As the first light blew its whistle across the sky, Crowmere woke. People poured into the main road, setting up stalls along the paved stone street—food, clothes, weapons, everything someone might trade. With a population of around 4,500, the town lived on farming and craftsmanship, and now that winter had ended and the waves had subsided, trade revived in full. Travelers flocked in from every direction. For Crowmere, it was a golden chance to stack silver and gold for the next hard season.
Ren woke to the sound of a living street. Shin and Peter were already up and half‑ready, mid‑argument.
"Lucius? It was him? I thought he'd never show his face again…" Peter said, voice low but shaken.
Shin clapped a hand over his mouth. "Keep it down. I don't want Lili hearing and getting upset."
Ren sat up. "You two knew him? So it wasn't just you, Shin?"
Shin took his hand away and met Ren's eyes, the memories of yesterday crowding in. He pressed a small pouch of coins into Peter's palm. "Why don't you two look around town?" His stare at Peter carried another meaning entirely. "I'm going with Bjorn and Lili to pick up the supplies. They should be ready. Meet us at the watchtower by noon." Then he left.
Peter and Ren walked the main road, watching travelers barter with town folk under the growing warmth of the sun. Peter flicked two coins to Ren.
"Why don't you enjoy yourself and get something decent to eat?" he said.
Ren caught them but kept walking beside him, still looking down.
"All right," Peter said. "We'll get food, and I'll answer your questions. I can feel them creeping around in your head."
Ren glanced up. "All right."
They stopped at a busy stall where the air smelled of fat and spice. Birds, rabbits, and other cuts of meat hung or lay in neat rows, cooked in animal fat until the skin gleamed. The scent alone drew a crowd. Peter ordered two shares of bird. The woman at the stall, working alongside her husband, chopped the meat into small pieces, settled them onto two wide leaves, and handed them over as Peter paid.
Ren took a bite and froze for a second as the taste hit him. "I never thought wild birds could taste this good," he said.
The woman smiled. "You're welcome any time," she said.
When they finished, Ren wiped his fingers and asked, "How do you know Lucius? Was he your companion?"
Peter chewed on a small bird bone, rolling it in his mouth. "Yeah. He was one of the early ones," he said. "Back when it was just Shin and him. Bjorn and Lili joined later. There were a couple of people before them, but they left. Then Jonathan and I joined."
He paused. "Then there was the incident. The one that changed everything. Shin almost killed Lucius and then kicked him out."
Ren's eyes widened. "What happened?"
Peter sighed. "You shouldn't bring this up in front of Shin. It was a long time ago—four years, give or take. Shin still looked like a kid then. A mean one, but still a kid."
"We took a job from the Song family—a well‑known house in Hotan City, in the Southern Empire. The job was to settle a long feud with another family. Misunderstandings, business, honor, all mixed together. It was summer, right in the middle of wave season. Everyone else was busy with chimera; no one had time for family drama. So the Song young lord hired us to help him fix it and prove himself to his father. He was a friend of Shin's."
"After the truth came out between both sides, the young lord admitted the mistake was his family's. The other family was famous for weapon craft. He agreed to compensate them out of his own pocket. Simple job: escort him and the gold, make sure no one tried anything, then leave. We did it. Everything went smooth. They even agreed on a day to sign a treaty and end the conflict."
"On treaty day, that family accused the Song young lord of forgery and trickery. Song's people denied it and accused the smith family of lying to smear their heir's honor. Voices rose. It turned ugly. By the time the waves faded enough for anyone to care, one of the Eternal's disciples came to settle it."
"He dug up the truth. The Song young lord had paid them with fake gold. Counterfeit coins. The Song family couldn't deny it—their seal was on the chests and on the coins. It ended with the young lord's execution and a huge penalty on the Songs."
Peter's voice tightened. "Shin found out it was Lucius. Lucius and his greed. He swapped the real gold for copper and cast an illusion over it. Lucius spent his whole childhood being used by rich families for his illusions—gambling, cheating, politics, whatever they wanted. He hated the hierarchy. So when he saw a chance to hurt them, he didn't hesitate. One man's greed turned a peace job into a war. Shin nearly killed him and then cast him out."
Ren walked in silence for a few steps. "But how did you not recognize his illusions back at the fortress?" he asked.
Peter's expression darkened. "Lucius isn't just an illusionist. He's an Akrion Aspect. His Manifest isn't 'illusion.' It's memory projection."
"Aspect? Manifest? Memory what?" Ren asked.
Peter rubbed his face. "I thought Shin talked you through this already. Akrion users are split into two types: Aspects and Vessels. Aspects get what we call a Manifest. When an Aspect awakens Akrion for the first time, their entire body changes. Akrion reshapes them and gives them a power beyond what nature offers—that's their Manifest."
"Lucius' Manifest lets him project memories into the real world. But only memories. That means he has to memorize a person or object to bring it to life. When you and Shin fought him… his 'illusions' felt real, didn't they?"
Ren nodded.
"I see," Peter said quietly. "The bastard really mastered it."
Ren frowned. "What do you mean?"
"An Aspect's Manifest isn't complete at awakening. With enough training and use, they can reach its full stage. We call that Absolute Manifest , and not everyone can achieve it . When Lucius first reached his Absolute Manifest, he couldn't control it. By fully diving into his memories, he could make them real—real enough it almost killed us. The problem was that he stopped just projecting them and started living inside them. He got trapped in his own nightmares. Not all memories are worth reliving. Everyone has enough bad ones they'd rather forget."
Peter's jaw tightened. "At the fortress, he brought out the worst memory he could find with Lili. That's why we don't talk about him in front of her. And that's why we shouldn't say anything more than we have to."
They reached the watchtower to find Shin waiting beside the wagon. "Where have you been? I clearly said by noon, not afternoon," he said.
Peter laughed it off. "We were just looking around."
The wagon was already packed. Lili leaned out from the back. "Where have you been, you drunken idiot?"
"If it isn't the flaming dwarf," Peter shot back.
They were on each other in a heartbeat—Peter tugging her hair, Lili punching his shoulder as they bickered like children—until Bjorn stepped up beside them, face dark. They froze and backed off in opposite directions.
"Basically traveling with children…" Shin muttered, rubbing his temple. He looked at Ren. "Ride with me."
"Okay," Ren said, climbing up.
They left Crowmere and rolled back onto the open road toward Erbil City. Peter rode ahead on horseback, drifting close alongside Shin and Ren.
"Hey, Peter," Ren called. "You said there are Aspects and Vessels. What are Vessels, then?"
"Vessels channel Akrion through their bodies," Peter said. "They enhance their physical attributes. How fast and strong they get depends on how well they control the flow—strength, speed, durability, all of it."
"That's all?" Ren asked. "Doesn't that make Aspects much stronger?"
Peter smirked and straightened in the saddle. "Yes."
"It might look that way, but it's not that simple," Shin cut in from Ren's side. "Aspects are rare. Vessels are common. Most Aspects become arrogant. But in theory, Vessels have no limit on how far they can grow. Aspects can't channel Akrion through their bodies or onto their weapons, so they mostly rely on their Manifest."
Peter shifted, annoyed. "Well, Aspects' senses and reflexes crush Vessels. They're tougher too—even without Akrion channeled."
"True," Shin said, "but only up to a point. At awakening, Aspects get all that for free when Akrion changes their bodies. They didn't earn it."
"What the hell did you say?" Peter snapped.
"Yeah, you heard me," Shin shot back.
Ren looked between them, lost. "Why are you guys fighting?"
From the wagon, where she sat beside Bjorn, Lili called out, "Can't you tell, kid? Peter's an Aspect and Shin's a Vessel. By default, they hate each other."
Ren's laugh cut clean through their argument and, for a moment, even they had to smile.