Spinning a knife in my hands, I stared at Flynn's unconscious form. The gentle lights of Cortos' sanctum cast deep shadows across his body, shrouding his face. I had poured a healing potion down his throat when we arrived an hour prior, but he had not yet regained consciousness. One of the disadvantages of my increased strength was that it was near-impossible to gauge a reasonable level of force.

As I stared at his form, I caught the slightest whisper of steps approaching me from behind, the sound of paws padding across the stone floor.

Why did you bring him here?

I did not bother turning to Fortuna, twirling my dagger again and half-marveling at my improved dexterity.

"My room was torn apart by our battle. Staying there felt like a mistake, and no one is going to find us down here. Besides that, I needed time to think."

About what? How to kill him? You must realize that is the only option left anymore.

"You know, Girem often told me that I would have to sentence others to death, even as an advisor. He felt that Sophia would be too disinterested and Leon too soft to do what was necessary and that the responsibility would fall onto me. At the time, I understood and accepted the necessity, but now, as he sits here helpless, I find myself hesitating. Ironic, I suppose." I commented, smirking and shaking my head.

And yet you brought him down here. You know that there is no other choice left anymore.

Before I could respond, a low groan came from in front of me, and I saw Flynn beginning to stir.

"What in the Founder's- where am I?" he muttered, trying to sit up but failing. I had tied his arms and legs together and covered in his eyes in a strip of cloth, leaving him unable to do much more than shift on the ground.

"You are my prisoner, for now, at least. As a warning, if I sense any mana coming from you, I will start removing body parts." I responded coldly, continuing to twirl the blade though he could not see my actions.

"Your prisoner? What are you talking about?" he said, trying again to straighten up and managing to get to a sitting position. His arms looked uncomfortably twisted behind his body, and I noticed a wince cross his face.

"Well, after your attempted kidnapping failed, I needed to move you from my room. I could not very well keep you in the wreckage of that place, and I needed time to think. Though you might have failed, you have certainly complicated my life." I replied, sighing, and shaking my head.

"What do you want from me? Revenge? Or more gold?" he demanded, a rigid set to his jaw.

"Information, first and foremost. What was your plan?" I commented, leaning backward in my chair.

He did not reply at first, biting his lip for a second before sighing, his body relaxing.

"My father would be furious if he found out I told you, but I am not in much of a position to refuse. I was ordered to disable you before contacting him. He has friends in the Academy and bribed a few adepts to help me walk you out."

"And then?" I pressed, rubbing my chin as I waited.

"I honestly have no idea. Father trusts no one, not even me, and he only told me all the pertinent details," he answered, a flicker of something that could be sorrow crossing his face.

"How long until you were supposed to tell them you succeeded?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"Whenever I finished. We weren't sure when you'd be alone, so father gave me the order to watch and wait for as long as possible."

"You must know my lords would try to find me. You claimed your father had a plan for that. What is it?" I asked, tilting my head to one side.

Again, Flynn hesitated, taking several minutes to respond. Finally, he replied in a near-whisper.

"We...he had someone killed. A peasant, if I had to guess. My bag is a spatial distortion pouch, big enough to store a few hundred pounds of...things so I-"

"You were going to kidnap me and leave the body behind as a double? What about the obvious physical differences?" I asked, a strange mixture of disgust and curiosity running through me.

"Magic of some kind. There are ways of altering bodies to look different, at least temporarily. Again, he didn't trust me with all the details, but at least on the outside, it looks close enough."

His father was a smart man, but too reliant on his reputation to make this plan work. Bribes and threats went far, but there must be at least a half-dozen others involved in this plot. If any of them got scared, the entire plan might come down on his head. Maybe I could use this against Duke Sion, if and when I returned to Ferris.

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A whimper interrupted my musings, and I looked back down to find Flynn shifting on the floor.

"You must understand, Vayne. My father ordered me to bring you in, and I had no choice. A son has to listen to his father, even if he disagrees with the orders."

"And did your father order you to mistreat others? Or carve open my friend because I turned you down?" I countered a hint of heat in my voice.

"Yes," he answered without hesitation, and I did not reply, surprised by his response.

"My father's first lesson is that mercy and weakness have no place in this world. I had to dominate anyone and anything in my way, and your friend just happened to be the first opponent I faced. Did you see any of my other fights?" he asked, seeming to stare at me even with his blindfold.

I had not. My second and third fights had come before Flynn's second, and I could not see the remaining battles while I recovered.

"No. Why does it matter?"

"I fought the same way against my second and third opponents as I did with Simon. They sustained similar injuries, though both less so than him, I will admit."

"Congratulations. You might be a sadist, but at least you are fair and unbiased." I replied, biting sarcasm in my voice.

"You sliced open both of your opponents with a sword and nearly killed a group of fifth-years with an improvised bomb in the same tournament. I might have injured your friend more than necessary, but am I alone in using too much force?"

His words carried some truth, and again I fell silent, closing my eyes and crossing my arms.

"I understand that I do not deserve any mercy. But please, have mercy. I will tell my father anything you want. I can say that you were with the Esttons, and I did not have a chance to take you. Or that you had already left Volaris."

It sounded so tempting. Despite everything, part of me wanted to let Flynn go, and hope he kept his promise. The reality of killing a man was far different than the idea, and even after months of battle, I had never crossed that line. It was inevitable, but could I put it off for a little longer?

He must have sensed my hesitation, and an almost pleasant smile crossed his face.

"You are a good man, Vayne. Killing an unarmed prisoner is something that you cannot, and should not, do. I know you will do the right thing."

I stood, gripping my knife in one hand, my head spinning as I moved. Kneeling behind his back, I slipped the blade under the knot holding his hands together.

"Alright, you win, Flynn. Please, do not move. I do not want to hurt you unnecessarily." I said and felt my stomach turn at the earnest nod he gave in response.

"Of course. Thank you, Vayne. I swear, I will not for-"

My Arcane Beam sliced through the back of his skull, cutting off his words forever. I had made sure to aim for the center, applying more mana than usual to ensure his death was instant and painless. Causing undue suffering were the actions of a sadist, and that was something I would never become.

His father might have played a hand in how Flynn turned out, and he might have made some compelling points, but that did not matter in the end. He was a threat, and there was no way I could trust him or leave him alive.

Kneeling by his body, I felt a surge of nausea in my stomach as I stared down at Flynn's unmoving form. Killing animals was one thing, but taking human life was more challenging than I had expected, even with Girem's training.

Trying to ignore the feelings of guilt, I reached down to his belt and pulled off the spatial pouch, marveling at the item. I knew from Enchanting class that each was almost priceless, costing several dozen platinum each but paying for themselves with utility. If Flynn told the truth, inside of this bag was a corpse of an innocent person, made to look exactly like me.

As I went to stand, the glint of something on his wrist caught my eye, and I paused. Flynn's bracelet, which allowed access to his room, stared back at me, and after a moment of hesitation, I grabbed that as well. I needed to take every opportunity available to me, and maybe his room would contain valuable treasures that might help on my journey.

Walking over to the side of the sanctum, I picked up one of my blankets and draped it over Flynn's corpse before teleporting back to my room. The best way to keep myself distracted would be to work, and I still had at least eight hours until my purchases would be ready.

Moving through the hallways, I found myself outside of Flynn's room, taking a moment to check for other apprentices before entering. It looked much like I remembered, and I paused for only a moment before beginning to search for anything useful.

I had to work slowly, making sure not to disturb too much or leave any traces of my actions. I was confident I could fake my death well enough to satisfy most, but caution was never unnecessary.

After nearly three hours of work, I had managed to find several books on cultivation and magic techniques, all labeled with the markings of the Sion family, as well as a few dozen gold coins. I would need to dig through the tomes later when I had more time, but I was optimistic it could help me improve my spellcasting.

Teleporting back to the sanctum, I retrieved the crystals I had filled with mana and returned to my room, placing several around the main space. I had chosen this particular option for two reasons. First, it would help hide any close details of what happened from observers. Bodies would be destroyed, furniture torn to shreds, and evidence of what led up to the event would be lost.

The second was that it would be easily explained. I had already been seen during the tournament using the same trick, and the Academy records would show that I was in Enchanting and spent much free time in the library. It would not be much of a logical leap to assume I had begun researching weaponizing the trick and made a fatal mistake. Although accidents like that were rare, they still occurred.

When that was finished, I walked into my bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror before sighing. Picking up a nearby razor that I had begun using to shave the patchy facial hair beginning to appear on my face, I started the slow process of cutting off all of my hair.

Gathering up the hair, I placed most into a pouch but left some on the floor, along with several vials of hair. Laying on the ground next to this was Flynn's corpse, staring back at me with blank eyes. I shuddered, trying to ignore both him and the corpse I found inside of the spatial pouch. If Flynn's face was unsettling, seeing another body with my face attached to it was even worse.

Relying on the mental exercises Girem had drilled into my mind for years, I took several steps back, examining every inch of the room. It was not perfect, but it was as good as I could manage with my limited resources.

Glancing at the window, I noted that there were still a few hours left until I could set off this explosion. Sitting down on the floor with my legs crossed, I closed my eyes and began cultivating. Just a few more hours, and I could finally be on my way.