Sipping the coffee, “Well, I am not surprised about San and Li’s decisions but I thought at least Johann would agree to stay, as he had been settled here for some time now... Well then, one against three is a majority, no? Let us say we go, where to and how come? If we do not have a plan of action or route, we would be no more than headless chickens”, says Will. Shouting from the kitchen, “You do not need to worry about it. I processed a route last night”, says Li. Coming out from the kitchen, Li proceeds to flip the map, showing a route across Russia. “It is not complete, though, as I did not have enough time yesterday. But, nonetheless, we have a route plan to at least China”, he adds. “If my hypothesis is correct and these schematics are really important, then the people who know their potential would seek them, no? If so, then we could just ask them about it politely. And who knows, we can even ask for a copy to be made”, says San.

“It is settled then. All we need to do is booking a ticket to Irkutsk, yes?”, says Johann, coming out from the kitchen with a small batch of cookies. Concerned, “The fastest route we could take is this, Mr. Johann. Airlines does not welcome me, you see”, says Li, pulling a mask out of his suitcase. With a faint hexagonal pattern embedded with silvery metal, quite a remarkable face depth and detail, and non-conductive padding inside, the mask worn by the terrorist Li can be spotted in a 13-year-old boy’s hand.

“Why the hell do you have that, Li!”, asks Johann, tangling Li in a web-like bind. Lowering his clenched hands, “I would advise you to release him from the binds, Johann. I think I know why he came here”, says Will. “Your name ends in “Hue”, right? The current dynasty ruling China, the family of a hundred strong, Hue dynasty lost their next heir to the throne about the same year as you were born, I heard. And the fact that your capacity is so vast and someone took over your body, means that you are, without a doubt, the direct descendant of Luyo Sun Hue, the man who died twice, the one-man army who defeated the late Tang dynasty alone, and the man whose ambition is immeasurable”, says Will as Johann loosens the web in awe.

Sitting beside the table and sipping from the cup of tea, “From what babushka said, I was dropped off at their doorstep one winter night. With only a small paper with my name on it, I came to the small house in the outskirts of Novgorod. I was raised a Russian but my lineage was obvious. About 6 years ago, grandpa and grandma moved to Hanover where they thought my mana would be appreciated. But they were wrong. As mana seeped from every step I took, people became afraid of my capacity and no-one having any knowledge of how this power supposed to handled, they outright kicked me out. About a year ago, grandma and grandpa died, leaving me behind with what they had which was nothing much. That is about time when that old man started talking to me. I made this mask one night in my sleep. The next day, the news of a terrorist broke out. I did not think of it as much but through the months, I understood what had been happening. And two days ago, I woke up in the middle of an operation, dressed in all black with my face covered by the mask. The old man said, “Vent out everything you have been holding back”. And so, I did just that. The police came in soon after, though, and I ran away along the street, in front of this shop. While running away, “If this one day stops, I would live a happy life”, I thought. Then, I saw Johann, sitting on his window, staring at the sky, and making cookies out of nothing with very little effort. Seeing him be someone I longed for so long, I thought, “That guy has it so easy, no? Maybe one day, I could ask him about it. He would know I am someone dangerous, though. But I could only hope”. And now, here we are. Johann welcomed me openly and you did not get afraid of my existence. The only memoir grandma and grandpa left was made clear yesterday and the mana surges I occasionally had was fixed by this watch Mr. Will gave me. And Johann, he taught me how to control my mana which everyone afraid of. I think you would understand: about my situation and about my past. I am very grateful of finding you here; I want to always be with you”, says Li, with tears visibly on the brink of outburst.

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Patting his head, “At such a young age, you did far beyond what anyone could do. Even if you did wrong, you did well, we will not judge you. All that being said, could you switch with that old man? I need to talk with him for a bit. And do not worry about it, ok? I will just talk”, says Johann, smiling softly. As Li falls asleep, and after a short night sleep, he slept soundly, the old man reemerges with Li’s body. With a shell of mana resembling his old self and some kind of clay armor worn under the black robe, it is clear that the old man is from the far past. As clanking of metal sound so loud, the old man in Li’s body starts to say something. “Marhilbei bien tod-”, he says before being caged in by a very angry Johann. “If you want to, try all you like and waste your energy. If you are really a reincarnation, it would be draining to be in this world again for this long”, says Johann as Will says “Hey, hey, do not tempt him. My watch can only transfer so much at a time”, a bit afraid. As he starts mumbling stuff in his mouth, ““I have been here about a century ago and now, of all time, is when I get trapped?” he says”, says San, translating the things the old man said. “Look, we all know why you are here. What do you want – what is your incomplete ambition?”, asks Johann, sitting in a chair in front of the cage. “Ambition? I am here to aid my grandson, that is all. I do need to commend you; of all the people I met in my long lives, only you were able to hold off my mana, even taking a direct hit”, says Li, with a different accent. “Oh, so you do speak our language. Say, Luyo, what do you want from our Li?”, says Johann, with a bit of sarcasm imminent in his voice. “Peak. I want the peak. He is by far the most talented of all my descendants, with the capacity to match. If I just guide him to such greatness, I would be more than proud and happy to die”, says the old man.

Sighing out a large, “Well then. I will ask you one more question: How come you are alive now?”, asks Johann. “The first time I died, about a millennium ago, I saw Diyu, where souls suffered an endless cycle of meaningless wandering. I asked them what were they doing but none of them even bothered to lift their head up. For a moment, I did the same as well but when I saw what their goal was, I stopped immediately. Their endless wander, their meaningless steps had one simple conclusion – reincarnation. They were looking for the seed to reincarnation, only relying on pure luck to find another vessel. Once the soul leaves its host, it travels there – to Diyu, where they reside for however long there needs to be. But time does not flow like here there, it speeds up. I was there for only an hour or so, before I saw my boy’s husk, but by the time I gained consciousness, the body I resided in had aged 4 years. I do not really know how it is possible but I can see what the souls does not – I can remember what others cannot, I am just special, in a sense where my spirit is adept for so many things”, says the man inside Li's body.