Kaelan was taken to a place that resembled a temple. There were no chairs—only a wide hall with a long red carpet. In front stood a fountain flowing from the open beak of a raven statue.
Kaelan stared silently at the stone bird. He didn't realize how long he had been staring.
"Do you feel something?" Lunaria asked. She suspected Kaelan had remembered something.
Kaelan shook his head. "...No. I still can't remember anything."
Even so, something about the raven bothered him. A profound sense of longing stirred in his chest. He then touched his necklace—also shaped like a raven.
Was he somehow connected to the raven? It was possible. Kaelan felt a certain attachment that he couldn't explain. But he didn't want to think too deeply about something that might not lead anywhere.
"What do I need to do?" Kaelan asked, looking at Lunaria and Reynold. He demanded an explanation.
Lunaria didn't answer. She stepped forward and stood face-to-face with Kaelan, right in front of the raven statue. Reynold approached as well, holding a golden chalice and scooping the water flowing from the raven's mouth.
"You just need to repeat the oath after me. Then you'll mix your blood into this cup of water. Lastly, you must make this gesture."
Lunaria demonstrated the symbol. It was done with the thumb, drawing a circle in front of the chest.
"This is our gesture, the Radiant Covenant. Its purpose is to remind us that we dedicate ourselves to searching for the sun."
There was a deeper meaning behind it. No matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice, as long as the path led toward the light, then it was worth it.
Lunaria began reciting the oath he needed to speak, and Kaelan memorized it with ease as the ceremony started.
"In this accursed world, we still pursue hope. In the midst of despair, we still believe... that light will be born."
Lunaria handed Kaelan a dagger adorned with pink crystal beads.
Kaelan accepted it and looked straight into Lunaria's eyes.
"Will you seek salvation even at the cost of your life?"
"Yes," Kaelan replied. "I offer myself to the light."
"Will you accept a curse in order to erase a curse?"
"Yes, I will swallow disgrace for the light!"
Kaelan cut his hand, allowing his blood to blend with the water in the cup. Reynold then passed it to him, letting Kaelan drink half of it.
He hesitated at the thought of drinking his own blood, but he pushed aside the nausea and swallowed it.
Once only half of the water remained, he poured the rest back into the fountain basin. The ritual to join the Radiant Covenant was complete.
They moved to Lunaria's quarters, where Kaelan would finally receive an explanation of what awaited him.
Lunaria's room seemed to be directly connected to her sleeping chamber. She was the type who worked tirelessly and disliked wasting time leaving the room.
"Now that you have the qualification, I can explain Devourer to you," Lunaria said as she sat in her chair. "In this world, there is a method to grow stronger by consuming. That method is known as the Devour Art."
Devour Art was a technique for devouring curses and making them part of a human's strength. It required consuming the curse and training the body to store and control it.
"But you can't consume a curse directly. We need a medium to absorb it."
They used a medium taken from monsters—specific body parts that contained concentrated curse energy.
By using the medium along with the Devour Art, a person could gradually gain the ability to control curses.
Using curses to fight curses… Kaelan felt the irony. They despised curses and sought to destroy them, yet they also relied on them for strength.
"I know what you're thinking," Lunaria said with a bitter smile. "But this is the current state of humanity."
Kaelan said nothing. He didn't feel it was his place to comment.
"Next, after you perform Devour... when the curse flows through your body, an inevitable mutation will appear."
A mutation that would definitely occur—and often not in a pleasant form. It was a transformation that happened when someone chose to contain the curse rather than let it run wild.
"There are three types of mutation. First: Sangu Carna, Os Medula, and Mantis Organa. Every mutation has four stages."
Sangu Carna affected blood and flesh. This was what Kaelan and Lunaria possessed. They could regenerate their flesh and manipulate their blood freely.
Then there was Os Medula—a mutation related to bone and marrow. It granted immense strength and reinforced the skeleton. They could even grow new bones.
This was the mutation possessed by Reynold and Rebecca, and Kaelan finally understood why they were so strong.
The last was Mantis Organa—mutations affecting the brain and organs. This granted abilities such as reading micro-expressions and even predicting the future. It was the same as the elder at the tribunal.
There were four tiers, from one to the highest—four.
"We can't choose what mutation we get. But it heavily depends on the first medium you use."
Kaelan had no idea what medium he had consumed, but his mutation was clearly Sangu Carna. Even now, he didn't know how far his transformation went.
"For safety, I want you to start from the beginning. You need to remember what it feels like to curse yourself. That's necessary so you don't turn into a monster."
The reason Devour Art wasn't shared publicly was because the technique carried the risk of turning people into monsters. Although it helped a person adapt to curses, the danger far outweighed the benefit.
"Once you become a Devourer, you'll be haunted by the fear of becoming a monster for the rest of your life." Lunaria warned him sternly.
Kaelan swallowed hard and steadied his breathing. He had become a Devourer without knowing it. From the beginning, he'd had no choice at all.
Now, the only choice was to follow the current he had been swept into. Kaelan needed to become a true Devourer.
"To become a Devourer means to curse your own life. To dedicate your soul to enduring tragedy and misfortune."
There was bitterness in Lunaria's voice. Kaelan noticed her lips trembling slightly. She must have experienced something terrible.
Kaelan couldn't imagine it. He could already sense how harsh life was in this world. Naturally, each person carried their own story.
"You're officially a member of the Radiant Covenant now. You must learn the basics before continuing your missions," Lunaria said. "Since only the two of us are Sangu Carna, I'll teach you how to use it."
From monster information, organizational structure, rules, and proper Devourer techniques—Kaelan needed to start everything from the ground up.