Adam prepared a grand feast for his little brother.
Plates of seafood covered the ground. Several kinds of fish, shellfish, crab, prawns, and other ocean fare piled high.
Valerian sat in the middle of it all, eating without any restraint. He grabbed food with both paws, chewing loudly and carelessly, completely focused on his al.
Adam sat across from him on the ground, sipping on a cup of wine, and watching him with a fond smile. He didn't rush him or interrupt. He simply sat there, relaxed, as if the mont required nothing more.
He was just so happy at the mont. Perhaps, the only other ti when he had felt so happy was when he drank the Potion of Hope and embarked on the path of a Magus.
Valerian ant that much to him.
They were on the coral island, where the ground, trees, hills, and other natural formations were made of hard, colorful coral shaped by ti and tide.
The last ti Adam was here, he had been insane. Returning to this place after so many years had passed felt so surreal to him.
Back then, he didn't have his eyesight, so he couldn't really appreciate the beauty of this island. But now, when he took in his surroundings, he was truly srized.
"The world is such a beautiful place," he said with a gentle smile.
His tenebrous eyes flickered with a sharp light, and he murmured, "And that is all the more reason that I must protect it."
"What are you mumbling about, Brother?"
Valerian's words echoed in Adam's ears, snapping him out of his daze.
The raven-haired youth turned to Valerian. He saw that the dozen or so plates had been wiped clean, and the young dragon now lay on his back, his stomach full and bloated.
"Nothing much," Adam said with a light chuckle. "Want to fish for so more food? There's so much variety out here in the middle of the ocean."
Valerian wheezed.
"Brother, please…" he said. "I can't even breathe."
Adam couldn't help but laugh.
He laughed and laughed and laughed.
The young dragon suddenly turned toward the raven-haired youth. He couldn't help but say, "There's sothing strange about you…"
"Oh?" Adam arched a brow. "Pray tell, my dear brother."
Valerian's eyes squinted. "Myu…"
He then shook his head. "I don't know. The way you laugh, the way you carry yourself… you've changed."
Adam's lips curled into a brilliant smile. "Such is life. Nothing is permanent. Nothing but change."
He paused for a mont, then said, "I'll tell you everything that happened in these past couple of decades. I'm sure you'd love to hear it. I went on so many adventures. It was fun!"
Valerian's face displayed conflicting expressions.
Noiticing that, Adam couldn't help but ask, "What's the matter?"
"Brother," Valerian began. "Rember, you promised to take to the spirit world once I advanced to the Mana Liquefaction Rank?"
Adam smiled. "I rember."
"Well…" the young dragon sat upright with so struggle. "I have a request for you."
"Anything," Adam said without hesitation.
"Can you… take to the place where you found ?" Valerian murmured in a pleading voice. "I wish to know more about my origins. Maybe if I go there, I can uncover so clues."
Adam remained silent for a few monts. He had the coordinates to the floating island where he had found Valerian's egg.
The only problem was… ti.
He didn't know how long it would take for them to go to that island, investigate the citadel, and return. The flow of ti in the spirit world was erratic, to say the least.
And given that the planetary alignnt was only a little over sixty years from now, Adam didn't know if he should really be going anywhere in the spirit world.
He might take only a few seconds there, or he could take decades.
"Is it… is it not possible?" Valerian asked, lowering his head in a slightly crestfallen mood.
"Of course, not!" Adam offered a brilliant smile. "I'll take you there!"
"Really?" The young dragon's eyes widened.
"Really." Adam nodded. "But…"
He raised two fingers and added, "There are a couple of things I need to take care of. First, I have to heal Lord Tebu. Second, and you're going to like this one, there is a secret inheritance sowhere on this island."
"Inheritance?" Valerian's topaz eyes glead. "Will there be treasure?"
"Yes." Adam laughed. "It is left behind by none other than the founder of the Twilight Brotherhood! I intend to find and enter the inheritance ground. Once I'm done with these two matters, I'll take you to the spirit world. How about it?"
"Myu!" The chubby cat bolted toward Adam and burrowed into his embrace. "Brother, you're the best!"
"Hmph! Of course, I'm the best!" Adam chuckled softly and ruffled the little guy's head.
In the days that followed, Adam made sure to feed Valerian several tis a day. After all, the little guy hadn't eaten in nearly forty years, yet had sohow been nourished enough to sustain his long hibernation.
After ensuring that the little guy was fully satisfied with the daily feasts, Adam finally turned his attention to Tebu.
The barnacles clinging to the ancient turtle's head were no ordinary growths. Over thousands of years, they had dug deep into his skull, their roots spreading inward until so had co dangerously close to his brain. Removing them carelessly would have caused severe harm.
Adam worked slowly and thodically. Using his deep knowledge of herbalism, he prepared specialized solutions to weaken the barnacles' grip before extraction.
One by one, he pried them loose, careful not to disturb the tissue beneath. The process took weeks, each session exhausting not just for Tebu but also for Adam.
When the last of the crown-like barnacles was removed, Adam imdiately began treating the exposed wounds. He applied restorative salves, sealing the damage and preventing infection.
A little over a month since beginning the treatnt, the injuries left behind had been almost fully healed, and Tebu's massive head was finally free of the burden he had carried for millennia.
"I am truly at a loss for words," the ancient turtle murmured as he slowly rolled his giant neck. "My head feels so… light."
Standing on top of the massive head, Adam examined the large wounds one last ti. "Lord Tebu, you must refrain from going underwater for the next couple of weeks. The salt water will interfere with the healing process, you know."
"I understand." The ancient turtle nodded ever so slightly.
His ancient eyes flashed with gratitudem and he added, "Thank you, Little Adam. Thank you very much."
Adam smiled warmly. "You're most welco."
Now that he had finished healing the ancient turtle…
It was ti to find Wagner's inheritance.
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