"What is the present Dad?", Kaios asked excitedly.
"Dante, do that after we settled today."
Lyra scolded Dante and turned to Kaios, "You Kaios also check the gifts of yours after we find a place to live."
As they are talking about this a sudden knock heard from the door. Winston went towards the door and opened it.
There stood a man adorned with grey suit, this is the same man who helped Dante to reach this room.
As Kaios saw him he waved towards the man, "Hii Nicole, it is nice to see you again."
"My pleasure, little Kaios.", Nicole greeted back Kaios.
Then he turned towards the direction of Dante and said, "Sir Dante, your residence till your recruitment letter was already arranged by the Enforcer."
"That's good, it saved us the trouble to find one on our own."
Lyra was the one who said this time, as she was happy to be fresh finally after all this time.
Nicole nodded to it and ask them, "Please, follow me sir and madam. I will take all of you to your new residence."
Later at that night…..
Kaios was now sitting on his bed, in the room of his within their new place. All of them were now settled in their new residence.
Well, residence may not be an appropriate word for it, it is palace far grander and larger than their previous ones. It is also adorned with various technologies.
His hand was holding a circular mirror— gifted to him by his master. He still did not used it as he saving it to use it together with the present that his father brought.
Kaios still didn't know what is that present, as his father told it will be given to tomorrow.
With that anticipation the night came to an end for Kaios, his eye closed drifting him to the land of dreams.
Next morning all three Grimwold members are presented in the training hall of the new palace of theirs. This one is far vaster than the one they had previously; there are many equipment that is unknown to them.
Kaios stood there wearing his training outfits, against him stood both Dante and Lyra.
"Kaios here is your present that I brought for you."
Dante said as a bright light engulfed his hand, slowly light faded leaving an item that is floating an inch above the palm of Dante, as if it was infinity distances.
After the light faded, Kaios saw the present that his father was taking about. There he saw a core— a broken core. But something detail, the metal it was crafted from different, around it a there are many different patterns were carved. These were glowing with a bright blue even without any visible power source.
"What is it dad?", Kaios asked in curious.
"This is the artefact you will do ER with.", Dante said calmly.
Kaios shocked to hear this from his father.
"Does it favor the condition of Kaios?", Lyra asked to Dante.
To which Dante only nodded in the reply.
Lyra asked again, "And where did you find one that fast?"
This time Dante opened his mouth, "It is the one of my reward for choosing the military."
"Ohh…", Lyra spoke as he understood the origin of the artefact.
As both Lyra and Dante were conversing some other thing is going in the head of Kaios.
He remembered the day when his affinity mutation for metal was completed. He forcefully taken to the Garden Of End. There he saw the second sphere from the three was now shining brightly, apart from the remaining two.
Like before he approached it to touch it and just like before his whole surrounding changed with a bright blinding light.
He this time found himself in middle of a forest, as he checking himself he heard something for the first time till he came here.
'Forest of Nightmare, they were seriously underestimating me. Well, they will find it in the hard way.'
Kaios turned to the direction of the sound, there he saw a person— no a teenager, same age as him or slightly older than him.
'Trade'
Suddenly the teenager spoke, and before Kaios could processed that….
Poof….
The forest vanished and as Kaios wondering about it, the surrounding changed again.
This time he was in the void, there was only a bright star before him. As he approached it, he saw something that should not be possible by any means.
The star—its one side is no longer emitting any light. As some one covered it in blanket of darkness or something sucked the concept of light from one side.
Suddenly a voice echoed in the surrounding.
"Balance as all things should be. Be balanced and be my strength."
That was then last thing Kaios heard, before he forced out from that vision. He could not even see the face of the person this time.
This is what he told his father, because that's what he understand from that vision.
Now as he saw the Artefact in front of it, some doubt started to appear.But he trusted himself and his understanding.
Suddenly his thinking interrupted by Dante, who is now explaining about the Artefact.
"This is one of two artefact related to Balance, I found in the hall of artefact. There are many others but only two met the criteria of being Metal and Psion related. This one is Aegisforge Crucible."
"What is the other one, that you didn't choose?", Lyra asked curiously.
"That one called BladeWright's Anvil. That was not that versatile, it allows you to make five distinct weapons, which will have five distinct properties related to Balance."
"But this is different, it manipulate the metal to create constucts, though crude you can even make weapons through it like the BladeWright's Anvil. But instead of that one its relation to the balance is twisted.", Dante explained.
Already broken out of his stupor, Kaios asked this time, "How so, Dad?"
Dante then explained again, "What it does is that unlike other one this don't give properties to weapons instead it let you borrow one from the constucts you have, like you can borrow one's sharpness or durability and gave it to the one you are using currently. But...." His voice drowned.
Hearing it Lyra questioned, "But.. but what Dante?"
Kaios also looking at Dante for his following explanation.
"But it comes with a limitation that you have to lend some of the properties for that like sharpness for the conductivity etc. That's why I picked it up, because even though it is not directly related to Balance, it used the balance for ability of it." Dante concluded.
"Hmm... That certainly seems right. It is following the balance exchange between two constructs.", Lyra said as she understood the point of Dante.
But Kaios hearing the last line of Dante was already in the world of its own.
Isn't this artefact more tunes to the vision I saw, it matches with both the balance and trade properties. This will be better than any other artefacts.
"Thank you, Dad. I think it will be more suited to me than the other one.", Kaios said while interjecting the conversation of Dante and Lyra.
Hearing this Dante became slightly happy, as his selection of the artefact for Kaios was good.
"Okay Kaios, now let's start the ER of yours.", he said. "Me and Lyra will oversee that, instruct you the process of it."
Lyra also nodded with Dante, showing her agreement.
"Okay", Kaios replied.
"Now sit in the lotus position, then placed artifact where the NMT core was present.", Lyra instructed.
Kaios did as his mom told him, then hold it in between the lungsof his alligning with middle of his spine.
"Now Kaios, make circuit that will be started from the NMT core also end in their, with the path being your both of hands. After that flow the Psion of yours in it.", Dante said this time.
"Hmm", Kaios nodded and do as he was instructed.
As Kaios flowed his Psion through the artefact as per the instruction, he felt something— a force that repulsing the artefact form him, it became harder to hold the artefact with each passing moment.
Urgghh
He grunted with pain, as his fingers are now starting to swell.
That's when he heard, "Now.."