"Hey… Cid-kun," Gabriel called out. "Aren't you thirsty? You've been using Mana for three hours straight since you got that."
"Three hours?" Cid asked without turning around. "If I stop now, the rhythm breaks."
"Hoo…?" Gabriel murmured, nodding in understanding—he'd been in Cid's position before. "In that case… want to drink through a straw? I've been thinking about making a Slime Straw lately."
Cid finally halted his Mana flow for a moment—not from fatigue, but because the word straw felt oddly disruptive to his train of thought.
"A straw?" he repeated flatly. "Why a straw."
Gabriel lifted his cup slightly. From the Void Ring, Slime flowed out at once, forming a white straw that curved gently, like a living organ.
"Efficiency," he replied casually. "If your hands are busy, your mouth can still work. Mana keeps flowing, the body stays hydrated."
Cid fell silent for a moment, staring at the straw.
"…That actually makes sense," he muttered at last.
Morgan, perched on Gabriel's shoulder, narrowed her eyes.
"You just agreed to a stupid idea."
Cid turned halfway, his eyes assessing the straw as if it were an ancient artifact. "That tube… is it alive?"
Gabriel shrugged. "No way it's alive. But even if it were… I've already merged its consciousness into my pale mist."
Cid nodded slowly. "Good. If it had awareness, it wouldn't be efficient."
Morgan snorted softly. "Both of you are sick."
Gabriel chuckled, then extended the cup with the straw toward Cid. "Just try it. If it doesn't suit you, I'll cut off the flow."
Cid accepted it without hesitation. He put the straw to his mouth—and continued channeling Mana toward the elf, as if multitasking like this were perfectly normal.
A few seconds passed.
"…Hm," he murmured. "It doesn't disrupt my concentration."
"See?" Gabriel said with satisfaction. "I thought of this during long training sessions. The body is a machine. You just need to find a way to keep it from stopping."
Cid glanced briefly at Gabriel. "You train that intensely often?"
Gabriel smiled faintly. "I've often been at the point where stopping wasn't an option."
Cid turned back toward the mass of flesh. "In that case, continue developing the tube. A version that can connect directly to a water pouch."
"Already thought of it," Gabriel replied casually. "The next version uses a Mana pressure valve. That way it can be used for diving too…"
"Oh… that sounds interesting," Cid murmured.
Morgan finally closed her eyes, folding her arms. "This world is only safe because the two of you are too lazy to completely dominate it."
Cid and Gabriel answered almost simultaneously, without looking at each other—
"Too much trouble,"
"Not the time yet,"
And amid that absurd exchange, fate continued to move—exactly as Gabriel intended.
Eventually, night shifted into morning. Cid decided his training was enough for now.
Not entirely because his body demanded rest, but also as a matter of role-play—so his family wouldn't start wondering why he had suddenly vanished from his room.
Gabriel needed to return as well, but he chose to stay just a little longer.
"Cid-kun, you go on ahead," Gabriel said softly. "I'll catch up later."
Cid paused for a moment, aware that Gabriel was almost certainly planning something. There was a faint urge to stay and see what he would do, but curiosity lost to practical logic.
Morgan, seated gracefully on Gabriel's shoulder, looked at him with quiet questioning.
"Alright," Cid said at last. "I'll head back first."
He walked away, his steps steady, while Gabriel watched him from behind. Once Cid was far enough, Gabriel turned around and fixed his gaze on the pile of rotting flesh that had served as a training tool.
Now, to him, it was no longer mere meat. It was its true existence—the long-haired blond elf.
Gabriel knelt before it, the precision of his movements reflecting strict discipline.
"Hey," Morgan spoke softly from his shoulder. "What are you planning to do to that thing?"
Gabriel gave a faint smile, still offering no answer. He knew that, soon enough, Morgan would understand without any explanation.
With complete calm, Gabriel reached out and touched the flesh, beginning to pour his Mana into it. The flow of energy was exquisitely precise, soothing the pain being endured by the blond elf.
"Hey… blond elf," Gabriel said at last, his voice calm yet firm. "Can you feel it? Does it feel comfortable there?"
The elf looked confused, staring at Gabriel, unable to find words.
"Huh? You can see me?" she murmured. "No… wait… I don't feel any pain…"
Gabriel tilted his head slightly, his bangs shading his eyes. His voice dropped, as if he were speaking to himself—yet it was clear enough for her to hear.
"I can see you," he said. "Through these eyes, I can perceive the truth of all things—existence, intent, even your suffering."
"I can see you as you are meant to be," Gabriel continued, "not merely the form that appears on the surface."
The elf swallowed, her eyes trembling with tears, caught between confusion and fear.
"Don't be afraid," Gabriel said softly. "And… rest assured. You will be healed. Not by my hand—but by my brother's."
Silence filled the room.
The elf lowered her head.
"Is that… really true?" she asked in a shaking voice. "Can I truly be cured of this possession…?"
Gabriel nodded once, murmuring softly, "Yes. You will be healed."
He drew a slow breath, continuing to channel his Mana with absolute precision, keeping every emotion carefully sealed behind his expression.
In truth, Gabriel did not need to say those words—the elf would be healed by Cid eventually, albeit by accident.
But Gabriel, who had once known what it meant to live under neglect and abandonment, understood all too well how deeply fear and despair could take root.
And with Gigan, he could see everything—the memories of another's past, their suffering, and their fragile hopes alike.
On Gabriel's shoulder, Morgan frowned slightly. "So… you can see all of their existences?"
Gabriel glanced briefly toward her, his bangs still obscuring part of his face, and nodded faintly.
"Yes. I see everything—life, intent, even the wounds hidden beneath their outward forms. All of it is real… even if not everyone is aware of it."
Morgan swallowed, her eyes widening just a little, clearly both captivated and shaken.
It was only natural for her to react that way.
To Morgan, those eyes were far more astonishing than Fairy Eyes—which could discern truth from lies—or even the clairvoyance of high-ranking mages.
Because what Gabriel possessed was not merely "sight."
It was vision that pierced existence itself.
Those eyes could lay bare intentions not yet spoken, the true forms hidden by the world, and even pasts unknown to their very owners.
Without spells.
Without contracts.
To a fairy queen who lived amid illusions and layered truths, such a power was something humans were never meant to possess.
And yet, for some reason, Morgan felt that Gabriel still had not explained the full extent of those eyes.
But that was fine.
It was intriguing.
Sooner or later, Morgan would come to understand everything.
Whether Gabriel chose to explain it himself—or whether she uncovered it through observation alone.
On the other side, Gabriel lowered his head briefly toward the mass of flesh, then gently covered it with a tattered cloth lying nearby.
"Rest for now, little elf," Gabriel said, his voice calm, almost devoid of emotion. "Later, when your time comes… everything will become clear."
Morgan tilted her head, still watching Gabriel with a questioning gaze, but she remained silent, choosing to wait.
With that, Gabriel stood up, cast one last look at the elf, and turned away, leaving the warehouse with quiet, measured steps.
***
Five months had passed since the recovery of the blond elf—an event that occurred in the first month and was later given the code name Alpha by Cid.
The early formation of the Shadow Garden organization, as well as the revelations regarding the Three Heroes, possession, and the Diablo Cult—conveyed by Gabriel—were, in Cid's eyes, nothing more than background lore.
During that time, Alpha trained in swordsmanship under Cid, while her mana control was honed by Gabriel.
And eventually, within three months, the remaining six members of the Seven Shades were successfully gathered.
This afternoon, Gabriel stood in an open forest clearing. He looked relaxed after throwing a wooden stick to a distance of roughly one and a half kilometers.
In other words—Gabriel was playing stick-throwing with Delta.
The problem was, Gabriel himself had no idea where the stick had landed.
Not far from him, beneath a large tree, sat a dark-blue-haired elf with a small, charming beauty mark beneath her lip. She held a notebook in her hands, her expression calm and composed.
That elf was none other than Gamma.
Gamma and Delta were with Gabriel today because the other five members of the Seven Shades were training with Cid elsewhere.
As for those two…
Simply put—it wasn't their area of expertise.
"It's been five minutes," Gabriel muttered while gazing across the distant savanna.
"Delta didn't get lost, did she?"
A few seconds later, he caught movement in the distance.
A figure was sprinting at full speed, each step kicking dust into the air.
It was Delta—a wolf therianthrope with long black hair, wolf ears and tail, and purple eyes with slit pupils—charging straight toward them without hesitation.
At full speed.
"Second Boss—!!!" Delta shouted from afar.
However, Delta wasn't running while carrying the wooden stick Gabriel had thrown earlier. What she was dragging with wild enthusiasm was… a large, dead bear.
Moments later, Delta arrived. The impact of her steps sent dust and wind exploding outward, engulfing Gabriel, Gamma, and—of course—Delta's "catch."
Shwoosh—!!!
Within the cloud of dust, Gabriel immediately swung his right hand. A pale white right wing manifested in an instant, sweeping through the air and clearing their view.
___
Author's note:
How's Gabriel's story? Don't forget to Favorite, Comment, Best Review, and share all your Power Stones. Don't be shy, it's free 😉