House of Amarin

While traveling onwards, Lia was constantly thinking about what she had just learned from Albert. There was not a moment when she thought he would have lied to her, especially because he was a dragon. She was making a list in her head of what to ask from him next time, mainly concerning Erias's powers of mixing fire and water or light and darkness to get some real clues, helping out her Mother. As she was thinking, she started to hear a weird sound coming from further ahead, somewhere amongst the tightly packed trees.

"Bells?" She thought as they sounded like dozens of little bells constantly ringing, the wind carrying their soft chimes over to her. Picking up speed when she arrived at a small clearing, Lia couldn't find her words for a very long time.

What welcomed her were four giant flowers the size of an elephant. All of them had four petals, and their whole being was weirdly transparent, shining in unnatural light, releasing specks of weird mana that Lia quickly realized carried the feeling of No-Space with them.

“The… the lilies…” She murmured, realizing she was looking at them but they were nothing like the picture Lucian showed her. They looked like ghosts of those flowers, partially here and partially still stuck in No-Space, existing between the two dimensions. "How am I supposed to harvest their petals?"

She asked, moaning, walking closer, and when she tried to simply touch them, her fingers went through the petals as if they were not even there. Walking around them, studying the formation hidden in the earth, yielded no result, especially because she was completely oblivious to how earth-based spells worked.

"Okay… Think Lia, think…." She stood in the middle of the lilies, crossing her arms and turning her eyes from one to the other. "They are half-stuck in No-Space… So I need to draw the other half into reality. Like pulling something out of my holding bag."

As she was thinking, her mind was filled with all the theories that Lucian had taught her in the previous months, explaining to her how to interact with No-Space on a fundamental level. When she came up with a plausible method in her head, Lia covered her arm in blue flames, reaching forward and touching one of the Lilies. Her hand went through it at first, but then taking a deep breath, she let her mind empty out and tried again.

This time, she felt that her senses were escaping from reality, traveling into No-Space, alongside her mana. Even though her eyes were closed, now she saw herself standing in the swirling, orange and violet soup of clouds of No-Space, right before a flickering, floating brick-shaped concentration of energy.

"Oh…" She exclaimed, surprised at her own achievement. She knew what was happening, that she sent her mind, via her mana, into No-Space. The same thing that artificers did when creating artifacts with spatial capabilities. "This has to be the old holding bag…." She looked at the shipping container-sized space floating before her, releasing a cold sensation. "I bet it was much bigger…." Lia thought, hovering around it, inspecting it from all sizes, seeing holes and broken-off chunks everywhere. It was clear; it was slowly falling apart. From one such spot, looking in, she could see the hundreds of seeds and that four of them were, by a light strand, connected to real space, and they were in full bloom, now looking much more tangible. "So… I should bring them out…?" She asked, but there was nobody there to answer.

Lia didn't hesitate for long, and focusing her powers and remembering what she had learned, she let the blue fire seep out from her slightly transparent hand, closing in on the first lily. She let it twirl around the strand from Somia's formation, bridging reality and No-Space, and from there, she worked on enveloping the whole plant with it. It turned out that knowing what to do and doing it was two different things. She was out of breath when she managed to wholly engulf it in her blue fire that wasn't burning nor freezing it to ashes, keeping it at just the right intensity.

"Persevere…" She moaned, gritting her teeth and starting to recall her consciousness alongside the first lily. When she passed the invisible threshold, Lia's eyes sprung open while she collapsed into the snow, out of breath but grinning, as the lily before her turned turquoise and tangible, starting to truly bloom in the cold air. "Ahahaha! Success!" Lia laughed, watching her breath escape her mouth, slowly pushing herself into a sitting position. "Three to go…."

Downing a rejuvenating potion, she got into a sitting position and started meditating, organizing her thoughts before trying again. She spent the remainder of the day bringing the flowers out from No-Space. She didn't realize it, but Lucian was watching her, not that far away, hidden behind a spell of invisibility.

"Good… she truly has the talent." He spoke softly, forming a small smile, "Her mind can already travel in and out of No-Space, protected by her mana. If she keeps this up, I can start preparing her to step into that world physically next year.

"Her mana reserves are expanding like crazy." A second voice added, belonging to Lauron, coming from the Headmaster's bracelet. "My Mother says it is because she was stuck for years. Now that she destroyed all those chains holding her back, it is like opening a dam for her."

"It will plateau." Lucian added, "But, as she is now, my prediction is that she will graduate with an Honorary."

"Reaching the 5th Tier? Mhm. I agree." Lauron replied after a brief thought. "I would be surprised if not! Same with her sisters, albeit I bet they will reach it only after her."

"As Amarins, I expect no less." Lucian chuckled, "I will train her so when she leaves the school, she can withstand No-Space long enough to ensure no Undead has a chance to retreat into it when she faces one."

"That sounds good. That would have greatly helped my eldest brother."

"I heard he resurfaced?" Lucian asked, looking away from Lia, who was in the middle of bringing out the last lily.

"Yes. Two days ago." Lauron sighed softly, "For now, he and his team are in quarantine in our... dungeon. For the next year, they are going to be held locked up and under constant monitoring."

"Harsh…"

"It is a must." Lauron said, his voice steeling itself, "Razael knows it, I know it, and my Mother knows it. That is why he let himself be bound immediately when he returned. They have been missing for over a year and spending it where the Undead are present… Even if it was only a few months for them."

"I know." Lucian added, "Although I don't see him getting mind-controlled."

"Me neither." Lauron chuckled, "My brother is the strongest, and now… being at the stage of Three Ri? Hah~!”

"Haaaah… I can't believe how fast he reached it! I am envious of your talents…." Lucian smiled, being honest as it took him centuries to reach the stage where he was now. Reaching it, he felt, there was no way forward; he pushed his talents to the limit, and any more would only destroy his body and mind, especially the latter, meeting failure after failure.

"Well, I don't know what to say to that. We were always told how Mother reached this level at this age and that level at that age, and she was doing this and that by the time we did this and that… You get the gist of it…." Lauron added, sounding as if he was complaining.

"Lady Reyra is scary." Lucian whispered, "Every time I meet with her, my instincts tell me to run."

"Ahahaha! I won't tell her that!" Lauron laughed loudly, "But… I may. She needs a good laugh, especially now."

"Because of Razael?"

"No," Lauron said after a moment of silence. "We received news from the Twilight of Dragons."

"Huh? Albert is up? He didn't contact me." Lucian grumbled, feeling left out.

"I'll tell you after Mother gives her consent. For now, I can't. If he didn't tell you, I don't want to go against his decision."

"Geez… I am the Headmaster of the Institute… I ought to know if something happened!"

"It is something that we need to verify. He was… very vague about where his information came from. You know how the remaining dragons are!"

"True… senile and they prompt to speak nonsense from time to time, forgetting what year it is."

"Exactly. For now, the Six is out, all looking for confirmation and proof that what he told us is real, not just a bad dream he had."

"That does not sound good," Lucian added, his voice somber.

"No… it doesn't."

…
….
……

Back in the Amarins' castle, deep underground, in a hidden Sub-Realm, Razael was kneeling half-naked in the middle of a small pond, right atop the water's surface. Above him, an artificial night sky was twinkling with stars while the full moon colored the scenery with its silvery light. Behind him was a luxurious villa, some of its windows painted amber by the candles burning inside, where his squad was now resting. The pond he was kneeling in was in the garden, laid out before the villa, and everything looked and felt idyllic.

If anyone saw the place, they would think it was a hidden, luxurious retreat, but in reality, it was a prison for the members of the House. It was rarely used, but now it housed the Vanquishers after they returned from the mix of sub-realms they ventured through. Razael and his group were stuck there for a few months, no less than two to four, but half a year at maximum. Or at least, that was what they felt like. It was hard to tell the time when there were no days or nights or they changed abruptly. It was shocking to hear that more than a year had passed since they disappeared, but the flow of time could be distorted in damaged sub-realms, especially as they were connected to No-Space. Razael slowly opened his blue eyes, noticing that a purple gate appeared before the lake, and Kawu walked out of it.

"Father." He stood up hurriedly, walking along its surface, hurrying before him, but stopping, standing a few meters apart, following quarantine protocols… which Kawu just broke because he should not visit them in the first place.

"Come here!" Kawu chuckled, stepping forward, hugging his son close, "I know you, and so does your Mother! You are not tainted!"

"Best to be careful. Undeads are unpredictable!" Razael said but hugged back firmly, enjoying his warmth.

"I know! But do you think this place wouldn't tell us if any of you were influenced? Or do you think they could outmaneuver Erias's detection spells?"

"It was 4000 years ago when it was put into place…." Razael murmured, letting him go, but then just rubbed his nose with a shy smile.

"Heh, you are now an expert 9th Tier Ascendri, huh? You can tell when Erias's formations no longer work?" Kawu joked, punching his son's muscled chest.

"I still could become one! Just watch!" Razael grinned.

"Then do it! Reyra would be proud!"

"Where is Mom?"

"Out." Kawu sighed, telling him about the news that Albert sent forth, "With your information about those Undead you pursued and with the discovery of those talismans you brought back… she said that the old dragon's warning must be accurate."

"That is not good!" Razael exclaimed, his expression going somber in a flash, "We have to prepare for the war then!"

"Don't forget… as you guessed, the Undead you pursued retreated into No-Space. This means that even if they come back, it could easily mean that centuries will pass up here! It is lucky that you were not gone for that long!"

"Still…"

"We are preparing, so don't worry! We have been doing it since the start! But we can't ring the warning bells early! Think, son!" Kawu smiled, and Razael took a deep breath, calming himself.

"True. If we gather up everybody, telling them what is coming, the Realm will descend into panic and chaos… and then the Undead don't come for a century… The people would not just be confused, but we would lose all credibility."

"Maybe not all, but yes, when we next time cry Undead, we wouldn't be believed with the same intensity. That could cost lives and bolster their ranks! So… we need undeniable proof. That said!" Kawu cracked a smile, "We are going to warn the top mages in the Realm and send them on patrols and expeditions. The House of Marduk and Honu have already called the strongest adventurer groups to issue them missions. Their leaders will be briefed but only them. On the surface level, they will be searching for artifacts and whatnot. The kind that you brought back!"

"Did Mom learn anything from them?" Razael asked curiously.

"Not yet. She passed it down to the 2nd branch; they have a deeper knowledge of ancient lore."

"Mhm." Razael nodded, visibly relaxing his body. "How're the others?"

"Fine." Kawu grinned, "Solren and Lauron are happy to hear you are back and can now relax their nerves. Lia didn't even know you were gone."

"That is good! No need to make her worry! How's she doing?"

"Ahahahaha!" Kawu laughed out loudly, his eyes shining so brightly, Razael recoiled from the surprise. He only saw his dad like this when his mom gave birth to a sibling of his. Did he gain a new brother or sister? But then Kawu continued before he could ask, "She is doing extremely well! Come… you won't believe what happened!" He led him towards the villa, ready to tell his son all about the things he missed.