Death, Devotion, Dissonance

It took Evin a few minutes and Leanne's help to become presentable. He washed his face and mouth with some water he created through his magic and Leanne helped him smoothen out his ruffled clothing.

The Cosmic led him into a large dining hall with little ceremony. Evin saw Alix din Carew, her son and the Chairman sitting at one table with a male Cosmic talking next to them. The male's fur pattern looked almost the same as the female Cosmic that brought Evin here, which made Evin wonder if the two were siblings.

Evin looked around and saw all the noble students of the Academy sitting around tables scattered across the hall, and usually, they sat with people who Evin presumed were their parents and a Cosmic Feline. Evin searched the room and found Phel and Bella sitting at one table silently sending a greeting towards him. On their table sat a female Cosmic and two men. On Phel's side sat a short, middle-aged man who exuded an aura of cheerfulness and humor. The man wore bright-beige colored clothes and was laughing pleasantly as he spoke to the Cosmic. On Bella's side sat a somewhat plump man, laughing jovially at the talk between the Cosmic and Phel's father.

Evin's eyes lingered on the table for a few seconds, before Leanne nudged him from the side and told him to follow. As Evin was following her, he quickly realized that he was walking towards where the Countess was eating.

The Countess also noticed this fact and sent a glance towards a servant. The latter was quick to act and after only a few seconds; a couple servants brought another table from somewhere and attached it to the one where the Countess was sitting.

<I hate to do this right after what happened with Leanne, but I believe we must be at peak state to survive this conversation,> the Voice grunted and Evin could feel its mind covering Evin's with practiced precision.

Evin wasn't happy with the Voice doing whatever it wanted to him, but it would be a lie if he said he didn't want this state.

"Good day, Leanne… and Evin," the Countess greeted and so did the others. The female Cosmic that was accompanying him quickly jumped over to the male Cosmic's side and started whispering a few things to him.

Evin judged the people who he was sharing the table with and mostly saw what he expected. Decatur was acting politely due to his mother, but was evidently struggling to keep his enmity from leaking. The noble boy's attitude towards him was getting worse and worse, mostly because of how effortlessly Evin was closing the gap between them. Decatur moved in a snail's pace and even if he receive a World Shard or two to complement his mana-core, he lacked the control to make it matter. Compared to that, Evin's power grew exponentially with every World Shard he obtained.

Alix din Carew, though, was the perfect image of a noblewoman. She was polite, yet authoritative, and she was casually employing the power she held at the table. The mother in her showed up only when her eyes fell on her son, who was almost blatantly acting in a way unacceptable for the heir of a County.

Leanne looked like she was out of place, but she looked as if she was braving the uncomfortable atmosphere, for Evin's sake. It felt nice to Evin, but it was also true that she was powerless here.

The Chairman, on the other hand, was cheerful in his attitude, looking like a man pleased with seeing one of his students obtaining the interest of the Cosmic Felines. He would look at Evin with a look of interest, curiosity and pride. A believable and logical attitude and expression. But thanks to his conversation with Leanne, Evin could more clearly see the true thoughts of the Chairman.

The Chairman most likely thought himself above everyone else here, even though he acted deferentially towards the Countess. Behind his gentle and polite smile, the Chairman was hiding his hate for the Countess, his mockery of the noble society and, of course, his plans for Evin. Plans and designs for a kid who couldn't know better.

He'd have Evin dance on his palms, baiting Evin's curiosity and loyalty with the few Shards he'd throw in front of him as the master of the Academy. In the Chairman's head, he didn't need to work so hard to put Evin under his thumbs. The man only saw Evin as a child, Evin finally realized.

The only reason he was respectful to him now, was because he suspected the Voice to be something ancient and almighty. Nothing like the Twelve Calamities who destroyed the powerful Hivemind, and then proceeded to wreak havoc on the world of Alvox; but something strong enough. In the Chairman's mind, no doubt Evin was a simple boy who fell under the control of this mysterious ancient force.

As for why the ancient force bothered to waste its time inside the head of a commoner boy, it could be explained by the odd and bizarre habits of ancient relics. Even some of the Twelve Calamities acted bizarrely time after time, so there wasn't anything weird for weird things to happen.

'But he doesn't know that we stand as equals,' Evin allowed himself a triumphant and prideful thought.

At this point, Evin knew he was staring too much at the Chairman. It was a new habit of his, one he most likely got from the Voice. Thankfully, he didn't let any of his true thoughts show on his face, so the table's other members only felt a slight discomfort and worry at his random action. Evin then sat properly on his chair and focused his attention on the food.

"Welcome, enigmatic young mage," the male Cosmic greeted him after he finished counseling with the female. "My name is Solraheeth Abvelgail and this is my sister, Solraheeth Rithlaven. For the future, you can simply call me Abe and her, Rith."

The greeting was a bit weird, but Evin liked how the Cosmic had described him. Enigmatic young mage.

"Rith says she already explained the circumstances to you and that you're willing to study under us. But you must understand, that properly learning a World requires great efforts from our and your side. We'll of course provide the World Shards and other necessary tools for your education, but you must tell us exactly what you think about the Worlds of Magic and how you use them. I guess we can start with the simpler questions, like how many World Shards have you absorbed?"

But before Evin could answer, he was interrupted by Decatur, "You can't possibly take the words of an outcast Viscount's heir seriously and just assume that that commoner is a better Imagination Caster than the rest of us nobles."

The noble teen's voice was loud enough to be heard by everyone in the dining hall, and Evin saw how everyone in the room turned their heads towards the main table.

"Decatur," the Countess said admonishingly.

"Mother, you know I can't just silently let this chance slip away from my hands," Decatur said back at her with a tone of defiance and stubbornness.

"Young master Decatur," Abe interjected politely. "We've explained to you how we're searching for mages who haven't been exposed to the Worlds for more than a year. For us, it's important that they also be talented in Imagination Casting, but it's far more important that we work with a fresh mind."

"But it is important for the person to be talented enough, right?" Decatur insisted. "You wouldn't want to waste all the time you dedicated to teach your student. You wouldn't want to fail the agreement you made with our king."

"But in the end, it is our choice to choose who we teach. That is also part of the deal with made with your country. Your Academy says that Evin here is the most talented Imagination Caster and we have no reason to doubt them."

The Cosmic's words made too much sense for Decatur to keep arguing, but of course, the Chairman wasn't going to let such a chance go to waste.

"Now, now. Any young mage of the Kingdom would think themselves most deserving of a chance to become one of the King's Mages," the Chairman said amiably. "What do you say we let the youngsters sort it out between themselves? And while we're at it, you can see what your future student's capable of. Of course, the final decision still lay in your hands."

'There it is...' Evin thought with a weary sigh. 'I can kind of see why he would think I'd hate Decatur because of this. After all, the noble boy is the one standing between me and my potential future. The Chairman's simply acting like a curious old man.'