Chapter 188: Occlumency of Faceless Men! (II)
"Now look closely," the Chief Bishop told Kai. "When one's emotions are not in check, meaning Control, not Lock, these emotions trigger a memory in one's mind."
A red thread of light, representing unchecked emotion, came out of the wand and touched one book on the Bookshelf. The book left its row, opened up itself, and a set of letters with a green line running in between them showed itself to them. Kai knew the red thread of unchecked emotion had just triggered a memory.
But it didn't stop there. From the open book, many black threads burst out. Some of the black threads revolved around the opened book, but a few of them got thrown towards the Bookshelf. The moment they touched the books, they too flew out, opening up by themselves.
"These black threads are thoughts," the Chief Bishop said. "When an emotion triggers a memory, more often than not, this memory triggers thoughts related to this memory. If not Controlled, then these threads trigger more memories, which trigger more thoughts.
"It would keep going on until it all becomes a convoluted, never-ending cycle. So, have you realized how crucial it is for one to Control one's emotions? By locking them, you are just timing the bombs. It's a tested and rejected theory."
Kai had to nod.
The Chief Bishop flicked the wand again. The Bookshelf returned to its previous appearance with the books lined neatly in it, leaving behind one book that hovered outside the shelves and a single black thread revolving around it.
One memory and one thought, Kai reflected. Then, a perceptible but transparent sphere appeared around the Bookshelf, including the stray book and the black thread.
"Occlumency is Controlling your emotions, Accessing your memories, and Preventing your thoughts from getting accessed by a foreign party, using a barrier," the Chief Bishop concluded. "If your emotions are disarrayed, then it would cause an abundance of thoughts, which would in return weaken the barrier, making it easier for a Legilimens to access them. Once getting a hold of your thoughts, a Legilimens can trace them back to the source and access that memory. So all things must be in tune with each other."