Eldrian and Vivian quietly sipped at their tea. Eldrian being extra careful to not let the hot liquid spill from his cup, his left arm unsteady as it brought it to his lips.


    Other than the asional clink as they ced their cups back on their saucers, a heavy silence filled the room. Eldrian had hoped to avoid talking with Vivian until he could sort out his own emotions.


    One day was not long enough. s, he couldn''t postpone things further.


    There was much that required his attention. The first was the quest''s sess, that it had all not been for naught. Adriana was safe. This had been confirmed. A massive relief.


    It was certainly not worth the cost it hade with, but that it had not been for naught eased much of Eldrian''s concerns.


    As for which one of the three Adriana''s were the one he needed to save, Eldrian felt confident it was the Tier 5, but he couldn''t be certain. For now, they were taken in by Asteria''s temple. They would stay there until the other survivors arrived. If any did.


    So far, of the hundred groups, eight had been killed. The city had not sent a pursuing force after them. Those who had been killed had died because they had run into wandering undead hordes.


    This was the second reason Eldrian had needed to return. They needed his guidance to minimize casualties. After everything, Eldrian couldn''t turn his back on them now. Not with what had been paid to free them.


    Not only had Two been killed, but hundreds of thousands of lives were also lost. Eldrian had even used his one and only Mov Crystal toy waste to their enemy. Used something worth half the annual budget of Kynigo, as an explosive.


    It had certainly proved powerful, but it was, at the same time, undoubtably wasteful. Mov Crystals were so rare it was near impossible to buy them without help from higher nobles or the king himself.


    His third reason to return quickly was his wish to deliver all the books he had ransacked to Myropsis.


    He was in no condition to focus on research, but Myropsis could start things off. With the racket they had caused, Eldrian was sure an army woulde to them sooner thanter for revenge. Especially since the lich had survived. It had identified Eldrian as both a threat and an interesting subject, the same held for Elizabeth.


    ''I should have sent her back.'' Eldrian was not one bit happy that his friend was in a Tier 9 lich''s crosshairs. Hopefully, it would focus on him. Surely Eldrian had made the bigger impression.


    Hisst reason was to meet with Skepsi. Eldrian simply couldn''t wait on this. He needed to talk to her. To curse her. To demand his reward.


    Until he vented, he felt he wouldn''t be able to move on.


    "Wh-when..." Vivian faltered, the pain in her eyes as she looked at Eldrian was clear. Seeing him in this state certainly hurt. Eldrian was numb to the pain, but he looked like a walking corpse.


    ''This is precisely why I refused her wish toe with.'' Eldrian thought, imagining himself in her seat. If he had to see her in this condition, or worse.


    "I''m not sure when I''ll be able to heal. The damage is... extensive." About the only things that had survived the soul attack intact were the sun and its rotating above the center of his soul.


    The reason, Eldrian could easily guess at. The ice of tranquillity formed a mist around the sr system, and the mes of wrath burned within the sun. If the attack had targeted it, it would have been destroyed.


    It was also almost a separate entity from the rest of his soul. Not to mention it consisted of mana, a substance that was not meant to exist within souls.


    ''Two, why didn''t you hide?'' Eldrian had asked himself this countless times. Just as he had asked himself why Two hadn''t been able to defend himself. ''Why'' was the only thing Eldrian could ask.


    "Did you kill them?" Vivian asked. The anger in her voice shocked Eldrian, as did the vicious question.


    He nodded, slowly. "Yes."


    "Good."


    ''Why do I feel like she would have stormed off if I hadn''t said yes?'' Eldrian asked, a smile forming despite the gloom of the situation and the heavy atmosphere in the room.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Wha— why are you smiling?!"


    "I-it''s just good kn-knowing I''m not... alone." Eldrian said, his voice breaking as he spoke. Seeing this, Vivian moved over and sat next to him. Gently pulling him into a hug.


    Feeling how careful she was not to hurt him, Eldrianughed. He could understand her worries, but he wasn''t that frail. Sure, his HP was cut down from 3k to 1k max, but that was still ten times what yers started with. He wouldn''t die from a hug.


    Regardless, he said nothing. He wasn''t happy, but her presence was certainly helping him calm the raging emotions in his heart.


    He didn''t want to ruin the moment.


    —


    "Is this what you wanted?" Ziraili asked.


    Unlike normal, she was not enjoying tea with her friend. She was furious. The light radiating from her made that clear enough. If anyone not a god were to see her, they would probably die from the rampant energy raging around her.


    "It was his choice." Countered Skepsi.


    She also wasn''t happy with how things had turned out. It certainly had been entertaining, but not as much as she had hoped. Eldrian had been too careful. He had nearly got through everything without missing a step.


    In the end, he was taken by surprise and Skepsi got to see him rampaging for a bit. But he had recovered too quickly. It appeared like he might actually master wrath at this pace. A development Skepsi was not too happy with.


    They needed Eldrian to master his bloodline, not his auras. A tense fight should force him to focus and pull on the power of time within him. Instead, he always tended to be emotional. It was disappointing.


    "You will stand by your agreement!" Ziraili demanded.


    "I want to nitpick..." Skepsi sighed, twirling her purple hair as she bought time for Ziraili to calm down. "However, I didn''t specify how he was to save the girl."


    "Your a piece of work."


    "Come now. You know what it''s like."


    "Exactly! Which is why I can''t understand this! Did GAIA ask this of you?"


    "No. I told youst time, didn''t I? I''m only doing this to help."


    "Help? Help?" Ziraili felt like exploding at her friend, but she didn''t. Doing so wouldn''t fix anything.


    "Besides, he needed this. The only way to mold iron is to heat it, hammer it, fold it, and repeat. You can''t forge a de without some mistakes and losing some pieces here and there."


    "HE ISN''T A THING!"


    "Of course." Skepsi nodded, but it was clear that the image they had of Eldrian were dynamically opposed. "I am curious though, why haven''t you gone to help him yet?"


    Fuming, Ziraili left without a word. Why hadn''t she? Because she couldn''t!