Kai stared back at the hardened face of Valkyrie’s soul fragment. Her white eyebrows were knitted into a deep frown and the lips turned to a scowl. He hadn’t known what to expect when the bowl had pulled him into this strange realm, but it certainly was not an angry Magus.

“You are not my son,” she said again coldly. Her flowing white robe shifted with phantom wind, and the gentle grassland that surrounded them somehow felt sharper.

In a way, he should have expected this the moment he saw her. No normal Mage could leave such a stable soul fragment behind, let alone one capable of creating an entire memory-scape like this. She had been well-versed in soul magic—enough to hide a piece of herself in Arzan’s very soul. Enough to sense he wasn’t him.

Still, silence stretched. A breath too long, and her gaze narrowed dangerously.

“Tell me,” she said, sounding even colder than before. “Who are you? You are not Arzan. No one but my son should have been able to access this space.”

Kai grimaced inwardly. She was quite powerful even in death. And if she decided he was an enemy, she might lash out. And while he was fairly sure he wouldn’t die here, he still needed her. He needed answers.

Therefore considering all the factors that were present before him, he knew, ‘honesty’ was the best option moving forward. He had done it before. He had done it with Killian, Claire and Francis. He could do it again. He had to do it again. Valkyrie deserved to know the truth about her son. So he chose his words carefully.

He inhaled slowly and opened his mouth. “I know I’m not Arzan. But it’s… a long story. I’ll tell you everything, but I don’t think you’ll like it.”

Her eyes flashed.

“Did you kill him?”

Kai answered almost instantly. “No. I didn’t. But someone else did. And I’m truly sorry for your loss. But yes, Arzan is dead.” He straightened his shoulders, as if to take the weight of the truth and wear it openly. “My name is Kai. I was once a Magus of the Sorcerer’s Tower.”

Valkyrie gave a questioning look at Kai. “A Magus? You are certainly close to that rank… but not quite there yet.”

“Well, it’s a long story. I’ll tell you everything, but I want you to believe what I wanted to say. “

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Valkyrie said with certainty in her voice. “I created this space.” She looked around, waving her hand at all the greenery that surrounded them. “I created it all, no one can lie here. If you try, I will know.”

It explained a lot, her cold calm when he told her Arzan was dead, the way her mana had brushed against his soul. She had already known he wasn’t lying.

Kai started from the beginning. He talked about when he woke up in another man’s body, in a bed chamber, covered in blood.

He told her of the ritual that was the biggest gamble of his life. How the world he’d known had vanished, and how he had become Arzan Kellius. He told her how he was not from this era and by a miracle, had come back to the past.

He told her about Actra—the whispers, the manipulation, the poisoned thoughts that had driven her son to the edge. How he had made him believe he was alone. And he told her about Regina and Veridia. The bits and pieces he’d collected and put together. The foul smell of a plot that ran deeper than anything he’d expected.

Then, softer, slower, he told her about Arzan’s past. How he had pieced together the fragments of a shattered boy’s life. The scars. The silence. The way they had poisoned him—physically, emotionally, spiritually—until the only thing that remained was a husk obsessed with power.

And throughout it all… Valkyrie said nothing.

Midway through, she sat down on the grass, folding her legs beneath her robe, hands resting gently in her lap. She was not serene, not angry—but she was just still. Her flowy hair gently swayed to the wind.

By the time he finished, hours had passed. The grassland around them remained the same. Just like him, who stood with hands loosely at his side. For all his cleverness and foresight, he didn’t know what came next. He couldn’t tell.

She was a mother who had just heard how her son had grown up, what he became and how he died.

And he wasn’t sure if she’d cry… or kill him.

So he waited, giving her privacy to her silence and hoped his party didn’t think he was dead. Afterall, it has been a few hours.

Finally, the Magus stirred. She rose from the grass slowly, the folds of her white robe moving against her legs as she turned to face him. Her eyes carried both anger and sadness—burning with fire, yet softened by something far older than grief. But none of that was directed at him.

“Thank you,” she said at last, looking at him, “for being honest with me. And… for making Arzan’s name mean something in the kingdom again.”

Kai didn’t speak because for once since he came here, he wasn’t sure what to say.

She went on. “Some things are still hard to believe—especially a soul ritual powerful enough to reach through time—but I haven’t detected a single lie from you.”

Kai gave a tired smile. “Trust me, it’s hard for me to believe too. It wasn’t some grand plan. Just… a last resort.”

Valkyrie nodded slowly. “I understand.” She looked off into the distance for a moment. “I knew of the prophecy. But I never thought it would turn the world upside down like this.”

Then she bowed her head.

“Things have become far more complicated since my death.”

Kai said nothing because he could feel the grief in her voice, probably not for herself or her lost glory, but for her son. The one she couldn’t protect.

He wanted to offer her something—comfort, reassurance, even empty words. But nothing came out. So he let the silence stand.

A moment passed. Then another.

And finally, Valkyrie looked up, her expression calm again—though that old pain still lingered behind her eyes.

“I imagine you have questions,” she said. “Many. I left Arzan instructions—how to navigate the tower, what challenges he’d face, where the inheritance would begin. But… it seems they never reached him.”

Kai nodded. “I think they got lost. From what I’ve pieced together, your husband… he couldn’t handle it. The infighting, the poison, the politics. He withdrew from everything. I believe your death broke him.”

Valkyrie laughed at that—softly, bitterly. “Maybe,” she said, “but I was never that important to anyone. Even the marriage was just me… trying to hold onto something. A place. A name. A reason to belong.” She shook her head. “But it didn’t work. And in the end, I couldn’t even protect my son.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” he said quietly. “You weren’t there anymore. You didn’t get the chance.”

Valkyrie didn’t respond. She just stared into the distance, her hair drifting with a breeze that didn’t touch him.

Kai glanced around at the endless hills, the blue sky, the stillness in the air. It looked straight from a painting. “Can I ask… what is this place?”

Her lips curled into a faint smile. “Obviously,” she said, “this is a soul space. A fragment of my astral realm, carved and anchored to this tower. It exists outside of time and body. Right now, we’re only souls.”

Kai raised a brow. “You made this?”

“I did,” she said. “Though not alone. The foundation of this space—and the tower itself—was built by me and a few old friends. Some of the greatest Mages of our generation.” She paused. “Most of them died before me. The rest… faded into obscurity.”

She looked down at her own hands as if remembering their faces.

“When I knew my time was near, I remade parts of the tower,” she continued. “This space, the guardians, the inheritance—I designed it for my son. I wanted him to have everything we built. And we’re standing here now in what was meant to be the final cusp of the trial.”

Kai exhaled. “What kind of trial?”

Valkyrie’s smile deepened. “A battle,” she said simply. “I wanted my son to become strong enough to challenge me. If he could defeat me here, in this space, he would inherit the tower—and all the knowledge we gathered.” Then her voice softened. “I didn’t expect to face you instead.”

“And if I fail?”

“You’ll wake up outside the tower,” she said. “Without access to anything inside.” Then she added with a playful glint in her eye, “Don’t worry. You can’t die here. Your soul’s anchored. This is a test, not a sentence.”

Kai had already suspected as much. There was no point in building such a vast soul realm unless something big was meant to happen here. He stepped back, rolling his shoulders. “So… to win, I’ve got to fight one of the greatest Battle Mages in history in her own realm?”

Valkyrie smiled again with a carefree nod. “Something like that.”

But even as he steadied his breath, Kai couldn’t help but wonder—how was he supposed to stand against Valkyrie?

She wasn’t just a Fifth Circle Mage. She was a Battle Mage. A pure one. The kind that history books mentioned in passing, with a quiet reverence that spoke louder than any praise. She hadn’t earned her title sitting in a tower surrounded by books—she had earned it by burning entire war camps to the ground.

Sure, he’d faced fifth circles before. But none like her if what he read was even remotely true.

As he stood there, mapping out possibilities, Valkyrie tilted her head and said, “I’m ready when you are.”

Right. No pressure.

Kai nodded, channeling mana into a spell—not something powerful, just a test. A volley of fire arrows flared into existence above his shoulders and launched toward her like crimson comets.

She raised her wrist. That was all it took.

An ice shield formed in the air—second circle, from what he could tell—but it held strong against the barrage, every arrow hissing and vanishing on contact like wet fireworks.

His eyes narrowed slightly. That wasn’t a normal shield. She had cast it too fast. No spell structure, no incantation, just will and execution.

From behind the translucent barrier, Valkyrie grinned.

“Not bad,” she said. “It’s amusing that you’re a Fire Mage, but your form’s far better than most I’ve seen.”

Kai smirked. “I’m more than just fire.”

He conjured another wave of flaming arrows, this time scattering them wide, some aimed straight at her, others veering toward the ground. As expected, she blocked again with ease, forming another shield with a casual flick.

“No matter how many you throw, they won’t—”

The grass beneath her erupted in flames as a chain of hidden runes ignited, releasing a delayed blast of magic. Valkyrie’s eyes widened, and she darted backward just in time, her body lifting into the air in a sudden gust of wind.

Kai blinked. “[Flight?]”

He wasn’t sure what surprised him more—the casual mastery of flight magic, or the fact that the records had only ever called her an Ice Mage.

Valkyrie floated in the air, her white robes fluttering, eyes sparkling with excitement.

Though he couldn’t feel a trace of wind mana from her, Valkyrie caught his look of confusion and smiled.

“I have a lot of tricks,” she said with a warning laced thoroughly in her voice. “Be ready. This will be a long battle.”

Before he could answer, she conjured an ice-forged sword in one hand and rushed him, robes flaring like wings as she surged through the air. Kai’s hands instinctively reached behind him for his spear—only to grasp at air. Right. No gear in a soul-space.

The sword arced toward him.

Kai conjured his own weapon on instinct—a spear of crackling flame—and swung it just in time to meet the strike. Fire and ice clashed with a hiss, and sparks scattered across the sky like dying stars.

Valkyrie grinned, her face close enough for him to see the thrill in her eyes.

Mana flared.

Kai ducked—just in time as a lance of sharpened ice shot from her free hand, narrowly missing his head. He retaliated with a sharp kick, pushing her back, and spun his flaming spear in a circle, casting a whirlwind of fire in her direction.

The inferno howled as it raced toward her, catching her mid-flight.

Kai expected her to fall, robes scorched and battered—but instead, the tornado vanished, unraveling like mist.

She stood untouched inside a dome of crystal-clear ice, not even a burn mark on her.

“…Of course she has more tricks,” he muttered under his breath.

Without a word, she flicked her fingers, summoning jagged beasts of frost that bounded through the air like hunting wolves.

Kai cursed, casting his own fire beasts to meet them, and the air lit up with explosions of steam and mana. Conjurations tore at each other mid-air in a blur of elemental violence.

Then she was closing in again, her ice blade glowing brighter.

The battle shifted from ranged chaos to brutal, close combat—and it didn’t take Kai long to realize something vital.

Valkyrie was dancing.

Every move she made had intent, every spell flowed into the next, seamless and devastating. She controlled the pace of the fight like a seasoned duelist, and the worst part?

She barely gave him time to breathe, let alone counter.

It was like sparring against a storm that had memorized your every move before you made it.

And… it was as if Valkyrie conjured spells the moment she thought them into existence. That control—that instinct—reminded Kai painfully of his old master. Every step she took carried authority, and though he was managing to keep up for now, he knew it was only a matter of time before the balance tipped.

And it did.

He dodged another piercing lance of ice, countering with sharp wind blades that howled through the air. Valkyrie spun past them effortlessly—and, in a move that was almost mockingly classic, sent out another barrage of lances.

Kai prepared to meet them the same way.

He shouldn’t have.

As his wind blades hit, the ice didn’t shatter. Instead, the spell structures twisted midair, morphing—changing—into something entirely different. The lances warped into translucent wasps the size of his fists, their bodies buzzing with unstable mana.

His eyes widened. It was too late.

They struck.

One slammed into his cheek—sharp pain blooming. Another burrowed in near his throat, and Kai let out a gurgled cry, blood spurting as he fell, spinning, before crashing into the grass near a jagged boulder.

He coughed hard, one hand pressing to the wound at his neck as he surged mana to slow the bleeding.

Above him, Valkyrie hovered, her shadow falling over him. “You’re fine,” she said lightly, tilting her head. “But you can do much better. You aren’t understanding the laws of this place.”

Kai blinked past the haze. “Then… tell me,” he croaked, careful not to strain his throat.

She smiled, the kind of teacher’s grin that said this will hurt more before it helps, and turned to gaze out at the unreal sky.

“I’ll tell you this much—but no hand-holding after,” she said. “This is a soul space. The limits of your physical body—pain, exhaustion, even the shape of your magic—don’t really exist here. The only rule is belief. If you can understand something, truly grasp it, you can make it real.”

She looked back down at him.

“That’s why you’re losing. You’re still fighting like you’re in the real world.”

Kai froze, eyes widening.

It all made sense now. Her flawless maneuvers, her impossible flight, her seamless conjurations—none of it obeyed normal battle logic. She was using the concept of her power, not just the practice.

And he had been holding back. Because, he still was trying to see how strong she was.

He slowly sat up, blood still dripping—but a fire now kindling in his eyes.

Kai’s mind grasped at the new logic—or lack thereof—this soul space offered. Belief shaped reality. So he decided to test it.

He focused on his wounds, drawing on every theory he’d ever studied about healing magic—not the spells themselves, but the core principles. The understanding. The intent.

In an instant, his flesh stitched itself together. The pain vanished.

Kai blinked. His breath caught in his throat.

Then, he imagined his Mana heart filling—rushing, overflowing with pure energy.

And it did.

His whole body buzzed, his reserves brimming as if they’d never been touched. A stunned grin crept onto his face. So this is the law of soul spaces…

He looked up.

Far above, Valkyrie hovered still, a sharp smile tugging at her lips. “It seems the battle will finally be interesting.”

Kai rose into the air, letting go of restraint. As he soared, he imagined the feeling of his old robes—the ideal form of them—flowing and alive with enchantments. The fabric transformed mid-flight into streaks of crimson and white, arcane seals etched in gold across the cuffs. Beneath, a form-fitting layer of enchanted armor wrapped around his torso like a second skin.

Valkyrie eyed him with visible amusement. “Nice robe.”

Kai smirked. “I know. My master gifted me.” He cracked his knuckles. “Let’s see if it still impresses a Battle Mage.”

And then he shot forward.

***

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