Confusion

Cain was back in his room, oblivious to whatever was going through the mind of Tara. All he was trying to do was reach the peak stage. But it was easier said than done, he was close yet so far. Each stage in any rank was a huge gap and on average it takes about ten years to advance to each stage at the first rank which makes it almost impossible for a lower stage to defeat a higher stage.

This is because the higher the stage, the denser the element. A denser element leads to a more powerful spell output, being able to obviously draw out more energy from the world. For example, a rank one late stage using a water needle spell would exert more power than a middle stage using the same spell.

This wasn't only related to the dense element and energy, but also to the mind. Although a denser element leads to a more powerful spell, a strong mind has to be capable of accommodating said element and one of the perks of being a higher stage is increased thinking which in turn leads to a quicker casting.

He had been trying for almost six hours to enter the peak stage now but to no avail, sighing to himself he got up and stretched. He couldn't rush this, he had to be patient. But even though he couldn't reach that stage, there was one thing he could do right now. This was a plan that he thought of since ten years ago and right now he could lay a foundation.

He got out of his room in the residence and decided to step out. Guinevere and Sabina were nowhere to be seen, probably busy with whatever they were doing. A mageride with his family's emblem was in front of the residence as he hopped in and told the driver his destination.

***

In a certain residence in the top sector, a man with long brown hair and brown eyes was busy looking at various files in his office. He was dressed in a purple mage robe and wore glasses, the office was quiet, and the only sound could be heard was the rustling of papers.

After some time he sighed in frustration and leaned back on his chair, "Even here in the airship, I'm still busy, I want to have fun too."

He opened a drawer in his desk and took out a glass cup and a bottle of wine, pouring himself a drink. Picking up the glass cup, he blew lightly on it as the temperature dimmed instantly before proceeding to drink it.

Feeling the cold drink wash over him, he exhaled in happiness but it was cut short as a knock was heard on the door which soured his mood instantly

"Come in," he answered with a slight frown on his face.

The door opened and a young looking man with light brown hair came in with a strange expression on his face

The man looked at this interrupter and asked, "So what is it this time Donyeal? Why is your face like that?"

The man named Donyeal stared at him and spoke with a little hesitation, "Uhm, someone is here to see you"

Hearing this he creased his brow and thought, 'Can't I have some free time to myself at least?!' Annoyingly he told Donyeal. "Tell the person I'm busy, another time maybe"

He started waving his hand for him to leave but instead Donyeal replied, "I don't think that's a good idea, there's actually a commotion just in front of the residence and it's probably best for you to see this person"

The man raised an eyebrow, perplexed as to who would cause such a commotion in front of their residence. However he didn't want to bother himself with that because he was relishing his brief respite.

"Just deal with it or something, it's not like the per-"

"It's Cain Ashel," Donyeal interjected seeing that the conversation was going nowhere.

The man appeared to freeze for a second, shock tempered with anger written across his face as he shattered the glass cup in his hand. After regaining his composure, he dashed out of the room at breakneck speed without waiting for Donyeal to finish

***

Meanwhile, Cain stood outside the residence, hands behind his back, staring at two people. Their expressions made it clear that he was not welcome here.

"Cain Ashel, you actually dared to come here? Are you so arrogant that you think you can do whatever you wish?" said a woman with a slight grey hair and green eyes but one could see she was being extremely cautious as she kept scanning the surroundings but to her surprise nothing seemed unusual.

"Aunt, please let me kill this bastard," a boy yelled angrily as he glared at Cain with eyes full of hatred.

Cain however expected that he would not be welcomed but to think that it was to this extent. He clearly underestimated their hatred towards him. Seeing this, he was glad instead, it seemed his plan would go smoothly

He stared at the two people who were ready to tear him limb from limb as he replied politely "Please, I'm not here to cause trouble, I just want to see the person in charge. I have something important to say."

"And who do you think you are coming to make a request here?" the boy was fuming, he couldn't believe the audacity of Cain and wanted nothing more than to at least punch him.

Cain remained silent, knowing that anything he said would exacerbate the situation. Nonetheless, he was confident that the man who was their leader here would be notified of his arrival and would undoubtedly come, so he waited.

"Cain of the Ashel family, return or else I will truly kill you right here on the spot and face the consequences later," the woman had lost her patience and didn't want to see him here any longer. She could feel her rage rising each second.

The boy however who was clearly immature already lost all his patience as he prepared to cast a spell and deal Cain a heavy blow but at that moment he felt a very cold hand grab his shoulder.

"Enough! don't be impulsive Japhta," a very deep masculine voice brought him back to his senses. He knew who it was so he tried calming himself down.

The newcomer, on the other hand, never took his gaze away from Cain since he arrived, and he also mentally scanned the area but found nothing suspicious. This made him even more confused as he stared at Cain.

Cain, however knew that this was the person he was waiting for, after all he had seen him, albeit briefly at Vespertine City

He looked at the man with a huge smile as he gave a slight bow, "It's a pleasure to meet you Magnus Austair"

Magnus remained silent as he stared at Cain, his confusion growing, 'Isn't he different from the reports? I recall Aaron saying that he always had a blank expression on his face so why is he smiling?'

But when he remembered what happened to Celestine, his anger erupted as the temperature began to plummet. Everything surrounding him began to freeze slowly, even Japhta and the grey haired woman were affected

Cain felt his body slowly freezing, quickly realising the situation he didn't dally and spoke again "I'm actually here about Celestine and I feel your family deserves to know the truth"

Everyone was caught off guard, just what was he talking about? The boy however was so angry that he wanted nothing more than to murder him. What stupid truth? His sister was killed and the one responsible was in front of him yet he dared to say some rubbish about truth. However since Magnus was here, he could only swallow his anger.

Magnus however was really confused but still, as someone who's lived for a long time he wasn't as reckless or hot-headed as the boiling potato beside him. After considering for a while, he composed himself as the temperature returned to normal.

"Alright, you may speak"

Cain however looked like he was struggling with something as he looked around with caution, "I think it's best if we go somewhere private, I guarantee you that it will not be a waste of your time"

Magnus was silent as he carefully considered Cain's words. Honestly right now he was lost, he couldn't make heads or tails about what he was up to. His behaviour clearly contrasted what the reports indicated and he seemed genuinely cautious. He weighed the pros and cons quickly before deciding that it wouldn't hurt to hear him out. As a demi-immortal bloodmage he was far stronger than Cain so he surmised that nothing could go wrong.

Having decided, he nodded his head, "Follow me then." He turned and stared at the grey haired woman and Japhta "Ophelia, Japhta, you both can go and continue with whatever you were doing"

They were both silent, Ophelia was a little more calm but the hot-headed Japhta wasn't happy with what Magnus said, however when he saw Magnus's piercing gaze that was clearly telling him to behave, he resigned to himself as he made his way to the residence.

But before he entered he looked at Cain one more time, "Count yourself lucky...scum"

Cain was silent and didn't say a word, petty insults like those wouldn't get to him at all. He just found them comical. Even after finding out that Japhta was a rank one late stage through the energy he emitted when he was about to cast his spell, he wasn't fazed. After all he himself was half a step into the peak stage.

Ophelia stared at Cain for a while before proceeding to head inside. She wanted to step out earlier to go have some drinks or just explore the airship but she met Cain which came as a shock to her. Right now that didn't matter, she wanted to know just what he came here for but she could only wait till Magnus was done talking with him.

Magnus went back inside and headed towards his office with Cain following silently behind. Once they reached his office, he saw Donyeal who had a frown on his face when he saw Cain

"I must not be disturbed, got it?" ordered Magnus, he didn't want anything or anyone to interrupt his meeting with Cain.

Donyeal nodded but still kept his eyes on Cain who didn't say a word. Magnus then gestured for Cain to enter his office.

When they entered, they sat opposite each other in silence for a while before Cain started, "I came here to clear any misunderstandings concerning the cave incident"

Magnus kept quiet but Cain continued, "You see, actually, I didn't kill Celestine"

This time Magnus was surprised as his frown deepened, "What do you mean by that?"

Cain however put on a solemn expression on his face as he prepared himself to explain what happened ten years ago.