Sebastina had been the Black Castle's actual caretaker during this period. Like the old wizard before her, she had to personally handle certain necessary affairs in the castle, including Mulan's advancement.
After Mulan completed his advancement, the red-robed first-ring Supernatural Being, who almost never revealed her true appearance, returned to her residence.
It was a huge, withered tree. Though it did not look particularly tall, its trunk would take at least eight or nine people to encircle. Had it still been alive, its lush green foliage would surely have towered overhead. Unfortunately, it seemed to have died long ago, its withered branches twisting like grasping claws.
Strange, slightly distorted houses stood atop the dead tree, linked together at varying heights. Stairways connected them, and light shone from some of the rooms.
This was one of the Black Castle's restricted areas, the residence of the red-robed professor Sebastina. She was currently in a room filled with circular bookshelves. A specially made oil lamp stood on the round table in the center, which was covered with books, some stacked and others open, along with sheets of parchment and old paper.
Sebastina's withered, bandage-wrapped fingers traced the words on the paper before her, then she looked over to compare them with the book beside it.
"An echo from the Otherworld? The Quinas Language has almost never resonated with the Otherworld..."
Her withered hand beckoned to one side, and another Black Grimoire flew from the shelf and landed on her table. A ghostly face was drawn on its cover, looking particularly unnerving.
Sebastina touched the cover, and the ghostly face came alive. At first, only the lines of the image writhed. Then they slowly bulged outward, becoming increasingly three-dimensional, like a gaunt, pale face embedded in the Black Grimoire. Even its skin trembled slightly.