"No". A flat-out rejection.
"What?!" Aiden asked, taken aback.
Cain stared at Aiden with a threatening gaze that sent shivers down his back.
Noticing Cain walking away, Nathaniel tried to persuade him to stay for a while and chat about old times.
Cain and Nathaniel shared history together. When Nathaniel was a young and inexperienced sorcerer, Cain saved his life when he was on the brink of death. Although he had never liked Cain for his nonchalant attitude toward life and his disdain for his own immortality, Nathaniel admired him from that day forward.
Nathaniel acted like a fan who had just met their favorite celebrity around Cain.
Cain, however, didn't want to deal with these annoying kids constantly. Internally, he told himself to ignore them, hoping they would eventually go away.
To his dismay, Aiden and Nathaniel didn't leave him alone. His usual method of ignoring people seemed ineffective this time. Either these two were awkwardly social or didn't understand the meaning of personal space.
He had encountered many like Aiden: individuals wanting to become his apprentice, assuming he would share his knowledge with them simply because they asked. The thought of associating himself with such people sickened him to his core.
He just had to survive the night on the island, and maybe this nightmare would finally be over. Nathaniel tried to introduce his apprentice, Eric, to Cain, oblivious to Cain's desire for them to leave.
Nathaniel's decuple Eric was excited to meet the great man his master praised so often. However, upon meeting the so-called great man, he felt only disappointment. He couldn't understand what his master saw in Cain; either his master had been bewitched or was simply blinded by admiration.
Eric greeted Cain with a hint of prejudice before asking for permission to leave from his master. Nathaniel apologized for Eric's indecency, but Cain didn't mind. That only gave Eric more reason to dislike him.
Meanwhile, Aiden wondered why Cain didn't want to take him on as a disciple. Perhaps it was because he had no combat experience or lacked supernatural powers. But he was determined to gain supernatural powers if that was what it took.
Aiden was surprised by how calm he felt after everything that had happened a month ago: refusing a proposal, witnessing death, and discovering the supernatural. Any normal person would be panicking, but he felt nothing. It was as if something had changed in him once the situation calmed down.
Maybe, just maybe, he was going mad.
He laughed it off as overthinking before trying to find out more from the other mercenaries.
Since Aiden was somewhat like their boss, they answered him when he asked how to obtain supernatural powers.
"It's not exactly called supernatural powers; it's called soul abilities," said a rough-looking man. "Internationally, it's known as soul powers, and they can only awaken during a traumatic incident or if one is born with them," he continued.
Intrigued by the explanation, Aiden realized that all he had to do was put himself in danger and hopefully awaken his soul ability. Then maybe Cain would accept him as an apprentice.
It was risky, but he felt he had no other choice. He didn't fully understand why he wanted to become Cain's apprentice, but his intuition told him that being close to Cain would make him feel safe.
Meanwhile, Cain was at the estate, enjoying a fine, exquisite wine all by himself.