Meanwhile, linguistic discussion at the Korranberg Archive goes productively and pleasantly, leaving Edgeworth and Illyvalen absorbed until they tire yet again. Althea does eventually return in the midst of this, but aside from coming to an agreement to have Edgeworth woken up early, they keep to their own respective focuses for today.

The next morning, an unmarked Ghallanda inn employee does indeed awaken Edgeworth an hour and fifteen minutes before dawn. Though he feels insufficiently rested, the prosecutor can at least function since his dreams were again nonthreatening. Thus, once he's fed, Edgeworth makes his way back to the Archive and, upon noticing that Dil isn't in the first basement, down the stairs...

Dil is found waiting at the bottom of the stairs into the seemingly little-used third basement. Upon seeing Edgeworth, he grins and makes a sweeping bow in imitation of the prosecutor's.
Edgeworth raises an eyebrow, but doesn't comment on the gesture. "Good morning."
Dil: We should have enough time to talk about what you need to do beforehand this time. I'm sorry about yesterday...
Edgeworth begins walking to the opposite end of the room, where the door to the stairs further down is, shaking his head. "It was hardly on the scale of a crime. Think nothing of it."
Edgeworth: After all, you intend to correct your error this morning, do you not?
Dil nods while keeping pace with the prosecutor. "Right. We may as well start now... A lot of the secret to divine magic is soft control. If you'll forgive the comparison, mortals can't command gods —"
Edgeworth inevitably sighs in frustration.
Dil: — but we can do a lot to make sure that our will and theirs are the same. Of course, it's more complicated than that in reality, since in most cases heretical and corrupt clerics still keep their abilities...
Edgeworth's expression firms. "Is this the contradiction which inspired the work of the Archival Foundation?"
Dil shrugs. "It's one of them."
Dil: And it's also why we have to be careful about what we think we know.
Dil grins. "Personally, I believe divine magic is the Traveler's greatest prank, and we have something to learn about ourselves from figuring out why it works the way it does."
Edgeworth opens the door to the stairs down. "I've already come to a different conclusion concerning the significance of this force's behavior, though it likewise calls for a focus on the people of this world as opposed to any supposed 'gods'."
Dil follows Edgeworth down the stairs, looking curious. "Oh really?"
Edgeworth: Since those it answers to are those deeply invested in what they believe to be the truth, and truth is rarely attainable through only a single point of view, it may well be that all clerics share between them the potential to argue towards a more accurate picture thereof.
Dil chuckles at that. "Not every cleric is good at debate, though. A lot of them get offended if you even try."
Edgeworth shakes his head as he opens the door into the fourth floor. "Then those ones are putting their hearts to waste."
Dil smirks. "You know, that's the closest thing to 'soul' I've ever heard you —"
Edgeworth stops and glares over his shoulder.
Dil's face falls, though it's more disappointed than intimidated. "...say."
Dil shakes his head and keeps walking once Edgeworth continues down the hall. "You might be interested in talking with some of the changelings that call themselves 'reality seekers'. They prefer their natural forms and hope to find something past physical reality since they see it as so fleeting."
Edgeworth glowers forward as he walks. "It would be a mistake to be too quick to dismiss that which can be easily known and proven."
Dil: But not everything is — and if you want to look for a debate that could get you somewhere, shouldn't you in particular be arguing with people who focus more on what isn't?
Edgeworth smirks as he turns to open the unmarked door to the same room as yesterday. "It isn't my understanding alone that ought to be expanded. Still, such an argument could be a worthwhile one."
Dil grins. "It'd be interesting to see what happens."
Dil steps in, but stays near the door as Edgeworth heads to the center of the illusion-walled room. "Not to mention that if you can't throw yourself out of ordinary awareness by the time you leave Zilargo, that might be just the kind of argument you need."
Edgeworth peers at Dil with puzzlement at the reference to throwing oneself out of ordinary awareness.
Dil: What you're trying to do involves more than just attracting divine magic to you. You need to bring yourself to a state where nothing else is getting in the way, not even things that help the rest of the time.
Edgeworth crosses his arms. He could have said as much yesterday...
Dil: If your focus is so great that for a moment you forget you have a body, you're on the right track.
Edgeworth stares incredulously at Dil.
Dil shrugs. "You've become so absorbed in reading that you've forgotten to eat sometimes, haven't you? It's not too much different except in degree and not having anything to do with something physically present."
Edgeworth glances aside and comments dryly, "Shockingly, that makes a remarkable amount of sense."
Dil chuckles. "I can't tell from that tone whether you mean it or not, but either way, you have a few minutes to think before dawn."
Edgeworth taps his finger on his arm, looking annoyed at Dil's amusement.
Dil seems unconcerned by Edgeworth's reaction this time. "Good luck." With that, he leaves the room, closing the door behind him.
Edgeworth turns to the apparent "eastern horizon", uncrossing his arms. To summarize what has been discussed of this... technique thus far, apparently the goal is to establish contact with a force that people typically rationalize as some form of divine entity. To do so requires that one focus on one's cherished beliefs at a time of day that symbolically meshes with the same...
Edgeworth sighs and shakes his head. I still fail to understand why that last point would make a difference, but I'm certainly not willing to spend all day on an activity as absurd as this.
Edgeworth: In any case, supposedly such focus must be so thorough as to leave all else behind, even to the point of losing track of physical concerns — and perhaps temporal ones as well, given the comparison that was drawn.
Edgeworth closes his eyes, smirking. If it's similar to being absorbed in a book, perhaps the 'new medium' I have to 'read' from is an appropriate point to focus on. It's certainly nonphysical, and includes the essence of truth itself as part of its nature.
Edgeworth: ...Or perhaps, merely the essence of respect and desire for it, and of the power to obtain it? After all, there are apparently domains that touch on most aspects of existence, and one certainly cannot deny the existence of those things they touch on.
Edgeworth puts his finger to his temple. Might that be an aspect of how the burden of truth is distributed between all clerics?
Edgeworth lets his arms hang and takes a deep breath. That, too, is a vital detail — as ever, I'm only one voice in a greater whole. My role here is not only to doubt defendants to achieve the end of cutting away that which obscures the truth behind a crime — it is also to doubt primitive beliefs, in hopes of helping sapientkind grow closer to the truth of this world.
Edgeworth: The combination of facts and rational debate will lead us all to the truth, and the world shall be better for it — whether that means a criminal being subjected to justice and the people thus being protected, or a fallacy being revealed for what it is and the people being able to operate based on truer premises.
Edgeworth breathes slowly as he tries to seek out the connection between these thoughts and the new sources of power and awareness he's already been touched by...

Minutes pass, and dawn begins to break. Several more go by, and the sun gradually rises. Still more pass, and the sun reaches its full apparent brightness and the sky has faded entirely to blue...

Edgeworth begins to look irritated after nearly two hours have passed.
Edgeworth: If the evidence didn't seem to support their every claim prior to this point, I would swear they were attempting to make a fool of me!
Edgeworth turns aside, then opens his eyes to reveal a glare. I don't see what I could possibly be doing wrong.
Edgeworth cringes. I could, for desperate want of a better term, "sense" what power I've already wielded, and what I suppose could be described as an echo between those conduits and my beliefs.
Edgeworth looks troubled suddenly. Given what Dil said earlier, I'm left to wonder whether many clerics mistake such an "echo" for confirmation of what they believe to be true — even as those beliefs distort.
Edgeworth: This path may be fraught with more peril than I realized...
Edgeworth quickly heads for the door and the stairs from there.

Edgeworth hurries up to the first basement first, but fails to find Dil there. He next backtracks to the second basement, soon finding the pointy-eared man sipping tea in the break room there.

Dil looks over at Edgeworth with a slight smirk. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Edgeworth levels one of his coldest and steeliest glares at Dil. "Setting aside the fact that your attempt at a joke was in incredibly poor taste, I would have appreciated being warned of any significant dangers to my objectivity before coming this far!"
Dil... looks intrigued. "Go on."
Edgeworth: While attempting to... reach this force I've been tasked to contact, I came to notice what I could best describe as an echo between my beliefs and what I know of my connection to "divine magic".
Edgeworth steps forward and smacks his palm on the table, causing the tea in Dil's cup to quake slightly. "Could this not easily be mistaken for an affirmation of what one already believes to be true — particularly by those in the midst of a fall?!"
Dil stares for a moment... before smiling. "I have to say, I'm impressed. Not only did you get that close that quickly, but you're really living up to your own word."
Edgeworth: Dispense with the pointless flattery and explain yourself!
Dil: In short, you're right — some people do mistake the response to their own faith for confirmation of it. That you not only didn't, but instantly saw how others might, and even describe it as an "echo"... it makes me wonder, were you given a reason to start watching yourself in the past?
Edgeworth: I-I beg your pardon?...
Dil shrugs. "If you don't want to tell me either way, that's fine. What's important is that if you recognize the potential trap, you shouldn't fall into it — and on top of that, you might actually be able to use the supernal itself to keep you grounded."
Dil: Not to mention, if you want to argue with the rest of us so much, it's good to know what could cloud our judgment, isn't it?
Edgeworth: HOLD IT! You still haven't explained why you never mentioned such a danger before!
Dil looks unusually sober. "Because neither of the usual reactions to it — fear, or dismissiveness — are helpful, especially before someone has experienced it for themselves."
Dil: Sometimes you can teach better with your mouth closed.
Edgeworth: Nrrgh...
Dil smirks. "You're really making impressive progress, though. Some acolytes get caught listening to themselves for months before having a hope of a real breakthrough. A lot of traditional adept and cleric training is focused on making sure they're hearing specific things from themselves, as well as trying to guide them away from being stuck at that point."
Dil puts his finger to his lip thoughtfully. "In a way, you're a freer man than I thought you would be..."
Edgeworth crosses his arms. "And precisely what do you mean by that?"
Dil: At first, you came across as being a prisoner of your own preconceptions. Really, a lot of clerics are like that, and as stubborn as you are I thought you'd be the same.
Dil: ...But you're really a better man than you seem to be, aren't you? Even if it's heartbreaking, you can be convinced of something true if someone tries hard enough in the right ways. It's clear where your real faith lies.
Edgeworth taps his finger on his arm. "In short, you assumed that I was a hypocrite?"
Dil glances down at his tea. "When it came to the subject of magic before... well, I hope you can forgive me, but it seemed like your trauma was outweighing your faith."
Edgeworth glowers. "Has Althea been discussing matters behind my back?"
Dil: Don't give her all the blame — we were both noticing things and worried because of that.
Dil grins and looks back up. "But it's all in the past now, right? Since that one crippling injury was healed, you've been growing tremendously. Today just goes to show how right Althea was about how well your strengths can serve you on this path."
Edgeworth: It's clear which "crippling injury" he refers to; after all, the physical one hardly deserves such a description.
Dil: Just make sure not to spend too much time polishing your medals; I'd love to see as much of your learning as I can.
Edgeworth hmphs and glances aside. "I've never seen the point of medals to begin with."
Edgeworth: ...The subject of learning does remind me of a point I wished to bring up, however.
Dil: Oh?
Edgeworth looks back to Dil. "Certainly you've noticed the speed with which I've learned Common. Even when one accounts for my linguistic aptitude as well as the various extraordinary forms of assistance I've enjoyed, the pace I've learned at seems... unnatural."
Dil shrugs. "I've been thinking about that too. Your divination affinity might be part of it; a lot of what you've been doing is trying to pay attention through the magic instead of just settling for letting it tell you what you're reading or hearing, right?"
Edgeworth: That's correct.
Dil: Not a lot of people try that kind of thing, and you'd have an advantage at it. On top of that, the Knowledge domain does make learning easier, though this would be the first time I've heard of it affecting learning a new language.
Edgeworth: Hmmm...
Edgeworth looks away uneasily. "I more specifically experienced... what I can only describe as an epiphany yesterday while discussing my beliefs with Althea. Without noticing, I went from having to consider my words and struggle with phrasing to simply speaking my mind, and eloquently so."
Edgeworth: Normally, I find mastery of a language to be gradual.
Dil: Huh... well, that's another way you're more like us than like most clerics. Most would just call that a miracle instead of asking why it happened.
Edgeworth looks back to Dil disdainfully. "It may have seemed unusual, but I highly doubt that any outside agency was involved."
Dil smirks. "Of course you doubt that, and you're probably even right to. But I think both of us will have to think about it for a while."
Dil: Aside from that, you also have your experiences this morning to write about, right? If you finish both of those before Illyvalen gets here, it might help for you to return to the fourth floor for a while too.
Edgeworth: To what end?
Dil: Even if you can't gain spells at the wrong time of day, you can still try to move beyond yourself. That way, you might have a better chance of success tomorrow.
Edgeworth sighs. How is it that I've found myself in a circumstance that reveals new levels of absurdity on an almost daily basis?
Edgeworth: ...Very well.

Edgeworth spends roughly three hours writing often hesitantly about his significant experiences of the past two days, then resigns himself to the need for further practice of the bizarre technique he can think of no comfortable name for after that. As before, Dil sets himself to translation work, noting that this time the prosecutor has left a page of notes on his own thoughts concerning that effort.

At noon, Althea arrives in the first basement, looking around the area briefly before heading over toward Dil.

Dil grins. "Good afternoon, Althea."
Althea: Good afternoon. Has your pupil fared any better this morning?
Dil: Definitely — he was able to reflect on the spiritual connections already in place. It kind of scared him, though.
Dil seems pleased, though.
Althea nods. "This is treading on very difficult ground for him. I'm not surprised he's somewhat apprehensive."
Dil: It's more than that, though — he noticed immediately the ways they were reflecting his thoughts, and instantly realized how that might get in the way of the objectivity he values so much.
Althea: I'm not surprised by that either.
Dil: I had to spend some time reassuring him that the fact that he realized that put him miles ahead of not just normal acolytes, but a lot of experienced clerics.
Dil shrugs. "He was upset that I didn't warn him, though."
Althea: Hm? I would have thought he'd have seen it coming already...
Dil shrugs again. "He's still getting used to this kind of thing. I guess he's not going to see everything coming..."
Dil: And of course, some things no one's really ready for. I wonder how he's going to cope when he starts getting close to successful prayer...
Althea nods.
Althea: At this point, though, I can't really see any of the coming challenges stopping him. Only slowing him down a bit, at most.
Dil: You're probably right. He seems able to think his way through almost anything. To think he's come this far just on his second day of this part of his training...
Dil shakes his head in amazement.
Dil: I told him to practice more after he finished writing, anyway. He should still be downstairs in the nonsectarian prayer room.
Althea nods. "How long has he been down there? I wouldn't want to interrupt before he's had a chance to make meaningful progress."
Dil: About two hours by now.
Althea nods again. "I might as well stop in and see if he's ready for lunch, then."
Dil grins. "Given the stage he's at now and how fast he's learning, that's probably a very good idea..."

Althea heads down the multiple sets of stairs to the fourth floor, and once there finds the door that most likely leads to Edgeworth — the unmarked one. Within, the prosecutor can be found standing arrow-straight with his arms at his sides in a stance just shy of military, if his eyes weren't closed and his arms were pressed into position.

Althea waits quietly.
Edgeworth: ...

Several minutes pass with no apparent change...

Althea eventually sets down her pack and approaches Edgeworth slowly.
Edgeworth: ...
Althea waits about another minute before quietly clearing her throat.
Edgeworth doesn't react.
Althea shrugs slightly, heads back over to her backpack, removes the lunch she brought for Edgeworth and sets it slightly off to the side of the doorway, before stepping back out and closing the door behind her.

Once Althea makes it back to the first basement, Dil looks up from his translation work.

Dil: Decide to leave well enough alone, did you?
Althea: He's pretty deep in concentration. I left his lunch down there, he should notice it should his focus waver enough.
Dil: Hm, really? How far did you test it?
Althea: Less than perhaps you might, but I get the sense invading his personal space even briefly would be deeply unwelcome, and I did want to avoid startling him. If he's focused enough to not notice more subtle gestures, it's probably some use to leave him to that experience, I'd guess.
Dil shrugs. "That's fair."
Dil looks down at the papers before him. "He may still be writing in English, but I think it's only because he hasn't built his vocabulary to his satisfaction yet. He left some of his own thoughts about translation this time."
Dil chuckles. "I'm starting to think that if we have time to go over scrolls before he leaves, it's one of Scholar's Touch and a dictionary to target that we should work with."
Althea: I recall he went over your earlier translation with Illyvalen to clean it up, it's probably good practice for them both.
Dil nods. "Looking over the results of that were a big help for me, too."
Althea: She's actually started speaking this "English" a little herself; I had to remind her this morning that I don't actually understand it when I'm not around Edgeworth.
Dil: Some of what he's been doing, it seems, is not just settling for letting this tell him what he's hearing, but trying to pay attention through it.
Dil indicates the helmet now on his head.
Althea: Unsurprising. I've had to take a fair bit of care when listening to some of what he says; sometimes the meanings of things play out in unusual ways...
Dil: You mean aside from the confusion around the use of the word "religion" before?
Althea: Yeah. Notably, we've discussed some of the differences in his world and society. It's pretty clear they have a much different way of thinking about a lot of things, and it can make some connections a little tricky. I still don't think I've got a decent handle on what these mathematician-machines he's tried to talk about are, aside from the sense that somehow manipulating numbers can grow into something with the kind of breadth of potential of whole categories of arcane spells...
Dil blinks. "Mathematician-machines?"
Althea shakes her head. "I can't figure out a better term for it. Some kind of machine that manipulates numbers, but somehow it can do all sorts of other unrelated-sounding things as a result."
Dil: Huh, interesting... How much does he seem to know about them?
Althea: Not enough to be of much use to those studying the closest equivalent technology we seem to have...
Dil shrugs. "I guess even as smart as he is, he can't know everything."
Dil: Or maybe he just focused on law and languages over everything else.
Althea: It did seem like a matter that was mostly beyond his interest, really, aside from its practical use in his work.
Dil shrugs. "If these machines are as complicated on the inside as arcane magic is, I guess it's not surprising."
Dil: He seemed intimidated just by what it takes for me to prepare for both kinds of spellcasting I can use every day. And didn't seem happy to learn that even his own power was going to take an hour out of every day...
Althea nods.
Althea: He's also eschewed the idea of diverting attention from work for matters such as maintaining relationships with other people.
Dil smirks. "I wonder if he'd have ended up fighting this if it didn't seem both useful to and intimately connected with his work."
Althea: Perhaps.
Dil: Even his understanding of the meaning of what's happened to him is that he should start getting into philosophical arguments too.
Althea nods. "So I understand. I think he has the restraint not to cause too much trouble before he's out of Zilargo, at least..."
Dil: He seemed to think any cleric who wouldn't be ready for or open to that is "putting their heart to waste"...
Dil: It's really too bad I can't just follow him and see what happens. I have too much to do here...
Althea nods. "I can stick with him for a little while after he leaves here, but I'll have to get back to Sharn myself eventually, and he's made it pretty clear he has no intention of going near the place."
Dil shrugs helplessly. "I wish I could think of someplace that'd work for him..."
Althea shrugs. "Honestly, I'm thinking somewhere in Aundair might be a reasonable fit. Perhaps Fairhaven? Should be plenty of opportunity for many kinds of study and debate."
Dil grins. "That's a thought."
Dil: Maybe you should bring that up with him, whenever he finishes...
Althea: I figured I'd wait until we were a bit closer to being able to act on any such plans. I think it's better for him to focus on the situation at hand for now.
Dil nods.
Dil: Anyway, I think I'll get back to this.
Dil indicates the papers before him.

Althea heads to another table and resumes her own studies. After roughly an hour, Illyvalen emerges from the stairwell and looks around the first basement, approaching Althea.

Illyvalen: Hmmm... is he out again today...?
Althea looks up. "Is it that late already? He's downstairs practicing; I suppose I'd better go let him know you're here."
Dil: You should bring some water down with you.
Althea nods.
Althea heads down to the fourth floor again, stopping by the break room on the way.

When Althea arrives, she finds that Edgeworth still hasn't budged; not only is he in exactly the same position, but the lunch she packed is untouched.

Althea walks about halfway toward Edgeworth's position, stops, and speaks in a just-above-conversational tone: "Illyvalen's here to see you."
Edgeworth: ...

Althea's voice sounds inside Edgeworth's head this time. Illyvalen's here, are you going to have time for her today, or should I ask her to come back tomorrow?

Edgeworth's eyes twitch, then he staggers slightly and reaches to cradle his forehead with one hand as his eyes flutter open.
Althea steps forward toward Edgeworth, holding out a cup of water.
Edgeworth looks around in an attempt to reorient himself, then notices Althea and kneels down to accept the water.
Edgeworth: A pity; I seemed to be making some progress in my investigation.
Edgeworth takes a long sip of the water before pausing to speak again. "However, I must thank you for this." He then proceeds to continue drinking.
Althea: I didn't want to disturb you while you were so thoroughly focused, but I had a feeling you wouldn't want to keep Illyvalen waiting all day either.
Edgeworth: Certainly not; time isn't something to be wasted.
Edgeworth glances at his watch at that, his eyes widening just slightly as the fact that he's been out of it for three hours registers more thoroughly.
Edgeworth then looks irritated at the fact, though doesn't comment further immediately, instead taking another sip of water before going to fetch the lunch Althea set by the door an hour ago.
Edgeworth: One would think that an investigation would proceed further than that in three hours.
Althea: In spiritual matters, some people spend a whole lifetime on just one 'investigation.'
Edgeworth looks to Althea with an incredulous expression at first, then sighs in frustration as he stands with the cup in one hand and the lunch in the other. "Given how long it apparently took for sufficient evidence to emerge for this organization to be founded despite science allegedly being ancient, I suppose that shouldn't surprise me."
Althea: Again, I do feel compelled to point out that you are progressing very rapidly. You should not feel discouraged for not mastering these matters on your first or second try, nor is it wise to begrudge a few hours' investment into furthering your chances of succeeding on a third.
Edgeworth frowns. "I suppose old habits die hard."
Edgeworth passes through the still-open door and starts down the hallway.
Althea follows Edgeworth.
Edgeworth stops at the door to the stairs up, stepping aside to let Althea open it as his hands are full... though looks down at the halfling disapprovingly. "Incidentally, I understand that you've spoken of some rather personal matters with Dil."
Althea: As he is your teacher, I have discussed with him matters I felt were pertinent to your development.
Edgeworth's lips quirk in irritation, but he can't muster more than a slight growl in response.
Edgeworth: Unfortunately, I can't truthfully claim the irrelevance of the matter in question.
Althea: As long as we're on the subject, I have also spoken candidly of such matters with Belgiwig, though my reasons for doing so may be better spoken of later, in a different setting than this.
Edgeworth clenches his teeth and tightens his grip on the glass, but — with clear strain — forces himself to keep any words on the matter to himself.
Althea opens the door.
Edgeworth begins to storm up the stairs, fuming.

Rather than going straight up to the first basement, Edgeworth takes a detour to the break room in order to eat, finish the water glass, brew some tea, and most importantly — especially given Illyvalen's hypersensitivity — calm down. Several minutes later, he makes his way up to meet the young gnomish linguist...

Dil: Well, there you are. Glad to hear you didn't pass out. So how did you do?
Edgeworth half-frowns. "It's difficult to judge, though my progress seems incremental at best."
Dil: Given how hard Althea said it was to get through to you, it's a pretty important increment. She did mention that she spoke aloud before resorting to that missive, right?
Edgeworth's eyes widen. "What?..."
Edgeworth looks to Althea...
Althea nods.
Edgeworth smirks. "Then given what you said this morning, it would seem that I accomplished more than I realized."
Dil grins back. "Don't keep her waiting, now..."
Dil jerks his head in Illyvalen's direction.
Edgeworth: Of course not.
Edgeworth approaches the gnome.
Illyvalen: Hello. Sorry if I interrupted something.
Edgeworth looks aside. "Given my hunger and thirst upon being roused, it was probably necessary."
Illyvalen nods.
Edgeworth seats himself at the same table as Illyvalen.
Illyvalen: Dil has another translation of your notes, if you wanted to look over it.
Illyvalen speaks a little unsteadily, but her accent is improving.
Edgeworth grins. "Excellent. I hope to continue yesterday's discussion of Common etymology as well."
Edgeworth's words are slow for Illyvalen's benefit.
Illyvalen: Of course.

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