“Gah,” Adion woke up with a grunt. He felt awful. His whole body hurt, and his mind felt fuzzy.

  “You’re up, that’s good,” A voice sounded from his side.

  Adion lifted his head in surprise and turned to look. Narvar was sitting on a chair next to the bed he was lying on, smiling kindly at him.

  “I’ve tried my best to rehydrate you while you’ve been unconscious, but it would be better for you to drink yourself,” Narvar said as he handed Adion a cup of tea.

  Tea?

  Adion would prefer plain water and found it strange why Narvar would offer tea in this situation. He was thirsty, though, so he took the cup and swallowed it all without thinking.

  “It’s a special kind of tea called Persmytha. It should help the body and mind heal and relax. It’s quite popular with the Nobles on Quemer,” Narvar explained.

  “I see,” Adion said in a raspy voice. He handed back the empty cup and laid back down to rest.

  What’s going on here? I thought I’d be put back in confinement after my escape.

  Adion carefully felt the space around him and realized he still had full control over his power. His Will was not fully rested even after sleeping for what he assumed was more than the normal eight hours. But even so, it was enough for him to make another attempt should he want to.

  It’s just that I need to prepare better, or the outcome won’t be any different. Would it be better to escape at night perhaps?

  But what is this Narvar planning? Will he really allow me to escape again? Why is he treating me so well? Aren’t we enemies?

  “Why are you treating me well?” Adion decided to simply ask the man himself.

  “Haha,” Narvar laughed softly, “Why shouldn’t I treat you well? Do we have any grievances with each other?”

  “Well,” Adion thought about it, “No. Not you in particular. But Heavenly Light.”

  “When did I say I was part of Heavenly Light?” Narvar asked with a smile.

  “You’re not? Then what are you doing here?” Adion asked.

  “I’m here to take care of you and make sure you are treated well,” Narvar explained.

  “And why would you do that? Who asked you to?” Adion questioned.

  “I understand you have a lot of questions,” Narvar said with a nod, “But you should rest well for now and don’t think too much. Why don’t you go back to sleep for a while and I’ll have some food prepared. I’d be happy to answer everything when you’re feeling better.”

  “You aren’t going to keep me from escaping?” Adion asked.

  “Of course not,” Narvar chuckled, “You are free to leave whenever you want, just like I told you yesterday. Though I do wish you wouldn’t be so reckless about it. You would have died if I hadn’t found you in time.”

  “Right,” Adion said, “Thank-. Right.”

  Narvar smiled at Adion’s words and stood up to leave. “Rest well.”

  What a strange man. I guess I’ll recover, fill my stomach, and then go outside. Let’s see if he really lets me leave, as he said.

  As Narvar reached the door, he turned to speak to Adion again. “Why don’t I take you outside later? Since you seem to want to go outside so much. It will be safe if I come along.”

  “Right,” Adion nodded slightly, “Wait. No. I want to go on my own.”

  “Wouldn’t you just die like earlier?” Narvar questioned in a gentle voice.

  “I-I’ll be more prepared,” Adion insisted.

  “Where is it you want to go so badly? Even willing to die for it?” Narvar asked.

  “I…” Adion hesitated, some images flashed across his mind, but he felt none of them quite fit. “I want to go the ocean.”

  “What are you going to do there?” Narvar asked.

  “I don’t know,” Adion admitted, closing his eyes, too tired to think.

  “You were severely dehydrated when I found you. It’s normal that you would dream about the sea. I’ll bring enough water for you to drink when we go outside, so there is no need to go to the ocean.” Narvar said.

  “That’s fine, I guess,” Adion said, a slight smile on his lips. He thought about Sell, and he realized it didn’t really matter how he got back to her. If Narvar insisted on not going by the sea, it was fine by Adion.

  “See you when you wake up,” Narvar said as he left, closing the door behind him, and leaving Adion alone with his thoughts.

  I guess it’s been a while since I had a proper rest. It’s not exactly relaxing being constricted in space, the only way to get a good rest is to exhaust my Will through training.

  Wait. Why was I constricted like that?

  If it wasn’t Narvar, then who?

  Adion felt his mind was too fuzzy to remember exactly.

  Heavenly Light. Right. How did that slip my mind?

  Adion didn’t panic over the momentary forgetfulness, however. The Persmytha tea had a calming effect on him.

  I’ll ask Narvar about it when I wake up. He seems to be a good guy.

  —--

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  “How was it?” Soft Soul Yelleda asked as Narvar stepped inside the Soul mage’s office.

  “It’s just the start, but I can tell we’re making progress,” Narvar answered.

  “He won’t try to escape again, will he?” Yelleda asked.

  “I doubt it,” Narvar said, shaking his head, “I’ve tried my best to explain how futile it would be. I don’t think he can resist my suggestions. But if he does, we’ll be prepared just like we were last time.”

  “We could take the risk because we knew he wouldn’t be able to get anywhere even if he somehow managed to get out. But a second try will be harder to control,” Yelleda said, “So be careful. Not even I would be safe if something had happened to him.”

  “There will always be uncertainties in life,” Narvar said with a light smile, “Who would have thought he could get past the spatial block? Do you have any idea how he managed?”

  “If he came out from above, I would have noticed something,” Yelleda said, “He must have teleported around it and come up on the surface further away.”

  “He can teleport so far? Or did he somehow teleport into the ground? That would explain the sand in the hallway, I suppose,” Narvar said.

  “That’s for you to figure out, isn’t it?” Yelleda said with a smile, “The higher-ups are looking forward to what you can find out.”

  “I’ll ask him all of my questions when he feels he is one of us,” Narvar said, “It’s unnecessary to take any risks this early on.”

  “It’s up to you,” Yelleda said, “How is the tea working? Do you find it useful?”

  “It should be quite helpful indeed,” Narvar said with a hesitant nod, “Normally, if I didn’t have the tea, I wouldn’t dare make any promises. I could perhaps catch him off guard a few times and manage to extract some useful information. But I could never make him one of us, he hates Heavenly Light, after all.”

  “Hopefully, he won’t remember that for much longer,” Yelleda said. “But the tea is not foolproof. It can cloud the mind and hide memories, but the soul is a mysterious thing, and the tea has no effect on it. People will instinctively remember a few things. They will be impossible to erase.”

  “I’m aware,” Narvar said with a nod, “That is why I believe you have failed in the past. Even though you had fed him some tea before I got here, his first instinct was to escape. He didn’t let his confusion make him cautious, instead trusting his gut, so to speak. I will work on convincing him that all of his feelings have an explanation, an explanation that suits us.”

  “Good,” Yelleda said, “How long before you can bring him to the Remori manor to work on the formation?”

  “I don’t know,” Narvar said, “I haven’t gotten a good grasp of his character yet. It can be done in a few days, or take as long as a month.”

  “That should be fine,” Yelleda nodded. “Take your time. It’s better to be safe than sorry. The war is still ongoing, so it wouldn’t be too bad to wait until the situation over there has calmed down somewhat.”

  “How is the war going?” Narvar asked, “Are we winning?”

  “Of course, we are winning,” Yelleda answered with a confident smile. “Come. Why don’t you take a seat.”

  “I will impose, then,” Narvar said with a smile as he took a seat across Yelleda, a desk filled with documents separating the two.

  Narvar still couldn’t quite wrap his head around how young Yelleda looked. His clean-shaven face suggested an age no older than 35, but he knew he could very well be older than himself.

  Narvar had come into contact with quite a few Soul mages over the past few months, something he had never expected just a year ago, when he had yet to join Heavenly Light.

  But those were all old men, both in appearance and actual age. So he was not uncomfortable treating them as seniors. But Yelleda was different. He was technically his superior, and he had the power to back his position, yet he looked like he could be his grandchild.

  At least he doesn’t put on much airs.

  Narvar had met plenty of Diamond mages who thought more of themselves than Yelleda.

  “You might view a whole Kingdom as a fearful foe. Especially with the help they receive from Cyalis,” Yelleda started explaining, “And they are certainly nothing to take lightly. But to us from Quemer, this so-called Kingdom is only viewed as a small hurdle. If we had brought our organization’s entire strength over, we could crush both Valis and Cyalis in an afternoon.”

  “I see,” Narvar nodded, “I suppose that makes sense. But with the strength we currently have at our disposal, can we really contend against the Academy?”

  “The Academy will be a difficult fight, for sure. But they won’t leave their city in any great numbers, so the Valis Kingdom’s days are numbered. The higher-ups view it more as a training exercise than an actual war. It’s also a good way to show off our prestige.”

  “Hm. That’s good, I suppose,” Narvar said, “Won’t there be a problem with people escaping to the Saba Desert? It could prove a hindrance when I bring the boy over. Unless you will allow us to go by ship?”

  “The Melorian Bay is not safe for the moment. At least not with something so important. The Academy is looking for Adion all over the continent. Our best option is to keep it low-key and travel through the desert,” Yelleda explained, “Don’t worry. No one of significance would be able to get out.

  “We have people all over Veloria and the Silver Peaks. We even have a Soul mage stationed in Reshu. Even an Iron beast can’t get into the Valis Kingdom without our knowing. I will make sure there is a safe route for you to travel.”

  “Then I can rest assured,” Narvar said with a smile.

  Do we really have so many members with nothing better to do?

  Narvar had his doubts about the point of it all. He had joined Heavenly Light as he saw it as a powerful organization from Quemer with a dream he shared, to fight the beasts.

  But the war…Narvar had a difficult time comprehending it.

  He was already old, his life goal was accomplished many decades ago when he advanced to become a Gold mage and he finally succeeded in establishing a family clan so his children and grandchildren could prosper. That had been the dream of his and his late wife.

  He had planned on enjoying his final years accompanying his family, making sure they had everything they would need once he passed on.

  But that changed when he was introduced to Heavenly Light. He thought he could do something more before his time came, contribute to something bigger.

  A world without beasts. The Endless Age. Even if he wouldn’t be able to see that future himself, he wanted to be part of it. No matter how small.

  But it didn’t take long before people noticed something unusual about Narvar. It was discovered he had a Gift. Something he had been unaware of himself all these years. He just knew he was convincing. He had attributed it to his logic and understanding, but it seems it was all the works of some greater power.

  Now, he couldn’t deny that he really was Gifted. With the training he had received, he could control his Gift somewhat. And he had been able to convince hundreds, if not thousands, to join the cause.

  Are those people fighting beasts right now, or their fellow humans in Valis?

  “Are you feeling okay, Narvar?” Yelleda asked.

  “I’m fine,” Narvar answered with a smile.

  “Well, you should take care of your health. The heat is even affecting me. Make sure you drink enough water,” Yelleda kindly advised.

  “I will. Thank you,” Narvar said.

  “Why don’t you go back and rest for now? You have a lot of work ahead of you. I’m sure using your Gift to this extent can be draining,” Yelleda suggested.

  “Then I will do so,” Narvar agreed, rising from his seat.

  “Try to find some time to meditate as well. We all want you to reach the Soul stages as soon as possible. The resources provided to you even make me jealous, so make the most of it,” Yelleda said.

  “Of course, I’ll make sure to make time for my advancement,” Narvar said, turning to leave.

  Can I really become a Soul mage? A Diamond mage used to seem like a distant dream.

  These resources are better spent on the young than an old man like me.

  But the higher-ups deem me worthy, so I can’t disappoint them.

  I suppose it’s a good thing in the end. I can contribute more. Look after my family for a while longer.