"Whatever spell you used young master, don't use it again."

Anastasiy gave a nervous chuckle as Anthelm continued to glare at him as he led them towards the hole the group had managed to make after three weeks. Originally, the opening had been just big enough for a four-year-old. However, it had been enlarged so that an adult could pass through by crouching down. Glancing through the hole, Anastasiy realized that it was impossible to see the other side as if a veil lay there. Serafim put his hand on the barrier, which created ripples on the opaque surface.

"Are you all right, Captain?"

"Yes. Why?"

"When Aslan put his hand on it, he received an electric shock."

Immediately, Serafim moved his hand away from the barrier, cursing his subordinate who was grinning.

"Would you like to try your luck, young master?" Anthelm asked Anastasiy.

For a moment Anastasiy stared at the barrier. Theoretically, it was him who had created the barrier so he was safe. Glancing at Serafim, he saw him smile at him. Returning the smile, Anastasiy moved towards the barrier, his hand firmly holding his cane as he approached the hole. Slowly, he raised his other arm and approached it. Everyone held their breath as Anastasiy's hand came to rest on the barrier, before suddenly falling through. Surprised, Anastasiy immediately pulled his hand away.

"Stacie! Are you all right?!" Serafim asked, taking his brother's hand in his own to make sure he wasn't hurt.

" Y... yes."

Meanwhile, Anthelm had approached and examined the barrier again, casting a new spell against it, which was absorbed like the others.

"Well now we know for sure it was you who put up that barrier, Stacie."

Slowly, Anastasiy turned his head towards his brother, his face pale and his eyes filled with terror.

"Serafim, my head hurts already."

"I will keep Ewald away from you."

Anastasiy couldn't hold back his sigh of relief at his brother's answer, knowing full well that Ewald would be tearing his hair out with their discoveries. He could already imagine the long hours he would spend with his second brother, experimenting with his core-that-wasn't-really-a-core-anymore.

Refocusing on the barrier, Anastasiy saw Anthelm turn towards him, indicating that he had finished writing down his observations. Finally, he walked back to the barrier, knowing now that he was safe. Beside him, his brother gave him a worried look as Anthelm watched him with interest. Again, his hand came to rest on the barrier and passed through it. His arm followed, and then the rest of his body too.

When he opened his eyes again, which he did not remember closing, Anastasiy saw a stone in the center of the room, glowing dimly. As he approached it, the glow diminished until it disappeared entirely. When Anastasiy took it in his hand, immediately the barrier disappeared.

"Stacie?"

"I'm fine," Anastasiy replied as he turned towards the opening in the wall.

Serafim was the first to come. He immediately walked over to his brother, making sure he was okay.

"What is this?" He asked as he saw the stone in his younger brother's hand.

" Apparently what was holding the barrier in place until now."

Magic was an energy that couldn't be stored without consequences. If there was too much magic in one place, it would cause poisoning. This is why magicians were important. Everyone had a core, but few chose to use it voluntarily. The reason? A poorly-developed core could lead to a painful death. But if the core was well developed, a magician could absorb magic and restore areas damaged by it, which was their main role. Priests, like mages, were born with an active core. However, the big difference between the two was that mages could use any type of spell. On the contrary, priests could only use spells related to the God they were born under. They were also the only ones capable of imbuing objects with magic, and this was done through the Sacred Words of their God.

However, Anastasiy held something unlikely in his hand. If this stone was confirmed as the source of energy for the barrier and no residual magic was found, it would change everything.

"The Tower will research in secret and with an oath to the Duchy," said Anthelm.

The two brothers nodded and handed the stone to Anthelm. Anthelm hid it in a bag from the Temple of Lycres, God of Thieves and Merchants. Once a bag of Lycres was bound to a person, it always returned to the owner's side and no one could open it without his permission.

Once that was done, the trio turned their attention back to the room, which they bitterly regretted.

"Anastasiy... What have you done?"

And wasn't that an interesting question? For before them, whole shelves of stones glowed dimly in the darkness.