Chapter 64: Sol

Leo blinked his eyes open, automatically tensing. Just like the first time, the inn around him had completely vanished, supplanted with a completely new landscape that looked all too real in its vibrance and detail.

Unlike the last [Dreamscape], however, Leo didn’t recognize his surroundings this time.

He turned his head, hazel eyes scanning a wide, rich blue sky dotted with pure white clouds drifting lazily in the soft breeze. There was no wall of light, Leo noticed.

He stood in the center of a stone path cutting through a lush garden. Colorful blossoms grew up to Leo’s waist, their petals scattering in the wind. A little ways ahead, he could see the area dip down into a rocky shore brushing against the sea.

The waves were crystal clear and gentle in their push and pull, so bright under the sunlight that they sparkled with every movement. It didn’t look much like the ocean near Adrya had been. Those waters had seemed so much darker and more turbulent.

Leo turned back to the garden, slowing as his eyes landed on a white circular gazebo situated in the center of the densely packed flowers. Vines climbed up the pillars, and in the middle stood a small round table. Sitting on one side was Sol.

Leo’s jaw stiffened. Sol nodded calmly at him, completely at ease. Based on expression alone, he didn’t look particularly angry about how the last interaction had gone, which was a good sign at least.

Inhaling, Leo stepped over to the gazebo. He wasn’t foolish enough to think he could avoid interacting with the man in his own spell. And, he reasoned, at least he knew how to escape [Dreamscape] if it became necessary.

He attempted to use [Judgement] just in case, but like last time, it did nothing. It seemed like the spell was functioning the same way as it had before.

“Good afternoon,” Sol said pleasantly, “though I suppose it’s evening in reality.”

Leo just grunted in response. His eyes briefly swept the surrounding garden.

“Guessing this is one of your memories.”

“It is. I apologize again for last time.” The man nodded at the surrounding flowers and the distant sea. “This is one of my favorite places to relax, though of course I did make a few changes to ensure my identity wasn’t too obvious,” he added lightly.

Assuming this wasn’t some sort of vacation spot, the man was definitely from the southern coast, then. Unfortunately that didn’t narrow things down nearly as much as Leo would like.

“Please, take a seat,” Sol said, gesturing to the empty chair. Leo gave him a long look, then sighed and plopped unceremoniously down.

“Let me guess, this is still about the whole ‘peaceful selection’ thing. Didn’t think you’d try again so soon after last time,” he added with a mutter, eyeing the man suspiciously. From his experience, people who didn’t visibly show anger were often the most terrifying.

Sol laughed lightly. “Well, I couldn’t be too upset. You weren’t entirely wrong with your assessment.”

Leo blinked. “What?”

The other [Fragmentholder] tilted his head, the gesture relaxed and calm. “It’s true that I’m a bit of a, hm, how should I put this. A control freak, I suppose.”

If Leo had been drinking something, he would’ve spit it out. Sol continued.

“You’re right that one of my reasons for doing this is to ensure the next [Administrator] is deserving of the position. I’ll fully admit to that.”

The man smiled. “However, that is not exclusive to my desire to see this search end with minimal bloodshed. The latter is just as true, and it’s a sentiment I’m sure you share as well.”

Leo hadn’t expected the man to be so frank. Nobles usually loved to hide truths in twisted mazes of words, and while Sol still spoke elegantly, he was also being much more forthright than people of his status usually were. Or at least, of his assumed status. The [Fragmentholder]’s identity was still a mystery.

Leo frowned.

“…What’re your goals this time, then?”

“Firstly, I wanted to apologize for our last conversation ending on such a sour note.” Sol noticeably didn’t mention that Leo himself had very much contributed to said “sour note.”

“Beyond that, I simply wanted to chat. I met a number of interesting people last night and decided to follow through.”

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“So you’re saying I passed your first round,” Leo said half disbelievingly. He snorted and shook his head. “Guess I should be flattered.”

Sol laughed. “You did leave a strong impression. I’m glad I decided to include minor [Fragmentholders] in my first spell. Originally I was only planning on contacting major and core [Fragmentholders].”

Leo’s ears perked up, and he sat a little straighter. “Core?”

He’d already guessed there were major ones, but this was the first he’d heard of “core” fragments. His heartbeat picked up, but he carefully quashed down his excitement so it wasn’t too visible.

Sol studied him for a moment, then nodded. “They’re the most powerful type of fragment that I’m aware of.” He raised his hand, and his palm began to glow a warm golden light.

Leo instinctively flinched backwards, but Sol simply shifted his arm, tracing out shapes with his fingers. When the glow died down, golden particles of light swirled around in crude, three dimensional forms.

Leo stared at that swirling light. He couldn’t help but be impressed.

Though he couldn’t use [Judgement] right now to confirm, he suspected this was part of the [Dreamscape] spell. It was an impressive degree of control, especially considering how easily Sol had done it. Manipulating active illusions was difficult. If it hadn’t already been clear before, this confirmed that the man must be highly adept at illusory abilities.

The lights clustered together, forming the shape of a smooth, perfectly round sphere. As Leo watched them, the particles shifted, pulling apart until the sphere was broken into an impressively large amount of shards, some larger and smaller than others.

What caught his attention, however, was the secondary, smaller sphere revealed within the initial one. Leo watched as it too broke, but instead of forming randomly shaped pieces, it cracked into perfectly even parts.

“Major and minor fragments are believed to come from the outer shell of the [Administrator] class crest,” Sol explained.

As he spoke, those pieces vibrated and morphed into smaller spheres in front of Leo’s eyes. The golden light shifted, and they began to cycle between different hues.

“The core fragments, on the other hand, come from the center of the crest, and each one holds a specific aspect of the [Administrator]’s power.”

Leo looked up sharply. “You mean…?”

Sol nodded. “Yes, they grant specific forms of System access.” He hummed. “Each one is believed to have a unique color, and their functions can vary quite a bit. I can’t confirm what color and ability each one possesses or their exact number, unfortunately, but I suspect there’s less than twenty total.”

He waved his hand, and the floating diagram disappeared in a spray of golden lights.

Leo frowned. “I thought you said you tracked down all the [Fragmentholders] last time. Wouldn’t you be able to tell how many core ones there are?”

“That was a slight exaggeration. Some of the more powerful [Fragmentholders] anticipated a spell of this nature and raised mental barriers that I wasn’t able to bypass. Even more did so after last night.”

That made sense. When so many people were involved, it was inevitable that at least one or two would have magic like this. Mental magic barriers were good precautions. If Leo had the ability to do the same, he would’ve.

His mind churned, still digesting the information. He hadn’t been certain any fragments would grant [Administrator] abilities on their own or if it would take someone gathering all of them to be given System access, but this confirmed that there were indeed fragments that would grant those abilities.

Leo studied Sol, who’s expression was as serene as ever. The former [Thief] frowned.

The man hadn’t said it out loud, but he was almost positive Sol had one of those core fragments. He seemed far too knowledgeable and calm about them. If he’d discovered this information, Leo would expect him to seem more hesitant, concerned, or really anything else.

He doubted it was a secret either. From the knowing look in his eyes, Sol had probably known Leo would put the pieces together. But if anything, that only added to the growing list of questions swirling around his mind.

“Why’re you telling me this?” he finally blurted out.

It felt too good to be true, for Sol to just decide to part with information this valuable for seemingly no reason. There had to be an ulterior motive, or perhaps he was lying about the fragments.

“I simply wish to even the playing field, so to speak,” the man said calmly. “Currently you’re still an [Administrator] candidate.”

The unspoken implication was that he’d already ruled out several others during his first [Dreamscape] use. Leo wondered if anything had happened to them, or if Sol was simply no longer bothering to contact them.

The man smiled. “Of course, I know little about you and will reserve full judgement, but for now I’m curious about your potential.”

“So you’re telling me this stuff so you can watch what I do and figure out if I’m good enough to be the new [Administrator], is what you’re saying.”

Sol chuckled. “Yes, essentially. If you’d prefer not to believe my words then that is your right. I will not involve myself unnecessarily in your journey. Consider me an observer.”

A self proclaimed control freak and an “observer.” Leo pursed his lips.

On one hand he still didn’t trust Sol at all, and he was even less of a fan of getting treated like an interesting show or some kind of weird experiment.

On the other hand, this was also a huge opportunity.

“In other words, you get to sit back and judge my worthiness, and I get to use you for information.”

Sol smiled. “Indeed.”

The thrumming excitement that had been present since learning of the core fragments only grew, and Leo felt a smile of his own slowly spreading across his features.

“Didn’t think you’d be so honest about it.”

“I thought you’d appreciate a more candid approach.”

Leo would never be a fan of someone casting a spell on his mind, but there was a lot to be gained from this. And, he reminded himself, if things went south, he did already know how to escape the [Dreamscape].

He might even be able to piece together Sol’s identity after enough interactions, and then he’d know who one of the supposed core [Fragmentholders] was.

He met Sol’s gaze, eyes steady and gleaming in the light.

“Deal.”