Death, Devotion, Dissonance

Evin breathed out a sigh of relief, hearing Lord Kena's friendly tone. 

"Tell me," Lord Kena continued. "How did you come upon these three strange men?"

"They came upon us when we were climbing the Cataract," Endra said. "They thought we had one of their cloaking devices."

"Did you?" 

"We didn't. But we did possess it for a short while. Now, it should be in the hands of the kingdom."

<Just tell him the whole story,> Evin urged.

<Not yet.>

"Tell me the whole story."

Endra kept silent, then glanced at the door behind him.

"Oh, you're worried about your family," Kena hummed. "Do not worry. If they simply stay in this city, they'll be safe from any and all threats. Ah, if they don't wish to stay near Cobfolk, then you can send them to Koidot city. I can talk to Kal and have her arrange protection for your family."

"The Leader of the Paradra?" Ssatsko asked.

"Indeed," Lord Kena said. "She's something of a Junior of mine. Don't worry about the details. And don't worry about her strength. In fact, I'm sure she'll do a better job than me."

"O-of course I won't doubt you or her, Lord Kena."

"But, I have one condition," the Cobfolk said. "I need to talk to Evin there privately."

Evin gulped, wondering what there was to talk about. 

'He said it so solemnly, he's definitely going to ask something from me, right? But what would someone like this need from me? I'm a century behind him, aren't I?'

Evin thought about the matter and came to one possible conclusion. 

'Maybe he's going to have me search for the otherworlders? He seems knowledgeable about them, but for one reason or another, he's letting them be… He said my family will be safe from the otherworlders if they simply stay in his city. That should mean they're afraid of appearing near Kena. Perhaps it's the same with this Leader of the Paradra.'

That made sense in Evin's head.

'Which is why, he needs someone to hunt them for him. I probably won't have to fight them, though. I'd just find them and then report to him, or something…'

"Oh, don't think of it too seriously," the former Aspect added. "I'll just ask you some questions. You won't even have to answer them if you want to."

Evin cocked his head, confused.

"I probably won't mind some questions," Endra answered for him. "Maybe grandpa can go talk to mother and ask her where she would prefer to live in the meantime."

"Are you sure?" Ssatsko asked.

"If something happens, I'll scream at the top of my lungs. Do make sure to come save me then."

Ssatsko paused, looked away and fake coughed. "I'll go talk to Lora, then."

Evin watched his grandfather leave after bowing his head to Lora Kena, his pride most likely damaged.

Lord Kena then put one of his hands on Evin's shoulder. "Hmmm… Follow me."

The former Aspect left the desk and entered a different room, quite a large one at a glance. Compared to the previous one, which was as orderly as a room could be; this one was perhaps, as messy as a room could be. Books littered all over the floor, plates with leftover food, at least ten different cups, clothes of various shapes. The only thing devoid of objects was a chair the former Aspect presumably sat on.

But what was most prevalent in the room was artifacts and magical devices of all sorts. Some of them seemed harmless, while others felt like they were about to explode with mana. 

"Sorry for the mess," Kena said casually and moved through the piles and piles of things, picking some of them up with his spare hands, sometimes moving them with tendrils of thick Tenarak energy.

However, mana wasn't the only thing present in the room. Flasks and vials filled with various unknown materials were decorating one wall, and Evin knew one touch of them and he would be no more. He didn't know why the otherworlders melted under the effects of mana, but something told him that foreign energies would do the same to his body the same. 

One such object was a blue-green… tree of some sorts standing in one corner of Kena's room. It had vine-like branches coming out of a thick stump planted inside a pot. Evin called it a tree, because it was the only similar thing he could think of, but it had no leaves, its body was smooth, almost glossy like Kena's skin, and it also pulsed with bright blue-green light occasionally.

Evin didn't know what the blue-green light was, but it didn't give off the dangerous feeling that the other mysterious materials had. It felt familiar to Evin, but somehow it felt taboo. Like something Evin wasn't supposed to see. Out of everything in the room, it was the most interesting thing to Evin. It seemed it was the same with Endra.

<What is that?> Endra's voice was filled with awe and want. A rare sound to hear.

<How am I supposed to know?> 

Kena's produced a Talisman from his Storage Ring and put it on the tree. Nothing happened to the tree, but Kena's hands took on the same blue sheen.

"Touch it," the former Authority said, nodding at the tree.

"Lord?"

"The tree, touch it," Kena insisted. "It might be helpful to you."

Hesitantly, Evin reached for the tree. 

Upon contact, his fingertips turned shining blue, and a ring of light wrapped his finger slowly moved up. When it reached Evin's hand, its speed increased exponentially and in a split second, it rushed to Evin's chest. An incredible force pulsed through his body, and Evin was thrown away. 

However, Evin didn't slam into anything, instead, he slowed down right afterwards, even feeling as if he was going to be pulled back into his original spot again. Exactly that happened. A moment after Evin was blown away due to the force coming out of the tree, he was back where he was standing. 

He immediately fell to his knees and started breathing raggedly. His whole body was sweating and he could even feel his teeth shivering. But Evin couldn't blame Kena for putting him through something like this. 

He did not know what exactly he felt when it happened, but it was definitely something exceptional. The moment was ephemeral, but Evin was something so much vaster during it. Transcendent, omnipotent, invincible, and eternal. It felt similar to how he felt when Endra first started sharing his mind with, except this time the feeling was a thousand times stronger.

Evin's moment of euphoria did not last long, though. When the aftereffects of the moment subsided, he noticed the lack of something in his soul. 

'Endra?' he tried to ask, but the method he used to talk to Endra was not even working. 

"Well, this is certainly a surprise…" Kena's voice sounded from above. "And which world do you hail from, intruder?" 

Evin looked above, and found Kena's blue hand grabbing a man by the neck. Endra.