The four of them were sat at a private table towards the back of Townsend Inn. Bort had brought them some drinks, and a couple of cups of juice for the kids. He left them to have their conversation.

Kallad allowed himself a moment to settle in. If there was a place with good booze, then he would always end up having a good time. After taking a sip and giving an approving nod, Kallad noticed the young boy sat next to Jin. He looked into Rai’s electrifying eyes.

For a second, Rai saw nothing but the the blood-red, vampire-like, eyes of the Deceiver.

Then a terrifying creature appeared in his place.

An eldritch horror was in front of him, and Rai was now somehow standing on a rocky field. The sky was dyed red, as if the blood of the fallen had evaporated into the sky. Tendrils of scaled whips lashed around the creature in front of him. Its myriad of eyes were completely void of life. Rai was frozen still. He couldn't move.

The creature screamed.

Woosh!

A jagged jaw with rows upon rows of chipped and broken teeth was about to snap at his neck.

As if hit by a pulse, Rai broke out of it.

He was back in the inn, sat at the table. Rai looked at Kallad with sweat dripping from his forehead. His eyes were resolute. This must be the power of the Deceiver.

Kallad initially had an expression on his face that said he simply wanted to tease the boy. But now... now he was intrigued, “Just what exactly... are you? You don’t break out of that illusion unless...”

Rai had only just realised that he'd instinctively released a fifth of his mana to break out, and resealed his mana back to its maximum limit, the default setting of the seals. His throat was still dry from the fear of the illusion, so he reached for a cup of water.

Kallad seemed to recognise Rai’s mana being further sealed, since he looked down at the black bands on his wrists that lay rested on the table. The Deceiver whispered under his breath, “I see.”

He sat in thought for a moment, while Jin and Sin watched the interaction play out. After a few moments of contemplation, Kallad stared at Jin, “Sword Dancer, you know what the council would do if they heard of this? There are many on the council that would disapprove, especially the Arbiter.”

Jin shrugged as if he didn't know what Kallad was talking about, “I have no idea what you're talking about. What I do know is that you hate that guy, so there’s nothing to worry about.” Jin calmly took a swig of his drink.

Kallad simply laughed, "It seems nothing gets past you, Sword Dancer."

Rai was confused. He didn't understand what the adults were talking about. Sin, the Deceiver's daughter, was just as confused as Rai.

Kallad smiled warmly at his daughter. He ruffled her hair, “Sindyl. This boy-” He paused, as he waited for Rai to say his name.

“Rai, sir.” He said with a crack in his voice.

Kallad gestured towards Rai, “This boy Rai is someone you should try to be friends with.”

Sin huffed and puffed as she whined back at her father. “What? Why? What if I don't want to?!”

Rai was thrown off guard. I’m right here, they know that right? There were two very important people from another clan sat in front of him. For some reason that Rai couldn't grasp, they were talking about... being friends with him? Do I get to say anything about it? He wondered.

Jin softly shook his head at Kallad, “Don’t rush things Kallad. I get that you think Rai’s gifted, but he’s lacking in insight. Besides, friendships can't be forced. You'd know that just as well.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Kallad furrowed his eyebrows at Jin, “He's lacking in insight? The boy's clearly powerful enough for you to want to put a limiter on him...” He sighed, "Alright. Tell me why he's lacking in insight."

Jin crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, “Rai, the lightning thing. Tell him about the lightning thing.”

Sin felt like she was a passenger in this conversation with no control over what was happening. First her dad said something about being friends with this farmboy. Then they talked about some lightning thing. What lightning thing? This whole experience was a big departure from what she was used to at the Palace in the Underworld... but Sin still couldn't tell whether she was having fun or not. After all, her dad did promise her that she'd have fun. That was the only reason she came with him.

Sin looked at Rai with anticipation in her ruby eyes.

Rai rubbed his head, then warily explained what he 'attempted' to Kallad. Though he was still apprehensive given the illusion that felt all too real and terrifying.

Rai finished explaining the whole thing.

Jin felt the need to mention a crucial bit of information that most definitely needed to be said, even after Rai very clearly omitted it from his retelling of events, “It looked like he skipped across the ground like a stone on water.”

After the explanation and Jin's added bit of information, Kallad burst into laughter and looked at the boy through wet eyes, “Hoo. That’s brave. Not many people would even attempt something like that.” Kallad had a newfound respect for the boy, even moreso than when he figured out Rai’s mana was mostly sealed.

Sin covered her mouth as she giggled to herself. What a silly boy. Who tries to use lightning to make their body stronger? I can’t even control lightning, none of my tutors can do anything like that either. Not even dad can control it. The whole thing sounds so dumb. She looked down on the boy.

The combination of red on his face and blue in his eyes formed a strangely comedic image as Rai blushed in embarrassment. Kallad placed a hand on the top of Rai’s head, “That's not something that most people can put themselves through. I respect it. Would you like me to give you some advice about the problem you're facing?"

Rai’s eyes lit up, he seemed to be more like a scholar than an eight year old boy. Hungry for the knowledge this man promised, Rai looked into his eyes without fear. He nodded profusely.

Kallad thoughtfully placed a finger on his chin as he thought about what to say.

Jin took another sip, "Don't give the answer to him straight up. Gotta make him think for it."

Rai frowned, but he understood Jin's desire to help him figure it out on his own.

Kallad figured out what he should say. “If that's the case, then I’ll give you a hint that will help you figure it out. That is, if you’re smart enough. You should try to make the speed of your perception match the speed of your body.”

Huh? How the hell am I supposed to-... wait. Rai felt like he was on the precipice. The idea was on the edge of his mind. He couldn’t figure it out just yet, but he felt like Kallad's words would help, “Thank you Kallad. I'll try to figure it out from your advice.”

Rai didn’t realise it, but his meeting with Kallad had subconsciously shattered all of Rai’s previous understanding about the Aspects. They weren’t all super important people that had huge egos. At least Kallad seemed far more grounded than Aunt Elly made them out to be.

“Just promise me you’ll grow up and win against this monster,” Kallad pointed at Jin, “he’s never been defeated by any man, mage or warrior. Or woman for that matter.” He laughed at his own joke.

Jin looked at him deadpan, “Just how badly do you want to win Kallad?”

“Extremely.”

Jin raised his mug toward Kallad, offering a challenge, “Well, you’ll never beat me in a fight, but maybe... just maybe you’ll be able to outdrink me.”

Kallad raised his mug back toward Jin, “Count me in!” He accepted the challenge.

Sindyl watched the exchange between her father and this farm boy. She whispered under her breath, “what just happened.” She never knew her dad to give out advice to just anyone. Especially random farm boys. What's so special about this one? Dad even asked me to be friends with him. Me. I'm a Princess, and I should be friends with a farmboy?

She looked towards Rai.

His eyes were blankly looking off into the distance past her dad and the Sword Dancer. He’s so lost in thought after what dad just told him.

Sin tilted her head at him, “Hey. Rai- was it?”

Rai was pulled away from his deep thoughts, “Uhm... huh? Oh, yeah I’m Rai!” He’d only just made the link between Sin and Kallad. They had the same main facial features. The both of them shared their red hair, red eyes, and pale skin.

“I, Sindyl Raven, want to duel you!” She declared.

Rai stared at her with a blank face.

“... Huh?”

Jin and Kallad stopped their back and forth, and turned their focus to the kids.

“Well? I'm sure you heard me. Duel me."

Rai slowly turned to Jin, “I... Jin.. help.. what do I do?” Rai had never been in such a situation before. Turning to his grandad, who at this point was more like a father figure to him, he sought help.

Kallad signalled to his daughter to wait. A vein seemed to pop out of her tiny forehead in frustration as she silently pouted.

Jin smiled at him, “Rai, it seems you have your first opponent. I don’t know why she wants to duel you, but this is a very good way to improve your skills. Fight against her, use everything you know, and try to learn from it." He reassured Rai, "It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, what matters is that you learn.”

Right now, Rai saw Jin as a Sage the more he listened to him. He gave Jin a somewhat anxious look. Rai took a few deep breaths.

“Okay, I'll duel you Sindyl.”