As I jumped onto the cliff that I had jumped from so long ago, I felt emotions threatening to undo me.
Blinking rapidly, I saw a blurry form in front of me and I smiled between the tears.
For I saw Sir James in front of me, reclining on a chair with a barrel of wine on his lap on which he was resting his wine glass while staring at me with sparkling eyes.
"You've returned.." He said, smiling widely.
"I have," I nodded.
"Did you fight?"
"I fought, and I talked," I said as I walked over and summoned a chair similar to Teachers.
Comfortably sitting, we both looked out over the abyss in silence for a long time.
Finally, the rogue teacher broke it and said, "What did you find?"
"More than what I thought I'd find," I said, honestly.
"Mm." he mumbled before continuing, "Your Warforce?"
"Awakened," I nodded.
Smiling even more widely than before, Sir James took his wineglass, filled it to the brim, and then, drinking one small sip at a time, drained the glass within a few minutes with a sigh of happiness.
"We still have two of your barrels, you know?" I said, a little sadly.
"What! You came to the abyss without touching my wine?"
Smiling, I rubbed my nose and murmured, "I'm too young to drink, Teacher."
Slapping his forehead, the rogue teacher mumbled out, "Of course, of course, you are. Sometimes I forget that since you young ones are growing up so much faster than before. It's strange, now that I think of it."
Looking deeply into the abyss, I said, "I would think so too, if I didn't know what I do now."
Bolting upright, the rogue teacher said, "You found answers?"
"I found answers," I nodded.
"Tell me,"
So I did. I told him everything.
At the end of it, he stood up stunned before he started laughing, laughing hysterically, and then he started crying and at the end, he just stood there - still like a stone.
Gazing deep into the abyss, He squinted his eyes as though he could see past the layers of it and back into time.
Then, sighing, he turned around and looked at me.
"Do you know why you met me first?"
Quietly, I looked at him before saying, "My first trial was not the birds. It was you, wasn't it, Teacher?"
"So you knew?" The rogue teacher said as he sat back down heavily.
Looking at my heart, I murmured, "Sacrifice. That was the first trial."
Then I gazed at him in sorrow as my tears dripped down, "I won't see you again once I leave here, will I?"
"No... No, you won't see me again." My second teacher - and my teacher for life - said as he grinned carefreely and raised a hand to ruffle my hair.
"You sacrificed yourself too. So you heard my call, and you came." I mumbled out.
"Indeed, I did," he said, beaming. "And a good thing too!" He continued to say.
Smiling, I ducked my head as he attempted to cuff me around the ears.
"Learning well I see," He said, approvingly.
Laughing, I got up and stretched before saying, "It's time for me to leave, I think. Walk till there with me, Teacher?"
Putting away the chair, Teacher got up and stretched his own bones, which creaked alarmingly before he held up his wine barrel and shook it before grunting in dissatisfaction.
"Baling thing is nearly empty," He cursed.
Silent, I hid my smile behind a hand as he muttered and mumbled before following behind his staggering footsteps.
In that manner, we walked till the black space which, as I entered, blazed white before a massive door formed in the middle of it.
Walking toward it, I turned to my teacher, who stood for a long moment looking at me.
Then bowing, I turned - only for him to grab me and say huskily, "Wait. Let me give you some last gifts."
Turning, I looked at him, startled, and said, "Teacher, you have given me my life back. What more can you possibly give me?"
Looking me in the eye, he said, "Time... and some memories to help you."
And then he summoned a pile of books that he dropped in a heap at my feet.
Stunned, I looked over them - only to freeze as I saw the titles along with the words, "Sir James Knight" written where the author's name was.
Looking at him and looking back at the books, I pointed wordlessly, and he puffed out his chest and said cockily, "Mine. I wrote them all. Limited editions, these. You can't find them anywhere else!"
I picked one that seemed familiar and lo-and-behold - it was the book on the political situation of the Kingdom of Leon.
Before I could say anything, he continued on to say, "Time flows differently here and I have a bit of my powers from back when I was alive."
Curious, I was about to ask him what he meant when he placed his hand on my head and suddenly, I... saw Sia... Sia, who was crying over my body as I fell unconscious after the blade to my heart. I saw her carry me back into the camp on a stretcher with Ares and stay there for a long time before Ares came and said some words to her. Words that sent her springing up in anger.
Then the image broke, and Sia disappeared.
Heart pounding in excitement, I grabbed the rogue teacher and shook him around as I yelled, "Show that again!"
Thud.
A book slammed into my head and I fell silent, aggrievedly rubbing my head as Sir James heaved a long sigh and said carefully, "Train yourself. I'll wake you when it's time. My power can see what the last people I interacted with can see. I don't know why it's still working, but I can see what Sia has been seeing and what that, ugh, lion-eyed Balakash sees, too. Though it stopped working on you once you went down that shitehole."
Eyes wide, I stared at him as I marveled at his incredible ability.
Then suddenly a thought struck me, and I asked, "Teacher... The Draykes don't have anyone with powers like that, yes? So how come…"
The Teacher smiled and said, "I'm not a Drayke but I am a Drayke. You can blame Callum for that."
Nodding in confusion and understanding that he didn't want to talk about it, I hesitated again, torn between the door and what the Teacher suggested.
Then suddenly, I understood.
And eyes moistening, I turned to the rogue teacher and bowed down again to him.
Unfazed, the rogue teacher lifted me up and held me as he said, "You understand what I'm doing, huh. No matter, I've already begun it and I can't stop it. So go train. I'll wake you up when it is time."
Nodding fiercely, I wiped away my tears and walked away until the door was out of sight and then cross-legged; I sat, and I did what he had asked me to.
I trained.
Breathing in deeply, I circulated the warforce circulation technique of House Drayke and I felt the warforce deep within my blood move for the first time ever.
I guided it through the nodes carefully and slowly, each revolution taking hours of my time. But, I had plenty of time, thanks to the rogue teacher.
Soon, it became faster and faster, until one revolution took me barely two hours and I could do eight revolutions before I tired and went to sleep.
The first few days passed by in a blur in this manner.
My body kept alternating between shades of white and black, and as time passed, the shades slowly darkened.
Soon enough, as the circulation cycles became easier and easier and I found guiding the warforce to be just like the time when I had dripped the warforce potion on myself.
Grinning in delight, I kept practicing and more days flew by until one day; I felt a deadly danger coming my way.
Rolling backward, I came into a ready stance - only to find that my roll had taken me nearly 10 paces away from where I was sitting.
Narrowing my eyes, I looked at Sir James, who was still in the sword outstretched position, and then I charged at him while circulating my warforce ceaselessly through my limbs.
Exchanging furious punches and kicks, I sparred with him and pushed him all the way till the door where he finally stepped forward and, flipping the sword, hammered the hilt into my face - all in one fluid motion.
Clutching my face, I stumbled back and was stabilized as his arm reached out and grabbed me.
Ruefully looking at Sir James, who smiled drunkenly back at me, I asked, "Is it time?"
Nodding, he pulled me in close and touched his head to my head, and suddenly, I saw Sia... and I was Sia.