(Freya, 3rd POV)
Ever since she'd seen that brilliant soul of his, she just couldn't get enough of it. Every moment of her days were spent continuously following him with her eyes everywhere he went. The beautiful silvery flame in his soul burned so bright that it was transparent.
It spoke of so many great promises, so many glimpses into a future of unprecedented, unimaginable power. Every time she was as close to him as she was now, she would take her sweet time to bask in the intensity of that flame.
Actually being close to him as Syr had given her a bit more insight into his nature. It appeared as if particular intensities that it burned at depended on what emotions he was feeling. While he was calm, it was like a gentle flame that wavered a little and licked the walls of his vessel.
If he was angry or in combat situations, the fire would roar with the ferocity of a beast and make his soul burn so bright, it nearly blinded her. And then in moments like this when he was down in spirits, when he was sad, the flame would die down to a few embers spitting out a few sparks. That was one sight she wasn't particularly happy to see.
But the nature of this flame spoke of not just hidden power and potential but also of a certain kind of righteousness and nobility that was found only in a particular type of soul.
The soul of a Hero.
And if there was something that she loved more than anything else, it was a Hero. She'd spent centuries collecting hero type souls, yet this was the closest in likeness of all to the souls of the heroes of old. And it was the one soul she'd missed. Not that there was much that could be done about that now.
She'd taken her time to take a closer look at the other things she'd noticed when she'd first laid her eyes on him. His sword hidden in that pretty cane of his radiated with spiritual energy as souls of countless hero-type mortals hummed inside in unison.
The sword seemed to maintain its own brightness using the souls within. The only time there would be any change was when the boy was fighting. Only then did the sword brighten to match the intensity of the brightness in the boy's soul. In fact, now that she compared them together, they seemed to be exactly the same, like his was bound to join the others someday.
There was more to the weapon than it seemed. While she would have liked to see it for herself, a gut feeling inside her told her that there would be no way for it to happen, like the sword belonged only with him. This mattered least of all though, as it did not compare to the other thing she'd come to investigate.
The incredible well spring of power that dwelt in the deepest depths of the boys soul, at the very bottom of the burning flame, as if it served as fuel, continued to swirl the two colours together in harmony. A mixture of dark and light.
The light was bright and tinged blue in intensity on the edges. The beauty and radiance of it made her heart and stomach flutter in excitement. The darkness was black at its core with purple wisps floating on its edges, and it made her sick to her core. Yet both sensations were something she could not get enough of.
Something about it just stood out to her eyes. The boy himself seemed to be aware of it. When he would fight, she saw that he was drawing from his own power, but when he did something like heal himself or take that dark form of his, only then would he draw on that mysterious power.
The more time she spent looking at it, the more she believed it was something different to the boy like it was not originally a part of him. Her beliefs were further strengthened when she caught the boy in a sad state.
The light and darkness mixed together to form another kind of light, one that was a bright white, akin to the boy's flame. It's nature was...chaotic was the only word she could use to describe it.
Despite it's appearance as a bright shining light, it did not have the same qualities as the previous light yet somehow it also did. And though it seemed as if the darkness was gone, she could still somehow detect it in the new light yet she could not see it.
Safe to say she was extremely confused. Her beliefs were confirmed however with what it did next.
The new light moved out from its place under the flame and covered the boy's soul in a gentle stroking way. Like a mother rubbing a child's back or giving it a comforting hug. And seeing how the boy seemed to sigh forlornly and the flame in his soul began to burn a little brightly again, he appeared to certainly feel comforted.
This proved to her one and for all what she strongly suspected; the wellspring of power was a different entity altogether. It was somehow using the boy's body and soul as a vessel, like a spirit. Except that this was no spirit she'd ever seen. It was far too powerful to be a normal spirit yet she could find no other way to describe it.
More and more this boy seemed to share similarities with the heroes of old, with strength and magic that far surpassed his level, and being accompanied by souls that seemed heroic in nature in his sword and some sort of spirit-like entity that inhabited him.
And all the other idiots around her had absolutely no idea that such a phenomenal, incredible existence was walking amongst them. No idea that this child was definitely destined for greatness, the likes of which had not been seen in over a thousand years.
Slowly she approached him, marvelling at the kaleidoscope of wonder his very existence radiated. She'd also been paying very close attention to how he was effortlessly manipulating the water in his glass as opposed to drinking it, twisting and forming it into different shapes.
She caught a glimpse of the shape of a strange woman before she called out to him.
"And what could you be thinking so deeply about young man?" She said in a voice that enchanted almost everyone that heard it.
The boy sharply turned in her direction and once again she was impressed as the child's latent abilities were further demonstrated. Subconsciously without him even realizing it, the water figure of the woman shifted again into her image, a perfect replica of herself as she was now.
This confirmed another one of her suspicions; the boy COULD see, even if he was blindfolded. How he had vision however still remained a mystery. But such a detailed figurine could not come about except when a person was able to observe her clear as day. So it also meant that he would definitely experience the same thing others did when they saw her for the first time.
But to her immense shock, although he appeared to see her, he looked away from her as if her were not bothered at all by her appearance.
'He resisted my beauty by himself!?' She thought in shock. There were very few, much less among mortals that could muster up the will power to look away from her, even less so to do it so effortlessly. And even if he couldn't see her after all, just the sound of her voice was enough to capture all the senses of someone who'd heard her for the first time.
Although she suspected that Ottar was to blame because the boy noticed him right after her. The child's body became rigid with fear and the impressive water figurine of her froze into ice. His terror was quite perceptible even to her. But yet again, the boy defied the norms.
Grown adventurers, men who were of a higher level than the boy and of greater age cowed before Ottar's presence. But the boy seemed to push his fear down and stood firm and defiant against the monster she called her captain. A small twitch at the corner of the Boaz's lips that only she'd had the practice of catching indicated Ottar's opinion of him.
He was impressed by Lyze.
"I believe we have not met before." Loki's new child said to them in a strong voice that did not betray any feelings he had.
Yes. Very, VERY special indeed.
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(General POV)
Those who were closest to this scene watched it very intently, mostly in amusement at seeing Lyze who appeared so small and fragile stand up to Ottar, the most respected, renowned and revered adventurer in Orario at the moment.
Freya smiled and walked forwards towards the boy. She leaned forwards, bringing her face close to the boy's. But he remained unfazed. She smiled before looking down at the ice stature in his hand. Gently taking it from his hand, she held it aloft and admired the exquisite piece of art, eyeing every detail.
"You're very talented aren't you?" She said gently while still smiling. "You wouldn't mind if I take this do you? I'll be glad to pay for it."
"What would be the point? It'll just probably melt soon enough."
She giggled, her laugh sounding like tinkering chimes that entranced every man around her except Ottar and Lyze.
"But that's the value of it my dear, to enjoy it while it lasted."
"Is that the attitude you approach everything else in your life with?" Lyze asked dryly.
She hummed in though.
"Well no. I too am on the lookout for something that will bring me everlasting happiness, just like everyone else. I just have not yet found it."
Lyze stared at her with an unperturbed look on his face before he sighed and waved it off.
"You can take it. You don't need to pay me for it."
"Thank you." She said sweetly, beaming at him. "I hope I won't trouble you in the future if I'd like a few more."
"Yeah, don't mention it. You still haven't told me who you are."
"I would believe that you'd know who we are. But very well." She held out the figurine to the side for Ottar to take. Once he did, she put a hand to her chest and did a cute little curtsy. "I am Freya, the patron of the Freya Familia. And beside me here is Ottar, my captain."
Ottar nodded in his direction as Lyze returned to their previous stare contest.
"So you are the one who is considered the strongest of out generation then, 'Mister Ottar'." Lyze said seriously in a state of fact tone.
"Indeed." Ottar replied with an equal measure of stoniness in his voice. The stare down continued between the two before Lyze spoke again.
"Then you are the threshold, the wall which I must climb and which I shall ascend past." Lyze said.
Silence fell over everyone in the vicinity as they gaped at his audacity. They would have laughed if it was not for the absolute confidence and deathly seriousness in which the boy said it.
"Is that so?" Ottar asked, with no sign of amusement in his voice. Had he laughed, everyone else would have done so too but it seemed the Boaz was treating this subject with the same seriousness. "And you believe that you can do it?"
"I will surpass you." Lyze said as he held his head high. "Mark my words. I have only just begun, but one day Ottar...one day." Lyze tilted his head forwards to further dramatize his promise.
Ottar stared at him longer before closing his eyes and nodding.
"I eagerly anticipate the day you do then young one." Ottar said.
The guests stared at this odd scene before they whispered amongst one another.
"That kid has got some on him you know."
"And the Freya Familia captain actually acknowledged it!"
"Who is that ballsy little lad?"
"You mean you don't know? Haven't you been keeping in touch with the rumours lately?"
"No. Why?"
"You retard! That's Loki's new kid that broke the level up record from One to Two in a day!"
"Wait, that's him!?"
"So maybe there is something there after all."
"Forget that, why is Freya paying such attention to him? It should be me! It's why I come to these stupid parties after all!"
"...You need a new hobby buddy..."
Lyze rolled his eyes at hearing people talking about him behind his back again. He'd grown quite used to it already. Freya just shook her head before she looked at him.
"You haven't introduced yourself yet young man. Now that we've told you our names, could you tell us yours?"
"Fine. My name is Lyzof Keele." He bowed in the way Riveria had taught him. "I am the newest member of Lady Loki's Familia. And as you've probably heard from the not so subtle conversation around us..." He looked sharply at the crowd. They whipped their heads away and pretended to engage themselves in other things. "...I am the new record breaker."
"Is that so? That is simply just...mesmerizing." Freya said in clear wonder. She leaned towards him again and cupped his cheeks gently as she pulled her face so close to his that he could feel her breath on his lips. "Tell me Lyzof, how did you manage to accomplish something so monumental?"
Her eyes glowed a purple light.
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