“He really overdid it,” Desmond said as he watched the light show from the top floor observatory of his personal building. ‘Note to self: replace training weapons and colosseum gates,’ He wrote into his book quickly.

  “Maybe the future won't be so boring going forward with that lad going around knocking skulls and disintegrating fools.” He shook his head as he looked down at his infinitum. A book so vast, that any word written into it would expand the book by however much more he thought he needed it to expand in order for his thought to be properly recorded.

  “I hope he may be able to overcome that troublesome mind plague he has developed.” A frown scraping across his face, an expression he rarely wore.

  “Just what exactly did you put this kid through, Gerald?” He asked with disdain.

  Erec was a poor child. One whose presence in the glades of time were leading to a break point. His presence in the ever expanding fields of time was vast as it was guided.

  A grim and foreboding feeling spread through my thoughts as I reviewed his possible future paths.

  “He has Cerys to help him, so it shouldn't be too much trouble for a man of his exceptional will to get through.” He sighed, reassuring himself that things were on the right path forward.

  The future showed some paths where he fell into insanity. Few they were, many of them spelled doom for all of reality.

  “All I can do is guide him when he needs guiding, help him when he can't help himself and nudge him when he cannot take another step.” He said to nobody, making damn sure there were no wraiths in the room with him.

  His frown turned into another grin, this one speaking of excitement and anticipation.

  “This one may even graduate from a project to a friend.” He said hopefully, looking forward for the future where this young man continued to entertain him.

  —-------------

  ~an hour later

  —-----------------

  My eyes opened as I exited my mind palace after turning my cogs for a while.

  Cerys was across the room, now wearing a comfortable looking outfit of a plain white tunic and a loose fitting brown hose. She was currently also in her mind palace doing what I was a moment ago.

  I had changed into the official academy uniform. A beige suit that I had ditched the overcoat for and wore the dress shirt loosely without the top buttons fastened.

  We had opted to simply walk back to the suite we were currently using and relax before lunch time.

  I needed to work through things in my mind while Cerys confessed that she needed to get away from people for a bit and calm down.

  Before we passed the security post, I had told the scribe still posted there to arrange lunch and deliver it to our room.

  While I hadn't had the torso sized hourglass for long, the utility of having a chunk of metal around at all times wasn't lost on me. While the academy has plenty of metal items scattered throughout, I wouldn't always be in such a useful environment.

  With the wood elven assassins confirmed dead and whatever being it was that mother fought also no longer in the picture, I thought it largely safe to leave the academy grounds.

  Maybe I would find a guildmember or two and ask for their opinions on a useful suit or setup for incognito defence and offence.

  I also felt as though many of the things I may need could easily be provided by people in the academy, staff or students alike.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  I shook my head, focusing. I knew what I was doing. I was distracting myself by busying my mind with other topics of importance.

  I addressed it: my emotions.

  Any emotional reaction was strictly punished and forbidden for most of my life. So any method I had of working through my emotions was largely self taught. I thought through my actions back at the fight pit and wondered why I even reacted that way.

  I knew why, of course, it was because Cerys was caught up in a situation that was easily malicious and potentially dangerous for her. What I couldn't quite understand was why the situation reminded me of that fiasco back up on the dirt mound.

  It was clear that the people back up there came with full intention to harm and kill anyone who had survived that crash-landing. So why do I keep looping back to how many people I killed and re-remembering the situation playing out in my head?

  It wasn't the first time I killed, though most of my kills in the past were monsters and inhuman animals. Some of the training I went through was specifically how to survive an ambush when overwhelmed and surrounded by superior numbers.

  Shock and awe, movement with the intent to gain a better position and violence of action. These were the tenants of surviving an ambush meant to kill you.

  I performed well in a confrontation that many seasoned warriors wouldn't have survived.

  Maybe it was how quickly I dispatched my foes? That could be a part of it.

  I closed my eyes, looking further into my memories and emotions.

  They were largely spies posing as civilians. They even had some decently powerful magic capable people on their side.

  If I let them continue their attack past where I stopped them, I could have seen losses on my side.

  Then what was the problem?

  ‘They were humans.’ An intrusive thought poked through my psyche like a hot knife, the heat being guilt.

  People. I killed humans. That was the problem.

  I felt a gentle, warm tap on my right shoulder. I opened my eyes to see Cerys standing in front of me expectantly.

  “You clearly are done cycling your cogs, but are still unresponsive, what troubles you so?” She asked with a gentle but expectant tone that made me think twice about redirecting her a second time.

  “I feel guilty about killing those humans who ambushed us back at the crash site.” I confessed, speaking as though it was a situation on the caliber of a stubbed toe.

  Her eyes widened, then the sparks in the beautiful emerald green slowed as she leaned in closer.

  “I won't insult your intelligence by lecturing you on how well you handled that situation, but can you tell me more?” She asked, turning around to retrieve a chair, one I brought over with pieces of a chandelier and set down facing mine.

  She sat with a thankful look, then arched her right eyebrow expectantly.

  “I really don't think there's much more to say.” I said while shrugging my shoulders, a movement I felt helped me. “I feel as though I have been emotionally affected by the act of taking so many human lives.” I said in the tone of a matter of fact, like a unfeeling ingot of steel. “I won't allow said affliction to hinder my actions any further.” I finished.

  I felt like there was more to that, but couldn’t quite put it into words worthy of Cerys hearing.

  Her eyes looked into mine with an emotion that made my heart skip a beat.

  Sorrow.

  She then got up and knelt forwards, taking me in a comforting hug.

  “Huh?” Was all I could say.

  She spoke gently into my right ear, “what you just explained is a human reaction, one I argue, most people would feel after even thinking of hurting another human.”

  She then shifted herself so she could sit comfortably in the spacious leather arm chair next to me.

  “You don't have to say anything more, but just know that I will hear you out if you ever need me to.” She spoke softly as she stayed there.

  I reached around with my right arm and draped it over her shoulder. “Can we just stay like this, just until lunch comes around?” I asked with a hopeful tone.

  I saw blush on her left ear from the corner of my vision.

  She nodded and stayed silent.

  —--------------

  More than an hour later

  —-----------------------------

  When the knock sounded from the door, Cerys and I left the comfort of the armchair with a content silence.

  I then stated with a commanding tone, “Leave the meal at our door.”

  “Yes, Your Eminence.” A woman said from behind the wooden door.

  As I heard the footsteps recede rightwards, I opened the door with my magical will and moved the metal cart into the room, closing the door the same way.

  All the dishes, cups and cutlery were of silver, so I set the meal out on the table in the left most, furthest from the door, corner of the room. The table was surrounded by glass windows which were currently covered by drapes of the same yellow-beige color.

  I opened the curtains with some metal pieces taken from the candle holders nearest to them.

  I then sat facing away from the window while Cerys sat facing me.

  We ate in comforting silence. The meal was mammoth cutlets covered in gravy with mashed potatoes mixed with mammoth cheese and assorted wines.

  After a while, we finished eating the satisfying meal and I sent the dishes and cutlery to the cart, which then found its way to the kitchen three stories down. I memorized where the kitchen was due to the keychain the head chef used.

  I grinned with humor when the cart pushed the wooden doors open after the metal door knobs somehow opened themselves. Or at least, to the point of view of the kitchen staff.

  Cerys smiled at me, arching her eyebrow in an expecting manner.

  “Oh, I just started rumors of a possible poltergeist in this building.” I chuckled, “one that returns food carts after they are used.”

  Cerys had a wry smile form on her face and giggled. “You mustn't scare them like that.” She reproached.

  “I would like to rest some more today, I have no doubt that the Headmaster will have much for me to do tomorrow.” I then got back up and walked over to the leather chair once more, sitting down and preparing to rotate my cogs.

  “I need to get more powerful, so I will continue to rotate my cogs until supper or later.” I said with determination.

  Cerys looked thoughtful for a moment until she just shrugged and joined me on the chair.

  —--------

  12 hours later

  —-----------------

  The supper was just as good as lunch, Cerys and I mostly relaxed and enjoyed the half of the day we had to ourselves.

  I started to feel drowsy and wanted to sleep soon. It hadn't been a full day of rest, but it felt infinitely more restful than I've really ever experienced.

  As I looked upon the only bed in the room, I thought back to when she really just shoulder carried me like a wounded soldier and placed me in that said bed.

  “Heh, wasn't that something.” I remarked with a humored grin across my face.

  I then heard the adjoining door open, revealing Cerys who had just stepped out of the washroom.

  “Are you ready for bed, Erec?” She asked with an implied hint.

  I turned around and nearly lost my calm.

  ‘looks like tonight is going to be a good night.’ I thought to myself.

  We climbed into bed.