My firm belief is that you were chosen because of what is currently happening within the world. The presence of a demon who does not belong, the opening of the gates and the catastrophes that were released from them… You were chosen as his representative in this world in order to bring the mortal realm back into balance. That's why, as your reward… I will be taking you under my wing. From this day forward, you shall be my apprentice! I will teach you everything that you need to know! Whatever desires you have, they will be within reach very soon, and that is because you now have me to help you. What do you say Ivan!?" He asked with a crazed smile of determination. I could see the fire in his eyes, there was no getting out of this even if I wanted to. "I- I'm not sure… It's not that I don't trust you, I just… There are people I need to find." No matter what happens, finding Oli and Sid are my top priority. Nightingale smiled and said, "HA! I already know all about that Ivan. I know you were at the Arch of Bane and all about what happened to your friends. In fact, if you stick with me… I may just be able to help you find one of them." I couldn't lie, his words filled me with excitement. There was nothing I wanted more in this world than to find my little sister and my best friend. They were my only family, and without them… I'm just so lonely. It has been incredibly painful to endure all this time without knowing what happened to them or where they may be. But I couldn't just take his words at face value. I'm sure he heard a lot from Henry and Bastien, but if he was playing with me about finding them… I don't care how strong he is, I will kill this man. "Are you serious about what you just said?" I responded in an aggressive tone. "Ho hooo, I can see the anger in your eyes Ivan. You need not worry about that, I can say with certainty that I can and will locate one of them if you become my apprentice. As a token of my willingness to help you, I will give you something of great value… no strings attached." Nightingale said as he reached into his coat pocket. He pulled out a small, unassuming black box. He placed the box onto the side table beside his chair and snapped his fingers. The box opened up and a gust of powerful wind blew out of the tiny box. "What was that!? How did you do that?" I questioned in amazement. "Oh this? My apologies Ivan, this box isn't anything special really. In fact, you'll soon be able to attain one of these on your own. Rather, what I am going to give you… is inside." Nightingale said with a devious smile. "Ivan, I want you to hold your hand out in front of this box. Then I want you to think of an Item, any kind of Item that you feel will help you. Think about it carefully, it doesn't need to be anything specific. Think about the details, the feel of it, and what suits you the most." "Are you sure? How does that make any sense?" "Just do it, I'm sure that something promising will find its way to you." Nightingale said as he gestured towards the small box. Everything about this man was insane. He was impossible to figure out, and if that wasn't enough… Now he wants me to stick my hand out in front of a tiny box and ask for something I need. What do I need anyways? I don't know. Whatever, I'll just do it. I walked towards the box and stuck out my hand. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine something that could help me. I had no idea what could possibly come out of this little box that would be of help to me, but I tried. I tried very hard to form an image in my mind of something that could help on my journey to find my little sister and my best friend. I decided at that moment… That regardless of what situations I find myself in, I must use everything I possibly can to my advantage. I need to get smart. If I can obtain a powerful item in this exchange, and also get taught by a very special mentor… Then that is what I must do. As I stood there holding my hand out and thinking intently, a bright light suddenly flashed from the box. It was so bright that even with my eyes closed I almost recoiled. At that same moment, I felt something in my hand. I immediately opened my eyes to see what I had received. There sitting in the palm of my hand, was a miniature coffin. It was made from a darker wood with gold inlays outlining its features. It was very peculiar, I had never really seen anything like it. "Um, Sir Nightingale… What is this?" I asked as I turned to look at him. That was a mistake on my part, because as I saw the look of sheer excitement on his face I almost mistook him for another person. I must have given him an interesting look because he quickly tried to compose himself. " *cough* *cough* pardon me, that is quite an interesting item you've got yourself Ivan!" He said while trying to regain his dignity. "May I have a look at it Ivan?" He asked. "Sure, if that means you can explain what it is." I said as I held the coffin towards him. Nightingale then placed one of his hands over the object and briefly spoke in a language I had never heard before. His eyes went completely black and a black mist began forming around his outstretched hand. It only lasted for less than a minute before his eyes returned to normal and the black mist faded away. "Now, this was entirely unexpected… but so very perfect heh heh heh. Ivan, have you ever seen an artifact before?" He asked seriously. "I don't think so… I've heard of enchanted items, is it kind of like that?" I responded, still unable to figure out what was so special about this weird little coffin. "Yes, good good. An artifact is quite similar to an enchanted item. However, there is a pretty big difference between the two. For one thing, items that we use in our daily lives are normally enchanted using fairly basic processes. People in this world are able to harness specific mystical powers stemming from nature or even from divine altars that worship specific gods. Some of the greatest and most useful enchanted items you may find in this world are mostly made by my brother, Fable. He has a knack for combining various different energies to perform a specific purpose within his enchantments. My sister and I can also do this, but it takes far more time and energy to pull it off. The same goes for other mortals that have their own ways of harnessing the magical energy within the world. It takes a great deal of time and effort. Besides people who intentionally enchant items, there are even those who impart their own divine blessings into objects that they have used for a very long time. Those enchanted items are considered highly valuable because they are even more similar to artifacts. Now, the reason why artifacts are even more special, is because they are objects or even weapons that were created by gods themselves. Meaning, many artifacts hold powers are mystical properties that are directly from a god, making them incredibly rare and valuable items. Most of which were created a very long time ago, during the era of the first grand cradle. Many kingdoms covet artifacts and try to horde them for their own greed and desires. I can't really blame them however, because I myself have grown to collect quite a few artifacts over the years. In fact, that little black box I first presented to you is a special artifact as well. It's something called a gifting box." Nightingale said while looking impressed with himself. "A gifting box? What exactly does it do?" I questioned. "It is quite an interesting artifact I must say. The specific use is designed to present someone with a divine artifact that caters to the receiver every 100 years or so." "Wait, WHAT!? 100 years!?? Why would you use something so precious on someone like me!?" After I shouted out, Nightingale looked at me with an eyebrow raised. "As I said before, it's really not all that special. There is no real guarantee of what you can receive from a gifting box. However, based on your circumstances and how badly you want to find your friends… it was more likely that the box would respond strongly to your desires. That is just how artifacts work. It was a calculated risk, and one I would take again. It seems that you have received something incredibly interesting from the gifting box." Nightingale said encouragingly. "Do you know what this coffin is meant for?" I asked cluelessly. Nightingale smiled eerily and said, "I have a general idea of what its purpose may be. However, it's not something that can be shown at this moment. There are definitely certain requirements that will apply to that coffin in order to use it properly." "So what am I going to need in order to use this?" I said I I went to try and open the small coffin, curious about what could be inside. Before I could even open it, Nightingale immediately smacked a hand down on top of the coffin lid and waved his finger at me. "Ah ah, don't try to open it just yet. There is someone you're going to need to call first."
