In a grand castle overlooking the growing city of Istre, a man sat on the ground at the doorstep, his gaze fixed on the terrace that offered a magnificent view of the bustling city below. He sat there, gently caressing what appeared to be a sleeping puppy nestled in his lap. The pup lay still, not making a single sound, while the man appeared lost in deep contemplation.

As the man sat there, seemingly immersed in his thoughts, a rift in space itself tore open inside the dimly lit room beyond him. Rather than showing surprise or alarm, the man seemed remarkably composed, his hand never ceasing its gentle strokes on the pup's fur. The little canine, awakened from her nap, perked up and barked as if she sensed what was about to happen.

In that very moment, from the rift that had appeared in the middle of the room, another man emerged. He was a tall, slender figure with long, flowing silver hair that cascaded regally down his back. Dressed in a regal robe, he bore a striking presence, and his piercing blue eyes seemed to look right through those who met his gaze.

As the silver-haired man emerged from the rift, it immediately closed behind him, as if it had never existed in the first place. The man on the doorstep greeted him with a knowing smile and said, "Guess who's finally here, Princess?" The pup barked once again, a playful and cheerful response to the newcomer's arrival.

The man waved at the silver-haired figure, calling out, "Yo, it's been a while." However, the silver-haired man didn't seem to acknowledge the man's presence immediately. Instead, he surveyed the room, clearly searching for someone.

"Where is Diana?" he asked, his tone tinged with slight concern.

"Out there. I offered her to be the one waiting for your return and she accepted. That being explained, could you please not ignore me like that; it's bad for my ego," the man added with a joking tone. "Is this really how you treat your best friend?"

The silver-haired man quipped, "Who's your best friend?"

"You, of course. Who else would it be?" the man replied with a grin. He made some space for the silver-haired man to sit and reached for a nearby cup and bottle of wine. However, to his surprise, he found the bottle empty. "Oops, I was planning to use that one for your return. I guess I accidentally drank it all while waiting for you. My bad."

The silver-haired man let out a low "Mph" and reached out to tear another rift, similar to the one he had emerged from earlier. From this new rift, he retrieved a carafe of wine, which he offered to pour for the man. "That good ol' garden, convenient as always, isn't it?" he remarked, making no further comment.

Upon being handed a glass, he sat beside the man. After a few sips, the man asked, "So how has it been this time?"

"Still nothing," the silver-haired man replied with a hint of depression. "I can't see past what apparently are my limits."

"Well, I guess that's what it’s called limits for," the man mused, allowing the pup to take a sip from his cup. "It's a point one can't get past despite one's best effort. But I guess," he took a look at the silver-haired man and added, "knowing you, you're most likely not satisfied with that?"

The silver-haired man nodded firmly. "You're right; I'm not. I won't stop until the day those eyes of mine show me more than just the mundane's fate."

"That's Davion the Omniscient for you," the man smiled, having expected such an answer. Then, his tone grew sterner as he asked, "So, do you already plan on returning to the Gardens?"

"No, I plan to stay around for some time. How long, I wouldn't be able to tell, but it won't be in the next few years," the silver-haired man replied.

"I see," the man's voice held a note of relief. A brief silence settled between the two men before the silver-haired man asked, "How long has it been since the last time?"

"The last time? You mean the time you went into seclusion? That was just after we all acquired permanence from her, so I would say roughly two hundred years."

"Two hundred years..." the man mumbled, seemingly surprised by how long he'd been away.

"Yep, two hundred years," the silver-haired man confirmed. "Which is why I think it's a good thing you finally decided to spend some time around. People are starting to forget about your existence. Those who knew of you are all dead, and those who are still alive and know you think that your seclusion in the Garden of Eternity is a sign that you look down on your peers."

The silver-haired man frowned. "I don't think I care about being remembered. As for them thinking that I'm looking down on them by exiling myself in the Garden, they are free to come see me in there. They were all given a key to it."

The man shook his head and continued, "You know it's not like that. They simply wouldn't dare to bother you there, and even I don't. After all, Diana is the one guarding it, so we all just suck it up. Besides, it's not like they all don't know the importance of your task; it's just that many are somewhat..."

"What?" the silver-haired man prompted.

"Many are somewhat creeped out by your goal," the man admitted.

"I only want to fulfill my purpose," the silver-haired man replied, his tone displeased.

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"Sure, they get that part, but... let's be honest with ourselves, no one wants to hear about one's future, especially when it's a highly potentially grim one," the man explained.

"Isn't that even more of a reason to learn about it?" the silver-haired man countered.

"You may think that, because to you, there is relief in knowing the unknown, but to many, if not most, there is a certain bliss in the unknown. Don't you think?"

"That’s stupid," the silver-haired man muttered.

"Such is our nature. We might have set ourselves apart from the mundane, becoming ethereal, but in the end, we're all afraid of that one thing: the end."

The silver-haired man fell into contemplative silence, as if pondering the man's words deeply. After a while, the silver-haired man asked, "Are you afraid of it too?"

"Me? Of the end? Well, of course, just like everyone," the man replied.

“You sure don’t look like you are.”

"Hahaha… This is a facade," he smiled before adding, "Of course, I'm not consistently cowering about it. I just happen from time to time to think about it, and in those times, I dread it."

The man fell into a contemplative silence as he gently petted the pup on his lap. "We've acquired that power, risen up to become a symbol of peace and balance to our race, then acquired immortality. But in the end, none of us are safe from the madness that claimed three of the Ravenous Beasts."

"And you dread that?" the silver-haired man asked.

The man shook his head. "It's not really the madness I'm afraid of. I know that should I go mad, I would, without a doubt, be taken care of by either Diana or the others..." He didn't continue, prompting the silver-haired man to ask, "Then what is it?"

"Hahaha, please don't laugh, promise me," the man implored. When the silver-haired man remained silent, he continued, "The thing is, I don't want to die alone."

Instead of laughing, the silver-haired man's frown deepened.

"Sorry, that came out wrong. That wasn't what I meant. I mean, I know I will never be alone. I'll have Princess by my side," the man said, glancing at the pup on his lap, who barked happily and wagged her tail in response. "What I meant is, should I in the future succumb to the madness like they did, I at least don't want to be put down like a mere animal," the man voiced with a stern tone, before adding in a much cheerier and somewhat joking manner as he looked at the silver-haired man, "which is why I would like the one to put me down to be, at least, a friend."

"Why do you look at me?" the silver-haired man asked.

"Aren't you a friend?"

"I might be, but that doesn't change the fact that my powers aren't battle-focused. As much as I would like to do you that favor, that's not happening."

"Hahaha, I guess you're right. Then, what do you say about at least just being there? That at least you can do, right?"

"What's with you and all of this? Did you go insane?"

"Not yet, hahaha," he laughed, "just not yet. But that could be happening soon."

"What makes you say that? I don't know, a hunch, an intuition perhaps."

"A hunch? As far as I'm aware, I'm the only one blessed with future sight."

"Right, hahaha, of course. I was just talking about what-ifs. Besides, better voice my death wishes sooner than too late, right?"

The silver-haired man didn't answer; he simply nodded and went back to sipping his wine in silence.

After a while, the silver-haired man walked to the veranda that overlooked the city, taking in the sights and commenting, "A lot has changed since the last time."

"Yes, that's 200 years for you. The world is changing without us, especially with 'them,'" the man replied.

"'Them'? Who's 'them'?" the silver-haired man inquired.

"Oh, you didn't know? Right, she just had her first when we went into seclusion. Iiris, after receiving that power from Durant, had her wish granted. She produced her first progeniture, followed by another after you went into seclusion, and then several others."

"How many?" the silver-haired man asked.

"If we're talking only about her direct progeniture, 22."

"Direct progeniture... you mean there are others?"

"Well, of course. In 200 years, those babies of hers made babies, and just like their parents, they also made babies with that same power. There are also people who've been granted the ability to use her power like me and the others. So yeah, there are sure a lot of them now."

The silver-haired man cast a concerned glance at the city in front of him, now larger and more modern than ever before. "Wouldn't that be a problem in the future?"

"I don't know; you tell me. You're the one with future sight, right?" the man teased before adding, "But don't worry; we've all come to the same conclusion as you. We're keeping an eye on them. In fact, I've been assigned to keep in check on them all."

"You?" the silver-haired man raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, me."

"I see... and what do you think of it?"

"What I think of it? I've never really thought about it. I'm just keeping an eye on them, after all," the man replied, leaving the silver-haired man concerned about the choice of assigning him to that task, of all people.

"Hmm, let's see," the man began, "for now, I think it's going well. They, I mean, sure, there are some issues here and there, nothing major, mostly due to their somewhat inflated egos. Some among them see themselves as superior to their mundane counterparts, and while they're not entirely wrong, we're trying to suppress that. By 'we,' I mean 'her,' their creator. There's that, but it's nothing unmanageable; it's just kids going through a phase. There's also the fact that, while some think they are superior, there's a large community among the common population that sees them as superior, which doesn't help. But I guess that was to be expected considering the fact that we allowed element-wielding arbians to meddle with the common ones."

"You're saying it's nothing manageable, but from what I'm hearing, it sounds like a lot to deal with," the silver-haired man remarked.

"It's a lot, but when you've got literally an eternity to live, it's just like a morning stretch. Besides, it's not like they are all bad weeds. There are quite a few interesting ones among her children. One in particular, sure he's a bit arrogant and one of the most hot-blooded among her children, but I see in him something that I remember seeing in your eyes and Diana's the first time we met."

"Power?" the silver-haired man asked.

"No, dedication. Dedication to a cause you firmly believe in," the man replied.

Seeing the solemn expression on his friend's face and his high praise of that boy, the silver-haired man, intrigued by that person, asked, "who is it?”

“Iiris's seventh son, Ailward."