"I would have expected it would take a lot more than that to convince you, Aaron", Grischa admitted with amusement, levitating a mana crystal in his hand. He originally wanted to talk to Cale about his progress, so Aaron accompanied him as an appendix.

"Admitted, I wouldn't have been willing to believe any of it if I didn't have so many unanswered questions."

"So you believe him... not completely?"

"I am a person of reason, but some parts of his stories are just... surreal."

"Ah, I understand that problem. If it hadn't been for Velence, I'd still have trouble really accepting that this all actually happened."

"Well thanks a lot... and I thought it was because of me", Cale interjected as he played with the other crystal in his hand.

"Velence? As in the Holy Island of Velence?"

"That's right. The way Fengari had explained it to me, he used to be the leader of the dragons, so it's not so far-fetched that the Island of Dragons was named after him, right?", Cale explained wryly. When Grischa held out his hand, Cale gave him back the crystal to hold for a few minutes.

"This dragon has an ability that allows it to see and share memories of others. That was an incredible spectacle if I hadn't witnessed the death", Grischa added to the explanation.

"Sorry", Cale quickly interjected.

"What exactly happened?", Aaron inquired immediately.

"When Velence used his ability, Caleb was able to show us some of his memories, and it goes far beyond just watching. You could feel the wind on your skin, smell the nature, and feel the emotions Caleb had himself. When that fire had burned his body... by the Eldest's beard, believe me, that was a terrible pain that I never want to experience again", Grischa explained, shuddering briefly at the statement while not diverting his attention from the crystals.

"Same here. I didn't remember it hurting like that. Especially with the mix to ascend as an Apostle", Cale confirmed. An affirmative nod from Grischa appeared before he let go of the small crystal and looked intently at the flying miniature version of a ship. Cale and Aaron also looked at the result, impressed, before the 3rd seat spoke up again.

"So that put your doubts aside?"

"Basically it did, but I could have lived without the experience. I trusted Caleb from the beginning and I still do. I mean, look at this. It's flying, and now when I'm here..."

Grischa let some magic flow into the clear wind crystal, which gently blew against the sails and set the whole construct in motion.

"Is this something Grischa had invented in your past?", Aaron asked Cale.

"Yes, but not for another five or six years or so. At that time, the land route had become impassable and communication crystals didn't exist either, so there was no way to contact the other survivors. I still remember the first time I saw this huge ship in the sky. That was quite a shock, even by my standards."

"Where did I fly to?", Grischa asked curiously, playing around with his flying child. It wasn't perfect yet and a little hard to control, but the result was really something to see.

"I don't know, probably Frignez?"

"You don't know?"

"Well, I wasn't up there. By the Eldest's beard, I didn't know you Grischa and on top of that I didn't know the connection between Sefra and you. When I first entered the Magistrat in my second life, it was a real adventure", Cale explained humorously, which is why he received sympathetic looks from Grischa. He steered the ship back to the center before withdrawing the mana and crashing all his work onto the table.

"How could you miss so much?". Aaron interjected in irritation, which only caused Cale to shrug.

"It's not like anyone said, 'remember these names and faces'. High-Magicians are famous, but at the same time they're untouchable. It's the same as with William. He's the third prince of an entire kingdom, and yet his own soldiers don't recognize him", Cale clarified mockingly, lifting the two crystals into the air so Grischa could take the ship. "For normal people, this is a world they only know from stories."

"That kind of really makes me think. If we hadn't become Apostles, we'd probably feel the same way", Grischa replied dejectedly, though Cale wasn't sure if that disappointment wasn't directed at his ship.

"Admitted, we're always at a distance from the citizens and to a certain point that's quite normal, but currently I wouldn't say that anymore. Compared to the past, we all have more contact with the people, don't you think?", Aaron explained, reaching for the flying crystal to take a closer look at it. He dropped in some mana and watched in fascination as the crystal defied gravity.

"The flight crystal is based on your Igrikum, Aaron. Did you know that?", Cale gave far from the topic at hand, causing the 3rd seat to cast a surprised glance at Grischa.

Stolen story; please report.

"I always end up with my ideas about the abilities of mages."

"Or creatures", Cale added, tossing the crystal up and down, which is why his colleagues turned to him.

"Creatures?", Grischa repeated.

"The mage who uses sound as a way to attack and communicate doesn't exist. That was a Derphan."

"Why didn't you... ah I don't even ask! I don't want to hear the answer", Grischa replied, annoyed and stood up. "You'd better show me what the ships looked like in the future."

"I'm taking you all the fun away, Grin. Are you sure?"

"Fun? We're at war, my friend", the mage replied theatrically, so Cale sighed, set the crystal aside, and used his magic to pull out his secret documents. He didn't have to look for long at all, because he had added the section with the flying ship only some time ago.

"You have better foresight than the Eldest himself", Grischa commented dryly, reaching for the drawings before distancing himself from the table and disappearing into a corner of his lab. Cale sighed and leaned against the wall before feeling rays of sunlight on his skin. Morning had dawned and needed life for flora and fauna with it.

"You mentioned at the beginning that the Dragon Queen, or rather the Goddess Parousia, had wished for my death", the stern looking mage began, sitting down next to Cale. "Where exactly did you get this information?"

"Fengari told me, back when you first met her. The goddess saw your behavior as a danger to the people, which is why she was close to the temptation of eliminating you. Your luck, however, was that you are an Apostle from another god. Therefore, she cannot act without consulting the other gods. Even the dragons are not allowed to attack us Apostles, it is against the rules of the gods", Cale explained calmly. He could understand if Aaron was a little scared and doubtful by the statement, even if Cale did not intend it. He was merely trying to get Aaron's attention with the statement, not intimidate him.

"I think she did it anyway", Aaron replied. Surprised, Cale looked to his neighbor. Aaron held the crystal with both hands and stared at it, lost in thought, before speaking up. "There was a time in my life that I didn't spend in this world. I was in a strange place of despair and death while being killed over and over again. When you brought up the gift of rebirth, I briefly thought the same thing had happened to you."

"You think the Goddess...", Cale brought up hesitantly.

"I think she tortured me precisely because she couldn't kill me. I must have been in that cycle for several weeks and one of the things I remember was the presence of dragons", he explained with a nervous undertone. Cale was speechless because of this information. There was someone who had also come back from the dead? But the whole thing probably happened decades ago, if not longer.

"You're afraid it might happen again, aren't you?"

"Admitted, I'm scared to death. Just the thought of it makes me freeze", Aaron countered dryly, tensing his body, so Cale caringly put his hand on his shoulder. "I've probably experienced something similar to you, Caleb. When I was caught in that loop, it felt like reality, but when I was sent back, I realized it was all an illusion. It was a matter of minutes, even though it had felt significantly longer to me."

"I understand... sorry for telling you about Fengari without thinking about it beforehand. I should have been more careful", Cale calmly admitted, causing Aaron to just shake his head.

"It's not your fault. I'm actually pretty happy about finally knowing what happened back then and what's going on currently. Even though I'm not really comfortable with the idea of the dragons helping us."

Cale felt a little bad about what he had done to Aaron. He let his behavior and the opinions of others influence him so much that he never realized how fragile the cold-hearted mage was. Cale judged him without knowing what kind of person he really was.

A person marked by the mistakes of his past.

"It's fine if you want to stay out of all this. I won't force you to if..."

"I want to be involved", Aaron quickly interrupted him, looking up. "Please don't take this the wrong way. I wanted to tell you, so you could understand my behavior. I didn't mean to say I was going to quit everything and leave you guys behind."

For a brief moment, Cale was speechless before a relieved smile formed and he thanked Aaron.

"Don't think about being alone, Caleb. Even if the world resets and we lose our memories, make sure we find out again. I know myself and I know that my alternate self will definitely come to your rescue", Grischa spoke up loudly from his corner, raising his model into the air as he made changes to the sails. The 1st seat had probably overheard the conversation, but Aaron didn't seem to mind much.

"I'll go along with that, although it's going to take a lot more effort to convince me", Aaron added, handing the flight crystal back to Cale. "And if you get back into the situation where you're sharing your memories with the help of that dragon Velence, let me know. I'd like to see what you experienced, too."

"Voluntarily?", Grischa interjected.

"I'm not a big fan of that, but I'll survive."

"So you have that much faith in us?"

"More in Caleb than in you", Aaron threw back. "Do you know how glad I am not to have to stick out my neck for your tests?"

"You brought that on yourself", Grischa threw back snappishly, while Cale eavesdropped on the conversation. "Besides, my crystals were never dangerous. I don't even know why you're complaining so much."

"You're a walking problem, Grischa."

"That's not true at all!" defended Grischa, appearing from behind the wall. "Come on. Defend me, Caleb. I really wasn't that bad."

"I'll abstain from the discussion", Cale replied, raising his hands innocently, even though he was more on Aaron's side. Grischa's love of crystals was something Cale spent many positive memories with, but also many negative ones. Especially the weeks when Grischa had developed the communication crystal and he had to fly out of town all the time to test the connection on real distance. "The Eldest and I are planning on informing the other High-Magicians in the coming days. If it is convenient, I will ask the dragons for assistance."

"But you don't know Velence at all", Grischa interjected. "Do you think he would comply with your request?"

"I don't know. It's possible, yes."

"You plan to tell everyone?", Aaron reported.

"It's a topic that's been under discussion for a while. I'm not particularly excited about telling so many about time travel, but I can't really put it off anymore. When the dragons become active, that's when the questions start anyway, so it would be better to at least give our own people a heads-up", Cale explained to his colleague, who by now had stood up again.

"I see. A logical conclusion, although I can well understand your discord", Aaron confirmed. He ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath, leaving Cale and Grischa waiting to hear what else he had to say. "And I was hoping to have a little peace. That's how you can be wrong."

"Yeah... I feel like that every day", Cale replied with amusement, leaning back and closing his eyes. He wanted to enjoy the sun on his skin for a few minutes, after all, before getting ready for today's class.