It had been six years. He did not know when it started, but the prince did not hate his current life too much. He was far away from disputes and schemes, death and bloodshed.
Classes, training, reading, playing chess, being a passerby, being on guard duty …
Wya, Ralf, Aida …
Lisban, Nicholas, Justin, Ginghes …
And that girl.
But Thales knew that there was a small voice in his heart reminding him. After Putray's arrival, this voice became clearer. For him, who was born with many hardships, this would not last long.
Fate would not show kindness for no reason. Accidents always came suddenly.
For example …
The prince sighed and flipped open the "Light of Mankind: The Beginning and End of the Temple of Knights" he brought. He took out a familiar-looking sky-blue invitation card.
Thales looked at the beautiful cursive handwriting on it. There were only three words:
'Are you ready?'
The prince shook his head and raised his head again to look at Asda, who had suddenly appeared opposite him.
Strangely, such an obvious living person appeared in the private room, right in front of the prince …
But everyone who could see him, be it Wya, Ralf, Justin, or even the countless soldiers on the streets and on the opposite building, did not seem to see him. Their gazes swept over the Mystic's position from time to time, but they did not react.
It was as if this person did not exist.
This made Thales uneasy. He could only adjust his breathing and control his heartbeat.
'This is not the first time.
'Calm down.'
He comforted himself.
"Don't worry, they won't be able to hear my voice, and they won't be able to see my existence. Air is a very interesting thing. With a little adjustment, miracles will happen." The Air Mystic did not even raise his head as he stroked the chess piece in his hand.
"After all, there is only one Black Sword in the world."
Asda was still as handsome as ever. His dark brown curly hair was still pleasing to the eye, and his robe was as clean as new. It was as if he had suddenly traveled from six years ago to six years later, ignoring the passage of time in between.
"Yes." Thales furrowed his brows slightly. "Deep impression."
"You've grown up."
Asda raised his eyes and said calmly. There was a faint blue light behind his eyes. "You seem to be very relaxed. You don't have any self-awareness of being a hostage of a country."
Thales did not look at the man's expression. He grabbed a pawn and moved it forward. "Am I supposed to cry every day and hope that a calamity who can overturn the world will come and save me?"
Asda did not mind his sarcasm. He only focused his gaze on Asda. However, on the Mystic's chessboard, a pawn moved forward by one square.
"I hope that you still remember your identity, and I mean your true identity," the Air Mystic said softly. "Don't get too involved, and don't be too high-profile, lest you find it hard to extricate yourself."
Thales whistled and shook his head.
"You were the one who almost destroyed Dragon Clouds City in order to take me away, right?" Thales took another step forward.
Asda did not speak, and his expression did not change.
Thales took a deep breath and asked tentatively, "As a person who disappeared for six years and did not bring anything with him except for the invitation from five years ago, I don't seem to have the right to say that, do I?"
Really.
I almost thought that he had been sealed.
Until the invitation five years ago, there was only one sentence on it: Prepare the classroom, wait patiently.
Until …
Thales looked at the blue invitation card that had suddenly appeared the day before yesterday and sighed again.
"There is a reason for my disappearance." Asda's gaze returned to the chessboard. The second pawn moved forward in a strange manner. "Giza's appearance is not a small matter. It's not just the Queen of the Sky. In the past six years, many existences have visited Dragon Clouds City, both openly and secretly. Among them are enemies that you and I should be wary of. I am not confident that I will not be discovered."
'Enemies?'
Thales seized the word.
"So I need to keep a low profile and wait until the most dangerous time is over." The Mystic glanced around. "And during the days I was away, you did a good job and found a good place."
Thales exhaled and moved the pawn to take one of Asda's chess pieces, turning the pawn into a swordsman. "For this occasion and excuse that will not arouse suspicion, I schemed and prepared for a full three years."
'Yes.'
Over the past five years, Thales had tried countless ways to have a safe, private conversation with Asda. He could talk to himself in Heroic Spirit Palace, read in a quiet place, or hide in the library. But no matter what he did, it was too dangerous or inconvenient, whether it was because he would attract unnecessary attention or because there were guards everywhere in Heroic Spirit Palace.
He needed a special occasion, a place where he could stay away from the crowd without arousing suspicion.
For example, right now. Who would have thought that the Prince of Constellation, who was playing chess with himself, was actually talking to a calamity under the watchful eyes of the public?
"This is the sorrow of worldly restraints." Asda moved the third pawn again, as if he did not care about Thales' swordsman at all. "I will still say the same thing: Think about it. Come with me? Then you won't have to worry so much about preparing the classroom. "
Asda raised his head and looked at Thales with a profound gaze.
The prince rubbed his fingers, grabbed a shield warrior, and moved diagonally to the side in an attempt to block the opponent's three pawns.
"I thought we made it clear enough," Thales said with a sigh. "What you need is a king to do something you could not do in the past."
"But you are in a difficult situation." Asda moved the knight from behind the three pawns without hesitation. At the same time, he held back the charging swordsman and the shield warrior who was ready to intercept him. "To be honest, even if your performance is amazing, I am still not optimistic about your success in being crowned.
"If this is all you are going to say, then we can end this early." Thales sped up his tone, slightly displeased. He grabbed a catapult, jumped over two chess pieces, and placed it in a position to threaten the opponent's knight.
Asda flashed a chilling smile that Thales had seen before.
"What about the weapon?"
"The one that sealed Giza six years ago," the Mystic said softly. "I thought that when you came to see me, you would at least bring it with you."
On the chessboard, one of Asda's pawns suddenly took a step forward and became a swordsman.
"For your safety."
He said softly.
'That … weapon.'
In the past, Thales' heart would have probably skipped a beat at this moment.
But Thales knew very well what kind of existence he was facing. Asda could detect the air pressure in the target's body from a great distance.
"It is where it should be," Thales said flatly. The Sin of Hell's River in his body flowed through his lungs and blood vessels like warm water, maintaining the original rhythm of breathing and expansion.
The prince moved the shield warrior into the attacking range of the opponent's knight.
This time, Asda stared at him for a full ten seconds.
After a while, the Mystic put away his emotionless smile and turned his gaze to the chessboard. The shield warrior's position was just within the protection range of the opponent's catapult. "Very good."
'Very good what?'
Thales stared at him quietly, but he still did not say this out loud.
'Fortunately.
I've controlled my body's reaction.
'Use the Sin of Hell's River …'
The Mystic suddenly said softly, "Are you ready?"
Thales, who was deep in thought, could not react. He moved slightly and raised his head. "Ready for what?"
In the next second, Asda suddenly sat up straight and no longer cared about the chessboard in front of him.
It was as if he was about to face the most serious situation.
"Before we begin, we must first clarify some rules," Asda said flatly.
Thales was a little stunned. "Rules?"
Thales did not know how he read the Mystic's expression, which was almost unchanged, but he subconsciously felt that Asda's expression was extremely serious at that moment. "During the journey, you should have taken notes, but due to the current situation … So, first, you have to seriously think about every word I say. This is a form of respect for me and yourself. Correspondingly, I will also treat your words seriously." Asda nodded slowly. Thales did not know how he read the Mystic's expression.
Thales was affected by his attitude and could not help but nod in response.
"Second, you can ask questions at any time on the way, and you can even raise counter-questions. I may refuse to answer some of them, but this is not a reason for you to respond with silence. This is the worst kind of student. " The Air Mystic spoke at a steady and even pace, which was rarely seen on him. It was contrary to his usual strange rhythm and habits.
Thales subconsciously straightened his back and nodded seriously.
Just like the most devoted student.
"Third, before you speak, you must think clearly about how I will answer from my point of view. Speak less meaningless words, get straight to the point, and save time.
"Fourth, in my class, you are not allowed to use metaphors and analogies to illustrate your point of view. That is the easiest way to use tricks."
Thales could only keep a straight face and nod continuously, focusing his gaze on the other party's equally serious eyes.
"The most important thing is to be humble," Asda said softly. This time, there seemed to be a hint of something else in his calm words. "Not to me, but to the knowledge you are about to obtain. Respect what you do not agree with first, then give it some thought, find differences, and finally, question it. You cannot only question the other party, but also yourself, such as your presuppositions. Use fewer absolute and affirmative words, and encourage the use of hypotheses and conditional statements. "
Thales moved at first, then immediately pressed down on his right hand. He was afraid that he could not help but raise his hand or subconsciously look for a pen.
Asda noticed his reaction. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he snorted softly.
The prince could not help but feel a little embarrassed.
"Of course, when you speak, you must also be prepared to be questioned," the Air Mystic continued speaking subconsciously. "If a peer here raises a question …"
Thales' expression changed. He felt that it was a little strange.
'Peer?'
Asda immediately sensed that something was wrong.
His words came to an abrupt halt, and he unnaturally stopped speaking.
It was as if he had suddenly been cut off.
The atmosphere returned to silence.
The soldiers and guards around the room still looked as usual, as if they had not noticed anything.
However, in the small space on both sides of the chessboard, Thales instantly saw the Mystic's face tremble slightly, and his left hand clenched slightly.
Thales opened his mouth in surprise.
'This is …'
This was the first time Asda had reacted like this since he knew him.
Asda did not speak. He only stared quietly at his chessboard, expressionless and motionless.
It was as if he was looking into the distance.
Thales suddenly had the misconception that the unreasonable Asda before him actually had such a humane side to him.
'That word.
'Peer …'
Three seconds later.
Asda closed his eyes and opened them again, as if he had adjusted himself.
He raised his gaze again, and it was sparkling. "That's all."
Thales inhaled softly and put away the doubts in his heart.
The prince focused all his attention. Filled with irrepressible anticipation and nervousness, he nodded slowly.
'It's here.'
"Then let's begin." Asda did not waste any time. He blinked his clear eyes and went straight to the point with his cold words. "Today, as your first lesson on the path of becoming a Mystic, I want to say three things.
"First, pay attention to what a Mystic is, not what mystic energy is.
"Second, the position and stance of us Mystics in the world.
"Third, our enemies and companions."
Under the sky of Dragon Clouds City, the Air Mystic's words only rang softly in the ears of the Prince of Constellation.
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