“She’s gone for real now,” Adion said, “At least I think so.”

Adion and Sell had walked back to the outpost mostly in silence, Adion focusing on the surroundings to see if Mephina had actually left.

“Sorry,” Sell said.

“It’s fine. She was kind of fun,” Adion said. 

“Doesn’t it feel weird that she might be out there watching?” Sell asked, “It has always bothered me.”

“I guess it’s a little concerning,” Adion said, “But there’s not much to do about it. If she can escape my notice, then she will find out everything about me eventually, no matter what I do. Do you think she’s been here long?”

“From the way she was acting, I doubt it.” Sell said, “There is no way she would be able to hold herself back if she had heard the things we said. I’m guessing she came to pick me up to go to Ellia, like she said. She probably knew Astor wouldn’t be able to make me go back.”

“Mm,” Adion nodded.

Adion looked ahead and noticed that they were about to reach their inn.

We’ll probably head to our rooms and practice for the rest of the day. Astor and Mephina kind of ruined our earlier training after all.

They were almost at the inn when Adion decided he didn’t feel like spending the day like that, “Do you want to head to the Outskirts Guild for some drinks?” He asked.

“Sure, sounds fun,” Sell smiled.

The Guild building wasn’t far away, and when they entered, they noticed that the place was pretty crowded already. 

“Looks like a lot of people felt like continuing the celebration,” Sell said.

“Yeah,” Adion nodded. They took their places at a table away from most people, where the rowdiness of the place wasn’t as disturbing. Adion ordered two beers that were placed on their table almost immediately.

“I don’t think I can get used to this,” Sell said, frowning at the cheap beer before her.

“I think it’s fine,” Adion shrugged.

“You should taste Frethen wine. You won’t be able to ever go back,” Sell said.

“Then why would I try it?” Adion questioned.

“You really are a brute,” Sell muttered and took a sip of the cheap beer. Adion just smiled in response.

“Mm,” Adion nodded, “So, what’s the story about this Hesfym guy?” He had been holding himself back from asking about it the entire way back.

Sell groaned and put her head on the table, “He’s like a few hundred years old, and my family is a bunch of cowards who want to marry me off to keep him in check.”

“That’s not right,” Adion scowled, “Why would the Royal family need to keep someone in check? What makes them think he will reach the stage above Pure Soul?”

“I don’t know,” Sell sighed, lifting up her head again, “But my parents seem really worried about it. Not that I think I could stop him from making any moves if he reaches that stage. He already has three wives, after all.”

“Is that why you said you’re going to Quemer? To get away?” Adion asked,

“Yeah,” Sell nodded, “I managed to convince my parents to let me go to Cyalis before the marriage. But I will get on a ship straight after graduation. No way I’m doing things their way. If they wanted my help in fighting against the Hesfym family, I would do so in a heartbeat. But this? If they want to be cowards, they can do it on their own. I can come back once I’ve reached the Pure Soul stage and kill the bastard as thanks for raising me.”

“Mm,” Adion nodded with a smile, “That sounds like a good plan.”

Is there anything I could do? I have some Elixirs of Life I don’t really care about, but is that enough?

“What are you going to do after the Academy?” Sell asked.

Adion hesitated for a moment, “I don’t know. I never really thought about it. My only goal so far has been to get strong and go to Cyalis in time for admission. Then I would need to get revenge, but it will be a long time before I am strong enough for that.”

“Revenge? For what?” Sell asked.

I guess I might as well tell her.

Adion looked around the tavern. They were sitting far from any others. And the noise would make it hard for anyone to overhear. But this was sensitive information.

“Afraid someone will eavesdrop?” Sell asked, “I don’t think it should be a problem. We can keep our voices low just in case.”

“Hmm,” Adion thought about it, “It’s not something that should get out no matter what. It concerns a certain powerful bird, after all.”

Sell raised her eyebrows in interest, “It’s fine, tell me. Wait,” Sell then got up from her seat at the opposite side of the table and went to sit down next to Adion.

“Okay, let’s talk like this,” Sell said, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Adion.

How will I focus on telling the story like this?

Sell seemed to also notice the closeness suddenly as she looked away from Adion and picked up her glass of beer, taking several large gulps.

Adion cleared his throat and began his story, trying to just keep it to the important parts. “I grew up in the Remori clan, it’s based in a small town named after our family in the Valis Kingdom. A small 2nd-tier family clan with just my great-grandfather at the helm and his three grandchildren’s families. When I was twelve, my grandfather left with my older brother and sister to Cyalis. I was still sparkless back then and held no hope of going to Cyalis Academy. I still trained very hard, though.”

Adion continued his narration of events that led up to the day when Heavenly Light showed up, the story running longer than he had planned as he told Sell about different parts of his life back at the clan. A strong feeling of longing came over Adion as he told her about his father, his mother, brother, sister, grandfather, uncle, and every member of his family. 

It’s been a long time since I thought about all these things.

“Then one day, Heavenly Light attacked,” Adion told her, “They were more Golds than I had ever seen, and three Diamonds leading them all. They killed everyone. I saw them kill Mom and Dad before being carried off by Sami.”

“Adion,” Sell said with sympathy. Adion almost thought he saw tears forming in her eyes.

“It’s okay,” Adion smiled to comfort her. “My brother, sister, and grandpa are still alive. If I didn’t have that, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”

“That’s good,” Sell nodded, “But those evil bastards, I can’t believe an organization like theirs is running around the continent causing havoc with no one stopping them.”

“Like I said, your family probably knows what they did in Iitha at least,” Adion said, “And as for what happened in my family clan, it seems that the Valis Royal family and the Grath family, which my great aunt is a part of, has taken over control of the formation. I bet my grandpa told them about it so it wouldn’t end up in Heavenly Light's hands. Unfortunately, it looks like they might still get to it.”

“What do you mean?” Sell asked.

“I found a document,” Adion explained, “Just like I found the document where I found evidence of their attack on Iitha, there was one looking for reinforcements for an attack on the Remori manor they were preparing. I don’t know how they think they can take on a whole Kingdom, but they seem to be a lot stronger than I first imagined.”

“Ganta,” Sell said, “Have you warned them?”

“Warned who?” Adion asked.

“The Valis Royal family? Your great aunt? You didn’t send a letter with what you’d found out?” Sell asked.

“I-” Adion hesitated, “I didn’t think about that.” Adion reached down to take a few sips of his beer to hide his embarrassment.

“How…how could you not think about it?” Sell asked, flabbergasted.

“I just kind of let the matter go. I had just attacked a manor full of their members and killed a Diamond mage. I had to stay out of it and lay low for a while.” Adion explained.

“You did what?” Sell asked, shocked. “Wait, is this that robbery you have been mentioning? You have- Wait. So Eulen Derolm, it was you?”

“How do you do that?” Adion questioned, “Anyway, let’s not get sidetracked.”

“It’s a pretty important sidetrack,” Sell stressed.

“Not in the grand scheme of things,” Adion said.

“Fine, then let’s get back to that later,” Sell said, “So there is an attack coming on your old family clan, and no one knows about it?”

“Well, that’s the other thing,” Adion said, “Even if I managed to get a letter all the way there without anything happening to it. Do they really not already know? Surely I can’t be the only one on the continent to stumble upon this information? They have been recruiting like crazy, after all. And this is a large-scale operation. Surely, it’s noticed by the people in power.”

“I guess you have a point,” Sell agreed, “Then what about your family? Did you forget to send a letter to them too? Letting them you know you are alive?”

“I didn’t forget,” Adion shook his head, “I just didn’t do it.”

“Why?” Sell asked.

“Well,” Adion thought about it for a moment, “I guess I was focused on getting stronger. Everything else had to wait. If I had a chance to get word to them right after the attack, I would have. But I was stuck in the Endless Forest for over two years,”

“You were?” Sell asked.

“You’re sidetracking again,” Adion said, “I was. And I’m sure my family has already accepted the fact that I’m dead, and hopefully moved on as best as they can. Even if I somehow managed to get a letter to them, would they believe it? And if they did, they would surely head straight for me wherever I was. I don’t want to ruin their lives at the Academy like that. It might also build false hope that Mom and Dad are still alive somehow. I need to tell them that I saw them die myself so they can move on. 

“I will meet them the right way, in person and when I’m stronger. But I have been thinking lately that maybe the Outskirts aren’t all that necessary to grow in strength. It might be alright for me to head to Cyalis before admission.”

“Hm,” Sell nodded slowly, “I get it. That makes sense.”

She then looked up at Adion with a smile, “Imagine their faces when they see you, and see what you’ve managed to achieve.”

Adion smiled back, “I look forward to it. I should find a way to hit my grandpa with a plum before going there.”

“Well, you have plenty of practice,” Sell said with a slight pout.

“I guess I do,” Adion said with a grin, “Thanks.”

“Anyway,” Sell said, “How did you escape Heavenly Light? And how did you end up in the Endless Forest for so long?”

“Well,” Adion continued narrating how he was thrown down in the treasury and the strange formation located there. When he told her about waking up next to the incredible surge of space mana, Sell exclaimed in a slightly too loud voice.

“The Celestial Phoenix!” 

Adion looked around quickly to see if anyone had heard, but thankfully, everyone was engrossed in their own conversations, and the tavern was a very rowdy place.

“Mm,” Adion nodded, “I don’t know if it was reborn like the stories say or if it was simply born like any other beast. Anyway, I didn’t realize there was a Phoenix being born next to me when I arrived. I started manipulating the space mana immediately, straining my Will to the limit and eventually forming a core, even getting directly to the high Stone stage. I passed out from the effort, and I didn’t wake up until I noticed a sudden halt to the surge of space mana. That’s when I saw it. It looked almost like a small flame at first, but the fire was pitch black. Then, I could make out a clearer shape, a shape that could be nothing else than a Phoenix.

“It was like the whole world stood still when it opened its eyes to look at me. That’s where I got the idea to freeze space from, by the way. Anyway, it didn’t stay long. Only a few seconds passed before it flew away, leaving me alone to think about all I had been through.”

“Incredible,” Sell said, “Then what?”

“End of the first part,” Adion said, “Now it’s your turn.”

“What do you mean?” Sell asked.

“Well, I’ll continue telling you about me after you tell me about you,” Adion said.

“But it was so interesting!” Sell pushed.

“No way. Your turn,” Adion refused.

“Hmm, fine. What about?” Sell asked.

“Anything is fine,” Adion said.

“I have no idea what to talk about. I haven’t had such incredible experiences like you,” Sell said.

“A princess that grasped Words of Truth at 15? I doubt it,” Adion said, “But fine. Why don’t you tell me why your sister doesn’t marry this Hesfym guy? Make him King and your sister Queen. Iitha is a matriarchy as I understand it, so it should be fine, right?”

“It’s not that simple,” Sell said, “Iitha is a matriarchy because the Amyss family has been ruled by the women of the family since ancient times. But back in Evalia and in many Noble houses, just like the rest of the world, men usually carry the family name. As such, the crown princess usually marries out of love, and is advised to choose a husband from a relatively weak family with no power to take control of the Kingdom.”

“That seems…like a good idea, actually,” Adion said, “It’s their other ideas that are stupid.”

“Yeah,” Sell nodded, “The reason for me being in this situation is really unusual. The Hesfym family is growing very powerful right now, and the fear of Termeth Hesfym reaching the stage above, combined with the fact that my parents are unlikely to even reach the Pure Soul stage in their lives, has caused some panic. 

“My sister was born with an ice spark. It is very rare and seen as very powerful. She is also very talented. If she is allowed to grow, the family believes we won’t have to fear the Hesfym family anymore. That’s why they want to marry me off, as a safety measure. And to buy time for Rell to grow strong.”

“They really are cowards,” Adion said, “Why wouldn’t they just grow strong themselves? Giving up on reaching the Pure Soul stage and abandoning their daughter, I just don’t get it.”

“Haha!” Sell laughed, “That’s the King and Queen you’re talking about, you know.”

“That doesn’t make them less stupid,” Adion said.

“In their defense, they think I will have my best future married into the Hesfym family,” Sell said, “They think my objections will change when I grow older. But I know better.”

“I could talk to them if you want?” Adion suggested.

“Hahaha!” Sell laughed loudly at Adion’s idea, “I would love to see that, actually. What’s the plan then?”

“I could bribe them,” Adion said with a smirk.

Sell laughed even harder, “Please do! I can’t even imagine their faces!”

Adion understood how silly it seemed. But he didn’t think the idea was completely crazy either. 

“Hoo, you two seem to be having a good time,” A voice Adion recognized rang out.

“Sahra? What are you doing here?” Adion asked.

“What’s with that question?” Sahra asked, “I came to hang out. Frank said he saw you two here when I ran into him at the inn. I didn’t know you’d be so upset that I interrupted your little date.”

Well, now you know, so leave. Adion thought grumpily. 

He didn’t have it in him to say anything out loud, though. So the rest of the night was spent in Sahra’s company, with Benji, Lomin, and Rufus joining soon after. 

Adion wasn’t grumpy for long, though. He had fun with his teammates, too. And he knew Sell would be around for many days yet.