As the birds chirped and coaches moved about in the central district with the Royal Blue keeping watch, in the dining room of the Sanders manor, Alex was currently having a history lesson with Arthur as the teacher.
"Harbinger of Destruction..." Alex muttered.
For some reason, that title caused his heart to palpitate strongly.
Arthur sighed. "Her name is taboo to say so there’s no point saying it."
"Mn, from Emet," Arthur remarked. "On the other side of the war stood the Kingdoms of the Old World led by the Goddess of Magic."
"The records are not clear on why she was called a goddess but from what is known, it’s said that she was capable of wiping out an entire continent alone."
Alex pursed his lips. "I’m guessing the goddess won."
"With the help of the Dragon Slayer, she was able to win the war and end the Harbinger of Destruction. Unfortunately, for there to be peace, one side had to be destroyed."
"Hence, the name, War of Desolation?"
"Indeed. If the Harbinger had won, the Kingdoms of the Old World would have been completely wiped out."
"The Dragon Emperor, Controller of Space/Time before the war began had created a contingency plan in case anything ever happened to his kindred. That plan was in the form of a dragon egg sealed away to be freed at the right time."
"She is that contingency plan?"
"Mn." Arthur nodded. "Chances are, she is a direct descendant of that great figure. In any case, that is the reason why she is known as the last dragon... at least amongst those that know her."
"And what about her title as the 13th family head?"
Arthur sighed. "She has been around for a while. I can’t be sure for how long but I can at least say she’s older than the empire."
"The empire is barely a thousand years old. Don’t overthink it."
"Anyway, she is one of the founders of the D.O.D alongside the 12 Great Families, hence, the title."
"... I see." Alex frowned deeply at the truth behind the person the mysterious lady was.
Her identity alone was enough to snuff out his existence.
Now he understood why Arthur looked so stressed.
Against such a figure, he could only hope not to be immediately wiped out.
Seeing Alex’s conflicted expression, Arthur spoke up. "You don’t have to worry. At least until I take you to her, she can’t do anything."
"She is still a protector of the citizens of Zion Empire before anything else. If she tried to forcibly take you..." Arthur trailed off, deciding not to say more.
Of course, Alex understood what he was getting at and didn’t pry further.
Sighing heavily, he muttered. "So what does she want with me?"
"Something about you being special," Arthur replied before adding. "You know when she came to my office to give me the Catalyst, I was doubtful about her claims but seeing you now... maybe she was right."
"Special..." Alex muttered.
He wasn’t sure what exactly Anastasia had seen but she wasn’t lying about him being special.
Pondering his next course of action, Alex quickly came to a decision.
Glancing at Arthur, he said. "Schedule a meeting with her tomorrow."
"I need to master Materialization before meeting her."
"..." Arthur was left speechless momentarily.
Taking a moment to recover, he jokingly asked. "You... Are you sure you are Alexander Regulus?... I feel like you are some old monster reincarnated into Alex’s body."
Just then, Nadia pushed back her chair noisily, drawing attention to herself.
Standing to her feet, she announced. "I will be heading to the office now."
Glancing at Alex for a moment, she looked away and walked over to Arthur, planting a kiss on his forehead. "See you later."
With that, she left without saying another word.
Alex watched her leave and though he knew this was for the best, he felt bad for the young lady.
Arthur coughed, drawing his attention. "Well then, we should get started on your training."
Alex revealed a wry smile before nodding in response.
"For each Wheel, both Immortal and Mortal, there are certain gestures that have to be performed for a Mystic to materialize their imagination. For example, the Monster Wheel requires its Mystic to transform into their corresponding Cryptid to make use of their Power."
Currently, both men were in the study with Alex seated on the floor and Arthur walking about while explaining.
"What about the Human Wheel?"
"It’s simple actually," Arthur remarked as he came to stand before Alex. "You have to think of a certain gesture after activating your Spirituality and balancing with aether. This gesture can be random from clicking your tongue to tapping your feet on the ground."
"So I have to visualize myself performing the gesture?" Alex inquired.
"Indeed. You should note that once you have imprinted that gesture on your pneuma, there’s no second chance. So be careful of what gesture you visualize." Arthur warned.
Alex nodded thoughtfully as he closed his eyes.
However, he didn’t immediately activate his spirituality as he pondered on what gesture to imprint.
A few came to mind but upon thinking further, he was forced to abandon them.
After almost 30 minutes of deep consideration, he finally decided on one.
With that, he activated his spirituality and dominated the aether.
Arthur saw the chaotic flow of aether around him as his eyes glowed a bright gold color for a moment causing him to furrow his brows.
"It hardly seems like it’s in a state of balance."
But seeing as how Alex was unharmed, he decided to not say anything.
Sometimes, it was best to ignore it.
Arthur was no fool to say that he didn’t notice Alex’s quick assimilation with the supernatural world.
It was beyond the boundaries of being a genius and instead... bordered that of a complete monster.
Subconsciously, he feared that he was taking part in bringing to life a devastating entity.
But thinking back... he decided to trust Alex.