With the onset of darkness, Grischa began to let mana flow into the crystal. A feeling of weightlessness overcame Cale for a brief moment before this force spread over the entire ship, completely enclosing it. With a practiced movement, the Magistrat's 1st seat sent the large wooden construct flying into the air, causing Cale to drop to his knees in surprise, watching him wordlessly as he did so. His friend must have had the world's biggest grin on his face as he let his latest invention soar into the sky.

"Are you afraid of heights?", Grischa challengingly said, but didn't give the kneeling mage a glance. He was busy filling the second crystal with mana and a short time later, a strong gust of wind was felt, jolting the whole ship.

"Me? You must be dreaming", Cale threw back indignantly and stood up, only seconds later a strong gust of wind caught him and he had to take a step back to avoid losing his balance. Only then did he even have a chance to look at the huge flying ship in peace. Four small, white and blue striped sails were at each corner of the ship, while two sails were carried by the mast in the center, as in an ordinary sailing ship. The deck offered an enormous amount of space and was open, only the stern was covered with a wooden ceiling and a staircase led to the interior of the ship. An estimated 100 people could fit on this if they stood close together, filling the entire space.

"That's what they all say."

"How fast can the ship go?", Cale changed the subject and walked toward the bow of the ship.

"Is that a challenge?", Grischa threw back theatrically, abruptly releasing a large amount of mana. Almost simultaneously, the construct increased in speed, so Cale immediately took cover again. The wind whipped past his face and pushed his body noticeably backwards, causing the mage to squint his eyes and place an oblique barrier around his body. For a moment, it almost felt like he was sitting on top of Fengari, but the memory faded shortly after. Surprised, Cale looked backward as the ship came to a halt and seconds later began to plummet.

"Ey Grin!", Cale yelled as the entire ship went into free fall. Grischa had been yanked backwards by the strong wind and thrown against the wall, so now he stretched out his hand towards the crystals with his face contorted in pain. Cale did not wait for his friend to regain control, but took the issue into his own hands. Abruptly, he filled the hover crystal with his mana and then jerked to the ground. Even Grischa crashed back onto the deck of the ship with a dull thud and looked up in confusion. "Don't play around with the crystals like that, that could have really gone wrong."

"Sorry, sorry. I was just interested in how fast it could get."

"Well, it's got a pretty good speed on it, but without proper protection you'll throw all the passengers off the ship with it", Cale voiced his observation, trying to stabilize the flying ship.

"Yeah, I'll have to figure something out for that. And I should integrate mana storage into the crystal, that you can't lose control so easily."

"That would probably be best", Cale confirmed, nodding, and straightened up as Grischa took control of the ship again. "Steering should be left to mages who are good with mana control and wind magic. You should practice that beforehand, too, without putting human lives in danger, of course."

"Yeah yeah, grumbling old man. I know it's not perfect yet", Grischa muttered a little sadly and took control of the ship again, which was hovering a good 15 meters above the sea. A little later and they would have crashed into the sea with full force. At that speed and weight, Cale wouldn't have been surprised if the whole ship had gone down.

"It's beautiful, Grin."

Astonished at the statement, Grischa looked up at Cale and grinned a moment later.

"Yeah, you think?"

"Do you seriously think I would lie to you?"

"I dimly recall that we have had such a discussion before", Grischa merely commented, but Cale waved him off and walked to the edge of the ship. With both hands, he supported himself on the railing and looked back at the rocky landscape from which they had launched. In just a few seconds, the ship had traveled a tremendous distance. Cale suspected that an accomplished version of it could outrun the speed of any High-Magician. It was only the dragons themselves, specifically Fengari and her ability, that he wasn't too sure about.

"Despite everything, it would be good if you can combine the two crystals into one. In the long run, it will be quite exhausting for normal mages to permanently fill both crystals with mana and control them", Grischa whispered thoughtfully, starting his latest development. Cale, on the other hand, made a complete turn and leaned against the scaffolding before watching his friend with a satisfied smile.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Grischa had tied his hair into a braid and was wearing the Magistrat's usual dark uniform, while his green eyes were fixed on the two glowing crystals. Inevitably, Cale couldn't help remembering the first time he had seen Grischa. His alternative version held Fabio tightly in his arms with one hand and hurried after his colleague, almost lost. Even though he was definitely helping to kill the creatures, he was clearly limited by his presence and concern for his child. It was only later that Cale began to suspect that his wife, Ibellina, must have died by this time. The 1st Seat must have been vastly overwhelmed with the situation, as was almost every other mage, and despite the Eldest's warning. But now his life was completely different. The city was alive, his family was alive, and he was creating one masterpiece after another. He seemed happy and that made Cale happy as well. However, when he thought about Grischa almost dying because of his mistake, he got goose bumps. Once again, he realized how much responsibility was actually on his shoulders and how lonely it really made him feel. Even if the people around him were constantly fighting alongside him, Cale had no guarantee that it would stay that way.

He must make contact with Mellontikos, but the question of 'how' remained open.

"Caleb!", Grischa suddenly shouted loudly, causing the mage to flinch in surprise.

"Yes?"

"I just called you three times. What are you thinking about so frantically again?"

"Ah, sorry. It's nothing."

"Don't dodge my question. What's wrong?", Grischa quietly spoke up and gave him a sympathetic smile. Cale sighed and turned his gaze to the horizon behind his friend.

"Seeing you like this makes me think of how different you are from your other versions, and yet how similar you are. You know, in my fifth life, we've worked together before."

"Have we?"

"Yes, but not particularly often. I don't know much about crystals, but I snuck into your research anyway to learn about them. You were on fire then, as you are now, when it came to the crystals, but a lot more cautious about voicing your thoughts about them out loud."

"Probably because we didn't know each other and I didn't want to scare you off. People tend to be annoyed by my talk about the crystals."

"I can relate", Cale replied with a laugh, having to remember the first time Grischa told him about his idea to turn his ice Igrikum a crystal. "You can talk like a waterfall, and at the time I also had a really hard time comprehending what you were actually saying."

"I always felt you knew what I meant."

"I do now, but not in fifth life. Your thought processes are sometimes... really... illogical."

"That bad?"

"Yeah. Even in this life, at first I had to really try hard not to show how hard it was for me to follow what you were saying. But now that I know you, I understand your logic much better, and since then I've had no trouble answering you either. Even if I had to train myself to do so."

"You're ruining our whole relationship with that statement", Grischa whined, but Cale couldn't help but laugh at it. After all, he had only approached Grischa because he needed his skills and wanted to arrange the development of the communication crystal earlier at any cost. He had also accumulated so much knowledge for that and the more he talked to Grischa, the better he understood him as well. At one point he had dropped the demarcation and could talk to Grischa to his heart's content, for hours, without realizing it himself.

"I always enjoyed the conversations with you", Cale merely threw back, remembering the long nights he had spent in the man's apartment.

"Well, at least something."

"Don't be so miffed. You know why I wanted you to be my friend, with that ultimate reason, even if taking advantage is probably a better way to put it."

"I'm glad you realize that. I hope it doesn't happen again."

"I wouldn't dare", Cale threw back wryly. Grischa sighed at the statement and shook his head in disappointment, but didn't disagree. He hadn't really expected it any other way.

"You're actually pretty scared that you'll be reborn?", the 1st seat finally blurted out, giving Cale a serious look. "You indirectly said that yourself, didn't you?"

"Yes", Cale returned without hesitation. "Being reborn is the second-worst thing I can imagine."

"What's the worst?"

"Having to watch you all die again", Cale declared. For a brief moment, Grischa opened his mouth, but didn't produce a sound and then closed it again. "I sometimes wonder myself how I can still remain so rational. Death itself has become meaningless to me, and yet I am incredibly afraid of it. I want to avoid it at all costs, even if my reason is different from normal people."

"With the help of Velence's ability, you should be able to show us what we have forgotten", Grischa put forth his idea cautiously, but Cale shook his head.

"It's not the same thing. Showing a memory is not the same feeling as experiencing the memory yourself. The memory from my 3rd life, in which we first talked, must have been strange for you, too. Even if you know that this person was really you, you can't identify with it. For the simple reason that those are not your memories."

"I see what you mean."

"Well, that's good, then. Because it's really hard to explain how it makes you feel when your existence dissolves into nothingness. For example, one of the first things I did in this life was to visit William. A 4-year-old child who would later become one of my closest friends, yet has no memory of me at all. It has always been hurtful when seeming strangers meet me for the first time."

"I feel terrible that I snapped at you like that back then without even trying to understand you. I still remember how shocked I was at your statement that you didn't really care about people and had completely different goals. To put it mildly, I was a bad friend."

"You weren't, and I also know you didn't mean the whole thing that way. You get into arguments in the heat of the moment and say things you don't mean. Even I got really emotional at the time, and even though I'm really hardened."

"Did...", Grischa began, but at the same time his words were interrupted by Aaron's voice.

<"The Eldest has an insight!">, he informed the two High-Magicians, who were currently far above the sea.