Connor led him to the manor's study, and Daemon followed him obediently.
The study was expansive and open, excessively spacious for one individual. Bookshelves decked along the corners, filled with books and scrolls. The scent of paint and aged paper mingled in the air.
Quite a few canvases stood on the cardboard covering the far side of the room, most of them were half complete. Paints, brushes and sketches were arranged on one of the wooden tables. Sunlight streamed through a window, illuminating the room and creating a sense of tranquility.
"Sit down, let me pour you some tea." Connor pointed at an armchair and said gently.
"Thank you." Daemon expressed his gratitude and sat in the chair.
The young man soon brought tea and poured it into both of their cups.
"It's Moonleaf tea, you'll like it." He said, smiling softly.
Daemon looked at the cup. The tea gave off faint steam, it had a silvery colour and had a calm and refreshing scent.
He pressed the cup against his lips and took a sip. It was light and melted in his mouth immediately. "Just the perfect sweetness." He thought. The tea made him feel refreshed.
"Why were you looking for me?" Connor sat in front of him with crossed legs and asked with curious eyes.
The boy's face turned hesitant before he said, "I don't know how to tell you about this. It's about the demon."
"He seemed to have abilities besides just soul-related ones."
Connor was taking a sip when his expression froze, and he asked, "What do you mean? What bullshit are you implying?"
"It's just an intuition. After he left me alive, he just vanished on the spot. How can someone with soul powers teleport? Doesn't that imply he holds more secrets?" The boy spoke nervously.
"Teleportation..." Connor repeated in his mind, and his face turned grave. If that man really holds power from a different domain besides the soul, then it might be a problem.
"I'm not sure if you know what it means when an Aether holds power from two different domains."
"Every Aether goes through a qualitative change when they pass the fifth ordeal to get their fifth brand and unlock abilities from another domain."
"If what you speak of is really the truth, then this situation is far more grave than I imagined. It means that man has five brands and has gone through a qualitative change. He's become a Bearer. I've only recently passed the fourth ordeal to become a Wounded." He explained with surprise in his tone.
Aethers were titled depending on how many brands they held. The newly awakened ones with one brand were known as The Branded. It was done to differentiate between them flexibly rather than using the number of brands they held each time.
"What the fuck, I didn't know that Aethers could only have powers from two different domains when they became a Bearer." Daemon frowned, and his expression turned unsightly.
Connor felt the change in his expression and tapped the table once before saying, "This information is kept a secret from the general masses, as they are the easiest targets for enemy Aethers. This can potentially reveal the secrets about a kingdom's power. It's best if the Bearer's powers remain unexposed."
"Only the Aethers working for the kingdom know about them. Bearers are a force to deal with as they have powers belonging to two domains. It's an entirely different matter if there are spies and informants planted in the system who leak the secrets, though. Our kingdom had A Bearer, but she has long perished." He explained.
A look of understanding surfaced on Daemon's face. Everything was making sense to him now.
"Now the question is whether Zypher is a Bearer or not. He did not show his time-related abilities; I only assumed, as the records stated that him having them. How many brands does he really hold?" He fell into deep thought. He knew what brand Zypher had, as it had been stated in historical records.
The brand looked like an hourglass; its upper half was hidden beneath a crescent moon. The sand inside was frozen in the middle of the flow, neither rising nor falling as if time had stopped. It was known as Eclipsed Hourglass.
Originally, he thought that Zypher had four brands at most, but he fell into doubt.
"If he is a Bearer, then this situation is very problematic. The kingdom only has two Aethers with four brands, the Woundeds, Saint Elise and Connor and a few Marked, the ones with three brands."
"Fuck, this is more dire than I initially thought, and my soul is still connected to Zypher; he can kill me anytime, but I doubt he will do it immediately, as the challenge still stands, so he will eliminate the others first."
"I really need Siphon Knife, it is crucial, but how do I take it from Duke Asher?" He started considering everything, and suddenly a thought flashed through his mind.
"I can try doing this, though very risky, I still have to do it to ensure my survival."
He looked at Connor and asked, "Why did you tell me this, though?"
Connor smiled brilliantly and said, "I trust you will become an extraordinary Aether one day and serve our kingdom. You are a promising young man. And as for that demon having powers belonging to a different domain, I have a guess. He probably has speed-related powers, hence why it looked like he teleported."
"No! Although I understand why he might think that, he's still wrong. I need to at least ingrain in his mind that Zypher might have time abilities. When he fights him, he will realise it in a few exchanges. The premise here is that Zypher is a Bearer." Daemon thought and made up his mind. He had to lead him on the right path, even if he made no sense.
"I think his second domain is time. What if he could sort of control time? It would make sense how he's gone this far without being exposed, I mean, who would even think about it? He has the most mysterious brand after all. No one knows what it is." He uttered these ridiculous words with a straight face.
Connor immediately felt like standing up and knocking this kid out. What sort of bullshit was this? Aether with a time domain was unheard of, and this foolish kid spoke such nonsense. However, he stopped himself from doing so.
"This isn't the time for jokes, kid, but I'll still keep your words in mind as I can't really refute your second sentence." He shrugged and rolled his eyes.
Daemon felt happiness inside as he had succeeded in what he wanted to do, no matter how ridiculous he sounded. He was here to give Connor hints; not only did he succeed, but he also gained some knowledge about Aethers.
Some time later, he expressed his gratitude to Connor and left his manor. Before leaving, Daemon had asked him to lend him a Mythral that could hide his presence.
Connor did not mind; he had a lot of Mythrals, and it would make Daemon owe him. He gave him a rank 3 cape called Phantom cape. It was fully dark and could hide a person's presence from every Aether with up to three brands.
However, Daemon had different uses for this. He planned on stealing the Siphon Knife from Duke Asher, and as he was not an Aether, only using a Mythral could help him achieve this.
He planned on stealing it on the day Zypher would attack, which was in just two days. Time was near, and the first ordeal was going to be over soon. It was now a battle of wits between him and Zypher.
...
Rynfall, Bloodvale kingdom
It had been 10 hours since the portals to the mystic realm had opened. No one had come out yet.
One of the portals suddenly started to fluctuate, and a white haired boy with red eyes came out. It was Vael!
The instructors ran over to check up on the newly awakened Aether.
Andre Walker hurriedly rushed while Irene followed closely behind. They saw Vael coming out. His aura had completely changed!
He did not look frail and pale like before, as his body had gone through changes after awakening. He looked much healthier and had an indescribable aura.
"You're the first one to come out. Congratulations, our new young Aether, for surviving and awakening." Andre said in excitement.
"If you don't mind, can you show us your Aetherbrand?" Irene spoke with interest in her tone.
Aethers could choose not to reveal their brand; it was up to the individual to reveal it or not to. Both options had their advantages and disadvantages. Brands could be hidden on one's body as well.
Vael was immensely tired and wanted to rest as soon as he could. The ordeal he went through was extremely challenging. He could not be bothered to deal with them, so he took off his shirt.
He had a small brand on his chest. An hourglass, its upper half hidden beneath a crescent moon.
It was Eclipsed Hourglass!