Of all my masters, Kyle was the only one who had been an orphan. I knew the feeling of losing your loved ones to sickness and old age but I couldn’t relate to him as I was once grew up in a loving family.

As I pursued power, I outlived them all including my own children and grandchildren.

I silently kept in touch with my descendants through my masters over time. My legacy ensured that my descendants would never go extinct. They still thought I was still alive somewhere and I was. But what I couldn’t tell my descendants was that I had been sealed away in a copper ring forever by an enemy.

It had been a thousand years since I saw them last. I hoped Kyle would help me find them in his life. Just like him, I wanted to know that my family was still safe and sound.

“Please sit.” Elias invited Kyle to take a seat.

They both sat face to face.

The twins, Kain and Kala, retreated in the garden and left them in the room.

I was floating next to Kyle sitting on my staff.

“I’m sure you have questions. I’ll do my best to answer them.” Elias said with an eternal smile on his face. It looked like he had never been this happy.

“Where did you live before you arrived in Dellmoor city?” Elias asked.

“I was in an orphanage until I escaped when I was sixteen years old. After that, I became a shepherd for a good couple in Bate village of the Bluewater province.” Kyle did not lie to his grandfather and told him the truth about him.

Elias’s face darkened as he listened. He asked: “Are you serious?”

Kyle nodded. He continued: “I recently came into possession of a small fortune that allowed me to leave and travel to this city.”

Elias was having a hard time believing the story. He pondered for a moment then asked: “How did you know that you were a Brightmoon?”

Kyle could not say that he had found out using magical means. He said: “I am here, that’s what counts.”

“Yes. You’re right. What would you like to know?” Elias decided to forget the entire story. What was important to him was that he had found his grandson. Everything else could be ignored. Besides, if Kyle had some secrets he didn’t want to disclose, it was not wise to keep prying.

Kyle was relieved that Elias had stopped asking questions he’d have a hard time answering to. He asked: “I understand that the Brightmoon family is everywhere on the continent. What do you do exactly?”

“We are merchants and the main branch in the Trost empire specializes in alchemy. We mainly sell elixirs and pills all over the continent in every major city. Our products are popular and we never lack clients because we have no competitors at our level.” Elias said.

“I see.” Kyle said.

It was at this moment that I felt strange ripples in the air.

“Two powerful Hallowed Swordsmen are fighting not far from here.” I thought.

From the ripples that only I could see and feel, I could tell that the fighters were extremely strong. Even as strong if not stronger than me.

“They should both be above the Awakened level. This means that the ruler of this continent, the Awakened William Trost, is the only existence on that level in the public eye.” I conjectured.

“I should perform some clairvoyance to get to the bottom of it.” I closed my eyes and followed the ripples with my mind’s eye.

Hundreds of miles later, I found them.

Two middle-aged men tightly holding their swords could be seen fighting above the clouds.

The ability to fly. The Hallowed swordsmen could only fly when they reached the Ascendant level.

One of them, wearing a red attire said: “How many times must I say it? You’ll never acquire the Magus Stone.”

I thought: “A magus stone....wait...THE magus stone?”

The man in black said: “You’ve had that stone forever. It’s time for a new owner.”

The man in red then said: “You can try...”

The man in red grasped his sword tightly. He looked tired. He fed his sword his last bit of essence that he had inside him and then looked at the man in black warily.

The man in black also fed his last bit of essence to his sword as well.

The outcome of their fight would be decided after their next last move.

They were about to attack each other when they both stopped and looked in my direction.

“Sh*t. They discovered me.” I thought. I was sure that my act of spying would go unnoticed.

“Show yourself.” The man in black shouted in my direction.

They really thought that someone was physically there when I only had a portion of my mind’s eye here.

The man in red took out a violet stone from his sleeve and then closed his eyes. He then opened his eyes shortly after saying: “He’s not here physically. It’s just a portion of his mind that’s spying on us.”

The man in black seemed to believe his enemy. He said: “We’re both depleted of essence after three consecutive days of fighting. We should stop here first and find this intruder and then kill him. We can continue our fight when he’s dead.”

Of course, the existence of the magus stone is a secret that only a few knew about.

Killing me, even if I had no idea what they were talking about, would ensure that the identity of the final owner of the stone would be safe.

Neither of the two wanted to be hunted down by others because they were in possession of the magus stone.

They were both Hallowed Swordsmen. Probably at the Ascendant level or even Primus level.

When I was alive, I was comparable to a Primus level Hallowed Swordsman in might. Sometimes stronger than that because I was a magician.

Now, in this state, I was lucky if I could overpower an Ascendant Hallowed swordsman in a fight because I had to rely on Kyle’s body to refine mana.

Even if the copper ring could store a nigh unlimited amount of mana, I still needed the time necessary to acquire that mana before I could use it.

There was a good side to this ethereal state I was in, they would have to be in possession of the ring to be able to find me or even see me.

I was safe even if the man in red used the magus stone to hunt me down.

I decided to play with them.

I materialized a clone in front of them.

The clone was made of black smoke and one could see through it just like my real body.

When the clone appeared, their faces were immediately drained of blood.

“The ability to create something out of nothing...You’re a magus.” the man in red said.

The man in black had no words for what he was seeing.

At least they recognized what I was.

“Yes. I am a magus. Why the shocked faces?” I asked.

The man in black said: “Impossible. The magus power system disappeared back then... Magicians were hunted down and killed...every last one of them... ”

I said: “Well, I’m not forcing you to believe me...Now...I heard that there is a magus stone here...I’d like to see it.”

The man in red seemed to be backing up.

He was afraid.

They had no idea how strong I was but creating a clone when I wasn’t even there told them that I was strong enough to be a threat to them.

“I am asking nicely. Must you make me come here in person and take it myself?” I said.

The man in red then begrudgingly handed over the violet stone he was holding.

When my clone touched the violet stone, I knew that it was real.

The magus stone that once belonged to me, to one of my masters to be exact, was in my hands once again. Back then, we had scoured the entire planet looking for it.

I was thinking that I had a chance to unravel more of its mysteries.

“Sir, we’ll be taking our leave then…” said the man in black.

I woke up from my reverie and realized that the two were still in the vicinity.

I watched them leave while hoping that it was the last time we crossed paths. If they knew my real strength and my whereabouts, the freedom that I had just gained would be ruined.

I spent some time looking at the magus stone absentmindedly and then proceeded to teleport it in the copper ring.

The clone dissipated and I was back to the room where Kyle and Elias were still conversing.

I still couldn’t believe that a random fight between two powerhouses would be so rewarding.

I entered the world inside the copper ring impatient to start studying the magus stone.