Sovereign of the Ashes

In the dark room, Sein’s breaths were slightly labored after a passionate session between the sheets.

He tenderly caressed Leena’s smooth shoulder with his right hand. With his decent vision in the dark, he noticed a faint scarlet tinting the tip of her ears.

Following a prolonged silence, Sein mustered the courage to open up to Leena.

He had come to Gloomhaven at the age of six and was taken under Leena’s care at eight.

The twelve years they had spent together represented a significant portion of his life as a twenty-year-old.

Sein could not bear the thought of betraying Leena and chose to confide in her, even preparing himself to have a falling out with Faye.

To his surprise, Leena’s response was remarkably composed. Sein had braced himself for her anger but instead saw only an unusual glint in her eyes, revealing the inner turmoil she felt.

“What will you do now, Sein?”

Leena’s sudden question broke the silence.

Sein had a hunch that if he were to announce his intention to fight Faye, Leena would unequivocally stand by his side and offer her support.

Despite the possible tensions, they still shared the same faction and he did not want to sever that connection entirely.

He decided that, at most, they would just interact less in the future.

Both Master Morsidor and Zorro were busy individuals, leaving Faye as the primary figure with whom Sein had interacted and conversed the most since joining the faction.

“I’m going to decline her request,” Sein replied earnestly.

Even in the dark, Leena could see the sincerity in his eyes.

“He has no intention of deceiving me”, Leena thought.

Sein did not expect that after a period of silence, Leena would shake her head gently and say, “I think it’s better for you to accept her advances.”

“There’s not much to lose, and in turn, maintaining such a connection with her could make your future under Master Morsidor’s faction smoother,” she added.

Leena’s words left Sein astounded.

He quickly asked, “You’re not bothered by this?”

Leena shot a look at Sein and replied, “Of course, I’m bothered! If I were as powerful as a full-fledged black mage, I’d definitely tie your senior up a tree and beat the shit out of her.”

She shook her head and continued, “But in Gloomhaven, our priority is survival, isn’t it?”

“I know you’ve always desired to return to the surface world and have even questioned your mentor about the origins of black magic initiates in the Magus World. Our journey doesn’t end at becoming a senior initiate. It’s only when you become a Quasi Mage or even a full-fledged black mage that you can find your way back home,” Leena remarked with a hint of resignation as she nestled into Sein’s arms.

The warmth of Leena’s body in Sein’s arms stirred a surge of emotions within him.

He held her tightly and whispered in her ear, “Wherever you are, that’s home to me.”

Sein’s words rekindled the passionate fire that had momentarily died down, and they once again surrendered to the throes of passion.

Muffled gasps and the creaking of the bed continued into the night. It was another long and tiring night for both of them.

***

Three days later, Sein kept his promise and arrived at Faye’s quarters.

Faye resided in the last building in the dormitory area, with fewer than thirty initiates living there.

Her room was the first room on the left on the second floor.

Sein knew because he had helped Faye move some large laboratory equipment to her dormitory two years ago.

Faye was undeniably one of the strongest senior initiates, having won the academy awards several times.

Of course, this assessment took into account the magic items she possessed.

Among the three apprentices under Master Morsidor, Faye was the only one who had the audacity to playfully coax their mentor into gifting her magic items.

More than seventy percent of the “toys” their mentor had casually crafted during his spare time over the years had ended up in Faye’s possession.

Sein remained clueless about the total number of magic equipment Faye possessed, but he had personally seen her with three advanced magic items that rivaled the quality of his Acid Wand.

Faye was undoubtedly the affluent belle of the initiate circle in the Black Magic Academy.

Her previous comment that Sein should be grateful that she had chosen him was a statement that held undeniable truth.

Sein trudged toward Faye’s door, his emotions in turmoil as he gently knocked on it.

His knocks resounded through the mostly deserted building, occupied primarily by senior initiates and Quasi Mages.

He could not help but wonder if any idle onlookers might notice his presence as an intermediate initiate and speculate about his motives.

In less than three seconds, the door swung open.

Standing before Sein was Faye, dressed in a flowing white dress instead of her usual mage robe.

The sight caught him off guard and left him momentarily stunned.

Faye’s flush of embarrassment mirrored his surprise.

She quickly ushered him into her room, closing the door with a resounding bang.

As it turned out, Sein’s previous concern was justified, as a Quasi Mage on the upper floor had indeed noticed the situation.

The person living above Faye was a Quasi Mage following the path of Necromancy, and he happened to be the eldest apprentice of Master Collance. He was also senior to Michael, the one who fought Leena during the annual assessment a few years ago.

“Tsk, that old hag finally caved in. I wonder who that guy is, he looks so young. Poor Aaron, I still remember the days we went on academy quests together and competed for her affection. Yet, you left us twenty years ago, and I’ve long lost my interest in such matters. I did not expect that she would ultimately pick one of these new guys in the academy,” the Quasi Mage shook his head and mumbled to himself.

The Quasi Mage who had noticed the activity downstairs no longer resembled a human, judging by his appearance.

Master Collance’s penchant for using his initiates for amputation and body modification experiments was notorious throughout the entire Black Magic Academy.

Michael’s four arms were considered a mild outcome compared to some of Collance’s other experiments.

The Quasi Mage living above Faye had been almost entirely replaced from the inside out, whether it was internal organs or skin.

Layers of grayish skin, which had far surpassed his original height, had taken the place of his original hair, making him a truly unsettling figure.

At least the excessive skin covered his grotesque appearance and allowed him to move around the academy without immediately scaring away the younger initiates.

Due to his grotesque appearance, he rarely ventured outside his room, except when summoned by his mentor.

The remarks of the bored Quasi Mage did little to deter the activities transpiring downstairs.

In Faye’s room, Sein found himself being pulled toward the bed by Faye.