Partner

The mana crystals dazzled with the other random coloured gryostone in between. Inside the box was— another box, probably where the fusion crystals are kept.

Opening up that box, Ellis saw smaller crystal fragments, but no fusion crystal. There appeared another box though.

Ellis blinked.

'How many boxes was it already?'

Fortunately, that was the last. Alas, a small trove of fusion crystals but Ellis couldn't tell which fusion crystal was what attribute. They all looked similar, sparkling in orange and blue.

Ellis dropped her shoulders. She had to test them one by one. If she recalled correctly, besides the wind attribute {Sub-wind Magic}, mixed in were fire attribute and water attribute {Sub-fire Magic} and {Sub-water Magic} spells.

In any case, Ellis had only attempted the basic {wind} spell, to figure out which was transcribed with the correct attributes.

Attempting numerous times, Ellis sorted the fusion crystal into two piles.

In the end, she managed to sift half a dozen or so of these {Sub-wind Magic} -enchanted fusion crystals.

A single crystal could last about two weeks but— that was if Ellis' continued to practice in meagre quantities.

Ellis got bored of casting spells repetitively. Since she now had a basic grasp of {Wind}, she wondered if she could play around with the other similar wind spells. The only source of extra repertoires present in the lodging currently would be that spellbook there on the table. Curtis' spellbook that he had left by accident.

Ellis crawled over and opened the page and— gave up. The notes and ornaments were just too complicated. A wind magic clause? Compared to the overly simplified clause Ellis practised, the one in his spellbook was like a torrential rainstorm!

Ellis hung her head, knowing that she had a long way to go...

'Ugh, whatever, this is my first time looking at his spellbook anyways.'

Each page contained various snippets of magic excerpts. With mixed notes, complicated twists, double ornaments, variable arrangements, Ellis wondered how anybody could understand these.

'So this is the spellbook of a prodigy.'

Ellis flipped through the last few pages on her bed, her left elbow on the mattress with her palm supporting her head.

'What's this?'

She tilted her head at the 10 page-long spell, each page had around 20 rows, written crudely with teeny weeny notes. Comparing this to the repertoires before, this behemoth of a spell looked vehemently complex, with six notes stacked together? Ellis didn't even know how to read it.

Nefarious and intricate— Moreover, it was written with charcoal, not magic ink.

'There is another level beyond his prodigy?'

Thinking that this might be another spell Curtis was working on, Ellis turned to the last page.

And she froze.

'T-This... was this the reason why Curtis was s-so worried.. Who..'

"I Love You."

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10 year ago, the first 'astronauts' successfully arrived at Heaven's dynasty. A teleportation experiment organized by two renowned Lucasian mages. The only message they managed to send was, 'salvation'. After that, all trances of connection disappeared. These astronauts were the Jester Group.

9 years ago, war struck Shun Federation. An emergency order was issued to request immediate assistance from other Federations via the teleporting technology utilized to send the Jesters up to Heaven's Dynasty. During this time, because of the preparations for the second batch of 'astronauts', an accident happened with led to Curtis' arrival to Heaven's dynasty.

The same 9 years ago, after the war, Darwin ostracized from Shun Federation, as he was thought to be the perpetrator of the war. He was sent to Heaven's Dynasty to recover Curtis.

9 years passed without any news. Not a single person returned.

The information eventually became known to the public. Heaven's Dynasty had become a place known as the world of false salvation. It caused the loss of the prince and drove a princess to the brink of insanity.

Nobody knew what Heaven's Dynasty was like. Nobody knew why a connection could not be established despite the use of Avant-grade communication technology. Nobody knew why not a single person returned.

.

But she believed. She held onto that small chance, that glimmer of hope. She didn't want to think that experiment to be their last.

And this was hope was the catalyst for this operation.

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"Wa!! We get to live here?!" XiaXin bounced around the suite larger than their needs. She fawned over every little thing, from the paintings that hung on the wall to the potteries in the glass cabinets. It had practically everything one could ask for. You could even call a maid to assist if anything was needed. Red fluffy carpets lined the floor, chandeliers hanging in the ceiling, embellished magic lamps drilled into the corridors of the suite.

Soft milk coloured walls adorned with damasked patterns. The suite had at least 8 separate rooms with 3 bathrooms, two of which had been fitted with a lavish tub and shower. Tall french windows lined the outer walls.

This was a million times s enter than prison!

XiaXin hurried over to the first bedroom she saw to claim it as hers. What she was two humongous beds with silk mattresses and fluffy blankets! She could live like a queen!

|Wu Nina! Let's go!|

|Go where?| DoQian asked on a whim.

|Where boys shouldn't go!| NiNa exclaimed.

The two girls happily locked themselves inside the bathroom. One could hear the gushing of water, ecstatic screams and giggling through the door.

Ren sat on the couch in the living quarters. There were fruits on the table.

|Hey Ren, what are they so loud?|

|Taking a bath.|

|Oh, I see.|

'Dumb— blockhead'

Ren turned to the french windows, looking out at the night sky.

The stars flickered, spinning, a whirlpool of glitter made by the heavens. Even though he been here for about a month, Ren still found the sight awe-inspiring.

Back in Elfian Dynasty there wasn't such a thing as the night sky. The first was because the upper canopy obstructed their view. Second was that elves usually lived indoors. They rarely come out to the open. Legend said that in heaven, one could see these things called 'stars' strewn all across the sky. And Ren was living that legend as he ate an apple.

This was truly the Heaven's Dynasty. No war, ban on slavery, continued peace, political stability. Honestly, it was a good place to live.

The general culture of the people living in Heaven's Dynasty was what made up for its lack thereof in technological advancements. Could this be why Curtis never came back? That wouldn't make sense.

Ren knew unlike him, the moment Curtis arrived, he was placed in a life and death situation.

Of all odds, Curtis managed to come out alive. If that person really was Curtis, as Will said and not some random person with the same name, then...

Ren wondered what kind of breakthrough Curtis and the princess used to come out alive. Ren had only heard rumours. The princess had attempted a dangerous experiment on both of them to save each other, most believed it failed.

Ren shifted his gaze and glanced at the end of the corridor. Behind the closed door was an office room, where Fenrir was with exchanging information with Will.

"So that's how it is," Will nodded. Though, he knew that Fenrir had misunderstood certain information and missed a few crucial events.

"Darwin has created a group, from this, can we assume he had decided to go against the order?" Fenrir clasped his hands together, leaning foreword with both elbows on the desk, he spoke.

XiaXin exploded when she learnt that there were people with Darwin's delineate. A battle erupted between them, which caused the destruction of a handful of properties— Which was also how they ended up in prison.

"Then that reason could be applied to me don't you think?"

Fenrir closed his eyes in contemplation.

"The reason isn't because of how comfortable this place is. It is that we lack information on how to return. There is a barrier known as the caustic barrier that separates this world from our world. It's impossible to break past the barrier without dying,"

"Are you sure about Curtis?"

"I believe who I saw was the real person. But, he's different..."

"Different?"

"He's not him."

Fenrir furrowed his brow. Could Curtis have become insane just like...

Fenrir didn't know what had happened to Curtis over the past 9 years. He could only speculate. With his medical knowledge, Fenrir understood that Curtis was facing a health issue the first of its kind.

"He didn't go insane. It's more like, he lost his memory," Will understood Fenrir's worry, especially when he emphasized how the princess turned insane.

"Losing memory?" Fenrir looked at Will in shock. "Perhaps self-hypnosis, denial of reality..?"

Will shook his head, "He looked fine to me. And, he even asked me who he was."

"The possibility of him having an underlying mental condition is still something I cannot overlook."

"I'll clarify it with his partner."

"Partner?"

"If he found himself a future spouse, how do you think the events would flow?" Will said jokingly.

When Will exited the office, he saw XiaXin, sprawled across the couch. She wore a bathroom robe and in her hand was a small strawberry. Her legs were folded in an uncouth manner, revealing her thigh. Will, being the straight man he was walked right out, not giving a second glance.

He let out a sigh. There were many things he had to process through, plenty had happened over the past decade.

'I forgot to tell His Majesty about Darwin.. I don't think it matters very much so as long as Curtis returns.'

Will found it weird referring to Curtis with his own name and not 'His Highness', but he didn't think it was bad either way.

"Will."

"Hm?" Will turned to the source, "Prince Herlock, what is it?"

"We need to talk."

Will was silent for a moment before he spoke, "I understand."