Chapter 669: Chapter 2: Reminiscing

The VIP room of the Starry Sky Magic Academy was quiet and elegant, with a large arched floor-to-ceiling window beyond which the eternal and dazzling Magic Star River of Fran sparkled. Soft artificial starlight shone through the crystal window panes, casting delicate specks of light upon the deep blue velvet carpet. The air was permeated with the light and elegant fragrance of Calming Flowers mixed with ancient scrolls.

Lynch and Graham sat opposite each other in comfortable flannel armchairs, with a low table between them holding two cups of steaming magical tea that could slowly nourish the spirit. The long silence did not make the atmosphere awkward, but rather flowed with a tacit understanding that needed no words after experiencing life and death.

Finally, Lynch broke the silence, his voice gentle, “And then? After the Punishment Square…”

Graham held the warm teacup, his aged fingers caressing the rim, his gaze distant as he looked out at the stars, seemingly lost in memories.

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“After you pulled me out of that hellhole, I was completely unconscious.” He smiled, a hint of post-survival bewilderment in his smile, “I heard from people in the family later that I was like a piece of tattered cloth back then, my breath so weak it was almost imperceptible.”

“The Shadow Land was impossible to stay in, and although the Scoochi Family was in decline, there were still a few elders who valued old connections. They used a secret channel and paid a considerable price to secretly send me to Fran…”

“Here has the best healing spells and life alchemy technology in the Wizard World.”

“By the time I regained consciousness, I had no idea how long had passed, lying in a treatment pod filled with life-giving green light and the scent of potions. My first thought was… hey, Graham, you damn thing, you’re not dead yet.” He shook his head with self-mockery.

“Once I was healed, going back was impossible, the wanted notice is probably still up. So I just stayed here. Fran… indeed, is a good place.” Graham’s tone became soothing:

“Here, unlike home, doesn’t put as much emphasis on origin and bloodline. As long as you have the ability, or are willing to work hard, you can always find a way to make a living. My minor skills suffice to deal with documents for others and coordinate some materials here, allowing me to get by.”

“When I’m idle, I ponder cultivation by myself, although… haha, I haven’t made much progress, but still, I’m alive, and living… rather steadily.”

Lynch listened quietly, he could imagine how tough and reborn that period must have been for Graham. He raised his teacup, toasting his old friend with tea instead of wine.

Putting down the teacup, Lynch’s gaze once again fell on Graham’s wrinkled face and those eyes no longer clear, now clouded and tired. He slightly furrowed his brows, a sharp intuition belonging to a holder of the Time Domain, making him sense something unusual.

“Your condition…” Lynch’s voice carried a subtle concern and doubt, “The degree of aging seems… unusually severe. Even for over two hundred years, for an official wizard, it shouldn’t be like this.”

He had seen too many wizards, even those of mediocre talent, who would have a greatly slowed aging process after crossing that threshold.

Hearing this, Graham was first taken aback, then as if he heard something amusing, the wrinkles on his face relaxed, and he let out a hoarse, magnanimous, yet somewhat helpless chuckle.

“Hahaha… my dear Master Lynch, my Lord Saphiro!” He put down the teacup, spread his hands, “Have you been secluded for so long that you’ve almost forgotten how time flows over ordinary people like us?”

He pointed to his own deeply lined face, his tone teasing but devoid of resentment, “Over two hundred years! Not just over two hundred days! To someone like you, a favored child of heaven, a Domain strongman, it’s just a flick of the fingers. But to us struggling at the bottom, with limited talent ordinary wizards, that’s almost… a lifetime!”

His smile carried a slightly bitter undertone, “Magic power can slow down aging, but it can’t withstand real time. Every failed impact, every shortage of resources, every depletion of the spirit, leaves marks upon the body. To have survived over two hundred years, without turning to dust, I am already quite satisfied.”

He looked at Lynch, his gaze complex, half-joking, half-sighing as he spoke, his tone growing more rueful and elongated, “Don’t use your monster-like standards to measure us mortals, old friend. No one can truly keep pace with you… We relics of the old era, destined to be just traces of fading ink in the margins of your long scroll of life.”

These words, like a cold needle, lightly pierced Lynch’s heart.

Indeed,

Only now did Lynch suddenly and seriously realize, he had been away from the land of the Ancient Ruins for so long.

Not one or two days, not one or two years.

But a full two hundred years!

The extreme lifespan of the wizard level is only five hundred years, even the highest level wizards cannot cross this threshold of life.

Yet, apprentices who can advance to wizard status are few, most apprentices in fact spend their entire lives only reaching the Apprentice Rank, their lifespan not much longer than that of ordinary mortals.

Over two hundred years, for him, is just a moment, but for most living beings, it truly is a long, long time.

Long enough for many creatures to live out their entire lives.

“Relics of the old era… fading ink traces…”

He murmured these words, gray eyes seeming to reflect a river of time flowing rapidly. In an instant, Carl’s hearty laughter, Subaru’s honest face, Lanice’s sly eyes, and… Avery’s cold countenance which occasionally bloomed for him into a meltwater smile…

Faces vivid and alive flashed quickly before his eyes, yet seemed to be obscured by an increasingly thick, glassy film called time, becoming blurred and unclear.

An inexplicable, cold sense of urgency seized him suddenly. He possessed nearly everlasting life, capable of exploring endless mysteries, climbing the peaks of strength. But what about them? Those friends who once gave him warmth and support at his most insignificant?

Time passes, pausing for no one.

A stark and resounding thought boomed within his heart: looks like it’s time to go back! To see these old friends!

Otherwise…

As time flows like rushing water, unreturnable, things left undone, words left unsaid.

When finally the time has passed.

All that’s left is regret beyond retrieval…

Just as waves surged in Lynch’s heart, the door to the VIP room was gently knocked.

Then, Headmaster Abbas entered. The usual gentle smile on his face was slightly restrained, replaced by a solemn expression.

His eyes fell directly upon Lynch, his voice steady but with an undeniable weight: “Lynch, sorry to interrupt your reminiscences. My teacher, the ’Star Speaker’, wishes to see you.”

He paused, emphasizing, “Now.”

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