In a white void was an arena, torn apart by a battle between two Grand Masters.
Where were the said Grand Masters, one might ask.
They were in the middle of the arena, and the elder of the two lay flat on his back on the floor.
The younger stood over him with his feet on either side of the older man.
"Raghav!" He turned to his left and saw Aurelia running at him.
She jumped into his arms, and he caught her. "Thank The One you are alright. Why did the two of you start using such violent attacks on each other? It could have been fatal."
He set her down as his eyes met hers. He was lost for a moment before he blinked and responded to her.
"I was not going to go down that easily, nor was Mr. Exter. We both knew we could take it. Besides, we had to show you and Vonreid what Grand Masters are capable of."
King Belreid was being supported by Reinhardt, who also had the Twilight Sword on his back.
"You made a perfect point of that. To think that Mana can take us mortals to such heights is nerve racking."
King Belreid's comment hung in the air as everyone agreed.
"Actually, we decided to hold back and finish the fight early; had we truly been using everything in our arsenal. Then this fight would have taken us weeks if not months for it to reach a natural conclusion."
This caused a smirk to appear on An's face while the others watched Raghav with open mouths.
Cough
Everyone turned towards Eldrain, who coughed and sat up, looking at the others.
He studied their expressions for a bit; most of them were in shock, An was smirking, and Aurelia and Raghav were smiling at one another. "I lost, didn't I?"
Raghav nodded as he extended his hand to Eldrain. "Only because we decided to cut the fight short. Had it been allowed to run its natural course, who knows what the results would have been then?"
Eldrain took his hand as he stood on his feet, shaking his head. "I believe the results would have been the same."
Then he was hugged by his wife. "Hey there, An. I am sure it was your first time seeing me getting my butt handed to me." "I remember handing it to you in our first meeting, so no."
"That one does not count. I was mesmerised by your beauty."
Aurelia leaned towards Raghav's ear as she whispered. "Is this what marriage is like?" Raghav leaned towards her ear and whispered back. "This is what it is supposed to be."
This made her chuckle as she sighed, looking at the elderly couple.
"Ahem."
Mage Olda cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention.
"I have some questions if the two of you do not mind."
Raghav and Eldrain looked at one another for a moment before they nodded, and Raghav turned towards Mage Olda. "How about we discuss this over lunch? We can tie all the Loose Ends of this lesson while we eat and rest."
He then leaned back and looked at Martel. "Mr. Martel, you will be joining us, yes?"
"That would be most pleasant. But I must decline, I have to go back to my work."
"I am sure you will have a lunch break during work, instead of eating alone, eat with us. It would add another star to our night sky."
Martel chuckled as he looked down, shaking his head. "Alright, I will stay for lunch."
King Belreid nodded as he let go of Reinhardt's support and stood up. "Alright, let us head to the dining hall. Raghav, if you would be so kind as to open a portal to the dining hall."
"Of course." He looked forward, and a portal appeared connecting the white void to the dining hall.
Eldrain called his war hammer and stored it in the storage pouch around his waist. Raghav wrapped his jacket and locket around himself, wearing them both.
He then called his sword and great sword to himself and telekinetically placed them in their respective scabbards around his waist and his back.
Then they all walked through the portal, and Raghav turned around and blinked.
A small black hole appeared inside the pocket dimension and completely sucked in the arena, returning it to a white void, before it was snuffed out as Raghav waved his hand and the portal closed.
The group had their backs to the portal, and they were none the wiser about what had just transpired.
.
.
Everyone was sitting in their respective seats, eating the food before them.
King Belreid at the head of the table, to his right were Queen Anessa, Aurelia, Vonreid and An.
To his left were Reinhardt, Raghav, Eldrain, Mage Olda and Martel.
Raghav was leaning forward and talking with Martel. "The swords you have created are utterly perfect. They fit in my hand like they are an extension of my limbs."
"I must also agree, the swords were able to cut through my hands and even throw my war hammer off course. You truly deserve the title of the greatest human smith in the world."
Martel smiled as he raised a glass of sweet milk. "Thank you for your utmost generous words. But I must say, the quality of the sword is meaningless if the hands holding it do not know how to use it. Luckily for me, the man wielding my sword just might be the best swordsman in the world."
He paused as he watched Raghav. "I do have to ask a question, Mr Raghav."
"Please, as I have told you, just calling me Raghav is fine."
"Why don't you show us the same courtesy? You keep calling me Mr. Exter. Call me Eldrain."
"Exactly, you call me your grace, even after I asked you to call me Bel or Belreid."
Defensively raising his hands, Raghav leaned back. "It does not feel right to me, you are all my elders, and it feels disrespectful."
Eldrain and Belreid looked at each other and smiled. "Then, as your elder, we command you to call us by our names." Mage Olda, Reinhardt, An and Martel also chimed in.
Surrounded by similar demands from everyone, he raised his head, smiling. "Alright, if my elders demand it, then I can do it."
He then looked at Martel as he gestured. "What is the question, Martel?"
"What are you going to name the swords? Weapons of great warriors have a name. So please tell me, what shall be the name of the swords that belong to the Hero of Prophecy, foretold to save Paneria from evil?"
"Dharm."
Martel tilted his head at the name as he frowned. "Dharm?"
Raghav nodded as he slowly blinked. "Dharm is a word from my homeland; it has multiple meanings depending on where it is used. Some mistranslate it for religion, but its true meanings are Truth and Duty."
Looking at Aurelia, he smiled gently. "I want these swords to be seen as a symbol of truth and duty. I want them to be drawn only to do their duty to uphold truth."
This brings a smile to everyone's face as they all think the same thing. 'That's Raghav for you.'
Aurelia then leans forward. "Then name my sword as well."
Confused by her question, Raghav tilts his head. "Your sword?"
She nodded. "My sword is the twin of the long sword that you use. That sword was supposed to be a ceremonial sword for Kanah. But now that it has been named, I want mine to be named too."
He silently looked deep into the bottom of her ocean-blue eyes. "Samarpan."
"What does it mean?"
He smiled as he sighed, lost in her eyes. "It is made up of two words, Sam and Arpan. Sam can mean oneself or completely, and Arpan means offering and giving. Together, the word Samarpan means to offer yourself or your actions to something greater than yourself."
"It is most often used to surrender oneself to the almighty, but for you, as the heir to the throne of Istreid, it means devotion to the people."
She smiled and turned towards Martel. "I want to call my sword Samarpan."
Martel smiled as he nodded, wiping his mouth as he set down the utensils. "Most excellent."
He then stood up, bowing towards King Belreid. "Your grace, it was an honour to be here; however, I must return to my workshop if I hope to finish the rest of the items, Raghav has asked me to forge for him."
King Belreid nodded and gestured for Martel to rise. "You may leave." Martel gave the king a nod and began walking away.
"Wait!" Aurelia stood up, looking at Martel. As he stopped and looked at her. "Let me escort you to your carriage."
He smiled awkwardly. "Your highness, there is no need for this" "Please, I insist."
Giving in, he reluctantly agreed, and the two walked away. Raghav watched Aurelia, an act that An took notice of as she placed down her glass of water. "So Raghav."
Raghav lowered his eyes to his table in front of him as he responded. "Yes, Mis…An."
"Are you shy? Since I met you yesterday, I have noticed, you did not look at me, Sarah or any other women at all. Why is that?"
Now that it was voiced, others also began to chime in. "Yes, I also took notice of that. Is that why you closed your eyes during the fight against the graduating students and had to create a direct image in your mind using your powers to fight?"
Raghav turned towards King Belreid. "Yes, it was your grace. It is a very personal reason, so I hope you do not mind my inability to share it with you right now."
Vonreid looked at Raghav across the table and frowned. "But even if you created a direct image of your surroundings in your mind, would you not see the women?"
Raghav turned towards him and pointed at him. "That is a smart assessment, kiddo. However, as I created the image in my mind, I left plain white silhouettes in their place. So yeah."
Queen Anessa and An looked at one another and then at Raghav. The same thought went through their mind. 'But you make an exception.'
Just then, Aurelia returned to the dining hall.
"You returned quickly."
Moving towards her chair, she looked at her father and nodded. "Yes, Father, I escorted him to his carriage. He walked fast. Once he was seated in his carriage, I came back."
She took her seat between her mother and Vonreid. "Alright, before we address Mage Olda's questions. I would like to ask the two of you something."
Vonreid and Aurelia looked at Raghav, who was back in his serious mode as he crossed his arms. "What did you learn today? I want Vonreid to go first."
This made Vonreid gulp as he took a deep breath and exhaled, gulping again as he looked between Raghav and Eldrain, who had a similar expression on their face.
He then stood up, puffing his chest out. "I learned that Mana is a fast and flexible form of power; it has many applications…umm, like physical and mental enhancements. Then there is magic and the use of mana as tangible energy…Um, I also learned that what matters is not how much power one has but how they use it, with efficiency, control, longevity and precision. That is what separates an Acolyte from a Knight and a Knight from a Master."
He looked at everyone watching him and then met Raghav's eyes. His beating heart slowed down as he closed his mouth. "I also learned that being the strongest comes at a cost and with risks. I used to dream of one day being a Grand Master. But now I know that to be one, I will have to risk death, but I also remember what you told me the graduates the day before yesterday. Death will come no matter what, so when I have trained and become a Great Master. I will attempt to become a Grand Master."
"Good, now, Aurelia, your turn."
Vonreid quickly sat down, drinking some water as Aurelia stood up.
"I agree with the first half of Vonreid's statement and the part about power coming at a cost. However, after seeing my father and Reinhardt fight you and Sir Eldrain. I realised, these ranks do not decide the victor. Victory is relied on, a warrior, drive, their instinct, their creativity and their use of their power. Ranks exist only as a badge of honour for warriors who pushed themselves and achieved something great. Who knows, maybe there is an Acolyte out there who can give even Grand Masters a hard time. So I will not be risking my life in hopes of achieving the powers of Grand Master when I can attempt to match them as a Master."
Raghav clapped as he took a deep breath through his nose as his chest expanding.
"Very good for finding your purpose. The One has most certainly blessed me with such smart students. Thank you, Sir Reinhardt, for teaching them until now and making them so capable."
He then turned towards Mage Olda. "I believe we have jumped around enough. Please ask your questions, Mage Olda."
Mage Olda put down his spoon of rice back in his plate and turned towards Raghav. "Most of them are about how you use mana without the aid of spells to perform magic for you, and the rest are about the rumours. Now I have an idea as to how you do elemental magic and gravitational magic. But I have no clue as to how you heal and summon meteors or teleport."
Eldrain and Raghav both hummed at the same time, and Eldrain spoke first. "As you saw, my hands were cut off, and I regrew them by focusing mana within stem cells that are found within the body, and since they were charged, they rapidly divided and created new hands for me. I did not just create new hands out of thin air. I energised my body to regrow."
Raghav leaned forward, looking past Eldrain. "I used a similar method, but instead of regrowing it all, I brought the severed tissue together, and as I poured mana within them, they reconnected."
Mage Olda nodded as he scribbled it down in a book and looked at them, holding his pen in their direction. "What about teleportation?"
The two Grand Masters looked at one another as Raghav pointed between himself and Eldrain. "Do you want to go first or should… I'll go first,"
From the other side of the table, Aurelia leaned to her brother and whispered. "Watch, he will most likely begin his explanation with different types"
Just as she had predicted, Raghav began his explanation. "There are dozens of different types of teleportation. Type one is the use of a bridge space, type two is anchoring, type three is substitution, type four is warping, and type five is the use of portals. These are the five types available in Paneria. I can use types one, two and three as of now. I can use types four and five, but only in Octiv's pocket dimension. In fact, type one is made possible because of the dimension as well."
Only the sound of utensils and a pen rubbing on the pages of a book was now present as Raghav paused, letting Olda categorise his notes.
The moment the old man looked up at him, Raghav continued. "Type one is performed by exiting this universe, timeline or dimension and entering another, then returning from that place to this plane at another location or time. The speed depends on how fast one can enter, decide where they want to go and exit. It, however, has certain limitations, those being, the navigator must know precisely where or when it is that he wants to go. One wrong move and they could be at the end of time or on the sun."
Once again, he waited for the old man to write it down before he moved on to the other types. "Type two requires a symbol or talisman to be placed in the desired destination, tying the user to that location and allowing one to channel themselves to that space. This is nearly instant only delay being the activation phase. However, too many symbols or talismans in close proximity can tear a person apart. You try to teleport, and a part of you arrives everywhere. That is why it is recommended to remove the items tethering you to the spot once you are done."
On the other side, Vonreid was flipping through the pages of the notes Raghav had prepared for him, and he saw that Raghav had already prepared this very explanation for him. In much greater detail than what he was currently sharing.
"Type three is basically type two, with the twist being, you exchange the positions of two items instead of moving one to another. Once again, great focus and care must go into the spell, and one must be in precise control of both elements. One mishap and the two objects could end up mangled together or worse. Erased from existence for occupying the same space."
"Type four is warping the space around and transferring the object of desire from one point to another. Take these two breads, for example."
In each of his hands was a slice of bread; one had butter smeared on it, while the other was bare. "Imagine yourself as the butter and the slice you are on right now as this castle, and the other as your home. Now you bend space in a way, essentially folding it such that these two different points meet, and you transfer the butter as in yourself to the other slice, and then you unfold space, and you have warped yourself. This is how I moved you all to the seats back in Octiv's dimension."
As he separated the slices of bread, the butter had been transferred to the other slice, and he then placed them back on his table. "It is the most difficult of them all; one must be certain not to fold it with too much force or speed, otherwise they might tear space itself or crush themselves under the two colliding spaces. The second problem is the release; you need to make sure to release the fold after you have fully crossed over, otherwise you will be stretched out as the two locations parted. This also requires the most energy and control, as you need the energy to fold the tangible space and be in control of that part of the universe."
Olda managed to write it all down while also understanding the worlds. "Type five?"
After speaking continuously, Raghav's throat had run dry as he picked up his glass of water and drank it entirely and smacked his lips. "Type five is basically an amalgamation of type one and four. You connect two points in this space, but instead of transferring something from one point to another, you add a doorway there. This, in turn, allows you to move anywhere within your world or travel to other universes, timelines or dimensions. There have been cases where unstable inter dimensional portals tore apart the dimensional barriers and caused the two to merge or caused the utter and total collapse of reality. That is a lot of the universe's ends up being destroyed. So my advice is just to portal in your own space and close the door behind yourself."
Eldrain sighed as he placed his hands on the table. "My turn to explain, ask away, Mage Olda."
Tying up the notes, Mage Olda turned to Eldrain, as the man was getting eager, who could blame him? There were not many moments in his 498 years of existence where he actually got to explain the supernatural powers he has to someone who cares and understands.
"How about summoning magic, replication magic and the rumours about manipulating the fundamentals of existence?"
"Summoning is simple and easy. We draw a summoning circle made of Mana and think of what we want, and it appears through the circle. There is a major limitation; however, it works for generic items, such as rocks, water and air. As the summoning circle finds it on its own. If we wanted to summon, let's say, a man, like you summoned Raghav from another world. We would need to mentally reach out to that place with our power and mark the man before summoning him, and last I checked. Mana cannot be used to reach other worlds because it cannot interact with the fundamentals of existence. Heck, just scanning this entire floor and everything within it with Mana would be a near impossible feat. So even if you could send your Mana to another world, forget finding the person."
King Belreid frowned as he pointed at Raghav. "But Raghav was able to scan an entire battlefield, and we were able to summon him. How would you explain that?"
Eldrain looked blankly for a moment and smiled. "Raghav used Omniurja, a primordial force, a power that exists within the entire existence. It exists within Mana and all the other powers themselves. He can sense such a large area because he does not need to spread his energy around; it exists around him. He is always connected to the source, which is why his reserves never run low. As for your second question, no one has any clue about the inner workings of interdimensional travel."
Taking note, Mage Olda looked at Eldrain for him to continue. "Replication magic is how the rumours of creation magic came about. What we do is take a small part of something. An arrow, for example, we take an arrow and divide it into two halves and replicate the rest of it using Mana, creating two arrows. This can be repeated multiple times, and each time it weakens the arrow, but that weakness can be offset by enhancing it with Mana."
"As for the fundamentals of existence, all of those rumours were made in the first place because Octiv used to take people to his dimension, where he could actually do those things, not because he had those powers but because the empty dimension was under his control. He would create chairs and tea, then transform them into something else. Time moved faster in that dimension than it did here, and so those qualities were tied to the rest of us as well. But in truth, Mana cannot control the fundamentals."
"I believe mana can, just that no one on this planet has reached that level yet. But as the powers surrounding this planet begin to shift. Mana will soon evolve to maintain the balance of power, and the hierarchy of power will never be the same again."
Raghav delivered the last line as he mixed his rice with beans with his spoon before eating a spoonful.
Everyone was caught off guard by the sudden interjection by Raghav as they watched him intently.
For a few moments, he did not answer, and Eldrain decided to ask himself. "What do you mean by that?"
"Mana has remained a basic form of power for too long. If it means to survive against a being capable of using a primordial force, Mana will evolve to become a power that taps into the fundamentals. The rumours will become true, soon enough."
"Is this something your primordial force revealed to you?" Aurelia asked as Raghav met her eyes and nodded.
"As you know, primordial forces are stronger than Mana. You saw how all the mages in the castle together could not regenerate the King's arm, even though the damage was done by a single blast of Chaos Magic. You would need at least a hundred times more Mana to match a primordial force, and even then, you cannot undo the things done by it. Only other powers capable of influencing the fundamentals can."
Queen Anessa frowned as she gasped. "Does that mean you could have healed my husband's arm?"
"I could."
"Why haven't you?" She cried out as Raghav kept his eyes on King Belreid. "He would keep losing it."
Everyone was confused, but they would not remain that way for long as Raghav began his explanation. "Before birth, a handful of good deeds and bad deeds are taken from our past lives at random and merged together to give us bodies. These make our fates in this life, events that we must go through. All the misfortune and fortune come from these. King Belreid has the misfortune of living the last of his days as a cripple. If I were to heal his hand, he would lose it again or worse, something much worse would happen. So I will say this, whatever happened, happened for a reason, and it could have been worse, so consider yourself lucky."
No one could speak after he had said it all so casually. He took the last bite of his food and stood up. "Mage Olda, shall we go to your workplace? I would like to discuss something with you." Mage Olda gulped as he looked at the others before he nodded, picking up his items. "Yes, let's leave."
The two then bowed towards the King, who was looking down at his plate in silence. "Your grace."
Then they left, leaving all those who were left behind in a state of shock and confusion to reflect on what had happened here.