Chapter 67 - The General Bids Farewell to the High Elf

Nathan Evenhart:

The initiation period of magic training with my elven teacher had come to an end. Adrihna was only there to teach us the basics of our elements, and it was up to us to continue the journey on our own. However, she told me that she would always pass through our territory and help us if we had any questions. A part of me felt sad to say goodbye to her, and I couldn't wait to see her again to show her more of the spells I would create. During the time we spent together, I grew accustomed to her strange personality. In part, it was because I saw myself in Adrihna.

A High Elf was someone who had renounced parts of their emotions, especially the concept of love. This was influenced by their long lifespan, which made them solitary beings, living far beyond the lifespans of others.

I saw myself in her, not as Nathan Evenhart, but as Emperor Icarus. When I became a dictator and brought peace to the people I ruled, I felt like the loneliest person who ever existed. I isolated myself in my palace and didn't even require servants. I didn't need to eat, sleep, or love—I had become immortal, but that came at a high and bitter price... my human emotions. I couldn't get close to anyone because, little by little, the soldiers who fought alongside me were dying of old age, and with each death, a part of me died too. The General Icarus died with the people who knew him, and to the new generation, I was only Emperor Icarus, someone unreachable.

My solution was to befriend the Titans, and that's when my nickname, the Lord of the Titans, was born. They were beings who would live as long as I did, but at that time, we were all dealing with our own hatred. They were imprisoned, tormented in unimaginable ways, and I had lost someone important to me. I had lost the only person I ever loved… and it tore me apart. When I invaded the realm of the dead to try to find Helen's soul… there was nothing left to save. My friend and first love had been killed by the blade of a God, and with that, her soul ceased to exist. I became a God to bring her back to life, and I sacrificed my humanity, and in the end… it was all in vain. The only thing left inside me was hatred and fury at my own existence and my own failure. My only goal was to avenge her, and to do that, I would kill every last God. I fulfilled my promise and erased all the gods of that world, including myself… the last remaining God.

This story… is for another time, because I never want to be General Icarus again… I want to be Nathan Evenhart.

***

Adrihna met us at the castle's entrance. She was about to depart in a carriage along the private road that wound through our territory, passing through the protected forests. It was the same road that had brought me to the Evenhart territory. This road cuts through uninhabited areas and is guarded by a massive stone wall. The wall has a small fort where some soldiers keep watch and control the gate. My teacher was going to use this route because it was the easiest way for her to continue her journey to the Elven Kingdom.

Gathered there were me, Chloe, my mother, Aunt Margie, Adrihna, and Kinue.

"Teacher… thank you so much for everything you've done for both of us," Chloe said, her voice trembling with emotion as she jumped up and hugged Adrihna tightly.

Adrihna seemed unsure of how to react and awkwardly returned the hug, but I could tell she was struggling with it.

"Child… you know I’m not good at showing emotions," she said, hugging Chloe back.

"I don’t care," Chloe replied.

"You're also squeezing me a bit too tight..." Adrihna added.

She does that to you too? No wonder I call her the little monster.

Chloe finally released my teacher from the tight hug and turned to look at Kinue.

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"Lady Chloe… you're staring at me…" said a shy Kinue.

Chloe huffed and then jumped, wrapping Kinue in a tight hug.

"I told you, just call me Chloe" said the little monster.

The two spent some time emotionally talking about how they would exchange letters and discussing the next time they’d meet. We would see her from time to time, and later, we would all live together in Apsalon when we were older. Kinue was two years older than us and would be studying there first, but she was excited to say that when we arrived, she’d be able to help us out.

"Lady Adrihna, thank you so much for advising me on that discovery," said my mother.

Adrihna looked at me, then at her.

"That’s my job, so no need to thank me. In fact, I'm a bit glad that the people I was searching for turned out to be you Evenharts."

She was searching for people? What does that mean?

The two of them exchanged glances and sighed.

"Don’t worry, Katherine. I’ll report to the council and the ‘family,’ and you’ll have all the support you need to handle any problems. I’ll make it clear once again: if you need anything, let me know. I’ll be the contact bridge between you, and if anyone dares to do something… including the highest authorities in this kingdom… if they dare to set up any kind of aristocratic trap… they’ll be picking a fight with the ‘family’ and all its people."

My mother and aunt nodded in agreement with her words.

Family? What are they talking about?

The three of them looked at me.

"And about the issue with his Gem, do you really think that’s going to happen?" Aunt Margie asked.

"Issue?" I asked, startled. "Is there something wrong with me?"

The teacher crouched down to meet my gaze.

"There’s nothing wrong with you, child. But I suspect that the abnormal flow of your mana and your difficulty in mastering the Wind element might be a symptom," she said.

I looked at my mother and aunt, who were watching me closely.

"What symptom? Is there something wrong with me?" I asked, worried.

"It’s okay, Nate. It’s just something temporary," my aunt reassured me.

"I suspect that your Gem might be dedicating itself to awakening the Special Eyes," Adrihna said.

Special Eyes? Am I going to have those?

"It’s just a suspicion, but it’s still something to keep an eye on. I don’t know what kind of Special Eye might come from someone with the mana of a High Elf mixed with a magical human. I didn’t even know it was possible for someone like that to awaken Special Eyes, but seeing your mother and Kinue with their special elements… you’ve proven to me that anomalies exist," the teacher explained.

She stood up.

"If the top mana specialist says it’s possible, then it’s just a matter of time until it happens," Aunt Margie said.

"I’ll be visiting you all often, so I can help Nathan when the Special Eyes awaken. The process might be a bit painful, at least it was for me and my brother," Adrihna added.

"What should we do when that happens? Do we inform the kingdom?" my mother asked.

Adrihna placed a finger on her chin, thinking.

"That’s beyond my jurisdiction, so I’ll leave it to you to decide if his Special Eyes awaken. Until that ‘discovery’ becomes official, you still have to obey the laws here. In the Elven Kingdom, that kind of thing isn’t reported, but here, humans are obsessed with such things," she said.

I didn’t fully understand what they were talking about, but I got that I might have Special Eyes.

"Is it a problem if I have Special Eyes?" I asked.

My mother walked over to me and gently stroked my hair.

“There’s nothing wrong with that, my son. But in this kingdom, there are people who are obsessed and might even try to buy someone’s eyes.”

“What? What do you mean, buy eyes?” I asked, panicking.

My mother saw my distress and tried to calm me down, but it wasn’t working.

“They say it’s possible to transfer the possession of Special Eyes to someone else, but no one knows how or if it’s even true. Some nobles are obsessed with these things and attempt surgeries to acquire someone’s eyes,” my aunt explained, but that didn’t reassure me at all.

Seeing my confusion, Adrihna stepped in.

“That’s an impossible procedure to perform, but because your human species is compatible with other races for reproduction, there might be a higher success rate for transferring these eyes. However, it’s just a superstition and has never been proven successful,” Adrihna explained.

But the fact that people even try to acquire someone’s Special Eyes… that didn’t put me at ease.

“Is that why the Grand Duke asked to be informed if we awaken the eyes?” I asked.

My aunt came over to me:

“No, the royal family of this kingdom just likes to know who has the eyes. Each pair of Special Eyes can have a completely different power, and they just want to catalog the people who possess them. They catalog those who have Special Eyes,” my aunt explained while subtly giving me advice, which I understood.

Better keep quiet if I happen to awaken Special Eyes…

“Don’t worry, Nathan. No one would do something as barbaric as trying to take someone’s eyes. If they did, they could render the eyes useless and lose a valuable soldier. What your kingdom does is simply catalog people to try to ‘invest’ in their future,” Adrihna clarified.

My mother approached us.

“That ‘invest’ really means making you bow down even more…” my mother grumbled.

“There’s no need to worry, Katherine. Nothing will happen. Remember, I’ll be close to him at the Academy and will keep an eye out for any potential ‘recruitment pressures’ from the royal family’s army. And if anyone ever dares to lay a finger on either of you… you already know who they’ll be dealing with,” my teacher said, reassuringly.