Eldritch Guidance

Within the Mystic Emporium, John was indulging Lunar in an intense petting session. The white, fluffy dog lay sprawled on the floor, belly exposed, reveling in John's attention. Each time John found the perfect spot on Lunar's tummy, the dog would kick one leg joyfully in the air and yip with delight. Lunar's contented wiggles and the rhythmic thumping of his tail against the floor filled the room, creating a serene and playful atmosphere amidst the emporium's usual mystique.

John: “Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy?”

Lunar: “Waah!” the white dog happily squealed.

John continued to do this for another minute before he suddenly heard a ring at the front door of his store. Instantly, John straightened his posture and stood up, brushing away the dog hair that had accumulated on his clothes from Lunar. The fluffy dog's tail stopped wagging and looked disappointed as he realized that the petting session had come to an end.

He then turned toward the front door, quickly composing himself, as if he hadn't just been doting on Lunar moments ago. With a swift adjustment to his clothing, he greeted the person who entered.

John: “Greetings! How may I help you today?” he happily said, his energy still high from petting the Lunar.

The person who had entered the store was Cid, easily recognizable in his usual attire. He wore the standard green robe of his school uniform, its deep emerald hue contrasting sharply with the black accents of his clothing, creating an interesting design with the pattern of a mushroom on it.

Cid: “Mr Li. So good to see you!”

John: “Well, if it isn't Cid, come sit,” he said while gesturing toward the chair and table at the back of the store.

Cid nodded and obediently took a seat at the table. As he settled in, John reached under the table, his hand moving to a spot just beyond sight. He was doing that weird thing where he seemed to pull items out of nowhere without the use of aether.

It was something that high-level mages could do—reaching into a mini-pocket space to grab something stored in it. But, that used an item enchanted with space magic along with a reasonable amount of aether. John seemed to be doing that with neither. Cid wondered how he was doing it, and why John always did it just out of sight.

From this unseen space, he produced a tray of fresh baked goods that looked like they came from a high-end bakery specializing in deserts, their inviting sweet aroma filling the air.

“He almost feels like a grandmother, constantly offering me treats.” Cid thought to himself.

John: “So how have your studies been going?” he asked as he pulled out some cups and a pot of coffee.

Cid: “Things have been going pretty well for me. I aced all my exams,” he said with a smile.

“The book of grand design made it especially easy.” Cid silently thought to himself.

One advantage of being able to calculate the future was knowing precisely which questions would appear on tests. All Cid needed to do was memorize those questions along with their answers, ensuring a perfect grade every time.

John: “That's wonderful to hear! And Scarlett has been helping you out?” he said as he poured a cup of coffee and handed it to Cid.

Cid: “Yup. Ms Scarlett has been great. She’s really been taking good care of me. Help me sort out finances and a few other things for me,” he said, followed by a quick sip of the coffee John gave him.

John: “I knew she’d help you out. She is a kind person.”

Cid: “Yeah. But, is a…Um, how do you put it? She’s… kind of a broken person.”

John: “Ah, she told you about her past,” he said, with a vague understanding of Scarlett's tragic past with her disciples.

Cid: “Yeah, she seemed to have been through a lot. I was wondering if you know how I could help her?”

“Well, being excised from the academic community and betrayed by people she thought her friends would leave physiological scars.” John silently thought to himself.

John’s grasp of Scarlett’s past was minimal and skewed. Understanding it as an unfortunate accident where she was forced to take all the blame for it. That Scarlett had been framed, forced into becoming a wanted criminal, and had been on the run for years as a fugitive was something not known by John.

To John, Scarlett was just an eccentric researcher who continued her work despite what her other colleagues said. He did not know her as the Scarlet Witch—former archmage, black mage, arsonist, mass murderer, and the current most wanted terrorist on the continent.

John: “Well, people who go through what she did would take time to heal. You can’t force these things. You can only stay by her side. Give her emotional support and reassure her. That's the best thing you can do.”

“How, ordinary? I thought he would suggest some profound method of helping, like telling me the location of some ancient artifact that could help her. Also, that comment seems to suggest that maybe Scarlett was right. Mr. LI sent me to help her work through her trauma. That’s why he’s telling me to stay by her side.” Cid thought to himself, creating a self-fulfilling theory that he was sent by John to assist Scarlett simply by asking how he could help her.

Cid: “Is there really nothing you can suggest?”

John: “Give her time. When she is comfortable enough to confide more in you, listen. Be supportive,” he said, drawing on personal experience from his own traumatic past.

Cid: “OK. If you’re sure.”

John: “I am. It is the best thing you can do for now. These are old wounds I’ve been helping her with as a friend. It’s not something you can fix overnight.”

Though John misunderstood Scarlett's past, believing it to be a mere unfortunate accident rather than a ritualistic sacrifice and murder attempt by her disciples, he did recognize the profound psychological scars it left on her. He saw how guarded and mistrustful she had become, something he could relate to from his own experience with betrayal. John sensed Scarlett confided in him only because they shared a similar history of being wronged by those they once trusted. However, with time and reflection, John came to realize that living in such isolation was unhealthy and that closing oneself off from others could do more harm than good. He hoped that one day Scarlett would come to see this as well and begin to heal from her past.

“It wasn’t long ago that she asked me to help find an assistant for her. I’m fortunate to have found someone like Cid for the job. Seeing her confide in Cid suggests that, after so much time, she might finally be starting to move on.” he thought silently to himself while feeling satisfied that Scarlett was starting to be a little more open.

Cid's introduction to Scarlett had been coincidental, yet they seemed perfectly suited to support each other in their own ways. John might have even called it fate, if not for Onyx’s explanation that fate was now broken and gone.

Cid: “Um, there was something else I wanted to ask you about, if that’s OK?”

John: “Of course. What is it you wanted to ask?”

Cid: “It’s, um, about the future. I’m having a hard time predicting it.”

As soon as Cid asked that question, he felt an overwhelming amount of pressure come down upon himself. The Shroom Pact student felt like his body was suddenly loaded up with an additional thirty pounds of weight. In a wordless and sourceless way, an unseen threat was being made. That he be crushed under this pressure instantly if he said one more word.

“Crap. Did I say the wrong thing? I should have chosen my words more wisely. But I didn’t know how to ask this question indirectly. I know Scarlett and the book warned me about this. Violating John’s act can result in something terrible, but I didn’t realize it would be like this!” Cid inwardly panicking.

John was just an average person without any magic abilities, this was what many believed he was only pretending to portray. Something that interrupted that act wouldn't be tolerated. This is what Scarlett had warned Cid about. So asking a question about trying to predict the future with otherworldly powers to an average person like John, whom Cid believed was only pretending to be an average person, wouldn't make sense.

John crossed his arms and looked at Cid in deep thought, while the unseen force seemed to continue to press down on Cid.

All Cid wanted to know was to understand why the Book of Grand Design could only sometimes predict the future of certain individuals. And, to know what John was warning him about in the future.

“Is he angry with me? Will he crush me? No, this pressure is coming from somewhere else, but where?”

Cid looked around frantically while John was deep in thought, and then he saw the white dog, Lunar. The canine was looking at Cid intensely.

“It’s the dog!” Cid realized

Cid could just feel it in those cold blue eyes of the white-furred malamute. It was the source of this sudden pressure. The “dog's” gaze bore into him with an intensity that sent chills down his spine. Every hair on Cid's arms stood on end as he realized that this creature wasn’t just an ordinary dog. There was a strange supernatural and unseen aura emanating from the malamute, filling the room with a suffocating force.

The air seemed to grow heavier and colder with each passing second, and Cid's heart pounded inside his chest. It was as though the malamute's eyes held some ancient, secret, unfathomable power, and Cid felt a gnawing presence that he could neither comprehend nor escape from.

John: “So, you’re unsure where you’re headed in life, then. I know how that feels,” he said, failing to notice Cid’s discomfort.

The pressure was suddenly released around Cid. He felt a heavy weight lifted from him. The Shroom Pact student watched as the white dog immediately lost interest in him and curled up in a nearby bed.

John had misunderstood Cid's question, leading him to believe that Cid was mearly anxious about the future.

Cid: “Oh, you…do?” he absentmindedly said, still trying to recover from the strange force that was pressing down on him.

John: “Yup. I used to have teachers who tried to push me to figure out my life career from an early age. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life then, or even all the way when I graduated from college. And, even now, I still don’t even entirely know myself sometimes.”

Cid: “So, you don’t know what you want to do with your life, even now?”

John: “Well, I told you already that I want to help others. I just wonder someday if I’m going about it in the right way.”

Cid: “I…see.”

The conversation had shifted from one about constructing the future with the "Book Of Grand Design" to a more benign topic: future career paths. It was a change that made more sense to the “average person” act that Cid believed John was doing.

John: “But, enough about me. What about you? What is it that is specifically troubling you?”

Cid: “Um, right. I just… think I know where I’m going, only to discover it didn’t work out the way I expected. It's frustrating, and I don’t understand why it's like that.” he asked with an alternative meaning behind his question.

Cid framed his question to subtly ask: "Why doesn't the Book of Grand Design always work?" He hoped that John would provide an answer through a nuanced, indirect euphemism rather than a direct response. Cid intended to extract insights from John’s guarded words, perhaps revealing underlying complexities or limitations of the Book without forcing John into a straightforward explanation.

John: “Hmm, this sounds kinda like our conversation when I first met you.”

Cid: “No, this is different. I have reeled back my own expectations of myself. I just don’t like the uncertainty.”

John: “Ah, I see. Uncertainty can be a scary thing.”

Cid: “Yeah, and that uncertainty nearly ruined my plans.”

John: “Then it wasn't a very good plan, I am afraid.”

Cid: “Huh?”

John: “Please don’t take this hard, but uncertainty exists in everything. If you create a plan that doesn't account for the unexpected, then it’s not a great plan.”

Cid: “I do account for the unexpected, but even so. It is still not going the way I expected.”

“Oh boy. Sounds like he is struggling with something in school, and becoming overly focused on the future again. Similar to that conversation I had when I first met him.” John thought to himself.

John: “If the unexpected becomes too great a factor, then you’re just gambling at that point. And sometimes that's fine, life can be a gamble at times.”

Cid: “But I don’t want to gamble. I want to know everything will work out.”

John: “I’m afraid none of us have a choice in that. There are no guarantees in this world. When you close your eyes to go to sleep, there is no absolute certainty you will wake up again. There is always that sliver of possibility that something can go awry.”

Cid: “Is there really nothing I can do about it?”

John: “The best you can do is focus on the thing you can control and prepare for tomorrow. Focus on the things you can do and control, rather than worry about the things you can’t. You shouldn’t focus on a future you can’t anticipate. Just keep doing what you can today, and maybe you’ll figure out what tomorrow brings. Don’t worry about things outside your control.”

Cid: “Don’t worry about things outside your control,” he mumbled, repeating what John just said.

Cid looked at John as he became lost in deep thought.

“Is he telling me to give up on trying to predict the future with the Book of Grand Design? It seems like that's what he’s hinting at. It also sounds like the book of grand design can’t predict the future as well as I thought. But, why? Ms Scarlett says that every word John says can have a much more profound meaning than what appears on the surface. Something about that last phrase of ‘Don’t worry about things outside your control,’ feels like it has some sort of meaning I’m missing.” Cid silently question.

John: “Yup. And give it time. I’m sure you’ll find a direction for you to head towards eventually.”

“That comment. Does that mean my great purpose will be revealed soon? No, he said ‘eventually’. That could mean it might be a while yet.” Cid thought to himself.

From the moment Cid received the Book of Grand Design, and it revealed a “truth” to him, he became aware of a connection to a higher calling. Although the specifics of this calling remained unknown to him, the book warned that a grand purpose awaited him in the future. Cid understood that one day he would be summoned to fulfill this mysterious purpose.

As Cid reflected on the conversation, he began to suspect that it might be John himself who would summon him to fulfill this unknown purpose. The more he pondered, the clearer it became of John's influence in what he learned from the book.

“It would make sense. Mr Li gave me the book. Probably even created the Book of Grand Design himself. Maybe, this higher purpose was crafted by him. Just like I could influence chaos theory and craft outcomes, maybe John sees things on an even higher level than the Book of Grand Design, and he’s influencing things in ways even I can’t perceive. Hmm, maybe I’m overthinking this. I think I should just follow Mr Li's advice literally, and focus on the things I know and can control. But, let's see if I can get some sort of direction of what I should be doing for now.”

Cid: “In that case, would focusing on school and helping Ms Scarlett with her work be the right direction?” he asked, trying to get some sort of classification from John about what he should be doing.

John: “Hmm, you would know best. But, that doesn't sound like a bad idea for now. Focusing on your education is always useful. And who knows, maybe helping Scarlett will help you figure out your direction in life. It sounds like she has really taken you under her wing from what she’s told me about you.”

“So completing my education and helping Ms Scarlett with her work sounds like it might be the correct course of action then.”

Cid: “I see. Yeah, Ms Scarlett has been taking really good care of me.”

John: “Good, good.”

Cid: “Um, there was one more thing I want to ask you.”

John: “Of course. What is it you wanted to ask?”

Now feeling like he resolved what his immediate course of action would be, Cid shifted the conversation toward the vague warning he had received from John some time ago. He wanted to delve deeper into the unsettling hints John had dropped, hoping to piece together the cryptic message and make sense of John's foreboding words. At the very least, Cid wanted a rough timeline of when this danger would appear before him.

Cid: “You, um, said there was some sort of trouble at the university and told me to keep my head down. Is that trouble still brewing? Has it passed?”

John: “Oh, umm.” he mumbled as he crossed his arms.

John hadn't been following the news closely in recent weeks. As a result, he remained unaware of the Sorin incident and its aftermath. The affairs of the university rarely came up in conversations with the people he interacted with. Most people living in the east end didn’t directly involve themselves with the university that much. Consequently, John failed to make any connection between the warning from Onyx and the troubling events surrounding Sorin.

“This again. Damn it. I should have asked Onyx what specifically he was warning me about with the university. It's been a while since I got that warning. That trouble should have passed by now. But, Onyx has such a weird perception of time that whatever thing he was warning me about might be years away. I’ll have to ask the next time I see him, whenever that is.” John said to himself internally.

John: “I haven’t heard anything yet. So just keep an eye out for now.”

“Sounds like the danger hasn't passed yet. I’ll need to keep making sure to avoid trouble for now. I’m not sure what question I could ask to coax more information out of him. I guess I’ll just have to leave it and just trust in John’s advice.” Cid thought to himself.

Despite being troubled by John's warning, Cid believed that John and Scarlett would protect him. He had already placed his complete trust in John and increasingly brought into Scarlett’s theory of John's seemingly overwhelming unseen power.

Cid believed that the guidance he received from John would ultimately keep him safe.

The two of them continued with idle conversation for the next hour or two. Cid, making sure that the conversation never deviated from anything that didn’t sound benign.