Kai moved one of his pieces on the battleboard, sliding it across the polished wood and placing it a step closer to Amara’s king. The move was intentional, but his mind was not on the game.

In truth, he barely cared about it at all.

His attention remained fixed on Amara. He was trying to understand how to improve her mood.

Kai knew very well that he was not particularly skilled when it came to human relationships or emotions. Compared to the problems he usually dealt with—wars, kingdoms, magic, and the fate of entire worlds—such things often felt like unnecessary complications. And the people around him didn’t expect his emotional support anyway.

Still, that did not mean he was completely unaware.

He understood enough to know why Amara might be upset.

There were several possible reasons, and he could list them easily.

After their engagement, he had left almost immediately. Since then he had been traveling across the kingdom and beyond, gathering what he needed for the ritual and preparing for the journey ahead. Even when he briefly returned to the estate, he had often postponed meeting her, assuming they would speak eventually when things calmed down.

Looking at her now, he realized that had been a mistake.

One he needed to correct. Otherwise he would leave for the Earth Plane carrying a sense of guilt he did not want to deal with later.

The problem was that he did not know what to say.

Kai rarely struggled to find words in political meetings or battle plans, but this was different.

He finally opened his mouth, trying to begin somewhere, but Amara looked up at him first.

For a moment, the coldness in her eyes softened. Then she sighed. “I’m not upset because you’ve been busy,” she said quietly. “Or because you haven’t spent time with me.”

She reached forward and moved one of her pieces across the board.

“I’m not stupid or selfish enough to expect that when you’re dealing with something that might affect the whole world.”

Kai’s mouth opened, slightly caught off guard. She pointed at the board, and he dragged a knight across the board and looked up. “Then why?” he asked. “What mistake did I make?”

Amara placed another piece down and looked directly at him. “The mistake,” she said calmly, “of letting an old enemy get close to you.”

“You mean Veridia?”

Amara nodded slowly. Her expression softened slightly, though the concern in her eyes did not disappear. “I heard everything from Knight Killian,” she said. “I know you made her swear a mana oath. I know you ensured she cannot betray you. But I’ve never trusted her. Even when she served my mother, she always had her own goals. She never followed anyone without thinking about what she could gain from it. And now… she’s going with you to another plane.”

Amara exhaled quietly. “That makes me nervous.” Her eyes met his again. “What if she does something… and you never return?”

Kai didn’t answer immediately. He had assumed she was upset because he had not spent time with her. But the reason was something entirely different. After a moment, he smiled faintly and moved another piece across the board.

“You trust me, right?” he asked.

Amara frowned slightly. “Of course I trust you,” she said. “But I don’t trust her.”

Kai leaned back a little in his chair.

“Then just believe in me,” he said. “I’ll come back—with or without Veridia. Whatever plans she might have, I’ll deal with them and return.”

In truth, Kai was not careless about Veridia. Even with the mana oath in place, he remained cautious around her. But he trusted his own abilities more than anything else.

No matter what happened on the Earth Plane, he believed he would find a way back. For the next ten minutes, silence stretched between them as they continued the game.

Pieces moved slowly across the board. But Kai could tell that Amara was not fully convinced.

Her expression remained tense and serious. She was biting the cheeks the entire time and her eyes hastily drew back to him over and over.

It was a look he was familiar with.

So after making another move, he looked at her and said quietly, “You know… I used to feel the same way when my master would leave the tower.”

Amara immediately raised her head. Her eyes widened slightly.

Kai rarely spoke about his master, especially after the first time he had mentioned him. So hearing him bring the topic up again clearly surprised her. Still, he continued.

“We used to live in the Sorcerer’s Tower deep underground.” He paused for a moment, recalling the memory. “But we couldn’t stay there forever without going out. Even Mages need food. And there were always apprentices arriving at the tower.”

He moved one of his pieces absently on the board.

“There were barely any crops near the tower, but there were hunting grounds with beasts. There were also markets nearby where supplies could be bought.”

Amara listened quietly before asking, “Your master used to go out to bring food?”

Kai nodded. “Yes.”

He looked down at the board as he continued speaking.

“But the journey was always dangerous. I used to think about that constantly. I would wonder what would happen if he didn’t come back one day.” He paused before adding, “Once he was delayed for two days. At that time, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to live without him.”

Amara watched him closely.

“But he came back,” Kai said. “And when he did, he told me something simple.”

Kai looked at her. “He told me to trust him.” For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then Kai added quietly, “I want you to do the same.”

He met her gaze directly.

“Just trust me. I will come back.”

Amara sighed softly, but she nodded anyway. The tension in her expression finally eased.

“Is that a promise?”

“It is.” Kai nodded.

Amara gave a small, satisfied nod. “Good,” she said. “I’ll hold you to it.”

Then she looked down at the battleboard again. A grin suddenly appeared on her face. She moved her mage piece across the board. The moment she did, Kai realized what had happened. His entire knight battalion was wiped out in a single move.

He looked up at her.

“I thought you weren’t paying attention to the game.”

Amara smirked. “You thought wrong. You know very well I don’t like losing when we play.”

She gestured toward the board.

“Now make your move.” Her expression softened a little. “We can play a few more games. I still have a lot to talk to you about.”

Kai smiled faintly, though he moved another piece anyway. He knew this would likely be the last moment of comfort he would have for a while. Hence, he savoured it for as long as he could.

***

In the end, Kai was right.

His time with Amara turned out to be the only comfort he received.

The very next day, as he moved across the rooftop to inspect the final sections of the ritual circle, an elf’s voice was already echoing behind him.

For the tenth time, Caelith began ranting.

“Arzan, are you sure all the lines and circles are perfect?” the elder demanded. “Be certain! I don’t want my body to simply explode because of a single crooked line.”

Kai glanced over from the ritual diagram and shook his head.

“I told you it’s fine,” he said. “You need to relax. You’re scaring the others.”

At that, the elf elder simply snorted. “I’m just looking out for myself,” Caelith replied. “It’s not like you can do a test run.”

Kai turned back to the ritual.

His eyes slowly moved over one of the more complicated segments of it, where several circles intersected with a dense structure of seals.

“No,” he admitted. “We can’t. We only have the ingredients for one attempt.” He paused briefly before adding, “But returning will be easier.”

From the back, Veridia’s voice spoke up.

“I still don’t understand why coming back will be easier,” she said. “If going to the Earth Plane is this difficult.”

Kai turned toward her.

Compared to when he had seen her lying on the bed, Veridia looked far healthier now. The pale weakness had mostly left her face, though her body still seemed slightly thin.

She stood apart from the others, leaning against the railing.

Beside her stood Loras, who continued to glare at the surrounding Mages. The guarded looks directed toward them clearly irritated him.

Kai simply answered the question.

“It’s because the elemental planes have far weaker dimensional walls.” He folded his arms in front of him before they could speak. “I don’t know why that is, so don’t ask me.”

His gaze shifted back toward the ritual circle.

“But those planes also contain far greater concentrations of mana and rare resources than anywhere else. That makes constructing a return ritual much easier.” He continued matter-of-factly. “And even without a ritual, elemental planes often develop natural fractures. Small holes that lead directly into the space between realms.”

Veridia simply nodded at his explanation.

She didn’t say anything further, but Kai noticed her gaze drifting across the rooftop and the estate grounds beyond it.

Still, he didn’t focus on her.

There was no reason to divide his attention right now.

Instead, he turned back toward the ritual for one final inspection.

The whole thing covered more than half the rooftop.

At its core lay a massive circular structure carved in chalk and powdered minerals, its outer ring lined with dozens of smaller circles and intersecting lines that connected to one another in precise angles.

Some of the markings would look familiar even to Novice Mages.

Those were the summoning structures. Except these had been reversed.

Rather than pulling something into their world, the seals were designed to push those standing inside outward.

Other sections of the ritual were far more complicated.

Entire layers of seals overlapped in patterns so intricate that it had taken the assisting Mages more than half a day just to draw them correctly.

At the very center of the circle rested the refined mana essence he had requested from the elves.

The liquid glowed faintly, sealed within a small crystalline container.

The alchemised solutions extracted from the elemental cores had been placed along the outer rings of the array. Kai would pour them into the designated channels during the ritual itself.

After studying the structure long enough, Kai finally took a slow breath.

Then he flew back and landed several paces away from the circle. The moment he did, Elias stepped up beside him.

“How did you even learn to make something like this?” he asked.

Kai felt more than a few gazes shift toward him at the question. But he simply replied, “I read about it in a book my mother left behind.”

From the side, Veridia let out a quiet snort. She didn’t comment further, though.

Elias didn’t look particularly convinced either. Still, he simply shrugged. “Well, as long as it works.” He paused before glancing toward Veridia. “At least now that she’s here, I know it probably will.”

Veridia frowned slightly at that. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Elias shrugged again. “It means I know you’re not the type to risk your life on an untested ritual unless you actually believe it will work.” He looked her up and down. “Especially considering that the last time I heard about you, you were supposed to be dead.”

“As you can see,” Veridia said calmly, “people tend to exaggerate things.”

Elias gave a small hum. “Maybe,” he replied. “But I’m quite sure you were close to death.” His eyes shifted between Kai and Veridia. “Yet now you look perfectly fine. So how exactly does that happen?”

Veridia’s lips curved faintly. “Things happen,” she said simply. “They always do.” Her gaze moved to Elias. “Even you—someone famous for being a prick who only cares about his own goals—is standing here, risking your life. I should ask how that came to be.”

Elias didn’t seem offended. Instead, he simply pointed a thumb toward Kai. “I like this kid,” he said. “So I’m helping him.”

Veridia’s eyes narrowed slightly. “If you’re calling him a kid,” she said, “then you clearly know nothing about him.”

Before the discussion could drift somewhere Kai didn’t want it to go, he stepped in.

“I think we should begin the ritual.”

Everyone’s attention shifted to him.

“Everything has been checked,” Kai continued. “The circle is perfect.”

Then he looked directly at Veridia.

“Your part is the only thing left. You understood everything I explained to you, right?”

Veridia nodded.

She leaned slightly toward Loras and whispered something to him before stepping forward toward the edge of the ritual circle. One by one, the others who would be traveling with Kai moved into position as well.

Killian, Elias, Caelith, Claire.

The first three had already been part of the plan from the beginning. Claire had only been allowed to join after Kai had thought it through carefully. Having the Storm Sovereign with them could prove useful, especially alongside Elder Caelith’s spirit.

Once everyone had taken their places along the edges of the ritual circle, Kai turned away from it.

His gaze moved toward Francis and Amara, who stood a short distance away.

“Take care of the kingdom while I’m gone,” he said. “It won’t be long before I return.”

Francis immediately nodded. “Leave it to me, Lord Arzan.”

Amara didn’t say anything. But her expression grew visibly emotional as she nodded to him.

Kai saw it, though he didn’t let himself linger on the moment. Dragging it out would only make it harder.

So without another word, he rose into the air and flew across the ritual circle, landing on the opposite side, directly in front of Veridia.

“Let’s begin,” he said. Then he crouched down and placed his hand on the edge of the circle. Mana flowed out of him the very next second.

At first, nothing happened.

The ritual remained silent.

But as Kai poured more and more mana into it, the seals began to react. When his mana finally touched the refined essence placed at the center of the circle, the entire structure suddenly ignited with a brilliant purple glow.

Light surged through the engraved lines. The circle awakened.

Without pausing, Kai created two massive hands of compressed wind behind his back. They stretched outward toward the elemental solutions he had prepared earlier.

The wind constructs lifted the three vials simultaneously. Then, with precise movements, Kai poured each solution into the specific channels carved into the ritual circle.

The moment the liquids touched the seals, the light flared even brighter. The ritual reached for something beyond the world.

It connected to the space between realms.

And the moment it did, Kai felt the backlash. The ritual became vastly harder to control.

Mana surged wildly through the structure, threatening to spiral out of his control. For a split second, Kai felt as if the entire thing might explode.

“Veridia now!” he shouted.

But she was already moving.

She crouched, placing her hand against the circle as shadow mana poured from her Mana heart. The dark-colored energy flowed into the ritual and mixed with the pure essence at its core.

Her eyes darkened completely.

With her other hand, she began weaving a spell—the one Kai had taught her. A stabilizing spell designed to hold the connection to the space between realms.

The ritual began devouring mana. And every second, it demanded more.

It felt like feeding a dragon with an endless appetite.

The ground beneath the rooftop began to tremble.

Kai could hear shouts behind him—voices filled with alarm and confusion—but he ignored them. His entire focus remained on the ritual.

From somewhere to the side, Claire’s voice rang out.

“What’s happening?”

Then everything changed.

Tendrils of energy burst from the ritual circle.

They lashed outward like living things and wrapped around everyone standing along the edges.

Kai heard Veridia scream. Before he could react, a powerful force yanked him forward.

The world twisted.

Then everything vanished.

A second later, Kai opened his eyes, and found himself surrounded by darkness.

***

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