The Venerable’s entire body had disintegrated. The moment the kick hit its target his flesh dissolved with a ghastly wail and all that remained was a bright crimson mana that floated in the air in front of Chiron, formless, yet distinctly there.

The swathe of mana then flew away at lightning speed far over the head of Chiron and the roofs of the surrounding buildings. It disappeared into the inner city.

Chiron had slumped down on the ground and propped himself on one of his knees with both arms, his chest heaving and pearls of sweat running down his face, dropping down onto the ground.

The golden glow had vanished, yet Chiron had experienced a profound change.

He sighed softly and looked after the crimson mana that had flown away.

‘It seems I have been unable to exterminate this evil, even with your help master…’ he lowered his head and smiled softly.

“I hope my actions have at least bought us some time.”

His body was exhausted, yet after a few seconds, he could feel it becoming lighter again. With each heartbeat, his fatigue lessened. He stood up straight, slowly straightened his robes as if nothing had ever happened, and looked after the Venerable’s remnants again.

‘What is a clone?’ he thought, thinking back to the last words of the Venerable he had just killed.

Then he raised his hands to look at his palms.

‘This energy… my mana has left my Mana Pathways!’ he marveled at the new sensation he was experiencing. It had entered his bloodstream.

‘It feels like I have mana flowing not just through my Mana Pathways, but through my entire body. This power… is unlike anything I have ever experienced. Is this… the realm of Grandmaster Arkan?’ he felt brimming with power, but instead of feeling filled to the brim, it was a natural feeling.

Chiron jumped softly and to his surprise jumped 2 meters into the air.

“Huh?” exclaimed the otherwise so composed monk dumbfoundedly before softly gliding down to the ground again. He raised an eyebrow when he landed and then used all of his force to jump up.

His robes fluttered in the wind as he jumped as high as the roof next to him. He landed right on the flat roof of a building several stories high. Light-footed and soundless.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Chiron could not help but smile happily for a second, overlooking the vicinity.

‘Some would call this superhuman…’ he chuckled to himself before jumping off to check on Faust and Leona.

‘And Felix.’ He added in his mind and chuckled. He had not seen the flames and fire in Faust’s room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The room looked rather unharmed. It seems like the flames that latched onto walls, furniture and other items did not damage them beyond a few black stains. The bedsheets and their clothes had suffered though. Unharmed only when one overlooked the large hole blasted into the wall by Chiron and the Venerable.

A splitting headache woke Faust and his eyes shot open. When he opened his eyes the first thing, he could see were the blonde locks of Leona who bent over him. Next, he could feel her soft hand on his cheek. He reached for her hand and took it into his.

“I’m alright.” He pressed out and knew his voice betrayed him. He could not yet make out the finer details of her face, his vision was still blurry when he felt a wet drop land on his face.

“You are awake.” He heard his lover’s voice. It sounded husky. It was not a simple statement. There lay so much more within these three words than could be expressed with mere speech.

Their lips met and Faust felt a wonderful sensation. A connection beyond what he ever felt before. A yearning for her. It almost felt like a bodily need to be near her, to cherish her.

He took her into his arms and they shared a passionate moment. Their heartbeats became one and slowed as Faust’s headache ebbed and his vision recovered.

After a few seconds, he heard someone gently clear their throat.

Reluctantly Faust and Leona parted lips. Only then did Faust realize where he was. He was lying in his bed, under a blanket, with Leona sitting by his side.

On the other side of the room Titus and Chiron sat next to a table, looking at them.

Chiron had a disturbed Felix on his lap and tried to soothe the poor cat with gentle pets and scratches, though the animal was still shivering.

Titus' face showed his typical indifference, but Faust had learned to see past it and could see the worry masked behind it.

As Faust sat up he noticed something was off. His body felt so different.

‘What is happening to me?’ he thought confusedly and put his attention to his body. Without directly willing it, his attention was immediately drawn to his mana core. He did not have to search for it or meditate. No, he immediately got a grasp of it.

It had changed. It seemed much more alive and vibrant. It pulsed every once in a while, revolving his mana through his Mana Pathways. Not only were all the impurities within his Mana Pathways removed, but he also had a much clearer picture of them. It looked like a circle formed by a thick rope within his chest. On the top of the circle forming his mana pathways there was the Mana Core, pumping the energy throughout his pathways.

‘This… how could this happen?’ Faust panicked briefly before calming down again, looking at it closely again.

‘Is this… what Chiron called my Mana Pathways? How come I can access it so easily? And why are there no impurities?’ he felt a power unknown to him, slumbering within his muscles. Yet it did not feel foreign. Just new. But scary.

When Faust opened his eyes again, he saw Titus rubbing his temples with closed eyes. He sighed.

“Kid, we have to talk.”