There may also be some inaccuracies, since English is not my native language.
Essentially, TBATE is first translated from English into my native language - and in that process, some details are already altered to make it more understandable for us. Now I'm taking that adapted (and somewhat distorted) version, revising it, rewriting it, and then translating it back into English.
I hope you'll point out any mistakes in the text that I might have missed.
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Lucius Zogratis POV
Arthur squeezed his eyes shut, trying to blink away the sweat running down his brows and into his eyes, but in the next second he suddenly doubled over. He bent so sharply, as if someone inside him had slammed a fist into his ribs with all their strength, and then he vomited прямо onto the white tiled floor.
"...Hey! Gray, what is it? What happened?" Caera's voice trembled with panic.
Arthur collapsed to his knees. The Relic slipped from his hand, rang sharply against the tile, bounced a couple of times, and rolled away.
"Ellie..." I heard his thoughts.
He fell forward. His forehead struck the cold tile, and his fist hammered into the floor so hard that it split apart with a sharp crack. A deafening scream tore from his throat, and tears poured down his face.
I understood perfectly well why he was shaking from terror and palpable rage: the destruction of Elenoir and the possible death of his sister.
Kezess Indrath, realizing that the pact of noninterference had failed and fearing the spread of the Alacryans throughout the forest, had sent Agrona a message in the only language they both understood.
Arthur jerked his head up. His eyes were bloodshot. There was nothing left in them of his usual composure, nor reason, nor even that cold fury he normally kept under control. Only pain. Bare, fresh, unbearable pain.
When he spoke, his voice sounded more like the growl of a wounded beast than human speech. "You knew?"
I raised an eyebrow slightly, looked him straight in the eye, and answered with a single word. "Yes."
That word struck the room almost as hard as his fist had struck the tile.
I saw something twitch inside him. Saw the muscles of his body tense. Saw how he had already begun to rise-slowly, heavily, with the expression of someone ready to lunge forward not for something valuable, but simply because otherwise he would choke on his own pain.
And his intentions were far from kind. So I spoke before he could take another step.
"And before you start behaving irrationally," I said calmly, not taking my eyes off him, "she's alive."
Arthur froze.
Right in the middle of the movement.
A second ago, he had been ready to throw himself at me with fists, shouts, accusations-to attack me for staying silent, for not telling him earlier.
And if I were being honest, he would have had every right to.
But what would my words have changed? What exactly would have changed if I had told him earlier?
Nothing.
Elenoir still would have been destroyed. His pain still would have remained the same.
Part of his childhood had been spent growing up in Elenoir, so watching what he perceived as home be destroyed because of a single word was difficult.
It seemed that several brutal zones in a row, endless strain, the recent emotional clash with Regis, and total exhaustion had finally taken their toll. His spirit was already too battered to withstand a full explosion of rage on top of everything else. Instead of lunging at me, Arthur simply froze, breathing heavily, as if he were holding himself together with the last scraps of will.
"Sorry," he muttered so quietly that even with an Asuran body I barely heard him, "and... we need to talk after this zone."
I gave a slight nod, understanding his condition. His hand slid over the rune on his forearm, where his "bond" sat in its egg-like form.
"How are you feeling?" Caera asked, her brows knit with worry.
Taking a deep breath, Arthur nodded to her. "I'll be fine."
Arthur took an unsteady step toward the portal leading to the second level of the Relictombs. The toe of his boot struck the Relic, and it gave a quiet chime as it rolled across the white tiles toward the center of the room, stopping right at the edge of the pool. But the very next moment Arthur, as if acting on raw instinct alone, still bent down, picked it up, and kept moving.
Caera stood anxiously between Arthur and the shimmering gate, her body tense, her gaze darting from me to Arthur and to the portal. Her horns had vanished again, hidden by her Relic.
"Gray, wait."
Like a zombie, Arthur ignored everyone and staggered through the portal.
Shaking my head, I stepped through the portal too, first catching Caera by the shoulder. Loud noise greeted us. A mass of Alacryan soldiers, arrayed around us in a semicircle, buzzed excitedly.
To our left, knights in blackened steel armor held their weapons forward, ready for battle, every individual figure quietly humming with magic. To our right, knights in shimmering white-silver armor formed the other edge of the semicircle, but unlike their dark counterparts, their stance was not aggressive.
Directly before us-or rather, before Arthur-filling the center of the half-circle, stood several people dressed in robes of various colors, tense and composed.
"Damn it, Gray, why couldn't you just wait..." The sharp ring of steel against stone cut her off as the knights in white-silver slammed their spears to the ground and knelt all at once.
"Now that's what I call a welcoming committee," Regis drawled lazily. "What do you think, is all this for the demonic lady... or is there another reason?"
"Lady Caera!" A woman with bright orange hair gathered into a loose bun atop her head ran through the line of white-clad soldiers and skidded to a stop before our pursuer. "Are you wounded? Injured? Are you in pain?" she rattled off, her wide eyes scanning every centimeter of Caera's body.
Despite her exhaustion, Caera forced a smile. "I'm all right, Nessa, truly."
The orange-haired woman frowned and slapped Caera lightly on the arm. "How could you run off on another Ascension! And without guards! Do you have any idea how much trouble I've had with lord and lady? My Vritra, and as if that weren't enough, to think you got mixed up with-"
The woman named Nessa let out a frightened squeak, as if only now noticing the two other people... half-asuras. She dragged Caera back several steps and hid behind her.
"You! You're murderers!" she said, stammering, pointing a trembling finger first at me and then at Arthur.
"Are you finished, adjutant?"
A resonant voice echoed across the terrace, and all eyes turned toward its source. I met the gaze of an elderly Alacryan who stepped forward from the group of robed companions.
"Looks like Caera was right," Regis remarked thoughtfully. "Should've just killed that girl..."
"That's not what Haedrig said-not what Caera said-and it wouldn't have helped, Regis," Arthur replied. Even in thought, his voice sounded drained.
Drawing a pale, bony hand from beneath his robe, the golden-haired elder took out and unfurled a scroll, then began to read. "Gray, of unnamed Blood. Lucius, of unnamed Blood. You are hereby accused of the murders of Kalon and Ezra of Blood Granbehl and Riah of Blood Faline."
Caera stepped forward, raising a hand before me. "Lucius and Gray are not the ones who killed them."
The elder lifted his head, his clenched fists revealing that the respect in his voice was forced. "We have testimony from the chief witness stating otherwise, Lady Denoir."
"I am also a witness, as is Lady Ada of Blood Granbehl," she countered.
The golden-haired elder's eyes narrowed. "Your testimony and involvement in this matter have been voided, Lady Denoir. Please step aside."
Anger entered Caera's voice as she took a threatening step forward. "Who decided that?"
"Lord Denoir, my lady," the elder answered immediately. "At his request, with confirmations from Blood Faline and Blood Granbehl, the Ascension Association approved that you would not be called to testify or participate in the trial."
Caera continued to argue, but it was already clear-she was losing this battle.
"What an amusing turn of events," I began mentally, my voice full of amusement. "So we play along and surrender to the trial, Arthur? My first trial, and maybe torture too, given that this is basically the medieval era. How exciting."
"You aren't actually going along with this lunacy, right?" Regis asked, irritation rising. "Just let me out, and I'll clear us a path."
"For now, playing along seems like the best option," Arthur's slightly drained voice replied. "Who knows, maybe we can even turn this to our advantage somehow. At the very least, we know none of their mana-suppression artifacts will work on us, and my training with Three Steps wasn't for nothing. We can always escape."
A bright, silvery voice interrupted our mental exchange, though I had noticed its owner long ago.
"Caera, enough." The voice silenced everyone nearby. It belonged to a luxuriously dressed woman with shining white hair. "We are leaving, dear. Leave the rest to the enforcers."
"But Mother-"
"Caera, now," the woman repeated with absolute authority in her voice, and Caera shrank beneath its weight.
It was strange seeing the usually lively Caera, who had so amusingly eaten grapes after a battle in which her back had nearly been torn off, so subdued and so unhappy.
She turned, and her scarlet eyes met mine.
"It's fine," I said. "Go. Gray and I will be all right."
"Lucius, I..."
"Caera!" the white-haired woman ordered again, her voice ringing across the terrace like a bell.
Caera flinched and hurried after her adoptive mother, who led the knights in white armor away from the portal. She cast me a furtive glance, and I was struck by how differently she looked and behaved in the presence of her Blood, and from Arthur's emotions I realized I wasn't the only one.
"Strange families," Regis said.
I noticed that the golden-haired elder had resumed speaking. "...and therefore the suspects, Gray, of unnamed Blood, and Lucius, of unnamed Blood, are to be taken to the Granbehl estate for questioning before the trial. The trial shall be held in..." he checked the scroll again, "three weeks."
Arthur gave a humorless laugh. "Is it standard procedure for the accusers to imprison the accused? Doesn't feel very fair and impartial, does it?"
The speaker cleared his throat and frowned. "Blood Granbehl has every right to ensure that you stand trial for your crimes. Were you members of a Named or Highblood house, you might be released into the custody of your Blood until trial, but..."
I waved away his explanation, knowing it was nothing but a pretext. "Let's just get this over with, all right?"
The man's contemptuous gaze shifted from Arthur to me. I held it until he flinched and looked away. "Put these two in shackles and load them into the wagons," he said, a note of malice and caution in his voice.
Six knights stepped forward, three toward me and three toward Arthur. One pulled my hands out in front of me while another fastened an ornate pair of mana-suppressing cuffs around my wrists. The third kept his spear pressed to my back.
When they finished, they led me to a small carriage left at the edge of the terrace, harnessed to beasts, and silently shoved me inside. It was tiny, with room only for me and one other familiar soldier already seated within. Arthur was placed in the nearest small carriage.
The guard's features remained hidden by his helmet. A short sword lay across his knees, carefully set in the crook of his arm so that, if needed, he could stab my core with a short thrust.
"What an actor," I thought, examining his build and listening to his breathing.
"You won't believe who's sitting here," I said mentally to Arthur, my voice far too cheerful for the atmosphere. Knowing that I could wipe out everyone standing here in a single motion made the heavy mood feel insignificant.
A moment later the wagon lurched as the goat-like beast pulling it surged forward at the driver's command.
"Who is it?" Regis asked, still sounding slightly annoyed that he hadn't been allowed to kill everyone here.
Instead of answering directly, I repeated what I'd done before, sending a 3D model of Alaric, his physique and breathing rhythm, followed by a 3D model of the knight sitting before me.
"This gentleman certainly knows how to make an entrance," Regis joked with a chuckle.
"Alaric," Arthur said only one word, but the relief in his voice said far more.
At that moment, the guard removed his helmet, and a familiar voice cut off our mental dialogue. "Well then, you've landed yourself in another hellish mess, haven't you, handsome?"
I widened my eyes theatrically and turned to look at the guard. He belched, filling the little carriage with the stench of liquor.
"Alaric, how..." I broke off as the reek of alcohol hit my sensitive nose.
Alaric smirked faintly at me. "You didn't think I'd just let you two get arrested before you paid me what you owe, did you?"
I shook my head doubtfully, continuing this endless performance. "You won't fool me, old man. You wouldn't have squeezed yourself into that armor just for your share of the treasure..."
"But you and your friend did get a few rewards out there, didn't you?" he asked, his bloodshot eyes widening. "Not to make too much of it, but you boys are knee-deep in shit, and a little gold will go a long way toward greasing the judge. Or a lot of gold, if you have it."
I rolled my eyes, but still opened the system inventory containing the enormous wealth taken from the bone wyvern and even more from the Spear Beaks' treasury. And even though I lied to Arthur about how the system worked, he still knew its basic function, so he stuffed all his riches into his spatial rune-though in the Spear Beaks' treasury, he handed over to me what he'd obtained in the bone wyvern zone, since it all wouldn't have fit into his rune.
But I was getting off track. Looking through the inventory, I found a short sword and sheath made of dark red leather and set with gemstones, a couple of which had originally been missing but, after being upgraded to rank 4, had been restored to even better condition. Then I pulled out a rank 4 silver spear and a full set of rank 4 black-and-red armor.
After barely glancing at those trinkets, I handed everything to Alaric. "Consider it an advance. You don't get the rest until we're out of this mess."
The old man's eyes widened as he appraised them, running his fingers greedily over the leather, lingering on the gemstones, then slowly drawing the flawless short sword. Then his gaze flicked quickly to the spear, then to the black-and-red armor with its distinct runes.
"Well, this is lovely." Alaric cast me a sidelong glance. "And you have more like this? And I assume Gray stuffed a few things into his pocket too."
I suppressed an amused laugh, not wanting the driver to hear. "Enough to keep you drinking the finest alcohol until the day you die."
Alaric closed his eyes and leaned back, serene bliss settling over his face. "Exactly what I've always wanted to hear..."
"So," I said, making my voice serious, "what do you know about the trial? There has to be more behind this than what they told me."
Alaric's face lengthened, and he cast me a sidelong look as if I had just woken him from a pleasant dream. "The Granbehls are the top of the Named Bloods. The equipment they wave around isn't as impressive as a Highblood's, but they've been trying for years to attain that status: sponsoring Ascenders, buying up property on the first two levels of the Relictombs, currying favor with the Sovereign, and so on."
"From what I've heard, that boy Kalon was the rising star of Blood Granbehl. Handsome, talented, useful skills both for the Relictombs and outside them... you get the picture."
I nodded along to his words. "Probably the future head of the house?"
Alaric nodded, slipping the short sword and sheath into his dimensional ring and setting his own short blade against the wall of the carriage as he settled more comfortably. "Yes, the favorite. His death is a heavy blow to Blood Granbehl."
"But Ascenders die in the Relictombs all the time," I said, privately regretting that I hadn't gone into acting. It was hard to say all this while knowing the entire plot. "I saw it with my own eyes in the Convergence Zone. Most mages who go in there never come back out."
"Yes, but an experienced Ascender who doesn't want to take excessive risks can make a name and a solid reputation for himself by leading training Ascents for noble children," Alaric said wisely.
"So they're upset over the loss of their heir, but even if they pin his murder on us, how does that help them?" I asked, frowning across the carriage at him.
"Honestly, not sure yet, but this"-he tapped his ring, referring to the jeweled sheath-"will help loosen some tongues. Still, you're right. At first glance, it doesn't make sense. Proving murder in the Relictombs... that's one hell of a disputed matter, especially with only one witness."
"Two," I said, "but they refuse to allow Caera to testify for our side."
"Caera, is it?" Alaric waggled his thick brows up and down with an expression that, for some reason, reminded me of Regis. "So you had yourself a nice time in the Relictombs with that beautiful Highblood lady, eh? Shared a few romantic evenings killing beasts, then cuddled by the fire still covered in the blood from the day's fighting..."
"Alaric," I said in a low, calm voice. "Stay on topic."
"Let's think it through, shall we?" he said quickly. "Highblood Denoir is more influential than Blood Granbehl, but the latter are hungry and decided to aim at bigger fish. What do the Denoirs gain by allowing their precious princess to be dragged into this whole legal farce?"
He paused, staring at me blankly. "What was the question again?" He scratched his disheveled head. "Ah, right. Nothing, that's what. They just don't want it becoming public that the adopted daughter of noble Highblood Denoir slipped into the Relictombs with two unknown lowblood rookies. That would reflect badly on them. All they need to do is let Blood Granbehl eat you both alive, and, at least for them, the whole situation resolves itself."
"But they still need to prove it was murder, right?" I pointed out.
"That's what worries me," he grumbled. "Which is why I need to dig up a few things. Blood Granbehl must have something hidden in their silk sleeves if they're going through all this trouble."
We sat in silence for about a minute, listening to the wooden wheels creak over the stone streets. "So," Alaric said at last, "how many zones did you clear?"
"Four," I answered calmly.
Alaric whistled at that. "You and your friend stayed in there a few days longer than I expected, even after the rumors about the Granbehls spread. Must have felt like weeks to you."
"Arthur, stash your spatial ring in the extradimensional rune if you can. And your weapon too," I said shortly, then cut the connection again and with a quick motion sent my spatial ring into the inventory, along with my rank 8 weapon, which looked like a simple bracelet wrapped around my left arm.
The carriage slowed and came to a stop. Outside, I heard heavy iron gates swing open with a rumble. "I need to be there," Alaric said, taking the helmet from his knees and carefully putting it back on.
"You still haven't told me how you arranged all of this," I said, gesturing around at his black armor and the escort surrounding us.
I couldn't see his face, but I could tell he was grinning beneath the helmet. "Friends in low places, pup. Don't worry, old Alaric will drag his dear nephew and his childhood friend out of this. I won't let you wriggle out of paying the remaining percentage..."
The carriage lurched forward again, then stopped after a few seconds.
A second later, the door on my side opened, and one of the knights in black armor seized me by the arm and yanked me roughly out onto a broad courtyard before a large estate. It was an imposing residence, built mostly of dark stone, with steep roofs and sharp arches over the windows and doorways.
At least twenty Granbehl knights stood arrayed in the courtyard along the path. A man and woman waited on the manor's veranda, overgrown with some sort of ivy bearing blue leaves.
Lord and Lady Granbehl. Both were blond and wore fine dark clothes with silver trim. Lord Granbehl had the same broad-shouldered build as his sons, while Lady Granbehl resembled a mature and beautiful version of Ada.
The knight grabbed my shackles and dragged me toward the lord and lady. Three other knights took positions beside and behind me, weapons ready. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Arthur in a similar situation.
Lord Granbehl ground his teeth as he looked from Arthur to me at the edge of the veranda. Then he moved sharply, his fist smashing into Arthur's temple. Then, baring his teeth, he looked at me-but did nothing.
Why?
Was my face too pretty to punch?
"Lock these bloodthirsty dogs behind bars," he ordered, his voice echoing through the courtyard. The knights behind me slammed their spears into the ground twice, after which Arthur's guard jerked him into the house. Moments later, I was dragged after him down a well-appointed corridor, then down stone stairs leading first to a cellar and then into something like a dungeon.
There were four cells there, all empty. Runes were carved into the floor and bars of the cell doors. I couldn't read them, but I was sure they were meant to prevent those inside from using mana, perhaps a backup to the mana-suppressing cuffs. I would have to remember and study them later.
The guard shoved me through the barred door into one of the cells and pinned me against the wall. He began searching me, checking my pockets, sides, and legs from top to bottom.
Then he lifted my cloak and shirt to inspect the fake runic tattoos on my back.
When he finished, he spun me around roughly and stared at my hands before throwing me a dark look, though the effect was minimal. He was certainly massive, and a few centimeters taller than Arthur, around 190 cm.
But I was around 207 cm tall, and my body was in excellent condition too. I wasn't some mountain of muscle, more like Dabura from JJK. To truly try to intimidate me, the man would have had to tilt his head upward. And when you have to look up from below, any threat loses quite a lot of its weight.
In other words, he lost his aura.
"Where's all your stuff?" he asked.
"In my dimensional ring," I lied without blinking, "which I lost in the last zone we cleared."
The large guard shrugged, then stepped back out of the cell and slammed the door shut. I turned my attention to the room.
A cell of sturdy stone, no windows. Against the wall stood a cot made of a thin strip of fabric stretched over a wooden frame. In the corner, instead of a chamber pot, there was a hole in the floor. Nothing else.
Wonderful.
Estimating how much time we had spent in the zones, I realized I had stayed within the schedule. In that time I had managed to show Caera a great deal, and had also trained with Arthur several times in the Shadow Claws' village. That meant Scythe Seris should already have realized that Arthur Leywin had survived, and therefore she would almost certainly intervene and help at the trial.
Still, even if things didn't go according to plan, Arthur and I had a backup option. We could simply teleport straight out of the courtroom, lie low somewhere in Alacrya for a few days until the uproar faded, then use God Step to approach the Central Academy and steal the portal Relic with the GodRune of Theft.
After that, we would be able to return to the Relictombs as many times as necessary without much trouble. Yes, that kind of life had its downsides, and significant ones, but I thought even half a year could be survived that way. Though, to be honest, I would still prefer the more familiar academy plotline.
Caera Denoir POV
Sitting down, I leaned slightly back against my chair, straightened my spine, and kept my eyes on the Scythe. She took a sip from her glass, cast an approving glance at it, and then sat beside me.
"So," she began, "you once again found an unusual Ascender and spent weeks in the Relictombs traveling alongside him?"
"Two." I nodded, burning with the desire to tell her everything at once, but understanding that our conversations had their own rhythm. It would have been extremely inappropriate to start my story before she guided our conversation to that point, which I knew she would in due time.
"Gray and Lucius, yes?" she asked with a slight nod, thoughtfully turning the glass in her hands. "Did you learn their Blood?"
I shook my head.
"Tell me about them."
I opened my mouth to blurt out the first thing that came to mind, but stopped and paused long enough to gather my thoughts into some kind of order.
"Their power is very similar... almost like nature itself... and even stranger and more powerful than I described before. It's obvious now that what I saw from Lucius and Gray in the Convergence Zone, where we first met, was just what they wanted to show. In reality, they were hiding much more than I could have imagined."
"Everything I can say about Lucius in terms of strength or skill, I can say about Gray as well." I paused, considering their unusual abilities and lack of mana. Would it be betrayal to tell my mentor this? To whom did I truly owe loyalty? "Lucius's spearsmanship and blade work and Gray's blade work are flawless, simply... brilliant. And combined with their unique magic, I am almost certain each of them could stand even against you, Scythe Seris, though Lucius's odds would be slightly better."
My mentor did not grow angry, nor was she surprised by my bold statement. If anything, she became even more intrigued.
"What is unique about their magic?" she asked, lifting a brow slightly. "And why do you think one of them has better odds than the other?"
"They both... don't use mana for it," I said, stumbling slightly. "And they can do things that should barely be possible. I saw them teleport and regenerate limbs, even in some sense turn time back. Lucius could directly... steal something, I think? Somehow he took the very essence of a monster, killing it instantly."
Scythe Seris leaned forward, pressing a finger to her lips. "Interesting. Not one, but two with such abilities. So how do they do it, if not with mana?"
"Aether," I said, feeling a stab of guilt. "Lucius told me all of this in confidence, but... I cannot lie to Scythe Seris, whatever the case."
My mentor's eyes flashed. She leaned back in her chair and took a sip from her glass. "Only the asuras of Clan Indrath can wield aether as a weapon. But a dragon could not enter the Relictombs."
"Could they be... something like me?" It was a strange, thrilling thought. Despite the existence of other Alacryans with Vritra blood, I rarely met them and certainly never felt any kinship with them. "Humans with Indrath blood?"
"No," she said, dismissing the idea without even a second's thought. "The dragons would never allow such a thing. They are too 'perfect' to mix their bloodline with simple insects."
She leaned forward again, her dark eyes pinning me. "Tell me about your Ascension. Leave out nothing."
Scythe Seris listened for an hour, asking from time to time for confirmation of one detail or telling me to be more specific, but otherwise simply listening as I recounted my time with Lucius and Gray-from my disguise as Haedrig and our deadly encounter with the trapped Vritra-blood human in the mirror hall, through the zone of white bones and the strange pseudo-artifacts there, all the way until we left the sanctuary and returned to the second level.
"And when did Gray or Lucius learn your identity? And you said Gray has quite a lot of gaps even in the most basic information, yes?"
"According to Lucius, he realized who I was back when I was still under Haedrig's mask because he unconsciously memorizes all the movements of anyone even slightly interesting, and his reaction to my reveal was rather muted, unlike Gray's. At first I thought he was going to kill me-it seemed he was afraid someone might be able to track him... but then that fear vanished just as quickly as soon as he understood that only I could have tracked him, and his fear disappeared entirely the moment Lucius returned my dagger and medallion."
Seris looked thoughtful. She slowly swirled her drink in the glass, watching the dark liquid slide along the thin crystal walls. From her words, I understood that more than anything else, she was interested specifically in Gray.
"So, our mysterious golden-eyed Ascender is incredibly strong, knows nothing of our customs, and fears being discovered. The second is very similar in all characteristics and abilities but keeps calm better and speaks less whenever possible, though you suspect that is to avoid revealing something. They both wield aether like the ancient mages, yet are incapable of controlling mana." She drained her glass and set it on the table with a light chime. "Describe them to me, as thoroughly as possible."
I felt warmth rush to my cheeks.
Lucius's face rose too vividly before my eyes-so absurdly handsome, almost unnaturally expressive-and behind it came the memory of waking up together in one sleeping bag. I very much hoped Seris had not noticed my embarrassment, though, knowing her, that was nearly impossible.
"Lucius has long black hair," I began, trying to keep my voice even. "It seems almost unreal because of the white streaks and tiny pale points, as if starlight had somehow been tangled in it. And what is stranger still-it is always carefully arranged, in any situation, though I never once saw him tie it back. Sometimes it even seems to move like an extra hand. I don't know how else to explain it."
I drew a breath, but once I had begun, I could not stop.
"He also has piercing eyes of different colors-one a soft lavender, the other a piercing gold. At first he seemed detached and inclined to ignore everything whenever possible, but after spending time with him I can say that he is very caring and often pays attention to the safety and comfort of those around him. Though it seems to me that he is constantly searching for something, because sometimes he looks upward and mutters to himself."
I unconsciously pressed my lips together.
"He has sharp features and skin as white as freshly fallen snow. He is very tall. And he has..." My voice traitorously slowed. "Broad shoulders, a lean, athletic build, without unnecessary heaviness, but with very clearly defined fighting musculature. And his chest was surprisingly soft-"
I cut myself off.
Only then did it dawn on me that I had long since stopped simply describing a person and had nearly fallen aloud into my own memories. When I lifted my gaze, I saw Seris's lips slowly curve into a smile.
"I was only curious what each of them looked like," she remarked with a teasing smile. "But if you would like to share all your feelings and hidden emotions regarding Lucius, and in particular his body, I will of course listen."
I laughed involuntarily, desperately trying not to look away, though I could feel my cheeks growing hotter and hotter. "M-my feelings? I simply thought you might be interested in the kind of person he is."
My mentor did not answer right away. She simply kept looking at me with that light smile of hers, the kind that made any attempt at justification completely pointless.
"I originally asked for information about two people," she said at last. "And primarily about Gray. Yet you almost immediately launched into reflections on Lucius's body, completely forgetting the second."
I tried to exhale slowly, puffed out my cheeks, and ran a hand through my hair to cover my ears, which I was certain had already turned traitorously red.
"I don't know what I did to deserve this kind of teasing, Scythe Seris. ...As for Gray, he is also quite tall, leaner, with skin the color of milk, perhaps just slightly more human in tone. He has light wheat-colored hair and piercing golden eyes. Unlike Lucius, Gray is colder and overly cautious, though he unquestionably trusts Lucius, and they seem to communicate through thoughts somehow, because sometimes they would say nothing at all, and then suddenly they would have a plan."
The pearl-haired Vritra let out a melodic laugh, a sound very few ever had the privilege of hearing, and then raised a hand in reassurance. "You will find very few who could rival you in intelligence or magical talent, Caera," she said. "So I am inclined to trust your observations. And perhaps we truly may be able to help your mysterious lover and his friend..."
"He is not my lover," I muttered, but my heart was pounding wildly in my chest. If there was anyone capable of helping Lucius and Gray slip free of Blood Granbehl and crush this whole legal farce with a flick of her fingers, it was Scythe Seris. She could end all of it with a snap.
"But this mysterious Ascender... 'Gray' sounds very much like..." My mentor's piercing eyes suddenly widened, and a knowing smile bloomed across her flawless face. "So you truly did not die... but who is the second one beside you?"