Cecilia wore a wide sleeve robe and a leather belt pouches around her waist. She walked out of the room, and saw Mavin staring at the flat of his black-iron blade. Once again she thought it was the right choice to stay neutral towards him. He could sneak in the clock tower. He knew the passwords and symbols of the clock tower as if it was natural for him to know. Where he got the information was irrelevant.

She walked towards him while holding onto her arm conduit. It was similar to what the Nullers used, but instead of a pointlessly long staff. She preferred a gauntlet. Mavin’s eyes were pointed to her. His eyes scanned her from bottom to top before he let the hilt of his sword dangle on his hip again. “You got everything?” he said to her. Cecilia nodded her head and walked up to him.

“You don’t mind if we don’t go out the door?”

“I don’t.”

Mavin grabbed hold of her hips and made a running start before taking a leap outside of the window. His foot landed on the wall flat and like a feather, he calmly landed on the shingles of a roof. Then he switched the way he was holding Cecilia and carried her down with two arms before landing on the brick road down below. It reminded her of a time that had long passed. For a moment Cecilia thought of her childhood. She hated the idea of such memories.

“We’re here,” Mavin said. He let Cecilia stand. His face barely changed. Not a single sweat on his face. He got out of the alley. She followed behind while wondering if anyone saw it.

“No one will know. And if you had preferred to walk down. I’m sure your clock tower would have tagged me and alerted every damn Magi here in existence. The tomb should be in the Northern Tomb, the Fordlaka Ruins.”

Cecilia was no longer surprised. She followed him to where a motorcycle was parked. How he had a motorcycle was not really a concern when his wife and he were one of the richest people in the known continent. Cecilia found it utterly annoying for some reason.

He twisted the key on his motorcycle and started the engine by pedaling it. He mounted his motorcycle and gestured for Cecilia to mount up. Cecilia mounted up and gripped her thighs on the seat.

The motorcycle entered the street. She looked around and saw no one following or observing them. The motorcycle hit a bump, she had to lean forward, and grabbed on to him.

“Don’t splatter your head on the floor, please.”

“I won’t. I’m not entirely human, remember? Falling on a motorcycle won’t just kill me.”

“I’m not talking about you dying.” He paused

“If you are talking about falling down, hitting your head,” Mavin said. “Then please try not to. Having one of the Masters injured because of me would be quite troublesome.”

“This is coming from the man who threatened us all.”

Mavin didn’t answer. He sped through the streets of the city, entering the main roads.

The city of Haymouth took time to navigate. The maze-like roads were carefully planned by the government, making sure that the roads were efficient. She had seen how these roads changed. She had seen how the workers toiled and yet the night view of the city never ceased to amaze her.

It was quiet. He didn’t speak much. She thought that the young man that fawned over her and wanted to marry her back then was gone. It was replaced by a long-lived man who she felt was only warm to only a few people. Back then he was willing to marry her. Back then his smile belonged to her. 

“When did you learn of the sparks?”

“Before the incident.”

“You should have told me.”

“Will that change things?”

Cecilia went quiet. “I think so. I won’t deny that it will.  I might have done something foolish like give up on my dreams and spend the short time. But when you threw me away. When you gave up on me and took whatever path you took.”

“I didn’t give up on you.”

“Yes, you did.”

“I wanted you to live. But it seems like that was something you could do on your own. The problem with me was that I couldn’t see. That you had the sparks lingering on you. You were secretive and you, who thought that you couldn’t accept that I was not long-lived, decided to let go as well.”

Cecilia held no regrets on what she did. But if she had known that he could live this long as well. No, it didn’t matter. The time had passed and their paths had split the moment they gave up on one another.

“I sure did. Still, despite it all, I only have a few who still live on. You are one of them, and for what it’s worth. It’s good that you are still alive.”

Mavin didn’t reply. He stopped the motorcycle and watched the street sign on the corner before continuing on. There was little traffic to be found and although there are parts of the city that bustled with activity. Cecilia came to notice how only a few were able to take note of them. She was wearing robes that were distinct from the rest of the clothing of the modernizing world. She felt that this was perhaps Mavin’s doing. It was a strange effect that passively surrounds him. He controls it unconsciously and there are times where she felt like he was missing. The night would sometimes cover him and yet despite the loud motorcycle engine. They had been slipping through slightly crowded roads and even crowds. It was then that she realized that he was avoiding most of the magical wards of the city.

I guess I was living in my head too much to notice until now, she said to herself.

The motorcycle finally entered a gated and corralled district. He parked the motorcycle on the side and scanned his eyes. His motions were practiced. They started walking to the entrance of the tunnel leading to the vault. His steps were light. She was making most of the noises.

The tunnel was guarded. The guard in-charge of the tunnel spotted and before he could make a sound to greet Cecilia. He was put to sleep by a quick blow from Mavin. He was lifted to the side so casually.

“You didn’t have to do that. It’s not like they spotted you.”

“I’m just making sure.”

Cecilia crossed her arms, as if protesting. Mavin snorted and searched the guard until he took out a spark-filled keystone. He sauntered to the gateway where the magitech controlled entrance was located. Mavin inserted the keystone, and gestured Cecilia to speak the words and touch the stone on the side.

She spoke the words that contained power. And then touched the stone. The stone made a red, blue, and yellow light before it filled the keystone. The entrance leading to the vault and tunnel moved, making loud dragging noises.

Mavin was not around her by the time she noticed. He was in the interior of the tunnels. Cecilia felt awful, but she took her time to enter the tunnels. Once she entered the tunnels most of the personnel guarding the tunnels leading to the interior were knocked out and placed on the side where they would have to struggle for a bit to get out. They weren’t injured. None of them were and that was good enough for her.

“Are these all of them?”

“Yes, Minerva really stood no chance.”

Mavin stride to the last part of the tunnel. The lighting changed and there was this humming-like sound that seemed to be blowing somewhere on the left of their position.

It took a minute before they finally saw the vault that was guarded with strange symbols and ancient markings. Mavin wordlessly pointed at the panel on the right of the vault door. Cecilia snorted, she sidled to the panel, pressed her palm, and then wrote a symbol on the same panel.

There was a pulsing sound that came. It spread this line of light that seemed to have scanned the interior of the room in all directions. Cecilia stood still while Mavin, who sensed it, quickly drew his black-iron blade and slashed through an orb that was trying to identify him.

The orb fell and split into two. Cecilia frowned at that sight. “That was one of the most expensive orbs that we have conjured for this facility. A shame.”

The vault doors started to open. And before Cecilia was the entrance to the sphere of merez, one of the most powerful artifacts that had created an entire new biome.

It was a masterpiece, and one of the many artifacts of creation. Why this man needed this artifact and Kismet's artifact made her wary. Nonetheless, she was to make sure that he doesn’t threaten the sparks again.