The pulsating orb seemed to beat much faster after Tenga uttered those painful words. Hiro who was in contact with the orb felt and cool light as it passed over his fingers.

[That is called a soulstone. During my time these were used as a form of punishment to the worst of criminals. By imprisoning a soul within this orb, you can prevent the soul from reincarnating. There are also special spells that can cause the soul to suffer too … The main point that I’m trying to get at is that I’ve been trapped in here for what seems to be an eternity.]

‘…’

“I’m sorry…”

[There’s no need to be sorry. It was myself that caused this to happen. I was in a panic when I found out that my memories were disappearing, so without much thought I sealed myself inside of here. I assumed that my good friend Faerin would stop by and notice, but he never did. That never happened though…Ironically my memories of the spell to free myself disappeared in the event. Stuck like this, I spent what seems like an eternity waiting for someone to hear my voice. It was only earlier that I found you.]

‘The pain that he must’ve gone through. Spending an eternity in isolation without contact nor escape…’

“What would you like me to do? Can I free you by breaking the soulstone?”

[Whatever you do don’t! Although not easily broken, if a soulstone is destroyed whilst a soul is inside, the soul would be lost forever! So whatever you do, please don’t! With my soul in your hands, I have put my entire trust in you. So please, do whatever you can and release me from this despicable prison!]

“How am I supposed to do that?” How would he be able to free a person from a strange prison? He was just a lowly boy from an outskirt village. More importantly, the person that wanted his help would probably have a better chance by himself than with his help. Aside from hunting, he doesn’t know much else.

[I need you to become my eyes and ears. Take me along with you as you explore the world. You’ve always wanted to have an adventure right? Why not start now?]

“How do you know that?” Hiro grew alarmed, he hadn’t revealed anything about himself to the man. Now that he thought about it, he never told Tenga his name.

[Haha, don’t worry. Special perk of being connected telepathically.]

Feeling his privacy violated, Hiro could help but feel irritated and annoyed. However, there’s not much he could do, the man residing within the orb was a mage that could probably kill him with a single word. “Even if you come along with me on my adventures, I can’t promise you that I can protect you.” Hiro was confident in his survival abilities, but he was fundamentally unskilled when it came to combat.

After a brief pause, Tenga finally answered, [Hiro, will you promise me one thing?]

“It depends on what it is…”

[Promise me, that you will never use what I’m about to teach you to enslave me.]

“Huh?”

[I’m going to teach you magic. With the knowledge and power I’m about to impart onto you, you would be able to accomplish all your dreams. However, this power can also corrupt. If you promise not to enslave anyone with this power, then I will teach you…] Tenga explained.

Hiro thought back to how Tenga handled the matter with the Doppler. Understanding the might of such power, Hiro grew anxious. Would he really grow corrupt from the power he will gain? No! Just the thought of enslaving another human disgusted him. If anything, he would rather use this power to free those being oppressed and enslaved!

“I promise. With the knowledge you will give me, I would never use it to control someone against their will.”

[Good. I trust you.] Feeling the sincerity and heart-felt emotions behind Hiro’s words, Tenga relaxed slightly. [Let us begin.]

Suddenly the room began to glow, the faint blue glow from the orb grew intensely bright, enveloping the whole room. On the floor directly under Hiro, runes began to appear. Unprepared for the sudden burst of light, Hiro clenched his eyes shut and covered his eyes with one arm. Although he was inside, the air around him roared as if he was in the center of a cyclone. The temperature began escalating to an unbearable degree, at one point Hiro thought he would incinerate into ashes. Quickly after the temperature rose, it plummeted down to sub-zero. Feeling powerless to what is happening around him, Hiro could only just wait until it’s over.

[It is ready.] In a tired and breathless tone, [Eka Tenga-Elda ethgri du ebrithilren medh Hiro-Vodhr.] As soon as the last syllable sounded, the bright light that was contained in the room shot straight up into the sky destroying anything that was in its path.

In the time that it took for Hiro to search for Tenga’s lab, it had already gotten dark. So the bright beam that shot through the ceiling of the lab pierced up into the night sky. Destroying trees, branches, creatures, and anything else that blocked its path. At a certain point, the huge beam began to brighten the sky once more. As if a second sun had presented itself, the sky brightened, birds began to sing, creatures of all kinds began waking up.

---

Brunhilde, Batin Kingdom’s Capital

“Your majesty! The prophecy! The prophecy of Sienna!”

“Now of all times…Send an envoy out. We’ll have to issue a cease fire and parley with the Eldar Kingdom.”

“Yes your majesty!”

Temple of Sienna

“Grand Priestess Allaya, the cogs of fate have been set in motion. As stated in The Prophecy of Sienna, on a night as bright as day, a person, neither good nor evil shall rise. Branded with the mark of absolute power, the chosen one will soon create a new legend. Where ever he shall walk, great change will follow in his footsteps. ”

“What makes you so sure that this phenomenon is the one stated in the prophecy? There have been many false alarms in the past where mages caused giant explosions and such. What makes this one so different front the rest?” The sharp and cold reply sent a shiver down Templar Kayo’s neck.

“I’m sorry if this may sound forceful, but this phenomenon is on different scales than all the rest. While those in the past may seem like the phenomenon described in the prophecy, they did not promote such disaster like this one. While making my way to the inner sanctum from the courtyard I heard the crowing of the morning cock. Birds sang like never before and the hounds were howling all in one direction. I implore you Grand Priestess, please step outside and see for yourself, this unnatural phenomenon.”

With a quick gesture, Kayo offered his hand to the mature beauty. Probably too proud or disgusted with the gesture, Grand Priestess Allaya disregarded his hands. Getting up from her seat, she began walking towards the entrance that Kayo had just entered from. She was expressionless except for her piercing blue eyes, what greeted these eyes were a sight to behold.

The sky that should be littered with starlight was nowhere to be seen. What stood in its place was a clear blue sky, not one single cloud in its vast horizon. Birds were flying about, as if to welcome a new day. Cats can be seen on the temple walls looking north east. The temple guards stood around looking like fools, some were slack-jawed and staring wildly while others got on their knees and started praying.

The face of Grand Priestess Allaya wasn’t so expressionless anymore. Her piercing blue eyes were filled with worry, her lips quivering with anticipation, and yet she was smiling. Her already pale skin became stark white, as white as the first snow of the season.

“Kayo…Where do you think this light is coming from?”

“Grand Priestess, all signs have indicated that the light originated north east of this temple. How far away… I’m not sure. My guess would be somewhere between the feudalistic states and the peaceful country of Adet.”

“… Ok, what is the state of the Temple of Sienna in the country of Adet?”

“Well, if I recall that temple has fallen into disregard. You see, the country of Adet favors the God of Wealth and Commerce, Gristol, and not our Sienna. Although we do have a temple in their capital, Adetia, it is very run down and there are only a handful of priestesses left.”

“No matter, prep a convoy for Adetia and send a messenger to enlist a few artisans.”

“Don’t tell me you want me to go look for the person in the prophecy! That’s absurd! You know the odds of find-“

“Of course not.”

“Eh~?”

“I’m going there myself.”

---

‘Ugh… How long was I out? What happened to me?’

When Hiro came to, he was sprawled out on the floor. Above him was the blue sky, peeking down on him through the hole in the ceiling.

‘The blue sky, it felt like it’s been forever since I’ve last seen it. It felt like an eternity wandering in this mist… That right!’

Jumping onto his unsteady feet, Hiro looked around for the glowing orb from last night. He soon spotted the spherical object on top of the bed where he had found it the night before. Only this time there was no glow, the once bright blue shine of the orb gone.

“Tenga?”

‘…’

“TENGA?! Are you okay?! Please speak to me!”

Hiro had become frantic, the proud and calming voice of Tenga was absent. In the short time that he got to know Tenga, he became used to the companionship. Aside from Lena and his father, no one had actually held a conversation with Hiro for as long as Tenga had. Hiro began feeling guilty for possibly driving Tenga to disappear forever.

“We were gonna go on adventures together! You and me! We were gonna find a way to save you from that prison! I-i-if you don’t answer me, I’ll break my oath and start using magic for evil!” Hiro began to scream loudly.

By this point, tears started forming at the corner of his eyes. Although they had barely just met, Hiro felt like he was losing someone very close. It felt as if a part of him had died off and left the rest of him to suffer alone.

After a long drawn out silence, Hiro finally begged one last time. “*Sniff* Please… I take back everything I’ve said. Just talk to me!”

[WILL YOU SHUT UP?! I’M TRYING TO SLEEP HERE! DO YOU KNOW HOW TIRING IT IS TO PERFORM THAT RITUAL?! SHEESH, CHILDREN THESE DAYS!]

“You’re…alive? Tenga, you’re alive! Hahahaha!” Relief spread throughout Hiro’s body as he slumps down on the bed, “I thought that your soul was destroyed…”

[What?! How could someone as great as me die, because of some simple spell like that?! Although I have to admit, it is a bit different from how I remember it. First of all there wasn’t supposed to be a light as bright as that, only a soft glow enveloping the body. Secondly, it ate up a huge portion of my life energy. It’s not as easy to regenerate my life energy, because I don’t have a body anymore and the soulstone is greatly limiting my powers. Bah! What a drag!]

Hearing Tenga’s energetic whining lightened up Hiro’s mood a bit. A person that energetic couldn’t possibly disappear that easily.

“So I’ll be able to use magic now?”

[Hah~ Yes, the ritual only opened the door to the world of magic. You must be the one to take the first steps into it from here on out. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to enter deep meditation now.]

‘…’

‘I can finally use magic…now I’m gonna be like Lena.’

Hiro was probably the happiest guy this point. He found another friend, a teacher, and a companion. He became attuned to the arcane and finally, his adventure has begun.