The hiss of pistons and the steady rhythm of turning wheels filled the morning air as Auger's steam car rattled along the cobblestone road. The contraption, running without a driver's hand, guided itself like a beast that knew its way, every gear clicking in perfect, mechanical patience.

  Lea sat with her parasol resting across her p, eyes drifting between the countryside blurring past and Auger lounging in his seat. His expression was unreadable, a mask of ease hiding whatever calcutions ticked behind those eyes.

  "Lady Keter…", Lea began, her voice quiet, uncertain, "She told you to teach me about this world. About the… mysticism. What exactly did she mean?"

  Auger tilted his head, as if he'd been waiting for her to ask. A crooked smile tugged at his lips, "Ah, so she's tossing the responsibility to me. How convenient."

  He stretched, arms behind his head, the faint plume of steam fogging against his shoulder as the car hissed onward, "Very well. The first lesson, rituals."

  Lea leaned forward, already eager, "Rituals?"

  "Yes.", Auger said, gesturing zily with his hand, "Chant some words, burn a sacrifice or two, maybe prick your finger if you like theatrics. You call upon gods, spirits, or even nature itself, and they might just answer. Fire, rivers, wind. It's how mortals knock on heaven's door."

  Lea's jaw dropped, her parasol slipping off her p, "So I could… summon fire? Split rivers? Command storms?!"

  Auger chuckled, shaking his head, "You? Nah."

  Lea looked at him bnkly, "…What do you mean, no?"

  He pointed a finger at her chest, grin sharp, "You don't have a Path linked to the Material, no flesh reinforcement at all. Try it, and the backsh eats you alive. At best, you cough up blood. At worst..."

  He mimed an explosion with both hands, smirking, "—spt."

  Lea sat frozen, then scowled while clenching her fist, "That's unfair!"

  "Unfair?", Auger ughed, tapping his cane against the metal floor, "Welcome to mysticism, little avenger. The world doesn't care about fairness. There is a reason why Judgement is the most popur Path, it's simply unfair."

  Lea slumped into her seat, pouting, "So I can sense lies, curse people into despair, cut their souls apart—"

  She jabbed a finger at him, voice rising, "—but I can't even light a candle with magic?!"

  "Exactly.", Auger said with infuriating cheer.

  Lea groaned, dragging her parasol over her face like a bnket, muffling her voice, "I hate this world…"

  The car jolted over a bump, hissing steam that almost sounded like ughter. Auger tilted his head, grin widening as he watched her sulk, "Don't worry, in the Lady's own words, this world hates you too."

  The steam car rattled forward, puffing clouds of smoke behind it. Lea hugged her parasol, gring faintly at Auger.

  "Alright, next lesson.", Auger tapped his cane against the side of the seat, his tone mock-professorial, "Material, Astral, and Immaterial. Body, Mind, and Soul. The three pilrs. Every Path you walk will tie into one of them."

  Lea tilted her head, "Lady Keter talked about it before, Malediction is Immaterial, but what about Judgement?"

  He grinned, "Simple, Judgement is Astral, smiting lies and sins, but its bdes cut through the Soul and Mind."

  Lea groaned, slumping in her seat, "So I don't even touch the Body?!"

  "Correct.", Auger smirked, "You're a disembodied voice and a floating guillotine. Very scary at night, very useless if you need to, say, lift a barrel."

  Lea buried her face in her hands, "Unfair again…!"

  "Don't pout.", he chuckled, waving her off, "Mind and Soul are plenty deadly. Besides, if you had Body on top of that, I'd have to start calling you a whirlwind of evil."

  Lea peeked between her fingers, frowning, "So what, if I wanted to throw a punch, I'd break my hand?"

  "Probably.", Auger said far too cheerfully, "But you can curse them into arthritis and stab their soul with gold bdes while they're busy ughing at your punch. Same effect, less bruising."

  Lea groaned louder, flopping back against the seat, "Why does everything I get sound like homework while you get the fun stuff?"

  Auger chuckled, eyes glinting with mischief, "Because, little one… You picked vengeance."

  The steam car hissed at that moment, letting out a whistle that almost sounded like ughter. Lea kicked the floorboard.

  Auger leaned back, tapping his chin thoughtfully, "Here, let me give you an easy example."

  He pointed his cane at the parasol resting across Lea's p, "That sword hidden inside your parasol, Hastur, right? That thing is a walking textbook. Severance is Material, cutting the Body. Rend is Astral, tearing the Mind. Rift is Immaterial, slicing the Soul itself."

  Lea blinked, looking down at the parasol as if it had just grown three heads, "Wait… so it can cut all three?!"

  "Exactly.", Auger grinned, almost smug, "Most artifacts can't properly channel the power of multiple Paths. Yours? It ughs in the face of bance."

  Lea's eyes widened, "That… that's broken!!"

  She clutched the parasol tighter, like a child suddenly realizing their toy was a doomsday weapon, "Why would Lady Keter just give me something this overpowered?!"

  She looks at it in a new light. This is probably one of the most dangerous weapons ever created!!

  Auger chuckled, folding his arms, "Because she enjoys watching you panic, her hobbies are more twisted than they seem. And also, perhaps, because she knows you'll need it."

  Lea pressed her forehead against the parasol, groaning, "Do you know how many people would kill for this thing?!"

  "Most people.", Auger said cheerfully, then thought about it a little more, "All people, actually."

  He leaned closer with a sly grin, "So keep it hidden. Otherwise, you'll have every greedy soul from here to the Great Desert chasing you down."

  Lea froze, holding the parasol even tighter, "…I suddenly don't feel safe anymore."

  The steam car gave a loud hiss, almost mocking her despair. And after a while, she asked again.

  "Although there are many Paths with simir ability, just on different pnes, why is that?"

  Auger took a moment to think before answering.

  "Yes, all Paths have versions of themselves linking to other two pnes, with the exception of Legacy, Regression, Correction, and another one. They perform simirly but on different pnes of existence. Like your sword is capable of cutting through everything."

  "Then what are the Material and Astral counterparts of Malediction?"

  "Distortion is the Astral counterpart. As for the Material counterpart, it is something you should be familiar with.", he looked at her arms.

  Lea instantly realized... Corruption. These bckened scars on her body...

  =0=0=

  The steam car hissed to a halt at the edge of a quiet forest. Auger stepped out first, stretching his back with a groan. Lea followed, parasol in hand, her mind still gnawing on his words.

  "Alright.", she said, determination fshing in her eyes, "If Hastur really cuts everything, then I'm going to test it."

  Auger raised an eyebrow, amused, "On what, pray tell? Don't point it at me."

  Lea huffed, storming a few paces into the trees. She slid the parasol open, pulling free the sword hidden within. Sunlight caught on its edge, silver and sharp, almost humming with restrained hunger.

  "Okay… just one swing."

  She picked a tree at random - an old oak, thick and sturdy. She took a stance, inhaled sharply, and sshed.

  The bde barely met resistance. The tree parted as if it had been sliced from existence itself, the trunk sliding off with a sickeningly clean cut. But before it even hit the ground, the leaves above turned bck, shriveled, and fell like ash around her. The tree's very life force had withered, severed in a single instant.

  Lea's mouth fell open, "…That was not normal."

  Behind her, Auger let out a low whistle, "Oh, definitely not. Congratutions, your parasol is an ecological disaster waiting to happen."

  Lea spun toward him, still gripping the weapon, half-horror-stricken, "I didn't just cut wood… I cut the tree's soul, didn't I?!"

  "Yup.", Auger said with infuriating calm, leaning on his cane, "Straight through its body and soul, with a dash of Rend to make sure the poor thing's mind knew it was dead before it fell."

  Lea's eye twitched, "That's overkill!! It was just a tree!!"

  "Which means.", Auger smirked, "You'll want to be very careful swinging that thing around people."

  Lea shakily slid the bde back into the parasol, hugging it to her chest like a votile bomb, "Unfair… completely unfair… Lady Keter, what kind of monster are you trying to make me…?"

  Auger only chuckled, clearly enjoying her despair.

  Lea bit her lip, staring at Hastur's gleaming edge. The way the tree had just… died still rang in her chest. But some stubborn fme rose inside her. She turned toward Auger, sword ready.

  "…I want to try it. On you."

  Auger arched a brow, then grinned, "Now we're talking. Come then, little Avenger. Let's see if you can even touch me."

  Lea darted forward, bde fshing. She aimed low, then feinted, twisting into a quick upward strike. Hastur's edge whistled through the air, only to be met with a sharp cck.

  Auger's cane intercepted it easily. Not strained. Not even a crack.

  "W-what?!", Lea's eyes widened. She pushed harder, trying to force through, but Auger leaned casually on the cane, as if holding up nothing more than an umbrel.

  "Impossible…", Lea hissed, sweat beading on her temple, "This sword cut through a tree like butter, and you just—!"

  Her words broke as Auger gave her a light shove, sending her stumbling back several steps. He spun the cane zily in his hand, smirking.

  "Impressive swing, but you're too green. And Hastur isn't invincible."

  Lea's grip tightened, "Don't tell me that thing, your walking stick is also some mystical weapon?!"

  "Of course.", Auger replied, as if it were obvious. He pnted the cane into the ground with a firm thunk, "The core is a solid rod of seastone. Imbued long ago by a Fifth Step Protector— Paths of Preservation and Memory."

  Lea froze, staring at it, "Seastone?!"

  "Unyielding to wear, unbreakable against force, and it remembers.", Auger tapped the handle, his voice carrying a faint reverence, "Every strike it has ever blocked, it recalls. Each csh adds to its instinctive defense. It doesn't just resist, you'd have to overcome history itself to break it."

  Lea's mouth hung open. "That's unfair. You basically carry a relic while I just—!"

  "You just cut a tree's soul in half.", Auger cut her off, lips twitching in amusement, "Don't whine about unfairness, girl."

  Lea puffed her cheeks, gring, "I will get through one day."

  Auger chuckled, twirling the cane again before resting it across his shoulders. "Good. If you do, that means you're finally strong enough to stand at my side."

  Lea lunged again, sword fshing like lightning.

  Cng!

  Hastur met Auger's cane with another hard impact, yet it was Lea who staggered back, the recoil biting into her wrists.

  "Hah, don't underestimate me!", she growled, rushing forward with a series of rapid cuts. Low sweep, high ssh, thrust, twist, her strikes came faster than breath.

  But the cane moved as though it had a will of its own. Each time Hastur's edge neared, Auger barely shifted his grip, and the weapon slid into the perfect position to parry. A zy tilt of the wrist, a flick, a subtle angle, yet every motion was precise.

  Cck.

  Cck.

  Cck.

  "Stop reading my moves!", Lea shouted, frustration curling in her voice.

  Auger chuckled, the sound infuriatingly calm, "Not me, girl. It."

  He tapped the cane against Hastur and pushed her back with a shove so effortless it made her teeth grit, "This cane remembers every csh it's endured. Each strike you throw, it learns. That's the gift Lady Keter left in it, along with the seastone core. Memory yered over Preservation."

  "Memory…?" Lea panted, eyes narrowing.

  "Exactly. The more you fight it, the harder it is to nd the same blow twice. Its defense is instinct carved into steel. I named it Excalibur, at the Lady's suggestion. Nobody in this world knows what the word means, but she said it fit me well."

  Lea grit her teeth and lunged again, feinting left then cutting right. For a moment, she thought she had him, only for Excalibur to slide into the path of her bde like it had seen that strike a thousand times before.

  CLANG.

  The sound rang hollow in her chest. Hastur shuddered as if it too felt mocked.

  Lea staggered back, hair falling in her face, her eyes bzing, "A weapon that fights for you?! No wonder you act so smug!"

  Auger leaned casually on Excalibur, smirking, "And you think a parasol that severs body, soul, and mind with a flick isn't cheating?"

  "T-That's different!" she snapped, puffing her cheeks in indignation, "Mine still needs me! Yours just moves on its own!"

  Auger's ughter rolled through the trees, "Hah! Don't be sour, Lea. If you want to win, then don't give Excalibur a chance to remember. Surprise it, surprise me."

  Lea lowered Hastur, shoulders rising and falling, but her eyes glittered with challenge, "Fine. One day, I'll strike faster than memory itself. Then we'll see who ughs!!"

  Auger gave a slow nod, twirling Excalibur before resting it across his shoulders. "Good. I'd like to see that day come."