
Out-of-control power brought extreme danger.
Siles organized his thoughts and finally confirmed his thinking had no errors.
He couldn’t help feeling somewhat fortunate—fortunate that after coming to this world, he hadn’t really contacted dangerous temporal traces, and before truly contacting them, he learned of the Revelators’ existence.
On the other side, after using several consecutive stories to frighten everyone present until their faces were pale, Carol finally contentedly restrained himself a bit: “Of course, you needn’t worry excessively.
“Temporal traces themselves are indeed dangerous, which is why we must learn to use and control them.”
“Will we encounter such dangers in daily life?” Miss Clayton couldn’t help asking. “If we do…”
“Oh, then quickly go to the Church of the Past, or come here to the Historical Society to request help.” Carol said. “Many things…” he used vague terms, “are resolved by us—and by you in the future.”
These words suddenly gave the several Lafami City natives present a sense of heavy responsibility.
As Carol spoke, he casually folded the yellowed paper fragment in his hand twice, then tossed it onto that thick Box of Knowledge. Then, a pale blue halo spread out, and when the light dissipated, the Box of Knowledge had changed back to the appearance of an ordinary small booklet like at the beginning.
Everyone exclaimed in wonder. Seeing a ritual performed for the first time greatly broadened their horizons.
Carol said: “Alright, that’s about it for today. The next time you come here, you’ll be able to access some relatively safe rituals—that’s when you’ll truly enter the path of Revelators.”
“When is the next time?” Miss Clayton asked urgently.
“Every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 2 PM, we can meet here. Next time will be the day after tomorrow.” Carol smiled and nodded. “The doorknob has already remembered you. You can enter Room 666 at any time.”
After thinking, Carol added: “Before you’ve attempted real rituals, I don’t recommend you interact with those Revelators outside. Quite a portion of them are… opportunists.”
Carol didn’t explain much about this matter, just nodded, then clapped his hands: “Alright, Revelators. What’s about to unfold before you is the gateway to knowledge and time. But caution and thoroughness are what we should remember most when stepping through this door.”
Everyone present echoed in agreement.
“Then, see you Wednesday.” Carol said. As everyone stood up, planning to leave, he added, “Before leaving, please sign this agreement. The content is that you shall not voluntarily disclose any information related to Revelators to ordinary people.”
He took out a piece of parchment that looked more ancient, with all handwritten text.
The appearance of this agreement was not unexpected, and the content was quite simple. Some hesitated, but in the end everyone signed. The six names and handwriting remained on the parchment for a moment, then disappeared.
Carol probably sensed some people’s dissatisfaction and added: “Using power safely is our consistent pursuit. You’ll learn more secrets about Revelators in the future.”
Soon, several people dispersed.
The moment he stepped out of that room’s door, Siles heard the dice in his mind gently turn once, but no judgment occurred. Instead, a notification came.
[Spirituality +1. Knowledge +1.]
This made Siles pause slightly, then continued walking with an unchanged expression.
He still hadn’t found a way to communicate with this dice… he wondered if it was related to his initiation as a Revelator.
Siles intended to exchange a few more words with Carol, but he noticed Carol had no intention of staying, so he decided to give up for now. He inadvertently walked together with Miss Clayton.
“What mysterious power.” Miss Clayton said with emotion. “Perhaps this world is just so mysterious and magnificent.”
Siles politely agreed.
Miss Clayton added: “I never knew before that our world concealed such power.”
“I never knew either, Miss Clayton.”
Miss Clayton said: “You can call me Angela. We’ll be classmates from now on, won’t we?” The young woman blinked. “I sense you’ll certainly be an excellent Revelator.”
Siles smiled faintly and said nothing. He was truly a taciturn, detached, and calm person.
On the second floor, Siles bid farewell to Miss Clayton, then went to collect his belongings. By the time he left the Historical Society, the entrance was already a desolate scene.
Fine raindrops began falling again in the gloomy air. Around him were crowded traffic and lively crowds. Siles felt he had suddenly returned to the real world.
He opened his pocket watch for a glance and found it was already close to four o’clock. By the time he returned to 13 Milford Street, it would probably be past five.
Siles imperceptibly sighed.
The public carriage arrived. Siles protected the stack of manuscripts in his arms, then boarded the carriage. As he expected, after a bumpy ride of over an hour, he finally returned to Milford Street.
The rain grew heavier.
Siles bought a small piece of walnut bread and a bottle of goat’s milk for dinner at the bakery in Logan Market. The glass bottle packaging this goat’s milk had to be returned after he finished drinking, so he had to register his address at the bakery.
But he was already planning to go to Logan Market tomorrow to buy daily necessities.
Then, Siles hurriedly walked back with a head of wet hair, grateful that his rented room provided hot water. A fleeting thought flashed through his mind, hesitantly pondering what energy source this world used.
…It didn’t seem to be like Earth, using coal or steam or such things. Mechanical structures certainly existed, but the air pollution wasn’t so severe.
Having rushed about all day and gained much knowledge, Siles was starving, only thinking of putting the manuscripts in his arms back in his room first, then going out to find food.
But just as he walked up the second-floor stairs, someone walked out from the room across from his.
