When he arrived at the café, he spotted Sarah sitting outside, casually sipping her drink. She wore an oversized, stylish white hoodie paired with jean shorts and black military boots. A pair of black sunglasses rested on her nose, and as she noticed Vas approaching, she slid them down slightly, revealing sharp hazel eyes.

"You know," Sarah began with a smirk, "with arms like those, you don't need to hide in oversized clothes."

Vas studied her for a moment, sensing something odd in her gaze—unnatural, probing. Behind her hazel eyes, there was a subtle pressure, like she was trying to look deeper than the surface.

"She's using an ability," Morrigan's voice cut through his thoughts. "If I had to guess, she's trying to look into your soul."

"People can do that?" Vas asked mentally, surprised.

"Not usually. It's an incredibly rare—and valuable—ability."

Vas narrowed his eyes at Sarah. "You know, it's not polite to peek into someone's soul without permission," he said flatly. "Especially as a greeting."

Sarah grinned, seemingly unbothered. "Oh, sorry. Couldn't resist. But don't worry, I didn't see anything."

Unimpressed, Vas sat down across from her. "You do realize, if I find out you're lying, I won't be nice about it."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Sarah replied with a shrug. "But you wouldn't have texted me if you didn't need something."

"Your usefulness has limits," Vas responded coldly.

Sarah raised an eyebrow but seemed unfazed. "Alright, alright. So, what can I do for you?"

"I'm guessing you have access to more spirits," Vas said, leaning forward. "After all, Biolux—the spirit you were after yesterday—wasn't just a coincidence."

"Biolux?" Sarah asked, tilting her head. "Wait, spirits have names?"

"Only a Spirit Forger is privy to the names and stories of spirits. Tuners won't know them," Morrigan interjected mentally.

"Yeah, they do," Vas said simply.

Sarah's eyes widened. "Oh, crap. I need to apologize to all the spirits I've been 'vibing' with then."

Morrigan's voice filled Vas' mind again. "A Spirit Tuner is very different from a Forger. Tuners believe that every entity—living or spiritual—is part of a grand symphony, with the universe itself being a complex melody. They spend their lives learning to hear these hidden notes, harmonizing their souls with the greater song of existence. Their role is to amplify or guide that song without disrupting its flow."

"That's the basics of it," Morrigan finished.

Vas nodded. "Alright. But you do have a way to find more spirits, right?"

"Yeah, I do," Sarah said with a shrug. "I'm guessing being a pariah in your house kept you from learning any of this?"

"I wouldn't know," Vas replied indifferently. "No idea what my siblings know either."

He was being honest. In fact, he might have to ask Jacob about this at some point.

"Any specific type of spirit you're looking for?" Sarah asked.

"Aetherion Spirits," Vas replied.

Sarah blinked, caught off guard. "That's… weird. Vibing with Aetherion Spirits is tough. My master always said those, along with Umbra Spirits, are the hardest to connect with."

"Master?" Vas asked, noting the term while simultaneously posing the question mentally to Morrigan.

"They all must be bonded with incredibly powerful spirits," Morrigan speculated in his mind.

"We Tuners aren't exactly common," Sarah continued. "There are only five of us in Viridian, and for such a populated city, that's way too few."

Vas leaned forward slightly. "Mind if I ask how you became a Tuner?"

"The same way you became one. A spirit bonded with me and helped me attune," Sarah explained.

"Tell her you're not a Tuner," Morrigan's voice nudged.

"I'm not a Tuner, though," Vas clarified aloud.

Sarah's eyes widened. "Then… what did you do with the spirit?"

"I forged it," Vas answered simply.

Sarah's jaw dropped slightly. "You're a Spirit Forger? My master, Thoth, mentioned Spirit Forgers before, but even he said he couldn't help us become one."

Thoth! Morrigan hissed mentally. "He's a Forgotten!"

Just then, Vas felt it—a ripple in the air, unmistakable and powerful. The trace of a Forgotten God. A tall, dark-skinned man dressed in a meticulously tailored white three-piece suit approached their table. His head was shaved, and his deep black eyes exuded an air of authority. His very presence was commanding, as though the atmosphere shifted around him.

"Master," Sarah said, standing up instantly.

"Don't worry, Sarah," the man said calmly, his voice smooth yet commanding. "I want to speak with Vastian here. Please, give us a moment."

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Sarah gave a quick nod and stepped away from the table.

"Thoth, I presume?" Vas asked, his tone guarded.

"Correct, young man," Thoth replied with a faint smile. His gaze briefly shifted upward. "Hello, Morrigan."

"Hello, Thoth," Morrigan responded internally.

Thoth's eyes rested back on Vas. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Vastian. I've been waiting for this moment for years."

"Why's that?" Vas asked, keeping his guard up.

"Because… I want to help you," Thoth said, his tone dropping. "This world—it's not what I expected."

Vas' eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Thoth's expression darkened. "People have drifted from true spirituality, and those who cling to the occult hoard the knowledge. Worse, there's something troubling about how I came to be here."

"How so?" Vas asked.

Thoth's gaze grew distant, as if recalling something unsettling. "The Void should have held me. The Archivist controls its boundaries, ensuring no one leaves without permission. Yet, here I am. Something—or someone—intervened, and I don't appreciate being treated like a pawn."

Vas tensed. That meant the Forgotten who had escaped the Void hadn't done so of their own will. Someone had released them.

"I've founded a secret society called The Scribes," Thoth continued. "They're devoted to the occult, and I've been teaching them. I want you to join us. I can help you further your path."

Vas stared at him for a moment. "I'll need to discuss this with the Archivist."

Thoth nodded. "Understood. From now on, call me Elliot."

"Alright… Elliot," Vas said, still wary.

Thoth, now Elliot, turned to Sarah. "Sarah, help him. I'll test him to see if he's worthy."

Without another word, Elliot rose from his seat and departed, leaving an unmistakable tension in the air.

Sarah let out a breath and smiled wryly. "Alright, if Master says so, I'll help. Come on, I know just the place to find an Aetherion Spirit."

"Alright, lead the way," Vas said.

With that, Sarah started walking away, heading toward a burgundy-colored car parked nearby.

"Get on," Sarah said, opening the door.

Vas, without uttering a word, got into the vehicle, settling into the passenger seat.

"We're going to the highest place here," Sarah explained as she started the engine. "It's a rooftop, a large one with a garden. People usually go there to see the stars and stuff."

The car moved smoothly through the streets, the hum of the engine blending with the distant sounds of the city. Vas glanced out of the window, watching the neon lights blur past as they sped through Viridian's sprawling urban landscape. The towering buildings, bathed in the glow of holographic ads and shimmering glass, felt like sentinels keeping watch over the night.

After a few minutes of silence, Sarah spoke again. "It's kinda peaceful up there, you know? Away from all this." She gestured to the buzzing streets, the noise and chaos of the city below. "Sometimes, it's like you can escape the world for a while."

Vas simply nodded, their eyes distant, caught between the present and their ever-growing thoughts.

The car veered off the main road and onto a quieter path, winding upward toward one of the taller buildings. They eventually pulled into a parking garage, the concrete echoing the sound of tires rolling over uneven ground.

Sarah turned off the engine, and they both stepped out. She led Vas to an elevator, pressing the button for the rooftop. The elevator ride was silent, the occasional soft ding marking their ascent. As the doors slid open, they were greeted by the cool night breeze.

They stepped onto the rooftop. The vast, open space stretched before them, bathed in soft lighting from lanterns placed around the edges. The garden was serene—rows of lush greenery and delicate flowers swayed gently in the night air. In the distance, the city's skyline glittered like a sea of stars, reflecting the actual stars above in the dark, clear sky.

"Come on, it's just over here," Sarah said, leading the way to a more secluded area. The sound of her boots was muffled by the garden's soft earth as they walked across the path.

They arrived at a raised platform, partially hidden by towering plants and flowering vines, where a few benches were scattered. A perfect spot to observe the sky uninterrupted.

Sarah took a seat on one of the benches, leaning back and gazing upward. "This place... It's not much, but sometimes it's enough," she said softly. She glanced at Vas. "So, what do you think?"

Vas remained standing for a moment, scanning the rooftop. The stars above twinkled like distant memories, and the quiet hum of the city below felt miles away. After a moment, Vas sat down beside Sarah.

"It's peaceful," Vas murmured, the weight of the moment settling over them both.

Sarah smiled faintly. "Yeah, it is."

For a while, they simply sat there, the sounds of the garden and the city's distant heartbeat mingling in the air. The world, for a moment, felt distant.

Vas had already seen something that caught his attention. Off in the distance, he spotted a nebulous figure with faint traces of stardust, its form flickering with tiny pulses of energy. It drifted as if caught between dimensions—sometimes solid, sometimes transparent—with glowing rings rippling around its form in subtle vibrations.

"So, anything catching your eye?" Sarah asked, her gaze following his.

"Yeah," Vas replied, moving toward the nebulous spirit.

As he approached, the spirit drifted closer as if it wanted to be forged. Fortunately, the area was mostly empty. Even if it hadn't been, Morrigan had explained that entering his forge would appear to others as if he simply vanished, often causing them to forget anything unusual that happened—unless he created a forge large enough to handle a divine spirit, which was far beyond his current capabilities.

Sarah watched, wide-eyed, as Vas seemingly disappeared into thin air.

Inside his forge, the process began. The spirit had already decided on its form—it wanted to be forged into a pair of ear piercings. The shape formed near his head before he got to work. The earrings were simple, minimalistic hoops with a faint, almost imperceptible pulse of starlight. In dim light, they resembled the hollow rings of distant planetary bodies, glowing subtly.

The forging took some time, but when Vas emerged from the forge, he was greeted by Sarah's astonished expression.

"Do you mind telling me more about how forging works?" she asked, still processing what she had just witnessed.

"Elliot hasn't told you anything about it?" Vas asked in return.

"Master doesn't teach us more than we can handle at once," Sarah explained. "He says there are things we're not supposed to mess with yet."

Vas shrugged. "I suppose there's no harm in telling you a bit." He then proceeded to explain the basics of Spirit Forging. Sarah listened intently, her curiosity palpable.

"So," Sarah said after a pause, "it's quite different from being a Tuner."

"Yeah, it is," Vas responded. He'd only shared the bare essentials, keeping most of the details to himself, but it was enough to satisfy her curiosity for now.

"I wonder what'll happen when you advance further," Sarah mused aloud.

"Who knows? First, I need to live long enough to find out," Vas replied dryly.

"What makes you think you won't?" she asked, a bit surprised by his tone.

"A lot of things, to be honest," Vas answered, "but they're not things I'm willing to share."

"Oh, come on," Sarah teased. "If Master wants you to join us, you should share more with us."

"He might want me to join, but who says I'm interested in joining?" Vas countered.

"Well then," Sarah said, her expression hardening. "I might have to get rid of you right here, right now."

"You think you can?" Vas asked, his face now focused, eyes sharp.

A chill ran down Sarah's spine. She had almost forgotten that Vas was dangerous. Being a pariah from the Hek family had led her to believe he hadn't been taught much. Clearly, she was mistaken.

"Okay, okay," Sarah relented, throwing her hands up in surrender. "I won't push the issue."

"Do you think you have time to help me find another spirit?" Vas asked Sarah as they strolled away from the scene.

"Sure!" Sarah replied, her enthusiasm evident. "What do you have in mind?"

"Is there any place where we can find a Geospirit?" Vas inquired, his curiosity piqued.

"Actually, yes," Sarah said, her tone shifting slightly. "But it's a tough one, if I may say so myself."