In the TV, the ‘huge mana storm’ that occurred in the Rienne Forest was making headlines every day.
Dylan’s death was an unpredictable situation.
He never thought he wouldn’t listen to his words.
Still, he thought he was quite clever when it came to preserving his own life.
“There’s always a reason for telling someone not to do something.”
The Man muttered as he sat in a chair, stroking a cat.
The cat seemed to accept his touch with pleasure, responding with its meow.
– Meow.
“Yeah, yeah. What a foolish creature.”
He chuckled wryly.
“But thanks to that, I can be sure of her existence.”
He stopped stroking the cat and swiftly turned his chair around.
Then, a large image came into view before his eyes.
It was the image of a giant black dragon, reigning over a burning land and the fruits of death.
“Sigarmata, she has finally awakened.”
No one else would know, but he could identify it immediately.
The storm and traces of mana could only be produced by Sigarmata; it couldn’t come from anyone else.
It was unfortunate that he couldn’t ask Dylan directly, as he had been beheaded.
Nevertheless, there was no difficulty in guessing.
No matter how much her heart fragment was used to create the artifact, her bottom line was very heavy.
This means she was not idle enough to manifest for such an event.
After the gods died, she became the ruler of the underworld.
So it would be reasonable to think that something very important to her summoned her.
“Hahaha!”
He laughed loudly.
Parvati’s heart.
The most perfect dragon heart that has ever existed…
That must have made it impossible for her not to manifest.
But that transaction failed.
Otherwise, there wouldn’t be such a rebellious mana trace left behind.
Sigarmata.
After that fool lost the cat, he finally caught a clue about the heart of Parvati, which had been out of sight.
If he could just get that heart back, then she also…
———
Luke was writing something in his notes once again today.
Scritch, scratch.
The sound of the golden quill scratching on the paper was quite cheerful.
The quill was made from the golden feathers of the golden hawk, which Luke himself had crafted.
That child must have been trapped for a long time, but the quality of the feathers was surprisingly good, providing a very satisfying writing experience.
With this quill, he felt that the research on the ‘black flame’ might not take long to complete.
In fact, there was a kind of code applied to the magic that was cast.
The arrangement of magic varies slightly depending on the user’s habits, personality, or the shape of the circle.
Therefore, even for Luke, who was skilled, it was impossible to interpret everything just by looking at it once.
Moreover, magic usually manifests as a phenomenon that does not exist materially, making it the most complex and difficult to understand.
Self-contradictory forms like black flames and white shadows were the most complicated magical phenomena.
Additionally, interpreting dark magic, where even minor differences could act as huge variables, would require significant time even for Luke, who had experience with numerous spells.
Furthermore, there was one more aspect that Luke needed to be concerned about.
Dylan, where did he get such an artifact of black magic?
Given his ignorance of black magic, it was unlikely that he created it himself; someone must have handed it to him…
Who was this ‘someone,’ and for what purpose did they create such an artifact and give it to him?
The information available to make guesses was far too insufficient.
“Is there truly a black magician in this era capable of creating such artifacts…?”
If such a being existed, he couldn’t guarantee an easy victory against them.
Luke turned his head slightly to gaze at the cane leaning against his desk.
The circle of the heart barely held onto the 4th circle but was in a state close to destruction, and his magic sight was still recovering as well. Due to the side effects of exhausting all his mana, his body was not yet comfortable, forcing him to rely on the cane for support.
For the time being, he would need to remain very ‘quiet’ and focus on recovery.
He hoped nothing would happen until at least the circle recovered…
“Hmm….”
It seemed the dreams he had over the past few days were rather unsettling, making Luke more anxious.
A frustratingly dark space and unidentifiable pain.
Additionally, the invisible cries and laughter of a mysterious monster…
He simply could not understand why he kept having these dreams.
Was it because his mind was weak?
Well, Luke could hardly blame his mental state for having nightmares, especially since he possessed a strong mental fortitude that even withstood the dimensional pressure of Sigarmata.
Or perhaps it was because losing his magic sight entirely was a first-time experience for him.
Luke’s life had always been intertwined with magic sight, and a life without mana was something he had only experienced for the past few weeks…
But then why, initially, when the feeling of loss was greatest, hadn’t he been having nightmares, and now was he plagued by them?
“Hmm… Could it be…?”
Luke stroked his chin with a serious expression.
Dreams are often symbolic of the past and future.
The reality seen in dreams is a metaphor for the past and future, manifesting in a form that the human mind can accept.
As evidence, even the divine oracle is delivered in dream form, and how prophets see the future also takes the form of dreams.
Thus, dreams harbor quite profound meanings, and Luke could not completely disregard them.
Could this be a prophetic dream as well?
If so, does this dream depict a future where he is helplessly captured and tortured by an unknown monster?
What on earth would happen in the future?
“Haah, this is getting complicated.”
Luke pressed his head down, feeling the need to sort through his thoughts.
For some reason, the area around where his horns had been started to itch.
“Shall I call it a day?”
Thinking this, Luke closed his notebook, organized his quill, and capped the ink pot.
Moments later, Pyris approached Luke with light footsteps and nestled in beside him.
Luke, still seated, welcomed her and patted her head.
Seeing her smile and laugh as if her touch felt very pleasant made the pain in his head seem to vanish instantly.
Pyris spoke.
“Luke, sister! Are you done studying now?”
“Ah, yes. I plan to stop for today.”
During the time Luke was ‘studying,’ Pyris couldn’t come near.
Although it had often been ignored in the past due to Luke’s overwhelming authority, spirits were natural enemies when it came to a mage’s research.
Spirits, being the essence of mana, can affect the arrangement of magic, whether large or small, and including that difference would force unnecessary calculations.
In the past, Luke had been able to observe those variables using his magic sight, easily calculating or dismissing them, but he could not do so now.
He had neither the magic sight that used to assist him nor did he have more authority over mana than Py.
Therefore, Pyris presently stayed in the form of the embodiment of a stable physical substance rather than her true form as a pure spirit of mana.
Although Pyris didn’t seem too dissatisfied with her fixed material form, she had recently found it intolerable that she couldn’t cling to Luke freely while he was studying.
It was only natural, as Pyris enjoyed every form of stimulation experienced in the material plane and especially cherished the sensation of being petted by Luke, which had undoubtedly decreased due to Luke’s ‘studying.’
“Then do you want to take a nap from now on? I want to sleep in your arms again!”
Pyris had recently been making such requests more often.
Luke patted Pyris’ head and thought.
Napping when one’s head is full of thoughts is an ancient and effective method of rest.
Then to cool his aching head, accepting the child’s suggestion wouldn’t be bad.
Luke answered right away.
“Well, that sounds like a good idea.”
————
After putting on pajamas and lightly brushing his hair and tail, the task of grooming was finished in no time thanks to his shorter hair.
With no horns, there was no need to look for horn caps anymore.
Due to the significantly simplified preparations compared to before, Luke completed all his readying in a flash.
After finishing his preparations for sleep, Luke lay down on the bed, and Pyris squeezed in right beside him.
As he opened his arms slightly, Pyris grinned and leaned closer.
Perhaps it was a joy since she wasn’t able to get this close when he had horns.
Soon, Pyris, as usual, draped Luke’s arm around her neck.
Once completely embraced, Pyris nodded as if very satisfied.
Luke smiled at the sight.
Seeing her like this made her seem more like a human child than a spirit.
“Now it’s time to sleep.”
“Okay!”
——
After some minutes of the two kids closing their eyes and drifting into sleep, Pyris began to squirm in Luke’s embrace.
It was a sleep talk.
Perhaps it was a bit frustrating for her.
“Umm…”
Soon, Pyris kicked Luke’s belly, pushing him away with her legs.
The legs that had risen gently stepped on the end of Luke’s curled tail.
Then a low groan escaped Luke’s lips.
“Ugh…”
Luke frowned at the discomfort and pain felt from his tail.
However, Pyris’s sleep talk was not over yet.
“Gyaaa—.”
Pyris began to snore.
Occasionally giggling as if having a pleasant dream made it clear she was having a nice dream, but…
“Ugh…”
Luke seemed to feel completely differently.
