In a dream filled with fragmented images of swords, blood, and a woman's face, Felix awoke once again from a nightmare.

The vine wood magic staff lay quietly beside him, an ordinary-looking wand with no gems or magical runes, resembling more an old man's walking stick made of dead wood.

Yet it was special – even if thrown into fire, not a single mark would appear on its surface. The cloak, deep black and made of unknown leather, bore a sword cut right at the heart. Even Odynman's prized mithril dagger couldn't leave a scratch on it.

Who could penetrate this cloak? Who could have hurt him?

"Am I a mage?" Felix clasped his head in his hands. Even awake, his mind flickered with countless shattered images – swords, blood, a woman's face. What had he forgotten about his past?

A sharp pain shot through his brain, causing Felix to furrow his brows tightly. He banged his forehead, trying to piece together these fragmented images into a coherent memory.

"Ah!!!" Excruciating pain, as if his brain was splitting apart, shook him violently. Felix's body began to tremble uncontrollably, the pain in his soul unbearable.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" He started banging his head against the wall, attempting to use physical pain to alleviate the madness in his soul.

"Felix brother," a timid young voice spoke. Nayara stood at the doorway, her delicate doll-like face filled with worry and fear. She cautiously approached Felix, fearfully reaching out to grasp his clothes. Tears rolled down her exquisite face, as Nayara, terrified by Felix's madness, sobbed softly, "Felix brother, what's wrong? Don’t scare me."

The half-elf girl, so close to Felix, was terrified. She clung to his clothes, trying to stop him from hitting his head against the wall.

But she was too weak. Instead of stopping Felix, she was pulled down by his strength and knocked onto the hard bed frame.

"Woo! Woo! Felix brother, what's wrong? Mom, Felix brother has gone mad... Woo, woo, woo."

Nayara, looking at Felix continuously banging his head against the wall, could no longer suppress her fear and anxiety. She sat on the floor, sobbing softly.

"Sleeping spell!"

Lydiana Anya was finally awakened by the noise. Seeing Felix in a state of madness, she put him to bed. The gentle and beautiful woman picked up her daughter, wiping away the tears on her little face.

Holding Nayara in her arms, she comforted, "Don't worry, Nayara. Mom is here, don’t be afraid."

Her mother's embrace gave Nayara courage. She looked up at Felix, who was now asleep, with teary eyes and sobbed, "What's wrong with Felix brother? Felix brother is bleeding!"

Lydiana Anya turned to look at Felix's forehead, which was now a bloody mess. The hard wall even had a dent from Felix's impacts.

"Natural healing!"

Tiny glimmers of green light gathered on Felix's forehead. Under the power of nature, his bleeding slowly stopped, though the bloody wound remained. Placing her hand gently on Felix's forehead, Lydiana Anya closed her eyes.

"His soul is restless."

After a long while, Lydiana Anya opened her eyes, her face covered in sweat, as if she had experienced something terrifying.

"His soul..." Lydiana Anya's face showed disbelief. After a long silence, she said solemnly, "His soul is not complete. Only a priestess of the Goddess of Life can heal him."

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She gazed at Felix's handsome profile and sighed deeply, "Only the Tree of Life can grant him peace, burying the past of his soul."

Lydiana Anya stood up, holding her crying daughter, and left the room. Looking up at the cold moonlight in the night sky, she murmured, "To let go of past memories, I can grant you peace, but do you wish for it?"

Lydiana Anya caressed her daughter's tear-streaked face and sighed, "Nayara, he is a poor soul."

Felix slept peacefully, his dreams more serene than they had been since he woke up in this unfamiliar place.

In his dream, there was a tree, vast and towering, as if holding up the heavens and the earth. Its leaves shone with a crystalline green light, and in them, people slept peacefully. Was this the soul? A peaceful soul? The Place of Rest?

He saw a woman in a pure white dress, tranquil and graceful. A gentle breeze lifted her hem, creating a low humming sound filled with a serene and harmonious aura, as if emanating from the soul itself. Her being seemed to radiate light.

Drawing closer, Felix felt a comforting aura emanating from her. “Entrust your faith to me, and I will give you rest,” the woman said as she turned around.

Her face was as soothing as a gentle breeze, exuding comfort and tranquility. She opened her arms towards a hesitant Felix, smiling softly and said, “Give me your soul, and I will grant you a new life, strength, love. I will give you everything you desire, including myself.”

Felix's hesitation turned into resolve, and he stopped in his tracks, shaking his head firmly. “No. My soul belongs to the Shadow Queen. A Gamma Master will never break his oath.”

The dream shattered. Felix saw Nayara’s sleeping face next to him, her little face still wet with undried tears.

“The Shadow Queen? Gamma Master?”

Carefully getting up, Felix touched his forehead, feeling a slight pain. Looking down, he murmured, “Is that my past?”

Quietly dressing, Felix gently picked up the sleeping Nayara and placed the peacefully sleeping girl on his bed. Covering her with a blanket, he gently wiped the tears from her face and lightly kissed her forehead.

Half-elves, any mixed-race, were often discriminated against. This little girl was very attached to Felix, affectionate. Felix could feel it. She was reluctant to talk to others but always liked to stick close to him, holding his arm and daydreaming.

Perhaps, in her eyes, he was her kin, a feeling not even her mother could provide.

It was already noon when he awoke. “You're awake,” Lydiana Anya said, looking at Felix tidying the chairs and tables, her face showing a calm smile. “Hmm,” Felix nodded, setting the chairs disrupted by last night’s drunken brawl straight. The inn was busiest in the evening.

Lydiana Anya looked at the healing scar on Felix’s forehead, her face thoughtful. The bloody wound from last night had left only a slight scar, its healing speed astounding. “You need to rest.”

Felix’s handsome face broke into a small smile. He shook his head slightly, “I’m fine.”

He had discovered his astonishing healing ability. Except for the wound left by the sword that pierced the mysterious cloak, his injuries healed almost completely overnight.

“You,” Lydiana Anya’s serene face showed hesitation. After a pause, she softly asked, “Did you recover anything?”

Felix thoughtfully looked at Lydiana Anya. After a moment, he said solemnly, “The Shadow Queen, Gamma Master. This might be my past.” He paused his hand setting a chair straight and after a long silence, finally said, “Thank you.”

Lydiana Anya's face lit up with a soft smile. “The Shadow Queen? Gamma Master?” she shook her head and sighed, “I’m sorry. I can’t guide you. Perhaps the eldest wise elves might know something.”

“You've already guided me,” Felix approached Lydiana Anya. He bowed slightly, pointing to his heart, “I believe I can recover my lost memories, for I now have a direction.”

Lydiana Anya smiled and gently caressed Felix’s gaunt cheek, “Child, I bless you.”

“Felix brother!”

Felix turned with a smile, embracing Nayara, who ran into his arms like a crying kitten. “It's okay now,” he reassured her, pinching her chubby cheek and gently stroking her green hair.

The little girl snuggled into Felix’s arms like a kitten, her face tear-streaked and snot smeared all over his clothes.

Still a child.

Felix smiled, stroking Nayara’s head, standing silently with her in his arms.

After a while, she finally quieted down.

“Cried enough?” Felix teased, pinching her soft cheek.

Nayara pouted, turning her head away huffily, “Not at all!”

“Then continue,” Felix's eyes twinkled mischievously as he held her head, indicating for her to go on.

Nayara bit his shoulder in frustration but without real force, then hopped down from his arms. She turned and shot him a glare before running to the inn's attic.

Taking off his tear- and

snot-stained coat, Felix headed to the backyard.

He felt a deep compassion for Nayara's affection and attachment. Perhaps to her, he was both a kin and a fatherly or brotherly figure. Having been here for half a month, Felix had heard nothing about her father. There was a secret there, but Felix had no desire to pry.

Now, he thought, he should first understand what a Gamma Master was. A spellcaster? Or something like a ranger? This perhaps, was his past.