In a dark room, several people were sitting around a circular table. All of their faces were covered with a thin veil of darkness, and though they were present, they seemed like projections of their real selves. The only person whose face was visible was Kasnov. His face was deathly pale and disheveled, and even in the dim light, beads of sweat were visible along his hairline. Just being in the presence of these beings was enough to exert a crushing, almost physical pressure on him, a weight that settled deep in his bones.

  “So we have discovered that she was able to successfully complete her ascension and had also developed her spell,” Kasnov reported, his voice tight. “However, due to a gap in intelligence, we were not able to determine the exact spell and also had to sacrifice a few Paragons.”

  There was a heavy silence in the room for some time. The shadowed figures were motionless. Then one of them spoke, its voice quite cheerful. “At least now we know that she is faking her weakness and can take proper measures in future plans. And although there were losses, we actually didn’t lose anything important.” For the Ascenders gathered here, the only real loss would be if one of them died or a relic of their god was lost. The sacrifice of Paragons and lower-tier operatives was simply inconsequential. “But still,” the cheerful voice continued, “it leaves a very bad taste in my mouth knowing that there will be one more bitch to annoy us.”

  Just then, a voice from the head of the table, cold and devoid of any emotion, cut through the lingering irritation. “During the Crucifix, I will take care of her.”

  All attention, palpable even through the veils, turned to the head of the table. “We should nip the bud before it fully blooms,” the leader continued, “or we will have another person like the Eyes of the Light to contend with.”

  A ripple of grim acknowledgment passed through the assembly. Everyone nodded at this statement. Without further ceremony, the projections began to flicker and fade, one by one, until the room was empty save for Kasnov, who remained for a moment longer. They had dispersed, and in doing so, they had set in motion the gears of a catastrophe designed to shake the very foundations of that world.

  It had been nearly three years since the kidnapping incident. By now, most people had even forgotten about it, and those who remembered all praised the Church of Light for rescuing the children. Since that time, Evan’s daily life had been free from any unwanted supernatural incidents, and the security of the city had also increased markedly. At that time, many people were caught by the city guards and priests under various charges and, under the order of the City Lord, executed.

  After that day, he had been surprised to notice that there were many Awakeners in the city and he just hadn’t known about them. But none of those surprises compared to the one in front of him.

  Ugly. That was the only thought in his mind, and just as he was about to answer, he felt a sharp pain from his back. His attention suddenly turned to his father beside him, who was giving him a kind, pointed smile. Suddenly understanding the signal, he said, “She is very beautiful,” while looking at his newborn sister.

  At the age of eight, a new member had joined the family, and he now had a baby sister. Just thinking about the past few months made him want to cry silently. Since his father was at work during the day, he had to take care of his mother alone. Initially it was okay, but two months ago, Avelia started to have severe sudden mood swings, and he had to run around the city purchasing things she wanted to eat and to help her pass the time. But finally, it was over. However, since his back was still aching…

  “Mother, it is time already. I have to go now,” he said, suddenly stepping out of the house.

  “Come back on time!” he heard Avelia’s voice from behind.

  Going into an alleyway, he quickly started to rub the aching spot. The people passing by began to give him weird looks, and he just smiled politely in return. Soon after, the pain reduced and the swelling went down. Then he made his way to the Cathedral. It was still early in the morning, and it would take time for the midwives to clean the room. His father was there to take care of things.

  Entering the Cathedral, he first prayed to the Goddess for both his familys’ health and went ahead to Lyria. She was still wearing her baggy white dress and still had that youthful face.

  “So, how was the childbirth?” she asked with her creepy smile.

  By now, Evan had completely adapted to that smile. If Lyria didn’t smile someday, it would have felt weird.

  “It went well. Both my mother and little sister are safe.”

  “Of course they are. The Goddess is always blessing everyone who comes and prays to her” Lyria grinned.

  More like she was blessing them, Evan thought. He had discovered some time ago that whenever someone prayed to the statue of the Goddess, Lyria would insert a trace amount of light particles into them. Although they didn’t have any miraculous effect, they kept the body healthy without any adverse effects. Due to this, even during her pregnancy, Avelia was brought to the temple quite frequently. Every day, thousands of people came to pray to the Goddess, but even after blessing them, there was no change in Lyria and she even seemed more cheerful. He still didn’t know the upper limit of her power.

  Since he was not able to become an Awakener, he decided to just train his body. His current body was comparatively taller and had more defined muscles and skeletal structure compared to his peers. He at least didn’t want to feel helpless against newly awakened Awakeners and wanted to protect himself and his family. And also hoped to someday find a way back to his world.

  He had also tried to free Avelia and Henrick from the Perception Dissonance spell but to no avail. Like Lyria said, it just depended on their own innate capacity and luck. And although he couldn’t become an Awakener, he still decided to learn the relevant knowledge so that it might come in handy. When it came to spells, not every spell required him to be an Awakener. He could still use some by using relevant materials. And since after the previous incident most of the city was cleansed, Lyria had a lot of free time on her hands and decided to humor him.

  Evan took a few folded papers out of his pocket and handed them to Lyria. They were covered in hand-drawn circles of several different types of structures and intricate inner designs.

  Looking at them, Lyria said, “These are okay but not perfect. Look, this part needs to be more curved, and this part needs to be straighter. And this line is good but needs to be slightly to the left.” This detailed critique continued for quite some time. Evan had once asked her if it really mattered that much, and Lyria had replied, “If you are my student, you should at least be able to do this much without any trouble, or else where should I put my face?” So, it was all about saving face.

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  After listening to her corrections, Evan asked her some questions about the principles he didn’t fully understand. Since there was no book as it was too dangerous to write down and store this kind of knowledge, it was only passed by word of mouth. After clarifying his doubts, Lyria then proceeded to teach him another simple spell. Although not that strong, these spells could help a normal person in a pinch turn the tables. The materials needed for making them were readily available, and the elemental power to activate them could be stored in advance by Lyria.

  When it was afternoon, Evan bid his farewell and went to his school. At age eight, it was mandatory for all children to attend school. And since there were many children, the school had two different sessions: one in the afternoon and one in the morning. Evan’s school session was during the afternoon.

  When he reached the school, the first morning batch was already heading home, their cheerful chatter filling the courtyard before they dispersed into the streets. Since the school came under the jurisdiction of the Church, they had not skimped while building it. It was a three-story structure laid out in a square, with the central courtyard left open for gatherings and assemblies. Each wing of the building housed four to five classrooms on every floor.

  Even from the perspective of his previous life, the scale and quality of the building could be called extravagant. Even some wealthy families from the inner district sent their children here, and the teachers were priestesses and priests on probation, fulfilling part of their service to the Church. These young clergy had to work for free whenever the Church needed extra hands, but considering they were all Awakeners, it was still a worthwhile arrangement for both sides.

  Soon, Evan caught sight of a familiar person among the stream of students leaving. Spotting him Clark broke into a grin and ran over, trying to throw his arms around Evan in a tackle-hug. Evan quickly sidestepped the clumsy advance, letting Clark stumble forward and nearly fall. From whom had he learned this weird habit?

  Getting up and rubbing his forehead, Clark gave him an accusing look, to which Evan just shrugged his shoulders, his expression unmoved. Looking closely, Evan could see a faint, shimmering blue light clinging to Clark's form which was a clear sign that he was transitioning to become an Awakener.

  After that day several years ago when Clark had been freed from the Perception Dissonance spell, Evan had continued pretending to still be under its effect. He didn’t want others to know about his own inability to become a proper Awakener. Still, he kept quiet tabs on Clark to make sure the boy didn’t wander down the wrong path. Recently, Clark had been seen often in the company of the Awakener guards from the city garrison. They were most likely mentoring him, which was a far safer and more structured alternative than him being left entirely to his own devices.

  While looking at Evan’s stoic, unamused stance, Clark just hmphed, brushed himself off, and walked away without another word. He had grown quieter and more serious over the past years. Next time for sure, Clark thought to himself, already plotting his next attempt.

  Soon, the afternoon class students started to file into their assigned classrooms. Evan simply took his usual seat at the back of the room and pulled out his notes, continuing to practice his spell diagrams. At first, many teachers had taken issue with him working on his own during lessons, but after he answered all their questions correctly and in detail for several days straight, most had decided it was easier to simply ignore him. Well, some did but not all. Luckily, the teacher today was one of the more lenient ones, who seemed to believe that as long as Evan wasn’t disruptive, he could spend his time as he wished. And so, Evan had plenty of uninterrupted time to refine the intricate lines and curves of his spell circles.

  After school was over, he stopped by a fruit cart on the way home and bought a small bag of apples with his pocket money. Returning home, he heard the sound of a baby crying from inside even before he opened the door. Going inside he saw his baby sister, red-faced and wailing, sitting in their mother’s lap. His father was busy in the kitchen, preparing an early dinner. His mother, with a tired but warm smile, beckoned to him, and he went closer. Looking at the crying child, she said, “She has been crying for quite some time now, and we don’t know the reason.”

  His brows furrowed slightly, and he brought his hand up to gently check the child’s forehead for fever. However, as his hand got closer, the baby girl suddenly caught his fingers in her tiny grip, and almost immediately, her crying softened into whimpers, then faded completely as she drifted back into sleep. His mother just looked at him and said in a tone of playful grievance, “You stole my daughter.”

  Evan’s eyes twitched, and a vein popped on his forehead. I am your son.

  Soon they had dinner and went to sleep, but his rest was disturbed in the middle of the night by the baby’s renewed crying and the worried, hushed voices of his parents. Waking up, he padded to their room and found his little sister crying while both his parents tried in vain to soothe her. He also went close and reached out, but this time, before he could even touch her, she latched onto his finger, and within moments, her cries subsided. He also felt a very slight, fleeting tingling sensation on his forehead, which he easily dismissed as fatigue.

  Both his parents gave him confused, almost bewildered looks, to which he replied lightly, “Maybe she just likes her brother more,” not mentioning the fact that the baby hadn’t even properly opened her eyes yet. He then spent the remainder of the night sitting beside the crib, letting the baby hold his finger, and barely got any sleep by morning.

  That day, the whole family decided to visit the Church of Light for reassurance. Seeing Evan expertly wrap the baby in swaddling clothes and lift her securely, his mother asked with mild surprise, “Do you have experience in caring for a baby?”

  “I just asked around and learned everything.” Well, he wasn’t lying; since he had helped take care of Nick in his childhood, he did have some practical experience.

  Soon they reached the Cathedral, and Evan carried his sister inside to see Lyria, though his parents had to wait in the antechamber. Looking at Evan carrying the child, she said, “I thought you would come a few days later.”

  “That was also what I thought, but something seems off with her.”

  “Bring her here.” Taking the baby, Lyria’s eyes glowed a soft, luminous gold as she carefully observed her. “There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong,” she said calmly before submerging the baby briefly in the pool. Still, nothing unusual happened. Seeing this, Evan’s furrowed brows relaxed. Maybe she just had a stronger natural affinity with him than with his parents. There were cases like that.

  Taking the baby back, he was nearly out the door when he said to Lyria over his shoulder, “I won’t be coming here for a few days.”

  Lyria simply waved a dismissive hand.

  Carrying his little sister, he rejoined his parents and explained, “Her health is totally fine. She will just take a few days to adapt to the environment.” Handing his sister, who was once again peacefully asleep, to his mother, he hurried off to school.

  After coming back home that afternoon, his sister was awake and his father was bouncing her gently on his knee. “Isn’t she way too healthy for a newborn?” Evan mused aloud. The baby turned her head toward his voice and started waving a hand in his direction. He washed his hands and approached. When he tried to pick her up, she bypassed his arms and simply caught his fingers, holding them tightly in her small fists. Then a sudden realization struck him: she didn’t want to be held by him, she just wanted to play with his hand.

  “So, what should we name her?” his mother asked later, as they sat together in the main room.

  Evan pointed at himself with his free hand and asked, “I should name her?”

  His parents nodded. His father added with a smile, “Since she likes you more, then you should do it. But if it’s very bad, then we won’t accept it.”

  Evan went silent for a long moment, looking at the baby who still gripped his finger. Then he said, “Aemeath.” Somehow, he felt with quiet certainty, that this should be her name.

  Hearing the name, both parents nodded slowly. They offered no objection.

  Then he had to let Aemeath continue holding his hand until, after a good while of quiet alertness, she finally drifted off to sleep.