"Why does everyone want to obtain more power?"

The boy yawned and asked a random question, not fully grasping the mentality of other races, like the greedy humans.

"To conquer. Rule over other species, dominate everything. There's also revenge, punishment, or even to protect one's family but such cases are rare because those people would know when to stop."

The disembodied voice calmly answered the curious boy.

"How come I'm not like them? I can obtain more power but I don't want to, it's boring."

"It's because you've only lived in this courtyard ever since your birth so you didn't meet other people and were not influenced by anything or anyone. Perhaps, if you go outside, which you will, you'll change your mind."

"No! It's tiresome to train and get more power, I see no point in becoming the strongest."

Seeing such strong objection, the speaker let out a sigh but chose to not comment.

"Isn't it power something finite? When they reach the end, what will they do?"

"Their greed for power will continue and they'll not care about the consequences... which is why their end is their death."

"What if they cannot die?"

"Not dying is a curse in itself. An eternal life is never a blessing, no matter how enticing it may seem to mortals. It is being imprisoned in the deja-vu of solitude."

***********

After witnessing the brief appearance of Leiu and the death of the old man and Claud, Zodiak and Aneirin found themselves standing next to the Well of the Lost. Everything around them was foggy, limiting their vision and forcing them to take the only path laid ahead, which was inside the Well.

"So that's the end?"

The Troubadour sighed and look at his silent companion, wondering what he was thinking.

"Let us get on with it."

Zodiak jumped inside the well, followed right after by the energetic bard. Just like the first time, the trip inside was dizzying and blurry, this time causing them to fall unconscious.

When they appeared on the other side, they were both peacefully sleeping and, from the looks of it, they returned to the Serenity of the present.

Aneirin was the one to wake up first, he lazily scanned the surroundings only to suddenly jump up.

"I didn't expect such a warm welcome."

The poet's expression wasn't good as he stared at the squadron of angels surrounding the well. Leading the winged beings was an angel stronger than the rest, he had four pairs of wings and emitted a majestic aura condensed from something very similar to Holy Magic.

"This is not a place for you. Leave, bard."

The leader of the angel spoke with a cold tone, not sparing even a glance at the fuming Aneirin. The angels standing behind quickly marched forward and bound the troubadour.

"You actually dare? Do you think I'll let this slide?"

While being dragged far away, the bard kept cursing and warning the leader.

"You'll regret this! I'll bring hell down on you guys!"

Aneirin knew that the angels won't dare to harm him but it wasn't the case for Zodiak, which was their target from the very beginning. He just didn't expect them to be so bold and actually make a move when he's next to Zodiak, which left him thinking that they had enough time to lose the clingy pursuers.

Very soon, Aneirin was forcefully thrown out of Serenity with the use of a special transportable gate in the angels' possession. As for Zodiak, he was heavily chained and dragged somewhere else.

…

When he came to his senses, which, in comparison to Aneirin, was a long time after their brief return through the well, Zodiak found his four limbs wrapped in thick chains. Obviously, he was momentarily confused only to remember the angels who followed him before he traveled to the past. He tried activating Dark Magic but his attempts were futile, the chains were restricting the flow of energy inside his body which rendered him unable to transform normal Mana into Dark Mana.

Still, with the use of the recently acquired Talisman, he was still able to release an almost unnoticeable darkness that loosened the chains and granted him a tad of freedom, at least enough to stretch his arms and legs, and even turn his head.

To his surprise, there was a familiar prisoner chained right opposite of Zodiak. He was a young man with dark hair, black pupils and an unusually pale skin. The last time he saw him was a long time ago, when he participated in the Colosseum back in his hometown.

The young boy, Forne, had grown bigger and stronger, from the looks of it. Nevertheless, he ended up being captured by the angels, for some reason.

"Guess destiny really wants us to meet."

Zodiak chuckled as he spoke to Forne, who was, at first, absent-minded, only to snap out of it when he heard a voice interrupt the long silence he was used to.

The youngster didn't recognize the middle-aged Zodiak so he frowned and stared back at this new and quite creepy prisoner.

"What? Already forgot about me? Let me refresh your memory, then."

The moment Zodiak said that, the Dark Magic coming from the Talisman started accumulating and circling around the user, surprising Forne. The moment he laid eyes on that Dark Magic, he knew it was the person who he tried to kill back in the Colosseum.

"It seems you listened to my advice."

Zodiak's eyes turned into black flames as he looked at the young Forne, able to see the circulation of energy inside the latter's body. Aneirin explained to him many things but the energy seen inside the boy's body was all but familiar. It was a mix of red and orange and the moment it made contact with his Dark Magic, it started disintegrating it though the process was very slow.

"It's unfortunate to get captured before you complete whatever is inside your body."

Though the situation seemed dire, Zodiak remained calm as he praised whatever Forne.

After a long silence, Forne finally opened his mouth and asked:

"Why are you here?"

"I don't know and I'm not going to wait and find out."

After he finished answering, the thick chains immobilizing him were consumed by the Darkness, finally granting him his freedom. Though he wasn't able to convert Mana into Dark Mana, the Talisman can act as a power supply so it was able to bypass the effects of the chains.

Forne looked at Zodiak, who seemingly freed himself with total ease and seemed about to leave this prison.

"Wait!"

He saw black fog enveloping the middle-aged man and knew it was his teleportation ability so he quickly stopped him. Zodiak glanced at the bound young man and creased his brows.

"Set me free, please."

In response, Zodiak grinned and retorted:

"And why would I?"

"I know where we are and how to get out. I can be useful."

"You can be useful but not trusted, which is enough of a reason to not let you out."

Zodiak seemed uninterested in Forne's request and simply vanished, not bothering to hear the young man's next words of plea. Seeing that his last hope of survival just left, Forne became even more desperate, violently shaking his body and continuously activating his power, trying to free himself.