Adion stared at the place where Lomin had just stood and was more confused than ever.

Lomin can teleport? Does he have Authority over space? No, of course not. He said ‘Words of Truth’. But I don’t get it.

“What the…” Rufus stared wide-eyed at the place Lomin had disappeared from.

“This day…” Sahra said, “I’m just starting to melt everything Adion has told us, and now Lomin can teleport thanks to understanding a few words? What was he talking about?”

“I don’t get it either,” Benji said with a wide grin, “But I’m happy that I’m a part of it. I always thought that solving the mystery of the Gifted would be my one true goal in life. But Adion’s strange Authority, Lomin’s Words of Truth. There is much more to the world and magic than I ever imagined.”

“I thought I would be able to be the coolest one of us for the night,” Adion muttered.

“Hahaha!” Rufus laughed happily, “Sorry Adion, you were a close second, but it will be hard to beat Lomin’s performance.”

“I might not be able to beat it…” Adion said and closed his eyes. He took control over the space behind Rufus using his Authority, and infused his Will in the space mana there, overloading it until he almost felt as if the two spaces were the same. It was up to Adion to decide which space he was actually in.

The two areas of space are the same. I can feel them both. I am both there and here. I decide the truth.

“But I can at least do something similar,” Adion finished as he appeared behind Rufus.

“What the!” Rufus jumped back and stared at Adion.

Sahra and Benji also turned to look at Adion with confused expressions. But their shock had lessened somewhat from what Lomin had just done along with Adion’s story.

“I am a space mage, after all. It might take a while to focus, and I can’t travel very far yet. But give it time, and I will leave Lomin in the dust.” Adion said proudly.

“We’re going to have a long talk about this,” Sahra said, “I’m done being confused. You and Lomin will have to sit down and properly explain exactly what the hell is going on.”

“Eh…sure,” Adion said. He didn’t mind sharing, and he was hoping Benji might have some insights. He was well-read and pretty intelligent, after all.

“But where is Lomin?” Benji asked.

Everyone turned silent, as they had no way of knowing exactly how far away Lomin had gone.

Benji sighed, “Let’s just wait here for him to come back.” He then smiled excitedly and looked at Adion, “I have a lot of questions to ask you in the meantime, Adion. I hope you can sate my curiosity.”

“Sure,” Adion nodded.

Benji, along with Sahra and Rufus, asked Adion all sorts of questions. And he answered everything he could, asking questions of his own at times.

A few hours passed, and the sun was now high in the sky, but there was no sign of Lomin.

“You don’t think he went home, right? To Fornia?” Rufus asked, worried.

“If that’s the case, then Words of Truth are incredibly powerful. But I doubt it. If he was planning on leaving for long, I’m sure he would have told us first,” Benji said.

“That’s true,” Rufus agreed, “He wouldn’t disappear without saying anything. Let’s give him some more time.”

“So what do you think about Authority, Benji?” Adion asked, “Do you have any theories?”

“Not exactly. It sounds a bit like Gifted, I guess, but more controlled?” Benji said, unsure, “How exactly do you take control? Do you think there is a way to gain the power without the blood of Phoenixes?”

“Well, there should be,” Adion said as he thought about it, “I don’t think there is anything impossible to do with magic. As long as it has been done before, it should be able to be done again. But it might be that we are far too weak for the moment. It might be something that becomes clearer in the Soul stages, or perhaps even higher.”

“That’s a very distant future,” Benji sighed.

“But you’ve never heard of anything like this at Cyalis?” Adion asked.

“No,” Benji shook his head, “Of course, there might have been an obscure class that covered the topic, and I just missed it, but I doubt it. The main focus at the Academy is to advance to Silver and develop concepts. There might be more information available for top students or the professors. But it also wouldn’t surprise me if no one knew about it. The circumstances that allowed you to stumble upon this ‘Authority’ were quite unique.”

“Mm,” Adion nodded.

At first, he had thought he had held knowledge that no one else was privy to. But once he spent more time with his team, he found out that the world was bigger than he thought, and there were a lot of things he didn’t know. Concepts, faelin magic, the Primordial Story, and other more minor things he had been taught by his team. There was a big chance he was still missing something. He had never thought that pills released aura, something every alchemist knew about. There were probably plenty of things that he was still ignorant of. Adion didn’t want to get too cocky and assume he was the only one with secrets.

“Are you planning on telling people about any of this, Adion? You would earn great merit. I’m sure your name would sweep like a storm even through the Tower of Sages,” Sahra said, “Of course, we won’t say anything about it if you choose to keep it a secret.”

“Yes, you can rest assured, Adion. My lips are sealed,” Rufus said with a serious expression.

“It’s alright, I trust you,” Adion said with a light smile. Rufus's cheeks reddened, and he struck out his chest proudly.

“Are you actually blushing, Rufus,” Sahra said and laughed.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“I’m not blushing!” Rufus yelled back. His previous delicateness with Sahra had disappeared overnight.

“I’m not going to say anything until I’m strong enough not to fear anyone knowing about my abilities,” Adion said, “One day, I’ll probably share a bit of the information I have, if it can help bring this Age to new heights. I’ve taken advantage of the knowledge shared by the scholars and Sages of the past, so it only seems right that I do the same in turn. Only when there are no more risks, though.”

“That seems wise,” Benji nodded with a smile.

“What are these things that you care so much to hide from?” Sahra asked, “Is it those…those masked people?”

Adion nodded silently.

“Do you know anything about them?” Sahra asked.

“Nothing,” Adion sighed, “Only that they carry white masks and seemed ready to kill children for a chance at an artifact. And they are strong. The group that showed up was enough to form a strong 1st-tier family clan, and there is no way of knowing how many of them there actually are.”

“Hmm,” Benji started thinking. After a while, he spoke hesitantly, “I’ve never heard of the group you’re talking about specifically, but there are a few hidden organizations with their own unknown agenda on Shiora. I’ve heard a few even have their roots on Quemer. It would be a mistake to think that only the Nobles and Royals make up the powerful of the continent.

“We could ask around a little and see if we can find out something? If their group is active all the way over here in the Delovan Empire, there is a good chance that they have a solid background to be able to spread out so thin.

But that would also make it necessary for them to recruit a lot of members, and no one can do that without leaving any traces.”

“But it might be dangerous to ask too many questions, right?” Adion asked, “I wouldn’t want to bring attention to myself.”

“Well, I guess there’s a risk with everything in life. But if we go about it the right way, I don’t think it will get dangerous,” Benji said, “It is a tumultuous time right now, particularly the tensions between the Hellemi and Fire Phoenix Church. Everyone is talking about what is happening around Shiora and who the different players are. For young Silver mages like us, asking around about any interesting rumors is normal. It would be more suspicious to not care about these things at all.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Adion said, “Alright. If we don’t ask about anything specific to the masked group and keep it to general happenings, I’m all for asking a few questions.”

“Good,” Benji said, “I wouldn’t be a very good team leader if someone on my team had to hide while not even knowing who they are hiding from.”

“That’s right, Adion,” Rufus said assuredly, “You can count on your team to get to the bottom of this.”

“Thanks,” Adion said, “Just don’t get yourself in trouble. It would be a pain to help you get out of it.”

“Haha, I’m willing to bet a night’s tab on you being the first of us to get into trouble, Adion,” Rufus said with a grin.

“Deal,” Adion agreed.

The group continued their conversation throughout the day, but eventually, the sun approached the end of its daily journey, and Lomin was still nowhere to be seen.

“Damn,” Benji sighed, “If it can take him a whole day to return, it can just as well take two, three, or even ten days or more. I think we should return to Wender. He would know that we are at the Silver Circle if he doesn’t find us here.”

“I agree,” Rufus muttered, “Stupid faelin, does his stupid trick without explanation and leaves us here waiting for a whole day. He will have to buy more than a few drinks to make up for it.”

“Then let’s get going. We can make it before the sun goes down if we leave now.” Benji said.

It didn’t take long, and the group started their short trip back to Wender again.

----------------------------------------

Rufus is going to be mad. Lomin thought as he took a step forward.

But I’m sure he’ll understand my excitement when I explain. Lomin reasoned as he still took a step forward.

Words of Truth are truly incredible. I can’t wait to dig deeper into my understanding of my words. My journey is far from over. Lomin thought excitedly, still on the same step.

Perhaps one day, I can find a way for me not to end up like this after using my powers.

Lomin had done something incredible. In a single step, he had traveled miles. Probably not thousands of miles, even if that was the content of his Words of Truth. But it was not a literal thing. Simply a vocalization of an understanding Lomin had.

Lomin, along with other faelin, had always had poor mana control. Something that slowed down advancement and made them less skilled in using their elements. But how can any race gain only disadvantages?

Lomin had never known exactly what it was that made the faelin different. It wasn’t something being told to the young men and women starting their journey. It was believed there was a higher chance of success if a little of the mystery remained for the young minds.

But now Lomin finally understood.

Every race of sapi were born with sparks. It was the spark that separated them from beasts. And in this spark were hidden concepts. The stronger mages generally gave birth to children with stronger concepts in their sparks. Of course, this was not always the case. Chance played a role.

Like Adion. I would never have guessed that a child born in a family clan could be born sparkless. And he even managed to form a core despite that! Of space!

Lomin smiled at the thought. He had much he wanted to ask Adion when he got back.

It is truly a privilege to be part of his story.

Lomin turned his attention to his right foot, slowly approaching the ground. Slowly.

If I ever manage to get this step taken.

This slow step was a side effect of the powers Lomin had manifested. It was part of the concept he had finally understood. Yes. Lomin now understood that Words of Truth were concepts just like the concept of sharpness he already had in his core. But it was a different kind of concept.

Deep Concepts. Somehow, that feels like the right word to use.

It was the advantage that the faelin had over the other races, perhaps the world's way to weigh up for their poor mana control. Instead of having sparks with ordinary concepts like other races of sapi, the faelin had something else hidden there too. Perhaps something understood and left behind by an ancestor long ago, Lomin didn’t know.

He only knew that during his journey, he could, at times, feel himself and something in his core resonating with certain thoughts. He had been close to grasping it for a while now. And when he finally heard Adion’s story, it became clear to him.

When Adion told how he had been swept through the continent from one moment to the next and then spent years in the forest, Lomin finally got a sufficient enough understanding to make use of his Deep Concept.

Words of Truth were nothing more than a way to give a feeling for the Deep Concept. A Deep Concept was very complicated, so it could not be explained as easily as normal concepts like ‘hot’ and ‘sharp.’

To really understand a Deep Concept, even a whole book might not cut it. If that were the case, there would be no need for the faelin to go on journeys across the world. A Deep Concept can only be understood after countless experiences and deep reflections.

The Words of Truth that Lomin had felt were the best approximation for the Deep Concept he had grasped were ‘One step, a thousand miles. A thousand steps, one mile.’

What he was able to do had been witnessed by his teammates a few hours ago. In a single step, the wind would carry him miles away in an instant. Unfortunately, Lomin had found no way to get around the fact that the next thousand steps would even out the score.

Finally, step 100. Only 900 more to go. It’s getting dark. They must have made their way back to Wender by now. Oh, well. It will give me some time to think more about my Words of Truth.