Kaisel looked at the fireplace, sitting on a comfy chair, he was lost while reading a very old book left behind by the Ulaspas Family, he was attentively reading the book and only made a movement to turn the page of the book. When he was finished, he slammed the books shut with force and then threw the damn thing into the fireplace.

‘This is not it. This cannot be it.’ He thought.

It had been weeks since he found this place, this place a treasure trove for people who were low-ranking awakened ones. But for him, this was all the garbage. He looked around the room, there were tons of books and artifacts in this place left behind by the ancestors of the Ulaspas Family, but there was nothing that he could use.

Franc Ulaspas’s journal brought him here, that book promised him a trunk full of research by the late Mage, but instead, he got useless theories and magic which aren't worth anything to him, from the selections of the book in this place, he couldnt help but feel that this was a very big waste of time, he was upset, he taken a lot of risks to come to this island, if he had known what he would find here, he wouldn't have come here.

From his storage ring, he took the journal once again, and read the lines written by Franc Ulaspas…

'My inheritance, my magic, my life's work, I have left it all in that place, my home, the only place where I was accepted. Underneath the Rose, I left it all. If someone can find it, they can have it all.'

The lines left behind by the great mage sounded so magnificent, he thought that the Mage was talking about the research that he had done that led him to create Vampas and the red crystals, but it seemed he was wrong, this place doesn't have anything remotely related to Vampas.

As he stood there, looking at the pile of crap before him, he couldnt help but think to lit everything on fire, this place reminded him that everything that he did till now was futile, and he wanted to burn the place to the ground.

‘No. This couldnt be it. The inheritance left behind by Franc Ulaspas must be here. This place is perfect, no one from the Joint Mage Association knows about this place, this is the only place in the world that used to have a Rose Garden and a Rose picture. I just cannot figure out where to look. Franc must have left something here

He then looked behind, just above the fireplace’s mantle was the portrait of the man himself. With Long curly hair, a long mustache that goes up to the cheeks, with long pointy nose, and pitch black, Franc Ulaspas looked down on him. Even the JMA didnt have the portrait of the man with them, he had the feeling the place where he would either find inheritance or find a clue to the inheritance.

He looked at the portrait with great interest, he then delved into the idea that he should start thinking like a great mage, maybe then he would be able to uncover any secret left behind by the man…

The portrait consisted of Franc Ulaspas sitting on a chair, drinking Rose Wine, a specialty of the Ulaspas Family, a drink so red and so thick, that it resembled thickened blood. There was none in this place, but the books described it as the best wine in the world. Behind Franc was the same fireplace and mantle where he was standing.

He stood there for some time, wrecking his brain, but nothing came to his mind. Ultimately he couldnt think of anything, so he then turned around to go on a walk, maybe that would have helped him think clearly. But it was then he stopped midway, frantically he turned around and ran towards the portrait, he took a huge art piece out and place it in front of the fire, to get a better look.

At first, he couldnt believe his eyes, but now as he was seeing the portrait in front of the fire, there was no doubt about it. In the picture, just above the mantle were two vases by the sides, a crystal rose, and a small cube-like structure, kept in the middle.

The painter was not able to draw every minute detail about the cube, but they managed to paint one crucial detail, the cube in question looked like it was made of 9 small cubes, lined one on another, and he recognized the thing straight away. He had seen it in the traitor’s house, that was the same cube that he left behind by that dying man’s side…

***

BAAM

Opening the gate suddenly, startled all the girls, they were all currently working the Pig Pen, Gizelle was tending the eggs, while Sara and Patrica were cleaning the Vampas with water and brush when he barged in, startling every one of them.

“Is something wrong Kaisel?” Patrica was the one to ask.

He nodded his head. “What are you guys doing?” he asked in such an emotionless tone that everyone knew that he was pissed for some reason, and they didnt know why. Still Patrica, the current leader of ladies, in the absence of Gloria, stepped up.

“We were doing our chores. Sara and I are cleaning the Vampas, while Gizelle is tending to the eggs, she is far away from the beasts as you have instructed.”

He nodded his head, but his eyes told them that he was not satisfied with the answer. “I have a very… very very very very very important task. I want to know, which one of you could handle the task?”

They all looked at each other, from his phrasing it was enough for them to understand that this was a very important task, they could not screw it up. “What is it?” this time Sara asked, she knew that she fucked up when she handed over the duties of Vampas to Gizelle, she knew that big boob bitch was strong enough to handle the beast, yet she gave her the task, maybe with this task she could make it up for the mistake.

“I want to hunt something down. But let me warn you, this task is very important for me, no kind of incompetence would be tolerated.” She meekly nodded.

Patrica then weighed in. “Kaisel, would this task take time? Because I dont think that Gizelle and I would be enough to handle all the Vampas, on our own.”

He looked down, trying to figure out what to do. In this situation there was only one thing that he could do, correction, there was only one thing that he should do, it would be difficult, but he couldnt let that cube slip out of his hand. “Wake up Gloria. It's time for her to come back to the field.”

***

Adui didnt know what hurt more, his red cheeks which were still red because of the slap from Clair, or the fact the love of his life was crying in front of him, for another man. It was hurtful to see her cry, but he had to talk to her about leaving, there was no other way left…

Clair wiped tears from her cheeks. “How shameless are you Adui? You are telling me that I have to go pack my bags and accompany you off the island, just a few days after my husband's disappearance?”

“He is dead Clair” he knew it, she also knew it. No one vanishes for a month like that, especially not people like Jarad. But Clair was not having it, she instantly raised her hands once again and slapped him on his other cheek.

“How dare you say that?” she raised her voice. “He is not dead. I know it. He is alive, I know it in my heart!”

He could sigh her naiveness. “Your heart is telling you a lie. I am telling you the truth.”

“I will not come with you Adui. No matter what you say. Even if my husband is dead, this island had been my home since I can remember. I am not going to abandon it, and follow you!”

He then grabbed her shoulder, but she shook his hands off. Still, he continued. “Clair believes me, there is no way around this. We need to leave the island, as soon as possible.”

“Who says so? Yeah, the cold is very odd, but there is nothing wrong with this place.”

He looked at her while winching his eyes, it seems that she had lost most rationality since she had lost Jarad, so there was no merit in explaining here further. He then looked towards his right, he could see two little heads peeking from the side of the door.

‘I cannot leave her here. Not when I know that things are only going to get worse from here.’

He gulped some saliva. “Clair, dont do this. I cannot leave you behind. I just cannot. Come with me. When everything is over, I promise that we will return. Then you can go look for Jarad.”

She was enraged. “How dare you say that! I am not leaving Adui, end of the story.”

He was also fed up with her, he also raised his voice. “So what you are gonna do? Stay here? You will die of cold, if you dont, then you will die if those monsters come near you, hell, because of your stubbornness you are robbing your children of the chance to live. They could grow up normally, but you are robbing them of that opportunity.”

It is then Clair had enough, she widened her eyes with anger, then pointed her finger towards the door “GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!”

He shook his head with disappointment, with crutches in his hands, he limped his way to the door, as he opened it, he turned towards her once again, speaking calmly. “I am sorry, I truly am. But there was nothing I can do here. I cannot let you die here in this place.”

She was confused by his words, but it is he moved aside and four men with well-built physiques barged inside the house, and he didnt stop them. Thinking worse, she turned to run away, but before he could run any further, one of the men grabbed her and made her smell something that made her unconscious.

He then limped his way towards the girls, they were easy to manipulate, so the girls followed him out. After they had gathered everyone, the mercs shoved unconscious Clair in a carriage, while he took her girls inside his personal carriage, and then in the dead of night, they all left the Gorgon city forever.