"Please", the uncle's voice sounded softly. "We don't want to hurt anyone..."

"Of course", Fengari replied, not particularly convinced by his words.

"Maybe we can help you if you just give us a chance!"

Fengari glanced back questioningly as Cale transformed back into the blond-haired Frignezer, which immediately caused panic.

"No. Wait! Wait...", the uncle began to shout. "This is all a misunderstanding, please believe me."

"Misunderstanding?"

"I just happened to be here. Really. I... I have... I won't say anything. I swear! Please... just let me go, okay? And we'll forget the whole thing?"

"Demon...", Ezzedin said meekly, his gaze fixed on Cale.

"Please. I swear! Give me a chance. I have a high rank within our society and..."

"Nothing that would be of use to me", Cale interrupted, utterly disgusted by the way the uncle had abruptly changed his priorities. "You are more useful dead, to put it mildly."

"No. No. Please! Please give me the opportunity to..."

Suddenly, the uncle lost all tension in his body and collapsed. Ezzedin watched in confusion as his lifeless uncle fell to the floor and did not move. Only then did it dawn on him what had happened.

"NOOOOOOOOO! UNCLE!" Ezzedin cried out in panic as Cale enclosed the body within a barrier and set it on fire. Again and again, Ezzedin screamed, his face covered in tears and his eyes filled with panic.

"Any last words?" Cale finally spoke, standing in front of Ezzedin.

"Why?", Ezzedin screamed in horror. "WHY! He didn't do anything to you! NOTHING! If you're after me, why drag Dihal into it! He has a family! A son to take care of! How dare you!"

"How dare I?"

Cale's voice was so quiet and unassuming. He had long since come to terms with the situation and would not be dissuaded from his opinion now.

"How could you dare? To attack the dragon?"

"Dihal had nothing to do with it!", Ezzedin countered. "I was stupid. I was arrogant and I made a mistake. I'm aware of that! But none of it had anything to do with Dihal! He was just worried about me. He had nothing to do with it at all!"

"Caleb...", Fengari spoke up. "Don't let his words influence you."

"I won't", Cale assured him, looking down at the burning corpse next to him.

"He... he was so looking forward to having a child...", Ezzedin could be heard saying quietly. "All these years he always wanted to be a father, and now... now that Adamchak is... he is..."

Without comment, Cale killed Ezzedin too.

He couldn't listen to this any longer. He wasn't the bad guy, the Thormods were. Did they really think they would get away with this? Attacking a dragon? And then the humans? Had they lost their minds?

"This was different than I thought", whispered Fengari, crawling toward Ezzedin's corpse, still in the form of a rat.

Fengari watched silently as Cale burned the second corpse as well. Neither of them said anything for a good minute until the corpses had completely disappeared. Dihal's spear was still lying in the corner, which Cale took and made disappear with his zero magic.

"Let's go", Cale announced quietly. "Someone is approaching our location."

Fengari didn't need to be told twice, as she sprinted to the door first and turned around expectantly. Cale took one last look at the small apartment before following Fengari and hiding in the darkness.

Two Thormods he didn't know were coming toward them. Running.

The two rats inconspicuously squeezed themselves against the wall as the Thormod ran past them and jerked the curtain aside.

"They're not here!", he shouted loudly. "Both of them."

"Calm down, they must be here somewhere. I just saw Dihal."

"Where?"

It was Fengari who persuaded Cale to leave. She took the lead, while Cale discreetly followed her back to the entrance. But his thoughts lingered on Ezzedin's last words.

Adamchak.

Had he heard correctly? Wasn't that the name of the Thormod who had attacked Grischa back then? And if so, what was Cale supposed to do with this information? Should he kill him now that he was here? Or would that attract too much attention?

<How am I even supposed to find him?>

If Adamchak was still a child, then Cale wouldn't recognize him. And he couldn't rely on the mana - which made it impossible. But Adamchak was a problem that Cale couldn't ignore. Was it worth the risk? Making two Thormods disappear was already conspicuous enough - but three?

That wasn't a good idea, Cale knew that immediately.

So he decided against it. If he started eliminating Thormods now, which could become a issue later, the chairman would notice sooner or later. Of course, he could murder all the leaders now and cause mass panic, but who would that help? He had to eliminate Hosik, and without knowing what he looked like, that was harder than he thought.

<I should have talked to Luc and Rangar right away, then I wouldn't have this problem.>

Or Damian should have waited a day before hurling Cale back into reality. Then Cale could probably have planned better and wouldn't have ended up here so unprepared.

<Stop. Not here. Not now. I have other priorities>, he reminded himself.

The two rats climbed out of the cave inconspicuously and ran toward the mountains. Cale could feel how relieved he was after they had left the Thormods' camp and he could finally take a deep breath. When they were a safe distance from the city, Cale slowed down and reversed the transformation. He breathed a sigh of relief and stretched briefly as he felt Chioni's mana reacting in his body.

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<"Chioni?">, Fengari and Cale said in unison, exchanging surprised glances.

<"I see you found the Thormod">, replied the white dragon with a calm and happy tone.

<"Has the mark disappeared? How is your mana?">, Fengari asked excitedly.

<"As if nothing had ever happened. The mark disappeared some time ago, but I... didn't dare to use my gift right away">, she said cautiously. <"Did you have any problems?">

<"Not at all, the Apostle made short work with Thormod.">

<"It wasn't difficult, we just had to search for a while and eliminate another Thormod as well">, Cale said calmly and began to fly, because he didn't feel like dealing with creatures right now. Fengari hurried after him, and together the two blond-haired figures flew toward the mountains where the dragons had taken up residence in the 6th Life. <"Has Goddess Parousia been able to accomplish anything yet?">

<"She's not back yet">, Chioni explained. <"Otherwise, she would have called you to her.">

<"Is it always this difficult to contact Mellontikos?">

<"This is the first time she has ever tried">, Chioni clarified. <"Normally, the gods visit us when they can, but they never stay very long. Parousia is responsible for what happens in the present.">

<"I see", Cale murmured and paused. <"Chioni, forgive me for asking so abruptly, but can I use your ability to contact my people?">

<"Anytime. I knew from the start that you would need it.">

<"Thank you">, Cale replied politely. Chioni also thanked him for his help and said goodbye to the two of them.

He took one last look back at the creature plain stretching out behind him. The entrance to Phaseen had long since disappeared from view, but Cale knew roughly where it was. A queasy feeling spread through him as he looked in that direction.

The last few minutes felt very strange. It was as if someone had taken over his body and done the work for him. But now... that's when the doubts really started to surface. Had he let their cries influence him?

"Caleb?">, Fengari spoke up. <"Don't you want to report to the other Apostle?">

<"I was planning to">, Cale confirmed, turning away from the creature plane. <"Let's fly to Sylve while I talk to him.">

Fengari nodded in agreement before shooting forward as if she were competing in a race. Cale followed her slowly, crawling up the mountain as the evening sun set behind him. He carefully tried to establish a connection with the Eldest, just as Chioni had once taught him. When he felt that the connection was about to be established, he waited a few moments before speaking.

<"Don't be alarmed.">

There was no response from the elder, neither in the form of mana nor as an answer.

<"If you answer in your mind, I can hear you. If it's inappropriate, I'll try again tonight.">

<"In my m...d?"> The Eldest's voice could be heard, causing Cale to laugh. He wondered if he had sounded the same during his first attempt, but Chioni herself was much more talented with her ability. She could hear him even when he spoke loudly to her.

<"It takes some getting used to, I know. Just try it a little, I'll let you know when you can be understood properly.">

<"You're asking... me s....ng, t... I've never done...">, replied the Eldest. Cale only partially understood what he was trying to convey, but did not comment on it.

He followed Fengari into the sky and finally reached the top of the mountain range that separated Sylve from Altona. There was even some snow up here, though not much. The dragon sat down, took some snow in her hand, and tried to form a ball, which gave Cale an idea of what she was up to. She must have seen children throwing snowballs at each other and was trying to imitate them. Unfortunately, the snow was much too fine and sparse for her to create a proper ball that wouldn't fall apart.

<"I have no choice but t.., ri...? I... feel stupid. As if... I... were talking to myself. Were you able to kill Th...? What does their c... look like? Did encountered many ...?">

The Eldest's attempts were poor, but they were getting a little better.

<"Can you still hear me?">

<"I can hear you, yes. The last sentence was excellent, you could almost understand it.">

<"You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?">

<"Me? Never.">

<"I can smell your lie from here, my friend.">

<"Ho! That sounded really good right now. You got the hang of it quickly, I was really struggling with it.">

<"Are you making fun of me...?">

Cale laughed loudly at the statement as he came to a stop next to Fengari and placed his hand on her head, causing her to look up at him. Like a desperate child, she held out a small pile of snow, which was supposed to be a sad snowball. Cale held out both hands, and Fengari placed the pile in them. Cale made a few small drops of water appear and moistened the snow slightly so that it would stick together better. Then he began to press it together firmly and formed a beautiful ball.

<"No, not at all. I'm completely serious">, Cale replied to the Eldest's statement and handed the perfect creation back to the dragon, who looked at it with narrowed eyes, as if she had no understanding of how Cale had managed to do it. <"Are you alone?">

<"Yes, for now at least. You've made quite an impression... Grischa and Rangar asked where you went.">

<"Really? What did they want from me?">

<"Good question, they just asked where you were.">

<"What did you tell them?">, Cale asked, watching as Fengari took the snowball in her small hand and threw it into the air a few times. She then hurled the ball into the sky with such force that it couldn't withstand the pressure and shattered into a thousand pieces a good two meters above them. "Wow, are you trying to kill someone with that? Don't do that in front of people, let alone children."

<"Understood">, Fengari answered.

<"That you will live in Sylve.">

<"Perfect, thank you">, replied Cale. <"I just wanted to check in briefly to tell you that I killed Thormod and am currently in the mountains. You can use Chioni's ability at will to contact me if you need me. If you're interested, I can call on Velence and use his ability to show you memories from my past.">

<"That's possible?">

<"Yes, it is. I've done it before, but I'll ask him first. Velence's ability can't be used as passively as Chioni's, and I don't want to be a constant burden on him.">

<"Understandable">, the Eldest simply replied. <"It doesn't have to be today, but I may take you up on your offer in the next few days or weeks. I would be interested to know how my alternate self behaved in the past.">

<"Isn't that kind of uncomfortable for you?">

<"Certainly. Knowing that I have a twin in another reality who thinks and acts just like me is strange. Not to mention behaving like me in certain situations and decisions. I mean, why did I tell you my real name?">

<"Unfortunately, I can't answer that either. That evening, we had a long conversation about my situation and... one thing led to another.">

<"Weard. Even now, I wouldn't tell you my name if you didn't already know it.">

<"I understand">, said Cale, gesturing to Fengari to leave the snow behind and follow him to Sylve. <"Back then, you were the only person I could talk openly with about time travel. Without you... I don't know if I would ever have found out the truth. For which, by the way, I am still very grateful.">

<"You're welcome, I guess?">, the Eldest commented simply, pausing briefly before asking the question that had been weighing on his mind for some time. <"Did I tell you about my relationship with Aaron?">

<"Yes, you did. I know your story and your perspective on the events.">

<"Oh...">, the magician blurted out unintentionally.

<"It's okay, I wouldn't have mentioned it if you hadn't asked. It's your life, I'm certainly not going to interfere.">

<"Thanks">, the Eldest replied as Cale began to fly. Compared to the clear weather in Altona, Sylve was relatively cloudy, and in some regions it even seemed to be raining. He wanted to avoid having to resort to his magic. <"Have I ever told Aaron the truth in this life?">

<"Do you really want an answer to that?">

<"I don't know... it would reassure me to know how he would react if I told him. Even though I don't know if I ever will">, the Eldest confessed, and fell silent for a moment. <"Please tell me.">

<"If you want">, Cale announced calmly. <"You told him, yes. In a little over 20 years, from today's perspective. And... what can I say? Aaron was ashamed and cried, Damian. I don't know how many times he apologized for his actions. It really affected him and... he deeply regretted how he behaved towards you.">

The Eldestdid not respond to the statement.

<"Do you remember... when I told you that... Aaron died in my arms?">, Cale continued. <"For me... it happend very recently. He had fought three leaders on his own and was already badly wounded when I arrived. I... couldn't save him.">

The remorse immediately came back to Cale. If he hadn't hesitated... if he had gone to him right away... then...

<"He... Aaron knew he wasn't going to survive">, Cale continued, tears in his eyes. <"Do you know what he said to me?">

<"What?">

<"He regretted that his hatred had determined all his actions. He regretted not being more open and... his last words to me were to keep an eye on you.">

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