It felt like two days later when the door opened and Ghost walked in. He did not drag Sam like Hound did, he simply waited and led Sam to the interrogation chair.

  Resisting this man was next to impossible, especially since he had been warned against doing that the day before. He was cuffed quickly and the tools were revealed. Hound stood to the side and watched Ghost do his part quietly before stepping up.

  "Good evening. When I said you were a gift that keeps giving, that was no joke, because you proved me right yesterday. I want your opinion on something, hmmm. If you intend to take something from someone without raising any awareness, what do you do?"

  Sam stayed quiet. Hound continued to smile right to his face before he added. "I have three days, don't make me waste one trying to get this simple answer"

  That worked, so, Sam answered… "Weaken the security by making my presence familiar enough to create no problems when I break in"

  Hound was silent for a few seconds before he burst out laughing. "You are very smart, so you know there are no hard feelings when I torture you today. It's for your good as well…"

  He had just finished that statement when he punched Sam across the face. It was unexpected and quite powerful. It made his head spin and subsequently had a liquid block his nose.

  Hound did not pause after that punch. He continued, striking every inch of his body one after the other till Sam was numb to the pain. This didn't make it stop, because every attack that came next was like a stab in an open wound.

  This was his state for an hour. Hound seemed to have an infinite amount of energy and he would hit just hard enough to cause a lot of pain, but soft enough that he could not pass out from the pain.

  At the hour mark, Sam's face was covered in blood and every part of his body was red.

  "He's all yours"

  Those words made him raise his head, and squinting hard enough, he saw a third person standing in front of him. The new arrival wasted no time and dived straight into his mind.

  He felt the moment that connection was made. It was like a massive worm slithering its way down his throat, but the feeling lasted just a few seconds before his mind went blank. He found himself in the darkness once again. This place was quickly turning into a hideout. It also looked like every time he was in this place, there was a lot of pain involved.

  As for the intruder, he went through Sam's memory, looking up things related to Grams. While Sam could see nothing in the dark abyss that was his hideout, he knew what memories the man was seeing.

  It hit him very quickly… He had a secret. The world had changed overnight for him, and as far as he knew, no one knew this fact, not even Reese that knew a lot more than he did.

  It started as trying to rip incriminating memories away from the man. He believed that since these memories were his, he should have control over them. He tried his best not to butt heads with the man, but Reese's words still echoed at the back of his mind.

  He did not expect that it would work, but it did and the man came to the latest memory… The letter Grams sent through Eyva's dad. There was not a lot of information to be glimpsed from that.

  He could feel the squishy feeling returning as the man broke the connection carefully, however, he suddenly stopped. Creating and breaking the connection was both extremely painful and damaging to his soul, but the man had stopped halfway through.

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  He forced himself to see what caused this delay, and it was a sight that isolated him from the pain for a moment. The man was looking at a cube with mysterious-looking patterns all over it. The metal had a dark, silvery sheen to it; the way it was presented made it look like a work of art.

  The patterns were morphing and moving all over the cube, making seem like it was alive. The man was tempted and went closer. The cube gave no waves, it was like a harmless little metal box. However, the man was cautious and as he surveyed the cube, he made sure not to touch it or get too close.

  Still, the temptation was a bit too strong and he went even closer. The changing patterns, tiny, delicate, and elegant drew him in.

  He was getting dangerously close when he stopped in his tracks. This thing was dangerous, so the man hurried to leave. He had been so mesmerized that he forgot his boundaries. Even though he wanted to see more, who knew what kind of trap it was?

  Sam found the decision to leave perfect. While it made him even more valuable to them, turning into an idiot was not his plan.

  The disconnection soon continued and Sam groaned. It was at this time that all hell broke loose. He did not understand it, but he felt hot in darkness. A few moments later, light shined on him. He was startled by the change, but when he looked up, there was a black square descending fast.

  There was nowhere to run, he finally saw the abyss that he felt surrounded him. He was standing on a small circular platform. So, he braced himself and…

  The man had just broken the connection. He turned to Hound and Ghost; "She was very careful… Even her letter from two days ago did not mention where she went"

  "What crafty old witch" Hound slammed his hand onto the table beside him.

  "There might still be some clues. She travelled often… We'll try again tomorrow" The man stated and turned to leave when he stopped and asked. "What is that magic wave?"

  Hound and Ghost also felt it and their faces grew serious. They had taken a defensive stance as they waited for the attacker to show himself.

  An attacker? No…!!! The man turned to look at Sam with his eyes wide open, but it was too late. He, Hound and Ghost simply disintegrated. Just like with Grand-Uncle Eugene's attack on Wolf and his men, it was like they never existed.

  Sam was still unconscious even as three Knight-ranked mages died surrounding him.

  …

  "Report?"

  "Based on the reports, the tri-knight gang was the one that kidnapped him. I have compared the traces of divination to what we know about them and I am ninety percent sure that it was that gang… The gang has three members: Hound, an aggressive earth elemental Amateur Knight; Ghost, a light elemental Amateur knight, and; Hydra, the leader of the group, a lightning elemental Exalted Knight"

  "So, where are they?"

  "We know they are going to Verdant, but they travelled through the forest and we are still following the trail they left"

  Eyva's dad nodded and Uncle Dan left the study after giving a small bow. He had no expression and his emotional response to the information was blank. He did not move, simply sitting and looking out of the window into the distance. In his eyes were flashes of blue that looked ready to leap at anything that appeared.

  …

  The massive block of metal glowed in the dark. It lit up its immediate surrounding despite the dense darkness of the abyss surrounding it.

  This was the same block of metal as the one Hydra saw. The patterns that crisscrossed their way over it were the same, morphing and changing every second.

  It was unknown how long it was before the block suddenly moved. It was a small shift at first, but a few seconds later, it tilted slightly. Every few seconds following that, the block moved in some way… When the cube was finally raised off the ground, Sam could be seen, holding the metal block above his head.

  He was straining every muscle on his body to lift the block and a few moments later, he shoved it to the side. The cube looked like it should fall into the abyss, but it landed in the air like it was solid ground. He was surprised to see this, and it made him regretful that he did not run when the cube crashed into him, but he shoved that thought out of his mind a moment later.

  Suddenly, the cube was shining even brighter. He could see the ground very clearly now and right before his eyes, the light began to carve out the darkness.

  Why he looked up at this moment was instinctual. Instead of a bright blinding light, or incorrigible darkness, he saw a starry sky. Off to the right, there was a particularly bright star and while his thoughts told him he was wrong, he felt otherwise.

  He could feel a connection to that star, a connection he had no words to describe.

  He looked around, and while the darkness persisted, the cube now shed light on a large area around him. There was a projection that had formed and its contents snapped him out of his daydreams.

  "He is a troublemaker just like you" The female figure held onto her husband with a smile.