When the sun rose in the east, it reminded Cale that the next morning had dawned. Together with Fengari, he had spent the entire night at the Magistrat compiling all his knowledge about the creatures into a single book. He had rearranged their order, adjusted some details, and at the end, he had also included a section with creatures that did not have an official name. The Thormods and the giant, which had been sighted shortly before his death, were also listed here, along with a few others.

Relieved, Cale stretched extensively before gathering his documents and making them disappear with his zero magic. He then put all the books back in their places and tore Fengari away from her reading session. During the night, she had developed a new curiosity and tried to find out information about Aaron Thopas. She had even found some bad drawings of him, which she had made fun of.

The two of them left the library in the early hours of the morning and headed for the Eldest's study. Several magicians stood guard at his door, and after Cale gave his name, they announced his arrival to the Eldest. He quietly entered the room with the little girl by the hand and conjured a barrier before bringing up his documents. The old magician, however, fixed his gaze on the child at Cale's side as he stood up and approached him.

"Morning", Cale greeted him.

"Morning", the Eldest replied hesitantly. "Excuse me... are you... Fengari?"

"I am", Fengari confirmed, letting go of Cale's hand, taking her dress in both hands, and bowing. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I currently live under the name Ahri Adenia, so please call me Ahri."

"The pleasure... is all mine", the Eldest replied politely, looking a little nervous. The Eldest also held one hand in front of his chest and bowed to the blond-haired child who could reduce his beloved city to rubble and ashes.

"Here", Cale drew attention back to himself. "I've written down everything you need."

"You stayed up all night, right?"

"We High-Magicians don't sleep much anyway", Cale commented amusedly and handed him his work. The Eldest would take care of publishing his book and discreetly introduce it to the market. They had planned to wait some time before the Eldest encouraged Sefra to read this book and use it for her lessons. They couldn't change the situation from one day to the next without it becoming awkward or even conspicuous.

"What exactly are your next steps?", the Eldest asked calmly, taking the papers.

"I will take care of Thormod, who is suppressing the dragon Chioni's ability. Once that is done, we will be able to communicate with each other through our thoughts."

"Fascinating ability. I will still arrange for Grischa's communication crystal, correct?"

"Yes, please", Cale confirmed. "If possible, not too... conspicuously. He will certainly develop the idea himself and start experimenting."

"I will keep that in mind", replied the Eldest, placing the papers behind him on the table.

"After all this, I will settle in Bellator and try to get in touch with the king's advisors or King Leonhardt himself as a soldier. I can't realy say how long that will take me..."

"All right. If you need anything, let me know."

Cale nodded in agreement and placed his hand on Fengari's head. For a few moments, he wondered if he had forgotten anything, but that should have been everything. The Eldest would take care of the things Cale had focused on in his sixth life while keeping an eye on Sylve. He especially wanted to keep an eye on the members of the royal family because, with Nodiavi no longer alive, he didn't know what would happen to them. It was quite possible that another Thormod would sneak into Sylve's heart or try to obtain information through other means. Therefore, Cale felt it was important for Fengari and him to be there regularly to observe the situation.

"Thank you very much for your help, Eldest", Cale said calmly in gratitude.

"You're welcome. We are colleagues and old friends, aren't we?"

Cale was relieved that the Eldest behaved this way. Without his help, he would never have gotten this far in life. Literally, without Damian, Cale would still be stuck in the wrong reality, unaware of what the future held for him. He owed the magician a great deal, things that were of great importance to Cale, both physically and mentally.

"Absolutely", Cale replied, somewhat embarrassed. "I'll be on my way then. Take care of yourself."

Fengari also said goodbye politely before they left the Magistrat. On the way to the exit, Cale noticed Aaron watching him from the window. Cale picked up Fengari in his arms and turned around before raising his hand and waving to him. Aaron looked at him in confusion for a moment and hesitantly raised his hand to say goodbye as well.

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"Don't you want to say goodbye in person?", Fengari asked, waving as well.

"I don't think I can", Cale confessed and turned away.

Seeing Aaron was an absolute mess of emotions. As happy as it made Cale to see him alive and well, he didn't want to stay near him for too long. Because as soon as he talked to Aaron, he felt the urge to tell him everything - worse than with Grischa. And seeing him from a distance wasn't much better, as Cale was immediately flooded with memories of Aaron's death.

It was still too fresh. Cale couldn't and didn't want to deal with the subject yet.

But Cale knew that this wouldn't be their last encounter. Even if it would take several years before they faced each other again. Cale hadn't yet decided when he would tell them about his rebirths. He was cautious because he didn't want to influence their future too much, especially Grischa's future family. Until the day of Fabio's birth, Cale would keep the secret to himself, but he was already certain that he would definitely tell them about it. The exact when and how would only become clear over time.

"Shall we go hunting now?", Fengari asked after they had left the Magistrat and headed straight for the city gates.

"That is my intention, yes", Cale confirmed.

After a short walk, they had left the mage city behind them, and Cale felt confident enough to speak openly about his plans.

"We have to gain access to the city unnoticed", he began, changing their forms before suppressing his mana. "I would very much prefer that no one find out about the operation, even afterward. So keep an eye on our surroundings, okay?"

"Of course", Fengari confirmed and began to fly, which Cale did the same.

The dragon also completely concealed her presence and followed the Apostle toward the creature planes. Cale was somewhat cautious about blindly killing any Thormods, as he did not know how many of them already carried Chioni's mana within them. Last time, they had been fortunate to come across the Thormod right away, and Fengari had recognized it at once. This time, he had only gained insight into Chioni's memories thanks to Velence and had to rely on his eyes accordingly. His sense of mana sources could cause major problems in their search if he focused on it blindly.

When they reached the border of the plains, they both ended their flight and walked through the danger zone. Cale headed for the city of the Thormods - Phaseen - without comment. His mother had given him a good description of the location and layout of the region, so Cale was able to navigate relatively safely. However, he prayed inwardly that the Thormod they were looking for would not be in the city itself, but he also had to expect the worst. He didn't really have anywhere else to start his search. In his other life, the Thormod had also stayed close to the city, which is why Cale suspected that he was not allowed to move around on his own. The ability to connect was probably as valuable as the saints, even if there were significantly more of them.

The deeper they ventured into the plains, the more they encountered creatures that attacked them. However, before Cale killed them, he always checked to see if anyone was nearby. Occasionally, he had the brief feeling that he was being watched, but in the end, they were completely alone. They walked through the plains for a long time and approached the 4th plain, which was considered the most dangerous region. Anuxers rarely survived their excursions into this region because there were far too many creatures roaming around. But Cale had long since come to a different conclusion as to why it was so difficult to escape alive from here.

Thormods.

Together with Fengari, he hid behind a rock when he spotted two Thormods. Neither of them carried mana or wore any decorations on their bodies, but they had weapons in their hands and walked together through the dry landscape. Neither of them had noticed Cale or Fengari, likely because they followed the same route every day and seldom ran into trouble. If humans came this close to the region, they would inevitably attract attention because the creatures would pounce on them. But Cale and Fengari deliberately kept themselves hidden and killed the creatures silently if they were really noticed. By suppressing their mana, they were almost invisible to the creatures anyway.

"They still haven't found her?", one of the Thormods spoke up and approached their hiding place. They weren't even really focused on the possibility of enemies approaching them unnoticed and were talking to each other as if they were out for a walk.

"I know, shocking, isn't it?"

"Maybe she ran away, like her sister."

"Nodiavi? No chance, that woman is insane. She would never leave the chairman."

"That's what they thought about the others, and look what happened."

"But we're talking about leader Nodiavi here - this city means everything to her."

"I don't know, Aqueous... have you noticed what's been going on in recent years? More and more people are starting to doubt Hosik's decisions."

"Psst! Are you crazy? Don't say that, what if someone hears you?"

"Come on, there's no one here. Who would hear me?"

"Just be careful, you could be hanged for saying something like that!", the Thormod replied, who was probably called Aqueous, in a warning tone.

For Cale, it was more than just strange to hear how normally the two Thormods talked and feared being killed by their own people. He had only ever met Thormods with a rank, but these men here radiated a completely different aura. As if they were... harmless.

"I get it, I get it... but you have to admit I'm right."

"Of course you're right", Aqueous commented sharply. "The current situation can hardly get any worse. No one tells us what's going on, and there are constantly problems. I wouldn't be surprised if..."

Unaware of the danger lurking nearby, the two Thormods continued walking and disappeared. Cale stared in their direction for a few moments before returning his attention to his goal. If he had to go any further, it was better not to be in human form - that much was certain.

They had to change their appearance so they wouldn't be noticed, but what wouldn't stand out here? How small could he and Fengari make themselves? Were there Thormods who also possessed the all-seeing eyes? He couldn't ask Palaios for help at the moment, so he had to rely on his own abilities. If they were discovered, he could always take on the form of a Thormod and flee, even if that wasn't a particularly good alternative. The Thormods would know that someone was sneaking around without permission, and that was not something Cale wanted to cause.

But he didn't have much choice - he had to find this Thormod and kill him discreetly. Only one animal came to mind that could live in a forest full of creatures and Thormods.

A rat.

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