The next day,

  Elyas woke up, strangely enough, he didn't experience any nightmares. Glancing around at the desolate void, he sighed. “...I really should buy a watch.” Indeed, he needed one badly. He could even say it was a matter of life and death.

  He needed to know exactly how long he had stayed here. Elyas wanted to know how much time he had in the real world before the tumour visited again.

  But he didn't linger long. He felt at his heart, his chest now warm and full. His Will had regenerated. Grabbing onto it, and pulling like Julius had taught him to.

  He pulled it upwards towards his head. As it reached, his eyes saw further, his hearing now sensitive to the rustle of his own clothes. Elyas's thoughts moved with tremendous speed, it was as if he could perceive the world on a deeper level.

  It would be great if he could keep it up, but this state simply cost too much Will to sustain. Even now, it had already depleted a quarter of his reserves. Elyas focused. Remembering the cold wind, the gray patchy stone streets, the hovel which housed him at his worst.

  Mistwood.

  He pushed and quickly made a window, he was getting faster at it. ‘I wonder how long it'll take before I can do it in a second.’ Elyas didn't have time to waste, he was running against the clock. Stepping out into the alley, he startled one of Noah's neighbors.

  Elyas looked at the brunette. “Oh sorry ma'am.” The woman looked at Elyas, seemingly understanding something. “Do you live in this house?” She asked, pointing at Noah's place.

  Elyas gave the woman a melancholic look. “Oh I did… but it didn't workout that well.”

  The woman's eyes sparked with interest. She hesitated, tugging at her blue dress, lingering some more before speaking: “Sorry for asking… but is he available now? Is he any good?”

  Elyas showed a puzzled expression. He wasn't sure what she was talking about. The neighbor, noticing this, clarified as she fiddled with her shirt's pale fabric.

  “Umm… what I meant to ask was… is he good in bed?”

  “Excuse me!?”

  Before Elyas could say anything else, the woman spoke with a hurried and flustered voice. “Sorry! It was rude to ask about your boyfriend! Do you smell it? I must have left the oven on!” The woman left immediately. Leaving Elyas in the empty alley. Wind passed over the still snow, cooling before hitting him in the face.

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  Spring's warmth hadn't arrived yet. Snow wasn't thawing.

  ‘What a marvelous day… Did she say boyfriend?’ Elyas stopped for a moment, before remembering that he couldn't afford to waste time. He rushed to get to class.

  …

  In Mistwoods’ biggest D.E.B

  Elyas walked down the hallway, he let out a sigh of relief. ‘Thank god everyone's in class.’

  Thankfully he had come late due to a fight between two local gangs in his way. He walked forward enjoying the rare quiet between these walls. Elyas opened his classroom door and examined the class for a moment, a puzzled expression finding its way onto his face.

  ‘Did I make a mistake?’ he glanced up at the sign near the door. ‘Nope. It says it's class B2… So where's everybody?’ He looked at the empty classroom one more time before closing the door.

  ‘Well, I guess I'm visiting Hanan today.’ he turned and picked his way towards the man's office. Elyas wasn't very fond of the guy considering what he had done to Noah.

  But he was the only person he knew in the school’s staff besides the giant.

  Come to think of it, I'm quite well connected already. I assume knowing three True Legacies is not common.’ he stopped, slightly frowning before resuming his walk. ‘…now that I'm thinking about it, if we're really that rare for people to make a scene every time one of us appears, then why does a supposedly small town in the middle of nowhere have three?’

  Elyas had pushed the question into the back of his mind. He planned on asking Julius if he had taken Anick’s place for today as well. Soon, he reached the manager's office. He opened the door.

  “God damn it! Knock— oh, if it isn't Mister Mortall.” Hanan hurriedly hid something behind his back, Elyas took note of it. “Sorry to interrupt your… anyways, I came here because my class was empty and today we were supposed to have theoretical class—”

  “Oh, didn't trainer Julius inform your class yesterday?”

  Elyas showed a confused look, making Hanan sigh before resuming. “Mr Anick, B2 and A1’s theoretical instructor, has fallen ill. But no need to be concerned, Mr Anick had called this morning, informing us of his steady recovery.”

  “... Alright, but what do I do about the empty classroom?”

  “Oh, I believed we had sent a telegraph to Enforcer Jones regarding the matter. Your classes with instructor Anick are currently on hold, so enjoy your few days off however you'd like Mister.”

  Elyas nodded, Noah was probably too tired to remember to tell him about it.

  “Mr Hanan… did you manage to get a hold of Cid?” Elyas asked another question.

  The manager shook his head. “We have, but it's not good news. The boy seemed… out of it for the most part. My colleagues and I decided to give him a few weeks off, he's currently home recovering.”

  Elyas nodded and left Hana's office without much talk. ‘To think one would scar a child like that…’ he quickly got rid of the thought. Instead, he thought about his conversation with Hanan as he navigated through the hallways.

  ‘Telegraph huh. I thought people only used those in detective novels… or any historical drama for that matter.’

  Elyas stopped. “Speaking of history, I had a meeting with the Librarians!” Elyas quickened his pace, shoes tapping rhythmically against the wooden floor.

  …

  Near the dumping zone.

  Cid watched as a hooded man rushed forward through the cramped alleys of the northern backstreets. The man's slender frame whistled through the air along with his gray beard which swayed with each left and right turn. Anick was carrying several dirty bags, it was hard to tell what was inside from where Cid stood.

  It didn't take long for Anick to reach the dumping zone along with Cid who hid himself from Anick. This middle aged man had seen better days, to think he would be involved in such matters.

  Anick sighed, “Doesn't matter… all I have to do is finish this one request.” He walked forward, stepping on the now yellow soil. The toxicity of the area was showing its true color now that it had escaped the enslavement of the cold.

  Standing in a dark corner of a distant alley, Cid watched his teacher carry several bags through the rusty gates of the junkyard.

  “Yes, I'm there. I'll make sure no one sees a thing sir.” He said, speaking to himself. Then a voice came, barely audible through the brass stopwatch’s glass. “Make… it's… if you…kill…regret.”

  “Yes sir.” Cid said, and with that, the voice stopped and the watch resumed its usual ticking.

  Turning his head slightly, Cid glanced at two men dressed in dark blue uniforms, embroidered with intricate patterns of gold.

  Cid let out a sigh, “Let's take care of the trash first.”

  He leaned towards the unconscious bodies laying in the darkness of the alley, and tapped their foreheads. Just as he did, the bodies began to shiver and convulse that lasted about a minute before they turned normal again. Soon, both men opened their eyes.

  Their pupils now deep scarlet.