Lia was meditating under her mother's watch. The room was cold, way below freezing point, as an unnatural chunk of ice was floating right below the ceiling. Yet none of them wore anything warm, dressed in a light dress, unbothered by the chilly air.

"Good." Reyra smiled as Lia opened her mismatched eyes slowly, standing up happily. "You improved! You no longer have a painful wince on your face when meditating!"

"I feel way better too, mom!"

"Because you are already a Magi. You have not just jumped a tier; you raced straight to its edge! You only need your tribulation, and you are good to go and finally call yourself a real witch!"

"Wait! I did? I didn't even notice it!" She blinked her eyes rapidly.

"Because you were stuck for a long time. Girl, if we go by tiers, you were the slowest of my children!" She teased. "Now get through that threshold and step into the real world of magic! Hurry up!"

"I hope it won't knock me out like it did with Koa and Aurora!" She grimaced, but then her mother patted the top of her head.

"Do you remember how you felt when meditating? The pain and burning sensation in you?"

"Um." She nodded her head heavily. When it first happened, she cried all night, and Reyra had to bathe her in icy water for hours. It was like being submerged in lava for Lia, and not even the cold water helped to soothe the pain.

"Then your tribulation will feel like a breeze. Trust me."

"Ehehe~" She giggled, already relaxed, hearing her mother's words.

"I studied the records Lauron sent back. The spell, combining the two elements into one, is simply outrageous!" She said, crossing her arms, looking extremely serious.

"Eh… Why do I feel like you are scolding me?"

"I'm just shocked!" She shook her head, bringing it up for her, displaying Lia's battle against Palvina. Their battlefield and their holographic images appeared around them alongside Lia's figure and her blue flames. "You froze her. Completely. Not just her body!" She walked around the 'two' while the real Lia followed suit, imitating her mother's posture and body language to the T.

"Is… that… really weird?" She asked, not knowing if that was bad or not.

"Ice magic can freeze, yes. But to do it so thoroughly that the opponent's mana freezes along with its host! It needs real strength, talent, and hard work behind it! I only know of House Berison, who managed to do that! Freezing others' mana! But this…"

"Mom?"

"You froze her thoughts! It was a split second, but she didn't realize she had been frozen! Mages know when they are hit by a spell, even if they can't do anything about it! She did not!" Reyra explained, her blue eyes twinkling with excitement.

"I don't know how I did it…." Lia grumbled, raising her hand, trying to summon ice or just a ball of water, but nothing happened. "Not even the second time!"

"I know." Her mother smiled as the image around them changed, showing Lia as she froze over Olivia's fire serpent. "You froze her mana. You changed fire into its opposing element, cutting her off from it! This is amazing, girl! You forcefully ripped her control away and made it yours! No wonder her mind shook!"

"I didn't feel in control at all…." Lia whispered, trying to remember, but everything just… happened without thinking about it. It was smooth and natural.

"That has to be the key," Reyra said, dispelling the images and leading her out of the cold room. "That is why Erias's notes are unclear to us. He couldn't put it into words as it has to come… naturally." Then she stopped. Clearly, an idea struck her. "Come with me!"

Lia didn't ask, just followed her mother, through the stone corridors of the castle, up some spiral stairs until they were in the northern spire, where the Amarins' main library was. It was a multi-level, enchanted tower. From the outside, it looked normal, but once stepping inside, it was like being in a different reality. The door to it was an energy barrier that only let people through who had the blood of Erias in them; no others could manage it. Even an Ascendri could only destroy the entrance but not go through it naturally.

"..." Lia was silently looking upwards from the ground floor, watching the 9999 floors going endlessly towards a never-ending, dark sky. No matter how many books they had, there were always empty shelves appearing for them in here. She snuck in once, wanting to read some secret scrolls from ancient times, yet the automated system in place barred any interesting books from her touch. She could only read the titles on their spine and never take them off the shelves.

"Up we go!" Reyra picked her up as she flew up in a streak of light while Lia yelped and giggled, holding onto her mother's neck.

"Faster!" She shouted, and Reyra indulged her, going past the sound barrier with a grin before she stopped mid-air, landing on the now-appearing stone platforms before the bookshelves mounted on the walls. "That was awesome!"

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"Fufufu, wasn't it? But here we are!" Reyra winked at her, putting her down, and she pulled a thick, black book off the shelf that was surrounded by an inky barrier. "Open." She tapped on it, and the barrier slowly disappeared, and Lia could read the front cover.

"Diary of Fetloch Amarin." She read, already realizing what she was looking at. "The old Head of the 2nd branch?"

"The old Head of House Amarin!" Reyra corrected her, "He was closer to combining light and darkness than I am right now!"

“But… he died…” Lia said, uncertain, as her mother slowly nodded.

"He failed, yet he did not. He died because he succeeded."

"He… succeeded?" Lia asked, now wholly confused. "But his last words… He said he failed!"

"..." Reyra remained silent for a little while before collecting her thoughts and transforming them in a way Lia would understand. "His main element was darkness. More than shadows or more than the absence of light!" She waved her hand, and chairs appeared around them with a table so they could sit while Lia listened to her mother. "He was proficient in death spells."

"Death?" Lia flinched; it was the first time she was hearing about it.

"Leading others into the eternal darkness. It was a dreadful and feared thing he came up with. He could make others old, hastening their bodies aging not through time but through the effect of his spell. Unique in all aspects and some of the other Houses looked on with worry. That is why we had some… altercations with some of the others back then."

"With whom?" Lia asked curiously.

"House Ro and House Nerifit was not too pleased by his spells." Reyra smiled softly, "But then Fetloch took up his second element, Light. He became one of the best healers our House ever had! Few could come to his level! He was capable of regrowing others' limbs!" She said proudly.

“Death… and Life…” Lia murmured, and her mother nodded with a glint in her eyes, proudly watching. Now she was sure Fetloch's diary was what Lia needed.

"He spoke about some of the same things as you. Having a feeling about what he must do! A way he could wield his gifts at the same time! Alas…”

"He was…" Lia bit her lips, watching the black book lying on the table between them.

"He was out of balance." Reyra summarized. "When he merged them and performed his spell, it backfired. His element of darkness was stronger than his light, and he rapidly aged and died! He succeeded, yet he failed."

"..."

"Many tried after him, his closest disciples. All ended up with the same fate. After that, his teachings were put away here. To the relief of the other Houses, I might add! Death magic is… not really something we want to dabble in, you see."

"Um." Lia nodded. "I know, mom!"

"But his thoughts are valuable." She tapped on the book, and it flashed with a light, and then an ethereal copy of it emerged, like a spirit leaving a body.

"Oh?" Lia looked on, never seeing something like this, and flinched when the spiritual-looking book zoomed over, disappearing between her eyebrows. "Mom?"

"When you meditate, you will have a copy of his diary. Read it. Try to look for answers there. You can come to me when you are ready to tell me your findings. Until then, try to understand yourself. What you did is marvelous, Lia! Don't let yourself be turned into an ice sculpture or go up in smoke!" She leaned close, kissing her daughter's forehead, "Mom would be devastated!"

…

….

……

While Lia was with Reyra, Kawu showed the castle to the guests. He found Lorin surprisingly well-mannered and quickly took a liking to him, saying he would speak with Reyra and get him a permit soon so he could start traveling the country of Amarins and strike up a business. Sion was rolling his eyes constantly, murmuring under his breath, feeling his stomach churn, looking at him like this. He knew full well that under the sweet smiles and cordial tone lay a shrewd businessman who lived to play around in many ways.

"This castle is huge!" Keily whispered, his eyes darting left and right from the walls of the tapestry and from the different portraits of family members of the old bloodline.

"It is bigger than ours," Ceiline said, also feeling she traveled back in time, walking along the stone corridors.

"I once visited it." Kawu said, his loud steps halting for a moment before them, looking back over his shoulder, "Your floating island is a sight to behold, so you have more to your name than a giant manor on it!"

"You have a floating island?" Keily asked, his mouth agape.

"My family does, not me." Ceiline quickly added, "And it is small, very small! Only as big as the Academy's main building! With grounds surrounding it!"

"The Nerifits were the ones who are mostly responsible for the floating island of the Institute!" Kawu explained, learning from Reyra, "With the Honus' help, they built, enchanted, and made it fly. The Marduks and we transported the buildings onto it while the House of Ro and Berison was responsible for making the ecosystem thrive on it! It was a big effort requiring all the Houses to work together! Seamlessly!"

"I hope we can work together too…." Ceiline said, a bit unsure, as when she passed on her package, Reyra took a short glance before taking it and putting it away into a dimensional pocket of hers… yet she noticed it. Her pupils shrank as soon as she laid her eyes on it.

"We will!" Kawu replied immediately as they arrived outside, into the front garden, and could enjoy the warm summer sunlight. "We always did, as the Six!"

"Exactly!" Reyra arrived, bringing along Lia. "Now!" She said, clapping with a smile, looking at them, "Koa took her boys back to Parthorn's side, while the rest of your group," She glanced at her daughter, "also went home! Aurora is with Solren, doing some live training so she doesn't get rusty… that leaves me with you lot!" She giggled.

"I'll take him to town!" Kawu pointed at Lorin, "I'll show him our goods!"

"Mmhm." Reyra nodded to the satisfaction of Lorin, who immediately bowed and thanked them. "Okay then! The rest will come with me!"

"Where are we going?" Lia asked curiously.

"Camping a little! Iskaria, the current leader of the 2nd branch of our family, said an undead wyvern was spotted deep in our forest! I'm going to go and kill it; you guys are coming with me to spectate!"

"Awesome!" Lia cried out happily.

"Undead…" Sion murmured, his face stern and ready for anything, while Ceiline was shivering from the thought, and Keily was bone-white in the face, gulping loudly as his tiny fists were balled up.

"Someone is eager…." Reyra grinned but didn't mean her daughter as she watched Keily's eyes glowing with fire despite his ghostly look.