There was a quiet sparkle in Ivan's eyes as he approached Grace and Rufus. This mentorship opportunity was something he didn't think would ever happen, nor did it ever cross his mind.
In essence, Ivan was someone who liked to learn. Much of it stemmed from the fact that all of his life--he had no remarkable talent to offer other than his knack for engineering.
Obsidian was a place to gain knowledge.
Even if - at hindsight - it may not look like it. There was definitely things to learn within the confines of the Adronium metal that clad the entire exterior design of the prison asylum.
Ivan turned to Rufus.
"I heard you're going to Obsidian."
Rufus nodded, drinking a bottle of water; his throated his been dry due to the overconsumption of burnt tortillas.
"And I heard you're going there, too," Rufus fire back immediately. There were a few others going to Obsidian due to a myriad of reasons, but their relevance to the story was close to ashes.
Absolutely nothing.
"Grace... you're going to Quantum City?" Ivan shuddered at the thought. Grace held in a slight chuckle, noticing the slight anxiety that Ivan had at the thought of going to Quantum City.
It was ironic.
Because Ivan would eventually kill thousands of criminals in Quantum City without even flinching nor even give an ounce of thought towards sparing them.
"It's an opportunity," Grace told him. "To experience what a detective does in a horizon like Quantum City." Of course, Grace was aware that death was something that would loom over his head constantly.
Not only because it was Quantum City, but also because he was Grace Walker.
The surname of Walker lingers, offering a resounding echo. It's lucrative for criminals to attempt kidnappings on noble figures in order to hold them ransom.
"And... I'll take my chances."
Because his abduction would end in their inevitable deaths.
His value was much more than just a Walker now.
They walked alongside each other, walking out of the academy. Grace mostly stayed silent, but they soon stumbled upon talking about others.
"Grace," Rufus called out. "You know where Alice is heading for her mentorship?" He asked him. Grace glanced at Rufus, a small smirk appearing on his face.
"How would I know?"
He knew.
Rufus rolled his eyes.
"You and her--all buddy-buddy," he turned to Ivan. "You know, Ivan, Grace and Alice have been sneaking out of the academy during the weekends... a secret rendezvous."
Ivan widened his eyes, his head turning to Grace.
"You... and Alice?!"
Grace looked at Ivan as they crossed a street, stopping for a moment in order to let a car turn.
"I don't know what you mean," they continued walking. "There's nothing between us." And that was the full truth.
"But," Ivan rubbed the back of their his head. "Don't you think it's inevitable that there'll be a deep-sense of companionship?"
"Who knows."
He had no true response to this--it was the full truth, after all. Due to their constant contact with each other, a companionship and a sense of trust may come to form that was as tough as concrete--or maybe even as tough as steel.
"We just complement each other's skillset."
To begin with, Grace did not know the full extent of his own emotions anymore. Everything - Grace and Allen - had begun to blend in together, and the line between fiction and reality had been completely destroyed.
However, he knew better than to indulge in romance.
He could not afford to be shackled by love. Not because he thought it was worthless--no, he knew how deep love is engraved into the veins of people.
Especially in the veins of Allen Hart.
Love was a drug.
And he could not afford to be addicted to it.
Because there will come a time where he would need to let it all ago in order to return back to the world he yearned for.
"I don't have time for romantic endeavors."
Rufus merely rolled his eyes.
"That's what they all say."
"Well, to answer your question from before: Alice is going to the Imperial Palace."
"What?!" Rufus and Ivan widened their eyes, unable to contain their surprise. This was especially true for Ivan.
"But there wasn't anything about the Imperial Palace on the board?" Ivan spoke his thoughts aloud. Indeed--it wasn't. Had it been like that, then a vast majority of students would flock to it like moths to a flame.
"It isn't," Grace nodded. "She got personally invited."
"By who?"
"Headmaster Dawn."
Another reason why Grace liked and disliked Aventus--he made favoritism clear. To be exact, even though he won't extend his hand towards other when they are in clear need of help unless they ask him--there are exceptions.
The talented.
He won't let talent wither.
"I overheard it while I was at the office."
That was a lie--he knew because it happened during the novel. This was something that Aventus had been planning for awhile now--getting permission to send a student to the Imperial Palace without it being a formal affair or field trip was difficult.
"That means..." Ivan's voice trailed along into oblivion, his eyes emitting sparkles.
"She will see it. Right?"
The statement was ambiguous, but Grace knew what he was talking about. Innately, Ivan did not care about the grand status of nobles or meeting the grandiose lineage of the Jade Family.
No--
He wanted to see it.
"Yes, she will see the World Tree."
It stood at the center of the Imperial Palace, in the continent situated towards the middle of the world--Axi. It shone a radiant glow, almost blinding in nature. But it was a tree that had existed since the beginning of civilization.
And the Jade Family was its protector.
Canonically, it made sense.
However, Grace no longer lived in the canon.
Why is the Walker Family not the people protecting it?
They were transmigrators and thus were given god-given talent that exceeded even a majority of the other families.
Would that not give them a deep sense of purpose?
Perhaps I'm thinking too deeply into it. Grace thought.
It could be explained that the family didn't wish to guard it as it was a responsibility that would shackle them--that could not be all.
This family had much more than what met the eye. From the transmigrations to the privilege of devoting themselves to the Creator.
They were a family of "purpose."
Which is why Grace could not stop thinking about these possibilities. The very essence of their existence were defying the nature of the world and the canon that would take place. Every step they took made a ripple effect that would plunge the novel into something unrecognizable.
Grace had to stop thinking and talking to the two others beside him once they arrived at the train station. It was bustling with students and adults, walking in and out.
"Beautiful," Ivan muttered in awe.
A train powered by mana and capable of plowing through the speed of sound at its top speed, Grace could not believe what he was witnessing. It was like encountering a mythical being. Albeit, a rather shitty one in comparison. But mythical nonetheless.
It would take them from the middle of the continent to the ocean surface where Obsidian resided, and then to the neighboring continent where Quantum City resided in.
Badump!
Grace did not know why, but his heart was moved by such a sight.
It was like stepping into the unknown.
Where bliss and mysteries resided.