The young man lifted his arm in a mirror action to what Lord Faron had done. It's only later, while she was still shaking from the fresh memory of what had just happened, that Desia realized she hadn't been shocked when the spatial tears were torn from Lord Faron's control. Whoever this being was that now stood before them, he had given a wordless command. How could the world around them do anything but comply?! Like children eagerly running to their mother, the spatial tears flowed away from Lord Faron and toward the young man, all the while merging into one long thick tear that landed on the boy's open palm. Instead of the young man's hand falling to the ground after being cut by the spatial tear, as it logically should have, his fingers closed around the tear as if he was holding a sword. What followed wasn't a fight... it was an execution! The swing had been lazy, almost insultingly so. And yet, it carried the finality of death! Desia was certain that for a minute after Lord Far

Desia couldn't help but turn a pitying look to the figure on the floor of the carriage. Wrapped up in tier-six runic chains that sealed his magic, Mage Ozen was in otherwise perfect health as he sat there hollow-eyed. Lady Fera had restored him to perfect health, not out of any kindness, but as a last little gift to the young man. With those chains around him, Mage Ozen was no different from a mundane human. And given that both his hands were shackled, he wouldn't be getting out of them. Given that Roka had reaped the life of a seventh-tier mage with a lazy swing of the hand, no one believed that he needed any help to subdue Mage Ozen. The chains were only there because they didn't want to have any misunderstandings. Even with zero hope of winning, Mage Ozen might still choose to attack in a last-ditch effort to preserve his life. If that happened and Roka thought that they'd been trying to set him up, it would be a disaster.Desia could feel her heart pick up pace as her carriage tur

Turning to the necromancer, Desia found Mage Ozen looking at the kneeling man with contempt in his eyes. His fate was, in all likelihood, still sealed. The hollow-eyed look he'd had in the way here, however, was gone. He had, after all, almost been attacked. After hundreds of cycles fighting his way up from the slums, the instincts he'd developed in that time couldn't be suppressed even with his death imminent. With the chains on him, he was no different from a mundane human. Nevertheless, Desia didn't even for a moment believe that Mage Ozen wouldn't have thrown punches and kicks to save his own life if he had to. "I did no such thing. I already signed a tier-seven contract with this young man ensuring I couldn't act against him. I wouldn't dare breach such a contract. Especially not for a worm like you!" The necromancer refuted, not bothering to hide the derision in his voice as he regarded the man on the floor. "Liar!" Sir Kiran almost shouted. If looks could kill, the look he

Desia had to school her features to keep her surprise from showing. The young man would have had every right to do what he'd threatened Sir Kiran with. The noble had, after all, been willing to allow all the same things to happen to Roka's family. Even more than vengeance, however, Roka was probably the most powerful individual in Telako right now, if he chose to see through his threat, there wouldn't have been anyone jumping out to defend a minor noble family, not that there was anyone even powerful enough to object. That he was willing to stay his hand and not go for the cruelest punishment possible spoke well of his character. Last night, he'd criticized Lord Faron for thinking that his power gave him license to do whatever he wanted. A cynical part of Desia had thought, well of course! This was a world where the powerful had their way and the weak could only bear it. In this moment, however, Desia could see that those hadn't just been empty words from the young man. Roka hadn't sa

"I've heard the stories people tell about me and Faron. That I had the chance to embark on the path of magic and opted not to do so and instead gave it to him. They often frame this as me being selfless. The truth, however, is far less sentimental. You see, the path of magic never held the allure for me that it seemed to have over everyone else around me. They only saw the power they could gain by having it. The wealth, power, and prestige it offered blinded them to the bloody path they'd chosen to tread. How many people do you think Faron killed in his rise to the levels of power he achieved? Every single one of those people was just like him, consumed by a never-ending quest for more and more power. They each thought that they were destined for great things only to end up dead, the same way Faron eventually met his end at your hands." "Now, tell me Roka, what do you think is more likely? That you'll live to a ripe old age and die peacefully in bed with those you love around you? Or