Jered was rather impressed by Rainey's choreographic speech. He had to give it to her, she had a lot of passion. Too much of it. "Okay, okay... just one thing. Why don't you do it? You're obviously stronger than their leader, aren't you?" it didn't even take a snooping pulse of mana to know how powerful the woman was. The thick miasma of mana oozing out of her was almost visible to the eye—any normal man would have been suffocated by its density. She must have unlocked her fifth vein, at least. Rainey was a full-fledged Arch Magus.

It was mind-boggling that she was asking him for help.

Rainey's bloodlust waned into a frustrated sigh, "Tch, it's because I can't!"

"Can you please fill in the details?"

"I'm slowly losing my power, Jered," she grunted out, skillfully hiding the inferno brewing behind her eyes, "I've been cursed... a lucky hit on my back during an important fight got me running away with my tail between my legs. The curse itself is not strong, but its strength lies in its irreversibility. There's no known cure. The more I use my mana, the faster it permanently depletes. I still have two years before I degrade back to a Royal-Tier Magician." an exasperated chuckle followed next, "However, if I take down Ashy Petals by himself, I'd have 6 months at best. I'm already concealing my existence from the Arcane Association. I really can't afford to wage war right now."

He frowned, "What about Jerry? There's no way he's weak." the easy-going psychiatrist held an enigmatic aura of power—not as threatening as Rainey's, but still vicious enough to stand out in any crowd. "Maybe if us three join hands, we could—"

"No," Rainey interrupted him, her expression loosening into a smile. She hauled in a deep sigh, "Jerry is busy doing something else for me. Besides, no matter how talented you are, you’d be collateral damage if a war broke out between Akashka and Ashy Petals. For now, we have to keep our existence hidden."

Jered stroked his mouth, turning around to watch random pedestrians pass by. They looked so different. He felt like he was glimpsing through the window of normalcy, but he knew he'd never climb past it. And it was fine. It was better that way, "Sooo... what happened to Arya and that demonic entity?" he changed the topic. Rainey didn't seem to mind. She leaned back against the wall next to him, her eyes losing themselves skyward.

A thread of silence fell upon them.

"She died."

"..."

"Arya couldn't handle it... and she killed herself by biting her tongue off," she said with pity, though it was more towards the failed experiment than the loss of the teenager's life. "We sealed the demonic entity. Hopefully, we'll find a suitable container soon."

Jered nodded apathetically, "Anyone in mind?"

She shook her head, "Arya was the most promising one, yet she failed. Haa, I doubt the other girls will be any different. Their mental health is hanging by a thread. A vengeful, ghost bitch on top of that would just make them go ballistic. We need someone who’d be willing to accept such a stain on their soul, strong enough not to be corrupted, but also ambitious and able to endure pain, solitude, sadness. A perfect container…“

"Someone who has nothing lose, and everything to gain..."

"Exactly," Rainey's eyes softened, her smile sugary sweet. Jered hated to see her make such tender expressions that clearly didn’t fit her. "Just like you, but apparently... you have already been chosen by another entity. I know I shouldn’t be surprised, but I can’t help it."

He froze, "What did you say?"

She chortled, trying not to make a bigger deal than it actually was. "Ohh, you can't see it, but it's there, right next to you. Now that I think about it, it has always been there."

Jered unconsciously steered his head around, staring at the spot where it was supposed to be in. What kind of entity was it? He blinked multiple times, focusing, but there was nothing there, only empty space. Not an ounce of mana could be smelled, heard, or seen. "If this is a joke..." he trailed off, not amused.

"Oh, no no..." Rainey denied in a blasé tone, "This is not a joke, I can barely feel it... it's not surprising you can't sense it either. As for what it is exactly, I'm not sure... but it doesn't seem to be harmful. Not yet. I believe it's waiting to have enough mana to manifest."

Oh, and perhaps it was the source of his recurring nightmares—he didn't say that out loud, though. Jered laughed, shrugging, a fuck-it-all smile on his face. "Oh, I could use the company, I guess..."

"Yes, well... you have no reason to worry. You can't get rid of it now, but it can't do anything to you either. You'll just have to put up with each other."

"That doesn't really make me feel better, but let's pretend everything is normal."

"Yes, keep pretending. Just put on a happy face, and everything will be alright."

Jered laughed at that. "Okay, but where are my tomes?"

"So impatient," Rainey rolled her eyes, and with a snap of her fingers, three books spawned mid-air, whereupon they levitated towards Jered. She fiddled with a chock of her hair as she turned around, "Don't forget to join Ashy Petals. Oh, and don't let them see the ring." without waiting for a reply, Rainey disappeared in a burst of fire and embers.

With the discovery that he was being watched, Jered would occasionally sneak a glimpse or two to his left and right. He didn't mind its presence, he just didn't like feeling so... exposed. It spurred him into studying harder, so situations like that would not come to be. There were so many things to learn, and he was like a child wanting to grow up faster. Besides, the veil of mystery above his father's death still swirled around his head.

"Jered?"

Looking up, he was met with his mother's concerned frown. She stuffed a forkful of salad and meat into her mouth, not tearing her gaze off him. Jasmine didn't talk much—in fact, she hardly paid any attention to him. It was as if the progress in their relationship had veered backward, again. He didn't care. With the introduction of magic and a whole new world to explore, his family's issues became nothing but background scenery. One day he'd be over them. Well, possibly. Hopefully.

"Yes?" he blinked, wearing his most confused expression.

"Umh..." not even Jane herself knew what she wanted to say. She didn't know what was troubling him, and it had to stay that way. No need to open a can of worms that no one could handle. "Is everything okay?"

He smiled reassuringly, "Yes, peachy."

She wanted to press on and dig the real answer out of him. But she knew of the similarities between Jered and John, and her husband had never been open about his problems. She sighed, shifting the conversation towards her daughter, "Your birthday is tomorrow." she said in a festive mood, "18 years old... time sure flies..."

Jasmine huffed out an exasperated chuckle, rolling her eyes. "You said the same thing on my 17th birthday..."

"Well, I'm just emphasizing how much time has flown since then," Jane wrinkled her nose, "Haa... it flies by faster and faster each year. Enjoy your youth, 'cause once you reach my age, heh... you'll—"

"She's being melodramatic." Jered supplied with a shake of his head.

"She's totally being melodramatic." surprisingly, Jasmine readily agreed. Maybe she was not that mad at him.

Jane squawked indignantly, "Shush you two! You don't know what it means to be old."

"And neither do you, for that matter." he pointed out, not missing a beat.

She didn't give up, "Well, I dated an older man, so I saw what it's like to be old..."

"Father was barely a few years older than you. Also, following that logic, then I and Jasmine saw it too."

"Yes, but I dated him. You didn't date your father..." Jane trailed off with a hand covering her mouth, not proud of her explanation, "Never mind, that was stupid."

"..."

Evelyn narrowed her eyes at the three folders spread out in front of her. Two of them were expected, the last one had been a… surprise—whether it was pleasant or not remained to be seen.

Jered had always been a peculiar student. Something had always been off about him. Evelyn could see the makings of a teenager that would make it big. Yes, of that she had no doubt. However, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was something wrong with him. It was as if she had signed up to teach a class of sheep, and without anyone noticing, a wolf had snuck in.

“Concentrate, Evelyn.” a half-empty bottle of sherry levitated out of its shelf, popped open, and poured the sweet liquor inside a floating stemmed glass. She grabbed it and allowed herself a sip. Evelyn unclipped the folders, and perused the files within.

Santiago De La Cruz.

Eun-Kyung.

Jered Von Jacobs.

What did they have in common? They could manipulate mana. Evelyn steepled her fingers beneath her chin. She had been working on the first two when Jered, all of a sudden, walked into the classroom as an Adept Magician. It was surprising, frightening even. How did she fail to notice the signs that her student was dabbling in the magic arts? Now his name was on her desk with a recruitment notice. Evelyn's mission was to ensure the candidates would join, but in her opinion, Jered had the precedence. She would not move onto the next targets unless he agreed.

It was partially because she cared for him as a student, and mostly because the prospect of a talent like him making it into their ranks was too exciting to pass on. Evelyn had been raised under Ashy Petals' influence, growing an unhealthy adoration for the organization. She wished to succeed the leader's seat and take Ashy Petals to unseen heights. And she felt like Jered—that smiling, eloquent, perceptive student of hers could help her greatly. She just knew it.

If she could raise him into a Royal Magician, then the support she'd gain would skyrocket her right up on the organization's throne. It was the perfect outcome, yes, but it all depended on Jered. She was a bit concerned due to the hostility he showed right off the bat, but it was nothing that a heart-to-heart talk couldn't fix.

He'd come around, if given the right incentive.