POV Elian
The midday sun blazed outside as the carriage carrying me away from home toward Cainã rumbled along the dusty road. It was a path I had traveled only a few times before, yet every memory of it seemed etched with pain and only faint sparks of happiness.
Before the silhouette of our house vanished completely on the horizon, I leaned out of the window one last time. My family still stood there, motionless, watching me leave. It was an image I would engrave in my memory forever: three figures, both fragile and unyielding at once, whom I would only see again every six months—or so, at least, I had been promised.
Even inside the carriage, rocked by the rhythmic sway of the horses, my mind found no rest. The same question pursued me since the moment I accepted Elder Marduk's invitation: had I made the right choice?
Leaving my family behind in pursuit of power and knowledge… was this truly the path I was meant to walk?
I always reached the same conclusion: yes, it was. And yet, why did this unease burn in my chest like searing iron?
Perhaps it was because of the meditation Iolanda had taught me. That experience… that descent into my own shadows. Ever since, the feeling had only grown stronger, as if I had opened a door inside myself that could never again be closed.
Less than an hour had passed since we left Brumaria behind. The village was now only a distant dot, and the certainty weighed on me: I would be far away from everything I held dear for a very long time.
"How many days' journey to Cainã, Elder Marduk?" I asked, breaking the silence. Strangely, I had never asked about the true distance.
"From Askov to Cainã takes approximately two months," Iolanda answered calmly.
Two months? The ground seemed to open beneath me. The math didn't add up. If I was only allowed to visit my family twice a year, and each trip consumed that much time…
"So that means I won't be able to see my family until I turn twelve?" I shot back, incredulous. "Did you lie to me?"
My voice came out laced with disbelief and restrained fury. I had never imagined they would deceive me—least of all Elder Marduk himself, who had always presented himself as a man who valued truth above all.
Then his gaze locked on me. Those red eyes, as deep as silent embers, pierced me for less than a second, yet it felt like an eternity. The weight of that look crushed me inside. Slowly, he turned to Iolanda.
My stomach twisted.
Did I just offend him? I thought. Maybe I had gone too far. I was about to apologize when his grave voice split the air:
"You didn't tell him anything, Iolanda?"
"I… I believe I forgot, Father— I mean, Elder Marduk," she answered, bowing even as she remained seated.
Even then, she still had to call him Elder, not Father. Perhaps just a formality of the order, but to me, it seemed unbearably cold. Still, who was I to question it?
"Elian," Iolanda turned to me, "we didn't deceive you. You will be able to see your family every six months, if that is your wish."
"But how?" I pressed. "That's impossible! Even if I combined both visits into one, there wouldn't be enough time to travel there and back!"
She drew a deep breath before replying naturally:
"We are not traveling to Cainã by carriage alone. First, we go to Askov. That's only three days. From there, we'll use a teleportation portal."
"Teleportation?" I asked, stunned. I had never heard the word before.
"Yes," Marduk said firmly. "A relic of the ancients."
"We don't know exactly how it was created or how it works," Iolanda added. "Only that it came from the first magi of the continent of Aldebaran."
My mind flooded with questions, but I held them back. The anger gave way to shame. Bowing my head, I took a deep breath, then rose to bow before them.
"I understand. Thank you very much. And… forgive me for my arrogant words."
The silence that followed wasn't reproachful, but accepting. Deep down, I knew: this was only the beginning of the long road into the unknown.
★★★
The journey continued without incident. That's what I wish I could say. But on the second day, we were attacked by wild beasts. Not that it was dangerous for Iolanda, or even the two magi riding with us—but for me… it was my first real trial outside home.
"Two Demonic Tigers ahead, Mage Iolanda."
The voice came from one of our escorts. Her black hair, cut to her shoulders, swayed in the breeze tinged with the scent of damp leaves. Her brown eyes gleamed with sharp alertness, and her steady tone betrayed the weight of the threat. Her robes were plainer than Iolanda's, a sign of her lower standing in the hierarchy.
"Thank you, Mage Akame," Iolanda replied evenly. Then she turned to me, her expression hardening. "I know we practiced little these past months, but I want to see how you handle yourself this time, Elian."
I understood. She wanted to test me—to see if I had improved, if I had grown since last time. And deep down, I wanted it too. I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn't the same as before. And more than that… I wanted to test these earrings.
"Yes, Mage Iolanda," I answered firmly, though my throat was dry. "I'll do my best."
We stepped down from the carriage. The wet grass crunched under my boots, and the forest's damp air filled my lungs. One mage held the beast bound with chains reinforced by mana, vibrating under every tug. The other recited containment spells, sweat running down his brow despite his outward calm.
Then I saw it.
The Demonic Tiger paced in circles, snarling low, its three eyes blazing with feverish rage. With every roar, the ground trembled under my feet, and the acidic drool dripping from its fangs ate through leaves in seconds, leaving smoking holes in the soil. Its black fur glinted with blue sparks under the sun, as though each strand was infused with corrupted mana.
I swallowed hard. My heart thundered as if it would burst through my ribs.
"Remember, Elian," Iolanda said, her voice calm but sharp as a blade. "Your earrings only reduce casting time by thirty percent. Even if your spells are faster than ours without catalysts, that doesn't mean you can panic."
"Understood, Mage Iolanda," I replied, forcing my breathing steady.
Two seconds. That was how long it took me to cast a simple spell without chanting. With the earrings, it would be even less. Would it be enough?
I wished I had trained more. Studied the sword. Done anything beyond meditation. But it was too late now. Even if I failed, I trusted they wouldn't let me die. Or at least… I wanted to believe that.
Iolanda raised her hand. Her shadow seemed to stretch over me.
"Mage Akame, release yours."
And the roar that followed felt like it split the forest in two.
It charged straight at me, a blur of muscle and fury, its three eyes blazing like embers. My first instinct was to conjure a mire before me, hoping to trap it. The earth gave way into thick mud, but the beast leapt aside with impossible agility for its size.
"Damn it…" I remembered the first time I faced one of these, on the road back from Askov. The same crushing sense of helplessness threatened to consume me.
I caught my breath just in time to roll aside, dodging claws that sliced the air where I'd stood a heartbeat before. Still on the ground, I conjured two stone spears infused with wind. Their blades spun at high velocity, whistling like tiny hurricanes. I hurled them both, and one sank into the tiger's right flank with a solid thud.
It howled in pain, the sound reverberating through the forest like thunder. But it didn't fall. It only came at me again—slower, angrier.
I conjured another patch of mud and rolled back. As its paws sank, I solidified it into crude stone. Its hind legs locked tight, and it thrashed violently, acidic saliva corroding the ground in furious spurts.
I bought myself a second to breathe. Just one second. My spells were faster, the earrings working better than I'd hoped. Training with Iolanda had paid off… yet I was still far from victory.
Then came the burn. My legs seared, and when I looked down, the skin was eaten away by the beast's acid. The stench was unbearable, like scorched iron.
"It got me when I rolled back…"
Instinctively, I infused water into the wound, but the shock only worsened the pain, spreading it like liquid fire. A scream tore from my throat, echoing through the trees.
And in that instant, something shifted. My eyes burned, vision blurred, tinted gold and black. The pain vanished, replaced by a cold, crystalline clarity. Hatred guided me.
The tiger was still bound—but barely. I raised my hands and shaped a bow, conjuring a flaming arrow. Wind wrapped around it, feeding the blaze. Then a black energy began to seep into the fire, staining it dark, unstable, as if the very Qliphoth itself had answered my call. I felt Iolanda's gaze on me—heavy, wary.
The beast roared and, with brutal strength, tore itself free from the ground. In that moment, I loosed the arrow. At the same time, stone spears erupted from the earth, piercing its abdomen and holding it in place. The arrow struck its skull with blinding speed.
The impact detonated the flames into a spiraling blaze two meters wide, and the tiger's screams were devoured by fire. The stench of charred flesh hit me like a memory—the same nauseating odor that clung to the fields when they burned.
My vision began to blur. My body no longer obeyed me.
"I think… I'm going to faint…" I muttered, as my eyes shut against my will.
The roar ceased. The tiger crumbled, fragment by fragment, until nothing remained but the reek of ash in the air.
And with it, my consciousness slipped away.
★★★
"Where am I?" I asked as my eyes opened. I knew immediately it wasn't the carriage.
The ceiling rose high above, lit by chandeliers whose flames swayed slowly, casting wavering shadows on the walls. The bed beneath me was far too soft for a common inn, and the heavy scent of incense clung to the air, mingling with the warmth of a crackling hearth that popped in steady intervals.
I tried to sit up, but my body was still heavy, as though bound by invisible chains.
"Stay lying down." A woman's voice cut through the silence. I turned my head and found Mage Akame seated in a chair, her eyes fixed on me.
"Hello… Mage Akame…" My voice came out weak. "Where are we?"
"At the Askov branch," she replied, without moving.
"Askov?" I echoed, confused. "Then I slept for an entire day?"
"No. You slept for two." Her gentle voice contrasted sharply with the weight of the words.
Two days? I had used much mana, yes, but not enough to justify this… Something was wrong.
Footsteps echoed down the corridor. The door opened.