A routine had soon built up in Hal's life; he would wake up for training with Joset, which would be intense mental torture, yet however much he tried, he seemed unable to restrict the fragments of his mind.
This always left him in a desperate position, with Joset looking disappointed and his body trembling uncontrollably, something even more unpleasant.
After that, he would find himself in the compound with Tai, where their swords would clash, only for him to end up bruised at the end, though at some point, Tai would always improve his ruthlessness the moment he seemed easier to deal with
And though it meant that the satisfaction of whipping that smirk off Tai's face was still far from Hal's reach, he was still happy with his gradual improvement.
And now it had been a week since this tormenting routine had begun, Hal was now in Nanny Leya's office, she was an old woman whose hair had long since turned grey.
The woman had brown eyes that lay behind her rectangular glasses and a sweet smile deserving of a grandmother. She mainly wore dull coloured clothes and always held a brown cane even when she slept.
She was the woman in charge of the health of all silver swords due to her miraculous healing abilities. She was a nice lady, though she always liked talking about her granddaughter Elizabeth, who was out on a secret mission.
"So Hal, are you feeling better now?" Hal gave a slight bow as he spoke in a humble tone, "Yeah, now that you've fixed me up, Nanny Leya"
Nanny Leya chuckled as she added, "No, I'm too old for fluttery and besides, my little granddaughter is a far better healer than I, and also I should speak to that Tai to be more gentle with you next time"
Hal let out a little laugh as he shook his head "There will be no need for that, like they always say, no pain, no gain"
Nanny Leya gasped as she spoke with a bit of indignation, "Who would make up such a saying?" Hal froze as it had never crossed his mind that the sayings in his world would not exist here.
He scratched the back of his mind and a quick excuse soon flowed into it, "I was actually given a book by Lady Roxanne that I need to read, so you again tomorrow, Nanny Leya"
Nanny Leya called out to Hal as he sped out the door with concern in her voice, "Just please don't be banged up next time. I enjoy your company, but I don't enjoy seeing you hurt"
"Got it, Nanny Leya" Hal did not waste any more time getting back to his room as he jumped to embrace his beautiful bed, the only thing he trusted in this strange world.
He aimed to go to sleep, but his eyes moved to stare at the book he had left at the table a week ago. He let out a groan and soon got up from his sweet bed and moved to the table.
If there was any time to read this book, then let it be now, at least then he would not have lied to Nanny Leya, 'The Mysteries of Higher Beings'
He soon began to read the book and soon found himself immersed in the beings it talked about were both fascinating and confusing, and yet they seemed to beg for him to learn more about them.
According to the book, there were three types of higher beings: there were beings of Law, Embodiments and Conceptual beings or simply concepts.
Beings of Law were the most abundant because everything had a law governing it, from the way we breathe to the way light is created; it all had laws and beings of law were simply people or monsters that had gained full authority over the law and hence could alter it however they liked
Embodiments were more complicated because there was above the law, and according to the book, there was little to be known about them.
He flicked through the pages and was only able to learn that embodiments were ways concepts manifested themselves, though the book provided no adequate example.
In the case of concepts, the book could provide nothing, as the book only reads.
"Concepts are the most unexplainable beings of this world, their existence is the absolute definition of what something truly is, and their forms are not bound to reason, as simply trying to fathom them can be a ticket to madness, hence even I could simply provide this little"
The author of the book then signed his name at the bottom of the book, "Donatello Aviscus Heracles, who was this and how much did he know about higher beings?"
The question rang through his head as Hal finally shut the book, and yet he wanted to find out more. Could this Donatello guy still be alive, and if he was, could Hal find him? Maybe he could provide some more info.
Hal decided to go for a walk to calm his mind so that his curiosity would not tear his mind apart. He stepped out of the building as his entire form became bathed in the red light of the tower..
He walked through the compound as he asked himself, "Could I too ascend and become a higher being? I was already promised power by one, so could that feat truly be in my reach?"
"What feat do you mean, dear Hal?" the female voice rang out from above him as he heard Lyrrah's voice ring through his ears, prompting him to look up
Only to see Lyrrah seated a top of the roof of the building, her hair and eye colour contrasted with that from the tower, adding to her already mysterious aura.
She wore a smile as her hair flowed down past her cheek, reminding Hal of how cute she actually was. The red light showering them set the stage as her pink eyes appeared to absorb all the red light that fell upon them. Hal stared blankly for a second before proceeding to answer the girl.
"My ambitions and the feats that I would like to achieve are mine to know, so why should I tell them to you?" Lyrrah's smile widened
Everything she did always left Hal wondering what this girl was thinking and what her actual intentions were
"Says the person who was advising Tai to help a few days back, Why would you advise your friend to trust someone you cannot trust yourself?"
A frown soon found itself on Hal's face as he answered in a somewhat reserved tone, "I did not tell him to trust you; I only told him that he should use you to reach his own girls"
Lyrrah giggled softly as she proceeded to speak, "So you would advise your friend to take advantage of a girl? What kind of guy are you?"
Hal let out a sigh, not willing to take the girl's bait, he turned around to leave, suppressing any question that tried to surface in his mind.
"You plan to leave on a beautiful night like this, come on, let's talk, maybe we can convince you that you can take it easy around me, oh, I know just the thing, do you want to know my true intentions, Hal?"
Hal froze as a subtle disappointment in his inability to resist this temptation took hold of him. He turned around and faced Lyrrah, who stared at him with a smile still plastered on her face.
"Isn't your intention to take back Haverfield and become its new queen?" Lyrrah shook her head before reaching her hand out to Hal
"Come up here so we can talk", and as soon as those words left her mouth, Hal felt a force take hold of him and pull him forward before gently placing him on the roof of the building.
Hal turned to Lyrrah with a shocked expression, unable to express his disagreement with her recent action.
"Don't worry, I would never dream of dropping or letting you fall", he wondered what words would best describe his irritation with this girl's behaviour as he shouted, "Well, next time, warn me first"
Lyrrah quickly raised her hand as Hal found his lips tightly stuck together, with Lyrrah placing her finger on her mouth to signal Hal to keep silent.
"People here are trying to sleep, you know" Hal felt his lips be relieved of the mysterious force that bound them as he said, "So is that how you got up here, you know, using your power?"
Lyrrah shook her head, saying, "No, I have a gift, so I can't apply my gift upon myself, though if you really want to know, my room's window is just above this rooftop"
Lyrrah then walked forward and sat down at the edge before turning around to signal Hal to come and join her.
Hal turned back to glance at the window before finally sitting next to the mysterious girl. He took a minute to observe the city from this point, but all he could see was the hunter area and the tall tower that stood in the distance, illuminating the entire place with light.
"The truth is, I do not desire the throne of Haverfield not one bit" Hal turned to face the girl who continued staring at the tower in the distance before continuing.
"The people who rule this world now took everything from me, my home, my parents, my freedom, my childhood, everything I had ever dreamed of, all of it was snatched from my hands"
Lyrrah took a dream breath, inhaling the cold air of the night as she said
"So, I want to play tit for tat. Just like how they took everything from me, I want to take everything from them, apart from that, I don't really care about the throne, maybe I'll hand to someone else or marry someone and let them rule it instead, either way, the only thing on my mind is vengeance"
Hal stared at Lyrrah the whole time she spoke, as he could see where she was coming from; he, too, wanted revenge, and he was willing to do whatever it took to take back what he lost
But he was sure she knew better than anyone that saying was not always doing, he sighed as he calmed his mind and wondered if both their dreams were simply far from reach
"I heard that you have power controlling your shattered mind, my gift does not need me to do the same, but I can still give you advice, each of those fragments is are piece of you with the same desires, dreams and aspirations, so all you have to do is take advantage"
Hal became slightly confused as he watched Lyrrah get up and prepare to leave "What do you mean?" Lyrrah moved a few steps before finally turning around to answer his question
Her hands were behind her back, and the light hit her face at a dazzling angle. She smiled half before speaking in a soft tone
"What desire would you submit to what would I offer you that you cannot refuse? What emotion could I use to bind you? You know them best, right, so use them to bring those other fragments of you into your authority?"
Lyrrah then turned and moved towards the window as she waved goodbye to Hal, saying, "Good luck and good night, dear Hal"
Hal was left briefly stunned by their entire conversation, and with a sigh, he turned around and stared at the tower, wondering how the hell he was going to get down