Mimicking the plum-haired girl sitting beside him, Masa Ed pinched the fruit until it yielded, splitting it to reveal a sweet cluster of seeds at its heart. As he reached for one, Sugar's voice caught him—a whisper so close it felt like a touch.

  "Master, do you want to watch their initiation?"

  Where is she? Curious, he looked around in a bid to catch her figure. Instead, he felt a tap on his right shoulder from the plum-haired girl. As he turned to look at her, his attention was drawn to where she pointed in the distance. His eyes followed her finger and paused on Snow. She was looking at him, her lips tightly pressed together.

  Confused, he frowned at her. Wanting to appease him, she bowed sharply and curtsied just as fast, both done on instinct. At that moment, Masa Ed took her response as confirmation: it was her voice he had heard magically, not Sugar’s, despite them sounding exactly the same.

  Was that also spiritual? he wondered. He decided to put the "how" of Snow’s magical feat behind him. He returned his focus to her and nodded—a signal that he accepted her offer. In response, she turned her face to the side to hide a smile.

  Masa Ed stood up. He turned to the plum-haired girl, stretching his unoccupied right arm toward her. "Plumpy, let's go," he instructed.

  Despite being addressed by a random, made-up name, the girl took his hand naturally, though she kept her face lowered. With her soft, plump hand held firmly in his strong one—her other hand clutching her teddy-bear backpack—Masa Ed led her toward the hatch a couple of cressets away. He matched his pace to hers, the cold flames illuminating their path through the mowed grass.

  Shortly afterward, they reached the wide, open hatch. They were welcomed by Snow, who stood by the edge and gave them an instinctive, polite bow.

  "Master, after you," Snow gestured toward the descending stairs the hatch revealed.

  Masa Ed smiled faintly. He placed the plum-haired girl before him, watching her adjust her backpack properly before they resumed. As the girl led their march down the golden stairs with Snow behind him and the hatch door closing above them, Masa Ed scrutinized the golden brick walls of the tunnel. His eyes lingered on the wall torches, which emitted a golden, cold flame.

  Where did they even get this smokeless flame? Masa Ed wondered. Curious, he drifted closer to the wall and fearlessly dipped his hand into the flame; it felt cold to the touch.

  "Master, they are astral flames," Snow enlightened him, pausing her march. "They are a product of Ether, unlike regular flames which are a product of burning matter."

  "I see." Masa Ed nodded. "Is that why they don't burn?"

  "Not really, Master," Snow answered. "There are some that burn and some that do not. It depends on their frequency. But the ones we use generally for lighting are the cold ones."

  "Is the physical difference between astral flame and matter-flame just the smoke?"

  "Yes, Master," Snow replied. "Astral flames do not release smoke unless they are burning matter. It is the matter itself that releases smoke."

  "I see. Let’s go," Masa Ed instructed.

  They resumed their trek down the stairs with the plum-haired girl far in front. While his eyes lingered on her wiggling backside, a thought came to his mind. "What's her name?" he inquired.

  "Her name is Plum Maja, Master," Snow answered, looking past him toward the girl stepping onto the final stair. "She is one of us, along with one other."

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  "Maja, huh." Masa Ed smiled.

  Not long after, he and Snow exited the stairwell and stepped into an underground space so vast its golden ceiling seemed to stretch forever. To his left, right, and center, all he saw was fire. Golden pillars held torches, the polished ceiling fifty meters above held pendant chandeliers, and the floor held both circles of flames and burning cressets.

  Are we in the world of fire? he joked internally. Sensing an intent directed at him from his right, he turned to see Plum sitting on a stone bench, waving at them. He guessed her thoughts and walked toward her with Snow in tow. Reaching her, he sat down shoulder-to-shoulder and unfurled his left fist, which still held the fruit Plum had given him earlier. Behind him though, Snow stand with a practiced ease.

  "What's happening here?" he asked.

  His eyes scanned the grid of flaming circles. In the center of each sat a person in the lotus position. He counted fifty people in a ten-by-five grid, each with a veiled woman standing nearby. Their atmosphere reminded him of Lady Jasmine, though their energy he could sense felt inferior.

  "Master, they are performing an initiation ritual," Snow replied.

  "Oh!"

  She continued, "It’s a batch initiation. We do it every two years. Those participating right now should have done it four days ago with the others, had we arrived earlier..."

  "I see." Masa Ed smiled. He deduced their lateness must have had something to do with him, considering how desperate Margaret had been to recruit him. Meanwhile, his attention was drawn back to the beauty and seductive allure of the veiled women in charge of the ritual diagrams.

  "Those women are witches, right?"

  "Yes, Master," Snow replied. Her gaze landed on his ruffled collar and she was tempted to correct it, but she held herself back. "Only witches can perform initiation rituals. It’s why they are as important as we are in the spiritual world; the entire ritual formula belongs to them."

  Masa Ed paused, assimilating the information. He filed away what he knew to be true—cosmic knowledge—and kept the rest in memory. He absorbed knowledge effortlessly, as he always had. This spiritual world is going to be annoying, he concluded, a thought drawn from his own "manufactured enlightenment."

  "What about the seeds?" he asked.

  "Master, the seeds are not exclusive; there are several channels for them," Snow explained. "Depending on the person, they can either buy them or be given them by the faction they join. In our case, we provide the seeds for those we recruit, though some bring their own."

  As Snow finished, Sera approached them with an expressionless face and sat a few inches to Masa Ed’s left.

  "Stray cat, are you not doing the initiation?" Masa Ed asked. Instead of a reply, he received a fierce glare. She was clearly unhappy with the nickname.

  Snow answered on her behalf in a soft voice. "Master, she is on our side. She has a special circumstance that won't allow her to be initiated. She is... special."

  "I see." Masa Ed nodded. Curious, he turned to look at Sera. Their eyes met. On Sera’s stoic face was a hint of receding disbelief; she clearly wanted to know why "Teacher Snow" was calling this "molester idiot" Master.

  "Rayo?" Plum called softly.

  Masa Ed stopped inspecting Sera’s sharp, delicate features and turned toward Plum. He followed her line of sight to one of the initiates in front of them. The teenager had caught fire.

  "Great heavens!" he exclaimed. The ridiculously busty girl sitting in the center of the ritual diagram looked like a human torch. Though the smokeless fire blazed and grew, she remained in a meditative state with her eyes closed. Whatever was happening appeared to be under her control; even the witch assigned to her looked more impressed than panicked.

  "Master, there is nothing to worry about. It is her fortune. That is the sign of someone gaining a talent," Snow explained.

  "I see..." Masa Ed sighed. He ignored the weird glance Sera shot him and looked back at the burning girl. It must be an illusion, he thought to himself, chuckling. Whatever he compared in his mind is only known to him, maybe Sera too.

  "So, how long will it take? It's not like they'll take the entire night."

  "It usually takes between five and fifty minutes, Master," Snow answered. Finally finding the courage, she reached out and corrected Masa Ed’s ruffled shirt collar. As she withdrew her delicate hands, she made brief eye contact with Sera. Snow refused to answer the silent question on Sera's face and looked away. "The earlier or later someone finishes, the better. Those who finish in the middle are seen as average."

  Masa Ed nodded. He turned back to the fruit in his hand, planning to stuff his mouth with more seeds, only to realize it was empty. He had consumed them all without noticing.

  Before his face could fall, a somewhat chubby, tanned hand stretched toward him holding another whole fruit. He knew it belonged to Plum.

  "Plumpy, you’re the best," he blurted out, taking the fruit. Ignoring Sera’s gaze, he pinched the fruit open to reveal the delicious cluster of seeds. As he ate, his eyes were drawn to one of the loner boys he had seen on the Queen Dawn.

  "Hmm..."