He really wished he could see her again, but he saw no way out of this void.

Yet when he wished it seemed something inside him listened.

A third Heartbeat like sound accompanied that of the one that had almost broke him, only this one was calming and gentle, reminding him of Eshir’s.

Soon a He felt a crack go off inside him.

It was a very small crack like the first in a layer of thousands of locks being opened.

But it was enough.

Soon he was the void that downed him was met with a brilliant holy light that seemed to emanate from himself. It reminded him of Eshir as well and also the person he had wished to be.

He watched the void fight the light tangling himself with each other before eventually giving way and transforming both themselves into a Divine silver hue.

When the silver light encompassed him he felt both his worry and hope return.

But most of all, his Faith came back to him.

When he opened his eyes next he found himself in the training hall no longer covered in shadows, however unlike before that beating inside his chest, the first one he felt, was clearer then ever.

It didn’t bring him sadness like before though, it simply felt like a natural part of his boy instead of foreign source trying to corrupt him.

‘What the hell just happened’

Was all Faith could think, as the shadow of his heart beat alongside it in his chest, making Faith’s formly static mana flow smoother and further then ever before 

Faith sat there slumped against the wall, slowly breathing in and out. It was quite jarring to feel two hearts beating at the same time instead of one, yet it was also calming. Faith was simply staring at the ground and the walls of the training hall surrounding him. He had no idea what just happened but now he was stable he knew it wasn’t normal.

‘It was almost like… My mental state got its own physical projection. But that makes no sense and even if it did, what the hell was that light’

He couldn’t keep the questions out of his mind and thought kept repeating them over and over again to himself. No matter how many times though Faith wasn’t able to find a answer, so he shelved it to ask his father later. He was the most knowledgable person regarding magic that Faith knew so if anyone would know, it was him. However the second he stood up, he immediately noticed a change.

‘What the hell’

He thought as he felt his mana was doing the strangest thing he’d ever seen. Normally Faith’s mana wouldn’t move unless he willed it, staying in his body like a power source without it’s switch flipped for use. Of course it saturated his body, continuously increasing Faith’s physical strength, but that was it. Now however his mana was flowing like a stream throughout his entire body.

What was the strangest thing was that like when he actively used it on shadows or converted it into shadows, the mana seemed to be slowly compressing and purifying itself, without need for Faith to do anything.

Faith used his sensitivity over mana tied with shadow sense to track the flowing Mana and found something very peculiar. Like blood the mana seemed to all corrugate at this new heart of his, which was now the core of his mana. Whenever it would take mana in it would pump it out purer and more compressed then before. Granted it was much slower then when Faith actively used it, but the flow was constantly happening passively.

‘Seriously what the hell just happened to me’

Seeing the change in his body similar to that of when he first gained magic, Faith couldn’t help but wonder what really just happened.

“Ahh I see our next exodus is slacking off…. ..What the hell happened in here” - the now Arrived Ervis asked.

He’d come ready to apologise for his foolish actions and officially state Faith as his disciple, but when he entered the room the amount of darkness magic present felt like it was enough to block out the sun thrice over.

“I ahh… got a little mad” - Faith said shyly, very embarrassed by his tantrum.

“This is a little mad for you. Remind me to never piss you off kid, I prefer my body not decaying at a visible rate thanks” - Ervis replied, slowing realising that things like this were likely to be common occurrences with the young monster.

Ervis went to the weapon rack, retrieving the very sabre that Faith had used to best Sia before standing before the now standing Faith.

“Faith I know I said this before but now that I’m fully sure of it I’ll ask, would you like to become my disciple. Know that if you say yes I will teach you all I know, not just in combat but in life too. I will try to guide you as best I can down a road that I believe suits you best. If you accept I will grant you all the resources at my disposal to further your training and will withhold nothing from you, assuming you do the same as me. All I ask is that you pass on my teachings same as me, and that at the very least the things I teach you will not be used against my people” - Ervis finished his long awaited speech to Faith.

He’d decided to teach Faith, not just in combat, but in general. Ervis hoped he’d be able to guide the kind little demon down a road that wouldn’t make him roll over in his grave. Yet Faith eyes seemed to light up as he heard these words, causing Ervis to almost revoke what he just said.

‘He’s not gonna.. Trick me is he? Well he is Eshir’s son so thats always a possibility’

The more he thought about it though, the less likely it became. Faith’s sincerity almost seemed to real to be true when he first agreed so Ervis doubted something like that could be faked. Faith himself was simply excited at the idea of having a sought of pseudo life coach since he needed one right now.

“I accept Master, and I promise to never try to harm your kin or any you care for. I will use what you teach me with honour, doing what I think you would have” - Faith replied

Ervis seemed to accept this as he pulled out a earring with a beautifulwhite gemstone in it from seemingly nowhere. It looked like a mix of metal and Obsidian with its black metallic lustre, while its design resembled that of a small kana without the hilt, instead being rounded at the end with the gem embedded there.

“Since you so readily agreed I brought you a gift, think of it as the trust I have in you to do the right thing from here on out. It’s weight should remind you of the oath you just made whenever your mind strays” - Ervis said handing him the earring.

In both lives Faith had never worn a earring but its simply blade like design fitted what he could deem his style, so he pierced it through his left ear without hesitation. Faiths world felt like it shifted in that instance. The first thing the earring seemed to do was suppress the natural aura of shadows, and mana that Faith emanated being a dragon, while the second gave him access to what he could only guess was a pocket dimension which he’d seen in use often but never knew exactly how. The third seemed to be a sort of active regeneration effect on his mana, stamina and body. Faiths mouth fell agape at the three amazing functions of it.

“Pretty cool, right? Its forged out of a special metal dwarves use and the gemstone was found by yours truly in an elven mine. It radiates a constant output of light magic that should at least suppress the shadow’s and mana you exude with the help of the rune formation attached to it. The enchantment as I’m sure You’ve guessed grants you something I’m honestly surprised you don’t already have, a pocket dimension, while its constant light magic will regenerate both your mana, stamina and body without needed to draw nourishment from you and instead the world, although its effects are limited because of this. When it pierced your skin and made contact with your blood the ample darkness magic in it would have triggered the imprint rune, so no one other then you can use it from now on” - Ervis stated with a proud tone.

It was custom for a master to grant his disciple a gift to help them in their studies retaining to their talent in the elven Culture, so Ervis had gone all out, thinking of it as also a way to right the prejudice he had held against Faith. It seemed to work like a charm as Faith was enraptured by it, taking it on and off and fiddling with the runes on it.

“Master thank you so much, this is Amazing!!” - Faith shouted, while putting his sword in and out of the pocket dimension

Yet while he was doing that something inside Faith seemed to click. He reach down for the sword this time bringing the shadows around him to gather on top of it and completely formed around it. Then he simply let go of It and the shadows like he had down when putting it inside the earring’s pocket dimension. The shadows dispersed back to their original places but the sword was gone underneath.

“Five seconds of being my disciple and You’ve already destroyed your only weapon. Brilliant your just like I was when learning, only ten years younger” - Ervis said, but then immediately had to take back his words.

Because in the next instant the shadows gathered around Faith’s right hand again before dispersing, this time however the blade was back in his hand.

“How.. How… What?!?” - Ervis said in a stupor.

Faith gazed at his shadows, which seemed to be able to replicate the pocket dimension only it was a far bigger space for storage, and he could access it at anytime.

‘Guess the shadow magic can do more then I thought’

He thought, not realising how naive he truly was about shadow magic and its potential limitless use