Willem approached Catherine and just as he had done with the previous Queen, placed a locket with a "Freeze" spell around her neck and activated it. This immediately stopped her from flailing around and hurting herself or anyone else that tried to help her. Second, Willem circulated his magical power to his thumbs and placed them on each of side of her head, right where her temples were. Finally, he placed his forehead on top of hers in order to connect their minds.

Willem's mind transported into Catherine's and he looked around for the memories that were made since she first found the gem of souls. It had been a couple weeks, but it was much less than the previous Queen's memories that he had erased before. Since it was quite alot less, this would be a simple fix. Unfortunately considering Willem's vast knowledge, there was no better solution than to erase the memories themselves. Given enough time, he may have found a cure, but he was pressed for time. The human mind can only survive so much trauma before snapping.

While he was in her mind, he searched for the reason why she had chose to reveal the gem in the first place instead of continuing to hide it. According to her memories, her exact line of reasoning was that if Willem was shown the gem of souls, it could take over his mind. She had no choice in the matter, and she was revealed when she went back on her word to show the Master Smith.

Willem quickly erased the events of the last two weeks in their entirety, so that Catherine would no longer suffer. When he had finished his work, he removed himself from her mind back into his own body and removed the locket from around her neck.

Catherine laid motionless on the floor, and after several seconds began 'waking up'.

"Where am I. Ah-? Grand Mage? Awa - Wa..." Catherine seemed to have returned to her previous self, as she was completely flustered in front of the Grand Mage. The Crystal Body told everyone to take some time to compose themselves, and politely asked them to leave for a bit.

The apprentices, attendants and the jewelcrafters held their heads as they left the forging room.

"Two Grand Mages?" The Master Smith was slightly confused as he looked at Willem and the Crystal Body.

Willem ignored the Master Smith and spoke with Catherine.

"Catherine, you were under a mind magic spell that controlled you for the past two weeks. I unfortunately had no choice but to erase those memories before your mind snapped. You are safe now." Willem did not mince words as he explained the situation to her.

"I... I do not understand, but it sounds like you saved me, and for that I am forever grateful." Catherine was unsure how to react but showed humility as she kneeled in front of Willem.

"Your Husband can take the time and explain the situation to you. Please join me for a small vacation in Paradiso Rosso." Willem put on his best smile as he held her hand gently.

Confused, Catherine gratefully accepted the request from Willem.

"Fantastic, I will meet you and your Husband at the teleportation array in half an hour time. That will give you time to find a temporary replacement for your position and get packed." Willem patted her shoulder before standing up and walking over to the Crystal Body. "You may leave now."

The Crystal Body remained wordless as it teleported away, leaving a trace of magical energy where it had been before.

"Master Smith, while the gem is under my control, may I ask you to finish creating the weapon?" Willem had every intention of allowing the gem to be placed into the new weapon, wielded only by him so that he could continue to suppress it's aura.

"I hear and obey, Grand Mage." Though he was quite tired from everything that had happened, he was given a direct order from the Grand Mage himself. Therefore, he must do his job quickly and precisely.

"Very good, I will stay here until it is completed to ensure there are no further difficulties. Do not mind my presence." Willem handed over the gem to the Master Smith, whom had called over a new polisher to finish the handle and pommel attachments.

When the work was completed, Willem gratefully accepted the weapon. In terms of weaponry, it was as beautiful as it was deadly and sharp. The balance was terribly light, since Willem was continuously spreading magical power throughout his body and empowering his muscle fiber.

As soon as Willem held the scimitar in his hands, a wave of emotions flooded his mind. They were not negative emotions, they were a feeling of yearning and family. Willem sent his magical power into the scimitar which was embedded with the gem of souls.

"Son..." A disembodied voice called out to Willem.

The voice seemed near yet incredibly distant, as if at any point it would appear in front of him, yet a second later it would disappear forever.

"Who calls to me." Willem gripped the scimitar's handle tightly as he called out to the voice.

"My name is Atlas Bloodwell. I need you to understand something. I am your real Father. I stole the obsidian jewel from the Bloodwell family treasury and made it into a necklace for you. Your Mother and I, we loved you. We loved you so very, very much." The voice, neither distant nor near, weeped as it spoke.

"How is this possible? There was no information in the letter my adopted Mother gave me about my real birth parents. How can you reach out to me now?" Willem was still within his own mind when he attempted to speak with Atlas.

"My body was absorbed by a large oak tree in the outside forest beyond the Bastion of Hope, along with the bodies of the soldiers I killed in order to protect your Mother and you. I am using this 'gem of souls' as a conduit for my soul so that I may speak with you directly through mind magic." Atlas did his best to explain why he could talk to Willem now.

"If what you say is true, then I am so sorry. I was weak, and I had the obsidian necklace stolen from me. I was almost killed, and that was the catalyst for me to gain power through darkness magic." Willem could feel something moving his outside body, but he was not sure if he would lose the mental connection with his birth Father if he went back to his body.

"Then the prophecy has already begun. Your Grandmother was a Seer, a gift from the Bloodwell bloodline that allowed her the ability to see glimpses of the future. Your gift of darkness magic was foretold, and all will kneel before you in time. Your birth was the herald of a new age in this world." Atlas quietly spoke with Willem through the gem. "You are being beckoned in the outside world, return to me when you are alone. I will be here."

"Another time, Fa-... Father." Willem cleared his throat and removed his mind from the gem of souls.

The Master Smith was shaking Willem's shoulder, calling out to him.

"What happened." Willem looked up at the Smith.

"You grasped the scimitar and all of sudden you passed out standing. I was worried you might have gotten taken over by the gem of souls." The Master Smith breathed a sigh of relief after he realized the Grand Mage was fine.

"I will be fine. Please continue crafting the twelve weapons my Crystal Body creation has ordered, then take a well deserved break." Willem commanded the Smith before leaving for his study room.

The Crystal Body was pacing back and forth in the study room. When Willem had revealed himself in the forging room, the Body was on standby until he received a direct order.

"Everything is resolved. You can go back to what you were doing before I came." Willem spoke to the Crystal Body.

"Understood, Master." The Crystal Body sat down at the desk and began re-organizing and signing papers laid out on the desk. Between resolving conflicts within the Private Sanctum, playing with Lia and spending time with his servants, the Crystal Body was quite busy.

"Is there anything you require of me." Willem could sense there was something off about the Crystal Body.

"Requesting confirmation. What I did. Was it... Right?" The Crystal Body's hand stopped moving, a freshly dipped quill dripping onto paper.

"Yes, you performed exquisitely." Willem confirmed the actions of the Crystal Body before walking out of the study room.

The Crystal Body continued to process the statement Willem made for five minutes, before returning to work.

At the teleportation array.

Jare and Catherine were all ready to go, their bags packed and their previous positions temporarily filled while they are away.

"I think you both will have a marvelous time. After all, this is a sight you both have taken the time to help create." Willem held on to their shoulders as he activated the teleportation array, saying goodbye to the Matron as he left.

"Safe travels." The Matron waved as Willem disappeared.

All three arrived safely at the other end of the teleportation array, in Paradiso Rosso.

Catherine and Jare marveled at the beautiful architecture of the buildings, the handcrafts of the dark elves and the exotic looking food all around them. The array had become a host to a unique blend of different cultures fusing together. Human children played with dark elf children, workers carried heavy pieces of lumber, and housewives traded their favorite recipes. It was very much like an open market, despite being in the middle of a large room.

"Grand Mage!"

"Good morning."

"Such a lovely day."

Many humans and dark elves called out to Willem, hoping to catch a glimpse of the man that made their lives safer and free of pain or guilt.

"I had heard the dark elves were repressed before we liberated them. I would have never expect this." Jare accepted a sweet peach that a small dark elf child had handed to him. He rubbed the hair on the child's head before taking a large bite out of the peach. "Agh-... Sour!"

The dark elf child and the other children watching squealed with delight as Jare made funny faces after eating the peach.

"How wondrous." Catherine took a sip of wine being offered by one of the housewives for new arrivals and placed the cup against her chest. "This is the kind of world our Grand Mage is building."

"Grand Mage, may we explore the town?" Jare was in a flurry, running back and forth while looking at everything in wonderment.

"Please, take your time, enjoy yourself. When you are ready to return, you know how." Willem smiled and bid the two farewell before leaving the room with the teleportation array. "Jare, do not forget to explain the situation."

"Of course, Grand Mage." Jare responded.

Before he left, he gave his greetings to everyone who stopped their own conversation just to say hello to him.

"I apologize, I am short on time today." Willem excused himself from the long line-up of people waiting to talk and teleported to his own room in Paradiso Rosso.

Upon arriving in his room, he unsheathed the scimitar he had received and connected his magical power to the weapon.

"You are alone, my Son?" Atlas could be heard once more.

Willem breathed a sigh of relief.

"Father, how do I know that all you are saying is true. I cannot sense even a shred of false information. Is such a connection even possible?" For the first time in a while, Willem was filled with questions.

"I will do my best to explain everything that happened, and everything that was foretold. I only hope you can forgive me for not being there in your time of need. As a Father, it is a great sin to not be able to protect your newborn son." Atlas started his story from the beginning.