Elais sat himself in his personal study, laying out the materials that he had retrieved from the dungeon. Opening the bookmarked page of the grimoire, the ancient foreign script once again posed itself as a hidden puzzle. Thankfully, his personal archive was useful for times like this. He opened up the safe behind a row of books in the wall in front of him, taking out an ancient manuscript that decoded various outdated alphabets and languages. He was surprised to find such an outdated script to still exist in modern day, as most materials of this sort were presumably destroyed. He started decoding the grimoire, one word at a time, minutes to a few hours passing before he could fully comprehend it without a guide. 

The grimoire had been highlighted in vibrant neon colours in numerous pages, the mere act on such a valuable piece of history disgusted Elais. Many of the highlighted sections brought attention to specific words, particularly relating to the ‘threads of life’ and ‘streams of all beings’, to his confusion. He’d never seen the specific string of words before in his life. He turned to a different grimoire, which outlined a supposed method of how to transcend the natural order of life. It outlined that one must learn to alter life itself before going beyond the natural order. 

The next part of the grimoire outlined that one would need to start by controlling various streams of magic to bypass the linear frame, before they are able to alter the streams of life themselves. He recalled the magic that stung him, which although he immediately recognised as dark arts, he also noted that he had felt a pinch of holy arts as well, but brushed it off as it was impossible to use two elements of magic into one stream, or so he thought. It was basic knowledge, after all. It appeared that the cult had already succeeded in one stage of their plan in altering these ‘life streams’, which was considerably concerning. Elais looked over the brief definition of the term ‘life stream’ in the previous grimoire to clarify the issue further. He found that it related to the stream of an individual’s life that predetermined their fate, which was an odd concept that he’d never heard of, not even during his time at academia. He recalled the cult follower’s words of intending to punish those who wronged ‘them’. Regardless of who they were referring to, it was clear that their intention overall was incredibly full of malice, and had been working on such a thing for several centuries. 

He noted that Yura’s magic activated during the kidnapping incident, leaving him to ponder the possibility of whether her powers were intended to hurt those who intended to help her, as it prevented him from saving her, rather than injuring the perpetrator to begin with.

She might become an experiment for them, to test the limits of their new found strength. The words resonated as he conjured a theory. He considered the purpose of Yura’s protection ward into play. Rather than a means to protect her, it would simply bounce dark magic off her and harm those in her vicinity, which would also limit the need for her to have a large magic reserve to conduct such stealthy lethal acts, clearing her of any suspicions of such an act entirely. She was the perfect assassin for them. He thought of the possibility of the cult altering her magic reserves to become undetectable, and that she was indeed actually casting the magic out of her control. If they were capable of reverse-engineering magic to work in their favour, then the stakes were incredibly high. 

Elais set the grimoires and scripts aside. It was odd that in six years, the three of them could find no trace of any clues or leads in solving Yura’s case. Yet, Adrienne was able to attain a wealth of information out of the blue without contacting them throughout the years of how she had done so. And why had she contacted him only now? He rubbed his chin as he stared up at the starry skylight, the stars twinkling a greeting from above. She clarified to him that her family were magical authoritative figures to explain her means of accessing such confidential information so easily. The peculiar case of her ancestor, the researcher starting the research of the newfound dark magic was also questionable to him. That itself was extremely confidential information. And he knew, because he set their lab on fire. 

He awoke from his lengthy slumber and freed himself from the reigns of the metal chains, tearing them from his skin. The putrid scent of the mountain of bodies beneath provoked him, causing him to crave violence. It stirred the need to destroy everything, the existence of the experiments, the researcher who altered him, and he himself. 

The keen eyed researcher attempted to restrain him but was unmatched in his enhanced speed as he clawed at their neck, submerging their head in a pool of blood. He waved his hand readying to cast inferno amongst the hellhole. However, he stopped himself, realising that there may be a wealth of information to assist in undoing the aftermath of the torture. He sought for the files relating to him, and flicked through them. He grabbed a few more files relating to the experiment itself, before setting everything ablaze from within, ensuring nothing was left unscorched.

Upon escaping to his bloodied humble abode, he locked it all away, hoping to undo the impacts of the experiment. Never again would history repeat the vicious cycle. He made sure of it.

Elais gazed into the distance. Everything was slowly falling into place, one by one, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about it. More theories came to mind as he noted many possibilities and past observations, one gradually standing out as he started connecting things together.

Perhaps she’s been experimented on from afar, and requires surveillance to monitor their results. The creepiness of the innocent doll that Yura treasured so much grew more uneasy as the possibilities of its actual purpose could be much more sinister than they ever noticed. He hoped that she wouldn’t notice it if it went missing for a couple of days.

***

Yura hopped out of bed, stretching her arms as her body no longer felt sore after a couple days' rest since the traumatising incident. Elais had continued to nurse her and applied more holy arts to her body, which left her feeling physically stronger as if she had been granted a new body. The door creaked as he entered her room, noticing her energetic spirit had returned as she grinned at him.
“Ah, Yura. Since you’re fully healed now, I was thinking of escorting you somewhere of your choosing,” he announced, tidying her bedside table of last night’s refreshments. “If not, there is somewhere I’d like to take you myself.”

Yura beamed as she bounced towards him. “Then, surprise me.”

The duo made their way down the serene forest trail as Yura admired the luscious scenery, and found their way down into the bustling Victorian-esque town, the rustic architecture painting a pleasant yet romantic ambience. Elais escorted her down the stony path to a small cafe with an arrangement of sunflowers hanging on the netting in front of the windows of their entrance, with its interior adorned with a variety of floral arrangements and decorations on the furnishings, boasting an impressive bed of pastel roses that hung from the ceiling. To minimise the risk of harm and worry caused by her powers, he opted for outdoor seating for the two in front of the cafe. The waiter passed menus to them at the table, Yura not noticing them as she became absorbed in observing the liveliness of the town. The sounds of chattering filled the air as people went on with their lives making the city seem sleepless, much to her curiosity. Some were dressed in richly embroidered garments, whilst others had much more simple clothing. Regardless of the materialistic differences, they appeared to be satisfied. Elais watched as her expression glowed from her newfound experience and observations.  

“Yura. Not to disturb you, but the menus have arrived,” Elais pointed out, gesturing towards the menu in front of her. He waved down a nearby waiter. “Order anything you wish.”

“Oh! Um.. I’d like a strawberry shortcake and an iced coffee, then,” Yura told the waiter after contemplating for a moment as she looked through the visually appealing menu.

“I’ll have an earl grey and lemon cake.”

The waiter left to return to the kitchen as Yura hummed and lightly swung her legs in her seat. “Do you normally order those when you go out to places like this?”
Elais tilted his head slightly, briefly thinking for a quick moment. “I used to. I haven’t gone out in a recreational manner in a while.”

She chuckled lightly in response to his confusion.

“What’s so funny?”

“Well.. I think it’s just nice that I get to go out with you today, since you don’t do it a lot. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do,” Yura smiled. 

A waiter approached their table carrying a platter, gently placing their cake slices and drinks before their respective seats. Elais thanked them before turning to Yura, who’s face lit up at the sight of her slice of strawberry shortcake. She scooped a piece with her fork, immediately delighted at its sugary taste with a grin forming on her face upon taking her first bite. 

Elais cut himself a slice of his own cake, taking a sip of his tea right after taking a bite of it. “How is it?”

Yura nodded immediately and hummed in affirmation. “Really, really good.” She eyed his plate of cake. “How about yours? Do you like it?”
“It’s rather standard,” he replied. He stabbed a piece with his fork, scooping up a bite size serving and placing it before her. “Try some if you’d like.”

She happily took a bite, her grin growing with each bite she took as her ruby eyes glittered. Yura immediately offered a piece of her cake to him in return. “Say, ‘aah’.”

To her surprise he took a bite as she held the fork, his tug being surprisingly gentle. 

“Mine’s superior to yours,” he said as he wiped the corner of his mouth and placed his plate in front of her. 

“W-wait, this is too much,” Yura replied, flustered at the sudden gift of cake. 

Elais sipped some more of his tea, savouring every last drop of it before placing it back down onto its saucer. “It’s alright. I’m rather full.”
She savoured every bite of both cakes, the sweetness of both the cake and his kind gesture leaving an extra fond memory for her as they left the cafe.

The two walked past a couple of stores in the wide streets of the town, notably a variety of bookstores. Unfortunately, their interior was rather narrow and there would be some risk of harm if she entered the store for the time being, in which Yura wasn't too disheartened. 

“Someday, I’d love to shop around when my powers are fully in my control,” she said, eyeing the window front display of visually stunning hardcover novels.

It didn’t stop them from window shopping though, as Elais noted the random variety of things that caught her eye as they walked past the stores. 

“It will surely happen,” he reassured her. Her chattering was rather lively and upbeat, which he was thankful for. 

They eventually found themselves wandering into the local park, Yura noticing a glass grand piano in its centre with small flowers filled inside of it. Elais found it to not only be an odd place for a piano, but they were usually not made to be translucent, believing it to be an art sculpture of some sort. That was, until Yura pointed to the sign next to it outlining that it was free for anyone to play it. 

“Do you play piano? I remember that you have a rather large one at home,” Yura asked, also recalling Viktor mentioning that Elais was an adept musician. She could imagine him playing an array of instruments in his earlier days, which did seem to suit a person like him.

“I can. It just has been a long while,” he admitted.

“Could I hear you play something? Even if it’s just for a little,” Yura asked, her watery eyes pleading to him. 

He averted her gaze for a brief moment, sitting down before the piano and let his fingers rest on the keys. His fingers then glided across the keys, playing a familiar mellow tune that he once loved. Yura spun and danced to his tune, her feet leaping with grace as the wind accompanied her. Elais looked up for a moment as his fingers danced amongst the piano keys, noticing her movements were gentle and full of bliss as if she were an angel. Time stopped briefly as he watched her hair transform into a familiar oak brown hue, finding himself transported in a distant memory. Except, this time was different. Without her noticing, he smiled warmly as the petals of the nearby blooming flowers soon accompanied her as she danced with the wind.