House of Amarin

The visit was more impactful than Ruri first expected it. Of course, she never acknowledged it, not with words or with her expressions. Yet, Lia's lessons and the fact that she saw for herself how many youngsters were learning about combining the elements, some even showing a remarkable affinity and signs of almost succeeding, were overwhelming her.

"It is unbelievable, huh?" Cael asked her as the two were walking without supervision in the Academy, strolling through the garden.

"The only unbelievable thing is that the woman who you now call your master lets us wander around."

"She is showing you that you won't be caged in if you are trustworthy."

"Sure..."

"Don't tell me you didn't notice it?" He asked, looking at her with one eye.

"I did not." Arrived her quick and cold answer.

"Don't play the hard-to-get girl!" He laughed, elbowing Ruri, "You held the position of Elder for much longer than me. You already carried the title when I just got inducted into the Core Disciples!"

"If you remember that, why are you not showing any respect towards me, Elder Kith?"

"Because I am not Kith anymore. My name is Cael."

"Hmph."

"You noticed it. I know because I saw it in your eyes. You remembered how the Sect was once and how it should be again. I remember being a disciple, struggling to advance, failing to place one leg after another. Nobody was there to help me to start walking, and running was out of the question. I had to work to exist. Work to improve myself. I had to fight for everything without any chance to rest, or I would have fallen behind."

"Only the weak want to be served with the solution without doing anything themselves."

"I am not talking about that! I don't want to be fed with the answers! I am talking about a healthy balance. When your whole existence is nothing but fighting and grinding, when are you going to take care of yourself? You can only stretch a string to a certain point before it snaps."

"..."

"The students here don't get their knowledge served up either. They are pointed towards a road, and everyone around them supports their endeavor. They need to focus only on getting better! I was forced to fight for everything when I was accepted into the Sect. Even when I became a Core Disciple, I had to do everything by myself! If I wanted to hear a lesson from an elder or someone strong, that cost me a lot. Answer me, was it like that when you were a disciple?"

"No..." After a moment of silence, Ruri whispered, looking away, watching Lia's tower. "But that couldn't be helped! You can't expect-"

"I can. Look around you! There are a thousand people here, all being taught equally! You saw them yourself; they are advancing faster than any disciple in our time! Why? Because they are being cared for! We only got support after we demonstrated that we are people who can be called 'elders' within the Sect. Or if you were someone's personal discovery. Brought in from the outside..."

"This school and our Sect are not comparable, Kith."

"It's Cael. And yes, it is. You won't have to tell me anything right now. I ask you for one thing! Think about what I am going to say now..." Cael slowly stopped, turning directly towards Ruri, speaking while looking into her eyes. "Both of us were grinding through our whole life to benefit the Sect. When did it ever return the gesture? Every waking day, we were always told that we made the Sect strong and helped it withstand the passing of time! That the individual means nothing! Yet it was always the Grandmasters and the Sect Master who were the most critical individuals... Enjoying the benefits. Something doesn't add up now, does it?"

"..." Ruri couldn't say anything to Cael's words, but she was listening, not even blinking her eyes, making him smile a little.

"Which force will be stronger? The one that constantly asks you for everything you have or the one that gives you everything you need? When it is in trouble, which type will have more supporters?"

"..."

"Let me escort you to the library!" Cael chuckled, patting her shoulders, "I want to show you some of Lia Amarin's ideas that are yet to be taught but are available for reading. When going through them, you will feel like you are listening to one of our Grandmasters! Or... the Sect Master herself!"

"I highly doubt that. Her lessons were interesting, but... that is a stretch."

"You'll see."

...
....
.....

"Congratulations!"

"Hehehe~" Lia couldn't help but laugh sheepishly yet posture proudly before Lucian as he was the first one she showed her newest achievement.

Right now, above her open palm, her blue fire was gently dancing, swirling around to the rhythm of her breathing. It resulted from the combination of three elements, but it was not why Lucian congratulated her. The reason was that the fourth element was successfully added to the mix as the ball of fire cast an unnatural, ink-like darkness. It seemed that the ball of fire was giving off shadows instead of light. Wherever that unnatural black veil passed, the ground instantly froze, siphoning away all the heat, feeding itself, growing in intensity when doing so.

"It is still challenging to maintain it, but the moment I refine it, I will be able to use it in a real battle, too!"

"Will you share this with the rest?"

"Not yet. I will have to clean up my thoughts and get them onto paper, then I will. The next person I will tell about it is Rinzen; she will be visiting soon! I will have to tell her everything about my Mother, too. So there will be a lot to catch up on!"

"Mhm, a little relaxation is in order. I approve!"

"You can join us!" She grinned, dispelling her magic, taking a deep breath, showing her exhaustion.

"Maybe next time. Are you okay? You look pale."

"As I said, it is very energy-consuming! I don't think mixing four elements below the 7th Tier would be advisable! If I did this early, I think I would be at a risk of killing myself!"

"Is it that demanding?" Lucian asked, his white tail fluttering behind him.

"Yes. I can't imagine how it will be if I include the fifth!"

"Which one?" He asked, watching Lia as he understood it at once; she could do it already. She simply refused to take that step yet.

"Light. If I want, I can already synchronize it with my fire. I don't want to make a mistake, so I will include it when I can maintain all four before having a fifth! When I am working with them, I feel myself balancing on a scale. I need to manage it perfectly and not let it tip to one side, or it will become too dangerous!"

"How much so?"

"Deadly." She answered with a smile, and seeing his worrying expression, Lia couldn't help but stick out her tongue, winking at Lucian. "Don't worry! I feel like I am on a great streak! I can do this!"

"Well... I trust you with it as you already demonstrated you won't rush it." With a kind smile, he gently rubbed her head, drawing a pleased, happy grin on Lia's face.

"Ehehehe! This is nice~!"

When tomorrow came, Rinzen arrived early, and while the two were catching up, Cael was with Ruri, having a mock battle inside the main training field, overseen by Lucian. Ruri was showing her talent from the get-go, summoning strong wind blades that left behind a burning trail, combining her two elements.

"What's wrong, Kith?" She smiled, letting a bit of frustration out as her opponent did nothing but dodge. Even though her strength was restricted to the 3rd Tier from the 5th, she was still pummeling her opponent.

"I was a water mage back then, and now my main element is fire!" He replied calmly, dodging again, raising a weak water curtain that was easily blasted through.

"Unlucky. Few can combine opposing forces! No wonder you are so weak!"

"Am I now?"

The next moment, after a long, deep breath and with a shout, Cael summoned a curtain of blue fire. It was making Lucian stiffen, and his pupils shrink to the size of a pinhead. It was Lia's flames! How? His questions had to wait while he watched as the two spells clashed. When it happened, his face smoothened out; even though the flames looked very similar, their properties were different.

Cael's flames were not freezing their target, but instead, they turned into a goo-like substance, trapping the wind blades and extinguishing their invisible flames.

"Don't think I can't cut through that!"

"You can't!" He answered without a change in his expression as the curtain of blue fire expanded, forming a jelly-like wall, withstanding Ruri's attacks before exploding and showering the battlefield with a glue-like rain.

"It burns!" She cried out when it landed on her, setting her clothes on fire and leaving marks on her body... then she was teleported out, followed by two other flashes of light.

"Winner: Cael." Echoed Hajna's voice from the bracelet, making Ruri cry out.

"Like hell! I could have beaten him still! This stupid system is working wrong!"

"The system decision is final and perfect. Winner: Cael." Repeated Hajna, clearly in a vindictive mood but not revealing herself fully before Ruri.

"Accept your loss." Appeared Lucian, looking at the two, scrutinizing Cael before nodding at him. "When did you manage it?" He asked, drawing the girl's attention to Lia's disciple too.

"Not that long ago. I was studying my Master's books daily... it... it just clicked." His answer was so Lia-like that Lucian couldn't help but smile after hearing him.

"There has to be a rematch!" Ruri added, still angry about the fact she was sent out.

"For that, you will have to join the Academy!" Cael answered promptly, looking at her.

"..." Of course, she didn't have an answer for that... not yet. But at least she didn't begin calling Cael a traitor.

"You should go and meditate a little." Cael continued, making her furrow her brows, "Let your feelings cool down. In the afternoon, Master will want to speak with you again. You have been here for enough time already... She wants to hear your opinions."

"I am sure of it..." She murmured, turning around and looking down at the sprawling Academy below them.

...
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.....

"How were your past few days?" Lia asked, sitting in her chair while Ruri took the seat at the other side of her table.

"Interesting." She answered plainly, not looking directly at her, instead letting her eyes wander towards Rinzen, who was standing next to Lia, pouring tea for both of them.

"I need an answer from you," Lia said, getting to the main point without hesitation. "I have plans that need people, so I can't really give you more time to wander or laze around."

"Heh... You want to press me into betraying the Sect that raised me?"

"I see." With a heavy sigh, she stood up, turning her back to her, making Ruri flinch as she felt the air change within the office. It was becoming much colder, freezing her drink and turning it into a popsicle. "Then we will escort you back to your prison cell."

"Wait!" She sat up straight, looking at Rinzen, the source of the extreme coldness, watching her like a hawk. "Let me explain!"

"Explain?" Lia asked, looking back over her shoulder with her red eye, no longer containing any friendliness within it. "Should I listen to it? Or should I just order you to be put down like I did with Swimmy?"

"I didn't lie." She replied swiftly, trying to look calm, yet her heart was beating in her throat.

"Yet. Okay..." Lia smiled a little, turning back towards her window, not looking at Ruri. "I'm listening."

"I understand your point... but I won't betray my Sect. But I want to save it! I won't follow the wrong orders of a Master who is leading us to ruin. I can see that... I am willing to work with you, but when all is done, I want to return to Camyu and be with my fellow Sect members. I was a child of the Golden Claw; I will never betray it!"

"That, I can respect." Lia nodded, briefly remembering the face of Korvall from the Soulbound Sect, "I will have you return to your duties and continue playing along with the orders you receive. If you meet with other agents from your Sect, start persuading them to support your cause. Will you do that for me?"

"That is all?"

"That is all."

Ruri didn't hesitate for much longer, agreeing to Lia's request, and to her surprise, she was let go the same day. It was Cael who escorted her to her original destination as if nothing had happened. The only thing that ensured she wasn't questioning the authenticity of Lia's words was the bracelet that was now permanently stuck on her wrist. She knew she was monitored through it, but that eased her worries and reinforced her drive to save her home.