Arson had an issue. A problem unlike any he’d ever faced before. For the first time he faced something in his life that he could not easily overcome through combat, planning, or the use of magic.

“You seem distracted today, child,” Acu asked as they made their way to his manor. Arson didn’t even hear the man’s question, his mind wandering consistently back toward thoughts of home. One particular aspect returning to the forefront of his mind, over and over.

“Arson?”

Arson looked up after Acu finally tapped him on the shoulder, the silence extending between them to a point that Acu began to worry.

“Yes, sir.” Arson answered, his head remained on a swivel as if he was looking for something.

“Are you okay?”

Arson nodded.

“Yeah, just starting to think I’m going crazy.”

“What would make you say that?”

“You're probably going to make fun of me for this, but everywhere I look, I keep seeing the face of one of my friends back home, and it's driving me mad, my heart begins to race, but then I focus and realize it's not her.”

“Sounds like you have a crush, my boy, there is nothing wrong with that. It's normal for your age.”

“What, no, it's not like that, she’s older than I am by…”

It was then that Arson was struck by how old he was. He’d turned 16 but a few fortnights ago, and had only now taken into consideration how much closer to his friends in age he would be on his return.

“...maybe a season cycle…”

“That is nothing, my boy. Is she a cultivator?”

Arson nodded, feeling his face grow hot as Troy’s face filled his mind.

“We aren’t, I mean we are just friends, nothing more,” mumbled Arson. A new flurry of thoughts suffocating Arson as he tried to stop his racing mind.

Calm down, Arson, this is nothing but hormones, you're fine, promise, you are fine…

“Things change as you grow older, my boy. Merlin is more than a decade older than I am, and I’ve never been able to change how I feel for her since I realized it in my youth.”

“It's not that…”

“Then what is it?”

“Just because my mind might be open to it doesn’t mean that hers will be. Before I left things were different, and when I go back to expect that she’ll accept the new me with open arms is ridiculous. She’s known me since I was a baby…”

Arson froze. He’d spoken too much and said something that Arson assumed would make Acu look at him oddly, but the man simply nodded. Nodded in a way that made Arson feel as if the man understood.

“By the time I’d made it to Origin, Merlin had been here for a few decades, even though we’d only been separated for a few season cycles as far as I’d experienced in the realm I’m from, which is much of the reason why I believe she has denied my advances toward her, but I have faith that in time, she will see me for the man that I am, and not the child she remembers, but that is beside the point. My life is not your own, child. Just follow your heart, if it says hug her, then do so without fear, trust me, as someone whose lived in fear for far too long, you will regret that far less than anything else.”

“Uh, thanks…”

Arson’s mind was struck numb at the words that Acu shared. He’d thought no one would ever understand his predicament, only to be proven wrong nearly the instant after the thought swam to the surface of his mind.

He knew that time worked oddly in the realms, but had never considered that many people probably were united with large age gaps between them.

He’d been raised with a more mortal way of thinking, and because of the number of predatory individuals that preyed on the weak and innocent, the thought of the old taking advantage of the young was utterly vomit-inducing. Yet, the more he felt his heart beat at the thought of Troy, the more he mentally raged at anything keeping them apart.

He’d, of course, seen many beautiful girls while traveling through the realms, but for the first time in his life he grew nervous, wondering if his friend would ever think of him in the way he was now thinking of her.

“I don’t know that I can practice this morning, master.”

“I understand, child. Everyone needs a break now and again, go and ease your thoughts, explore Origin, and come back when you have settled yourself.”

They stopped at the entrance to the manor, and Arson nodded, looking away still deep in thoughts. Acu tousled Arson’s hair, causing him to swat at the man’s hand.

“Come on, what was that for?”

“You think too much, child. Just go enjoy yourself, do something fun for once rather than train constantly.”

“Whatever, old man. I’m outta here.”

Arson started to run off, but stopped, turning back to Acu to see him still looking at him.

He thought to ask Acu how he knew about Cultivators, but changed his mind, telling him something completely different than the new line of confusing thoughts battling for supremacy in his mental space.

“What is it, child?” Acu asked seeing Arson freeze. He smiled, sticking his tongue out at the man before yelling back at him.

“Go hug Merlin, old man. She’s probably waiting on you too!”

Arson bursted into laughter at the man’s face going pale, darting off as he felt he knew exactly what to do to get his mind off of things.

“Time to go and check out a bank…!”

…

As if Arson’s day couldn’t get any more odd. He began to hear a consistent whispered conversation. It was as if a group of people were speaking about the things he saw around him as he traveled to the bank, further making him wonder if he was slowly losing his sanity.

By the time he made it to the bank, he’d given up on looking around for wherever the voices were coming from. Between the voices and the odd warmth coming from his chest, he started to worry that the trials may be having adverse effects on his body.

“Just breathe, there is nothing wrong with you, Arson. You just need a break…”

“Yeah, scoping out a bank instead of going to a park or having a nice bite to eat, that’s a break. Sounds peaceful,” said Anastasia sarcastically.

“This was your idea. Why does it feel like you suddenly want me to actually take a break?”

“Cause you’ve been looking around like you're being followed by ghosts. As a matter of fact, you look so jumpy I’ve been scanning the area around you to ensure that we weren’t actually being tracked.”

“And…?

“Nothing, boy. There is no one around, so what’s got you so spooked?”

“I keep hearing whispers. Started when we first got to the city, I heard a voice just behind me, and when I turned to look, there was no one there, but now it's like I can hear whispers, like a group of people talking about everything I’m doing and seeing around me, it's driving me nuts.”

“Oh, that’s new. Schizophrenia doesn’t run in your family, not on your mother’s side at least,” said Anastasia with laugh.

“Ha ha, not funny, but I’m pretty sure that even if it did, the quality of my mana would correct the imbalance of chemicals in my brain to stop things like that.”

“Not always, buddy. Some afflictions run so far back into a family’s genome that they can’t escape it no matter what they do, or how powerful they become.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, you didn’t know? Why do you think that many of your ancestors are called Furies, because they don’t battle with anger issues?”

“I thought that was just a reaction that happened because of the mixing of powerful bloodlines?”

“Yeah, and how many times do you think it would take a shapeshifter and a person who can clone themselves to have kids before one of their offspring has an odd disorder that fractures their brain with innumerable personalities?”

“Wait, that stuff is real?”

Arson had read books he found in the dump proclaiming that mana disorders existed, but he’d always assumed that occurred because of a lack of training, knowledge, or outright experimentation.

“I grew up in the CloudBorn epidemic, I met a guy with diabetes that grew stronger when his blood sugar grew high, turning him into a berserker of sorts, and don’t get me started on his low blood sugars, he could literally suck the life-force out of people, it was wild.”

“So you're saying I probably actually am losing it?”

“No, I’m saying that you may be stressed out by running through thousands of dangerous situations since your preteens, and probably need a real break, Arson.”

“Ha, if I’m hearing you right, you're actually worried about me?”

“Um, no, that’s not what I said, brat, go die!”

“Yeah, yeah, love you too, Anna.”

His AI went silent and he arrived. Once more, walking up to the attendant at the front of the bank. Arson bowed, and was surprised when the regally dressed man and the guards returned the bow.

“Hello, young master. I see that you have returned.”

“Yes, I’m sorry it took me so long, I’ve been rather busy since you helped me.”

“Ah yes, we know, there are many rumors about the council of masters's new favorite student.”

Arson scratched his head, smiling slightly at the praise.

“Well, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to learn and grow as much as I have without your help, sir, so I’ve come to repay the favor and help in any way that I can.”

The man smiled, looking over his shoulder toward a group of guards headed toward a carriage pulled by mechanical horses with a rather familiar runic shield inscribed onto their hind quarters.

“Well, young man, I believe we may have just the task for you.”

“What would you have me do?”

…

Arson found himself skulking from rooftop to rooftop, providing protection for the very same carriage being escorted by the bank guards, which Arson now knew was going to pick up taxes from the palace he’d put on his list to visit.

“You happy? This series of trials has us doing practically everything you want us to do,” asked Arson, lifting his wrist to talk to Anastasia.

“Yeah, only took a fortnight and you still haven’t even taken a single step into that bank buddy boy. Other than a few moments here and there, this has been an outright bore fest.”

“What, surviving the night with those scythe golems and the testing with Master Acu, and Breaker, all of those experiences should have been edge of your seat heart pumping moments!”

“Yeah, watching you go all demonic on those golems was new for sure…”

“Wait, what do you mean by—“

A whistle drew Arson’s attention, the carriage finally arriving at the palace up ahead. The sight of the complex of buildings in front of him, a mind boggling vision of magic and architecture.

Clouds above spat waterfalls into a shifting network of trees that splashed water in rhythmic patterns. Arson dazzled by the leaf-filled limbs which moved atop the domed palace, creating channels that poured water into every level of the stone work. Gardens placed like a spiral staircase around the outside of the dome supported the trees, and crops of many types could be seen being harvested in their boundaries.

At the apex of the dome was what seemed to be a dense forest around a tower, that reached far into the sky, piercing the cloud layer above.

The closer Arson got, the more he realized how incredible the palace was. A large exterior wall surrounded by a mote, was supported by floating towers that Arson saw runic designs inscribed into from their bases to the platforms topped with archers, and what he assumed were elementals. The mana signatures emanating powerfully from a distance.

“Woah, this place never ceases to ama—“

Then the entire mid section of the tower on top of the dome exploded, a halo of green fire expanding outward, disrupting the clouds providing water to the entire complex. Arson’s eyes widened at the sight, and the sound of screams that erupted all throughout the palace.

“Bloody…”

Arson’s eyes caught sight of someone diving out of the expanding halo of flames, soaring toward a rooftop near to where he was. He took off in a dead sprint, racing toward the roof. The feminine figure landing with grace, rolling as she struck the rooftop and rolled into an effortless sprint of her own.

“Hey you, stop right there!”

Wow, Arson, what are you, a town guard? Your mother is a princess of crime and you sound like a bloody graveyard officer…

The woman glanced back and Arson almost froze at the sight of her. Her familiar face able to instantly fill him with absolute dread.

“Almarine?”

The young woman slowed down and stopped to look at Arson with a huge smile. She looked to be no older than Arson himself, yet her mana rolled off her in titanic waves that made him feel as if the current Almarine would be no match for this version of her. A version Arson now fully believed was Almarine as a young woman.

Am I truly in the past…?

“Do I know you?”

“Um…” was all Arson managed to squeak out, more nervous than he’d ever been in his entire life. Almarine’s powerful eyes a fractal of perpetual flames twisting inward. The sign of an ancient power shown in her irises, marking her as nearly unrivaled in the world of cultivation.

Almarine is an ancient, how powerful is her bloodline then?

Arson took a step backward. His heart pounded and he felt the power at her center begin to swell threateningly. One of his only parental figures seemingly ready to end his life; the opening and closing of her fists showing her bloodlust for battle.

“Huh, you don’t look familiar, except those bloody eyes remind me of my brother, you aren’t one of his bastards are you?”

Arson shook his head, and as she opened her mouth to speak, he turned and ran away as fast as he could, filling his entire body with as much mana as he could, sensing the explosion even before it came.

“Oh no you don’t!”

Arson glanced over his shoulder at her words, and the young woman exploded. A second halo of roiling green flames bursting outward from where she stood, nearly knocking Arson off his feet completely. Arson barely managed to stay upright as flames licked across his back, pushing him into the air.

She emerged from the exterior of the halo and reached out, wrapping her hand around his neck. Her titan's grip, leaving his feet dangling as she lifted him entirely off the ground. Her body reformed itself from pure flames; the woman laughing as she held him off the edge of the roof in threat.

“Sorry, kid, I do not leave witnesses.”