Jace walked around the room. It was the same sandy stone that decorated the rest of this hidden chamber. But on the roof were four glowing white crystals that lit up the room. They were lighting up the room in the same way that the smaller dark green crystals were lighting up the staircase.
He could feel the energy coming off the crystals and was impressed with how invigorated he felt. Those were not normal crystals and with how much energy was being generated. It could be a suitable power generator to replace radioactive reactors.
On the rest of the roof was another carving. This time it was a bunch of dots and lines with triangles and circles depicted everywhere. The carving went from the roof to the bottom of the walls. With the only thing interrupting it being those large crystals.
In the center of the room on the floor was a circle with engraved writing. In the center of that circle was a square. As he walked into the room this square began erecting from the ground while the circle twisted in a clockwise motion.
The pedestal that was emerging from the ground had a carving on it. They were of two Requiem holding hands. Definitely a marriage ritual of some kind. The Requiem were holding a square above their head.
Once the pedestal reached its maximum height two rectangles started rising out of the square the pair of Requiem were holding. They raised up just enough that he could stick his hand through one of the squares through the round opening that was inside of it.
Jace stepped up to it and looked closer, noticing there were faint words in the Requiem language on the sides of the square. They were probably the words that would trigger the ritual that he was told about.
"I am sure the Admiral gave a basic overview of what is going on. But I just want to confirm one last time that you two are okay with going through with a marriage ritual to keep in contact secretly so Jace can be your handler and you can go deep undercover in the Union." Director Fenrir confirmed what they were doing to remind them.
"Yes, I understand and am completely fine with the idea." Salem confirmed as she walked around the pedestal as well.
Jace nodded as he was thinking about everything in this room. "Yes, I understand. I am consenting for this marriage." Jace answered as he looked over at them.
"Good, then for the ritual all you need to do to start it is to put your hands through those holes." Director Fenrir told them. Coughing slightly as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Then the Nanosystem will give you the words you have to repeat inorder to initiate the ritual."
Jace suppressed a chuckle as he fit his left hand through the hole. Then just as Salem fit her left hand through the other hole a message coming from the system appeared.
[System Registered Marriage Ritual Detected.
Initiate Process? Y/N]
With a thought he answered 'yes'.
[Repeat These Words Out Loud:]
Salem and Jace began repeating the words at the same time, "I swear to stand by my mate and support them no matter the distance between us. To always assist them in their endeavors and complete their requests." After repeating those words both Jace and Salem look at each other in confusion.
But before either can speak they both feel an intense pain on the back of their hands. Jace immediately withdraws his left hand. On the back of his hand was now a new tattoo, it almost appeared to be a mask split between two expressions.
Less than a second later he felt light headed before he could suddenly feel something else, a door. Not feel it with his body but with his mind, it was a disturbing and new experience. After a moment he could hear knocking noise, almost like someone was knocking at this imaginary door. After a moment he tries to open the door and he can feel the familiar presence of Salem's telepathy.
"This is disturbing," Jace pointed out as he could feel Salem's amusement in his mind. He could also see into her mind once the door was opened and could read recent memories. "This must feel normal for you."
"Yes, it does." Salem responded out loud. "The new tattoo on my hand is going to be a dead giveaway." Salem pointed out as she pointed to it with her other hand while looking at Director Fenrir.
"Do not worry about it." Director Fenrir held up her own hands. Where the tattoo in the image of a lion's head appeared for a moment before it disappeared. "Once you get a greater understanding of the ability you will be able to make it disappear or appear on demand."
"Okay, new question." Jace asked as he looked over the tattoo that Salem had on her hand. "The tattoo images, are they a depiction of our other half?" He raised his own hand and pointed out the different images on Jace and Salem's hands.
"Yes, it depicts the form your soul takes. For some it is a beast, for others it is a symbol or image. At least as far as we can tell. Mine has not changed since I got it. But I am able to hide the tattoo unless I am utilizing it." Director Fenrir explained.
"So she is depicted as… two-faced?" Jace asked as he looked at the depiction of him on Salem's hand. "While I am a… is that a helmet?"
"Yeah, you would know better where it comes from. This stuff is not really my thing." Salem frowned when she was looking at the depiction on Jace's hand, "two-faced?" Jace just shrugged in response.
Then he decided to pull up his status to see if anything changed.
Chronological Age: 17
Compatibility Rating: S
Talent: Enhanced Senses
Abilities: Blueprint, Assistant Program, Bioelectrical Control, Weapon Assimilation]
Weapon Forms: Ritual Sword
Talent/Ability Understanding: {Locked}
Jace must have been making a face because it was commented on. "That is the expression of someone seeing the Hidden Information box for the first time." Director Fenrir commented, getting a hearty laugh from Admiral Dakota.
"How?" Salem asked as she rubbed the back of her hand. Jace's own hand was becoming itchy. He assumed it was like the tattoo on his shoulder so it should stop after a while. "This Hidden Information, why is everything sealed and locked? Also won't people see it when our information is scanned?"
"Actually the Hidden Information does not appear during a checkup or scanning of your status. That is why it is called Hidden Information and your original status is called General Information now. As for the sealed and locked stuff, it is because you have not reached far enough along to be able to access that information or it is being intentionally hidden in order to not impede your progression." Director Fenrir shrugged her shoulders while explaining.
Admiral Dakota jumped in with his own comparison of the situation, "think of it as a child-lock on a device in order to prevent access to information that you are too young for."
"Ohh!" Salem seemed to understand immediately.
"Child-lock?" Jace had no issue understanding the original explanation. But what was a child-lock? He had never heard the term before. "What is that?" His word's caused Director Fenrir's expression to falter for only a moment before returning to a stoic one while Admiral Dakota just raised an eyebrow. Before either of them could answer there was a snippet of explanation going to his mind as Salem used their new connection to show him. After a moment he blinked and looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "nevermind."
"So if there are no more questions…" Director Fenrir motioned to the staircase. "We can head out of here and get back to the ship. If we take too long we might be missed and we don't want people finding out about this place just yet."
"Actually I do," Jace walked backwards to the stairs as he looked up at the ceiling. "Can I come back to record the star charts?" He pointed at the dots, circles, and triangles that went from the roof to the bottom of the wall.
Director Fenrir frowned and seemed confused while Admiral Dakota took a look at the ceiling and instantly understood. "They used the same ancient method that humans used to use. It never really clicked before but that is definitely a star map."
"Sure, when you have a large amount of free time we can come down here and you can write everything down." Director Fenrir responded motioning to the stairs again. "Now let's go." Jace and Salem turned and started walking up the stairs. Once they were out of sight she felt a slight punch on her shoulder and looked over to see Dakota with a slight grin, his eyes sparkling with amusement. She rolled her eyes and followed the younger pair up the stairs.