Chapter 28: The Mage’s Path
The city emerged through the evening haze as they approached its outskirts.
Caelus walked beside Veyra, his pace slower than usual. The labyrinth had left his body sore from head to toe, but the worst of the pain had faded into a dull ache that followed every step.
The Eclipse Ring remained warm against his finger.
His attention occasionally drifted toward the new sensation it had left behind. Moisture lingered in the air, water moved somewhere beneath the road, and subtle changes in pressure shifted around passing carriages. He could notice all of it now without deliberately searching.
He still didn’t know where the ability ended.
They passed through the gates into the crowd. Merchants called to customers, carriages squeezed between wagons, and laborers hurried along with their loads. A fruit vendor was arguing over a price while a child chased a stray dog between the stalls.
Caelus watched the scene for a moment.
Nothing had changed.
The labyrinth had nearly killed him, the Eclipse chamber had shown him something he could not explain, and yet the city had carried on without noticing any of it.
He kept walking.
Veyra slowed her pace. She glanced at him, then ahead, as if measuring the distance to her destination. Her expression was unreadable, but he sensed her attention on him.
"I should head back soon," she said.
Caelus stopped. "What do you mean, ’I’?"
He looked at her.
"I’m coming with you."
Veyra raised an eyebrow.
"Your family?"
"I changed my mind."
"You were the one who asked me to assign someone so we could stay in contact."
"I still want that."
Caelus looked at her calmly.
"I’m simply changing the arrangement. I’m your disciple now, so I’ll stay until I break through."
Veyra’s eyebrow rose another fraction.
"I don’t remember agreeing to that."
"Your objection has been noted."
A beat of silence echoed. She stared at him.
He stared back, unflinching.
"Your family will notice eventually."
"They’ll survive without me."
He continued walking before adding, almost casually,
"They didn’t exactly notice when I was there."
Veyra studied him for a moment longer, then let the subject drop.
---
They found a carriage bound toward Veyra’s viscounty and climbed inside.
The interior was modest, but comfortable enough. Caelus sank into one of the seats while Eve settled opposite him beneath her hood. Veyra took the place beside the window and watched the road.
No one spoke for a while.
The carriage rolled through the countryside. Fields of golden wheat stretched toward distant hills.
The road was quiet, broken only by the occasional wagon passing in the opposite direction. The Ring’s presence was constant, a low hum that pressed against his consciousness.
Veyra broke the silence.
"What do you plan to break through as?"
He opened his eyes. The question hung in the air between them. "What?"
Caelus looked at her.
"A Knight?" Veyra asked. "Then why do you need chantless incantation?"
Caelus considered the question while looking through the carriage window.
For years, the Knight path had seemed like the obvious choice.
His family respected it. His relatives had followed it. Strength, status, discipline, the Vespera name carried more weight when attached to a Knight.
He had spent years sharpening his sword because he wanted to become someone they could finally acknowledge.
The thought almost made him smile. Almost.
That version of his future no longer made sense.
"No," he said. "I’m going to become a Mage."
There was no hesitation left in his voice.
The Eclipse Ring had settled the matter for him. Its greatest value lay in affinity manipulation, and he needed a Mind Core if he wanted to make proper use of it. His sword was still useful, perhaps more useful than ever with the Ring behind it, but refusing Mage development simply because his family respected Knights would be cutting off his own options.
She said, "Your father wouldn’t like that."
"He never looked at me in the first place." His voice was calm, controlled. "It won’t change a thing."
Veyra looked at him.
Whatever she saw in his face made her decide against asking the obvious follow-up.
Neither spoke again.
The carriage rolled on.
Caelus rested his head against the carriage wall and watched the landscape pass.
The decision was made.
He would become a Mage.
They arrived at Veyra’s viscounty in the afternoon.
The estate was smaller than House Vespera’s residence, but it lacked none of the refinement expected from a noble household. Dark stone walls enclosed the grounds, and the servants moved with the quiet efficiency of people accustomed to discretion.
Caelus followed Veyra inside.
His footsteps echoed against polished stone floors. The corridors were cool and quiet, lined with paintings and tapestries that spoke of a long history that he didn’t care about. Eve disappeared into shadow without a word, Caelus barely noticed where she went.
A servant appeared to take their outer garments, moving with practiced efficiency.
"You’ll be staying in the east wing," Veyra said. "There’s a guest room there. I’ll have someone bring you food and fresh clothes."
He nodded, suddenly aware of how worn and battered he must look. His clothes were torn, stained with blood and dirt. His body was covered in bruises and shallow cuts. "Thank you."
She glanced at him. "You’re welcome."
The exchange was simple enough that neither of them commented on it.
He went to the guest room. It was quiet and comfortably furnished, with a large bed and a writing desk overlooking the gardens.
The door closed behind him. He locked it.
The moment the latch clicked into place, he stopped pretending he still had energy left.
He crossed the room and dropped face-first onto the bed.
His body complained immediately, but he was too tired to care. The cool sheets pressed against his bruised face, and for once there was no stone beneath him, no creature waiting in the dark, and no reason to keep his hand near a weapon.
His thoughts refused to settle.
The Saintess came to mind, then Elysa, the Hero, the Academy. C-rank still waited ahead of him, along with the Corrupted King and everything else he remembered from the original story.
Then there was the Eclipse Ring.
The labyrinth.
Lark.
Veyra.
His family.
The sister who had killed him in his first life.
Every problem seemed to lead into another.
He had answers to find, problems to solve, and a body that still needed to reach C-rank before he could properly use what the Eclipse Ring had given him.
Usually, that would have been enough to keep him thinking until morning.
Tonight, it wasn’t.
Caelus let his head sink into the pillow.
For the first time since his death, he did not force himself to plan the next step.
He simply closed his eyes.
Sleep came before he could think of anything else.