There’s a bit of commotion going on inside Ligdlan. In a few minutes, the gate to enter it will open, so the gatekeepers notified the elders about it.

  “Meredith told us that it will be tomorrow”, one of the three elders said. They didn’t want to believe what the gatekeeper said, mostly because there were still some things they needed to prepare. Most important of all is their lord’s would be residence.

  The elders didn’t believe that Lucien had returned. However, in the off chance that it was true, they couldn’t let their lord to stay in anyone of their simple huts. They wanted it to be as grand as possible, and so, they requested the village builders to make a house made of solid stone. It was also their way of appeasing the requests of the village people.

  It had been a month or so when they started building it, and they thought to do the finishing touches tomorrow. But, because of Kael’s assistance hastening the opening of the gate, the builders quickly returned to their tasks, eager to please their incoming lord. Soon enough, people started appearing from the gate. Kael and his companions finally entered the village.

  Kael was faced with the village of Ligdlan. There are wooden huts scattered around, but with a set order to each of it. In front of him, the people of the hidden village were gathered, curiously looking at him. None of them knew whether to lower their head or not, because Kael didn’t look like the one they expected. After all, Kael is a typical young man, while Lucien was known as a valiant warrior.

  Lucius and Meredith was well aware of what their fellow faithfuls felt, so they felt obligated to initiate the proper greeting of their lord. However, before they could kneel at Kael, the three elders appeared.

  “Meredith, I’m glad you returned home safely”, one of the elders, named Delia, greeted. “Lucius, you came back”

  The two addressed faithfuls bowed at the elder.

  “So, are you..”

  “Kael, my name is Kael, mistress”

  The village people murmured on each other. They were confused, as they expected that the person that Meredith would bring them was Lucien himself.

  “Who is this, Meredith?”, Deimos, another one of the elders, asked. It was clear that the old man was hostile towards what he saw as an intruder.

  Meredith felt invalidated. She thought that just like the first time she saw Kael, the village people would also feel what she felt. But, the villagers were greatly influenced by the elders, and two of the elders have no doubt that Kael is not Lucien. She couldn’t bring herself to introduce Kael to them.

  “Elders, I plead all of you, know who’s with us right now”, Lucius stated.

  The elders knew what Lucius meant, but they pretended not to know. They were trying to prevent the villagers from believing Lucius’ and Meredith’s claim, believing that their fellow faithfuls were deceived by Kael. But, they didn’t want Meredith to look bad to the other faithfuls, and so, one of the elders came up of a plan.

  “There’s order to this, Lucius”, Deimos said. “We must test this young man before we can be sure of what you claim”

  The other elders agreed, as well as the village people. The elders expected Meredith to give up by then, but Meredith became motivated once more, thinking that it was a great thing to show Kael’s authenticity. Two of the elders became worried, thinking that Meredith was more brainwashed than they thought.

  “Magister, I don’t want to be tested. I’m here for a map”, Kael whispered.

  “My apologies, this is the only way”, Lucius whispered. “They were thinking you’re deceiving us”

  The elders wondered what the two were talking about.

  “Are you two finished?”, Arran, the third elder, asked them. “If so, young man, follow us”

  Kael looked at the two faithfuls who were willing to support him, even with the pressure of the elders. Meredith gestured him to show the elders what he was about. He smiled at her, which was received by Meredith as an approval.

  It didn’t take long before Kael and the elders arrived at a stone-built house. It was the one built for what the village people expected as Lucien. Most of the villagers were outside, trying their best to eavesdrop on whatever’s happening inside. But unfortunately for the villagers, the elders created a barrier to prevent anyone from eavesdropping.

  There was no furniture inside the house, so it was quite spacious. The elders were sitting with each other, facing Kael, who was commanded to sit down as well.

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  “You won’t deceive us”, Deimos said plainly. “What do you want from us?”

  Kael didn’t have any desire to prove who he really is. He just wanted one thing, and that’s what he said.

  “I was told that I could find the person who can help me here in this peaceful village. I hope it’s one of you, respected elders”

  “I knew from the start”, Deimos said. “What more is there to do, except let this young man out of Ligdlan?”

  Kael was silent. He was waiting for the elders to ask what he wanted. He didn’t want to interrupt anyone, nor did he want to change their minds.

  “Deimos, calm down”, Delia requested. She was the only one among the elders who was not fully decided on what to believe. She knew Meredith’s intuition, but her mind was on the side of what was logical. “Young man, what can we do for you?”

  “Delia”, Arran called out, interrupting Kael who was about to speak. He was sure that Kael is not Lucien, but Kael’s lack of desire to prove himself intrigued him. He faced Kael again. “You will not defend yourself?”

  Kael shook his head. He felt regretful for letting Meredith down, but he felt like there’s nothing that he could do to prove who he is. His mana vessel was in the second phase of “Late Cost”, so he couldn’t use his power to prove something to the elders. And even if he could, seeing the strong resistance of the elders’ minds, he felt that they would not believe him like how Lucius immediately was. But before the chance was lost, an opportunity suddenly opened, and it was the elders who made the way for him.

  “He would not defend himself. It was even clearer now”, Deimos stated. He was a bit calmer than he was seconds ago. Arran looked at Deimos, believing the same thing as him, but to remove Delia’s doubt, Arran thought of a surefire test against Kael.

  “Young man, are you aware that there are magic of eternity?”, Arran asked.

  ‘He must be thinking of transcendent magic’, Kael thought. So, he nodded.

  “One of it is called ‘Eternal Flame’, the purest fire there is”, Arran stated. He thought Kael lied when he nodded at him. A powerful magic like that was not someone a young man would know. “If you could make one, we will accept you as ours”

  Of course, none of the villagers could make an eternal flame. It was just as magical as the only person that could make it. However, to make the feat of creating it to seem like a minor thing, Arran implied that the faithfuls could do it.

  Kael knew that Arran was lying, because if it’s true, he didn’t need to create an eternal flame to help Lucius stabilize his innate magic.

  “Can I do it tomorrow?”, Kael asked. It was almost impossible for him to create an eternal flame during the second phase of “Late Cost”.

  “No, do it now”, Arran declared. He thought that Kael was just excusing himself. Arran wanted to test Kael with no chance of preparation. “We can wait here until the end of the day”

  The other two elders looked at Arran. Deimos knew that Arran was on his side, so he was confused as to why Arran insisted on a test. On the other hand, Delia was praising Arran in her mind, as it was a brilliant test that only the true Lucien could pass. Unbeknownst to them, Kael was getting tired of the interaction. He wanted to let it go to rest, and so, he made up his mind. He would create an eternal flame for the elders.

  “I understand”, Kael said. After that he closed his eyes, and immediately after that, all he could see was the flow of mana.

  Several minutes passed and by the looks of it, Kael was just sitting while his eyes were closed. Nothing much was happening, as far as the elders were concerned. The elders looked at each other with curious glances, thinking of a good time to stop Kael’s meditation. Deimos and Arran thought that Kael was bluffing his way out of it, but as Arran claimed that they would wait until the end of the day, they couldn’t get themselves to interrupt Kael.

  While Kael was meditating, Delia’s doubt became greater than before. She couldn’t bring herself to think like her fellow elders. Her first reason is because she trusts Meredith. She knew the potion master would not lie to her, but if she found something to indicate that Meredith was brainwashed, she wouldn’t believe the potion master’s words. Her second reason was Kael’s strange character. As they were talking to Kael, she felt Kael’s immovable confidence. Kael wasn’t desperate to prove himself, something expected to many people who attempted to deceive them in the past. Delia felt that for Kael, it’s just a matter of fact that he’s Lucien. He didn’t need to prove himself. With that in her mind, she was slowly leaning to believe that Kael was someone special.

  “Do you believe us now, Delia?”, Arran asked. He was intentionally raising his voice, unaware that Kael was completely detached on what’s happening around him.

  “Let’s wait for a bit more”, Delia said. Arran listened to her request, assured that Kael would not prove anything. At that time, Delia was curious, so she attempted to read through Kael’s body. There’s one question in her mind. What if there’s something happening outside of their normal vision?

  She pried for a bit, a little expectant, but what she saw surpassed her expectations.

  “Huh? What’s this?”, Delia uttered. She couldn’t make sense of what she was seeing. She has a power to see information flow towards someone’s body and cut it off if she wanted, but, looking at Kael, no information was getting in his body at all.

  “What? What do you see Delia?”, Deimos asked.

  “No.. nothing”

  The two elders were confused. Delia’s word was not of disappointment, but of bewilderment. She deepen her inquiry, curious as to what’s happening. She changed her vision to see the mana flow around, and as expected, she saw something unbelievable.

  “Deimos, Arran, look at this”, Delia said. She requested for the others to look at the mana around. What they saw quickly changed how they see Kael.