The day slipped by in a blur of color and life. Before they realized it, the sun had begun to sink, stretching long shadows across the ground as they rode into a forest where the canopy swallowed the light.
"We are close," Selyndra said, taking the lead.
Deep within the woods, the air thickened—dark, heavy, and pulsing with a deliberate shimmer.
"Do you all feel that?" Eiden asked, pulling his horse to a halt.
"Aura," Iris said, dismounting. "Someone is releasing an aura field on purpose."
The others followed suit. Selyndra raised a hand glowing with a control spell, sending the horses galloping away into the trees.
"Everyone hush," Eiden commanded. He unclipped his grimoire, opening it to pages that were visibly alive. Vaelus leaned over his shoulder and recoiled. "What the serious fuck is going on!"
Iris and Selyndra crowded around. The pages were a shifting chaos—spells rewriting themselves, text rearranging, and symbols morphing every second.
"I recreated it using Creation Magic," Eiden explained, snatching the book back. "I wanted my Infinite Grimoire to live up to its name. One section holds every spell in existence; the other holds all knowledge—languages, living things, everything. It is constantly generating and gathering. Since my soul is bound to it, the knowledge is automatically implanted into my mind."
"You're insanely powerful right now," Vaelus muttered, half-terrified.
Selyndra looked at Eiden. "We're all suppressing our mana, but whoever is doing this won't be intimidated by us. You, however... your aura is on Civilar's level. Release it."
Eiden complied. In an instant, the forest became suffocating, thick with a bloodlust that belied his calm face. The ground hummed.
A figure stepped from behind a tree, draped in a grey robe and hood. As they appeared, their own aura vanished. "Eiden the Divinity…" the figure said, his voice smooth and familiar. "Your mana... it is stronger than mine."
The figure threw back his hood to reveal a young man with twitching feline ears and a swaying tail. Dravien. Before anyone could react, he bolted forward and slammed into Eiden with a crushing hug, spinning him around. "It's been a long time!"
"It has indeed, Dravien," Eiden said with a soft smirk.
Dravien giggled, ruffling his own black hair. "Morvath told me to stay out here. I was bored in the mansion. Come on—and Eiden, please suppress that mana. I thought you were Civilar for a second."
They followed Dravien as he weaved through the trees, humming a cheerful melody. Dravien glanced back, his blue eyes sharp. "You have all three blades now. They're equal in intensity. Same pressure as your mana field... interesting. You've gotten a lot stronger."
"I have," Eiden said. "But I still do not have the Grimoire of Divinark."
"So you really want to be a literal god," Dravien mused.
They reached the edge of a high cliff overlooking a vast field. "And here we are!" Dravien sang.
"This isn't where the mansion is!" Selyndra snapped, smacking the back of Dravien's head.
"Owww! Eiden, use a visual technique to see through barriers," Dravien whined.
Eiden focused. The air shimmered, and his eyes widened. He stepped forward—right off the edge of the cliff.
"HEY!" Vaelus screamed, bolting toward the edge, only to see Eiden hadn't fallen. He had passed through an invisible veil. Below them sat a massive white mansion, hidden in a peaceful, concealed domain.
One by one, they stepped through the barrier. Dravien led them to the towering white doors and pushed them open. "They're here!!!!"
"EEE!" A shrill screech echoed from the floor above. Seraphaine thundered down the stairs, her curly brown hair bouncing, before crashing into Eiden. "You're back!" she cried, her hazel eyes shimmering with joy. She pulled back to hug Selyndra next, vibrating with excitement.
Heavier footsteps followed. Morvath descended—tall, muscular, and shirtless, with two fang-shaped swords at his waist. He walked with a predatory confidence that made the air feel dense.
"Well, well," Morvath smirked. "If it isn't the First Divinity. Man, come here!" He pulled Eiden into a high, crushing hug. "You've got a new... everything on you. Let's go to the living room."
They followed him into a massive hall centered by a crescent-moon couch under a crystal branch chandelier. As the six of them settled in, the silence of the room held a newfound weight.
For the first time in nineteen years, the Seven Great Sages were reunited.