"Arkana Eksplodo!" I chanted before a green mage circle appeared. But the spell from the staff was more powerful than expected, completely destroying a tree and the recoil knocking me back off my feet.

"Seto!" Violet exclaimed before running over to me as I sat up. I chuckled a bit. I looked at her as she went on her knees beside me, looking worried.

I smile at her. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Just wasn't expecting such power," I said as I pushed her hands away. I looked at the staff. I didn't expect such power. But this is Master Nicholas we are talking about, he was a first-generation Guardian of Estir. So it should be very powerful.

But there is something about this staff that I have been feeling. A feeling of familiarity. It's like I have seen this staff before.

And given how come I'm a second-generation Guardian, the feeling of familiarity with a first-generation item shouldn't be strange. I run my hand down the dark wood. It's funny how it looks. It doesn't look like it should hold such great power, and yet, it holds the power of a first-generation Guardian and perhaps one of the greatest or at least most accomplished.

"Why not, Uncle Nick?!" I heard a voice shout before my surroundings change, but unlike normal, I see two figures. 

One looking like a much younger version of me, seeming to look at least fourteen years old. The other was a man. A man dressed in shades of black and green, baring a leather trench coat with the hood down, the Guardian Crest of Aether on the back of his coat. He wore a smile, looking at the child with a playful look in his verdant green eyes.

But what stood out was he had Nicholas's staff in his right hand. Is that Nicholas?

He chuckled, crouching down to the kid, leaning on his staff as he smiled. "You know, Harvey, one day this staff will be yours. I've foreseen it," he said before he poked the kid on the nose. "But until then, you need to focus on your studies. Your father would have my head if he knew you weren't at your daily training and instead was with me--"

The kid grabbed Nicholas's arm as he stood back up, stopping him from walking away. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him--"

"No, but it will hurt me. I get threaten enough to display this so-called 'proper conduct for a Guardian' that he is so obsessed with. I need to be yelled at for distracting you," Nicholas said making me smile. The kid lets go of his arm, but instead of leaving, Nicholas stayed, staring at the child. He sighed. "Well, I'm going to Rence City in Elatus Clan territory. I'll be gone for...three days at most. It would be irresponsible of me to take a child along...especially when it would disrupt their education and training."

The kid smiled. "Indeed, but that is the type of irresponsibility that you constantly seek," he said.

Nicholas chuckled. "True, true. Well, I'll lie and tell your father it's an...how about educational field trip? No..no, that's what I said last time I stole you away...I'll just not tell him at all this time," he said

"He'll fear I've been kidnapped," the kid said.

Nicholas shakes his head. "Lord Notch can keep a secret. He'll control your father, now, go pack some things and tell your father that you need it for training purposes. I'll be at the teleport gate, waiting for you," he said before the kid nodded and ran off.

I smiled, looking back at the staff. So...I knew Nicholas when I was a child? And he apparently was quite the troublemaker too. That's nice. I gripped the staff. All the more reason to keep this staff. But given its importance to Ianite, I don't know if I should keep it.

Wait...Nicholas foresaw this? Was Nicholas a Seer as well as an Archmage? But if he was a Seer, he would have foreseen his death and been able to stop it. So...why did he allow himself to die if he could have stopped it?

I stood up, Violet getting up as well. "Come on, I need to ask Ianite something," I said grabbing her wrist as I walked towards the temple with Kala following us.

As soon as we got to Nicholas's room, I saw what I expected to see. Phil, James, Riley, Reed, Shiro, Chimney, and Matthew all here, looking through the various things. I looked over at Ianite who is with Phil, who is looking over the various sketches and stuff of Nicholas's inventions.

"Ianite," I said making the goddess look over at me.

"Oh, did you master it already?" she asked me confused.

I shake my head. "No...I have a question. Was Nicholas a Seer?" I asked her.

She stared at me for a second before speaking. "How did you know that?" she asked.

My expression softens. "Well, it seems I did know Nicholas when I was a child. He appears in my memories," I said making her smile. I smile as well but lose it. "He said he foresaw me being the owner of his staff."

She sighed. "Nicholas's foresight ability caused nothing but pain and misery for him. Lord Notch casted a spell on Nicholas to quell his visions since Nicholas couldn't master the ability no matter how hard he tried. But once Lord Notch left Nicholas in Vienna to tend to affairs in Estir, Nicholas's visions suddenly surged. Dianite, Mianite, Merlin, and I were all there when it happened. All the visions and dreams that Lord Notch's spell had suppressed came forth in his mind and he couldn't take it. Merlin knocked Nicholas out so Nick wouldn't hurt himself. Mianite appealed back to Lord Notch, asking about what happened to Nicholas but I already had an idea. Nicholas told me about his foresight abilities and how much he hated them. Mianite, Dianite, and I came together and forged a bracelet, this bracelet was enchanted by Lord Notch and me to suppress Nicholas's foresight abilities," she explained.

"Why did you enchant it as well? Why not just Lord Notch?" Reed asked.

I smiled a bit, figuring it out. "So that the spell would stay no matter which world he was in. Some spells are canceled once the victim and caster are in separate dimensions. By having both Ianite and Notch enchant it, you made it so Nicholas could be in both Vienna and Estir and not have that vision surge again," I said making her smile and nod.

"Correct, of course, our spells only go so far. Some visions and dreams are so powerful that no magic can quell them. This applies to the bracelet. And those visions that Nicholas had, he used it to his advantage, but not every vision he had was one he acted on," she said.

"Why not?" Violet asked stepping towards Ianite. "Having foresight is a gift--"

Ianite loses her smile. "More like a curse. To know that your friends are going to die because you foresaw it? How is that a gift? Not every future is clear, sometimes these visions of his were those of events that have yet to happen for decades," she said.

I paused, thinking. "Did Nicholas foresee this? Me and the others coming here? Is that how you know so much about my family?" I asked her.

Ianite looked at me and nodded. "Nicholas foresaw your arrival here. But he pointed out how you looked older in the vision than when he last saw you so he knew it was sometime in the distant future. He also knew that it would happen after his death. So he told me all about you and your family, writing it down so I would not forget," she said before she sighed. "Nicholas was no Seer, he deeply hated his foresight abilities. He always looked for ways to suppress it, to not let it show. And him being...well, my beloved, I helped him avoid confronting the problem. I should have been there to help him learn to control it, but no...instead I gave in to his pleads to help him avoid and suppress it. I--"

I touch her arm, stopping her ranting. "It's alright. People, even goddesses, tend to do things for those they love without even thinking it through first. Luckily, the only visions and dreams I get are lost memories. So you don't have to deal with a champion being cursed with foresight again," I told her trying to cheer her up. She gives me a faint smile, her eyes looking at the staff in my hand.

"Here, you should wear it as Nicholas did," she said before flicking her wrist towards me. A red cloth appears, wrapping once diagonally across my torso, tying the staff to my back. I see her smile. "There, the Magic Council should recognize the staff as Nicholas's. His staff has appeared in multiple stories that are tied to him. Use it as a bargaining chip. But please don't lose it."

I chuckled and nod. "Don't worry, I promised to take care of it, didn't I?" I said making her smile at me yet again.

She looked at the others. "It's time for you all to depart and start your journey yet again," she said.

"Where are we going?" Reed asked.

I looked at the others. "The Magic Council--"

"No," Ianite said making me look at her confused.

"Okay, where?" I asked her.

"You should make haste to Mianite, calm him about your presence here in Vienna first. Get him on board. And then you should seek the Council," she told me. I nodded a bit. Yeah, that might be helpful. After all, his anger is causing problems...mostly for me.

"Okay...how exactly do we get to Mianite?" I asked her.

She chuckles. "I'm afraid that reaching him isn't exactly easy. I cannot teleport you there directly...but I must advise that the Fyre Brothers shouldn't meet--"

I groan, irritated. "I know that bringing them to Mianite would be ill-advised. I know none of you like me being around them, and I'm starting to hate repeating myself by the way, they are coming with me whether you like it or not. We talked about it and came to the decision together that they are sticking with me," I snapped.

Phil shakes his head. "Deciding together is overstating it. You stubbornly declared it without listening to our arguments once so ever," he said. I glance at Phil, looking back at Ianite.

"I know you don't trust them, but please trust me. If I'm in danger, you can teleport me out as you did at Roylra," I told her.

She sighed. "Phil is right, you are stubborn," she said before she nods. "Alright, I'm holding you to that, Seto. I...I don't want to lose you like I lost Nicholas. None of us do," she said. I smile a bit. I don't want her to go through that again. Granted, losing me won't have the same affect losing Nicholas did since Nicholas was her beloved and I'm just her friend. But I wouldn't wish that misery of losing friends on anyone.

"Ummm...guys, the map just changed," Riley said making me look over at him.

"Really? Let me see," I said walking over to him. I pick up the map, looking over it. My eyes widen upon seeing it.

"F-Frontlines..." I read the key aloud. My eyes look at the lines, seeing that the Malus Clan territory has grown while Solace has shrunk and lost its capital. It seems like once again, Malus Clan is the enemy here...Brice, Ty, Bodil, Isaac. Are they alive? Are they fighting this? It seems like they are, but are they winning or losing? They need me. I know they do. "N-No...No, they--"

"Seto, calm down," Shiro said grabbing my arm, snapping me out of my trance.

I look at him and look back at the map. I let out a shaky breath. "Ianite...can I take this map?" I asked looking at her. I need to keep tabs on my friends in Estir and this is the only way.

She nods. "Of course," she said. She loses her smile. "But I must warn you that the territory I drop you in isn't fond of mages, there will be a chance of you having to fight your way through."

"Don't worry," Reed said before he walked over to me, putting his arm around my neck, pulling me into him. I gritted my teeth, glaring at him as he spoke. "We have a Guardian traveling with us, we'll be fine."

I push him off me. "Personal space, Reed! Pull me in like that again and you'll lose a hand!" I snapped at him. He chuckled, smiling like an idiot at me making me narrow my eyes at him. What is he so damn happy about?

"Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, Seto?" he asked me.

I rolled my eyes before looking at Ianite, who seemed amused. "How do we get to Mianite? Where does he live?" I asked.

She smiled as she crossed her arms before she spoke. "The Temple of Mianite resides in the skies, above the clouds much like how the Kingdom of Aether dwells in the skies. To get to it, you need to get to the teleport gate on the ground. Here, come, I'll give you a map."

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The Crest of Aether