"It's in the Channel?" Ryan asked with a light frown, and Runar loudly clicked his tongue.

"Of course it is. Fuckin' shadows..." he muttered, fairly quietly. Even so, Ryan still heard him.

"What do you mean, 'shadows'?"

Though hesitant, Runar knew that this was an important aspect of this situation that Ryan had to be filled in on. He couldn't not tell him, "... Alright, so... we're not the only group acting at this 'level'. One of the main groups that's being a bit of a bother is, well... they're called the 'White Shadow Society'."

"Seriously?" Silvia scoffed, hearing that name, "That's kind of... weirdly cliché, right?"

"Well, when they got their name, it was very innovative," Runar pointed out, "But their name isn't important. They're also in the business of dealing with the mystical, and those that are 'Hidden' for one reason or another. But... instead of trying to help the 'hidden' not be 'hidden'... they're trying to get rid of them altogether."

Hearing his uncle's words, the hairs on Ryan's neck stood up, "What? What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what it sounds like," with a loud groan, Runar walked over to the windows to pull the curtains to the side and let some light in again, "They're honestly the main force we're fighting against. With every step we take to help the hidden, they take a step against them. They basically hunt all that they deem 'dangerous' for one reason or another. They're also the ones pulling the strings behind the auction, and they have massive influence over so, so many companies. Bluesky is one of their major fronts."

"Blue- what? Seriously?" Ryan let out in disbelief.

Similarly, Modak and Silvia didn't know what to think about what Runar just said. The orc quickly shook his head, "No, but Bluesky is a massive corporation, they... why would they..?"

"Because they were made specifically for this. Awakened people are a massive force. They can get almost impossibly powerful. And Bluesky is the biggest player in every Awakened-related industry that exists," Runar explained, "Why do you think they were going after Ryan that hard? It's not just because he's got a unique class."

"So that Simon guy was one of the 'shadows' you're talking about?" Silvia wondered, but Runar quickly denied that.

"He's just a goon, I guess. Some random asshole working at the company that doesn't even know who he's really working for. Honestly? I doubt there's more than four or five people at the whole company that actually know everything."

"So... they stole one of Gaia's fragments?" Ryan asked, and Runar hesitated as he once more shook his head.

"First of all, they didn't 'steal' it. After your father, you know... The fragments were ready for the taking. And frankly, I believe they might have simply found the full core, probably damaged, and fragmented it themselves."

Ryan ground his teeth together, "So... they're the ones that gave Vanda the fragment? And what, they somehow placed the fragment in a dungeon?"

The word 'hesitation' was practically written on Runar's face at this point. There were a lot of things that he had to tell Ryan, but he didn't know if this was the right moment. However, Runar promised to fill him in, so he did, "The formation of dungeons can be... helped along, so to say. The 'seed' was probably already there, and then they pushed it a step further with the help of Gaia's fragment. You said her title was 'Garden Golem', right? That fits the monsters in the dungeon quite well, right?"

"Are you serious?" Ryan asked, confused, "Why the fuck would they do that? How does creating dungeons even help those guys? If their goal is total genocide of everyone they don't like, what do dungeons have to do with that?"

Before Runar could reply, Alicia spoke up with her own guess, "To get rid of spirits."

Runar snapped his head toward the elf, "We don't know that! That's not-"

"Get rid of spirits? What do you mean? Runar, what does she mean?"

Not just Ryan, but Maximus as well; they were both clearly getting worked up. The spirit was staring deeply up at Runar, and Ryan followed suit. The Rune Mage tried to think how to best word it.

"We don't know for sure, but... We believe that they are trying to make spirits seem dangerous," Runar explained, "The dungeon was not particularly strong. Like, come on, a level one, newly-awakened kid was able to find the core room in a couple of hours. If it had been anyone else... they would have found the core room, the dungeon would have been closed, and the only thing left behind would have been a spirit core. That would have reported, and..."

Ryan was stunned, not sure what he was supposed to think. In these moments of silence, Modak slowly spoke, "So... they're trying to make it seem like spirits cause dungeons?"

Runar slowly nodded, "That's the only reason I can think of, yes. It would be great if it's some kind of misunderstanding, but... after what happened yesterday, with that robot? That just supports the idea further."

"Wait, how so? Even if Ryan hadn't been there, that clearly wasn't the fault of Gaia's fragment, but because of how it was used! Plus, the university wouldn't want to spread too much about it either, right?" Silvia asked, not really understanding the purpose behind that, or what Runar was insinuating. But Modak quickly filled in the gaps.

"It wasn't supposed to happen yesterday," Modak rubbed the bridge of his nose, finally understanding everything, "When I met with Vanda earlier, she wasn't able to tell me anything about who gave the fragment to her, but she did mention that he was very interested in the showcase that was supposed to happen today. Even said he might show up himself, to watch. What if Energiser was supposed to go berserk today, and not yesterday? In front of dozens of important people from big tech companies and news people ready to jump on any little incident."

"Wouldn't that be a pretty big oversight?" Ryan frowned, "They must have known about the test runs yesterday, right?"

"Sure, but they probably didn't know you would be there," Modak suggested, "And if the fragment that was already with you reacted to the one in Energiser, who's to say it didn't happen the other way around? You just being there could have made things speed up."

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Are you serious? So it was my fault..?"

"No, it's not like that," Runar immediately replied, "If anything, you being there was the best outcome. Nobody got seriously hurt, and we were able to deal with everything quietly."

"... So... So what now? What else are they gonna try?" Ryan asked, trying to calm himself down instead of getting angry right away. Getting angry didn't help him. It never did. It was just so hard to stop it from happening sometimes, especially in situations like this. What was he supposed to do? Just act like everything was fine?

But Runar just shrugged, "Honestly? No clue."

"S-Seriously? Aren't you the head of the family? Just use the head's... brain, or something, I don't know, just fucking... come on!" Ryan's frustration was obvious, and he really wasn't able to hold it back.

"Listen, we're trying, okay? But first, we need to figure out where it is. That should help. The map is linked to the core's location now. It's not super accurate, but as long as we search the area in the circle, we should be able to use the 'Light of Guidance' to find the exact spot," Runar explained, "I'll arrange what we need to, and then tomorrow we're heading out to search for it."

"Tomorrow? Seriously? Let's just go right now!" Ryan protested, staring at his uncle, unwilling to just leave Gaia's last fragment with people that want to use her for such ridiculous things.

"And do what? Just barge into whatever building they're keeping it in? On our own? No, that's ridiculous. We have people that can retrieve it after we find where it is, maybe without the Shadows even knowing. But I can't just call on them in a couple of hours. Plus, we need to take care of your corruption first. I'm sorry, but that's more important to me right now."

"But... we have the world's most powerful mage, and I'm perfectly fine. The corruption thing can wait!"

"We have what, now?" Alicia asked with a laugh. She was sitting in Runar's chair at his desk, "I'm sorry, but... the Guidance spell was one thing, but I'm not getting involved in this any further. The Magic Tower thrives to stay completely neutral."

"What do you mean, neutral? You're Runar's teacher!" Ryan pointed out, and Alicia looked back at him, her smile slowly disappearing. Runar's expression also turned a bit more complicated.

Alicia crossed her legs, leaning back in the chair, "And I was also the teacher of the former leader of the White Shadow Society. Granted, I didn't know his association to them at the time, but it really wouldn't have changed anything. The Magic Tower doesn't get involved in these things. We're an institution of knowledge. Not politics."

"Preventing genocides isn't politics! It's common sense, what are you even- How could you be like this?"

"I'm sorry, but it's the oath that I, and all my predecessors, have upheld for a thousand years. It's one thing to do a personal favour for a friend, and another to take sides in a war like this," Alicia replied, though she clearly understood what Ryan was saying, "Listen, even if I wanted to, it's not something I can do. There's too much at stake here. Obviously we don't want anything to happen to spirits either, and seeing innocent people get murdered day after day? I'm sorry, but that's not... When I say 'oath', I don't mean it metaphorically, or the kind of promise that kids make when they say not to eat snacks before supper. I can not help you. I'm sorry."

The elf slowly stood up, passing by Runar. She gave him a short hug, as the student spoke to his teacher, "Thanks for the help, anyway."

Ryan's eyes were closed. He concentrated on his breathing, trying to count backward from ten to calm himself down. Though he hadn't done this in years, it used to work pretty well, so he figured he might as well give it another shot instead of letting out a massive shout here.

"Oh, and..." Alicia's crystal-clear voice cut through Ryan's counting, but before he could open his eyes to see what she wanted, he felt her finger tap his chest. It was nothing but a light touch, that was much was clear not just from the outside, but to Ryan as well. But it was right in the middle of the part of Ryan's chest where the corruption had taken hold. All the air immediately escaped Ryan's lungs as his body tensed up. His legs went weak as he dropped to his knees, trying to clutch his chest but trying to hold back in case touching it would make this even worse.

As Ryan felt Modak and Silvia come to his side, and as Maximus stepped in front of him with both of his active skills turned on without hesitation, ready to defend him, Alicia continued to speak, "... you're absolutely not fine. Go get yourself fixed up before you think about helping others. Like this, you're just going to make things worse for everyone involved."

The elf stepped up to the door, ready to leave. She fully expected to just be able to go without another word from anyone, but Ryan had something else in mind. His foot slammed on the ground as he forced himself to get back up, "And... and how would you know?" he asked, grinding his teeth as he stared at the back of the woman in front of him, "You're too much of a coward to get involved in the first place."

Alicia turned back around, locking eyes with Ryan. She couldn't help herself but smile, slowly turning to Runar, "And you're sure you two are related?"

"... I doubt it myself sometimes," Runar laughed lightly, in disbelief over the sheer fervour that his nephew was showing, "But... it's probably better if you go. I don't think I need to show you out, do I?"

"I wasn't shown in, so, yeah, I think I can find my way out on my own," Alicia stepped out the door, and the moment it shut behind her, Ryan dropped back down onto one knee.

"Fuck... Godsdammit... why... why the fuck does it hurt so much?!" Ryan forced his eyes shut while struggling to keep himself calm.

"Is he okay? Is the corruption spreading..?" Modak asked anxiously, trying to help keep Ryan upright, but Runar just shook his head in response while approaching his nephew, the pen in his hand.

"It's nothing like that. The corruption is basically... an open wound? It attached itself to Ryan's flesh, and just the slightest impact can feel like absolute hell. I said it before, but it's basically alive, and trying everything it can to stop it from being forcefully pulled out. And the best way to do that is to make it hurt like hell to even touch it," Runar pulled up Ryan's shirt, exposing his back. Though he did already show it to Modak and Silvia, being exposed like this all of a sudden would still usually feel horrible to him, but Ryan really wasn't in the state of mind to think about that. The pain was keeping him practically paralyzed against his will. He could barely even feel the nib of Runar's pen touch his skin. And then, he couldn't feel anything at all, as the pain faded almost instantly.

"That... huh?" Ryan let out, "What's going on?"

"I numbed your sense of pain. I'd usually prefer not to do that, cause not having a sense of pain at all is dangerous in itself, but it's better than what's happening right now," Runar pointed out, "Though to be honest, I'm pretty sure anyone else would have passed out by now. Get up."

Still unsteady on his legs, Ryan stood up with Modak and Silvia's help. Runar motioned for Ryan to pull up his shirt, and he awkwardly did as told.

"What the-" in disbelief over what he was seeing, Runar stared at Ryan's chest, "How are you even standing right now?"

"It's not that bad... is it?" Ryan asked, slowly looking down at his chest. But what he saw definitely wasn't what his chest looked like earlier. The black tendrils of the corruption had spread all over his chest, and the skin around each part of that horrible darkness was deep purple and blue.

"This... that's definitely not from Alicia tapping you just now. We really need to get that shit out of you quickly," Runar started nervously tapping his foot on the ground as he pulled out his phone. As the dial tone sounded out through the speaker, Runar quickly stepped in front of the door, "Anders? Yeah, come here immediately, we need to..."

The door closed and Runar's voice faded away, as Ryan, Silvia, Modak, and Maximus were briefly left alone. Neither the elf nor the orc knew what to say. Even the knight spirit was even more speechless than usual.

However, the silence was soon broken through by Ryan. At least that shock of pain after Alicia left let him calm down pretty quickly.

"Uh... yeah, so that's... not good."