Chapter 3: Instar Ex Posterus

He returned to the fork road he encountered earlier and proceeded to push the box away from the door. He entered the room and was amazed at what was inside; an old laboratory of sorts with equipment that he had never seen before. The walls were interestingly covered with computations and circles that formed complicated patterns. Whoever was using this room must've been hardworking and determined to achieve his goal. As he looked closely at one of the patterns, it reminded him of alchemy; an ancient science where learned scholars seek to transmute lead into gold, or create an elixir to cure all impurities or, in a greater scale, achieve immortality.

The room was indeed ancient because of the cobwebs on the corners of the room and the chipping stone blocks on the wall. The laboratory equipment looked well-attended and neat, for it lacked the cobwebs and dust the room had. Ciel ran his fingers around the strange glass vials and apparatuses; they were something you don't see in college, especially in Chemical Engineering. The equipment must be very old, along with the manor's age. There was also a stone furnace behind the equipment table. Strangely, it was ablaze and it appeared to be heating up something in a large, metal pot. "Someone must be recently working here." He thought.

And then, there was a clay statue standing in front of a door. He frowned at it and wondered just who in their right mind would place a statue in front of the door. Maybe the owner means to tell that door is off limits? He tried to push the statue out of the doorway but it won't budge. It doesn't look that heavy…

Ciel examined the statue closely; there was a slot of sorts in its chest area. Perhaps there is something needed to insert there?

He looked around the room for something that would fit inside the statue's slot. Perhaps a plate with the right size…

… Why did that thought came to mind?

Well anyways, as he looked around the room, a note on the experimenting table caught his attention:

A deciphering of the book of origins, Seferru Yetira, has uncovered the process for creating "life from earth-soil".

This Golem needs not nourishment nor sleep, making this earthen guardian the ultimate safe-keeper of our deepest alchemic secret and knowledge.

I dub this creature, Emeth.

Ciel stared at this familiar piece of parchment. When he held it, there was a feeling of déjà vu in it; he felt he had seen this before but he just can't put his finger on it… He read the note once again. Then at the end of the paper, there was a hasty note:

Upon its name shall it be put to rest…

…The writing was familiar too.

That aside, he had to find a way to move the golem out of the way. Maybe there's another way in that right corridor. So, he exited the laboratory and proceeded to the right corridor. The corridor was full of chipped and cracked stone tiles; the chandeliers were close to the point of falling for it was dangling quite precariously and was quite rusty but still functional. But still, he had to be cautious about it.

There was a door at the end of the corridor. He entered the room and it looked completely abandoned. There were lots of cobwebs, dust and spiders. A crushed metal chandelier had acquainted itself with the floor and dust; the lamps were covered in dust though they were still dimly lit. What was curious most of all was the presence of an old-style, green typewriter on a table. It wasn't as dusty as the rest of the room. In fact, it was polished and neat along with the table it was placed on. He inspected it closely; it does look like a typewriter, but it had some parts that told that it wasn't one. There was no platen, decals, type guide, feed roller and paper fingers; in its place was a mini platform of sorts with a slot on the center, akin to the one on the golem. In general, this typewriter did not have the necessary accessories for the paper to be inserted. How was this supposed to be used?

Ciel looked closely at the small, gold embossed print on the typewriter. "Plate Presser"

Maybe this is what he needs for that golem. Or maybe not… but one try wouldn't hurt. He typed "EMETH" and pressed the key labeled "Press". He waited for something to happen and something DID happen: a plate shot out of the mini-platform and it had "EMETH" engraved on it. This machine is certainly what he needed for labeled plates. So, he tracked back to the laboratory and inserted the plate into the golem's cavity. The golem swallowed the plate as if in expectation and then, it shook. Its earthen body slowly began to crumble; the limbs, head and the rest of the statue fell off and disintegrated into heaps of dust and earth. "…Upon its name shall it be put to rest…" Ciel repeated the phrase.

…It was familiar, but strange.

Now that the door was cleared of any obstacles, Ciel entered the door and came upon a huge open area; perhaps the way to the backyard? But the area is too large for a backyard…

He crossed the floor to get to the banister which led the way down to the yard. But he was surprised to find out that the rest of the stairs leading the way down was missing. "Why do the stairs suddenly disappear halfway?" He frowned. "Just who would do this sort of thing?" He looked around the area once more for another way down; and then he caught sight of pegs. They could be ladder pegs, and they are definitely connected to a ladder. He inspected the pegs and the 'assumed' ladder it was connected to; he nodded. This was definitely the way down; perhaps the master of the manor had placed this here as an alternative way down until he could repair the broken staircase.

He climbed down the ladder with a bit of difficulty; mainly because of the boots. Kind of strange how it had heels; he really didn't need an elevation and he wasn't as comfortable walking so stiffly. But he really can't complain…

He finally got down to the assumed backyard; it was a small, grassy area with bushes and vines creeping on the walls. The vines were full of tiny, yellow bells; fireflies were floating about in the air and the grasshoppers were singing like an orchestra; thus making the area a tiny fairy park of sorts. There was also a small well at the center and some wooden benches near the walls; though the benches were situated to face to the wall. "Nobody could use it like that." Ciel thought. "This manor is very odd, but it gives the feel of a fairytale. I wish… I lived here." Though, he felt strangely at home about the whole place.

There were two doors he could go to and he had to choose. He chose the left door but it was locked, therefore offering him with no other choice but to go to the door to the right. After going through it, he came to a one way corridor and he followed it to end up in an open area with a huge closed gate. He was about to approach the gate when suddenly music flowed from a closed door before the gate. He stopped outside to listen; somebody was playing the piano and proved to be very skilled of it, judging by the flawlessness and complexity of the piece being played. He was enchanted with the melody and went through the door in an almost spellbound state. He went inside and it was indeed a music room; there were musical instruments all over the place, though some were in a gigantic and dwarf sizes. Ciel couldn't imagine people actually playing the ridiculously sized instruments, especially the dwarf-sized violins displayed in a glass case near the door.

The music was louder, more clear, more enchanting and the music was coming from above as if the player was expected to be admired like a deity. He looked up to find the player but the huge rails of balcony obstructed the view. Either way, he willingly became the player's audience. He sat on one of the chairs present in the room and listened to the music, all the while beaming up at the source of the music.

There seemed to be something covered up beside him. But it's best not to snoop about things like that…

…And the music abruptly stopped, not in a formal way though. The player had just slammed his fingers on adjacent random keys, thus making a disturbing sound. Ciel flinched.

"Ah, Ciel…" He heard the player speak in a fond tone. "You have finally awakened."

"How did you know my name?" The boy asked.

"It never matters, dear." The voice answered. "Now, I want to show you something. Pull away the sheet from that figure beside you."

Ciel looked at the covered-up thing again and wondered what it could be. He did what he was told. The sheet had covered up a life-sized, wooden figure of a heavily pregnant woman sitting on the chair. What was this for exactly?

"I made that for you to become aware of a prophecy, Ciel." The man spoke again.

"Prophecy?" Ciel continued to observe the details of the statue. It was…

"Beautiful isn't it?"

"Yes… it certainly is…" Ciel remarked, but not honestly.

"Yes. That, my dear, is what you WILL BECOME in the future!"

The boy suddenly backed away. "ME?!!" He blurted. "Ridiculous! I can't be like that! I'm…!"

The man did not listen to his protests and continued to speak. "You will be MINE, Ciel!" And the man laughed and it was very disturbing… It was the same laughter he had heard from that man whom he assumed had taken him in to this manor. If he combined this man and that man together, the situation would make a little bit of sense. But whatever his motives are, it surely wasn't a sane one.

Another wave of a headache pounded him and he was tired. Definitely tired. He had to find…

"Wait! Who are you?!!" He yelled at the balcony. But it seemed that the man had left already. Ciel went back to inspecting the creepy statue. Just what made that man assume that this was him? As the boy inspected the statue, he was shocked to find that it had his face; it perfectly copied his oval shaped face, nose, lips, ears, hands… all in perfect detail… but the body…

…No, it's not really him. He could NEVER get pregnant. He tried to shrug this nonsensical predicament away, but it was too disturbing to think of.

He picked up the key on the table in front of him; the key had a tag of 'Garden' on it. Perhaps this is the key that will unlock the other door in the fairy park. He didn't care what the master of the manor will say to him for getting certain things without permission. "Forget exploring the manor, I want to go home!"

A/n: More updates! Yayz! Thanks for Kitty Foxglove and My Apple for alerting!