TBATE | PROVIDENCE

Chapter 01 - Bound by Fate

Illustration Credit goes to Konomi-san
https://www.instagram.com/konomidrawz/

ARTHUR LEYWIN

“So, did you find some good cookies, princess?” Regis asked, rummaging through the pile of dead relics. While restoring the dead relics, it reminded me again that despite having world-altering insights into the aether, the djinns were still peaceful innately.

“Yeah, look over here.” I said, pulling out a rustic medallion that transformed into black granite chains shimmering with a purple hue of aether.

“Wait a sec—are these?” He leaned down and sniffed the obsidian chains.

“Yupp, binding chains. Who would've thought we'd actually get our hands on these.”

“Wicked! Hey, this one looks familiar too,” Regis chimed in, focusing on a gladiator-style net.

“Mana Net, it's a defensive relic meant for absorbing incoming spells.”

“Cool! a waste for us to be honest, but so cool! Hmm? What about this one?” Regis excitedly pointed out the silver bracelet I was wearing on my left arm.

“It's a clothing relic. Luckily, we don't have to worry about our clothes getting tattered. It can also mimic outfits.”

'At least, the djinns had a great sense of fashion, unlike a certain blonde princess.'

'Don't let Sylvie hear that, otherwise she'll definitely kill you.' I chuckled at the thought of seeing Regis in his mighty destruction-form getting scolded by a little girl.

***

I stored the remaining dead relics inside my dimension rune left to be restored for later. 'Searching the relic vault was surely profitable after all,' I thought, while walking across the empty hallways of Taegrin Caelum.

Caera was searching the scythe's private chambers, gathering reports and evidence against Agrona and the Vritras serving under him while also keeping a lookout for possible intruders. Regis, Sylvie and I were still recuperating. So, we had decided to stay inside the relic vault dungeons for the rest of the day.

I turned my attention back to Sylvie, who had spent almost an entire day extracting mana from Agrona's horns and judging by the visible difference in the air surrounding her, I knew my little dragon had just gotten a lot stronger.

I gently patted her head while observing her new features. Her obsidian horns were much sharper and bigger than before, rivalling even the Sovereigns. But, the most surprising change was the colour of her eyes, the topaz yellow eyes now had a tinge of purple glowing a vibrant amethyst.

Wait... does that mean?

“You're right, I can use Realmheart too!” Sylvie replied cheerfully, the runic symbols on her arms glowed brightly underneath her black dress. As if to give me another round of surprise, aether slowly coalesced around her hands, forming a pair of dull claws, similar to the members of Shadow-Claws clan I had met inside the Relictombs.

“Though I'm not as good as you or grandfather, I hope I'm able to use aether more efficiently in the future using Realmheart. Using your memories to gain insight into aether arts was really helpful, Papa.”

I smiled gently, making an approving nod. 'Maybe this is what it felt like for Dad and Uncle Vincent,' I thought, feeling proud at my daughter's progress. Sylvie, meanwhile, excited by her new breakthrough, continued her explanation.

“By the way, the mana inside the horns was far richer and denser compared to Uto's, despite it being a mere fragment. Even after absorbing mana for almost an entire day, I think there's still a lot left inside.”