MY MENTOR CAN HEAR MY THOUGHTS

Chapter 2: The Lazy Apprentice and the Radiant Veil

Nia did not confront Elias in the assessment hall.

She wanted to.

She wanted to grab him by the collar, drag him into the nearest empty room, and ask him what in the world he was.

A Tier Two apprentice did not think about gods like they were old enemies.

A normal student did not mention divine execution in his head, then smile as if he had only been worried about homework.

But Nia was an Archon.

Archons did not start interrogations in front of hundreds of students.

At least, respectable Archons did not.

So she smiled.

Then she began planning.

“Return to the tower,” she told Elias. “Stay there until I come back.”

“Of course, Master,” Elias said, bowing with perfect sincerity.

Perfect. Finally. Peace. I will sleep until tomorrow and pretend personal growth never happened.

Nia’s eye twitched.

“And copy the Basic Principles of Arcane Conduct five hundred times.”

Elias’s smile cracked.

What kind of tyrant gives homework after a passing exam?

“Yes, Master,” he said aloud.

Nia left before she said something that would make the other Archons remember this day for the wrong reason.

A short while later, she was in the restricted wing of Wintervale’s library.

The place smelled of dust, old paper, and books that had not been opened since someone shelved them with great confidence and never returned. Nia moved quickly between the shelves, pulling down one volume after another.

Possession.

Demonic projection.

Soul parasites.

Ancient spirits wearing mortal bodies.

Each answer sounded worse than the last.

Each one also sounded ridiculous.

Unfortunately, Elias Vane had made ridiculous answers worth checking.

At last, Nia found a heavy book titled Malignant Spirits and False Bodies. Dust slid off the cover when she opened it.

According to the book, evil spirits recoiled from pure Radiant mana. Demonic projections unraveled inside holy fields. Corrupted souls revealed themselves under sacred blessing.

Nia read the passage twice.

Then she closed the book.

There was one place in Wintervale where the holy presence was strong enough for that kind of test.

The Radiant Veil.

Meanwhile, Elias returned to Nia’s tower, walked into his room, and collapsed face-first onto his bed.

For the first time all week, he felt truly safe.

No examiner.

No crystal.

No crowd.

No mentor staring at him as if she had suddenly discovered teeth beneath the floorboards.

A blue panel appeared beside his vision.

[Idle Ascension System]

You breathed.

Mana +1.

You yawned.

Constitution +1.

You complained about homework internally.

Mental Resilience +1.

Elias smiled into his pillow.

The Idle Ascension System was the one reliable thing in his second life.

Work was inefficient.

Trying too hard made people look at you.

Heroics made people remember your name.

And gods, in Elias’s experience, were very good at noticing names.

Doing nothing, however, was safe.

Doing nothing was quiet.

Doing nothing made him stronger.

Five thousand years ago, Elias had made the mistake of standing in the open.

He had worn crowns.

He had led armies.

He had answered prayers he should never have allowed anyone to speak.

People had raised banners for him. Built songs around him. Looked at him as if one person could stand between them and heaven.

The gods had noticed.

They always noticed power.

Then they harvested it.

Elias had survived because of one forbidden artifact and a level of luck that probably should have been illegal. He had awakened weak, stripped of almost everything, and made himself a promise.

Never again.

He would hide.

He would grow.

He would stay unnoticed until even the gods could no longer cut him down.

That was the plan.

A good plan.

A quiet plan.

A plan that did not include dawn training.

Elias groaned.

The system chimed.

[Idle Ascension System]

You suffered mild emotional distress.

Willpower +1.

“Even you are mocking me now,” Elias muttered.

Outside the tower, Nia stood in the courtyard and looked up at his window.

The forbidden book rested under one arm.

Her expression was calm.

That was usually a bad sign.

Tomorrow, she would take Elias to the Radiant Veil.

If he was possessed, she would save him.

If he was not possessed, she would find out what he really was.

And if he called her tiny in his thoughts one more time, sacred place or not, she might forget to be gentle about it.

Dawn came too early.

Elias lay under his blankets and considered pretending to be dead.

Not actually dead.

Nia would check.

Someone poked his forehead.

“Elias.”

He did not move.

Another poke.

“Elias Vane.”

The room grew cold.

Frost spread across the window.

Elias opened one eye.

Nia Frostvale stood beside his bed in formal blue robes, a heavy spellbook tucked under one arm. She looked calm in the way a sharp knife looked calm.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Master,” Elias replied carefully, “why are you in my room?”

“You were late.”

“For what?”

“Training.”

Dawn is not a time, he thought. Dawn is a threat.

Nia smiled.

“Get dressed. We are going somewhere.”

They crossed Wintervale while morning mist still clung to the towers. Apprentices were already gathering in the practice yards below. Bells rang from the western hall. Somewhere, a teacher was shouting at students to stop using wind spells indoors.

Elias followed with his hands tucked into his sleeves.

He looked far too relaxed for someone being taken somewhere without an explanation.

That made Nia trust him even less.

She led him past guards, sealed doors, and quiet corridors ordinary students were never allowed to enter.

At the end of one corridor stood a white stone arch.

Beyond it waited the Radiant Veil.

The air changed as soon as they stepped inside.

Golden mana floated through the corridor, warm and soft, like sunlight trapped indoors. The walls gave off a low hum. Every breath tasted faintly of incense and old stone.

Elias looked around.

So that is what they call this place now, he thought.

Nia almost missed a step.

Now?

Elias glanced at the glowing walls.

This feels familiar. Too familiar. Like feathers and bad decisions.

Nia decided she was not ready to understand that sentence.

The corridor opened into a wide hall of marble, blue flame, and floating sigils. At the center stood an altar surrounded by seven pillars, each marked with the seal of an Archon.

Beneath that altar slept the Radiant Sovereign, holy guardian of Wintervale.

At least, that was what Nia had been taught.

“Master,” Elias said, “why are we here?”

“For a blessing,” Nia answered.

For once, he looked surprised.

“You would use an Archon’s once-in-a-lifetime request on me?”

“You are my apprentice,” Nia said. “Do not make me regret it.”

That is unexpectedly kind, Elias thought. Completely unnecessary, since my Radiant affinity has been maxed out for centuries, but kind.

Nia’s smile froze.

Centuries.

Of course.

Why would her useless apprentice not have centuries hidden somewhere?

She opened the spellbook before her face could give her away.

“Radiant Sovereign, guardian beneath the Veil, ancient witness of the first covenant, I request your blessing. Cleanse my apprentice of corruption and grant him holy affinity if he is worthy.”

The seven pillars lit up.

White-gold light rose from the altar.

At first, it was only a glow.

Then it spread through the chamber until the marble shone and the air trembled.

Inside the light, something enormous opened its eyes.

Wings.

Mane.

Claws.

Burning pupils.

A voice rolled through the hall.

“Mortal Archon. I answer the covenant.”

Nia bowed her head.

The Radiant Sovereign turned toward Elias.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the holy beast froze.

“You,” it whispered.

Elias raised one finger to his lips.

The Sovereign recoiled.

“You are still alive? They harvested you. They said you were gone.”

Nia’s blood went cold.

Elias smiled politely.

Aloud, he said, “Master, I believe the blessing is working.”

Inside his head, his voice was flat.

This stupid cat is going to ruin everything.