"Young Master! Wake up, it's already noon!" rang out a happy, soft voice next to Reignar's ears as two soft, small hands gently shook him awake.

“Mmmhg… already…?” He grumbled, opening his eyes and squinting at the bright lights as he sat up in his bed.

"Yes!" Orsi nodded, wearing a maid-like outfit, holding onto a warm, soaked, soft towel, and started to wash down Reignar's face as she climbed onto the bed next to him. "You drank too much yesterday! Geez, I told you to take it easy!" She scolded him a little.

"Sorry, but after almost a year of traveling in the demons' territory, far away from civilization… I needed to let out some steam!" Reignar yawned, letting Orsi do her usual routine and gently wash down his body.

"I understand, Young Master!" She shook her head with a soft smile. "I already finished preparing lunch; you can eat whenever you wish!"

"You prepared it? We stayed at a hotel so you can have some rest!" Reignar sighed, rubbing her head, making Orsi giggle happily.

"Of course I did! No one else knows the Young Master's taste as well as I do! As your maid, I can't leave it to others!" She proclaimed proudly, "Also, we can take a carriage to the Capital from here; you should visit your elder brother, Young Master!"

"I think I'm gonna skip that! I don't need the constant nagging in my ears." He shook his head, got out of bed, throwing a towel around his naked body before sitting down at the table in the room, while Orsi just followed him, standing beside his chair as he started to enjoy the meal she prepared.

"It's not a good idea, Young Master! You should really visit him!"

"Is it Leinor?" Reignar looked at her with one eye and a half-smile. "He contacted you?"

“Um… ah…” Orsi flinched a little, turning shy as redness crept up to her doll-like face. "Yeah…" She nodded in the end, admitting it honestly.

"I thought so! Okay, okay, we will do as you say!" He patted her head, playing with her hair, before pulling Orsi into his lap and starting to feed her with small bites. "If I go back to the Sect without visiting Feynor, then Leinor is going to be the one to nag me for weeks!"

"Also, Elder Lacuss will be there too," Orsi added quickly.

"Fuck…"

"Young Master! Language!" She looked up at him with a scolding face, but that made her even cuter in Reignar's eyes.

"Haaah… I knew there was a catch somewhere!" He looked out the window, watching the clear sky. "At least he doesn't talk too much."

…

….

…..

When they arrived at the Capital, and Reignar went to meet with Lacuss and Feynor, Orsi was left behind by her Young Master. She was left with Anniel, so until Reignar finished, she could meet with others who were closer to her age. Namely the trio of Elyse, Sylas, and Valen. Valen was somewhat familiar with her, so it fell upon him to introduce Orsi to the rest of the group. As Orsi was almost double their age and she had just come back from the demons' territory, they looked up at her with awe, bombarding her with questions.

"Woah… they really live in a village like that?" Elyse blinked her eyes as Orsi described the fox demons' home to them when they visited it.

"Yes! It was very peaceful and beautiful! If not for their big ears and tails, I would not be able to tell them apart from us! Oh, and I met their Queen, too!" She proclaimed proudly, enjoying being at the center of attention. "She was the most beautiful woman I ever saw!"

"No, that is our mom!" Elyse protested.

"No, it is my mom!" Valen countered quickly before another foreign, young male voice joined in.

"Orsi is right; she is the most beautiful demon or human to ever grace this world with her presence. Nobody who ever saw her would dare to say otherwise. You are lucky to regain your mind's clearness, Orsi."

"I was protected by Sect Head's aura as he was there too," Orsi answered without turning toward the voice. "It was thanks to his efforts that I was let into their village in the first place!"

The owner of the male voice was a young teen dressed in tight, black clothing, and what immediately gave away his demonic presence were the big, black wolf ears and fluffy tail behind him. His body was slim, only around 170cm tall, yet it carried a proud and aloof arua along with it, wearing his long, black hair as a cape. It was Shadow, Lacuss's wolf companion, the first of the bunch to evolve, even before Kyu. Even though he did not wear the Sect's uniform, everyone looked at him as part of the Immortal Wonders Sect, working directly under Elder Lacuss. He was also known as a cultivating maniac, just like his Master. The only difference was he was blessed with a more open but way too proud personality.

Most disciples who interacted with him at first had to have a fight with Shadow, and if they won or tied, they earned his respect. Otherwise… Usually, he looked down on the others. Not openly mocking them but still not taking their words seriously or worthy of his attention. No disciple was exempt from it; anybody who even wanted to speak with him first needed to challenge him, and if the other party was someone weaker, he suppressed his own strength to their level, taking no excuses.

"Mister Shadow." Orsi turned towards him, cupping her hands and making Shadow's mouth twitch a little. He had always looked at her the same way he looked at himself. The only difference was that she was following a different master from the same family. Yet somehow, Orsi never warmed up to him.

"Just… Shadow is enough." He scratched his throat, returning the gesture, greeting her the same way.

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"Woah, a real demon!" Sylas cried out, then Elyse, as they surrounded him excitedly, almost grabbing his tail, only holding back at the last moment.

"Are you a dog?" Elyse asked, making Shadow tremble. If not for his self-control, he would've shouted at her.

"No. I. Am. A. Wolf." He said slowly, holding back his voice and anger.

"Cool! Can you show it to us?" Sylas clapped happily, and Shadow quickly put on a proud smile before turning into a 5-meter-tall, black wolf. "Woaaah! So awesome!" Both of the kids looked up at him, while Valen acted like it was a normal, everyday occurrence for him. Yet deep down, he wanted to climb up onto his back already.

"Of course, it's cool!" Shadow proclaimed loudly, "My kind is strong and graceful!"

"Didn't Lady Emi beat you to a pulp when you first spoke to her? Plus, you challenged her 22 times since then and lost every one of the battles?" Orsi said with a pure, innocent voice, tilting her head to the right. "If I heard correctly, she refuses your challenges because she doesn't have time to humor a clown every day."

"..." Shadow immediately froze in place, slowly turning towards Orsi with a blank look while the kids burst out laughing. He tried to say something, but in the end, he just shook his body, turning back to a human body and fixing his clothes. "She is far more advanced in strength and has way more battle experience than me. Our friendly sparring sessions are just to help me gain the same experience!" He explained with a monotone voice, ignoring the last part completely.

"Oh, I see, I see, now it's getting clear! I thought you were a masochist." Orsi nodded with an understanding look while Valen pulled on her maid outfit's skirt.

"What is a mazo…christ?"

"Someone who likes pain," Orsi answered calmly while the trio of kids started to think a little, trying to understand the newly learned word.

"I think our Masters are going to finish soon; it's better to go." Shadow scratched his throat before leaving in a hurry, raising the white flag against Orsi and her relentless attacks with words.

"Goodbye, Mister Mao Chriss!" Sylas and Elyse waved their hands, smiling from ear to ear, while Shadow just shivered, leaving even faster, his tail hanging depressedly behind him.

"Big Sis Orsi, you don't like him?" Valen asked with a grin while the other two also looked at her curiously.

"No, I don't. He is a snobbish guy!" She nodded immediately. "Hmf, I dislike him a lot! I can't fight him because he is stronger, but I can beat him with words! Hmf-hmf! He wouldn't dare to touch me!"

"So cool!" the trio whispered, surrounding Orsi, making her blush a little.

"You don't cultivate?" Elyse questioned her.

"I can't, I was injured in the past! I still can't remember a lot of things from when I was little." She explained, shaking her head, immediately drawing out Elyse's sympathy as she grabbed onto her hand, holding it tight. "But it seems I got some new… power out of it! It came to me not long ago; that is why we were visiting the foxes! Their territory had a lot of old ruins in good condition! We brought back a lot of books; maybe we can find something in them!"

"What kind of powers do you have? Something special?" Elyse asked immediately as the two boys also looked at her with expectations in their eyes.

"Um!" Orsi chuckled before looking at them and concentrating. They were slowly lifted up from the ground, rising up for about 30 centimeters before dropping them down to their feet. "Still… I can't do much!" She groaned, holding her head, rubbing it as it started to throb viciously.

"Woah! We were floating! How did you do it?!" Valen blinked as being around cultivators while growing up; he was familiar with how it felt when someone used their powers. Yet the accompanying tingling sensation was missing now completely when they were made to float.

"With my brain!" Orsi chuckled, sniffing a little; luckily, her nose didn't start to bleed this time. "I don't know, really… Elder Ren said it is something that is… weird in my head! That makes it possible! If I focus strongly, I can move things with my mind!"

"Soooo cooooool!" said the trio with sparkling eyes, surrounding Orsi, who really enjoyed being at the center of the attention.

While they were playing around, Reignar and Lacuss received news of the attack on Anya and what happened afterward. Feynor explained everything they knew so far as to what was going on while they were away.

"I won't return." Lacuss stood up at the end. "I'll take Shadow and travel to the Kingdom. I am already familiar with the border regions, and I have some contacts. I'll try to catch some clues."

"I'll report that to Sect Head." Reignar nodded. "Be careful."

"I will."

Before Feynor could say something, he was already away, so the only thing he could do was let out a sigh.

"Honestly, I miss the days when you two were my little brothers! I liked being your big brother, someone you looked up to…" Feynor sighed with nostalgia in his voice. "Nowadays, none of you ever come to visit me!"

"And now you sound like an old grandpa, moaning about the good old days." Reignar chuckled.

"Heh. Maybe!" He smiled, looking at his younger brother. "At least I still have Leinor! He frequently calls and asks how things are in the Empire!"

"He always was the most attached to you."

"Because when he was born, I was here, and you two were out, doing whatever you wished to do!" He rolled his eyes, "But at least you also grew up."

"Kinda. It is weird!" Reignar smiled softly. "But I had to."

"How's the little girl doing?" Feynor asked as he turned a bit more serious.

"Now? Fine. She is healthy. The problem is her mutated brain."

"Mutated?" He sat up straight, listening to Reignar, who slowly nodded, continuing to explain.

"We visited Lady Rumira, who examined her mind and soul. She is even more proficient in that field than the Forefather." He sighed with admiration. "She said the time when Orsi got her mind controlled and then almost had her soul wiped clean, being broken down, it changed the energy point in her head. It mutated and somehow fused with the brain, forming a symbiotic entity. All of the other energy points in her body are a total wreck, unrecoverable! The problem is that she has never cultivated before. Using her new, maturing power means straining her body that is not ready to withstand the powers of hers… so she suffers greatly when doing so."

"And she can't train…" Feynor folded his arms, thinking, furrowing his brows.

"Yes… there is another problem."

"Which is?"

"The only functioning energy point in her body is active. It does its natural thing, absorbs energy." Reignar explained, closing his eyes and letting out a soft sigh.

"How much time has she left?" He asked his older brother with a heavy voice after a little silence.

"5 years. At most. If she uses it again and again, it shortens the time." Reignar answered with a heavy voice.

"Fuck…"

"Yeah… it is fucked." He opened his eyes again with a calm look. "So I need to hurry." He stood up, fixing his clothing. "We brought back a lot of books that are 2000 and even 3000 years old, originating from the fallen line of the House of Ein. I need to translate them and find some clues if this ever happened before! There is a solution somewhere, and I am going to find it!"

"Let us copy them before you go." Feynor stood up, too. "Don't forget, my wife is a bookworm! She memorized almost the whole library in the palace."

"Thanks."

"Oh, shut up!" He walked up to him, gently punching his chest. "I am your older brother! You better start counting on me again, you little twerp!" He laughed, drawing a happy, thankful smile on Reignar's face, too.