Who knows how long we lie there amidst the shattered ruins of Tankenstein Graveyard? For a long time, there’s just the sound of our heaving breaths and I open and close my eyes repeatedly, drifting between consciousness and blackness. Perideen isn’t faring much better, though I don’t really have the brainpower to worry about him. Beneath us, little aftershocks occasionally rumble through the graveyard as some tomb or another collapses. Without a single drop of mana left in my body, I eventually come to and return to the waking world. My eyes open to see the night sky. A powerful moon shines down on us and it feels like the sun.

“Did we win?” I ask and Perideen just huffs next to me. Flat on his back, the assassin gives me a thumbs up. At some point, the frozen handcuffs I crafted to keep me attached to him have shattered and melted away. Dark bruises line my wrists, but I don’t mind. The pain feels like victory. There’s no way anything could have survived being directly on top of that blast, right?

“If the Bloodfiend survived that, I’ll eat my sword. You win, Kid. Your town will be fine.” He chuckles and then lets his hand flop back down in the dirt. “Give me a moment…to catch my breath…you’re heavy. And bloody crazy. Maybe leave extermination to the professionals next time? We only get to live once, you know.”

That’s what you think.

“Hah!” I get to my feet. Stagger around drunkenly. Everything feels surreal. The night crisp air. Even the smell of Asha Wood, doesn’t seem so bad. Suddenly, something big tumbles by out of the air-

*Whump*

I jerk as a horse-sized chunk of the Mausoleum’s solid stone doors lands beside me. It’s literally big enough to squash me like a bug. Fortunately, it missed. Holy crap that was close! Remembering how the explosion blew the doors sky-high, I laugh as Perideen raises his head curiously. When he sees that there’s no threat, he lies back down and closes his eyes. Tired, my heart still racing from the surprise, I approach the giant slab of smooth marble. Everything’s covered in icky gunk and blood, and the edges have been sheered off. However, I catch sight of something on the inner side of the door which we never saw on the way in. There are these markings, an elegantly carved relief which is definitely supposed to be some sort of picture. However, all the blood and unidentifiable substances from the explosion have coated the pale marble to give it a disgusting dark patina which obscures much of its original beauty.

What’s this?

Peering closer, I can just barely make out that the carving is of a man sitting on a throne, holding what appears to be a longsword of some sort across his knees. The worksmanship of the picture is actually excellent. Dyed in blood, his eyes have a dark, reddish color like everything else in the carving now, but I feel like that’s not their original hue. A huge crowd of crudely drawn people kneel at the foot of his throne, and he watches over them with what seems to be an almost bored expression. There’s a line of text above the picture, which at first, is just incoherent lines and squiggles, but then abruptly rearranges itself into plain English.

In the year 2026, the Black Lord willingly surrendered his throne. Thus began the end-

The rest of the carving has been destroyed in the explosion, and I shake my head. Behind me, Perideen begins to rise and I turn away. 2026? That doesn’t make any sense. It’s currently 571 in the Yuel Calendar. Which means this must have been carved in one of the previous eras before the Age of Magic. Glacia said that the Age of Cultivation came before this, maybe this is something from then?

Cool…

“Find something interesting?” The assassin brushes himself off. His coat is absolutely covered in all manner of ick and nasty things so he gives up in disgust after a second, “I need a bath. Let’s go back to Tosa.”

“Just a carving. Hey, Perideen, do you know what year the Age of Cultivation ended in?” I ask, but he just laughs.

“Sorry, Kid, history isn’t my strong suit. But the Rainstopper Archives have a lot of information. You should pay a visit sometime if you’re interested in that kind of stuff. We have killer techniques too! Want to know how to kill a man with your toe?” Perideen takes off his dog mask wearily with a smile. Then walks off, waving at me to follow. I’ve noticed that he keeps trying to get me interested in the Rainstopper Sect, but for now, I’m not convinced. Why would I go there, when I can get personal instruction from the Secthead at home? He turns around while I’m taking one last look at the carving, “You coming?”

“Y-Yea…let’s go!” I follow him out of Tankenstein. Most of the graveyard has been utterly destroyed, and there’s even great chasms, where due to the collapse of the tombs underneath, the surface has split open. However, Perideen assures me that the Wandering Soul Formation should hold, even with all the damage. At least long enough for the Holy War to end so the land can be re-blessed. As we leave, I’m exhausted, and my brain fuzzy, but I can’t get my head off that carving. There’s something off about it. I can’t remember right…but didn’t Glacia say that the Age of Cultivation ended in the year 1516? But the text on that stone said the year was 2026. Whatever, it’s a small town. They probably just messed up the date.

#

“Hmm mmm mmm!” Pumping my arms up and down, I take a sniff of the ultra-high-quality sheep’s milk cheese which I managed to find at the specialty shop in Tosa. “Hehehe…who’s gonna be delicious. You are…yes you are! I don’t even regret saving that worthless town now!”

“You’re in high spirits today.” Perideen remarks wryly, looking back at me. We’re on the trail to Sines. Almost home! After informing the authorities at Tosa of what happened at Tankenstein Graveyard, they didn’t believe us, but it should become obvious that we were telling the truth once they check the ruined graveyard. Could have at least given us a reward or something for saving all their lives…bloody ungrateful normies!

“Did you know that in some places, sheep’s milk cheese is called tartufo?” Rubbing my cheek against the nice cheese block, I quietly cast a small Chill on it to keep it cold. With a pat, I put it back in my coat pocket. It cost me pretty much all my remaining savings, but when I saw it, I had to get it. It was impossible not to. The thought of a certain Demi-Cat’s excited face and ears perking up convinced me that it was a necessary purchase. Natalia’s going to love this! Wait…she might just eat it all in one go if I show her the whole block. Maybe I’ll make pasta first. Or a charcuterie board. There was still some smoked meat in the cellar, if Natalia hasn’t eaten it yet, we could have a party!

“Really, Tartufo? That’s a strange name. Is this something you read in a book?” Perideen smiles. I just shake my head. Nah, it’s just a little place called Earth. But you wouldn’t understand that.

“Sure, a book, mhm.” Nothing can ruin my spectacular mood. Tosa is saved, but more importantly, Sines is saved. I’ve successfully protected our home like a good nephew. I wonder if Romy will be proud of me when she gets back with Mark? Maybe she’ll be so impressed she’ll let me go find Glacia! “Hey Perideen, you’re going to tell Romy about this right?”

“Oh? Yes, I was planning on sending a letter to the Secthead when we return to Sines. Would you like to include something?” He nods. The sun is high in the sky, and all our clothes were freshly washed and laundered by the innkeepers a few days ago before we left, so I feel refreshed. “Keep in mind, anything you send will take quite a while to reach her. Also…could you not mention…how err…” Perideen pauses and I look at him questioningly. Noticing his ears are a bit red, I start to understand. “Could you perhaps leave out exactly how close we came to…a bad end?”

“You’re scared she’s going to chew you out!” I laugh as I realize why he’s so embarrassed. “Well, I was going to tell her how dangerous it was, but I suppose I can play it down a little. Good luck though, Romy killed the last person who put me in danger.”

“K-Killed?” Perideen looks me up and down and I whistle innocently, “Maybe we don’t need to send a letter after all…I’m sure the Secthead’s very busy in…wherever she is.”

Damn, he almost slipped up and told me where she is!

“Well technically, it was a Demon Scout’s clone, so he didn’t actually die. Anyways, I’m sure you’ll be fine. I’ll tell her you fought valiantly in my defense and didn’t abandon me even when death was almost certain!” Laughing inside, I work hard to keep a straight face as Perideen becomes more and more uncomfortable. That’s for making me buy my own inn room!

“M-Myrr, hold on a minute. The Secthead’s temper is legendary. If you tell her that then I’ll-!” He reaches out a hand but I quickly dodge away. I’m experimenting with using micro blasts of Gust to move faster. Theoretically if I wrap the wind around my body parts, I could manipulate my joints with my mind. Although…I should be careful. Too fast and I might break something important!

Hmm…let’s test this out!

“Catch me and I’ll think about helping you with Romy!” Taking the chance to train with Perideen, I summon a huge jet of wind to blow him back and simultaneously push me away. He blurs rapidly out of sight, but seems surprised by the sheer ferocity of the attack. Wow, I feel great today! Like I have even more mana than ever. Did casting that massive Mudbomb improve my mana capacity? Playing around and experimenting with various techniques, I enjoy the feeling of a win. We dance back and forth as the forest becomes familiar and Sines grows close in the distance. Almost home!

“Gotcha!” Perideen appears next to me and taps my shoulder. However, I just smile-

[Frozen Wind of My Soul, Come Forth-Chill]

*Clink*

His hand bounces off a small plate of ice I silently manifest over my upper arm. Then I chant out loud-

[Muddy Stone of My Endurance, Move Forth-Meld]

The only basic spell I still can’t cast silently. Meld turns the ground muddy, and I manipulate the sloshing earth to rise into the sky and explode into an obscuring curtain of dirt-

“Hey, don’t get my coat dirty!” Perideen grumbles, appearing behind me again. But I was expecting that. Even without Foresight on, after battling the Blood Servants in the Mausoleum, I’m starting to realize that you don’t need to see the future to predict certain actions. Without looking, I aim both hands behind my back and start chanting. Knew you’d go for my back!

[Frozen Wind of My Soul, Come Forth-Chill]

[Stormy Breeze of My Loneliness, Gather Forth-Gust]

My first ever Disguised Spell summons two fast bullets of ice which jet out and I hear them ping as Perideen bats them aside with his hands. Bending forwards, I feel the air part as his fingers pass overhead. I tumble unnaturally fast, the wind currents shifting around my body as I mentally order the air to help manipulate my flip.

[Stormy Breeze of My Loneliness, Gather Forth-Gust]

“What the hell is that movement?” Perideen is shocked. However, after a moment, he still smashes his foot against the ground and rockets next to me. His hand comes out and I just sigh, too lazy to bother dodging. In a friendly contest, there’s no way I can outrun him forever. In order to really win, I’d have to find a way to stop his movement entirely. Or up the power of my ice attacks. After we land, he’s in disbelief, “You’re even stronger than when we first met. I don’t believe it! Practicing some new tricks?”

“Just wanted to try a few things.” I scrunch up my face, going over each move in my mind. Using Chill to form armor midbattle, and Gust to manipulate my body was pretty good. The mud curtain was ineffective, but that might just be because Perideen is too damn fast. Against one of the Blood Rats for instance, it would definitely buy time for me to cast a big spell. Flicking some dirt off my sleeve, I concentrate on my mana pool. The most important thing is that even though I casted a series of smaller spells, none of them, with the exception of the mud curtain, needed a lot of magic energy. Perfect. Very efficient, I still have plenty of mana left. “Anyways let’s go to the house, I want to sleep in my own bed tonight! Hey, Perideen, now that I think about it, where are you going to sleep? Are you going to take Mark and Romy’s bed?”

“T-The Secthead’s bed? Me?!” Perideen is alarmed at the thought, “No, no, I’ll just sleep on the couch-wait. Do you smell that…frick, get behind me! What the hell happened!”

What?

“What is it?” I yell, immediately activating Foresight and stepping behind Perideen. Looking into the future, I see him warily looking around every which way, scanning for threats. And then I turn my head towards the house which just came into view. It’s my house. The Rainstopper Residence. No…no…this can’t be…it was fine…IT WAS FINE WHEN I LEFT!

“They could still be here…don’t do anything rash!” Perideen cautions me as I approach. My brain is scattered. I’m not thinking. When I left, the walls of the house were covered in a bit of mud, and I was hoping that the rain would wash it away. However, it seems that won’t be necessary anymore. Because there are no more walls.

“Perideen...this isn’t real, right?” I whisper, though I know my eyes don’t lie. It’s all just too much. Our living room which Romy remodeled appears to have simply collapsed. The master bedroom, and my guest bedroom on the second floor are now the new first floor. I can see the ruined furniture inside. It’s all wide open, our memories spilling out like guts from a dead animal. The leaky roof which Mark needed to fix is gone. Torn away by some unknown giant’s hands. Pieces of tiling and wooden planks are scattered all about the yard, and sooty flames still burn on much of the remains. We pad closer, and each step in both the future and present stabs at my heart.

Why…?

As we approach, the devastation becomes clear. This is not the work of a natural disaster. No random storm or earthquake caused this. Someone maliciously chose to do this. A few meters from the slanted remains of the front door, I peer inside. It’s possible to see what remains of our kitchen, the pots and pans thrown about inside. It makes me feel a bit sick. But more importantly…angry. Who did this? My family’s enemies? Or perhaps one of Romy and Mark’s? The Demon Scout?

[Frozen Wind of My Soul, Come Forth-Chill]

I use Chill to condense water out of the atmosphere and then sprinkle it everywhere. The remaining flames soon die out, although the damage is already done. As the smoke curls up from the wreckage, I swallow. It’s too late to save much of anything. When my eyes catch sight of the bed I spent so many wonderful nights with Glacia on, somehow now out in the yard, exposed to the elements, one of the legs missing, and the sheets burnt to ashes, I start shaking with rage. Damnit…Romy, Mark…I let you down. Our home…why? Was it because of me?

“I’m sorry.” Perideen sees the hard look on my face and bows his head apologetically. “Do you know who is responsible?”

“No. But I’ll find out.” I sigh, letting the sadness dissipate, along with my Foresight. Not once in my previous life was I ever particularly attached to any particular apartment or place. Hotel suites and random penthouses might have been places to stay, but I never really felt like they were home. However, this house was home. Romy and Mark definitely made it special for me. “Damnit, can I just grow up in peace?”

“Myrr…look, the town.” Perideen pulls me out of my introspection by pointing in the direction of Sines. I realize that there’s a plume of smoke rising into the sky. It reminds me a little bit too much of Tankenstein’s Graveyard. Growing apprehensive, I step away from the Rainstopper Residence. “Should we investigate?”

“Let’s go.” I start to march away, only to pause. “Do you hear that?”

“Yes.” Perideen and I whirl around. There’s this faint noise coming from inside the wreckage. Like nails scratching on wood. For a second, I’m reminded of the Blood Rat’s claws and shudder. “What is that?”

“I don’t know…” Turning my Foresight back on, I approach cautiously. Perideen holds his sword out as we enter the collapsing doorway. “Where is it coming from?”

“Not here…below us…” The assassin’s sensitive ears triangulate the sound. “Is there a basement?”