Rai and Sin were too tired to discuss the spar in the sparring room, so they returned to the penthouse to clean themselves and eat.

Both bedrooms had their own attached cleaning area, an on-suite, and Rai was loving the luxurious feeling of not having to share a bathroom with other people. It’s so spacious, and I don’t have to share it with mum or the old man. Rai didn't know otherwise, so his own view of the world was all he could realistically comprehend. But the privacy of having his own bathroom was a sensation that made him feel giddy.

He was already very happy with the bedroom as it was, but the bathroom was the best part. There was a shower, and a bath, as well as a smaller washbasin and fancy toilet that made him wish his mum and Jin were here to be able to use it. The array of bottles and containers with miscellaneous looking liquids was overwhelming to him, so he just picked out the ones with the nicest smelling liquids and used those.

Surprisingly, there was very little magic involved in the shower or bath. Rai thought there would be runes or incantations that had perpetual effects, but there were none. This was all accomplished by mechanical engineering, probably through the ingenuity of the Creation clan, he thought.

After Rai'd finished with his bath, the water would all drain down a small hole in the tub. He liked to wait a moment and watch it form a mini whirlpool around the drain.

Rai put on a pair of loose fitting pants that he found comfortable, and wrapped the towel over the back of his shoulders. He decided to leave his hair down instead of tying it up like he usually did. It reached down to the middle of his back. Rai found it strange that his seals would never get dirty or chipped or anything of the sort. I wonder, what are they made of? He'd have to ask his aunt to find out.

Rai looked in a mirror in his bedroom at how his body’d grown. He was glad that he didn’t have a very wide build, but was lean and more athletic than muscular. Fighting in his style meant that a bulky build would inhibit his movements far too much. Still, Rai kept in good shape, and he had very little body fat which he was happy about.

He walked into the main room. The first thing he saw was Lilly, Sin's handmaiden, in the kitchen chopping vegetables.

“Hello Lilly. Is Sin nearly done?” He grabbed a banana from the counter on the other side and started peeling it.

Lilly didn’t look up from the vegetables she was chopping, “The Lady will be finished momentarily.” She provided no further information than what was asked of her.

Rai’d successfully peeled the banana peel, and started eating the banana within. Through his bites and swallows, he asked Lilly, “What you making?”

Once again, Lilly showed no physical response to his question, and simply answered, “A meal for the Lady.”

Rai realised that he would get nowhere with this conversation and decided to just go and sit down on the couch. He injected some mana into the remote for the crystalakrum and turned on the screen in front of him. The crystalakrum was a great invention, but was way too expensive for most people to afford. Rai felt blessed that he even had access to one.

He sifted through the channels when he stumbled upon an interview with the Academy’s headmaster. This seems interesting.

⌈“-year’s entrance exams have finally concluded, and we are here with the headmaster of Aether Academy to discuss what he thought of this year’s prospects! Please, headmaster, do you have any initial words for this interview that might help our viewers understand what it is you do?”

The headmaster smiled toward the recording device, “Hello ladies and gentlemen across Zenith. I am the headmaster of Aether Academy, and just a few days ago we hosted our annual entrance exams to welcome new students into our school.”

The interviewer who was offscreen spoke again, “Thank you headmaster. We know that many of the influential figures in Zenith tend to have studied at Aether Academy, so we were wondering, do you see any potential future leaders in this year’s batch of new students?”

The headmaster kept wearing his clearly forced smile, “Of course! I see the greatest potential in all of our students. They put in their maximum effort, then push themselves beyond their own limits. It is a pleasure to be able to guide the next generation to be the best versions of themselves!”

“Was there any one student in particular, or a group of students, that stood out to you in the exams?”

The headmaster’s expression faltered for a moment, before returning to the smile he’d been forcing throughout the interview, “There were a handful of students that caught the eyes of the instructors. The potential for growth in all of our students impresses us every year.”

“We have time for a few more questions before we finish. Everyone who knows about Aether Academy knows that every year there's a chance for a student to be mentored directly by you, the headmaster. What are the criteria a student has to meet to be mentored by you?”

The headmaster’s smile hadn’t changed, and seemed to be glued onto his face, “It’s quite simple, and it’s not limited to one student. If a student scores the first position in two of three of the exams, they have the right to request me as their mentor. The other option is if I personally choose a student to mentor.”

“As a follow-up, we know that in the last fifteen years of your position as the headmaster, you have not personally chosen to mentor a student. Have you chosen one this year?”

Rodrick’s eyes narrowed slightly, and a small grin formed out of the side of his mouth, replacing his faux smile. “I have.”

The interviewer was silent for a moment, as if he had to digest the information he was just smacked with. After the moment of silence, he spoke once more, “This is an unprecedented situation for the Academy, so we would like to ask one last question. Is there anything we can know about this student?”

The headmaster pondered for a moment, then relinquished his mask, “As part of Academy policy, we choose to keep our students’ private lives private. What I can tell you, however, is that this student is rather... electrifying.” He spoke the final words with a wink towards the recording device.

The interviewer, who hoped for more, digressed, “Thank you so much for the interview headmaster. We hope to hear more from the Academy soon about this mystery student!”⌋

Rai heard Sin’s voice from behind him. She sounded rather surprised, “I can be mentored by the headmaster directly?”

Rai turned to see her, wearing a loose cropped top and tight looking pants. Her hair was still a little wet. She was staring at the crystalakrum. “Is it that much of a good thing to be mentored by the headmaster?”

Sin looked at him with a childish joy, “Of course it is! He’s the headmaster, the most experienced teacher in the Academy. Apparently, his level of mana control and magic technique is second to none. My dad even talks about him sometimes, placing him at a level just below the Aspects.”

Rai had a surprised look on his face, “I never knew he was that strong.”

Sin looked at Rai, confusion plastered on her face, “Didn’t you fight him?”

Rai nodded, “Yeah, but it wasn’t much of a fight.”

Sin solemnly nodded, and looked at her friend with pity. Rai was a bit confused at her expression, “It must have been hard.”

Rai now thought he understood the look of pity, then he agreed, “Yeah, it took so long. I couldn’t do anything but just lay there on the ground.”

Sin eyed him with a tinge of sadness, “It got dragged out? That makes it even worse.”

Rai shook his head, correcting her, “Oh no, it was over in an instant.”

Sin nodded fervently, “Yes, that makes the most sense.”

Rai switched the topic, “I wonder who this electrifying student is..”

Sin stared blankly at him, “Are you an idiot?”

Rai looked into her eyes, and wondered what he was missing.

Sin facepalmed, “Electrifying, electric, lightning. Who else but you would be able to use lightning magic?”

Rai was starting to get it, “Oh..”

Sin hammered the point home, “He also personally wanted to test you, did he not?”

Rai felt like he’d achieved another eureka moment, “OHH!”

Sin looked at her closest and oldest friend, and wondered how on Zenith he managed to get to where he was.

Lilly brought over a bowl of chopped vegetables that were put together in a salad. Sin thanked her, then sat down next to Rai as she ate.

Rai wanted to discuss the spar they had earlier. “What was that cloning technique you used? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

There was a look of pride seeping in on Sin’s face. “It’s a technique I came up with. It’s like a mirror technique, I can create clones of myself in whatever form I’m in. So if I’m using my divine form, the clones take on that form as well. My tutors don’t like me using it that much though.”

Rai was impressed, the creativity of her technique is exactly the kind of thing that his aunt would praise. “You should use it often, get your body used to it. Maybe you can even learn to improve the ability beyond what you know of it now if you use it more.”

Sin hadn’t thought of it that way, “That’s... a good idea, I’ll do that.”

“Actually, have you tried applying your divine form to your clone specifically? Can you hear what your clones hear? See what they see? I feel like you can push this technique to be able to do all of that stuff.”

Sin was somewhat blown away. This was the technique that she came up with, but she didn’t even think of the possibilities that Rai was now suggesting to her. “Those are all good ideas, and if I can get the clone technique to work like that then it’ll become a really useful part of my arsenal.”

Rai forgot the most important thing, “Do you have a name for the technique?”

Sin tilted her head slightly and looked at him quizzically, “A name?”

Rai copied her movement, “Yeah, a name. You don’t name your techniques?”

“I haven’t named a technique before. I didn’t even know you could do that.”

Rai was even more confused, “Haven’t I mentioned Stormflow to you before? When we were communicating through that device your dad set up?”

Sin’s face told Rai that everything was now making sense to her, “... I thought Stormflow was the name of a cat or something...”

Rai stared blankly at her. “And I’m the idiot?”

Sin broke out in laughter. “I really thought it was a cat.” She spoke through her tears at this absurd situation.

The two giggled for a little while before Sin went back to what Rai said. “What should I name the technique?”

Rai shrugged, “It’s up to you. You should name it something that suits the technique, and shows off who you are. At least that’s what I think the name of a technique should represent.”

Sin leaned back into the couch, and spent a few minutes pondering while Rai sifted through the channels on the crystalakrum. This was her own technique, and she should find a fitting name for it. “I might have to figure it out later, I’m drawing a blank.”

Rai reassured her, “It’s fine, there’s no deadline or anything like that. In the end, even if you don’t want to name it, it’s your choice and you can make it whenever you want.”

Sin nodded, then walked past Rai to take the empty bowl into the kitchen.

Rai caught the scent of roses as she walked by. He looked over at her, only just now realising how much time they lost. “Sin.”

She looked back from the counter.

His heart was a little heavy, but a soft smile grew on Rai’s face, “I’ve really missed you.”

Sin didn’t quite know how to respond, but it was true that she missed Rai just as much as he missed her. The time they lost could be made up for now. With a heavy heart that looked forward to the future, Sin spoke, “I missed you too, so let’s make the most of the time we have together!”

A tear formed in Rai’s eye, “I’d... I’d really like that.”