The moon shone in the clear night sky. The cold breeze blew the young man's hair back as he bowed before the illusive figure before him.
"Madam Yotsura," He said, keeping his voice low and respectful. "You wished to speak with me?"
The woman nodded. She stepped closer to him, and he felt the cold touch of the illusion on his cheek. "Yes. The Council contacted our clan and proposed an agreement." Aether flinched. "I see." He said, then gulped. Was the Madam angry?
"Lord Yotsura has considered the offer and has decided to go ahead with it. Your mission has changed, you will now be responsible of making sure Clara Morgan wins the upcoming tournament." She chuckled. "Iris' protection is now the responsibility of the Council, and of Lord Soren Ladran Doirioth."
Aether drew a sharp breath. "Does that mean-"
"I still want you to keep an eye on her." Madam Yotsura's soft voice sounded. "Lift your head, young man." She added, lightly touching the underside of his chin. "You are to be victorious in the tournament – no matter what." Her sharp, commanding voice sent shivers down Aether's spine.
"Your wish is my command." Aether placed his hand on his heart.
Madam Yotsura's blood red lips curled upwards. "Good." She raised her head and looked somewhere behind Aether. "I do have other business to attend to. Is there anything else you would like to report?"
Aether gulped, then shook his head. "No, not as of now." His heart raced. Was she going to notice it? His lie, a lie that could turn the tide of time if exposed.
"Very well then. We shall speak again, my blade." Madam Yotsura touched his cheek before her illusion spell vanished.
Aether collapsed on his knees as soon as the last strands of mana disappeared. "Fuck." He said, taking quick, shallow breaths. "What did I just do?" He had just lied to Madam Yotsura, and all that was in his mind during that time was how disappointed in him Clara would be if he shared what she taught him.
He grasped the blades of grass. What if he was found out? Lying to Madam Yotsura was lying to Lord Yotsura. And lying to Lord Yotsura was an offense never forgiven. He would be lucky if…
The beat of a bird's wings sounded, startling him. He leapt up on his feet on his shaky legs and immediately used his powers. His eyes shone silver, and he scoured his surroundings. Despite seeing no signs of anyone being there, he still couldn't quite relax.
He forced himself to take a few deep breaths, then blinked once as he allowed his eyes to return to normal. He was lucky Madam Yotsura was distracted while he lied – she would have been maintaining her spell otherwise. Deciding to consider this a blessing of Lady Luck, or perhaps of the Chaos Realms, he made his way back to the dormitory.
The woman furrowed her brows. "Win the tournament for her, huh?" She whispered. She walked out from behind the heightened section of the roof. It was by pure luck she had caught a glimpse of a young man walking outside. And it was only her insatiable curiosity that made her eavesdrop with an artifact. And even then, she feared she was almost noticed.
"Who is it that you serve?" She whispered as she watched him head inside.
The rays of light piercing through the cover of leaves fell on the chain laying on the grass. Aether stood at the centre of the chain laid in a circle. He had joined his hands by his chest, in a meditative pose. The chain glimmered under the sunlight, and if the young man looked at it with his ability, he could see it shine brightly with his mana.
The bracelet on his left arm beeped. Aether flinched with the sound, his concentration was broken.
Somewhat exhausted, he stepped out of the chain circle and sat by the nearest tree, leaning his back against its rough trunk still moist with the morning dew. With a sigh, he tapped on the stats bracelet and read the text that appeared.
A tired smile spread across his lips as the bracelet showed his stats.
"Doubled?" He mumbled with a hint of surprise in his voice. Such a speed was abnormal, probably. He furrowed his brows – he didn't know enough about the mundane world's power progression to comment on his speed. But if he had achieved such a result in the hidden world, he would have been heralded as a prodigy, or cast away as a cursed being.
He was taken aback for a moment as he reprocessed that thought. The irony of it was almost entertaining.
"You are slacking off!" A cheerful, happy voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "Oh, your stats! Let me see." Clara ran up to him and looked at his still open stats panel. "Wait. Two thousand?" The young woman exclaimed. "How did you-" She stopped herself and glanced at the chain. "How long have you been here?"
Aether smirked. "Since dawn?" He pondered. "Maybe an hour before that."
Clara's eyes widened. "Have you lost your mind? Did you sleep at all?" She exclaimed, looking all over the young man, searching for signs of exhaustion.
Aether nodded. "I slept, I'm fine. You don't need to worry." He pushed himself up and walked to the centre of the chain again. "I shouldn't waste any more time." He mumbled as he joined his hands before his chest, closed his eyes and began pouring his mana into the chain once more.
Clara shook her head. "You're crazy." She mumbled. How come was this man taking this so seriously? Why? She had practically forced him into helping her – he should have been slacking off and avoiding her, not putting so much effort.