The monk and the girl seemed surprised about the change in Arthur's demeanor, as it came abruptly like lightning. As for the bookkeeper, its cloak tried to wiggle free from Arthur's grasp.

"You will be hunted down like a dog if you dare do anything to me! I'm the one overseeing the archives of his Majesty. Do you know how important I am?"

​​

"All I know that the Spirits Realm will be better off with one twisted bastard less," his chains wrapped around the tree to hold down the bookkeeper, who seemed to have given up resisting.

"Threatening seems to be of little effect on those who are ignorant about their status," the bookkeeper's attitude changed as if it took off a mask. "How about we make this a trade? I tell you where your friend is, and you tell me your name."

"I propose a better offer: your life in exchange for the answer," Arthur refused to fall for his schemes. The bookkeeper shook his head with a sigh.

"Can you kill what's not there?"

As it said so, the cloak fell helplessly on Arthur's chains, and the bookkeeper's presence disappeared. Arthur frowned and brought his hands together, sending his chains everywhere to look for the spirit.

"Dammit," Arthur spat as he realized the bookkeeper was gone. However, his bicycle and cloak were still here.

"It is over there!" Hana shouted and pointed toward the trees far ahead. Arthur turned to look but didn't see anything. "Quick, it's going to escape!" The little girl shouted in a hurry.

"Send your chains, boy," the monk nodded, and Arthur's chained launched like missiles. The bookkeeper gave a shrill scream as one of the chains struck it, sending it flying away.

The snow caved in as the bookkeeper's invisible body fell on it. Arthur controlled his chains to surround the area the spirit, which seemed annoyed as it grumbled.

"Annoying little brat, I'll cut off your ears!"

"That's no way to talk to a child, bookkeeper," the monk shook his head as he walked beside Arthur. "I always told you: for a storyteller, you have a foul mouth. Look at where it got you," Lin Zhao shook his head.

"Hm?" A voice of recognition came from the direction of the bookkeeper. "Ah, it's the wandering monk, Lin Zhao. What are you doing here, following after this anomaly?"

"I'm thinking of taking him as my disciple,"

"Disciple?" The bookkeeper stood up. "Are you insane, monk? This creature is not something you should associate with."

"Don't say bad things about Mister!" Hana shouted with anger that surprised Arthur. He thought his earlier deposition would scare away the monk and the girl, but they seemed to be taking his side.

"I have been labeled insane long ago," the monk shook his head as he played around with his mustache. "But this time, I believe myself to be quite sane."

"Foolish," the bookkeeper spat before turning silent. Despite being invisible, Arthur could tell that it was glaring at him now.

"What is it going to be, bookkeeper?" Arthur took a step forward, and his chain hovered around the spirit. "Are you choosing death?"

"I am made of words, and words never die," the bookkeeper said heroically.

"Fine, then perish." Arthur waved his hand, and the chains destroyed the trees, but they didn't strike the bookkeeper. "For a spirit which never dies, you sure run away a lot." Arthur glared at the space above him.

"I've seen enough anomalies today, so I'm not going to risk my life for petty principles," The bookkeeper landed a distance away. "It's a simple deal. You get what you want, and I sate my curiosity. Tell me your name."

"Why do you want to know his name?" Lin Zhao interjected as he held his chin. "You said he was an anomaly. What do you mean by that?"

"Lin Zhao," Arthur barked as he glared at the monk, who shrugged in response.

"I need to learn a lot about my disciple," the man shrugged. "Unless you already know what he's talking about, then you should be as eager to listen."

"Don't ignore," the bookkeeper seemed more offended by being ignored than being attacked. "I will tell you," it seems he couldn't keep it to himself. "This man is an anomaly to this timeline. He shouldn't exist at this moment, but he does."

"Is that why you want to know his name?" Lin Zhao seemed unperturbed by the revelation. "Shouldn't you have a record of everyone in the Spirits Realm, including their lives?"

"I... should..." the bookkeeper's answer came in a whisper. "However, it doesn't make sense how he came to this timeline. Suddenly, he was there."

Arthur silently stared at the space where the spirit should be. It should be talking about his arrival to Alva after he had traveled into the past from Earth.

"I agree," Arthur calmed down as he answered. "I agree with the trade you proposed."

"Hm? Why?" The bookkeeper seemed confused as if Arthur was following a different script.

"What, do you want me to kill you that badly?" Arthur shrugged. "My name is unimportant; I've spent too long of a time in the Spirits Realm, and it's time that I leave."

"I advise against that," the monk shook his head. "This spirit might be a servant of the Sovereign, but it's a cunning one. There's no way that it doesn't have ulterior motives."

"I think the same! Bookkeeper is bad!" Hana chimed in with agreement.

"Shut up, brat!" The bookkeeper scowled, and Hana simply stuck her tongue out at the spirit. "Disrespectful!"

"I know, but I'll deal with whatever schemes it plans later on." Arthur felt grateful for their advice, but the spirit's earlier escape made him realize it could do it again. "What guarantees that you won't go back on your words?"

"I swear an oath to his Majesty that I won't go back on this trade!" As the bookkeeper said that, lightning descended from the sky to strike the ground between it and Arthur. A violet sphere of light appeared between them, binding the two in an oath.

"I approve of this trade," Arthur touched the sphere, and he felt the power of the oath bind him to the bookkeeper.

"The witch can be found in the Valley of Time, simply go toward the sunrise, and you'll find it." The bookkeeper revealed before continuing. "Now, tell me your name."

"Arthur," he answered. "Arthur Silvera,"

"Silvera?" The bookkeeper repeated. "Haha, hahaha!" It began to laugh hysterically. "Trust the silver! Trust the Silver!

Arthur frowned as he heard the words he knew very well. Then, as he was about to take a step toward the spirit, it disappeared without a trace. This time, Hana couldn't find it anymore.

"Arthur Silvera," the bookkeeper's voice appeared in his mind. "You will regret this trade, hehe." After saying so, the bookkeeper disappeared without a trace.

***

"Do you regret telling it your name?" On a highland by the sea, Lin Zhao asked the man next to him. The golden chains seemed to be at peace, floating gently in the sunrise.

"Sacrifices need to be made," the man, which he learned his name was Arthur Silvera, answered wisely. Lin Zhao can tell this was a young man who has just left his youth, but he went through a lot to get here.

"The bookkeeper might be a servant, but not even the Sovereign could control it. Telling it your name would bring a lot of troubles."

"Do you want me to regret it?"

"No, but I want to know something. Is your friend worth it?"

"I wouldn't do it if she were not," Arthur stood up from his spot. "Are you going to keep following me?"

Lin Zhao paused as he pondered an answer. Did he need to follow the young man more since he has already learned of his name? Instead, he could simply look for him in the real world.

"Only until the short girl finds a spirit," the monk said. "Are you against it, Arthur?"

"No, not really." Arthur shook his head. "It feels weird to be called by my name after so long."

"I can repeat it if you want," the monk teased.

"Please don't say stuff like that," Arthur scowled. "Follow me if you want, but I need to know what your motives are."

Lin Zhao admired this quality of the young man, who he wanted to teach the ways of Force. He was direct, not bothering with mind games and facades.

"I want to teach someone powerful,"

"For what? Revenge? Power? A legacy?"

"No, just to prove that humans can reach godhood and control their destiny." Lin Zhao said casually, but it seems that Arthur Silvera didn't take it as a joke.

"I see," he said, pondering. "We might not be that different. You want to prove that humans can reach the gods, and I want to overthrow them."

"Overthrow the gods?" Lin Zhao was confused. "Why?"

"Because they abandoned us."