Chapter Thirteen
Three years had passed since the incident at the Ashasin Academy.
Located in the floating cities of the Odeus continent, the Ashasin Academy comprises five floating islands. The ruler of these cities are not determined by hereditary means, but rather by the strongest individuals on each island. The ruler has three years and two tenures to govern before another tournament is held to select a new ruler. If the current ruler is unfortunate, the next strongest contender assumes power, maintaining a delicate balance within the city.
Hidden from the rest of the world, the Ashasin soldiers annually scour the land to locate any bloodlines that might have escaped the islands without permission from the elders and ruler. Those discovered are either eliminated, captured, or have their children taken from them. Additionally, another faction of the Ashasin seeks out unique children who have manifested their mana at an early age, bringing them to the academy for training.
Every infant is assigned to a designated family to nurture them until they reach the age to fully unlock their potentials. Tesh, however, was taken under the care of the Fowler family, led by Kina, who persuaded her parents to adopt Tesh.
Kina doesn't know him as Tesh because infants in Odeus society are not given names until they reach the age of five, leaving them somewhat marginalized until then. During this interim period, they are often referred to by generic names like "John" followed by the family surname, such as "John Fowler."
When Kina takes Tesh for his eye checkup at the hospital, the doctor removes Tesh's eye bandage, revealing a change in his eyesight that concerns Kina. Though Tesh's eyesight is technically good, everything appears blurry to him.
"Everything is blurry," Tesh remarks, noticing Kina's reaction.
"His eyesight color is different," Kina observes.
Meanwhile the eyesight was now taking the color Gray.
"Yes, he's still healing, but I can't promise anything at the moment. Let's hope for some improvement," the doctor says, offering Tesh a pair of glasses to try.
After trying on the glasses and finding that he can see clearly, Tesh and Kina leave the hospital.
"Would you like to have some ice cream?" Kina asks him.
"Yes," Tesh replies.
They both ventured into the main market, where Tesh beheld the city for the first time from the train, marveling at the sight of the magnificent floating islands. However, he noticed that the panel he usually used to see hadn't appeared, leaving him perplexed as to what the issue might be. Upon reaching the market, memories of his past life on Lyra flooded back, where he recalled the technological advancements far surpassing those of Odeus city, although Odeus still stood ahead of the rest of humanity. Despite his aversion to being carried like a child, Kina lifted him as they entered an ice cream shop.
As they conversed with the seller, an older lady entered the shop, prompting Kina to set Tesh down and engage in conversation with her. Tesh couldn't shake the feeling of danger emanating from the woman, sensing an aura around her. To his surprise, she communicated directly to his mind.
"I know who you are, boy."
Tesh's mind raced with questions about how the woman could possibly know him, pondering if she had a connection to his past life. As she approached him, he noticed an emblem resembling that of Solas, leading him to speculate that she might also be one of the dragons.
Kina noticed Mrs. Varuna's presence and greeted her, "Mrs. Varuna, what brings you here?"
"Hey, Kina. I came to get ice cream for my daughter too," Mrs. Varuna replied, casting a peculiar glance at Tesh.
Upon returning home, Kina's family warmly welcomed them. Her father, who also served as an instructor at the academy, Mr. Ahisto Fowler, arrived from work, displaying his usual disdain towards Tesh, a sentiment Tesh was all too aware of.
Kina was the only child in their family. As they gathered around the dinner table, Mr. Ahisto Fowler reminded Kina, "Tomorrow, he will have to test his elemental affinities."
"It's that time again, I suppose," Mrs. Fowler remarked.
"What did the doctor say about his eyesight?" Mr. Fowler inquired.
"Not very promising. The doctor advised us to remain hopeful for any improvements," Kina replied, skirting around the details.
Tesh felt unsettled; his panel still wasn't functioning, and his eyesight showed no signs of improvement. As Kina tucked him into bed and read stories about the inner earth and its inhabitants, Tesh couldn't shake off his earlier question, "Why are we floating in the sky?" This question stemmed from his earlier observation of the floating islands.
Kina struggled to find a starting point in answering Tesh's question. "Well, we reside high in the sky to conceal our presence from humans," she began.
"But aren't we humans too?" Tesh interjected.
"We're different because we possess mana, but only a select few elite humans are aware of our existence, not the general population," she explained. "That's enough questions for tonight." With that, she extinguished the light, and Tesh drifted off to sleep.
In his dreams, Tesh found himself as Alex once again, encountering his close friend Yisha on a mountain cliff. "Alex, it's been a while," she greeted him.
Seating himself beside her, Tesh replied, "I had forgotten about you. It's strange that we're meeting like this."
"I saw you in the ice cream shop," Yisha said, her form morphing into that of the older woman Tesh had encountered earlier.
"You look older," Tesh observed.
"I couldn't say the same about you, but I have a daughter your age now," she revealed.
That sounded weird to his ears, but that couldn't change anything.
Curiosity piqued, Tesh asked, "How did you know it was me?"
"Have you forgotten that I was a God-tier magician?" she reminded him.
Tesh pondered the truth of her statement, realizing she would have wielded such power on Earth.
"But practicing here is easier than Lyra," she continued.
"There's so much I don't know or understand about this world," he confessed.
"Don't worry, you're lucky to you have me now," she assured him.
With a kiss on his forehead, she vanished, leaving Tesh with a sense that she had harbored affection for him in their past lives.
As Tesh prepared for his elemental placement exams, Kina accompanied him to the academy for the assessment of his elemental affinities. Upon arrival, Tesh felt a wave of fear—unusual for him—as his panel had yet to reveal itself since his eyesight returned.
Inside the hall, he observed other children his age, all gearing up for their ability tests. Among them, he spotted the same woman from the ice cream shop, who he recognized as Yisha from his past incarnations. It turned out she was one of the Ashasin professors.
Five machines stood before all the professors at the front. When it was his turn, Tesh placed his hand on the water element, but nothing happened. He moved on to air, then earth, each with the same result as fire. Finally, he reached the lighting element, but still, nothing occurred when he touched it. Perplexed, they brought a ball for him to touch. As Tesh placed his hand on it, the ball turned black, eliciting shock and surprise from the entire assembly of professors and elders.
Tesh couldn't comprehend what was happening; he struggled to explain their reactions of shock and surprise.