“?elare, I'm going to step out for a few minutes. I need to greet an old friend.”

  Seated on the ground, the boy nods and watches Novus step out of the arena, heading back into the main building. He turns back to Vis and Hunter, who are still engaging in hand-to-hand combat. A few minutes later, ?elare frowns and says, “Guys, why did he send Astraea out by herself?”

  Vis catches Hunter’s fist, and they both stop. The bowman says, “I don't know, but it doesn't matter. He's trustworthy.”

  The warrior adds, “Why, you worried about her?”

  The blond nods.

  “Hunter, she made a good point before. When did you decide to trust him? You'd never have such blind faith in another person normally.”

  Hunter grunts.

  “Stop questioning things. That just makes everything more complicated.”

  Vis grins and nods in agreement.

  ?elare remains silent, fidgeting with his clothes. Then, he takes a white gemstone from his pocket and infuses some light element into it.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  The crystal glows and releases prismatic light before disintegrating, and ?elare murmurs, “If my mind really is being affected, I ask for it to be cleared.”

  The other two look at him with raised eyebrows, and he stands up.

  “If Novus returns while I'm gone, tell him I'll be back shortly.”

  Vis says, “Sure. Hunter, let's go again.”

  The two continue their sparring.

  The blond takes a few slow steps towards the building, then speeds up until he is running. Once he makes it there, he opens the door and enters the hallway of doors again. He hears footsteps and quietly gasps, immediately erecting a sound and light barrier before approaching stealthily.

  Novus opens the door and steps through. He cracks his neck and stretches his fingers, smiling to himself.

  “Problem solved,” he says to nobody. He turns to close the door, then looks around as he feels the slight movement of wind. Seeing nothing, he shrugs and finishes shutting it.

  ?elare takes a deep breath and wipes the sweat from his forehead, feeling his heart pounding. He dispels the barriers and looks around, finding himself in what seems to be a wooden hut. Dust covers the surface of the furniture, and exiting it, the boy finds himself in an open plain.

  He sits down on the ground and closes his eyes, releasing a large pulse of light element. He mentally maps his surroundings, and then his eyes shoot open.

  “Found you, Astraea,” he whispers.

  He gets up and begins jogging in the direction he sensed her in.

  Eventually, he reaches a tall, metal fence-gate surrounding a manor. It looks intact but unkept, with overgrowing plants. Looking at the top of the fence, he sees a red-stained section on one of the many spikes, and the gate is closed.

  With an intensely concentrated beam of light, he cuts a hole in the gate and steps through.