The mana beasts were dead, and there was only so much time left before everyone in the castle would be awake, so Xerxes needed to be quick and make sure to sneak back into the castle without being detected.
Just as Xerxes was ready to leave, Airi caught sight of something. "Xerx, there's something in the mana beast."
Xerxes walked over and crouched down by the remains of the mana beast, and indeed, there was something there. There seemed to be a golden earring that dangled from the beast's wrist like a whispered threat.
It had an ornate blade suspended beneath a crescent moon, its hilt entwined with delicate horns, golden and sharp. There were flutters of blue gems within them, and Xerxes couldn't help but admire its glamour.
Xerxes then had a sudden surge of ideas. "Airi, remember how I was lost for words trying to get Leiya a gift? I think we have something that's classy, likely to give her some badass power-up, and it would definitely suit her looks."
Airi was also stunned by the beauty but then pouted, "When can I get a gift like that?"
Xerxes pondered for a moment. "C'mon, it isn't like that, Airi. Maybe when you turn one... Wait, I don't even know how old you are?"
Airi sighed. "That's a sensitive topic. Let's just say my birthday is in a year from now..."
Xerxes agreed. Trying to decipher Airi's age would be a harder task than becoming a Tier 1 mage, but on the bright side, Xerxes had acquired a gift for Leiya.
Though, besides the pretty looks, he had no clue what its purpose was. Maybe it was an artifact? If it was, Xerxes didn't want to absorb its essence into his soul core because Leiya wouldn't be able to use the artefact until he had died—and knowing her, she would kill him for taking such a beautiful gift.
Airi examined it closely and immediately said, "This is some sort of artifact that assists someone in their senses. There's something about how I see the mana forming around it that gives me that feeling."
Xerxes was stunned by Airi's analysis, but what intrigued him even more was the fact she could see mana differently. What exactly did she see 'forming' around the earring?
"Airi, can you teach me how to do that too?" he asked.
Shaking her head, she answered, "Even if I wanted to, Xerx, it's not something I think I'd be able to teach you. It's like asking someone to tell you how to see. There isn't any special formula or method, I can just do it."
Xerxes picked up the earring and began making his way back to The Truth City, which wasn't far, and he began to formulate thoughts on why Airi could. Perhaps it was because of a higher proficiency of mana in comparison to everyone else, but that wouldn't make sense because Aemon would be able to do that.
Unless... Aemon could do that. If he could, that would confirm his theory—the theory that ancient beasts such as Airi would be on a similar level to a Tier 2 or even Tier 1 mage. If that was possible, then how strong could Airi become? Would she be even fiercer than Emrys, Dorian's dragon?
Xerxes looked at Airi with amazement. Who exactly was she many years ago? How strong was the person in her vision? There were too many questions regarding the heritage and origins of Airi, but one thing was clear: she held the answers of higher power and the mysteries of the past dormant within her mind. It was only a matter of awakening those memories.
Then, Xerxes and Airi could grow stronger—significantly stronger than what was known. He grinned in confidence. Xerxes knew his and Airi's potential; the only thing left to do was to express that potential and live within it.
After a short while, they both crept their way back into the castle. The morning had come quite fast, and Conrad was oddly taking a day off. He decided that he would spend time with Aliya and the lieutenant, having drinks at the local tavern, while Leiya, Aemon, and Xerxes sat at the table in their usual fashion.
Aemon then asked, with suspicion in his eyes, "Now, Xerxes, Airi, I'm going to ask a question, and you need to answer honestly. Did you two sneak out of the castle and go outside the barrier today?"
Airi and Xerxes both looked at each other, fear apparent in their eyes. Was Aemon going to scold them, spank them, both, or even worse? Airi immediately sold Xerxes out: "IT WAS XERXES' FAULT!" But that exclamation only rang in Xerxes' head.
She had forgotten the others couldn't hear her. She then looked at Xerxes, fury in his eyes, as she puckered her flaming chest down and flew towards Leiya.
Leiya smiled while watching Airi, as Xerxes gulped before answering.
"Yes, Aemon, I'm so, so, so—" after a lot of "so's," he carried on with his sentence—"sorry. You see, last night I had awakened as a Tier 5 mage. The surge in power was exhilarating, and I couldn't just stay in bed, so me and Airi only went a few miles southbound from the barrier, and I told her if things got messy, she could use her fire. But Aemon, the power is such a drastic difference—it feels like I could defeat ten versions of Tier 6 me."
Aemon gave a sigh of relief. He didn't want Xerxes to do anything foolish—and not that he would admit it to Xerxes—but he also didn't want Xerxes to leave yet.
Leiya pushed past Aemon's hesitance in praising Xerxes as she immediately held his hands. "That's awesome, Xerxes! You're really on my level now. Well, it's definitely a big contrast to the Xerxes who was scared and dishevelled when coming here. Grandpa, this calls for a celebration, right?"
Aemon smiled and nodded. "If it's fine with you, Leiya, perhaps we can celebrate the awakening of his fifth-tier soul core on your birthday too. It's only in around a month, so we have time to prepare a festival for the entirety of the Truth Kingdom."
Leiya was easy to please when it came down to things. She also didn't want to let her grandfather down—after all, he would only be around for so long. She grabbed Xerxes' wrist. "THEN I'M READY FOR MY BIRTHDAY!" she exclaimed.
"Oo, we have to get Mother to teach Xerxes how to dance, the lieutenant must teach Xerxes how to sing, and you, Grandpa, need to show him how to party at a festival."
"That sounds perfect. Xerxes, my boy, instead of having a rest day in your training, that day will be spent perfecting dancing and my style of etiquette that the Truth Kingdom requires!" However, Xerxes figured that the etiquette Aemon spoke so confidently about might not be as elegant as he claimed.
With all the discussions of Leiya's birthday and Xerxes' bodily changes to Tier 5, Aemon finally instructed Xerxes to find him at his chambers at 9 p.m. Until then, he would be free to do as he pleased for the rest of the day.
Honestly, there wasn't much to do. Xerxes needed to give his body some rest after his morning training session that involved killing four beasts.
Leiya had her family to go to, and Aemon—well, Aemon was doing what he wanted. Oddly enough, Aemon was going out of the barrier by himself.
It struck Xerxes and Airi as strange. He specifically instructed that he would be busy with other matters, so they were not to contact him in any way. Xerxes heeded his command and, with not much else to do, decided to go down to the city.
Walking down to the city was not something he usually did. If he wanted to, he could use the entire day to look around and find all there was to see. It wasn't really synonymous with grandeur kingdoms—it was more like a lavish village, similar to the ones in the Eros Kingdom.
What Xerxes picked up on was roughly 1,500 inhabitants, practically half of them working at the outpost, while the other half were mainly women and elderly men. The elderly men had served their kingdom well at the outpost, giving them time to do as they wished, which most of them did by creating shops and providing services.
The women were usually tasked with less labour-intensive jobs and helped their families with their current businesses. There was a wide range of different places he could visit—one was something that caught his eye very quickly.
Xerxes hurried his pace when reading what was transcribed on the signage. It seemed people were paying a premium price for this, and what it was made total sense.
It seemed that there was a sort of bird that would fly between the fallen kingdoms and Elaijyan kingdoms; however, there were specific times of year it could only make the journey.
The Fallen Kingdom wasn't anywhere anything could fly through—whether it be someone facing the violent tundras or the blistering heat of the dunes, there was nothing easy about it.
The bird seemed to have some magical clothing upon it that assisted it. Xerxes and Airi both suspected that this must have come from an artefact that was found—after all, if there was one place rich with them, it was the Fallen Kingdom.
What was in it's claws was surprising the masses.
Newspapers.
Xerxes ran and quickly grabbed on.
"Yearly Elaijyan News." Elaijya was the continent that encompassed the six great kingdoms: The Daemon Kingdom, ruled by Daemon King Xelryss; The Human Kingdoms of Layne and Indonyia, which were governed by one, King Tyrel Lance of Layne; The Dwarven Kingdom Baratheon, ruled by Aasmiral Baratheon; and finally, The Elven Kingdoms of Eros and Aemnto, ruled by Alvir Eros.
Xerxes used some of the allowance Aemon had given him, which was enough, and paid the shopkeeper
He swiftly opened the paper and began reading about the situation of the current world he had been separated from.
Xerxes wasn't expecting much, when he used to read the news, it often bored him. There was nothing intriguing, just insights into economic news, exaggerated stories that were dull. But this was different.
[Publisher: The Court of Kings]
[Year: 762 (AGWOS)]
[News Location: Layne]
Headline: 'Soulless Sun' Dorian Tenum and 'Waking Wind' Aya Save the Eshvir Forest
His eyes widened, seeing their names and Aalump formed in Xerxes' throat as he tried to exclaim with joy upon seeing their names, but instead, his voice came out sheepish and unfiltered, showing Airi the true relief—and simultaneously, the sorrow of being apart from them.
"They're... they're alive, Airi. Aya survived. Dorian is being a badass. Aya seems to be in decent shape. Airi... my friends, my family—they're still around and doing their best."