"Is that all?" Asked the Crown Prince, almost disappointed by the rapidity of the operation.

"Yes, it's finished. Time for a demonstration," said the Spymaster. Then, she turned to the collared women. "Slaves, remove his chains."

And so they did. At first, the man did not move, still recuperating from the shock. Suddenly, his body started to change. First, the veins around his naked body engorged in purplish blood. Then, the incision in his chest started closing, the dead tissue on his scars regenerating. He opened his eyes abruptly, looked around for a second, then jumped off the altar to grab the Spymaster.

"Stop," she said.

A single word. An order the man could not refuse as he froze in place, his hands inches away from dirtying her cloak. He wanted to ask why he could not move, what was happening to his body, what they had done to him. But he could not move his lips.

"Completely obedient, loyal to the death," she said to the Prince. Then she turned back to the man. "Your name is now Beta. Nod if you understand."

And so the man did. And now, his mind could not remember his former name.

"Beta, take the scalpel and slit your throat," the Spymaster said.

That's absurd! Why would I... wait! What are my hands doing?! No! I don't want this! I don't-

It was a sharp cut, a clean slit through the front of his throat. No hesitation. Black and purple blood spilled onto the ground as the man coughed and choked unconsciously. The scalpel fell from his hands to the stone pavement, staining it in its dark colors.

But when the man thought his life was forfeit, he felt a tingling sensation on the skin of his neck. Soon air filled his lungs, and the cut was no more.

Satisfied, the Spymaster returned to the Crown Prince. "The only way to kill him is cutting his heart off and burning it. Of course, you can just order him to do it. Even unharmed, he will find a way to succeed. Eventually."

Prince Kaveat's eyes shone, and now a twisted smile decorated his noble lineaments. The smell of the crypt now marked triumph, so he stopped blocking his nose and started clapping. "Spymaster. No, Elena. You are the star that lights the future of this Kingdom! How many can you give me in one week?"

"I still have some of the rats from the batch we have captured last time. Accounting for some compatibility issues with the integration of the ghoul's heart, I can give you one hundred and twenty soldiers fully armed and ready to move."

"Good," Kaveat said, nodding excitedly. "I know my father. If we bring concrete results, he will approve. We will follow plan Blackheart A. There is no coming back now."

The Spymaster lowered her head with her arms straight by her sides, a cold glint in her emerald eyes. "Yes, Your Highness."

***

One full day passed before Rall felt strong enough to walk out of his room. Splitting his time between meditation and conversing with the slaves, he had learned a good amount of useful information. First off, this was only one of Sharyah's villas. It seemed that she had reinvested part of the money she had gained from selling him into tens of 'safe havens' throughout the whole civilized North.

They were currently in Peakfallen, a small mining city to the northeast of Alcia. Sharyah was practically royalty here, and everyone treated her with proper respect and fear. To the men and women of the countryside, she was like an unreachable mirage. Same sentiments, different reasons.

However, Peakfallen was not as peaceful as it seemed. The war between the Avians and the Kingdom had been the cause of many battles throughout the Alcian eastern border. The position of the village and its strategic position near the sea and the Mithril mines in the Red Peaks made it a perfect target for aerial raids. For that reason, a large amount of the forces of the Kingdom had been stationed in its defense for the last seven years.

When news of the attack to the pass of Gruht, just a hundred kilometers south of Peakfallen, the tensions in the city had risen noticeably. In some sense, Sharyah's arrival had quelled many such voices. If someone so powerful and influential had chosen to stay there for some time, it could only mean that it was safe. They could never guess the Lady's demonic nature nor her true purpose. Inadvertently, she had gained a lot of goodwill from the local leadership and guards for quieting the fearful spirits of the citizens. Not that she cared about any of that.

Rall opened his eyes after another six hours of meditation through the night. His father's words had never left him, and still, he religiously trained his powers in the darkness whenever possible.

"I got bigger again," Tui noted, clearly vexed by the change.

Rall looked at her ethereal figure. It was not obvious, but she had probably grown a centimeter or two in height. It seemed that his powers had grown even as he slept for three weeks. He was still in his teens, so no surprises there.

The mermaid closed her eyes, concentrating on her shape. Quickly her height returned to her original one. Her ethereal hair, instead, became slightly longer, reaching her hips.

"Don't get used to that form," Rall told her as he took tentative steps towards the fresh clothes that one of the slaves had left in his room. "You will have to hide for most of our stay in Telessia. A white Fairylight is already enough to attract trouble without it being sentient and humanoid."

His arms extended into the sleeves of the white shirt, then he went on to close the buttons over his torso. Those clothes fit too perfectly. Did Sharyah take his measures? He shuddered at the thought, thankful that Tui had been there to watch over his unconscious body. Finally, he took his trusty black cloak, now a lot less dusty than before. He checked the inner pockets. A crude knife on the left, for the times he found himself without enough energy for spells. A dry red flower, the demonic rose given to him by the little A'Kaleera girl. He smiled. He did not think he still had that flower. Then he reached for the right, and soon his brows creased.

"The soul shard. It's not here. Either someone took it, or it fell off."

Tui thought back at the small purplish gem they had used to power the fast boat to the edge of the Northern Tundra. A smaller version of the same technology powering the winged Guardian in front of the Silver Gates. To someone of this world, the gem looked like a well-treated amethyst. Instead, it was a way-too-advanced technology from who-knows-where beyond.

Rall turned to her, but she just shook her head. Her focus had been on him and his waning soul the whole time. Maybe one of the slaves took it, seeing a chance of buying their freedom. Maybe even Sharyah.

The mage sighed. It was a pity, but it didn't matter in the greater scheme of things. He took the cloak and placed it around his shoulders to protect from the winter air. Tui floated closer, hiding her presence inside him just as he walked out of the room.

He found himself in a long corridor. The light of noon trickled from twenty windows that covered the left side, the Red Peaks in all their gnarly magnitude standing watch far in the horizon. Many doors faced the right side of the corridor, most leading to empty rooms of various sizes. The walls were filled with old drawings, landscapes of deserts, oceans, gardens. Sometimes Rall would notice portraits, possibly the members of a long-lost noble family. They were all too beautiful, their faces too symmetrical, no imperfections - willing victims of the enterprising nature of their commissioned artists.

Rall reached the middle of the corridor, and on his right was a set of stairs. He took the one going down, not knowing where to find the demoness but figuring he would meet her eventually. On the stairs, he met one of the slaves, a middle-aged woman working as a maid in the mansion. She was the same that had brought him food, so there was no reason for introductions. A quick exchange had the mage turn around, moving up the stairs instead.

As he slowly strolled up steps, Rall mused about having such a big house. To him, who had always lived in the countryside or on the road, a large empty villa felt wrong, a waste of space that could easily house ten families and save them from the cold and the rain. Why in the Abyss would someone want this much space for themselves?! He could understand a castle, a place of power that housed a king or an emperor. That made sense to him. It was as much a show of influence and prestige as a fortification to keep the heart of the nation safe. A monument to the steadiness of a Kingdom and its ruler.

But what was the point, then, of such an enormous house? None. Maybe a mansion such as this held the same type of significance as a castle, just scaled to a local level. But then again, Rall thought it was useless. Thork never needed something like this to show his authority. He had the respect of his people, and that's all that mattered.

The image of the reliable one-armed man appeared, next to Dorothy and little Sarah in her arms. He wanted to meet them again, someday. See how they were. Tell them that he had survived. He did not think they would still be in Korn, not after the villagers tried to sacrifice their newborn daughter to the Fog. Actually, there was a chance that Thork had murdered the whole village. Questions for another day.

Lost in his thoughts, Rall landed on the third floor of the mansion. Looking around, the layout of this floor was different. There was only one door to his left, reinforced with an iron frame and wider than the other he had seen. That had to be it.

He walked to the door, then knocked on it with the same pattern that he had heard Sharyah use before.

"Come in," he heard a hoarse womanly voice say.

A long study room welcomed the young light mage. Shelves of colorful books lined the wooden walls on both sides, ranging from the military arts to politics to alchemy. A massive desk, an armchair, and piles of documents filled the last third of the office, complete with a resting hearth right behind. Sharyah was sitting on the desk with her legs crossed with a piece of parchment on her lap, which she happily put away when Rall entered.

He stepped in, his feet sinking into the soft pelt of a brown bear-like creature that served as a carpet on the otherwise humble wooden floor. A strange choice of interior decoration, unfitting of Sharyah's usual style. At least, that's what Rall instinctively thought. Together with a hefty collection of hunting trophies hung on the walls, he got the impression that the demoness simply hadn't cared to remove the previous owner's stuff from the room.

"So, has my boy recovered?" She started, breaking the mage's silent observation of the study room.

"Well enough. I want to depart before the war reaches this village once more," Rall said, ignoring her continuous use of 'my boy'.

"Right. First, though, I have found one of the slaves trying to hide this," she said, producing a small purplish gem from somewhere in the plunging neckline of her red dress. "I assume it's yours."

Rall's eyes opened wide, then he nodded. "The only thing They gave me, together with a boat to reach the Tundra."

She chuckled. "Careful with soul shards. I have seen them explode in the past. It's not a good spectacle."

"I'll keep it in mind," he replied, shrugging his shoulders as she leaned over to hand it back.

"Now. There are other things we have to discuss. First, take this," she said, producing a small pouch from the same place in her bosom. Inside were spherical seeds of some kind, a hundred or so.

Rall took one to investigate it, careful not to squish it in his fingers. "What are these?"

"Masking Pills, used by us demons for centuries to hide among the mortal races. They simulate small, temporary imperfections in your soul. Call your Fairylight out and try one.

He nodded, Tui exited his body. First, though, he asked his companion. "Should I trust her?"

"If she wanted to hurt us, she would have done it when you were asleep. Instead, she stabilized you, picked you up, transported you through a passage under the Red Peaks and to safety. I don't trust her fully. But she is an ally, for now."

Very well then. If Tui had faith in Sharyah, so would he. He took the pill without biting into it and waited. At first, nothing happened. Then, Tui's perfectly white color slowly turned a brilliant golden, like his original Fairylight. At which point, the mage's eyes shone in understanding.

"I see, so you want me to hide plain sight," Rall commented.

"Ha! I knew you would understand immediately. There is an Academy in Telessia. As you are, you will have no problem qualifying for their courses. The Church of Light has first dibs on the best light mages graduating from the Academy. That's how you get into the Church. That's how you find out where the enemy is."

"You want me to enroll in the Kruitz Royal Academy?"

"Oh, so you know of it. That makes things easier."

He scoffed wryly. "I have heard of it. My father told me that the light mages that graduated from the Academy were pampered arrogant pricks only useful for their Lighthouse. That, once put on the field, they were worthless."

"Most likely true. Most of the students are sons and daughters of the nobility. Many sent from other countries, their enrollment tied to politics and diplomacy. That's not the case for light mages, though. Too rare to discriminate, too precious to keep under control," she said. "Look at it this way. Right now, you have no shot against the Goddess. Not alone. You need time. At your pace, in three years, you will be a powerhouse on the Continent."

Rall sighed. He had to admit he needed the time. Not only that, three years were long enough for him to find this Alyssia Bright person and scan through the libraries in Telessia in search of ways to break the contract. Plus, while he had learned every spell his father left him, those were only the spells that his dad thought would help him survive. And that, they did. However, having the chance to expand his arsenal could never be a bad idea.

He nodded, then turned to Tui and sent her a quick message. Slowly, the mermaid lost her humanoid shape, becoming a perfect sphere of golden light, the original form of his Fairylight. For a second, he looked at it. He still remembered when it was so small it fit in his palm. Now, he could hide one extended arm inside it. The size of their Fairylight was the crudest way to measure a light mage's power. And looking at Tui, Rall's power already qualified among the best in History for his age. Then was the fact that white Fairylights were more refined, more compact. The equivalent golden Fairylight to his white one would be large enough to fit his entire body within - at his age, unheard of in the last thousand years.

A power fit to fight a Goddess. Eventually. Probably.

Sharyah smiled, in her eyes the shining reflection of Rall's magic. "Very well then. I will send a couple of letters to smooth things out in the Capital. You will not be able to use your name though, there is still a hefty sum on your head. Any preference?"

He already had an answer on the ready, having prepared a fake identity to return to society. "Theo Haddok, from the countryside."

She nodded, writing it down in a small journal. "One more thing. Each pill will last two weeks. I have given you enough for your whole stay at the Academy. Do not take two, or the effect will become permanent. The next enrollment for Von Kruitz is in two months, on the first day of Spring. It will take place in--"

Suddenly from the door came a knock. "Mistress, there is an important piece of news that you need to hear," said a dignified male voice muffled by the wooden walls.

The demoness sighed, visibly annoyed at the sudden interruption. "Come in, and hope it's as important as you say."

A man in the male version of the maid uniform entered the room, an open letter in his hands. When Rall saw him, he instantly thought back at Hopps, Conrad's explosive butler. And as he conjured the image of the old Admiral in front of his mind's eye, he felt a wave of boiling anger traverse his body. Better forget that bastard before I accidentally Smite someone.

"An urgent message from Fiel, milady. The forces of the Kingdom and the Church have joined hands. High Priestess Celestia has declared the start of the fourth Crusade, against the Avians of Motu Rere and the King of Skies!"