Night had fallen and he lay on his bed with his eyes closed, while Fengari had made himself comfortable on his stomach and seemed to be asleep. William, on the other hand, squatted upright beside him and stared out the window without uttering a word.

After talking with Chiefs Merensen and promising to keep the secrets, they had all eaten together. William, Ben, Philippa and Aletta, Ninett Merensen and even High-Magician Aaron Thopas were there. Actually, Aaron just wanted to check on them once and was promptly asked by Cale to stay for dinner. Aaron had spent the days trying to find out about his mother, Olivia Leuen, but the woman didn't feel like she existed at all. According to him, Olivia's existence disappeared the more he researched, and the fact that there felt to be no family trees or lists of people from Groka only made it harder.

"Are you mad that we're going to leave?", William spoke up after some time, which caused Cale to open his eyes and stare at the ceiling. A fact had arrived that he had never really given any thought to. It was not Aletta or Miguel who would leave, but William and Ben. Grischa had hinted at it a few weeks ago, but Cale hadn't really thought about it.

"Not mad, more sad. To be honest, I'm crying every moment", Cale confessed quietly. Tomorrow was the scheduled weekly meeting with the dragons and the day after tomorrow was the last day of the year. He had barely four days left before William would leave him and the thought of it depressed him. He had spent a lot of time trying to understand the truth behind his own existence, that time had been lacking on other ends. Even if he got along well with William and he would claim to be his friend, four months were only four months. In his first life, three years had passed before William dared to reveal himself, so how much value did the four months have? Was their relationship even as intimate as Cale desired?

"Cale..."

"I know. You don't have a choice and neither do I. We both have duties we have to fulfill, even if I'm not happy with it", Cale replied. In the past, he would have left Altona behind and gone with them to Sylve, but he couldn't do that now. As much as he wanted to protect William and Ben, he couldn't split himself in two, especially since he also had a whole new problem. He had to stop the reincarnations and act as a spokesman between the dragons and the humans. So many were helping him with his issues, which was why Cale couldn't just drop everything, even if his heart was screaming for it.

"I'm sorry. My father thinks it's safer for me to come to Bellator", William calmly admitted and sat up, which is why he and Cale could look each other in the eye.

"You probably are. You have the Igrikum with you and that alone is perfectly sufficient for your protection. You don't need me anymore."

"Don't say it like that. I didn't stay with you because of your abilities, Cale, but because I like you."

"I know, I'm sorry. My words were poorly chosen", Cale replied, smiling with moist eyes. "Are you happy to be coming home?"

"Only partly, I must admit", William replied. "I haven't seen my brothers for two years, and I'm glad to see them again. But my father... I don't really want to face my father. I feel like a failure all the way around. I... I couldn't prove to him that I've matured and can help."

"I don't think so. After all, you helped defend Exarion and your father knows of that. I realize your relationship with your father is difficult, but he seems concerned about you."

"I'm not so sure about that", William countered, followed by a long sigh. "If he was really worried about me, he'd be talking to me, not making decisions over my head."

"Understandable. He's trying to keep you in the palace to make sure nothing happens to you. Just like he did to your brothers."

"I've come to recognize that, too", William confirmed. "They say you don't really understand your parents until you get older, and I have to say that's true. Although, I still have to say that my father has said and done some things that I can't relate to."

"That's normal", Cale replied, petting Fengari. He was aware that William had to think about his secret mission and could well understand why the king's actions were so contradictory. Had King Leonhardt given him this mission out of anger at the time, hoping William would give up? But then, why had he let him go in the first place? On that subject, even Cale had his doubts.

"If you say so", William spoke up. "When all this is over, we'll visit each other often, promise?"

"If only it were that simple", Cale muttered, closing his eyes.

"Please don't talk like that."

"William, this isn't just a situation that's going to suddenly disappear into thin air."

"I know..."

"We're facing a war and your father knows about it", Cale explained quietly, causing William to give him a puzzled look. "This is information that only the representatives of the countries have, so please keep what I'm about to tell you to yourself."

When Cale opened his eyes, he looked at William with a serious look, so he nodded hesitantly.

"I'm sure you remember the Kormandent, the one who attacked Grischa. The real name of their race is Thormad. These are people whose mana circuits have been destroyed and have lived in hiding for centuries. For a long time we have been receiving harbingers that they want to attack us, Groka was no exception. They are trying to drive us humans away in order to claim the land for themselves and are using the creatures to do so. We don't know exactly how or why yet, but we are on the verge of a world war."

You could feel William's nervousness grip him abruptly and he looked down with frightened eyes at Cale, who only smiled.

"How long have you known about this world war?", he asked cautiously as Fengari stretched and sat up. The little cat had woken up by now.

"A long time. Considerably longer than we've known each other. The existence of the Thormods, however, is something new, even to me. Therefore... please be careful. These are dangerous people and they are incredibly strong. You can use the Igrikum however you want, so don't hesitate if you're in danger."

"What about you? Don't I put you in danger when I use your Igrikum?"

"No, you don't. It's not a normal ability like other mages, you don't have to be afraid. Just trust me", Cale explained as Fengari jumped down from his body and climbed onto the window sill behind them. With William crouched at the window, Fengari approached him and rubbed against the glass to signal William to let her outside.

"All right", William finally acknowledged, raising his hand to the window handle.

"Would you take Fengari to Sylve, too?", Cale brought out jerkily, causing both William and Fengari herself to look at him in surprise.

, Fengari complained instantly.

"What, your little cat?", William returned, dropping his gaze to the black figure before him.

"Yes. She's loving and very intelligent, so if you tell her something, she'll understand you", Cale replied aloud.

"Like a dog", William commented, which made Fengari turn to William and snarl at him.

"You've upset Fengari", Cale declared with amusement.

"Sorry Fengari, I didn't mean to offend you", William spoke up sheepishly.

"Look Fengari, he apologized. Don't be angry with him. Come here", Cale replied with amusement, tapping the bed with his hand. For a moment, Fengari defied the request before jumping down from the window bed and looking at Cale with serious eyes.

, Fengari shouted and made a big jump at his hand before she started fighting with it. Cale had to laugh at the statement, and a moment later William did the same as he watched the black ball struggle with Cale's hand, which was almost as big as she was.

"Where did you get Fengari anyway?"

"She followed me", Cale replied, playing with her as he himself straightened up.

"Would she even leave you behind?"

"Yes, she would. She's a smart, sometimes annoying little thing", Cale gave amusement, grabbing Fengari's body and pushing it in circles several times, which is why her head and claws tried to grab at his hand.

"If you say so, I'll take her. I'm sure Edward and Marion will like her."

"Thank you."

Fengari straightened abruptly and remained seated quietly, causing Cale to look at her with irritation for a moment.

"I'm going to bed, Cale", William spoke up a moment later, which caused the High-Magician to turn his attention back to him.

"All right. Sleep well."

"You too", he replied, straightening up and leaving the bedroom. For a moment, Cale stared at the door to see if William had stopped, but the prince had gone back down the hall to the guest room and settled into bed. Carefully, Cale made a small sound barrier appear before turning his attention back to Fengari.

"What's wrong, Fengari?"

"Velence. He wants to talk to you", she announced quickly, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

"Velence? He can reach me himself anytime, can't he? Then why is he talking to you?"

"In theory, he can, but it seems rude to him not to ask our permission first. Since we left the sacred island back then, he's become incredibly careful to behave respectfully toward us", Fengari explained, and a moment later Cale could feel the dragon leader's mana spreading through him. Perhaps Velence didn't want to risk a repeat of the argument between the dragons, so he asked permission first.

, Fengari quickly replied and let go of the two.

"I'll go get some candy with you, have fun, father", she threw after them mockingly, jumping down from the bed and disappearing by the stairs. Cale, on the other hand, slid the bed up a bit and propped his arm against the window sill as he found himself looking in the direction of Holy Island.

, Velence stated matter-of-factly, causing Cale to frown and close his eyes. Practiced, he recalled the memories of his second life and found himself in Groka. Velence was right next to him, but compared to the last time, his presence was much stronger this time.

The usual scenario occurred. Five-year-old Caleb looked around before his mother screamed for him and a moment later took him in her arms. She ran with him back to the main square, while Cale looked around at the memory in confusion. Why did Velence want to see such a memory? Did he want to check if the gods were here to see, or if the time overlapped with his memories? What was so interesting about Groka?

, Velence himself spoke up.

, the dragon replied, so Cale reflexively turned his attention to his mother. Stunned, he stared at the young woman who was talking to Vincent Leuen, but Cale couldn't detect that her shape wasn't real at all.

Without comment, he continued to observe the events of the second life. If this was true about the inheritance of abilities, then he had undoubtedly inherited this gift from his mother. No wonder his first use of magic was that very ability, when even a dragon had its problems being able to recognize it, let alone Fengari and Chioni.

Cale didn't hesitate long, and with the help of his null magic, had pen and paper conjured up before he wondered if that was an ability of his mother's as well. He was aware that his mother had some basic knowledge of 'magic', but now Cale suddenly questioned her entire existence.

.

, Velence explained, and in the next moment Cale felt Velence's mana condense. His eyes were blurry for a moment before he could suddenly make out strange colors in the air. Irritated, he looked around and noticed that these colors were leaking from the bodies of people and creatures.

, Velence explained as Cale looked around in fascination. But when his gaze fell to the woman who was currently carrying him in her hands, his throat abruptly went dry. He could see how her mana had settled over her body like a thin, moving mass, hiding her true form. Cale felt sick as he shifted in horror at why he couldn't find out about his mother.

His mother was a Thormod.