Three people sat on the floor, one sipping his tea calmly, the other swinging up and down in a meditation position with a smile on his face showing rows of sharp teeth, and a boy in melted armor and cowered with mucus and blood.
Hildebrant gazed at two people who enjoyed silence and when he saw none of them in the mood to talk, he began to strip the armor down of his body. The hot steel grew into his flesh and poured an unhuman amount of pain into his being, but Hildebrant didn't even flinch when part of the silver armor stayed in his hand with some of skin and flesh.
Icarus turned his head his way, looking into empty space above the Hildebrant head.
"Doesn't it hurt?"
Startled Hildebrant put part of the armor down.
"It does, but it's no longer as bad as it was before."
And it would change nothing. What needed to be done needed to be done even if it was painful. That was what he was taught by life and what everyone showed him even if they didn't wish to. The pain was natural and even the first man recognized it as a force of nature.
Ivistar's face showed a smile, not a normal smile but a smile filled with sadness and also a deep sense of loneliness.
"Young transcendent lord is learning fast."
Silver silk on his body shook as Ivistar shifted his weight from side to side and took tea from the plate. Giving it a sniff he then gave Hildebrant the feeling of watching a dog enjoying his bones.
"Your tea is as always fragrant Cecilie, but I feel something different from you. Did you change your hair?"
Taking a sip of tea Cecilie glared at the Ivistar and after putting the cup down her voice showed how much she didn't like talking with him.
"Yes, I did, do you like it?"
She combed her hair, and her smile became terrifying.
Ivistar face also twisted.
"That was dirty."
He said but Cecilie gave him no chance to retreat.
"Who started it? Me?"
Closing his mouth Ivistar turned his head to the other side while crossing his hands.
"She was better before she learned that technique."
He muttered under his breath like a little child would but then the smile returned and his head turned to Hildebrant ignoring Cecilie who calmly took her cup back and began to sip tea while giving him a pitful gaze.
"You see I was interested before but from where do you come from young friend? Is it Manticore, Yormweld, Blood Dynasty, or some rural village? For example, I am from a small village south of Feyren Federation, me and my brother came together after some small incident."
His face then lost all color as if remembering something.
"But my brother is already dead."
Hildebrant didn't know what to say. He knew how it was to lose family and what pain it could bring to a person. Not even the flames of a raging inferno could overcome the pain of losing something important, but he also knew saying something was useless.
Emotions were strong weapons and the only person able to control them properly was always one to hold them.
Ivistar didn't stay like that for long and his face again showed a smile.
"But that's all past, why be sad when the present is here?"
He said and then a pile of debris parted, and the figure of death's white body imprinted itself into Hildebrant memory. The dead person was fast and nimble and Hildebrant was already prepared to manifest his claymore when Ivistar aimed his palm in the direction of a resurrected corpse and before anyone could take a breath the corpse exploded into a blood shower falling on the ground.
"That one little midget was still alive! I knew it!"
Ivistar said with a gloating expression full of excitement, but Hildebrant stayed frozen observing the pool of blood on a pile of trash.
Was this the power of ascenders were supposed to have?
At that moment he finally understood how weak he truly was.