n

n

n“Tell me what that means. Come on. You have to give me some flesh to that answer; otherwise, I won’t even consider it,”

n“*sigh*… That pill is a blood pill or something like that, right?”

n“Yes, and what does it do?”

n“It increases your power through demonic means. Meaning… it’s something you should only USE if you’ve hit your lowest point or you have somebody that can counter-act the demonic energy,”

n“Then can you counteract the demonic energy?” I asked as the general grew more impatient with me.

n“I’m a magician, not a saint or saintess. You’re gonna have to get the best of the best to do that… also, how the hell did you even get it? Did somebody give it to you, or did you buy it from somewhere?”

n“I made it… Whatcha gonna do about it then, huh? I made it, asshole, meaning I get to keep it,”

n“*sigh*… I’m saying this for your own safety but do not use that. Only under terrible and dangerous circumstances may you consider using it,” The general said while holding his forehead with his free hand.

n“You guys wanna split this pill later?” I asked my friends around me.

n“No! Stop! None of you are taking that!”

n“Why are you even so worried about us? It’s not like you’re our dad or guardian… in fact, what do you want from us? Everything you’ve been doing for us has been so… protective. Come on, just tell us the truth, and maybe we’ll trust you more,” Bella asked with a slight smirk that seemingly taunted the general in front of us.

n“*sigh*… Fine… I would like to bring you all with me to the World Tower Association,” The general finally admitted before slumping down on his office chair.

n“Oh, you were a scout for that place?” Bella responded, not even impressed.

nThe World Tower Association is a prestigious organization with some expansive schooling and teaching.

nOnce you join it, you’re basically set for life… but there is the condition that you can’t leave the tower unless you get special permission from the Tower Master, who is rarely even around.

n“Nah, I’m the Tower Master,” The general replied with a fully serious face.

n“Huh?” We all blurted out, shell-shocked by the sudden news.

n“Stop lying, asshole… Let’s go, guys. The party has already started, and I want to get drunk before they start running out of alcohol,” Cy said, and everybody but Luna and me followed him out.

nOnce it was just us three in the tent, we eyed each other down like a staring contest waiting to get physical.

n“Sorry, but you probably know the consequences of us joining the Magic Tower. I’m invested in magic but not so much that I would like to lose my freedom… I mean, even if I did join, you would probably be searching for me about every other day,” Luna said, and the general chuckled a bit.

n“Oh, do you two believe that I’m the Tower Master?”

n“There’s no way we can’t… Especially with all of that purified and almost destructive mana swirling within your body. You’re almost like the embodiment of magic at this point… Plus, you said how you haven’t aged. I heard a rumor that the Tower Master looks younger than his real age so that just confirmed it even further,”

n“What about you?” The general said, turning towards me, who was biting my nail.

n“Are you familiar with the title… Arch-Mage?”

n“Indeed I am. Even I have yet to achieve that title, but somebody about twenty years ago obtained that title,”

n“Then are you familiar with the name Psyche? The Traitorous Arch Mage: Psyche?”

nThe general’s eyes widened as he looked at me.

nHis pupils shook vigorously as if he was staring at a destructive relic of the past.

n“You… don’t tell me,”

nI placed my finger over my mouth and made a silencing gesture as Luna was still here, and if given enough information, she’ll most likely figure out my biggest secret.

n“I’ll come later,” I said while dragging Luna away as she was desperate to try and figure out what was going on.

n“Hey! Tell me what you were talking about! I’m so damn confused!”

n“Shut up, and let’s just get drunk. We deserve a break like this,”

n…

nLater that night, I had sobered up completely but wasn’t tired in the slightest, so I decided to leave my drunk friends in our tent and make my way over to the general’s tent.

n“Yo~-… Oh, who is that?” I muttered while rubbing my eyes.

nIn front of me was a man draped in the darkness of the night; the only thing visible was his heavily scarred face.

n“This is my trusty servant Axel right here. He is only just second to my power, so, of course, he is very, very strong. But besides that, why have you come so late at night? Do you wish to continue our conversation?”

n“Yes… Also, Luna, go away,” I said while turning to the empty entrance of the tent.

n“Tch… How’d you know? I made sure to use my most powerful illusion,”

n“Because you weren’t snoring, meaning you made an illusion of yourself. Just go back, and I’ll tell you some other time,”

n“How rude…” Luna said as she ripped herself out of her illusion and then proceeded back to our tent, where she actually left us to have a private conversation.

n“You all have quite the close relationship,” The general chuckled, and as his servant slowly slipped into the shadows below him, I brought up the topic once again.

n“It seems you know my mother… Was she really a traitor? Because from what I’ve seen, she just seemed like a normal woman who happened to be a mage. She didn’t seem evil or anything like that,”

n“I guess I was right. I’m surprised she managed to have a child, but if you want to know the truth, then yes. Yes, she was a traitor,”

nA flood of emotions rushed through my mind, and glimpses of my mother’s loving expression faltered.

n“Though, she was still a good person. She definitely wasn’t evil,”

n