It was a strange feeling to walk alone through the corridors of the Magistrat. Cale had gotten rid of his fake appearance and was wearing his uniform again, which is why the mages in the building recognized him and greeted him politely. Not much was going on at the moment and the building had an oppressive quiet. Nothing unusual so early in the morning, but Cale still felt a bit strange.

Quietly, he walked through the darkened hallways. It was just before six and the sun had not yet reached the city. As he approached his apartment, he spotted Rangar from the window, who was talking with some mages.

Cale reached his floor and immediately sensed three people sleeping peacefully in his guest room. It took him a moment to recognize the mana and assign them to Aletta, Ben, and Philippa.

Slowly he got closer to the entrance and to his surprise he discovered two more sources, which is why he abruptly suppressed his complete mana exit. William was lying in his bed, why Cale did not question for now. But Aaron was also present. He was squatting on Cale's workstation, which immediately gave him goosebumps.

"Is he watching William?", Cale muttered as he unobtrusively opened his apartment door. The room was pitch black, with only the light of the city shining dimly through the curtains. Quietly, he locked the door behind him and crept toward the study.

Actually, he had hoped to take a small bath and then talk to the Eldest, but Aaron's presence made him rethink his plan.

Carefully, he pushed open the door and peered into the room. Aaron could not have noticed him, since he kept his mana hidden. Somehow, Cale expected Aaron to look a little surprised, but he didn't. He didn't move at all. The man lay asleep on Cale's desk chair with a book in his arms, which now Cale hadn't expected at all.

His footsteps made a noise as he entered, but Aaron was not awakened by it. Unnoticed, Cale was able to step closer to the High-Magician, who was sleeping peacefully leaning in his chair.

Inwardly, Cale sighed.

He knew by now that Aaron didn't like nobles very much, but this behavior was a bit over the top. What did he hope to gain by staying close to William and Ben? Or was there a completely different reason why the man was practically unauthorized in the apartment of another High-Magician? Someone must have gained him access to the apartment, since he could not enter on his own.

Cautiously, Cale reached for the book lying loosely in Aaron's hand. To his surprise, it was a history book from Cale's own collection. When he took a closer look, he understood what Aaron had been reading. Aaron had been reading about himself. The book described the inner conflict of Altona about 150 years ago and his title, Aaron the Searcher, was listed in it.

He put the book aside and stared at the sleeping man for a few moments. Knowing Aaron from before, he was a comparatively light sleeper. In his last life, he had often caught Aaron sleeping in the library, but the High-Magician woke up every time without exception. But why not this time? Was he simply too exhausted or did he assume that nothing could happen to him here?

Was Aaron not afraid at all?

Silently, Cale turned away and slid up the stairs to his bedroom. It looked just as he had left it a few days ago. Neat and completely untouched, except for William, who was asleep, complete with day clothes, on the edge of the large bed.

Cale came to a stop next to his friend and crouched down quietly, looking at the sleeping face. A moment of happiness flooded Cale's veins, so he smiled softly and carefully brushed the hair from William's face as he listened to his steady breathing. Sometimes he felt like an older brother to William, constantly worrying about him.

He let go of William and watched him in silence for a while before sitting up again and carefully reaching for the blanket on the other side of the bed. Quietly, he laid it over his sleeping friend, who did not move.

Cale parted from his bedroom and stepped into the hallway. For a moment, he stared at his bathroom door before deciding to catch a quick glimpse of the guest room. Gently, he opened the door opposite and poked his head into the warm room. He first spotted Ben, who was sleeping directly against the opposite wall, next to him was William's empty bed. Looking to his left, he spotted a thick pile of blanket, which must be Philippa.

"Cale?", Aletta's voice softly spoke up, causing Cale's gaze to wander to the blonde mage. She lay snuggled in her blanket to the left of the door, squinting at the High-Magician with her eyes almost squinted shut. Cale put his index finger over his mouth to indicate that she should be quiet before he entered the room and closed the door behind him. Of all the people present, she of all people needed to wake up. Cale sat down in front of Aletta's bed and put on a big smile as he touched her forehead with his cold hand.

"I'm back", he announced in a hushed voice, as Aletta closed her eyes and enjoyed the cold for a moment.

"Welcome home. We were worried about you."

"I know, sorry", Cale replied, watching the girl who was almost back to sleep. "I had some... important business to take care of."

"That's what the Eldest told me."

"Did you tell the others anything?"

"No. I kept it all to myself", Aletta replied calmly, causing Cale to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Good."

"You should talk to High-Magician Vonstetten. He blames himself that you left because of him", the healer quickly added, opening her eyes again. "Don't avoid him. He'll notice."

Cale bit his lips. He hadn't intended to come under Grischa's eyes again anytime soon. He just wanted to get through his weeks as a creature teacher without having much contact with the 1st seat. Furthermore, he was simply not mentally ready for that yet. Grischa should be able to create the flying crystal on his own, so he didn't necessarily need Cale's help for that.

"Cale, please. I don't know what you're thinking about again, but you're hurting yourself with this. You just don't realize it", Aletta quietly interjected. Cale, on the other hand, sighed, loosened his hand and quietly straightened up. He needed to get his head straight first. The Eldest, Aaron, and now Grischa? Why had everything become so much more complicated?

Since when was it not Cale who was chasing after the other people?

"Go back to sleep", Cale merely returned, not letting his inner discord show. Aletta didn't reply anything more in response, so Cale quietly left the room again and stood silently behind the closed door for a moment.

Cale wasn't sure if he really wanted what, after all, he was the reason for his friend's headache. At least that's what Cale always told himself, which was why he wanted distance. To protect Grischa, but also to protect himself at the same time. Cale had always had trouble keeping up his facade when it came to the people he cared about. While he always tried to look at things with a clear head, often enough he was like Rangar and ran haphazardly through the world.

, Cale admonished himself. A little defiantly, he went into the bathroom next door and stopped in front of the mirror, almost in shock. He had deep, dark circles under his eyes and looked completely done. His hair was wild, too, and his face felt like it had no color left.

Cale was about to splash water on his face when he remembered that everyone in his apartment was currently asleep. If he started using mana and making noise now, they would probably wake up. With both hands, Cale braced himself on the sink and stared down.

Why was his life so complicated? Couldn't he live a simple, quiet life? Without constantly getting caught up in a war? All he ever wanted was peace. Peace in the world and security for the people he cared about. But every time, his past caught up with him and even if he tried, Cale couldn't let it rest. The hatred and injustice he felt all those decades had burned deep into his soul.

There would be no quiet life, not for him.

At that moment, he thought of Jonat Paseru, the swordmaster of Zurakekama, who had once been his teacher. Master Paseru had also once told him that there was no such thing as an easy life. Not for people who have such responsibilities. Therefore, one must fight to be able to provide order and justice in the world. One fought because it was the right thing to do... the only thing they could do.

A thought that had prevented him from committing suicide at that time.

Back in his 4th life, when he had given up all hopes of a better future and ended up with Basil Kama. When his despair and suffering was so great that all he wanted was to finally be redeemed. Even though he didn't really like Master Paseru, Cale was always grateful for his teachings. Just as he was always grateful that William, Aletta, Ben, and Philippa were his friends. Their existence prevented Cale from losing himself completely.

This gift was like a cage for Cale. A prison that he couldn't escape and would trap him whenever he tried. A punishment that would never leave him in peace.

Quietly, he let water flow from the crystal and splashed it on his face. His thoughts were going in circles, which is why he wanted to come up with a clear plan. Cale couldn't take care of everything at once, but he could at least get a rough idea of what was important.

Cale looked up and saw his reflection in the mirror. His almost golden eyes shone from under his black mane, but seemed lifeless. It was time to cut his hair again and get out in the sun for a bit, Cale prescribed to himself that much. A little vacation would really sound good for him right now.