The Bookkeeper

It was a warm and gentle afternoon, utterly ordinary, as Levi and Leo remained seated on the training room floor, awaiting Raiden's instructions on meditation.

Raiden started, legs crossed before them as their bodies glistened with sweat, his mind wondering how to explain things to them effectively. In just two days, they had managed to get a hang of meditation—not particularly impressive, considering he had mastered it at age two within five hours—but they had done well for adults, especially given how much their minds wandered and all they had to think about.

It didn't take long before he finally got a handle on what he wanted to explain and how to break it down for them.

He cleared his throat. "You might lose the ability to hear me once you're doing this correctly, so I need you to open your eyes and really understand what I'm explaining before you apply it."

They opened their eyes and met Raiden's gaze. Sweat dripped from their hair as Levi untied his ponytail, his long dark hair spilling across his shoulder as he shook it out to rid it of sweat.

"You said that besides blue crest bearers, the other bearers only need effective meditation to build their mana reserve at the 8th realm, right?" Leo gave him a nod.

"And all Levi needs to do at the 7th realm is use his mana to enhance his physical strength, and once done properly, he moves to the 6th realm?" They both nodded in agreement.

"There is a better way to help you both, then." He paused for a moment. "From the moment you begin to meditate, I'd like you both to do something."

"Listen to only your heartbeat until you hear nothing… when you start to feel lost from within."

"How exactly will we know we're getting lost and not just sleepy?" Leo asked, wiping the sweat off his face.

"The difference between this and sleep is that you can still think and reason… you can think of it like a lucid dream if you want."

He gave Raiden a firm nod.

"Once that happens, you look for your mana core within the silence…" He paused for a moment.

"I'm sure you've both heard the saying that the mana core is the heart of our magical selves."

They responded with nods.

"Great… then finding it shouldn't be a problem."

"Now for the most important part… how you build your mana and how you use it to your liking."

Leo leaned forward slightly, hanging on Raiden's every word, while Levi remained silent, stifling a lazy yawn.

"Once you see your core, view it as a torch."

Raiden glanced at their faces to see if the words he was saying truly made sense to them, then let out a sigh.

"You are the only one on a dark and remote planet, and your only source of light is your core." He raised an eyebrow. "As the sole inhabitant, how will you survive the darkness?"

The room fell into an awkward silence for a brief moment. "Is that a question for us?" Levi asked, his eyes widening in confusion.

Raiden gave them a faint smile and a nod. He was practically ready to give up on them, but he knew their strength mattered. Still, his pride lingered.

"I would try to keep the torch alive by lighting multiple torches before the one I'm holding goes out," Leo said, rushing his words.

Raiden's smile finally became genuine as Leo's answer lifted his spirits.

"Correct." His grin widened. "The same applies to your body."

"Using your imagination, connect your mana to every part of your body until you can actually feel it rather than just imagining it."

"Am I making sense?"

"You mean we should split our core into multiple parts and spread them throughout our body?" Levi asked with an unreadable expression.

Raiden nodded. "And I believe our entire magical bodies are made of mana, just like how our physical bodies have blood."

He rose to his feet. "Once you do it that way, I believe it will grow in size… and from there, all you need is strong imagination and discipline."

He turned to Levi. "With that, you can strengthen your body from within and even use it as a shield on the outside."

His expression darkened, and he gestured at his brain, his tone turning serious. "Remember, everything needs a strong imagination."

They nodded, and he walked out of the room. It had been almost a week since the star girl attacked, and ever since, there hadn't been a single attack. Not from the assassins, the Dawnbringers, or even the kingdom.

This didn't sit right with Raiden, but all they could do was ensure they'd grown stronger before the next attack came.

And watching his subordinates train that intensely bruised his pride—though even setting pride aside, Ash still wasn't feeling well, and no matter how many times they searched for the book of Arron, it remained elusive.

Leo's words to Raiden: "Primordial dragons heal themselves, so if she's really related to them, then it means you need to level up to where she can heal herself."

He knew he had to increase in rank—whether it would help Ash remained to be seen, but everything had to start with Speed. With burning rage and desire, tinged with frustration, he made his way to Speed's room.

He still hadn't turned corrupt, and according to Leo and Levi, that wasn't normal. This meant Ash's shadowy chains had stopped the process.

The moment Raiden got to the room, he picked Speed up and placed him on a chair, then sat beside him, his back leaning against the wall.

"I'm going to kill you." The words came out daunting and hollow, stripped of all emotion—like death itself speaking. Speed's golden eyes shifted toward Raiden, simply smiling as he stared into nothing.

Raiden didn't know if he would kill him for real, but he did know that if he didn't agree to sign the contract in the next few minutes, it would be his end.

After allowing his words to settle in, Raiden sighed and stood up. Without so much as a glance, he grabbed Speed by the hair and began dragging him out of the house. Speed made no sound of pain, as if having his hair pulled didn't affect him at all.

The moment he got outside, the goblins he had captured lay tied up on the grassy field to their left, struggling to break free. 

But Raiden paid them no mind—he simply dragged Speed with nothing on his mind but how he would find another person for a contract after he killed Speed.

The moment they got near the fountain, he dropped him on the floor, used some of the water to wash his face, sat down, and let out a sigh.

"I'd rather you agreed to serve me of your own accord." He tilted his head upward. "This isn't me…"

He knew Speed was listening to him, but he had little interest in that—he was simply speaking to himself.

"I've grown a little soft since I got here…"

"I was never the kind to work with others after I lost Jobe… but here I am, trying to make someone my slave just so I can get stronger."

He rose to his feet and cracked his knuckles. "Your partner left you here to die anyway, and you were fine with it… so I don't think survival is what you want."

He dropped to his knees and grabbed Speed by the neck. Both of them stared directly into each other's soulless eyes. Euphoria kicked in, and Raiden wore a devilish smile.