Schwarz Eis Seir had to admit, travelling through virtue of uninitiated vehicles was horrid experience, one that she hoped would never happen again. Her eyes flickering towards the small circular window that served as her rooms only light source, sighing as she gazed out towards nothing but vast ocean.

  It had been almost ten days since Jon had arrived back here on Earth.

  Nine days since he had summoned her back from within her Fragment Of Summon.

  And eight days since she had last seen him, Song Lian Yu or Ashvattha Rana.

  Jon had given herself, alongside Song Lian Yu tasks to achieve in his stead, while he reintegrated himself back into normal human society. Through the use of his Golden Transformation Elixirs and Mineral-Element Substitution, it was easy to accumulate human currency.

  Jon had spent the last few days practicing the formation of his new wood spiritual vein, spending time with his two younger sisters in between. Eis had seen memories of both Lydia and Ariel while swimming through the waters of his Sea Of Knowledge, reliving the experiences and feelings of a much younger and more immature Jon.

  She could occasionally sense the yearnings in his heart, while he was still in the System Introduction.

  Now after reuniting with them, all Eis could feel was a growing sense of worry and apprehension. Jon had wanted to push himself; physically, mentally and spiritually so that he could inch closer and closer towards Lordship.

  At the same time, he wanted to spend time with his family.

  Protecting them. Guiding them. Nurturing them.

  ‘It is… rare to see this side of him. So familial and concerned.’

  ‘Was I like that… in beginning?’

  Eis could not help but wonder, unable to remember without the use of a Fragment Of Mind.

  In fact without a Fragment Of Mind, Fragment Of Thought or even Fragment Of Communication, she was unable to communicate with Jon, Song Lian Yu or even Ashvattha Rana. Separated by more than five-thousand kilometres between, all that Eis was able to commune was bouts of powerful emotive feelings.

  Although she was capable of mentally communicating with Jon within a hundred-kilometre radius, their connection had grown weaker and weaker the more distance she put between them.

  Now all that she was capable of feeling was his emotions, albeit with a significant time lag. If this was a world abound with spiritual energy, the dissonance between herself and Jon might be even longer, perhaps up to a week before she could feel what he was experiencing.

  Without Jon improving the control he had over his Fragment Of Mind or Fragment Of Summon, it was impossible to remedy their lacklustre connection. Improving mastery over abilities with the Summon Trait was difficult to say the least; Avahni being the only person that Eis knew of that had begun to explore her connections with Ru Luan Di and the rest.

  Although considering that the Imaginary Princess Of The Round Table specialized in these sorts of abilities, it was no wonder she had been forced to develop such connections so early.

  ‘Memento as an inherent concept…’

  ‘What an outrageous existence she is…’

  How such concepts would improve her abilities in the future were better left unsaid. Eis found herself tempted to inform Jon of certain formation-based creations that could assist in the refinement of a Fragment Of Memento but refrained from doing so in the short-term.

  After the System Introduction, Jon had been thrown back to Earth, alongside Miyoung and Alba Juno. It was possible that Avahni was also somewhere on this planet, but it was still equally possible that she had been flung to Svaarlfin or Gul’gana or some other foreign world.

  Song Lian Yu hoped that Avahni had landed on this planet, not just out of concern for Jon’s friend and companion.

  Fragments Of Memento and Fragments Of Wonder were near-mythological existences in their own right. Someone as youthful as Ashvattha Rana was incapable of realizing their potential effects, but the Threaded-Heart Of Terminus Est was more than experienced enough to have heard of said fragments before.

  The formation of a fragment pathway with said fragments could grow and become a powerful thing indeed. Memento in particular for the epoch-heart dragon and Wonder for the more inexperienced bodhi-deva tree. Eis would not deny similarly being interested in having a Fragment Of Wonder integrated into her, although had other aspirations regarding her ascension to Lordship.

  ‘Even if it would take the better part of a decade for Jon to for become a Baron, I would be more than willing to wait before integrating a Fragment Of Wonder. After all, layered concepts can sometimes prove to be more useful than combined ones.’

  ‘Given that the circumstances are right of course…’

  Jon had yet to discover the relationship between Title Fragment-infused abilities and Wonder Fragments. Neither had he begun to explore the fullest potential of the concepts within him, both ‘mutation’ and ‘mutability.’

  His Fragment Of Cedarspear-Mutation relied more on his inherent concepts that the ones contained within Metamorphosis Imperialis. Of all the abilities within his current repertoire, it was the one that Eis looked forward to the most.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Seeing just how far he was capable of pushing it.

  Schwarz Eis lifted her head, softly sighing, leaning up against the reinforced-steel walls of the ship’s hull. The thin mattress beneath her was an unfamiliar experience, entirely devoid of the comforts of spiritual energy to even handcrafted furniture.

  Even Licht Weiss was more comfortable in comparison…

  The ice devil spirit could not help but sigh, moving her gaze away from the window and back towards the wall opposite her. Eis closed her eyes, hoping to sleep the rest of the way towards her destination however-.

  Her brows twitched, a bubbling sense of emotions rising up from the depths of her Source.

  The corners of her mouth curling upwards as she accepted these feelings of happiness and joy.

  ‘So he finally finished it… I suppose a congratulations might be in order.’

  Eis relished in the burst of sheer elation course through her chest, blooming from the concepts contained within her Knight Ranked Title; White Devil Of The Ninth Circle. Although she knew that this was a long time coming, Eis could not help but feel a certain sense of pride.

  Knowing that Jon had just formed his true Knight Ranked Title.

  ‘Hmm. Another increase to the effectiveness of Mutation Trait abilities. As well as something else… the Mind Trait perhaps? Alongside the ripples of infinitesimally minute concepts and nomological laws.’

  ‘Conflict. Words. Spells. And… something other as well.’

  Schwarz Eis hummed, tapping her fingers thoughtfully against the inch-thick mattress beneath her. Wisps of ice natured spiritual energy reducing the internal temperature of the room as a glacial chill brushed down the corridors of this enormous shipping freight.

  Jon was now one step closer towards Lordship.

  Which meant that she was now one step closer towards Lordship as well.

  “Fragment Of Moon.”

  “Fragment Of Luan.”

  “Fragment Of Yin.”

  These were the final selection of fragments that Eis had chosen. Unlike her ascension to Knighthood, which Jon had allowed her to choose freely, her ascension to Lordship would be different, considering that she desired to be transformed into a fragment pathway.

  One of these three fragments would be used to form said fragment pathway.

  A decision that Jon would have to come to all on his own if he wanted to earn any Title Fragments from its formation.

  The White Devil Of The Ninth Circle once again glanced towards the small circular window, brow twitching almost imperceptibly as she noticed a growing landmass far-off into the distance. Although the curvature of the planet hindered her vision to a degree, she was now able to view the distance island with her own two eyes.

  The sound of a blaring foghorn alerting all of the crew members, informing them of their arrival.

  ‘… Hopefully this will all be worth it.’

  Break.

  “Lydia! Ariel! Dinnertime!” A woman’s voice echoed throughout the Guilliman household, softly sighing as she took her place beside the head of the table.

  The scent of roasted vegetables and slow-cooked lamb wafted throughout the house, stirring a hunger within those who smelt it. The lengthened shadows that accompanied late summer evenings cast the house in a dark, and somewhat dreary light, as though watching a film from the turn of the century.

  Two figures, one man and one woman sat silently within their dining room. Although larger than the average dining room table, less than half the seats were currently occupied.

  One in particular, seeming more lonesome than usual, shadows draping across it, giving it an almost haunting presence.

  Diane Juiliette-Guilliman glanced towards her husband, watching as his expression stiffened, hands tightening into something not quite a fist. The forty-something year old man opened his mouth to speak, lifting his head up as if to try and announce something but-.

  Stopped himself.

  Mimicking his wife’s actions and sighing before placing his utensils back down on either side of his plate. Diane doing the same and placing her hand lovingly over his own, smiling at him despite the obvious tension.

  “Love… it’s not your fault.”

  Randall Cain-Guilliman scoffed, shoulders slumping inwards as he shook his head from side-to-side.

  “What? That my own son didn’t trust us enough to call him after losing his arm? Or that his brother and sisters now resent us for the fact that we kicked him out?” Randall retorted, his words soaked in self-deprecation and audible disgust.

  His expression distorted, hand cradling his forehead as he leaned against his dining room table. His emotions clearly turbulent, thoughts chaotic and will disordered, still reeling from the revelations that Lydia and Ariel had shared with him just hours before.

  Diane tightening her grip over Randall’s hand, causing her husband to do the same.

  “… We taught Jon to be independent and self-sufficient from a young age, hoping that he would be able to look after himself after becoming an adult. Our jobs… didn’t let us always be there.”

  “We did the right thing at the time. Although, I do admit, we have treated Lydia, Ariel, and Cain with a much… lighter touch.”

  “At least, not nearly as heavy as we did with Jon.” Diane said, shoulders similarly slumping inwards.

  There were multiple factors which lead to the two of them raising Jon in such a manner. Randall, as a detective with the Australian Federal Police, experienced the world through a far darker lens, having witness crimes that he would rather not repeat to any other normal human being.

  Diane on the other hand was the Chief Medical Officer for the Department Of Health and Safety, a position which she had fought tooth and nail for, going even so far as to achieve her PhD before assuming said role. The two were not home as much during Jon’s youth, hence the reason why they had taught him to be so independent and self-sufficient.

  There were other contributing factors too.

  Diane in particular, often worried about Randall not coming home one day. His work, which often placed him in situations where his safety wasn’t always guaranteed had been a cause of concern during the first few years of parenthood.

  Both were work-driven individuals, which allowed them to provide extremely well for their children. Going even so far as to purchase a nice piece of land in the suburbs, relatively close to their school and public transport.

  However…

  “… Why didn’t the hospital inform us of the incident?” Randall questioned, turning his head towards his wife, “Surely the name “Guilliman” would have turned some heads after being brought in?”

  “And this “other party” who paid for all his medical bills. How much of a settlement did they give him?”

  Diane shrugged her shoulders, leaning back further into the chair behind her.

  “Well, Lydia and Ariel mentioned something about his house being walking distance from the Melbourne CBD. Which, if I’m being generous should be about a five-kilometre radius given how emotional the two of them were…”

  “You should be able to rule out properties will a price tag of two million or more. How someone could be that generous without the courts forcing reparations goes beyond mere charity. Considering that the two girls wanted to move their birthday party to his place, it might be reasonable to guess that it has a larger than average backyard.”

  Randall paused, tilting his head backwards while raising an eyebrow. His golden-green eyes seemed somewhat deeper than Jon, Ariel, or Lydia’s, a few more strands of yellow woven in between streaks of dark green.

  He eyed his wife, peering at her as if she had grown a second head.

  “Are you trying to put me out of a job Miss Guilliman?”

  His wife, who shared the same shade of rust-coloured hair as him smiled winking back at her husband.

  “That’s Mrs Guilliman to you, dear.”