Ryan jolted upright, his senses on high alert.
A wave of unease washed over him, but it soon transformed into a sigh of relief as he recognised his surroundings.
It was Elora's cabin.
He found himself resting on a plush bed, and while his body still throbbed with both internal and external agony, it was evident that he had received treatment.
The passage of time remained a mystery, but the memories of recent events quickly flooded back to him...
'I really killed a man...' Ryan wrapped his head around all that had happened, and although it felt surreal, he knew that what he had experienced in that Trial was definitely reality.
During their final battle, Wayde had grossly underestimated him, toying with Ryan and revealing his sadistic nature. In hindsight, Ryan was grateful for that. Had Wayde fought seriously from the start, he wouldn't have lasted more than a few seconds.
But victory had its privileges, allowing the victor to tell the tale and continue to live on. In the end, Ryan was the one who had triumphed.
Afterwards, from his hazy recollection of all that had occurred, he staggered over to the altar and made contact with the floating ring. Then everything went dark, and the next thing he knew, he was in Elora's cabin.
It had been quite the sequence of events, especially considering that he had been navigating through the colossal, shifting maze filled with traps and golems for days before that final battle.
However, what shocked Ryan more than anything was the absence of sickness, regret, or guilt after taking Wayde's life. It had been a matter of kill or be killed, right? But wasn't it normal to...
Ryan was uncertain about his own emotions but remained grateful to be alive as he sensed two entities quickly closing in on his current location.
Surprised by how sharp his sensitivity to mana had become, Ryan gathered that one was a blue-cored creature, a Great Beast, and atop it rode none other than Elora, radiating an elegant yet ferocious aura.
"Ryan..." called out Elora as she rushed into the cabin, her voice filled with concern. Her words trailed off as she took in the sight of him, her eyes widening at his condition.
Of course, his physical state was far from optimal, but that wasn't what stood out to her. It was the look in his eyes and evident mental turmoil, which also made her reluctant to ask what had happened.
However, surprisingly, Ryan was willing to summarise all that he had experienced, and once he did, Elora was left lost for words.
She wanted to comfort the youth, but he didn't seem to require comforting. He was no longer the same naive boy she had been shocked to find wandering in her forest. From his appearance to his demeanour, he was like an entirely different person.
Yet, somehow, even after all that had occurred, his jovial and friendly nature didn't seem to have changed much, which caused the elf to smile.
"I guess the Warlock did have the qualifications to enter Odus's Trial," he mused.
But that was actually a large possibility and a realisation that also sunk in with Elora.
The powerful mage seemingly also had Mana Vision, and Ryan doubted that there were restrictions for those who held evil and malice within their hearts since Wayde had been considered worthy. But with that in mind, he remembered something that he wanted to ask Elora about.
"This mark on my hand. It showed up after I killed the mage that I fought against, and no matter how hard I tried to rub it off, it wouldn't go. Something about it..."
Noticing the worried expression on Elora's face, Ryan confirmed that the bad feeling it gave him wasn't something he was imagining.
"It's most likely a curse mark. Something that some large families do to avenge their fallen relatives. It inflicts a mark on whoever was involved in the killing of their relative, and places a target on your back whenever you are in the vicinity of someone in his family."
"Only those of the same bloodline should be able to see and sense the mark, so if it was a small mage family or faction, it wouldn't be a big deal. But if he truly is from the Qidius Family..."
Elora didn't want to finish, but it was clear that it was some sort of powerful family, which was also apparent from Wayde's arrogant nature and capabilities. However, after prying into what Elora knew, Ryan couldn't help but feel spooked.
They were one of the so-called Seven Great Mage Families, who held the most power among humans in Aria as well as supposedly on Earth. Elora, as an elf, didn't have much background on them, but their lineage was said to go back to humanity's discovery of Aria.
Riches, power, influence, and connections.
These families had them all, as well as their own powerful history of specialised magic.
However, it wasn't the end of the world, as long as he could find a skilled mage more powerful than the mage who had initially created the curse mark to dispel it.
Although that didn't seem promising from how Elora had said it.
The only other option he had was to hide in a remote location until he was powerful enough to be able to fend against the entire Qidiuis Family, which was also pretty much impossible, even with Ryan's potential.
Or so Elora theorised.
Ryan sat there in silence momentarily, before getting up suddenly.
"There's no need to worry about things that are out of my control and are in the distant future," he stated, before making his way out of the cabin to find Fluffy waiting at the doorstep.
Jumping onto the beast before rubbing its head, Ryan continued internally, 'This is my story, after all. With my plot armour, what could possibly go wrong?'
It was quite a childish thought, but everyone is the main character of their own story, and if it helped him sleep at night, then so be it.
Meanwhile, it also reminded him of what Wayde had been so hung over getting his hands on.
The floating ring!