It had been three years since the mercenary attack on the Blackwood Mansion. Alex was now 15 years old. Raven, whose birthday had recently passed, was 16 years old, and she was being prepared for her marriage to the Tarren family. Edward managed to repair any damage to the relationship that the two children caused during Alex's 10th birthday party, and the marriage was back on track. The deal was that once both children turned the age of sixteen, the marriage deals with the Tarren family and Goldburn family would be officialized. However, Raven had...other ideas.

Edward had sent two guards along with several maids to prepare Raven for a premarital meeting with her future husband; however, Raven refused to go, knocking out the two guards and making the maids terrified for their lives. After that, Edward stopped trying to establish any premarital relationship and decided to just make the deal happen when she and Alex were old enough.

Alex, however, had agreed to the pre-marriage meetings set up by Edward, not only in order to meet with his wife to be Sophia Goldburn, but also because he wanted to gain as much familiarity with the main Blackwood mansion layout as possible. Alex had spent the past three years planning how he would not only save his sister Raven but also his plans to get revenge on Edward and, mainly, Ava.

Ava hadn't made a move against Alex's family since the mercenary incident, most likely due to Edward restricting her movements. He was not going to let her ruin his plans for the future, even if he loved her.

Alex would occasionally visit the Blackwood Mansion and talk to Sophia Goldburn, who was growing in beauty every time they met. Alex knew she would grow up to be quite the beauty rivaled by few, but he also knew that he wouldn't marry her. Alex needed to exercise his plans before the two would ever have the chance, but he didn't mind getting to know more about her. She was graceful and had the etiquette only a member of the nobility could have, although Alex did his best to allow her to relax around him.

He learned of her fascination with herbology and making medicines, which did intrigue Alex since medicines worked differently in this world. While potions did help with most health-related problems, using herbology and things from apothecaries ended up being cheaper and far more available to the public, making them an essential resource, while potions, while more effective, were also more expensive and in less overall supply. Apparently Sophia was taught by her mother, who came from a family that got famous due to the medicine they made, including finding a proper treatment for a disease that riddled multiple fishing villages located on the coast.

Another thing he learned from Sophia is apparently the rivalry that alchemists who make potions and herbologists have; they apparently compete a lot, especially for customers and who can treat illnesses better, but that wasn't all that interesting to Alex.

Once Sophia had left the mansion for the day, waving goodbye to Alex before stepping into a carriage, Alex decided to ask the guard if he could use a restroom, and the guard agreed. However, luckily for Alex, nobody went with him.

Alex snuck upstairs and looked around the entire floor while carrying a small napkin in his pocket. As he walked around, he drew the entire floor layout on the napkin and labeled what each room was. He made sure to mark Edward and Ava's room and Edmund's room before he went back downstairs and was escorted back to his house by the guards.

When he got there, he was greeted by Raven, who had just finished training with Kaede and her mother, so she was tired and sitting down on the couch.

"Hey Alex!" Raven said trying to be excited but just didn't have the energy.

"Mom, work you to death?" Alex asked in a teasing manner.

Raven groaned in response.

Alex sat down next to her and asked "What all did you do? I thought you were focusing on your unarmed fighting techniques."

Raven scooted closer to Alex before resting her head on his shoulder. "We were...but you know how she gets; if it isn't perfection, then it's wrong."

Alex laughed in response. "Yeah, I know, but you know it's just because she worries, right?"

Raven sighed "I know... It doesn't make her training any less exhausting, though."

Alex put his harm around Raven, and the two just sat there with each other for about half an hour, Raven snuggling up to Alex as close as she could. Raven had a smile on her face before she closed her eyes and fell asleep on his shoulder. Alex smiled when he saw her sleeping peacefully on him. He let her stay on him for awhile before eventually carrying her like a princess to her bed. He told her good night in a quiet whisper before leaving her room. He told Eve, who was nearby sweeping the floor, that Raven was asleep in her room before Alex left the house.

Alex wanted to train his magic. After being blessed by Iris, his magic had become more powerful but more chaotic. He would sometimes not be able to handle the intense magic and cause destruction around him, and every time he thought he could control it, he'd get stronger, causing him to have to restart the process of controlling it.

Alex walked over to the waterfall nearby, where he had trained before. Since it was a magical hotspot, he figured maybe the pure magical energy there could help him figure out how to control his own magic.

However, as Alex arrived, he saw something that startled him. Sitting on a log was a man wearing a long white cloak and a plain white mask. He was sitting in front of a fire, cooking a rabbit that was skewered and placed on top of the fire.

Alex did his best not to be noticed as he observed the man. He noticed a hint of brown but graying hair peeking out from behind the mask, meaning he was possibly an older man. He also saw a sword that he hadn't seen in this world, but it reminded him of a Japanese sword.

"I know you're there, young lad." the man said without looking in Alex's direction. "Come and sit."

Alex knew he had just been caught, meaning this man had great awareness of his surroundings. Alex walked over to the man and stood across the fire from him.

"You can take a seat on that stump there; do you like rabbit?" the masked man asked.

Alex took a seat on a tree stump next to the fire. "I never had it." Alex replied.

"Well, you can try some if you like; once it's done, I don't mind sharing." the masked man said.

Alex sat down but didn't take his eyes off of the man; he was making sure he didn't leave any openings.

"You know you don't have to be wary around me. You haven't shown me any hostile intent; I have no reason to attack you." the masked man said.

"Sorry, I have some trust issues." Alex said, still observing him. Alex's eyes were drawn to the man's sword, and with a closer look, he managed to recognize exactly what kind of sword it was. It was a Tachi blade, a precursor to what would become the popular Japanese sword, the katana.

"Does my sword interest you?" The man asked.

"I just never seen a sword quite like it; that type of blade is especially rare around these parts. If I had to guess, you got it on the eastern part of the continent." Alex stated.

"Good eye, young man, yes. During my travels around that part of the continent, I received some training on how to use this sword. It fits me pretty well. Quick and Efficient." The man said

The man quickly looked over at Alex and was surprised when he noticed just how much magic he had possessed. Alex was now barely outside of the highest intermediate-level magic user, with the barrier to that slowly cracking. Someone so young shouldn't be this strong, not unless there is something special about them.

"Tell me, boy, what's your name?" the man asked.

"Alex, what's yours?" Alex asked in response.

"I don't have a name; the man who I used to be no longer exists. I go by the name 'Ghost' now." The man explained.

"It sounds like you have quite a complicated past." Alex responded.

Ghost chuckled. "That I do." Ghost quickly observed Alex again and thought to himself "And you will have a complicated future."

Ghost stayed silent, almost as if he were deep inside his own thoughts. "He's no doubt has tons of hidden potential; his magical capacity is extremely high; his future could be one of grave importance to the future... I wonder..."

Ghost looked over at Alex, his face still hidden by his mask. "Alex, what kind of magical element do you possess?"

Alex looked at him confused before answering "Lightning."

Ghost smiled behind his mask, unknown to Alex. "I knew it."

"Knew what?" Alex asked.

"It seems fate has caused us to meet young man. Let me show you something." Ghost said before he stood up. Ghost grabbed his sword, which made Alex wary.

"Relax; I just want to show you something." Ghost responded.

Ghost put his hand on the handle of his sword before unsheathing it in a slash, almost like a samurai. As he slashed his sword, white lightning formed around the blade and shot out like the sword itself was using magic. The slash was so dangerous, the crackle could be heard for miles. The lightning slash cut down six trees in front of it with a clean slice.

"What just happened?" Alex said, looking at the devastation left.

Ghost once again smiled behind his mask. "That was me using only a small fraction of my magic, so tell me, Alex. Would you like to learn how to do that?"

Alex didn't hesitate before agreeing to this, which made the man smile. "He could be the one...but first, before anything, I need to train him as much as I possibly can...before they catch up with me."

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