The low growl of the engine echoed through the villa grounds as the car pulled away.
Lucas and Garran were on the move once more.
"Cough!"
Eryon sneezed loudly enough to make Garran glance back for a moment.
Strangely, Lucas felt… good. There was no clear reason for it, just a lightness in his chest, as if his mood had lifted without warning.
They were heading south again.
The Abyssal Dominion was still their final destination, but for now, their route took them back to Stonegate City.
The Abyssal Dominion was infamous, an Order that embraced forbidden practices and studied powers most considered corrupt. Yet despite its reputation, it was still treated with a certain wary respect across the nation.
And within it, Lucas wanted something.
"So," Garran said after a while, breaking the silence, "after we return from Stonegate, we head straight there again?"
"Yeah," Lucas replied casually. "The faster, the better. I kind of miss my mom anyway."
"Lady Selene will be glad to see you," Garran said.
Lucas smiled faintly.
They weren't heading back to the Creed Mountain Order.
They were returning to his father's private estate.
There was something he needed to retrieve there.
And besides, tomorrow was Saturday. No school.
---
Several hours passed as the city lights gave way to darkness.
By the time they arrived, it was already two in the morning, only a few hours before dawn.
The car slowed to a stop before a massive estate.
The mansion was constructed entirely from pristine white marble, its design grand and imposing, radiating quiet authority and wealth.
A middle-aged man approached the vehicle.
The window rolled down, revealing Lucas's face.
"It's me," Lucas said simply.
The man stiffened, then bowed immediately.
"Welcome home, Young Master."
"Open the gate," Lucas said.
"At once."
The gates swung open, and Garran drove the car inside. They stepped out moments later.
Lucas looked up at the familiar building, a faint smile on his lips.
It had been three months since he'd last returned.
"Isn't it a bit late?" Garran said. "Lady Selene might already be asleep."
"I'll check inside," Lucas replied, already walking toward the entrance.
---
The interior was lavish beyond excess, ornate décor, priceless artwork, and furnishings that looked as though they belonged in a royal palace.
Lucas barely spared it a glance.
This was home. He was used to it.
"Mom?" he called. "Are you still awake?"
No response.
Footsteps echoed down the hall.
A tall, broad-shouldered man dressed in black approached.
"Young Master," the man said respectfully. "Lady Selene is currently on a business trip in the capital. Master Drakebane is occupied with an operation in Blackhattan."
Lucas nodded. "I see. You may return to your post."
The man bowed and left.
Lucas turned and headed upstairs.
---
On the third floor, he entered a room that hadn't been locked.
This was his father's collection chamber.
Artifacts lined the walls and filled display cases, hundreds of them. It felt less like a room and more like a private museum.
Meteorite fragments. Ancient manuscripts. Fossilized remains of long-extinct beasts.
Including a massive, frozen buffalo head mounted in a preservation field.
But Lucas wasn't interested in most of it.
"Looking for another hidden technique?" Athena asked suddenly.
"No," Lucas replied. "Something else. I'm looking for a horn. Can you help?"
"Of course."
Athena emerged from the jade, her spectral form materializing in the air. She drifted upward, scanning the room with ease.
After a moment, she stopped.
"There," she said, hovering near the frozen buffalo head. "That one."
Lucas stepped closer.
The head was enormous. He hesitated, eyeing the horns.
"In the original timeline," he said inwardly, "Leon found this while saving Sofia."
"I sense something inside one of the horns," Athena said. "Have you noticed?"
"Which one?"
"The left," she replied. "It feels… loose."
Lucas reached out and pulled.
The horn came free effortlessly.
A grin spread across his face.
"Finally," he said softly. "Found you."
The horn wasn't just some old trophy.
Something was sealed inside it, demonic blood, ancient, untouched, waiting. Power that had survived long enough to be forgotten.
In the original timeline, Leon would have been the one to find it. He would've taken it to the Abyssal Dominion, used it after his astral core awakened, and called it another stroke of fate.
Another lucky break.
Lucas turned the horn slowly in his hand, and then turned to Athena.
"Lucky I've got you guiding me," he said. "Wouldn't it be better if we kept it that way?"
"I'm only honoring the contract," Athena replied calmly. "One month. Don't forget that."
"I know," Lucas said. "But wouldn't partnership be better? You want out of that jade. Stay with me, and I can help you regain a physical body."
Athena fell silent.
It was tempting.
Lucas had impressed her, his composure, knowledge, decisiveness. Even his appearance didn't hurt.
But she shook her head.
"I can't," she said quietly. "Not just because of Leon."
Lucas waited.
"My memories are returning," Athena continued. "Who I used to be… I wasn't kind. If I regain my body, I might become someone dangerous. I might even kill you."
Lucas smiled.
"Then I'll just fight back."
She blinked, then laughed softly.
"No," she said. "Let's not go there. I'll still be your mentor for the month."
Lucas sighed. "Fair enough. I won't force you."
He turned. "Let's leave."
Athena slipped back into the jade.
---
Outside, Garran was seated in the courtyard when Lucas approached.
"Uncle Garran," Lucas said, "let's head to the Abyssal Dominion."
"You already found what you needed?" Garran asked.
"Yes," Lucas replied. "But we're short on manpower."
Garran frowned. "You're not planning to start a war, are you?"
Lucas smiled faintly.
"That depends on them."