Baby Judge was back in his mother's arms as they walked into his parent stealer's lesson room. But something was different today. Instead of the cute blonde elf Melina, there stood a man. And this guy definitely wasn't family—he had horns and sharp ears, like he was trying way too hard to look cool.
Also, he had a sword strapped to his waist and wore a long yellow coat that went down to his legs. The moment he saw Eleyn, he grabbed the hilt of his sword and bowed. Judge couldn't understand a word the guy said. No subtitles, nothing. It was like being an anime fan in Japan, assuming everyone would magically speak in subtitles.
"Please continue with the lessons, Mister Dosav," his mother said, Judge could now understand the language a lot better. "... Today... Lesson... Dragon Form" he only caught a few words, but one of them was "Dragon" and another was "form." That was all he needed to hear. Every last brain cell in his baby-sized head snapped to attention. Dragon form?!
Dosav, the horned guy, launched into a lesson about transforming. Atleast that's what Judge thought. He drew a diagram in the air using ether—just some glowing shapes that probably meant something deep. Dosav's words floated around Judge's head, most of them useless, but a few clicked. Dragons... True form… tough bodies… more ether… more psyche… far stronger than any other race.
Okay, so dragons were basically walking tanks with magic overloads. Got it. Apparently, when they shifted into their dragon form, their bodies became incredibly tough, like trying to dent a castle wall with a spoon. Plus, they had so much ether and psyche that it was like they were born with cheat codes.
But, as far as he understood, the transformation had risks. Not everyone could control it, and some could lose themselves to the dragon's instincts and become a monster, if they over-exert their psyche and ether. He only pieced this information from the bits and pieces of the other guy (Dosav).
So this theory of his was not reliable, but it was still good to keep in mind. "Great", Judge thought, "so it's like puberty, but with claws and fire-breathing." He mentally noted it was probably better to wait before trying any dragon stunts himself, he understood almost nothing from today's lesson.
The lesson wrapped up, and Eleyn decided it was time for a change of scenery. She carried Judge around the mansion and finally to the training grounds, where his siblings were now practicing with swords. And wow, were they good? His brother and sister moved like they were born with blades in hand.
Each swing of their swords was so fast and precise that it looked like a dance. They weren't just fighting; they were showing off, and it was awesome.
Judge's jaw practically hit the floor—or, well, it would've if he weren't still a baby. But inside, his admiration was off the charts. He could already imagine himself doing the same, someday. "Swords, dragon transformations, what's next? Flying tanks?" He was genuinely questioning the worldbuilding.
He found a newfound respect for his siblings, but he still did not trust them, "Maybe add them as my underlings when conquering the world?" He thought.
By the time night rolled around, it was back to business. He switched with his adult clone in the Studio and reentered the forest. But this time, something was off. He could feel it—the presence of someone else in the room. "Oh great, just when I thought I could relax."
His clone touched the rock wall and cautiously scanned the area. "Who's intruding on my villain arc?" Judge muttered, scanning the room like a detective on a case. He wasn't thrilled about this new twist.
———
Hawthorne finally found a place that could supposedly be the office of the ether researcher. He activated his search ability and searched every nook and cranny like a cat trying to find its toy.
All he found was an empty box that he was sure held the dairy. He was suspicious when he found out the rock smashed inwards instead of cracking the locking mechanism that was there present. Someone has intruded the place, probably not many weeks have passed since the intrusion. Since there was no sign of ether, many days probably have passed.
His mind raced towards the time when the Sky Talon was retreating, such a scary existence could break the hard stones without using ether. Did someone overhear them? Not probably since he never felt any presence.
While lost in his thoughts, an unopened letter caught his eye, it was sold old but the fragrance still hadn't faded. "It's probably worth something," He said as he took it.
He tore it open since nobody carries around a letter opener when on a hike to a dangerous forest that could kill you anytime. He took the letter out and was instantly hit with a strong fragrance. It was strong, but it was a soothing fragrance that made his body warm and put him at ease.
It was so soothing, he could almost hear a soundtrack of harps playing in the background. All of his anger and sadness faded in an instant, the receiver must be very special to the sender if they send a letter using such powerful and unknown ethercrafts.
He opened it and began to read—
Dear Dad,
To the man who was always my guiding light, I write this with a heavy heart, knowing that my time is almost up. It breaks my heart to tell you this, but Rey and Lyra... they're gone. Betrayed by those they trusted. It feels so unreal, doesn't it? And Derebeth, he's making that sad face again, I wish to do something to make him smile again, I wanted to see it one more time.
Dad, I've kept something from you. I was researching eternal life, hoping to protect the ones I love, but it's that very research that's taken me away from you. It's my fault, I know. I thought I was doing something important, but all I did was lose everything.
Dad... I love you so much. I should have told you that more. I don't think I said it enough while I had the chance. You were my light, my hero, my everything. You taught me how to be strong, how to never give up, and how to be patient when the world was against me. You showed me the wonders of ethercraft, but more than that, you showed me what it means to truly live.
Please, Dad, don't be disheartened when I'm gone. I want you to know that I'm leaving this world at peace, even though my heart aches at the thought of not seeing you again. If I could live another life, I would choose you as my father every single time. You gave me a life without regrets, and because of you, I can face death without any fear or regret.
Thank you, Dad, for always being there, for always loving me, even when I didn't say it enough. I wish I could hold you one last time, but know that I'll be with you in spirit, always.
And one last time, Dad, I really love you, please be at peace.
-Your daughter, Mina.
———
The contents were quite emotional, but not for Hawthorne. What caught His eye was two words— 'Eternal life'. He had heard it before. But he couldn't dwell on it, since he could feel an extraordinary presence—someone was outside the room.
The person outside wasn't coming in, just waiting... like a cat about to pounce on a mouse. And Hawthorne? Yeah, he was the mouse.
But why was the person not coming in? The presence could kill him in an instant. He wanted to check, but his body was screaming at him to find an exit and escape. There was no way that he could beat the person, whoever it was.
He decided to go towards the waiting presence, since he could never outrun it, even just walking took a lot out of him. He wanted to run but he couldn't because even walking was an epic quest for him.
He reached the small ether well outside, and there it was, a person wearing a white mask with a creepy smiling face, his dress was unfamiliar, but the style was familiar. He didn't know what to think of the coat—it looked... more modern?
"Oh, who might you be?" The man asked, his voice was rich, deep, and commanding. "I see you've wandered into my domain, mortal!."
"I don't know who you are but I don't think that place belonged to you." Hawthorne tried to act brave. But he could barely stand up, he still did.
"Use translation you weakling, I am not familiar with the tongue of you lesser beings." The man said in a serious tone, each word of his making Hawthorne feel the pressure. This being was definitely something very powerfull.
Hawthorne used to be one of the strongest mercenaries out there, but an accident made him weaker, while he was still one of the strongest in ranks, he was now ranked among the lower ones of the strongest.
But he could still put up a fight with anyone, It was not like him to not being able to fight under someone's pressure, their will.
He understood one thing, this person is really dangerous and not to be messed with. But his pride did not allow him to falter, he tried to stand up properly and started talking using translate.