"W-What the hell was that!?"
Typhon looked at his hand in shock, flexing his fingers as if to check that it was his, and responded to his control.
"I don't know... but I have some theories."
Carmine, who had now rushed up to him, raised an eyebrow in response to his words.
"Theories? Do you know something?"
"Well... you were talking about how everyone has a very different experience forming their first circle and that it is usually a deep reflection of them as a person, right?"
"Right, it's such a deep reflection of a person that it is considered taboo to ask even if you're family. What's your point in bringing it up?"
Typhon clenched his fist as a troubled expression took over his face. He didn't want to reveal that he wasn't human to Carmine, not yet, at least. While he had seen other mortal races around, dragons were a heavenly race, not meant to be on this plane of existence. He enjoyed the open and friendly relationship he and Carmine shared and didn't want his identity to tarnish it. Yet, on the other hand, Typhon believed she had the right to know who was living in her brother's skin.
"Do you... Do you have a place we can talk without anyone else hearing?"
Carmine stalled slightly at the seriousness of Typhon's tone. She quickly recovered and answered his question.
"Uh, yeah, I know a guy who owns a club. He has private booths that people use for private conversations all the time. If you want to, we can go tonight, and you can tell me what you want then."
"Sure... For now, I guess I will keep practising magic missile."
"Yeah, sure. I'll just stand over there and observe. If you need help or anything, just call out."
For the next few hours, Typhon practised magic missile, trying out dynamic casting as he moved around, simulating a real battle where he would need to be dodging attacks and priming his own. Within those few hours, he got a bit more used to condensing mana and managed to do it without saying his phrase, but it was inconsistent, so building a strategy around it was impossible. After training, Carmine appeared next to him with a moist towel.
"I know you're gonna have a shower anyway, but this should revitalise you a bit."
Typhon nodded and wiped down his face and brow with the towel. A bit of awkwardness was still evident, but Typhon wasn't too concerned. If he was honest with himself, he felt pretty guilty about keeping his identity a secret from her since she was relying on him to reclaim her brother's public standing. So having the timing line up with explaining his past abilities was a good thing from his perspective; he just hoped they could remain good friends after all was said and done.
"I will go and get ready for this evening. I'll swing by your room and pick you up at around 9."
"Okay, I'll make sure to be ready."
With that, they parted ways, with Typhon going for a shower and Carmine making a reservation with her friend for a booth that night.
--
After separating at the training ground a few hours later, Typhon looked through his clothing options. It was a good thing that the old Typhon liked to dress nicely, as there was an extensive collection of nice button-down shirts and nice pants with accompanying belts.
'At least I don't have to worry about clothes for a while.'
Selecting a black shirt with grey trims and a pair of black jeans with a black fabric belt, Typhon got dressed in preparation for Carmine to pick him up. At first, Typhon found it rather difficult to change with only one arm, but over the past few days had gotten somewhat used to it, but it presented a much larger issue for him, his martial technique.
Few martial techniques could be done with one arm, and even fewer could be learned with only one. With a high level of mastery, the adaption could be made, but since Typhon had never practised the Celestial Beast Steps technique in his past life, he would be learning from scratch, and such a change couldn't be made.
'If only this body was that of a dragon, then I could use my Heavenly Draconic Arts. While my race might never change, I'm sure I can do something about this missing arm and eye."
Typhon suddenly remembered the box from before and pulled it out from one of his desk drawers, inspecting the mana lock still in place. Now that he could manipulate mana with his magic circle, he should be able to unlock the box. Carefully, he condensed some mana into a small ball on the tip of his finger and pressed it into the lock. The box popped open, allowing Typhon to fully open the lid and peer inside.
"What in the name of the seven dragons..."
The inside of the box was covered in runes that glowed with steady pulses of mana flashing through them. The intricacies of the runes would have been the eye-catching part of the contents if not for what lay at the centre of the box. On a cushioned insert lay an eyeball covered in unfathomable runes that lay dormant. The entire eye was a dark grey, aside from the iris, which was a piercing sea green colour. The runes that covered the eye pulsed with the same sea green pigment that coloured the iris.
Typhon didn't recognise the artifact, but even he understood that it was of intensely high quality. He would have ranked it as an artifact at the pinnacle of artifacts, a 5-star item. Gently, Typhon lifted the eye from the insert and held it with his index finger, middle finger and thumb, inspecting the runes closely. Suddenly, as Typhon held it up to his eye to examine it closer, the eye started vibrating, and the runes began to pulse faster. Typhon heard a whisper from the back of his skull.
'Use me'
Deciding to act on instinct, Typhon placed the eye in his empty right eyesocket. A searing flash of pain passed through Typhon's brain as the eye dug itself into his eyesocket and began pulsing even faster. Despite his high pain tolerance, Typhon was nearly incapacitated by the pain that continued to pulse through his brain. He managed to keep in his screams of agony and activated his mental realm to deal with the pain.
Yet, when he tried to activate his mental realm, his perspective wasn't transported to the empty plane he was used to. Instead, he found himself on the steps of a grand temple with pillars of marble with gold accents. The entrance to the temple was flanked by statues of warriors holding large two-handed axes, crossed over each other above the entrance. Standing in the centre of the entranceway was a woman with large white feathered wings and golden hair. She wore silver armour that was contoured to her shape, allowing her womanly figure to be gazed at.
"Come forth, mighty warrior."
She beckoned for Typhon to step forward. Taking very slow and cautious steps, Typhon ascended the temple steps until he was face to face with the woman. Her perfect facial features and brilliant aquamarine eyes captivated Typhon briefly before he composed himself.
"Who are you, and what do you want with me?"
"I am Sigrun, a Valkyrie who served the All-Father, Odin. As for what purpose you have being here, you will find out if you follow me through this temple."
Sigrun turned and began walking down the long corridor of the temple. Typhon tried to see further in, but a heavyset fog blocked him from seeing further in. Deciding to follow her and discover the purpose of this visit, Typhon jogged slightly to catch up to Sigrun and stuck close to her as they approached the fog. Sigrun extended her hand to touch the fog. As soon as it touched her skin, the fog was blasted away, revealing a large garden within the temple's main room. On the dome-shaped roof was a projection of the universe, with all the stars contrasted by the nothingness of space. Typhon looked up in wonder as the majesty of the universe was displayed for him to see. Sigrun laughed softly at his reaction.
"This is the garden of the universe. This garden allowed the first life within the universe to flourish into the progenitors, the origin of all heavenly races. You are standing in the birthplace of sentient life itself."
"This... is a huge honour but why me?"
"You are an anomaly. You returned from death with your soul perfectly intact. The All-Father sacrificed one of his eyes to drink from the rivers of this place. He cast it into the river and then drank, gaining knowledge and wisdom. He spoke of a being of heavenly birth that would return from death without losing a part of themselves to death."
"Okay... so, you're saying that the eye I just put into my skull was the eye he cast away?"
"Yes, but this was not a coincidence. The All-Father had a vision before he disappeared. It was a vision of your arrival in the mortal world after your death. He obsessed over this vision and believed you to be worth investing in, sending me here to wait until your reincarnated self discovered the eye and placed it in your skull."
"For what purpose?"
"I am to be your companion. The Valkyries were made to escort noble warriors in death to Odin's honoured halls of Valhalla. Despite this, no one came to claim you upon your death; no being of the underworld nor heaven came for your soul. I am here to be your eternal companion so your noble soul will not have to spend death in solitude, even if you should meet an early end. You deserve at least this."
Typhon looked into Sigrun's eyes, trying to look for some form of unwillingness, yet he could find none.
"You want this for the rest of your eternity? Truly?"
Sigrun put both of her hands on his cheeks and pressed her forehead into his.
"Valkyries are drawn to those with strong souls. While the connection we share now is shallow, I will be by your side as it deepens. I wish to follow you."
Typhon brought his hand up to grab hers. She grasped his in return and gave a smile.
"I am inexperienced with intimate relationships. Even the mothers of my children found it difficult to hold a relationship with me for any extended period. So, while I would appreciate the companionship you would bring, please forgive me if I am bad at this."
Sigrun's smile widened slightly.
"Certainly. Here is to eternity by your side."
As she said those words, Typhon's perspective shifted back to reality. He was lying spread-eagle on the bed with sweat running down his brow and his eyes clenched from the pain he was suffering a few moments before. He opened his eyelids to reveal the world around him. Yet, something was off about his vision. For the first time in his new body, Typhon looked at the world with both eyes.