"You finally did it, Alice," Irwyn congratulated, waving the sheet of paper in his hand, "80 points, exactly the threshold."

"Finally!" she raised her hands in celebration before exaggeratedly collapsing on her desk.

"You two," Irwyn ignored her antics and turned towards Desir and Elizabeth, "One again full points. I expected no less."

"You are like a bloody tutor," Desir laughed, though Irwyn could clearly see he enjoyed the praise. Elizabeth, on the other hand, did not let her excitement seep into her face. Her composure had been steadily getting better and better in the time Irwyn had known her.

"Minet, 70 points, considering your late start you are making remarkable progress." Irwyn turned to the still sunken boy. Minet has thrown himself into his studies in the previous couple days, perhaps to numb the pain within his heart. Sometimes the blonde boy even forgot to eat or sleep.

"Thank you," Minet nodded, though certain melancholy was tangible within his voice. Irwyn heard Alive shift uncomfortably behind him. She could after all more than relate to Minet's situation, perhaps that was also why she spent a lot of effort looking after him and helping him with whatever she could.

"That reminds me," Irwyn reached into his table, pulling out a folder and giving it to Desir. It was the full report of the events from the past few days. In the end the investigation concluded that there were no signs of outside instigators, claiming that the bandits had haphazardly attacked the village around the same time they had cut contact with the Blackburg family. Admittedly, that story was a bit difficult to believe, however, in the end Irwyn maintained and even reinforced his reputation as someone who would not let a grudge go. He truly felt that what happened to Daisy was cruel and unjust but after the things he saw and did over the millennia it was difficult to act on those feelings even if he wanted to.

"Thank you," Desir nodded and took the folder. After returning the lad had quite the story to tell about his absence that day. It all started when he seduced a redheaded, a detail Desir did not neglect to mention, daughter of a merchant passing through the city, only to accidentally uncover the two of them were spies. The Incubus then proceeded to gather conclusive evidence, not a difficult task considering the culprit was enthusiastically helping him. Once that was in his hands he mesmerized the daughter to turn herself in, collecting a reward from the city itself. Next he directly went to Blackburg representatives and turned in the evidence, collecting a second reward for uncovering the plot.

And he would have probably gotten away with it, were it not the unfortunate coincidence that the guard captain who had arrested the spy girl just happened to be a close friend of the Blackburg representative who had reviewed the evidence. Thanks to that, just one hour after uncovering the plot, Desir unknowingly became the target of a manhunt for attempting to deceive the city, but most importantly the Blackburg family. Eventually they found him at a bar, about to take another merchant's daughter somewhere more private.

Desir's arrest lasted all of 3 minutes before the guards who were patting him down discovered the Blackburg sigil Irwyn had given him. After its integrity was confirmed and the guards profusely apologised Desir bluffed his way out of the situation by claiming that he had been tasked with testing the mutual correspondence of the two peacekeeping parties and that they passed with flying colours. Somehow that allowed him to walk away with all of the money, his freedom intact and an already seduced lady waiting for him just behind the corner. All of that during one afternoon. Funnily enough, later investigation had shown that the spies were actually just passing through Black city on their way to a new assignment in the Brinewood territory.

"I also have some news for everyone," Irwyn finished that train of thought before speaking again, "We have received the official schedule of the party coming from the academy of Ignis. One of their groups is going to arrive at the Black city in a week."

"So we only have a week left to prepare," Alice nodded, her eyes shifting towards the paper she had been so happy about earlier.

"No, we actually have two weeks," Irwyn shook his head, "For a week there are going to be preliminary exams to weed out those who don't even stand a chance. Only then will the actual exams begin. Considering the influence of the Blackburg family, the Academy officials will let us skip the first round," after all, giving the Blackburg family some minor privileges would make the journey much smoother. Especially considering that the group's leader belonged to the Blackburg family.

"I have heard the academy had requirements concerning age," Alice chirped from the side.

"Yes, tier 2 before 15 or tier 3 before 25," Desir nodded, "However, they can measure those retrospectively. Apparently the academy has access to a whole bunch of Logos artefacts."

"Among other things," Irwyn nodded, "Let's move on. I have a few more advanced magic exercises I think you are ready for and it's about time Minet got involved with cloud powder. I have high expectations for your exam results."

"Don't you dare try to slip away from your promise," Desir smiled with slightly excited eyes. Alice and even Elizabeth nodded resolutely at his words while Minet averted his eyes in a slight embarrassment of his confusion.

"Then ask away," Irwyn sighed with a smile. The three were surprisingly enthusiastic about finding out Irwyn's previous identity, though their zest was not a bad thing. Figuring it out themselves would yield significantly greater impact than if Irwyn were to tell them.

"Let's go over it again," Desir spoke as the trio gathered around one table, leaving Irwyn and Minet mostly out of the conversation, "A mage from over 2000 years ago, elements of light and fire, famous and influential."

"I and Elizabeth have constructed a list fitting those criteria in the last 3500 years," Alice nodded, pulling out a sheet of paper, "And we finally have a third question today thanks to my improvement. We can get him."

"Ten names," Desir nodded, "Do we just start asking?"

"We can cut that into 4 or 6 with a single question," Alice said, waiting for Desir to give her a go-ahead nod, once that happened she no longer hesitated, turning to the young Blackburg "Irwyn, in your past life, were you known for killing an awakened in a duel?"

"Technically, yes," Irwyn said with a smile after a few seconds. Hearing that, Alice stroked on the paper 6 times, suddenly looking rather solemn. The death of the mage guild's master had spread throughout the North and thanks to their positions, Irwyn's pupils had heard most of how that happened. The fact that it required 5 awakened to corner just one gave them some partial understanding that finishing off an awakened was a difficult task even in superior numbers. After all, it was not easy to stop someone with that power from desperately fleeing.

"4 left," Desir nodded, his expression also significantly more solemn, "Any guesses?"

"It's this one," Elizabeth firmly stated, pointing at a name. Unlike the other two, the previous information only seemed to excite her further.

"I think that one is actually the least likely," Desir shook his head while Alice did not comment.

"I am certain," Elizabeth did not relent, "As he told us at the very beginning, it's difficult to reincarnate with memories intact to the point where 'he might be the only Reincarnator currently alive'. Yet how many mighty awakened die each decade, each century? Moreover, the information about that person is far more detailed to the point where I found a full biography in an old book and it fits how Irwyn would behave in such circumstances perfectly."

"What do you think?" Desir looked over at Alice, apparently still not entirely convinced.

"There is no person who spends more time with Irwyn than Liz," Alice answered, "If she is this certain then it is at the very least our best guess."

"Alright, I will not argue against a majority," Desir nodded, turning to Irwyn, "Well then, Irwyn, were you in your past life the Ascendant known as Azergo, the juggernaut.”

“Yes,” Irwyn smiled, earning an exclamation of triumph from Alice and Desir, “You don’t seem very startled.”

“We knew you had been awakened and special even among them, so the leap from that is not that long," Desir shrugged, though Irwyn clearly saw his expression was a bit strange despite his celebratory tone, "I guess that knowing what you really were reassures me in my decision to follow you."

"I guess I am the same," Alice nodded, though she seemed far more honest.

"Either way, let's get going," Irwyn smiled once again before beckoning towards the door "Our schedule is going to be busy until we depart for the mainland."

"Wait!" Elizabeth who had been silent for a while exclaimed. Considering how rarely she used commanding tone around Irwyn, something important had been on her mind, "We still have one more question, don't we?"

"You already guessed his identity though," Minet finally said. Although he did not get himself involved, he had clearly been listening. The originally meek reaction to Irwyn's identity was likely caused by a lack of historical knowledge and context rather than expecting something of the sort. The past was the one thing Minet couldn't bear to think about at the time after all.

"I noticed a certain pattern when reading to on the Ascendant Juggernaut," Elizabeth explained. Desir's eyes were flickering between her and Irwyn as he frowned; Alice stared at Elizabeth in confusion; and Irwyn himself managed to maintain a smile, though he already realised what Elizabeth was about to say, "Every 1 to 2 thousand years a new Ascendant appears in the world, someone chosen by the Primordial kings to be granted the access to the Spire based on unknown conditions. Yet somehow the affinities of the Ascendants are always the exact same. Either flame and light or flame and void, but never the same twice in a row. In the records from the past 15 000 years I didn't find a single exception. Strangely, a surprising amount of information about then can be found, including their biographies. And no matter the background or upbringing, the adult personalities of each affinity is always nearly identical. Thus my question: Is Irwyn Von Blackburg your first reincarnation?" a moment of silence followed as all four people stared at Irwyn. Even Minet seemed to have gathered some interest.

"You really understand me too well," Irwyn sighed, looking over at Elizabeth. It had not been his intention to reveal this much this early, however, lying would do him no good in the long term, "Yes. As you suspect I have died and returned many times, because I have a purpose greater than the suffering I must endure."

"And it has something to do with what is at the top of the Spire," Desir seemed deep in thought as he connected the remaining dots, "Two, who knows how ancient, mages perpetually dying and returning to the same place. Never in the world at the same time. I wasn't originally going to ask, knowing you won't answer, but now I am itching to know: What exactly is at the top of the Spire?"

"Something beyond your reckoning," Irwyn's expression turned to a frown, "Even if I told you, the gravity of it would completely elude your comprehension. Simply put, you are asking me to teach you how to run before you learned how to even crawl."

"So it's just as I expected," Desir sighed. The other less confrontational three just observed, though even their eyes were sparkling with curiosity and a bit of apprehension.

"It's not that I don't want you to know," Irwyn said, "However, telling you now would only leave you confused with even more questions. But I could tell you once the minimal requirements are fulfilled. All of you must first draw into yourselves the primordial Truth which our universe is build upon so that you can barely grasp the faintest clue of what I would reveal. In other words, if you want to understand, you must first awaken."

“That is a long way to go if we even all can awaken,” Desir frowned.

“You have the talent and as your 'tutor', I will take care of the rest,” Irwyn smiled “One might say that it would take a miracle for you to fail. It would seem like you have a lot to think about now. Take the rest of the day off, we will resume your training tomorrow, though keep in mind I will be particularly harsh to catch up with the lost time. Liz, come with me, I have something to talk with you about,” Irwyn finally said, beckoning to Elizabeth before leaving the room. The rest were silent for a few minutes before eventually also leaving. Departing for their rooms with heads full of thought.