[June 11th 1489 of the Imperial Calender]
The Eastern Remes estate rose like a monument to arcane ambition, its ivory towers crowned with gold-leaf domes that caught the midday sun and fractured it into a thousand shards of light. Kairus approached the wrought-iron gates with deliberate calm, his cloak frayed at the edges but his posture unyielding.
Two guards in silver-plated armor barred his path, their halberds humming with restrained lightning—a warning etched in sparks.
"State your business," growled the elder guard, his voice a rumble of distrust.
Kairus withdrew a chunk of Valatium from his satchel, its cerulean veins shimmering with latent power. "A gift for Mage Liam Remes," he said, letting the ore catch the light. "As requested."
The younger guard leaned in, skepticism narrowing his eyes. "The Younger Master is not attending anyone at the moment."
"He'll want to meet me.", his tone smooth as polished steel.
A flicker of hesitation passed between the guards. The elder relented with a grunt, stepping aside.
"Come back when you have an appoinment."
Kairus stepped back, seeming as he was leaving when he went around the estate's southern wall.
[Skill Activated: Shadow Step Lv2]
Kairus slipped into the gardens, where prismatic roses bloomed in defiance of winter's grasp. Mana crystals studded the marble walkways, their rhythmic pulses syncing with the distant cadence of spells.
Beyond the roses stood a training yard, its center dominated by a stone wall blackened by fire and time. Liam Remes stood before it, his ash-blond hair singed at the tips, robes smudged with soot. Sweat dripped down his temples as he hurled another firebolt, the flames spluttering against the stone before dying in a pathetic hiss. A crystal bracelet on his wrist flickered crimson—overloaded, unstable.
Kairus watched, silent as shadow. Liam's magic was raw, untamed, a wildfire without direction. 'Exactly as I remember.'
"You're destabilizing the tertiary rune cluster," Kairus said, stepping into the light.
Liam whirled, fire coalescing in his palm. "Who the hell are you?"
The words were sharp, defensive, but beneath them hummed the tremor of curiosity. Kairus raised his hands, palms open. "Someone who knows you're wasting potential. Eternal Ignition isn't mastered through tantrums."
The fireball died. Liam's eyes widened, his bravado cracking. "That term—how do you know it?"
"The same way I know you sneak into the archives at midnight." Kairus tilted his head toward the wall. "You recalibrate your catalysts, adjust the runes, but you're missing the key. Let me show you."
Liam's jaw tightened. Pride warred with hunger—the desperate need of a prodigy teetering on the edge of greatness.
"Prove it," he spat.
Liam struck first, a whip of liquid fire lashing toward Kairus's throat. The air crackled, heat warping the garden's pristine symmetry. Kairus sidestepped, fluid as smoke, and drew a dagger forged from Valatium. The blade drank the flames, its veins glowing molten red.
"Predictable," Kairus murmured. "You always pivot left after a feint."
Liam snarled, summoning a vortex of embers. The spell roared to life, devouring petals from the roses, but Kairus was already moving. He lunged, dagger humming as it siphoned mana from the inferno. The blade pressed against Liam's wrist, dislodging the overloaded crystal.
"Your focus is misaligned," Kairus said, cold and precise. "You channel through your wrists, not your core. A rookie mistake."
Rage flared in Liam's eyes. He wrenched free, fire erupting around him in a phoenix-shaped inferno. The garden's mana crystals flared, feeding the flames until the air itself seemed to boil.
"Burn!" Liam screamed, the phoenix surging forward.
Kairus activated [Skill: Absorption], the dagger blazing as it devoured the spell. The blade shattered under the strain, but the flames died, leaving only smoke and the acrid stench of charred earth.
"Enough," Kairus snapped, tackling Liam to the ground. The younger mage struggled, but Kairus pinned his wrists, their faces inches apart.
"You want to master Eternal Ignition? Then stop acting like a reckless fool. You're not a child playing with matches."
Liam stilled, chest heaving. "How…?"
"Because I've seen what happens when it's mishandled," Kairus said, releasing him. "Entire cities reduced to ash. Is that the legacy you want?"
Liam staggered to his feet, robes singed, pride bruised. For a moment, he looked every bit the boy he was—vulnerable, uncertain. Then his mask slammed back into place.
"You talk like you've seen the future," he sneered, though the tremor in his voice betrayed him. "How can i trust you?."
"What if i can help you master it?."
Liam was struck with shock, "H-How?.. you don't even look like a mage.."
"We'll see about that."
Kairus knelt, tracing a rune sequence in the dirt. "Reverse the polarity here. Anchor the mana through your spine, not the crystal."
This technique wasn't taken from the help of the system but rather from his memories, During his time as the mercenary king, he had been allies with Flame Tower Master, from whom he learned the courses of Magic, so that he could become a Magic swordsman but it didn't work out for him in the end.
Liam hesitated, then crouched beside him. His fingers hovered over the runes, glowing faintly as he redrew the sequence. The air hummed, flames coalescing into a controlled spiral—a perfect, sustained burn.
"It's… stable," Liam whispered, awe softening his defiance.
"Imagine what you could do with Valatium," Kairus said, rising. "No more instability. No more fear."
Liam stared at the spiral, then at Kairus. "What's your price?"
"A conversation with Lord Christan Remes."
The name hung between them, heavy as a blade. Liam's eyes narrowed. "My grandfather doesn't entertain strangers."
"Then make me more than a stranger."
The garden fell silent save for the faint crackle of dying flames. Liam's gaze flickered to the shattered dagger, then to the Valatium ore peeking from Kairus's satchel.
"You're either a madman or a liar," he said finally.
"Or the only one offering you a future," Kairus replied.
Liam's throat bobbed. He turned toward the estate's main hall, shoulders stiff with resolve. "If you're lying, I'll melt the flesh from your bones."
"I'd expect nothing less."
The mage stalked ahead, Kairus trailing in his wake. The gardens blurred into a tapestry of color and shadow, but Kairus's focus remained fixed on the path ahead—and the storm he'd unleashed.
[System Alert: Liam's Volatility Reduced – Trust Threshold: 40%]