Hugo and Vincent were braving troubles of their own. Pursuit of the remnants had forced them into the Cult-ridden areas of the Persianate world. They braved through Iran, quietly avoiding any trouble, but then had to deal with a hostile Cultist attack squad in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.
This region was home to some of the most ferocious Ki-charged Cults of the world. Even the Eye avoided entering these areas unless it became necessary.
However, together, Hugo Baylis and the White Bolt could overpower even the best attack squads of the Eye and the Order. But they chose to keep a low profile. Pushing them back, they bypassed the attackers to stay on the trail. The remnants were their only goal.
The Xoitique Diamond, one of three mystical Xoitique stones, was often referred to as the stone of life. It had long been rumoured to have the power of life itself.
To keep these stones out of the hands of wrongdoers, Mystics from the Eye broke them into many small pieces and scattered them around the globe. Even individually, the pieces, or remnants, held tremendous magical and mystical powers and Hugo speculated that these were the exact powers being used to attack Keepers and their Posts.
'We only have seven safe with the Parliament,' he wondered about the remnants as they leaped across mountainous terrain. 'Just seven.' There were 24 in total. 'We have to locate these remnants no matter what!'
After 12 long hours of travelling along the tracks, avoiding the locals where they could, blending within where necessary, or forcing their way through, they reached Kohat, a city in the northwestern part of Pakistan. They stopped at a local restaurant and had dinner. They then rested a while and sent a message to the others via a Seeker's Scroll.
Vincent came and sat beside him. Looking at the enchanted pad of papers in the Zaatsu's hands, he mused, "Ah, how the Eye must miss the Seekers."
The Seekers were a secluded and elite division within the Eye, known for their precision, vast knowledge, and meticulous dedication to the pursuit and protection of information. Living and working in the Mastooda al-Hikmah, they operated like scholarly hermits recording, innovating, and transporting critical data across the land. Experts in both Magicism and information management, they were the backbone of magical research and knowledge infrastructure within the Eye.
The Zaatsu nodded, as he put the pad back into his umro bag, another one of the Seekers' inventions. "Indeed," he said. "They were on the wrong end of the political power struggle for centuries now."
Succumbed to the politics, only one contingent made it to the twentieth century. Ambris Ferrer then took a liking to them and killed the last remaining ones.
Hugo looked at the White Bolt and said, "But their legacy lives on in the many spells and charms and artifacts they created that we still use almost every day."
Of the many ways the Seekers developed of transferring data and messages long-range, the most widely used were their signature scrolls – known simply as the Seeker's Scrolls. These were just simple pads of enchanted papers. If something would be written on one, it would show on the rest as well. Erase it from the original, and it vanishes from the rest as well.
He sighed then chuckled. "Do you know these pads are called scrolls?"
"Hmm," Vincent nodded. "There was a time when Seekers used to carry around giant scrolls of multi-purpose enchanted papers. The name stuck, I guess…"
Now each squad of Martial Artists carried a pad. Papers would be distributed among the members to relay messages.
"What do you think, Vincent?" Hugo asked, looking over. "Did the world still need Seekers?"
The White Bolt kept staring ahead and never replied.
'Come on, man,' Hugo thought. 'Say something! I'm talking about him!'
But the conversation never went past that. And, after recuperating, Hugo and Vincent began moving once again. They travelled farther and arrived at a plain grassland area where the trail finally disappeared. They were merely 20 miles South-West of the city of Peshawar. It was 5 in the morning, just before sunrise.
"Do you think it faded already?" Hugo asked, looking over.
"Highly unlikely," Vincent replied. "We've been traveling for fourteen hours. They would have taken at least five to six hours to get here. So, the disturbance here would be merely eight hours old. It cannot vanish that quickly."
The Zaatsu shook his head as he sighed. "Well, in that case," he said, "This is bad… very, very bad…"
The White Bolt nodded then looked up at the sky. He took a deep breath then closed his eyes. He smiled and whispered, "Four…"
"What's that?"
"Four," he said loudly. "This is the fourth time I've failed to find my target."
"How many have you gone after?"
"Eighty-seven."
Hugo sat down, suppressing his amused laughter. He rubbed his eyes and said, "Whoever is behind all this is far smarter than I anticipated." After a pause, he further said, "Correct me if I am wrong. The remnants have been destroyed. Yes?"
"Impossible." Vincent shook his head. "The residue would have spread like wildfire. It would've engulfed at least a hundred mile radius."
"Any other possibilities?"
"Not really."
"Then you have much to learn…"
"Yeah?"
"There is a possibility." He looked at the bounty hunter and added, "The remnants were merged."
"Again, impossible." Vincent looked back at him and said, "Only Mystics with the Parliament can merge them. Plus, all of them have to be present, every member, or the magic won't be undone."
The Zaatsu smiled and said, "There is another way… Alchemy."
"Alchemy?" The bounty hunter was not convinced. "Age old sub science of Ki Manipulation used to make elixirs, medicines, and potions… seriously?"
"Oh, they could do much more than that, actually." He stood up. "In the eyes of the general population, Alchemy was only ever considered the pseudo-science or fictional art of transmuting metals into gold. Actual Alchemists would do something similar but different."
He walked past Vincent. "Every person, plant, or animal has a different Ki. The nature is the same, but the signature is different. The Alchemist would use this fact to use different plants to create elixirs, more simply put, medicines or potions. They would be different for every need. Two people with the same sickness would be given different elixirs, it was a truly fantastic sub-science of Ki Manipulation."
Arms akimbo, the White Bolt asked, "Then what happened? I've read they were all killed. Any idea?"
"For this very crime."
"Wait a minute. They could merge the remnants?"
"Yes." Hugo nodded. "It was considered unethical, but the Alchemists could, in theory, create gold not from any element, but from many compatible physical elements by altering their Ki signature."
After adjusting his robe, he added, "An implication of this ability was that they could merge elements with similar Ki signatures." With a smile, he explained, "For example, if a human being would lose an arm or a leg, they would fuse an ape's limb onto their body, because apes and humans have a similar Ki signature. Some of them were actual mad scientists…"
As the Zaatsu chuckled, Vincent leaned ahead, wide-eyed. He said, "The remnants have exactly the same signature."
"Yup." Hugo was nodding once more. "A whole movement of Alchemists rose with the grand objective of abolishing the Eye and the Order after the war five centuries ago. They began stealing and merging the remnants. But a combined effort by the Eye and Order eventually wiped them out."
"Interesting…"
"Indeed…"
"If they are all dead, Sherlock, then how could they have merged these remnants?"
Hugo stood up, charged his Ki, and stretched both arms out.
He recited a spell – "FORATA-SAFANA-MIXOLAG-SA-POL…"
Scattered scarlet Ki slowly became visible.
"This spell tracks Celestial Ki," he said and placed a hand on Vincent's shoulder showing it to him as well. "Do you see that?"
Vincent nodded and said, "It's the Diamond's Ki alright."
"Yes." The Zaatsu charged down, and the Ki disappeared.
"Well, that changes things." Vincent looked at Hugo and asked, "What next?"
"We head back to the Palace and forge a new strategy. The game's changed."
"How so?"
"What do you mean 'how so'?" He looked away. "An Alchemist lives…"