brother's retry (the beginning after the end)

Timeless World

The hallways of the palace were confusing and labyrinth-like, but over time they managed to find the cafeteria. Unsurprisingly, everything was automated with no soul in sight.

They sat down on one of the empty tables, and Ashton spoke, "Fayden, I was told that Alea was alive, but not much else. Is she doing ok?"

"Yeah." Fayden said, gulping down his food. "She had to replace her arm, but she's doing fine."

Sighing with a mix of relief and what seemed like sadness Ashton said, "That's good to hear."

"Why do you ask?" Fayden said. "Were you two close in your world?"

"Not until after an incident in Hell's Jaw. Arthur and I fell into it from a field trip and found her there on the brink of death." Ashton answered as he picked at his food.

"Did she survive?" Fayden asked, although he could guess what the answer would be.

After a moment Ashton nodded, "Yeah, but I don't know if it was right to force her to live like she is though."

"Do I even want to know what state she's in?"

"Considering you're the Elven prince, you're likely closer to her, so probably not. At least not while eating."

"That bad huh." Fayden grimaced. "Did you get to kill the retainer who did it to her?"

Ashton jerked to look at Fayden. "No? They, and the reincarnated that attacked her, were gone before we arrived."

Now it was Fayden's turn to be surprised, "Reincarnated? Who- I mean reincarnation is a thing?"

He glanced at Nathan, who was showing more interest in the conversation, and Elijah who was already thinking of possibilities.

Ashton grimaced realising his mistake. "Uh, yeah." He paused for a moment, glancing at the three. "About the retainer, can you tell me anything about them? Their abilities, how strong they are, all of that?"

Fayden didn't want to let the topic of the reincarnated go, but he supposed it would be better to confront him about it later, preferably when Nathan was not with them. He sighed. "Right, the retainer. His name was Uto, a lanky, vritra-blooded Alacryan. He had two long horns on his head and used bandages to cover his body. His powers were similar to mine, but still inferior. That included shadow magic, creating infernal spikes like Elijah, and he was faster than any Lance. Only with my Integrate Phase, did I manage to beat him."

He inhaled deeply, "If you want, I could show you the fight, but it might be a little disorienting."

"I feel that it'd be best for me to see either way." Ashton said, "How exactly am I meant to see this though?"

Fayden shrugged, "It's simple, I'll just insert the memory into your mind using some of my inherent Nacht arts. That way you'll never forget it."

"Nothing about that is even remotely simple. Also, what the hell is Nacht arts?"

"You see, when mama aether and papa mana love each other very much, the end result is nacht." Fayden spoke with a high-pitched voice like he was explaining something to a child. It didn't help that he had two humanoid mana and aether constructs floating over his hand.

Elijah almost spat his drink out at the insinuation, glaring at Fayden. Nathan, on the other hand, was confused as to what he meant.

"I really hope you stop this demonstration before it gets any farther." Ashton chuckled as he glanced to see the others' reactions. It was starting to dawn on him that Nathan hadn't gotten the birds and bees talk yet.