The hair, the teeth, the body, even the plants, were gone, replaced by an extremely deep and round pit of black ash. He landed in the center of all of it, after making sure that there was no one around him. 'This doesn't make any sense,' Doevm thought. 'It would be hard to torch the area with so much rain pouring down. Even if they managed to get a fire going, the ash is too circular, too controlled to be from regular flames.'

He walked along the edges. 'This means either dragon flames, a large enough fireball, or something else. There are too many factors. I can't pull anything from this aside from the fact that whoever did this is ruthless. There should at least be footsteps.' Despite this, after circling the site three times, there were none.

'It has to be something large; perhaps an organization of some sort. Only something big hiding in the shadows would take measures like this. There might be more. Even worse is that I don't know their goal. What did they have to gain with fighting Jameson? Practice, coincidence, test, I don't know.' He undid his connection with the bat and cursed.

'This must be the inheritor. That man had his soul manipulated and drained. Aside from me, the demon king, and the hero, I don't know how else has soul magic. It could be the person who just recently awoken, or it could be someone else. Draken said he had other legacies, which probably all have different powers. Using my soul fusion and connection ability and Frey's soul eating ability as a reference, I still can't imagine how other soul spells work.'

Pulling out his book again, he flipped through the pages. He had already memorized every word and every page, yet by looking at it, he felt a deeper connection. 'If I had a few more years, I could gain a better understanding. If I had my original powers, I could have found all the legacies by now.' He shut the book and put it back in his s.p.a.cial ring.

'That creature was created when his soul drained. That is probably the side effect of gaining so much instantaneous strength. However, how does draining someone's soul give them power. If I consider the opposite view, it could be that their soul was overloaded. That could explain the energy that Frey and I felt. I either need to contact or interrogate this inheritor after I identify them. Only time can tell if they will become an ally or an enemy.' He shut his eyes and leaned back on his pillow. 'Luckily, I have the patience of the Undead.'

…

He woke up the next morning and rubbed his eyes. 'I think I stayed up a little too late.' As he sat up, his bones creaked. 'I guess while sleep is a good thing, it also holds me back if I don't get enough.' He stood up and stretched his limbs until they nearly sc.r.a.pped against the walls. He packed all of his little possessions into his bag and s.p.a.cial ring. He stepped out of his room and an envelope slid to his feet. He picked it up and opened it…

"Doevm, happy fifteenth birthday – Jameson. The paper behind this is a recommendation to learn from my old master, Alexander Finlish. Find him at the knights' academy. I think you'll be happiest studying under him." He shrugged and put the papers in his s.p.a.cial ring.

Under the envelope was a new set of clothes, custom fit for himself. Compared to his old rags, which were nearly breaking at the seams, these ones were more appropriate. On top of them was a paper with a simple paper that read: "If you're going to be around Thomas, you need to at least dress better. I got you four sets of clothes just like this one. Since I got Frey clothes as well, it would be unfair for your birthday if I gave you just the clothes. Check the pockets. Happy fifteen birthday – Lord Reginald Virility."

Doevm pat down the pocket to find a sack of gold. It jingled against his palm. He didn't open it. 'One hundred gold, not bad.' The blue s.h.i.+rt was soft, like he was wearing a luxurious sheet, yet when he moved, it didn't hinder him that much. The black pants stopped just short of his ankles and had many pockets along its sides. Giving the materials a quick tug, the fibers stood firm. He smiled and stuffed everything into his s.p.a.cial ring.

He walked to the library by force of habit, only to see someone else cleaning the books. "Oh, hi Doevm," Gwen said as she put a book back into its place. She did a quick curtsy.

"Gwenivier?" Doevm asked just before covering his mouth, but he was a second too late.

"Please," Gwen waved a hand. "Call me Gwen. Gwenivier was my grandmother's name. How did you know it? We've never met before."

"Frey talked about you frequently," Doevm praised his increased lying capabilities. "I thought you worked in the field."

"I did," Gwen shrugged. "But Reginald said a position opened up in the library and said that he would feel bad if I were to be stung by the thorns again."

"I see," Doevm took in the library one last time, the smell of paper, the tiny cobweb in the corner that he had refused to clean up, the desk that sat awkwardly in the middle with a map covered in fresh ink, and most of all, the rays of light s.h.i.+ning through the window that he looked through for years. 'So this is what nostalgia feels like,' he thought. "Gwen, don't you want to say goodbye to Frey?"

"You guys are leaving so soon?" Gwen put down the rag and hurried out. "Let's go." They rushed through the mansion. Gwen tripped several times. "d.a.m.n legs. They're still a little numb." She quite literally nearly flew down the stairs, but Doevm caught her.

'What a useless girl.' Just before exiting the mansion, Gwen stopped. Doevm held the door open. Through it, he could see Reginald, Wade, Jameson, Thomas, and Frey waiting around a wooden carriage. The two horses attached to the front were brown with white spots, staring at everything with an ignorant bliss. "Why are you hiding?" Doevm asked.

"Because I said something horrible to Frey," Gwen squeezed her robe. "I blamed him for leaving me even though he was just following orders. Now he's leaving again. If I walked outside just now, I would have yelled at him instead of saying goodbye." She backed away from the door, deeper into the shadows. "I even had the nerve to demand he protect me. Maybe I should just go back to the library." As Doevm watched her retreat back into the mansion, he couldn't help but take a step towards her.

'What am I doing? Just leave,' he thought. 'Why do I feel the need to settle this?' As she walked up the stairs, his heart sank a little. It wasn't a palpitation, nor was it a deep desire, just a minor annoyance. From his Lich heart that hated Gwen's irrational response or from his human heart which he barely knew, he had no idea which this feeling came from. "Then go apologize to him." By the time she turned around, he was out the door.

"There he is," Reginald turned to Doevm. "We were waiting for you. Aren't you usually the first one up? Oh, and you've got bags under your eyes. Staying up late is bad for you, you know."

"Sorry," Doevm quickly apologized. 'I had to find and kill a bat, in addition to flying it for nearly an hour at night so no one would see it. Why wouldn't I be tired.' He let out a fake chuckle. Frey looked up at the library's window, where Gwen was cleaning off books, and waved. She waved back; her mouth forced into a smile.

Everyone exchanged goodbyes and good wishes. Thomas, Frey, and Doevm got into the carriage, where they sat on fluffy red cus.h.i.+ons surrounded by tinted windows. Wade took to the driver's seat. With a whip, the horses set off. The Virility household, the rose fields, and Petal Town, all shrunk to a dot on the horizon. 'The knights' academy. Finally, my first real step.' He yawned.