"It's finally over, My Lord," the buoyant voice of a female knight echoed through the wintry air, as the monster of the battlefield - Rudien Alpheus Cherliann, clutched the reins of his steed while gazing down at the world from the mountaintops. "Soon, we will be able to return home and celebrate our victory."

Silver strands of hair that swayed over a handsomely proportioned face, his ruby eyes surveying the forestry surrounding them. The snow which blanketed the world reminding him of his daughter's pale hair.

"It was a guaranteed win from the start," Rudien sighed, tilting his head upwards to face a white sky. "What a nuisance Izadel was... Keeping me from seeing my family for three years."

The female knight held back a laugh upon hearing his aloof response. He thinks of Izadel as a nuisance, not even an enemy in war... This Duke is such a monster, it's almost funny.

The war between Izadel and Laydel had finally reached its end, with a brutal loss for the kingdom who initiated the war. Led by Duke Cherliann — the famed "Silver Reaper" of the battlefield — the army of Laydel seized victory in every battle, while even keeping casualties to a minimum.

Of course, many men had lost their lives. But as if protected by a guardian angel who sided with those of the empire, the knights of Laydel were spared many unnecessary losses and survived gory battles. They suffered no major casualties, while Izadel was scourged severely at their mercy.

Although they put up a good fight, Izadel was no match for the army raised by the infamous beast of Cherliann.

The war ended with the king of the enemy nation being slaughtered by Rudien's own sword, as well as his heirs. The only member of the royal family left alive, was a young illegitimate princess who the Duke left alive. All the same, after losing their rulers with the exception of a mere child they once ostracised, Izadel departed with their will to fight - and so they surrendered with great contrition.

"Nasriel," Rudien called out, turning back to face the crimson-haired female knight standing behind him, who had ridden her horse over to his. "How are the knights doing?"

"They're all in good spirits!" she smiled, trying her best to look cheerful in the cold. "A lot of them are still recovering from the final battle, but everyone is in a good mood. I think they're expecting a long rest once we're all home."

"Good, in that case," the lips of the duke curled upwards slightly, his ruby eyes gazing into the distance. "Tell the captain I'll be leaving my post early, and returning to Laydel."

Nasriel's eyes widened in awe, as she gazed at her superior in shock. "Right now?! But My Lord, aren't we supposed to head back all together in three months, after all the soldiers have recovered and Izadel has been secured?"

Rudien remained silent, his silver bangs brushing against sharp eyes. It was then he turned his head back to her, and shot her a baleful glare through his blood-red irises. "...Are you questioning my order?"

She flinched, remembering how much of a tyrant her teacher was. "N-No Sir! I'll go tell Captain Solas now, Sir!" It was then the frightened knight turned tail and galloped away on her horse, her long red hair bright against the whiteness surrounding them.

Rudien watched her receding figure before sighing softly, glancing down at the little white tassel attached to the hilt of his sword. A parting gift he received from his daughter, now stained with red and murk over the last three years of battle. No matter how much he tried to wash out the blood, he could never bring back the original pure-white sheen of the threads.

"I'm going to come back soon," he sighed, brushing a slender gloved hand over the tassel. "I wonder how you've all been."

Meanwhile, a certain magical bird who had perched himself in the trees, watched Rudien silently reminisce. Snow tilted his head, closing his beady eyes in content. "It seems my job here is finally over," He told himself, triumphantly. "I managed to keep him safe till the war's end, but just in case I'll put another protective mark on him for a safe travel back."

Focusing his energy, Snow implanted a small, glowing gold mark on the back of the duke's neck, which momentarily dissipated. It was a powerful spell which kept anyone safe from harm, but would disappear after something hit a person. Like a shield which would activate upon impact — even if someone were to fall a thousand metres from the sky, they would survive if Snow placed the protective spell on them.

The magic was supposed to be taxing on the phoenix's body, but fortunately he had enough strength to make hundreds of these talismans. It was how Snow was able to successfully save the lives of hundreds of Laydel's knights.

The magic I use is borrowed from Irene... But not once does her mana ever deplete when I use it... He thought, flapping his feathered wings before taking to the skies once more. Usually, when spirits borrowed power from their masters, it would drain the mana inside them, before gradually restoring over time. However, for Irene - this wasn't the case. No matter how much Snow splurged on her powers, he couldn't find a limit.

Although it didn't affect him, he knew this sort of phenomena was definitely abnormal. How could a little girl like Irene have so much mana stored within her body, to the point it was seemingly infinite? At first, he didn't pay much attention to it, but recently - her inner mana was starting to grow brighter by the day.

Maybe I should go and see that annoying mage... He might know something about this.

As Snow took a detour toward the magic tower where River usually did his research, the bird finally entered through the circular window of the mage's study. As he landed his white body safely on the sill, his beady eyes glazed around the cylindrical room. A neatly-organised space with bookshelves lining the walls, a spiral staircase up to an observatory on the left, and a desk with various apparatuses for alchemical research.

This space was a familiar sight to Snow, who was like that of a conscious lab rat to River. Luckily though - the phoenix was a spirit, so he couldn't feel any physical pain unless he took on a physical form.

"Ah, Snow," River called out, noticing the phoenix had arrived as he gazed down at him from his place at the observatory. The mage rested his arms against the rails of the stairs, long raven hair falling over his shoulders. "What brings you here? I don't really need to study you right now."

Snow ignored this statement, seemingly intent on a point. "I'm here because I got curious about something. It's been bothering me for a while now." He said, flying up to where River was, before sitting on his head.

The mage's indifferent expression revealed little interest. "If you ask me again about how human reproduction works, I'll roast you alive."

"That's not it!" The bird squawked, heaving a sigh. "...It's about the sprout."

That response gained a more curious look. "Irene? What about her?"

Snow remained silent for a moment, as if wondering how to bring out the words. He then inhaled softly, closing his eyes. "You're a mage, so you've noticed it, haven't you? The fact that she has a ridiculous amount of mana in that tiny vessel."

"Ah, so that's what this is about..." River said, having expected this conversation to arise one day. "Yes, I do believe there's something amiss there. Humans all have internal mana stores that grow as they develop from children to adults, but it's not normal for people to have as much affinity as Irene."

"It isn't normal for her to have that much at all," Snow frowned. "It's odd. Since I'm her spirit, me borrowing the mana in her body should drain her out. But it doesn't seem to affect her one bit."

As River contemplated these words, a part of him had already realised the answer. He sat down at the chair beside his telescope, letting down his sleek black hair as he tugged the red ribbon holding it up.

"I don't think a case like this has ever happened before. Irene has even more power than the mages listed in history," River told the phoenix, before glancing up at his beak. "Did you know? That sometime during puberty, every child has an "awakening." It's normal for them to become feverish or fall unconscious for a day or two when that happens, because the mana that was always locked inside them becomes usable, and their bodies are made to adapt as a result."

"...I'm aware of that. Irene is yet to awaken, right?" Snow frowned. "So she's probably going to go through the same."

"That's not all," the mage sighed. "Since my eyes allow me to see the colour of one's mana, I've always known that children have pure white magic inside them. It's untouchable, and won't change colour until they've awakened."

Snow stayed silent, waiting for River to continue. The raven-haired mage stood up, turning to face the window. "This is an indisputable fact. Children will always have white mana and that won't differentiate until they awaken. Some might awaken early on if their magic is strong, like Miss Isabella or myself, for example. But whenever I look at Irene, I can see that not only is her magic overflowing, but the colour of her magic isn't white. It's gold."

"Wait... What?" Snow's beak dropped in awe. "Its gold?! But how does that work? She's not even awakened yet, and-"

"So when she does awaken, I fear it'll be a lot more deadly than a fever." River stepped toward a shelf, taking out what appeared to be an archive of written notes and research he had been doing for a while now. "The more powerful the magic inside a person, the more painful it'll be during their awakening. Even I fell unconscious for a week during my awakening, yet my magic is but a shred of her's."

"So... What you're saying is..." Snow gulped, his feathers trembling.

River then stopped, his palms pressing onto the table as he paused his rummaging for a moment.

"Irene... May very possibly die in a few years when her awakening happens."

"That's..." Even Snow, who was usually so flippant and facetious, was unable to comprehend this fact. He fell into a silence as his heart ached in pain upon hearing those words. By instinct alone, the spirit who tethered himself to Irene, could not accept the fact that his master was in danger.

"She's a ticking time-bomb. You could say it's like an illness, with no cure." River sighed softly. "To be honest, her mana is so strong that I wouldn't be surprised if she suddenly awakens even now. So in the end, it could happen at any time."

"Is there anything we can do to save her?" Snow asked, his voice frantic.

Although the phoenix was starting to demonstrate fear of losing his master, the mage remained completely calm. River adjusted his spectacles, before sliding a roll of old, rough paper out of the shelves on his table.

"There's one way," he told the spirit, showing him the scroll. "Look at this."

As River unfurled the curled page, Snow gazed in awe at the scripture in front of him. It was written in an unknown language, but the words and pictures were old and rich with magical symbols.

Although the ink had faded over time, Snow could make out the image of a temple situated in a valley between two mountains. There, a male lion was sat waiting at the shrine, surrounded by forestry.

"I studied the ancient language, and managed to translate what it says at the top," River said. "It reads, "The great spirit of Leojura will guard his castle, until the day his master appears. He will hide away in a white jewel at the depths of the mountains' feet; protected by the shadows lurking beneath the moonlight. He will test their worthiness, before giving himself entirely.""

Snow remained silent for a moment, processing those words as he continued to gaze at the little drawings on the ancient scroll. A spirit... A white jewel...

"It's another summoner's stone?" The phoenix asked.

"Yes. After looking into spirits I came across a legend that had been going around four-hundred years ago." River explained. "It spoke of a lion who guards an unknown place called "Leojura," but after seeing this, I realised it's not a legend at all. This spirit is extremely powerful. If we can manage to retrieve his stone and have Irene summon him, he'll definitely be able to absorb and stabilise her mana levels. Then, her awakening can happen safely."

"So similar to how I'm able to make use of Irene's excess mana, he will also be able to use it?" Snow asked, amazed. "But is it even possible for one tiny human to summon multiple spirits?"

"Any normal human - no. Because their mana levels wouldn't be able to sustain a second spirit," River smiled up at Snow victoriously, tilting his head. "But if it's Irene, who has too much magic..."

"It won't be a problem at all!" The phoenix finished his sentence, finally regaining his spirits. "Then, we should be able to do it!"

Snow beamed, but then glanced toward the lion in the scripture in slight doubt. The image of the beast depicted him in a noble, strong and intimidating manner. "But... Are you sure he'll respond to Irene? That spirit sure does look like he's got a lot of pride."

...You're one to talk, River wanted to say - but he shook it off. "It's worth a try. This is all we have to go on right now. If you've got any better ideas in that big brain of yours, please do share."

The mage fell silent again, as he gazed down at the ancient scroll. His mind wondered for a moment, before he spoke again. "The thing is, I have no idea where this temple might be. And even when we find out, it would be impossible to get there without obstacles in the way."

"It shouldn't be too hard, right? I could go and get it myself - spirits can't be killed after all. Right now we should locate the stone," Snow assured him. "Irene is unaware of all of this, so for now I'll just try to use up as much of her mana as I can to keep it stable."

"Alright, make sure she remains oblivious. Its better to explain it when the time comes - because stress could risk mana fluctuations which are dangerous to her right now." River instructed, as Snow began to make his way to the window to head back.

The mage and the phoenix parted for the day, as Snow left the tower and flew toward the Cherliann household to let Irene know her father was safe. He decided to leave out the part that Rudien was coming home earlier than usual, so it would be a pleasant surprise for her.

A temple... A guardian lion who's a spirit waiting for his master... Snow wondered, gazing ahead at the white sky he was soaring smoothly through. If what River said was true, then Irene wouldn't die and I wouldn't have to tire himself out by using up her magic everyday. But...

What if the spirit doesn't approve of Irene? Will this really work?

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