> “Eddie gave the ring to me... I’ll be using the ring.”

The door towards the garage creaked open, the lights from the main room streaked through as Eddie paced his way inside.

The garage was dimly lit, the only light coming from a small lantern hanging above the workbench. It smelt of old wood, tools and equipment lined the walls. A rusty beaten-down car sat on the corner, the automobile definitely hadn’t ran for ages.

"This is ridiculous," Eddie muttered under his breath. His fingers ran over bandoliers, satchels, and tools he hadn't touched in years.

Eddie’s eyes landed on one particular satchel with a keychain bearing the Aella Academy emblem on it, a worn leather satchel that he hasn’t touched in years.

He took the satchel and opened it.

He adjusted the straps of a worn leather satchel. "An illusory forest," he scoffed. "Because, sure, Catherine, that’s exactly where I want to take Torrie. Nothing says 'quality family time' like trudging through a place that’s basically a trap pretending to be nature. Brilliant idea."

His hands moved faster now, checking the buckles.

"And she just assumes we’ll be fine. No map, no plan, just a wave of her hand and a 'Oh, it’ll be fine! It's perfectly safe!' Perfectly safe, my arse. Since when is anywhere safe when it’s been illusory forest to confuse you, lure you into dead ends, or worse? What next? A quick detour into a cave full of angry wyverns? Maybe invite the bloody thing for tea while we’re at it?"

The lantern above him swayed slightly, casting jittery shadows on the walls as his agitation grew.

He exhaled sharply, the sound halfway between a sigh and a growl, and raked his fingers through his hair. "Ridiculous. Absolutely, unequivocally ridiculous."

The satchel finally settled into place with a heavy thud, and he reached for a pair of gloves, inspecting them for wear.

As the heavy door creaked open, Eddie spun around, expecting Catherine or, worse, Torrie coming to ask some inane question about how much longer he was going to be.

Instead, it was Mr. Robert Welton, his father.

“Oh hey there, Son.” Robert chuckled, on his sides are satchels filled with alchemical ingredients, he goes to one of the workbench and settle it down, it settles with a very heavy thud. He then looked at Eddie, “What’re you up to?”

“It’s just…” Eddie said, his hands scraping the leather of his satchel, “Catherine.”

“Catherine?” Robert raised his eyebrow. “Oh are you two going to your little adventures like the old times?”

“Well, maybe a little is an understatement.” Eddie chuckled, leaning to one of the workbench, “She also invited Torrie and Markus.”

“A big party?” Robert whistled, walking towards Eddie and pats him in the back “You guys got a big adventure ahead of ya!”

“Yeah, I suppose we are.” Eddie chuckled

“Stay safe, son.” Robert finally said

Eddie then puts his satchel on, and walked towards the door, glancing back to reply.

“I will, dad.” Eddie said. But before he could turn and twist it.

“Eddie.” Robert called

“Yes, dad?”

“Are you going to take your ring with you?”

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Eddie stood there, looking below.

“No, I gave the ring to Torrie years ago.”

“I see.” Robert said, his expression becoming more sombre, “Then come here for a sec.”

Eddie then walked from the door, joining his father on the workbench.

“It should be somewhere around here…” Robert said, rummaging through his chest, taking out all sort of tools, hammers, fishing rods, axes, until...

“Ah, there she is!” Robert said in glee, and from the chest, there is a Flintlock Rifle.

“Alfred’s gun?” Eddie said, raising his eyebrow.

“My gun, before I gave this to Alfred, and since he is away overseas nobody has used it ever since.” Robert said.

“And what do you want me to do with it?”

“Let’s see whether you still know how to use ‘em.” He said, then tossing the rifle to Eddie, in which he catches it. “Go on, do you still remember how to load the thing?”

Eddie reached for a small metal ball from the other satchel without a word, loading the flintlock with practised ease. His movements were fluid and confident as if the muscle memory had never left him. He secured the powder, placed the ball in the barrel, and snapped the mechanism into place. When he finished, he looked up at his father.

Robert smiled. "Alright, I suppose you still remember. I'd rather you take your ring with you, but if you insist on not using it, at least you can defend yourself. Now put the hammer down, Edward."

Eddie puts the hammer down gently, then slinged Alfred’s rifle on his back, then took the other satchel, containing gun powders and metal balls. "Yeah, I suppose so."

There was a brief silence. Finally, Robert clapped his hand on Eddie's shoulder, his grip firm. "Alright then. Be safe out there, Ed. Keep Torrie safe out there, alright?"

Eddie met his father's gaze, the flintlock resting comfortably at his back. "I will."

As Eddie turned to leave, Robert watched him go, feeling the rifle's weight in his back, Eddie turned the door. It wasn't the same as carrying his usual ring, but perhaps that was the point. The door closed behind his father with a soft thud.

-o-

Eddie stepped out of the garage, Flintlock rifle slung across his back and two satchels secured at his sides, one leather, containing his personal stuff, the other is a canvas satchel, containing his ammunition. The morning air was cool, slightly obscured by the morning fog. Muted grey painted the sky. Outside, Catherine and Torrie stood near the low stone wall overlooking the sea, Catherine is leaning on the stone wall. Their figures bathed in the fading light.

Torrie, her eyes wide with excitement, was practically bouncing on her heels as she bombarded Catherine with a flurry of questions about magic. Her silver-jade conduit ring bouncing on her metal chains on her neck as she talk.

"Catherine, Catherine! Could you transmute copper into gas if you added enough heat and pressure? Or would it just destabilize like Eddie’s brilliant idea last week? You know, the one that nearly made the whole living room smell like burnt coins for days?"

"Well, Torrie, theoretically, yes, you could, but transmuting metals on that scale requires an extraordinary amount of precision—far more than most Alchemists can safely handle. And Eddie’s experiment wasn’t entirely off-base," she added with a faint smile.

Markus, meanwhile, leaned casually against the stone wall. His gaze fixed on the sea as the waves gently lapped against the shore below. He looked up as Eddie approached.

"All set, Ed?" Markus asked. Pushing himself off the wall.

"Yeah," Eddie nodded, "I'm ready."

As Eddie joined them, Catherine's eyes were drawn immediately to the rifle on his back. Her brows furrowed in surprise. "Eddie, what is that?"

“Err... dad asked me to carry it.” Eddie said, straightening the flintlock on his back, “For protections, of course.”

“Why not use your usual ring?” Catherine said

Eddie stood there, “I uhh,”

“Eddie gave the ring to me.” Torrie said, “I’ll be using the ring.”

“Well that’s a disappointment,” Catherine sighed. She studied him longer, searching for the boy she remembered in the man before her. "I see... Well, I suppose a bit of extra protection never hurt anyone."

She then stepped closer, her scholarly curiosity piqued. "May I?" she asked, touching the rifle.

Eddie quickly swatted her hand away, a playful smile tugging at his lips despite his tension. "No, can't do, Ma'am. Dad said nobody else should touch it besides me and my brother Alfred."

Catherine pouted. Folding her arms, sulking playfully. "Hmph, and here I thought I'd get to examine something new. Very well, I suppose I'll just have to content myself with the mysteries of the Artefacts."

Torrie giggled at the exchange, and even Markus couldn't help but chuckle. Eddie shook his head, still smiling, as he adjusted the strap of his satchel.

Catherine regained her usual demeanour, though a hint of amusement lingered in her eyes. "Alright, let's get going. The Deep Glaive waits for no one."

The group began to make their way down the path leading away from the house. Catherine walked at the front, her staff clicking rhythmically against the cobblestones. Torrie followed closely behind, practically skipping with every step. Markus and Eddie brought up the rear, with Eddie casting one last glance back at the house where his father stood watching from the doorway.

Mr and Mrs Welton raised a hand in a silent farewell, his expression a mix of pride and concern. Eddie returned the gesture before turning away.