“Oh my god! Lumenos! Are you serious??” Martin’s eyes lit up in an instant.

  “Oh? You’ve heard about it?” Aaron asked.

  “How could I not? This is the age of information! Just like any other heavens, you can find tons of articles about Lumenos on the Ethernet,” Martin replied. “Have you ever been to Chryseida? Or the Solonos Sea? And Delos? And Soltice? What about the Orpheus Palace?” he asked in quick succession, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

  “Uh, we haven’t been to Chryseida or Soltice, but we did visit Solonos last summer. The view at night is truly one of the most breathtaking wonders in the entire cosmos, right, Luther?” Aaron said with a smile, nudging the boy next to him lightly with his elbow.

  Luther gave a stiff nod.

  How can he lie so smoothly like that?

  Aaron noticed Martin was about to ask more, so he quickly cut in first:

  “We only arrived in The Origin a few days ago, and we’ve just been wandering around, so we don’t really know where to go. We spent the whole day exploring this city already. Do you have any suggestions for fun places to visit?”

  “Well, if you want to see some popular spots in the human world, you could go to Athens. That place is full of famous places. Plus, Gnomon is right there, and that city is huge and just … unimaginable. You can find anything you want there,” Martin said after thinking for a moment. “Oh, wait, you guys must have come to Earth through Gnomon. Then I guess you’re already familiar with that place …”

  “That’s right, that’s right.” Aaron nodded.

  “Let’s see … what else? Hmmm, how long will you be staying on Earth? In the middle of December, just before Serenity, the annual Moonlight Festival will be held in Sicily. It’s one of the biggest festivals in Earth, I heard even people from other worlds travel there to attend,” Martin said.

  Aaron’s eyes lit up.

  “That sounds amazing! By the way, do you know any fun places to visit near New York? Or maybe in North America?” he asked.

  “Hmm … near New York?” Martin pinched his chin in thought. “As far as I know, there are a few places scattered across the Appalachian range. The biggest among them is Spellscroll Village in Asheville. Then, in other areas, there’s Crescent Hollow in San Francisco, Blackwater Bay in Maine … And about North America, In Mexico, there’s Sunken Quetzal Labyrinth in Palenque, Izcalli in Puebla, Serpent Causeway in Oaxaca … And about Canada, there’s Summit Valley in Québec, that’s where I go to school. Frostveil Citadel in Nunavut, Hollowglade Dock in Prince Edward Island …”

  “Wow, that’s a ton of places!” Aaron marveled.

  “The closest one would be the Mariana Market in Boston. It’s just a mid-sized town, but it sells all kinds of things, especially medicines and potions, and they have good seafood too. If you like that kind of stuff, you should check it out. There’s an amazing Scylla ramen restaurant over there,” Martin added.

  “Scylla ramen? For real? That’s an arch-rank species!” Aaron’s jaw dropped slightly.

  “Oh, we Earth folks just call it like that to make it sound cool. It’s actually just meat from an illusos octopus with a bit of Scylla bloodline. Who would dare eat a real Scylla? If the LGMS didn’t come knocking at your door, the divine beings of Vorthegon would hunt you down to the ends of the cosmos.”

  Huh? What’s LGMS? How am I even supposed to respond to that? A cold sweat began forming on Aaron’s forehead.

  Fortunately, Martin was a chatterbox. He continued:

  “The shop owner was super lucky. She raised that octopus from when it was just a baby, and now every week it gives her one tentacle to sell, so they’re super rich now.”

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  “That’s super cool. We’ll definitely give it a try. Thanks a lot,” Aaron said with a smile. “By the way, is there any magical community in New York?”

  “I heard there used to be a huge street in Manhattan, but for some reason it got closed down and sealed away,” Martin replied.

  “Ah, that’s a bit unlucky for us then. But it’s fine, this city is already interesting enough. The human world is really fascinating.” Aaron grinned.

  That’s enough information. Time to slip away before I end up spilling something I shouldn’t.

  Under the confused gazes of Aaron and Luther, Acher flew over and pecked lightly at the center of Martin’s forehead.

  “This kid will be useful for figuring out The Origin’s current situation,” Acher said. “I’ve distorted some of his perception. Aaron, find a way to stay in contact with him.”

  Aaron snapped back to his senses and asked Martin:

  “Oh, right, could I have your phone number? We’d like to learn more about the Earth.”

  “Of course.” Martin took his phone out and exchanged numbers with Aaron, though he looked a little doubtful.

  Why aren’t they using an Etherphone number? Oh … they must want to experience a mortal’s way of life! Martin guessed to himself.

  Then a message popped up on his phone’s screen, and he said:

  “Good to see you guys. I should head back to Tony’s house; Mariana Market’s operatives just got there. If you guys ever have time, come visit Summit Valley, and I’ll show you around. The place is breathtakingly beautiful!” Martin waved goodbye before heading off.

  Once they were back at the house, Acher spoke up:

  “It’s time to claim your reward.”

  Luther opened the Book of Fate. The Stream of Flow appeared, and then two beams of light descended from above. The larger beam drifted toward Luther, while the smaller one went to Aaron.

  Seven Ether crystals appeared in Luther’s hands, while Aaron received five.

  “Oh? I get a reward too?” Aaron asked, sounding pleasantly surprised.

  “One other perk of signing the Covenant is that the messenger’s companion also receives a reward after completing a mission, though it’s less than what the messenger gets,” Acher explained.

  “Yay!”

  Aaron took out one crystal, then handed the remaining four to Luther.

  “Can you keep these for me? I suck at managing money, and if I leave them at home, my parents may see them and ask questions. I’ll just keep one to absorb.”

  Luther took them and placed the crystals into a small wooden chest, securing it with a lock.

  The two boys chatted for a while before Aaron said:

  “Whoa, it’s getting late. I’d better teleport back home, goodnight!”

  “Goodnight.”

  He cut the summoning and disappeared.

  Half an hour later. The phone on Luther’s bedside table lit up, showing a new message:

  “Are you still awake?”

  “Yes.”

  “I can’t sleep :(”

  “Me too.”

  “Summon me!”

  Aaron grinned widely as he lay squeezed onto the bed.

  “Hehe, it feels so nice sleeping with you. My room is too hot.”

  Acher, curled up inside his donut bed, gave both of them a side eye.

  Seriously? It’s only the third day, and he’s already climbing into Luther’s bed? This boy, dude.

  “Today was really something, you know, fighting nightmare monsters, and getting clues about the supernatural world on Earth. Now I know there are so many places to visit in North America! And then there’s the rest of Earth, and even the whole cosmos,” Aaron said, rambling with excitement. “I wonder when we’ll get to visit Lumenos. That place is just so incredible.”

  “Where is Lumenos?” Luther asked.

  “It’s a heaven shaped by Lord Everbright and the Mistress of the Silver Bow. It’s also known by many other names like the Land of Endless Dawn, the Eternal Kingdom of Light, or the Realm of Radiant Sunshine …” Aaron said. “Chryseida is the capital of Lumenos. All the buildings in that city are built from glowing white daybreak marble that has a calming effect on the mind and can spark artistic inspiration. Solonos is the largest sea of Lumenos …”

  Aaron spoke slowly, describing it in detail, while Luther lay on his side, watching him and listening to each word.

  “… it’s said that Lord Everbright once bathed there, which made its water sacred and filled with countless shimmering golden lights, and at night, it looks like an ocean made of fire sparkles. It’s one of the most famous travel destinations in the cosmos. As for the Orpheus Palace, I don’t know anything about it; maybe it was built after he died.”

  He turned to the black-haired boy and asked:

  “Anyway, tomorrow’s Sunday, what should we do? How about going downtown to play paintball? I’ll ask Paul and the others too, then we can have lunch together and then go get some ice cream at Morgenstern.”

  “Study.”

  “Oh, come on, give me a break, pleaseeee! It’s Sunday.”

  “After we get back, then. Just one hour,” Luther bargained.

  “Deal! And Luther, when we get the chance, let’s go to Boston. I want to try Scylla ramen.”

  “Too far.”

  “We’ll fly. My dad’s a major shareholder of Alpha, so we get plenty of free flights. I’ll take you to see the seals at the New England Aquarium; they’re super smart.”

  “Alright,” Luther said with a smile.

  The two boys kept talking like that, mostly Aaron rambling on while Luther listened, chiming in with a few words now and then, as the night slowly passed by.