Edward’s eyes snapped open, and he woke up with a start.
Huh?
Woke up?
When did I...
He found himself staring at an unfamiliar wooden ceiling. The youth was lying on a bed with a thin blanket covering him.
He was covered in a layer of sweat as he slowly sat up.
Where am I? He wondered as he looked around, observing the small, humble bedroom.
He turned towards the window and noticed that the sun was setting. The sky was dyed a shade of brilliant orange as it welcod the starry night.
What’s going on? Was I dreaming? He clutched at his forehead, trying to recall what had happened earlier, overlooking the newfound sensation within his body.
Right, the First Trial ended. Then, I t Adam and together we went to his cottage, and then...
When he recalled what Adam had said to him about the existence of higher worlds in the Greater Universe, and the truth behind his mother’s illness, and finally the knowledge about S-grade talent, he found it... overwhelming.
His heart churned with tumultuous waves as he went over every word his best friend had told him.
Edward’s lips curled into a bitter smile, and he thought, I’ve let you down, Adam.
But more than that... I’ve let myself down.
He closed his eyes, taking another deep breath. When he opened them again, his pupils shone with conviction and sparkled with streaks of blue lightning.
And that’s when he rembered...
After his conversation with Adam yesterday, he had cried for a very long ti, blaming himself for being so ungrateful and pathetic.
But when he finally did co to terms with what he had done and what he needed to do, he experienced sothing of an epiphany.
He didn’t know what happened afterwards. His mories were foggy. He did, however, recall the beautiful scenery he had witnessed of the white skies and the blue ocean.
I wonder what that was...
Then, he recalled the last thing he had seen - six giant serpents devouring him.
A drop of cold sweat trickled down the side of his forehead, and he muttered under his breath, "A nightmare?"
"Not quite."
At so point, a tall, raven-haired youth had arrived, standing by the doorway, arms crossed as he leaned casually against the wooden fra.
"Adam..." Edward called out to him. "What happened to ?"
The raven-haired youth grabbed a chair and sat beside Edward. He crossed his legs and looked deeply at him. "You, my friend, have just experienced a state of enlightennt."
"A state of enlightennt?" Edward asked with a frown. "What’s that?"
"Eh, it’s difficult to explain, really." Adam sighed. "Direct your senses inward," he added.
Edward’s frown only deepened, but he did as told. And the mont he did... his expression paled. His eyes flickered with excitent as well as horror.
He was naturally excited to see the great changes that had taken place inside his body.
First, the state of his mana was on the verge of fully liquefying. At the mont, it was perhaps one part gas and nine parts liquid!
Second, the mana was now moving through his mana channels in an orderly manner, gradually forming an embryonic form of a whirlpool in his stomach region.
This could only an one thing...
He was just half a step away from the Mana Vortex Rank!
And horrified... because he saw six black serpents coiling around one another, forming six interconnected knots as they circled the mana whirlpool.
"What... What the fuck is that?!" Edward scread in panic, seeing the ghostly serpents inside his body.
No, to be more precise, they weren’t technically inside his body. They existed in an abstract state along with the mana whirlpool.
"Calm down. I simply put a seal," Adam said casually.
"Seal? What seal?" Edward turned to him, his face drained of any color. "What’s the seal for?"
Adam frowned, looking at his friend like he was so idiot. "Has the state of enlightennt degraded your brain? What else do you think the seal is for, genius? Naturally, it’s to prevent you from advancing to the Mana Vortex Rank."
"What!" Edward was furious.
"You... How could you do that to ?! After all we’ve been through... How could you?!"
"Don’t be so overdramatic." Adam rolled his eyes. "It’s just a temporary asure to ensure that you remain a Mana Liquefaction Magus until the tournant ends."
He then intently looked at Edward and taunted, "Or what? Do you want to remove the seal so you can get disqualified?"
Edward was wide-eyed.
I didn’t think about that at all!
He then asked incredulously, "Wait... so you an to say, I almost advanced to the Mana Vortex Rank because of the state of enlightennt?"
"Technically, no," said the raven-haired youth with a tilt of his head. "With or without the enlightennt, you would advance to the next rank soon, regardless. The state of enlightennt simply expedited that process. But more importantly..."
He paused, looking straight into Edward’s piercing blue eyes. "That state you were in should have given you a sense of clarity, eh?"
Edward’s expression turned downcast. He lowered his head and softly muttered, "Yeah..."
Adam deeply looked at him, then said evenly, "I hope you understand that my motive has never been to drive a wedge between you and Lisa. I simply wanted to—"
Edward interrupted him with a faint smile.
"You don’t have to explain yourself, Adam," he said softly. "I know why you did what you did, and to be honest... I needed that."
He lingered for a few monts, then added, "Even though the way you said it broke my heart, I can’t deny that it was the truth."
Adam remained silent, lowering his head. He figured he might have been a little harsh, after all.
"Thank you..."
Edward’s words reached him.
Adam looked over and saw Edward gazing back with a grateful smile.
"Sure." The raven-haired youth shrugged. He then hesitated for a mont, then added, "If sowhere down the line, I stray from my path... I hope you can do the sa for ."
A radiant smile blossod on Edward’s face. "Of course! That’s what brothers are for!"
Adam was silent for a mont, then smiled as well. "Yes... that’s what brothers are for."
He rose to his feet, then turned around. "Anyway, let’s get going."
The raven-haired youth wasn’t in the habit of discussing his feelings so openly, so he quickly changed the subject.
"I’ve prepared dinner for us. We need to reach Saratoga before the Raven Festival begins."
Edward quickly followed after him. Truth be told, he was quite famished. But when the pair entered the dining room, they were rendered speechless.
On the small table, where Adam had laid all kinds of freshly cooked food, a fat gray cat sprawled contentedly, surrounded by empty plates.
The food was gone!
Valerian had a gratified smile on his furry face as he softly muttered, "Haa, life is good..."
anwhile, Adam gnashed his teeth in rage. Edward reached out to him to calm him down, but it was already too late.
Adam pounced on Valerian with the fury of a starving man.
"You fat bastard! How dare you?!"
"MYUU!!"
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