Wander's sleep was disturbed by the voice of Doom Mark. He still could not get used to this telepathic alarm clock.

" You have a problem with timing." He said.

" Your witch girlfriend knocked me out cold when she forced your demon form to deactivate. It was supposed to be physically impossible to do that. She's a big problem."

" She got us out of New York. She's the least of our problem."

Thinking so, Wander came to the realization that Maria had done him a huge favor. Without her, he would have been taken to a godforsaken place by that beast. And even if he had escaped its claws, it would have been a matter of time before someone knew of his demonization. His blood was everywhere.

" They must have found out about you. No turning back now Wander."

Wander knew that very well. He knew it from the beginning that he would be found out. He was not worried then, because he was so sure his supposed teacher would bring him on an adventure beyond the bindings of New York. He thought of Nito and wondered why he left him behind.

" It isn't because you aren't good enough. Don't blame yourself."

" Then why? What did I do wrong?"

" Nothing. The problems lie with him, not you."

Wander could not believe those words. He knew the problems was with him. His detachment from his parents, his small circle of friends, his weak body, all his fault.

" I don't even remember why I agreed to turn in the first place," Wander held his head." That was the most asinine thing I've done."

"Talking about that, I have detected an abnormality in your consciousness. A black area I cannot access. It must be the amnesia you are suffering from."

"Is it spreading?" Wander glanced at a curious dolphin swimming on the other side of the porthole. He got the urge to let his hand go through its body.

"It is. Slowly. It seems your body isn't compatible with being an Exsomnis. This is the first time I've encountered such a case. Wander?" Doom Mark began to realize something was off.

"This is stupid. Freaking stupid. Give me back everything." Wander was sure he heard his skull crack."Exsomnis, Hunter. Why did I turn? Why did I do that to Jonathan? Why did I push my sisters? Darn it, darn it, darn it!"

"Stop thinking!."

Wander wanted to sink his fingers into his brain, force it out of his head and inspect it with his own eyes. He glared at the shoals of fish, making them swim away with his hostility. Everything had been a mess. His plan to become a rune expert. He destroyed it with his own hands. Thousands of times the word why ran through his mind in mere seconds, completely drowning Doom Mark's voice. His teeth sank into his lips like a knife. His blood dripped on his cushion; he tasted it, bitter than black coffee.

"Disappear! Disappear! Disappear!" Wander could feel the words leak out of his head through his ears. He wanted to scream.

The shoals of fish that had been inspecting the submarine simultaneously lost consciousness, struck by the wave of Demex emitted from Wander's body; their bodies graduallly turned upside down, floating in the water, against the submarine.

The vehicle shook. Wander heard footsteps closing in on the room. He held his breath. One second, then two second passed.

"BANG!" The door blasted towards him.

Wander evaded the objects easily. He was about to charge towards his attackers when his whole body was forced to stop by an invisible force. To his relief, even the attackers' were.

"What's wrong?" Maria said, clapping her hand.

The light turned on, and Wander could see the attackers: all were dressing blouse. They were part of the crew.

"That thing...its Demex is too strong. We were afraid it assaulted you." A woman said.

Maria glanced at the fish, then at Wander. She got off the bed and released everyone from her spell.

"Deactivate your form, Wander."

Wander had already been in the process before Maria mentioned it. His bod turned to normal the moment Maria ended her sentence.

"I'm sorry. It was unintentional."He mumbled, wincing at the pain in his head."

The man who greeted Maria and Wander stepped forward."I apologize for the intrusion, lady Maria. We..."

"None of this is your fault. You could not know. "

"But..."

"It's okay. Just leave us here. I will fix the door for you."

Maria stared at the crew members. They glanced at each other.

"Well then, we take our leave. Again, my apology."The man said, before gesturing his peers to leave.

Wander could not take his eyes off the crew members. He sweated profusely, his body still trembled. His apology stuck in his throat.

Maria walked towards the porthole outside which the fish could be seen. She put her hand on the glass, and light spread across the water. Moments later, the sea creatures were revived. They swam away from the vehicle, leaving behind chillingly still water.

Wander waited for Maria to say something. Each passing second put pressure on his heart.

Something knocked on the porthole glass, causing Wander to look up. A dolphin was playing outside.

"Go to sleep, Wander. I will make sure nothing happens."

A surge of gratitude manifested in Wander. He murmured his thank, got back on his feet and climbed on his bed. He could not hear the voice of Doom Mark.

Wander wondered if it was the same dolphin he saw minutes ago. He thought it was really beautiful.

______________________________________________________________________________

The next morning came in blue. Wander welcomed it with eyes of a dead fish and the aftershock of a headache. He glanced right and found Maria eating a piece of bread.

" Strawberry jam?" He asked, trying to smile with his eyes.

" Orange marmalade. Want some?"

Wander nodded. He lifted himself up from his bed then walked towards the table. A slice floated upward, ready to be taken by him.

" Was it a nightmare last night?" Maria watched him take the first bite.

" A migraine. Gone now."

Maria nodded, chewing the bread slowly. She was playing with the bubbles again.

Their breakfast was interrupted by a knock on the door. The man in white entered the room following Maria's permission. He told the two they had minutes to prepare for the imminent docking before leaving, not forgetting to give Maria a slight bow. Maria and Wander did not ignore the man's words. They were presented on the deck a few minutes later to his surprise.

"You two are sure eager to leave."

"After last night, I doubt our stay is welcomed."Wander shrugged." And I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

The man in blouse stared at Wander, then turned his gaze back on Maria."We'll be there shortly, my lady."

Realizing he was making the man uncomfortable, Wander distanced himself from him. He tried to get a better look at the islands they were heading for. Wander squinted: his eyes yet to forget the soothing blue of the ocean, so sunlight made him teary a bit. When he caught sight of the islands, he felt excited like a child first laid eyes on Disneyland. He could not resist smiling; his body got all tense.

Maria smiled. " Quite a quick recovery you got."

Wander pointed. " It's the Hawaiian archipelago! Who would not get excited?" He turned to look at his friend. He noticed Maria was giving him stares he did not understand. " What's wrong?" He asked, lowering his finger, wondering if he had been too excited.

Maria did not answer, diverting her eyes from his, still her smile did not fade.

______________________________________________________________________________

The man in white bowed to Maria again as she and Wander left the submarine. She replied with a smile and stayed to watch the submarine vanish into the water before continuing the trip to Fulish's domain.

The two walked away from the beach overgrown with candlenut trees. The sand got into Wander's shoes and he shook his feet in frustration as Maria watched him and chuckled.

" I really thought we were going to visit Hawaii."Wander said.

" This is not Hawaii?" Maria frowned.

" This is Kauai. Hey, after we find your thing, how about heading for Hawaii next? You've seen those commercials right? Hawaii is paradise!"

Maria laughed." Yeah, sounds good." She glanced at Wander." If we have enough time"

Wander waved at a taxi. " And why we may not?"

Maria opened the taxi door. " Waita Reservoir, please." She told the driver.

The two entered the car. It was filled with the smell of coconut oil. The driver greeted them, grinning and showing his toothy mouth. Wander smiled back, while Maria looked out of the window, her chin on her palm.

" Things are quite a mess now Wander. I don't think we have the luxury of becoming a tourists. Oh, don't worry about him. He can't hear us."

Wander glanced at the driver. " A mess? Is this about Samundo coming back?"

" How do you know?" Maria's eyes left the scenery outside the taxi. " This is classified information."

" Not so much. People already talked about it." Wander scratched his ear.

" Really?" Maria raised her eyebrow." Lousy intelligence bureau they have these days. Yes, Samundo is coming back and it's a mess."

" I don't think we have to worry much. Someone will defeat the demon lord, just like previous times."

For one second, Wander saw himself holding a sword and looking down at the ultimate demon, a triumphant smile spreading across his countenance. Wander smiled at himself for thinking about such heroism, and he was sure he heard Doom Mark chuckle at him too. The idea of defeating Samundo had become ridiculous to him. All the confusion, all the questions accumulating within him pointed towards a bad ending if he dared to face his supposedly destined enemy. He became more certain that Nito must have been bluffing. He just wondered why.

A few minutes of gazing at Kauai sceneries made him feel less compelled to visit Hawaii. Rows of royal poinciana trees warmed up the streets with their massive clusters of flaming-red color flowers. Wander's eyes hurt just from looking at them. He saw mountains looming in the distance with flocks of birds flying in V echelon formation; he smiled, recalling the scenes he watched on TV. He imagined that the mountains were giants wearing cloudy hats, and the waterfalls pouring from some of them were actually saliva, the result of their hunger for meat. He pitied the people swimming there. He could see the beach too, with all the tourists lying on the sand, surfing under the waves, playing volleyball. The life of human was a peaceful one from what he saw.

The road they were on, according to the sign, was Ala Kinoiki. He told himself sometimes in the future he would learn Hawaiian. "Aloha" and "Ohana" was simply not enough, he told himself, thinking back to those days he spent watching a cartoon. He had forgot its name. He caught the glimpse of a church. Human had gods. He asked himself whether Halcyon dwellers had one too.

This was the first time Wander visited Earth Realm- the land dominated by humans. Strangely, he felt a sense of belonging. He remembered when he arrived in Nova Scotia and Washington a few years back, sweat was all over him, and he drank 5 bottles of water in an hour. That was the only things he could recall now. His amnesia, as he fear, had indeed been worsening.

" Hiatus and Aria know you are...that, right?" Maria asked.

" Aria found out. Then I told Hiatus."

" How did they take the news?"

" I'm still alive, so I guess they took it well." Wander smiled." They also helped me escape."

" Good friends you have there." Maria tapped the window." Jonathan though."

Wander clenched his fists." I..I will tell them. Next time I meet them."

" Well, let's hope that time will not come too soon then."

______________________________________________________________________________

Waita Reservoir was a famous fishing point for both local people and tourists. Upon arrival, Maria and Wander was almost pushed to the ground when the children nearby ran past them in group, apparently playing tag. Their parents sat a few meters from them, either holding fish rods or making barbecue. Some just stood in the water, let the curious fish swim past. A natural fence made of palm trees surrounded the reservoir, filling the air with rustling sound.

Maria walked into the water. " Come on." She said to Wander.

" With this many people around?"

" You're right. Can't let them see us dive in and never come back."

A rumbling sound echoed from beneath the water. At the middle of the reservoir, bubbles emerged as if the water was being boiled. The tourists dropped their fishing rods, taking a few steps back, calling out to their children. It took less than 4 seconds for a 12-meter wave to rise and charge at the tourists, casting its huge shadow upon their wide open mouths and no less wide open eyes. They ran away from the water, screaming, arms waving in the air and leaving behind all of their personal tools and clothes. In less than a minute, the reservoir was cleared of human.

" Those poor fishes," said Maria as she used the water to bring the fishes back to their home." Fake tidal wave, privatizing beaches and the likes since forever."

Maria dived into water. Wander followed her, mouth still not closed. Only when the water entered his mouth did he close it. Maria said she was good with water-type magic, still Wander thought the more appropriate word would be terrific.

Maria pointed at a cave hidden behind thick bushes of aquatic plants. The two swam into it. The cave was narrow, and within it lied another cave. They swam into the darkness and before long they felt like gravity disappeared. They fell into the air and left behind the water. A dimming light replaced the darkness. Unlike San Francisco, what awaited them at the other side was not a lustrous light but a wavy layer of liquid. Wander squinted and realized it was water again. He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with air, ready for another round of swimming. Maria pulled him close and form a bubble enveloping them both. The bubble floated towards the surface, bringing them into the domain of Fulish.

" State your business." A robotic voice welcomed the two, as well as dozens of pointy spears charged with electricity.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Fulish played with his blue hair, sipping milk as he stared at the intruders on the monitors. A boy, about 1 meter 83, black hair and silver eyes, nothing special. A girl, 1 meter 75, black hair and blue eyes, too bland for him to care about.

" What do you think, Rai?" Fulish asked his household familiar." Should we brainwash them then pump them back to Earth?"

Rai squinted, his foggy irises did not hinder his vision." Shh, your highness. Let's hear them talk."

" I request a meeting with King Fulish. Urgent matter." The girl said.

Rai leaned towards the micro. " Please clarify."

The girl let out a long sigh. " The king is in possession of one thing that I rightfully own."

Fulish rolled his eyes up, trying to remember the last time he owed someone money. The last time he played EFAW was more than a hundred year ago. He was very sure those he played against could not live that long.

Rai understood what his king was thinking. " Please clarify." He said.

" I will provide more detail when I meet the king face-to-face. This is not a matter to be discussed through the means of electronic transmission."

Fulish pouted. It had been a long time since he had visitors other than his kingdom's summoners. He wanted to make new followers, but he did not want to invite strangers onto his sacred playground. It could endanger his summoners.

" I have a gift from King Ignitus." The girl said.

" Send her in!" Fulish spilled the milk on the floor.

______________________________________________________________________________

Fulish's robots instructed Maria and Wander to mount a mechanical horse-like creature. Its skin was transparent, revealing metal components operating beneath. It emitted a dimming dodger blue light; electric sparks flashed through its eyes at times. A robot patted the creature on the head. " Tower 5." He told the creature. It nodded.

Wander felt the creature's body vibrate. He looked down to see all the cogs and gears increased their momentum. The dimming light turned shimmering. Without warning, the creature dashed forwards, leaving behind a trail of buzzing sound. Witnessing the machination within its body as it ran instilled in Wander an eerie feeling.

The creature took Maria and Wander on a path well-paved and direct with trees planted on its sides, leading straight to a tower . From what Wander saw, Fulish's domain was a more tree-filled version of Kauai. Vegetation here was more diverse, including trees and flowers from other parts of the world, and from parts of other worlds, compared to the common candle nut, banyan or fruit bearing trees seen on Kauai. There were Green Fireworks with compressed flowers ready to burst and send illuminating pollens into the air, Weeping Hands with palmate crimson leaves senstive to the slightest touch, Boney Oaks ready to crumble due to the gluttonous Wood Bugs, their (for a while) symbiotic partners. Wander noticed a Withering Dust- a type of tree that relentlessly shed leaves and scabs till the moment it faded to dust- a tree of extreme rarity. He almost fell off the creature leaning forward to get a better view. Maria had to catch him by the collar and pulled him back.

" It's the Withering Dust! Look!" Wander pointed at the tree, shouting.

Maria did not show the slightest change in her expression. Her eyes were forward, though for a moment Wander thought they were down.

"My gosh, look, look, Star Chaser." Wander pointed at a white shadow running in the same direction with his ride, its eyes leaving a short golden trail lingering in the air. It moved past the trees like a stream of water, seamless and graceful.

"For the love of Halcyon I will tie you up if you shake my shoulder like that again."Maria said in monotone.

Wander grinned. He closed his eyes. At times like this he thanked his demonization for his enhanced hearing. The birds of this domain must have reached some sort of agreement, for their songs harmonized and not one tune was out of sync. Up, down, every beat blended, and the wind carried the songs far and wide, along with the faint fragrance of flowers whose names eluded Wander. He raised his left hand, trying to catch the wind and the wonders it embraced.

Wander lifted his head, shifting his focus to the sky. It was blue, or so it seemed.

" Halcyon does not have a sky. Our realm is enveloped by a layer that distorts everything, to keep our existence hidden from Earthlings. The sky that is seen ever remains an illusion." Wander read those lines in Skyless a long time ago. Still, he had deduced the truth even before that. Things from Earth side could not traverse the Halcyonline, even light. Halcyon dwellers, therefore, could never see the sky, an Earth thing, from within their cage. Wander wondered when the creator of Halcyon invented it, what did they have in mind.

" It's pretty terrifying, isn't it? That much water is above us," said Doom Mark.

" Sorry about yesterday. Did I hurt you?"

" You did, but I'm okay."

A brief moment of silence elapsed.

" Wander, there is something you need to know. You have been lied to."

"By whom?"

" It's obvious, and you know whom. Nito."

Wander closed his eyes, frowning. " What did he lie about?"

Doom Mark did not reply. Wander waited, but he did not reply. Only when Wander called him did he say something. " Yeah, Exsomnis is not they only that can kill Samundo. Anyone strong enough can do it. He lied about that."

" That's all?"

" That's all. For now."

Wander knew Doom Mark could read his thought. He must know all of his doubts, too. When it came to psychological warfare, Wander did not stand much a chance.

" I don't need to tell you that I don't believe you have told me everything, right?"

" I know. But that's all."

There was no clue to pick up from Doom Mark's tone. He had no face, no limbs, no eyes, so it was impossible for Wander to read his body language to detect lies. He decided to let Doom Mark off the hook, for now.

______________________________________________________________________________

A summoner welcomed Maria and Wander in front of Tower 5. He greeted them with a stern expression, glaring at them, lips glued to each other. Wander felt like even his brows were throwing dagger looks at Maria and him.

The summoner turned their back on the two. " This way." He said, but more like grunted.

Maria nodded at Wander. They walked closely behind the man as he guided them up a long series of stairs that were placed in a zig zag order. On the way, Wander's fingers traces across the metallic walls as he watched, in amusement, the electric circuits appear then vanish upon his touch. Each of the floor, except for the first one, had 12 doors and no window. From the plastic card attached to the doors, he assumed this tower was for the purpose of scientific research. The mere thoughts of what lied behind the doors made him swallow hard.

When they reached the top floor, the summoner told them to wait then made his way into the only room present. Wander glanced at Maria. " You do have gifts from Ignitus, right?"

" I have gifts. Just not from Ignitus. It was half a lie."

The door opened, and the summoner jerked his thumb, telling the two to come in.

The room they walked in was filled with monitors, computers and chairs. Wander reckoned the person sitting with his back against him must be Fulish. The armchair he was sitting in was so big Wander could not see what the familiar looked like. Next to him stood a man in his late twenties, hands behind his back, giving Wander and Maria half a glance. His eyes looked like they got smoke in them. His pale skin emitted a weak silver glow. " Name." He said in a monotonous voice.

" Maria Gwendolyn." Maria answered.

The man glanced at Wander. So did Maria.

" She's still curious about your name." Doom Mark said.

Wander inhaled deeply. " Wander." He said.

The man frowned. " Wander what?"

" Just Wander."

" This is not a joke, intruder." The smoke in the man's eyes condensed.

" Call me Wander What then, or if you want, Just Wander."

Fulish's laughter echoed across the room as clear as the sound of a ringing bell.

" Leave him be, Rai. It's not that unacceptable to be without a last name. You and I don't have one, right?"

The man kept his gaze on Wander for a few seconds before deciding to step back and face his king instead. Wander could feel the disappointment of Maria and that made him smile.

Fulish reached for the cup placed closed to him. Wander noticed his hand was smaller than he thought. The sipping sound from the familiar made the atmosphere awkward.

" Callus, you can leave now" Fulish said in a gravelly voice.

" Please take my friend with you," said Maria.

Wander turned to Maria, frowning. " I'm staying with you."

" No. Go. Right now." Maria's voice turned cold.

Wander had never heard Maria speak in such an authoritative manner. Her usual pensive gaze had turned into a sharp glare full of determination. Wander stared at her, baffled at what she was thinking.

" See you later." Wander said as he followed the man out of the room.

Before the door closed, Maria's voice reached him. " See you later."

Wander had not expected her to reply.

______________________________________________________________________________

Wander followed Callus down the stairs, pondering the meaninglessness of going up in the first place. He glanced at the summoner. " Nice to meet you." He said.

" You can skip those social niceties. It tires me out real quick. Hunter, are you?"

Wander nodded.

" How did you find this place?" Callus glanced at Wander.

Wander was sure it was not a good idea to tell him Ignitus reveal the domain's location. " Maria got it somehow. I just tag along."

" That girl had gifts from Ignitus. The Southern King must have told her."

" She could have met other level sevens before she met me. All level-seven familiars know one another's location, right?"

Callus gave no reply. The question bugged him more than Wander had expected.

When they reach the ground floor, there was only one door not closed. Wander could hear the sound of people arguing. Callus sighed, shaking his head. He walked in on two of his friends, who were surrounded by arrays of books.

"Are you bloody blind, Carl?" A lady with messy hair and rough voice shouted." Earth spell is the answer. We can isolate an area and accelerate the decomposition rate by compressing earth with a great force, heating it up. The soil will become extremely fertile and in no time the plants will regrow."

"I want to freeze your larynx so much, Handi." Card said, his white moustache twitched. " Water is the answer. The flow, it's the flow. Let's the flow nurture mother terra!

Callus clapped his hand, winning the two summoners' attention. "How about both, you two? Now please tell me have you done with the preparation?"

Handi jerked her thumbs at Carl. " He dragged me down! I swear!"

Carl rolled his eyes, shifting his focus to Wander. " Oh, and who this be? Hunter, for sure. What are you doing here?

Wander smiled. " I'm a guest."

Carl rubbed his chin. " A guest? Nonsense. Callus, do tell. What? He's really a guest?"

Handi lifted Wander's arm, frowning. " Weird muscle. What kind of training."

Wander withdrew his arm, scratching his head.

Handi shrugged , turning to Callus. " Preparation done. The party will be ready tonight. Others are in tower 1. We're going there. You?"

Callus shook his head. " I'm waiting for the king. He's meeting another guest."

Hand and Carl looked at each other, grinning. " We stay then. We already saw how bad a nanny you could be." Carl said, his arm around Callus' neck.

Wander smiled at the three, his heart aching. Aria and Hiatus had been here for him too, even when they knew he turned. He clenched his fists, thinking about what happened between Jonathan and him. The disintegration of their friendship was not so unthinkable a scenario now.

" May I ask what the preparation is for?" Wander asked, distracting himself from negative thinking.

" A party to wish the king luck in the upcoming crowning event. You know, the Eternalia Regis." Handi answered.

" Sounds big. How many summoners are here?"

" Uhm, 20, I think," Handi tapped on her lips. " Including us. Enough for a party."

" Just 20?" Wander frowned.

" Others followers are not here." Carl said." Lazy daisies. It's not like we need them anyways. It's just a party, not a fight against demons."

Wander nodded. He glanced at the documents behind Handi's back. " Terra Forming?" He asked.

" Oh, you know?" Carl raised his eye brows.

" Yeah, I think the answers lie in biotech. Or maybe just fertilizer." Wander chuckled as he thought of Ignitus.

______________________________________________________________________________

Fulish's eyes flashed through the monitors. No abnormality. " What did that old geezer send me?" He smirked, wondering if Ignitus decided to bribe him. The old familiar must want to know how he managed to amass so many followers.

" Before that, I just want to check up on something."

There was something in Maria's voice that irked Fulish. She was speaking as if he was a kid to her.

" Is the box given to you exactly 215 years ago still safe?"

Fulish frowned, recalling what happened that many years ago.

" The previous crowning ceremony of Eternalia Regis, sire." Rai said.

" Ah, that." Fulish snapped his fingers, contemplating what transpired.

No king was chosen back then. All the familiars had participated in a bloody event, hoping to claim the crown. In the end, no king, just seven most powerful familiars stood out as possible candidates in the future. Familiars had learnt it the hard way that it took more than brute force to choose a king. Afterwards, Fulish, along with other level seven, received gifts from the Ethers- the creators of familiars. Aside from the gifts, he received nothing more. What Maria was seeking must lie among those gifts.

" Most of them are safe. Some of them were food, so I ate them all. If one of those cakes was yours then I own you my sincerest apology." Fulish cackled.

" Among them I believe there is a... metal bar?"

Fulish rolled his eyes slowly. " Yes, there is. That's yours?"

" Yes, it's mine. I need it very much. Can you return it?"

Fulish glanced at Rai. His household familiar was frowning, looking down at the floor. " I can. But it's mine now, so don't expect me to return it."

" Unless I have something to trade for it?" Maria said. Fulish swore she said it in a teasing voice.

" Did she think she's trading for a candy bar?" Fulish thought.

" What's the trade?" He asked.

Maria's smile reflected on one of the monitor. She drew a piece of paper from her pocket." See it for yourself."

Rai took a step forward, but stopped as he saw Maria shake her head. " Only the king is allowed to see this."

Fulish clicked his tongue. He told Maria to come close. When she was close enough, he extended his hand and Maria gave him the gift.

"Turn away, Rai. No peeking." Fulish raised his voice. He then unfolded the piece of paper. 1 short lines.

Fulish immediately knew he just made 3 steps ahead of others in the race to become king.

______________________________________________________________________________

" Wonderful! Oh my, a climate sphere. We can fully gain control of the growth of vegetation. And, with the runes, we can modify rain water. And not only that. So many possibilities. Simplicity at its finest" Carl clapped his hand.

Handi nodded at Wander's drawings, pointing at the clouds." But it can be inconvenient. For example, if I use rune to make rain water warm, and I want to stop after a certain amount of time. Provided if your model works, there will be hundreds of clouds on the field. Doesn't this mean we have to go to each one and deactivate them one by one?

Wander shook his head. " You don't have to. We can write the runes on a substance that will dissolve after the intended amount of time due to long exposure to water. For example, water of 80 Celsius degree dissolves 22% of soap in 3 hours. Or, even more convenient, how about we just vanquishing the clouds and the runes altogether?"

Kate chuckled." Yeah, I like the latter."

Carl slapped Wander's back." I like Hunters well-versed in magic. Callus, where did you find him? Oh, pardon me, he's a guest. Say, why don't we join our party?"

" I'd love to." Wander grinned." But if my friend leaves early, I'm afraid I have to leave too."

" You come with someone?" Handi asked.

" Maria. She's a..." Wander realized he did not know which species Maria belonged to." girl."

Carl laughed. " Be careful, young men. Numbers are taking over your head."

" Look at Carl. He's one example." Callus smiled.

Carl punched his friend. Handi had her arms on Carl's and Callus's shoulder, assisting Callus in teasing their friend.

Wander averted his eyes from them. The creaking sound made him turn his head to look.

Maria walked in. Wander could not help noticing that the looks in her eyes had changed compared to just yesterday. It had become nearly empty.

Carl squinted. " This must be Maria. Little lady, you've got yourself quite a fine boyfriend!"

Wander scratched his head, grinning awkwardly. He was about to correct Carl's remark when Maria interrupted him. " Please don't compliment him. He's got much to learn." She glanced at Wander, smirking. Some light returned to her eyes.

" Petite fille, there is a big party coming up. Why don't you stay a little longer? This boy here won't stay without you, and I have lots to talk about with him."

Maria nodded. " I'm afraid I already decided to stay even before your invitation. So I guess you will have more time to talk with my boy friend about stuffs."

" Excellent! Oops, already 9. Okay, I am heading for tower 1 right now. Handi, take the papers! I mean, lovely Handi, take the freaking paper! Later, young man!"

Carl made a brisk walk out of the room, humming a random tune. Handi jerked her fist at him before collecting the papers and following his steps.

" I see that you have successfully gained our king's favor." Callus's face reclaimed its sternness.

Maria did not give a reply. Callus stared at her, trying to make her uncomfortable. He gave up after a few seconds. He nodded at Wander, then turned his back on the two and left the room.

After the summoner left, Maria began circling the room. Wander watched her eyeing the books, her hands behind her back, her fingers intertwined. Light streamed through the windows, illuminating the books. " You are good at making people like you." She said.

" Jonathan and dozens of my schoolmates beg to differ. Not that it bothers me." Wander shrugged, flipping through the pages of a book." Do I make you like me though?"

" No. You disturb me." Maria tilted her head.

The girl walked to the desk Wander was sitting on. She examined the blue prints and the papers. " Uhm, so they figured it out."

" What?"

" Controllable climate spheres. Runes? Why the inefficiency? But the concepts and ideas are praiseworthy." Maria said, frowning.

" That's my idea."

Maria shifted her eyes to Wander. She smiled." That explains the runes."

" They can be efficient, you know".

" No doubt, but only situational efficiency. Still, if it's true that you devise this kind of use for runes, then you are very close to it." Maria smiled.

" It?"

" Just keep seraching." Maria's fingers traced the drawings." The double effect you told me earlier is also phenomenal. You can become a good scholar, Wander. That summoner back then must have been impressed by this."

Wander scratched his head, blushing a bit because of the compliment. He tried to change the topic. " You really gave me hope earlier you know. When you didn't deny I was your boyfriend."

" So he was talking about boyfriend, without a space between boy and friend." Maria sighed.

" Of course he was talking about boyfriend." Wander laughed. "Throw me that book, yeah, Crafting Materials Vol. 2"

A brief silence occurred.

" Maybe we should try dating." Wander said, eyes fixed on the book.

" Not happening." Maria still stared at the papers with a frown on her face.

" I think we have chemistry. Remember how you tried to kill me with those spears?" Wander chuckled.

" I agree. We are like hydrogen and oxygen. Together we are water."

" Pure, enduring and tranquil?"Wander smirked.

" No. Odorless, colorless, and tasteless." Maria smiled.

Wander did not expect less of an answer from Maria. He glanced at Maria. " Uhm, your ex, how was he like?"

" Arthur? He was a human." She said.

" Wow, a human? If so, then... He died a long time ago, huh?"

Maria shrugged." Yes."

" Do you miss him?"

" No more revelation, Wander. I think you know about me enough. And I hardly know anything about you."

Wander put the book down. He told himself it was time.

" Don't do it, you Romeo wannabe! I know what you're thinking. Don't." Doom Mark yelled inside his head.

He turned to face Maria. With a calm voice, he directed towards her the sincerest words he could think of. " My name is Wander, and if it bothers you, my last name Allen. One months ago, I turned by my own will. I was helped by a being of a species called Exsomnis- tasked with the destiny of defeating the demon lord Samundo."

Maria stared at him with her eyes wide open.

" I was going to leave New York with that being, but for unknown reasons, that being left me behind. This is the truth I want you to know. I hope this fortifies our mutual trust, and if I'm lucky enough, one day it may prove to you that I treasure your friendship enough to reveal this to you."

Maria closed her eyes, letting out a sigh as she smiled. She chuckled, then looked at him in the eyes. " We are still not dating."

" Obviously so." Wander shrugged, smiling.

______________________________________________________________________________

Shortly after, Wander immediately regretted his decision, but only because Doom Mark would not stop nagging him even though hours had passed.. " You fool! Fool! Do you know what you have done? You put our entire species in jeopardy! More than a thousand year of existence is now on the verge of destruction because you want to get a score with that girl!"

" I did not do it for that reason. I'm just tired of keeping secrets from people I consider friend. I will tell Aria and Hiatus too the moment I meet them again."

" I don't give a darn! You promised to keep everything a secret! How could Nito ever see resolution in your eyes?"

" That promise comes after my friends."

" You have to sort out your priorities, Mr. I-love-my-friends."

Wander shut Doom Mark down with a wave of thoughts. He glanced at Maria, sitting right next to him. She was looking at the floor, her arms folded. " Can you describe the turn process?" She asked, frowning.

" Nito took out a medal, I cut my hand, then my blood dripped on the medal, and the process started. Everything was quite hazy after that. I was overwhelmed by pain."

Maria nodded. She leaned backwards, pouting." Defeating the Demon Lord, eh? So you Exsomnises have been the one vanquishing Samundo in the past. But when I look at you I just don't think it's possible"

" I can become stronger. Maybe. And then I will defeat him too."

Maria cackled. She shook her head. " Dreaming to defeat an enemy you do not even know."

Wander realized he know nothing about the demon lord, aside from the fact that he had killed an uncountable number of humans, hunters and summoners, that he was the epitome of evilness, that he was the true threat to every realm. Also people had say goodbye to him for 19 times now and he had never failed to give them another chance.

" So how's things with Fulish?" Wander changed the topic, realizing the familiar had not contacted them for hours.

The door was blasted away as Rai entered the room. He gave the two of them the look people gave to cockroaches. " Fulish has agreed to let you access the vault. He is ready to take you there."

" Looks like I've got my answer." Wander said.

" You must come alone. The boy will be with Callus." Rai added.

Maria glanced at Wander. He whispered. " Want me to come with you?"

" I do. But you stay. I don't want to disobey the king." Maria rolled her eyes.

Wander nodded. " I will wait for you at tower 1."

Maria bade Wander goodbye, then along with Rai she left the room. Before the door could fix itself and hid her from Wander's view, she turned back and waved at him.

Wander recalled the day he first met her. The Maria standing before him was so much like the Maria he had seen back in Mirilad.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Callus accompanied Wander on the path back to Tower 1. The summoner introduced the tower to him as they walked. " It's called the tower of liberty. King Fulish built it to commemorate the time he became free from the Familiar realm. It used to be sacred. Now people hold parties there all the time. On second thought, it has always been just parties there. It's just that in the past they didn't serve pizza or PepCo. On third thought, maybe they did. Yeah, it has never been sacred. "

Wander observed both sides of the path he was walking on. This part of the island was a jungle, not a forest like the one he and Maria had traversed. The plants he saw here resembled those he had seen on that documentary about Amazon. The humidity made him itchy.

" Why did he decide to build his domain underwater? It's super inconvenient."

" That's I don't know either. Heck, just one crack and this place will sink. But who can ever understand the mind of a king. Even if he's young. Too young. Like a baby." Callus sighed.

Up until now, what Wander knew about Fulish was all thanks to books. The familiar of lightning- an embodiment of a thunderstorm. He made lots of money selling electricity to humans. Summoners considered him the second most influential and the wealthiest, surpassed only by Taevas the Sky Guardian, and even then Taevas only won in terms of influence, not wealth.

" Today it's a party of luck for our King. He doesn't really need it anyways. He has lots of things to back him up. Oh the music has already started." Callus pointed at tower 1.

Wander looked back at Tower 5, asking himself when Maria would return. He wondered what would happen after Maria and he left the domain. He could not return to New York. Even if he was not exposed, he would be sooner or later. Just one drop of blood was enough to grant him a death sentence. He had only known Maria for a month, so he doubted she would be willing to accept his companionship for much longer. "Maybe she would." He thought. Maria had never left him behind. She had had many chances to, but she did not.

The choice he most preferred was to be united with Aria and Hiatus. He wanted to apologize to them, and even if they would not forgive him, he would try his best to regain their friendship and their trust. He smiled, imagining they would show up on the domain, looking for him. It would be the best.

" Your obsession with the two of them is frightening." Doom Mark said.

" I think it's normal. Most people are obsessed with something."

" You hurt that boy many years ago, maybe because of this?"

Wander frowned. Doom Mark had a point. Jonathan had told him that the four of them used to be friends. The Wander of back then must not have wanted anyone to interfere.

" Is it any different for the present Wander?" Doom Mark asked.

" Yes, it is." Wander knew he really meant it, for Doom Mark stopped with his questions.

Several minutes later, Wander reach tower 1. It was higher than tower 5, and instead of concrete, it was built from stones- truly fortifying the fact that it had stood on the domain for many centuries. Wander guessed Fulish did not bother innovating it because of nostalgia. It must instilled in the Familiar some profound feeling, considering it was the symbol of his freedom.

As if to insult the ancient appearance of the tower, loud pop music suddenly pierced Wander's ears. His enhanced sense turned music into an irritating chant, even more than the political speeches he sometimes listened to.

Callus clicked his tongue. " They are already partying. Good grief."

The first floor of the tower was occupied by only a summoner feeding his Familiar, an unicorn. Wander nearly had his eyes fall out looking at the creature. " They are real?"

" Don't bother asking me. I never understand how Familiars exactly manifest themselves."

Trying his best to ignore the creature, Wander followed Callus to the 50th floor, where Carl was at. Wander wonder why he was brought here. The party was 40 floors below. The summoner smiled at Wander, but his smile was somehow odd.

" You're finally here." Carl said." Come, my friends want to meet you."

Wander followed Carl into a big room designed like a dome, Callus walking behind him. Various headless statues holding staffs were place around the room. Lights streamed in through windows, showering on the statues. Wander touched one, feeling the coolness transmitted to his finger as he drew them across the statue.

" Welcome." A child's voice greeted Wander.

The voice's owner was a girl with the same eyes as Rai. She looked several years younger than Wander. She walked towards him, smiling, extending her hand forward. Wander smiled back, nodding. He shook her hand.

The tingling sensation in his hand spread throughout his body in less than a second. Wander realized his whole body was paralyzed, buzzing sound burst out of his head.

" Sorry, but this is for your own good." Callus said from behind his back.

The electricity erased his vision. Before the darkness claimed him, fear gripped his heart as he thought about what Fulish had in store for Maria.

______________________________________________________________________________

" Welcome to the vault." Fulish said, doing a gentleman bow.

Maria nodded. She walked towards the metal gate. It was imbued with multiple defensive spells.

" Can I see the inside now?" Maria asked, noticing Fulish was just standing still with a smile.

" Oh, you can. But before that, the list."

Maria rolled her eyes. She took out her second piece of paper, handing it to the familiar.

Fulish unfolded the piece of paper, smiling. " The gate will be opened with my electricity." He said, lifting his hand, now charged with electricity.

" Close your eyes. You don't want to those eyes to burn."

Maria sighed, doing what Fulish said. She just wanted to leave this place.

A zam sound shot through space in form of an electrical beam, banging against Maria's body, blasting her towards the gate. The sound of her body clashing with the metal gate made even Fulish frown. She coughed blood, collapsing to the ground, lying motionless.

" You lose, Samundo's servant." Without hesitance, Fulish dealt the finishing blow.

______________________________________________________________________________

Rai could see everything clearly from where he stood. The target had been neutralized. The trap had been triggered.