"Master." The ethereal wolf bowed her head while appearing before Paman, being summoned by a thought of hers.

"Send a message out to them to eliminate Elder Kith. His current name is Cael; here is his soul signature." With a wave of her hand, a wisp of energy flew out from her body, merging into the wolf. She was standing before her window, looking out while holding her hands behind her back, not even turning towards her subordinate.

"Did he betray the sect?" She asked in all seriousness, as killing one of their own was not something that would be lightly ordered. The old wolf even thought that the original soul was influencing her Master, still fighting for control... but there was no proof of it.

"He did. Now... make sure he is eliminated cleanly; I don't want to cause trouble and lose the others. The news they are sending back is already troubling, and I will have to make a move sooner than I wanted!"

"Is this Kith failing to produce any results or...?" She pressed on, not wanting Paman to divert the topic, but it only made her raise her voice.

"Yes. He is refusing to comply!" She sneered, momentarily glancing back over her shoulders. "Stop questioning my decisions."

"I see. Are you planning to head back? Are you in control fully already?"

"I am."

"I don't think so."

"Say again?" Panam snorted, turning around and looking at the wolf, but she didn't back down, continuing to look at her without any emotion.

"You are acting unlike yourself. In my eyes, you are failing to assimilate this body's soul, and it has become a stalemate. You may be in control now, but there are too many cracks to risk a return to HER family. The stimulus your soul would receive could tip the scale of fighting for dominance to HER side. If I'm right, you are compromising our Sect."

"You like to act as if you know everything, don't you? I understand that I trusted the control of our home to you, but don't think you are leading it, Camyu!"

The mention of the ancient name of the wolf made her expression change for the first time, and it forced her to transform into the figure of a young girl with wolf-like ears and tail.

"Don't invoke my name, Mother. You don't have the right for it."

"I do. And don't ever question me again! The last time you did, you ended up without a body, and if not for my efforts, you would have been consumed by that old bastard, Lumamon!"

"I say what I say because you refuse to face it... Mother. You also took the oath... The Sect comes before all!"

"Just do what I told you to..." Paman groaned through gritted teeth, turning back towards the window as the figure of a girl returned to her wolf form and disappeared from view.

"Hah! That's your daughter? And you are handling her like this? What a good mother!"

"What do you know? Hmph!"

"Actually? Everything. I am gobbling up your memories, bitch!"

"Then you know I saved her life!"

"Yeah, keep repeating it; that doesn't make it true! You retrieved 'it' from the clutches of the Soulbound's Master, but only because you didn't want him to learn your secrets! You did not do it because she was your daughter! You can't lie to me; I know everything you do!"

"Same... and I will go back and play along with your family, slowly turning them into my puppets! You just watch... I will make sure that you watch it happen..."

"Hah! Good luck with that!" Reyra laughed mockingly, provoking her, wanting nothing more to urge her to go back. Then, she would have an even bigger chance to fight back. 

Camyu was right... the battle between them was a stalemate. Although Paman controlled the body, she couldn't wholly consume Reyra's consciousness. It allowed her to retain her autonomy deep within Paman's mind. Instead of total domination, they were now sharing knowledge, and while Paman was learning all about Reyra's past, she was doing the same to her. To Reyra's delight, it also contained stolen knowledge from the Soulbound Sect that she wasn't afraid of using and starting to cultivate her soul, further thwarting Paman's efforts to eliminate her. 

...

....

.....

"Any news?" Lia asked with a soft voice while talking with Aurora through her bracelet. 

"Nothing..." Hajna quickly projected Aurora's handwriting in the air for Lia to read, "We only found some indirect clues. We know that she fought someone strong; the evidence is there, but then she was gone. As if the earth swallowed her up."

"Could it be because of what happened to the Realm?"

"We think so. We are all splitting up right now, heading towards different, previously noted sub-realms to try to force open and enter them to search there. We know it is risky, but this is our best option, so don't be surprised if you can't contact us for a little while."

"I see... Be careful, okay?"

"Don't worry, we will find her!" Echoed Sion's voice from the background, "I have a good feeling in my guts!"

"I am counting on you!" She chuckled in response before talking a little more with the duo.

"Something is happening." Hajna appeared just after Lia cut the connection and was about to leave her office for the day.

"Oh? Where?"

"I couldn't pinpoint it, but my spread-out consciousness picked up a fluctuation. Some orders were conveyed to someone wearing an Academy bracelet. It came through the soul..."

"That's enough of a warning! Notify Cael and keep a close eye on him. Inform me of the slightest changes and suspicions, no matter the time!"

"Understood!" Hajna bowed before disappearing, leaving Lia there with glowing, excited eyes.

...

....

.....

"Haaah..."

"Why sigh? I'm not boring!" An angry shout echoed right next to Cael's ear, followed by laughter after seeing him wince from the strength of her voice.

"You are annoying." He continued, trying to read his book in the park while Melody constantly nagged her, blabbering on about nonsensical ideas. Somehow, the faery leader found it interesting to pester him repeatedly in the past few weeks. "Why are you targeting me? You should have already been called back, no?"

"I was! I just like you!" She grinned, climbing into his lap and deliberately slapping the book out of his hands. "Stop reading. It is boooooring! Let's go and play! We can prank your friends! Let's make it as if you are possessed and... and piss on their beds!"

"No," Cael answered in a usual, matter-of-fact kind of voice, picking her up by the scruffs and simply flinging her away.

"Booooo!" Melody harrumphed, landing on her feet, and aimed a spell at Cael's back, but the boy dodged the invisible ray without looking. "You are PooPieHead!" 

"A what?" He stopped in place, almost laughing out at her words, which, of course, didn't escape Melody's eyes.

"Hah! My win!"

"We weren't playing."

"You reacted! I won! Bleh!" She stomped in triumph, sticking her tongue out. "I am still unbeaten! The others can't even make you bother; only I am good enough to get results! That is why I am the best faery!"

"What other-" Then he stopped. "This is why I have been accused of stealing a girl's panties last weekend?"

"Duh!" She moaned, rolling her eyes, watching Cael as if he had said something oblivious. "I told them it was a waste of time, and I was right! You dealt with it quickly, finding it and handing it back before everyone else! Hmph! Good! Now they think you are a weirdo, and we can't go that route to prank you anymore!"

"Wait, are you praising me now? I don't get it."

"Another win! See? I am the bestest!" She laughed like some villain from a kid's story, placing her hands on her hips. "Only I am good enough to make you react; that is why I am the bestest of the besties!"

"What the hell are you on about?" Asked a third voice belonging to Lia, who appeared right behind Melody, knocking on her head.

"Bossy-boss! Why?!" She groaned, sniffing, holding the growing bump, but Lia was not giving in to the puppy eyes as she knew full well Melody would do anything to get a reaction out of her.

"Melody and Cael, sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, oh, tee-hee!" 

This time, a handful of other faeries appeared out of nowhere, previously watching from the trees while being invisible. With Lia present, they no longer feared Melody, starting to chant immediately and teasing her. 

"Youuuu!" She screamed, and a moment later, all of them were gone, running away from Melody while she chased after them, causing chaos in the gardens. 

"Damned troublemakers..."

"There is nothing to report yet," Cael answered calmly, no longer minding the faeries, switching topics at once.

"I didn't come because of that. Here!" 

"Hm? Is this..." 

"It is what helped me when I was starting out. Read my notes that I scribbled inside of the books if you want to know my thoughts back then!"

Cael couldn't help but be surprised. He hurriedly looked up at her, but she was already walking away after giving him the strange red and blue book. After opening it and seeing the text within, he couldn't help but let shock replace his surprise. 

"Fire of Noon, Ice of Midnight... no way!"

What Lia and not even Cici knew was that the book was not just some ancient relic. It was written by the very soul who established the Golden Claw Sect multiple eons ago. It was a book that was the cornerstone of their Sect and was lost later on, leaving behind only incomplete copies. Flipping it repeatedly, forgetting himself in reading, Cael's shock didn't subside but instead began to grow as the hours passed by him. This book was clearly the complete version... Was it the original? He didn't think so, but even then, it was the founding block from where the Golden Claw rose up to power.

Every teaching they had was derived from this book. The first and only legendary text from their Founder's pen. By the time he joined their Sect, the Founder's name was lost to time, and only his legends circulated among members of the Sect, mentioning him as the pioneer and the first person to ever come up with the idea of combining the elements in an ancient time. An idea that ultimately also killed him.

"Could she be?" Cael murmured, finally managing to close the book and looking towards Lia's tower. "What if..." But he couldn't help to bring himself to think like that. Shaking his body, clutching the book to his chest, he began trekking back towards his dormitory. After checking the time, he had to shrug as it was already past dinner time, and he couldn't get anything in the cafeteria anymore. "Let me check those machines then!"

In his time, there was nothing like that, and he couldn't help but admire the advancement in magic that popped up all around the continent since the Sects disappeared. Be it the much more advanced ships, the weird machines, or the bracelets. Things that were never available in his time or were considered luxurious artifacts were only available for leaders of factions. 

"Was our presence blocking progress? Did we stop ourselves from advancing further?"

As he was choosing a sandwich, he couldn't help but ask himself. Still, there was nobody to answer him, only the light beaming at him from a machine at the edge of his dormitory building. He almost leaned down to take away his order when he was forcefully jerked out of his thoughts.

His reflexes made him drop the book and food, leaning towards the left and dodging an incoming metallic fist that smashed the vending machine into pieces, resulting in an explosion. From the billowing, black smoke, Cael appeared, backing off, surrounding his body with fire, exchanging quick, hand-to-hand combat moves with his assassin, who was wearing nothing but black clothes, trying to cover his identity. None of them said anything, as it was futile. The order had been given, and Ceal was adamant about betraying the Golden Claw while his old comrade was doing everything in his power to kill him as fast as possible. 

"...!"

The moment Cael saw the assailant reach into his pocket and pull a pill out, he knew it was trouble. Their fight had been going on for almost half a minute, and time was ticking. If he didn't kill Cael quickly enough, he would be captured. It was time to go all out.

"Thank you very much!" A voice arrived, blown over by a strong gust of wind, and between the two of them blinking their eyes, Lia was already standing between them, grabbing the pill from the assassin's hands. "Now, sleep!" She smiled and, with a precise tap on his forehead, she froze the man into place, encasing him into a block of ice without killing him. 

"Ma- Headmaster!" Cael gasped for air, feeling ashamed as no matter his experience, his current powers were only at the 2nd Tier.

"Any other?" She asked, but it was not Cael to whom Lia directed her question.

"There was a backup." Lucian's reply came as he floated down from the sky, carrying another unconscious figure. 

"Good catch~!" She giggled, nodding towards Cael, "You come with us too! It is time I get some real answers!"