Epic Of The Demonic Sage

'While I am curious about what happened… knowing how Viscountess Blackshield can sometimes become too exhilarated with battles and Kiana's current difficulties accepting her weakness, I think I should just head to bed.' Lucius thought to himself.

Lucius was not normally predisposed to fatigue and tiredness, and in fact, the schedule he was going on was less of a strain compared to his constant training with Sir John before, but tonight he felt his body being ragged.

'Truly, even though I have already acclimated to this body, it continues to be a hurdle. I have already trained it before but it still is far weaker than my previous form and I had been a scholar before.' Lucius thought with an inward sigh as he made his way to his chambers.

Lucius retired for the night and went to sleep. As he closed his eyes and drifted off, the man found himself once again returning to a familiar world.

The same blood world that encompassed him before. It was the same people and the same drivel that tried to haunt him.

Lucius scoffed in derision. It was not easy to explain why his subconscious dreams were showing him this when there was no shred of guilt or shame in him as he encountered the shadows of his past.

Even the new addition of Bordeaux in the dream and constant maniacal laughter only served to annoy him.

"Enough. I have no need for repeated attempts. Begone."

Soon enough, morning came in a flash and Lucius awakened with a bit of an ache in his body. He was not actually well-rested at all.

Lucius's back was drenched in sweat and he sat up with a frown on his face. He ran his fingers through his hair and moved to his feet, only to hear a knock on the door.

"Asher?"

It was Kiana.

"Come in." Lucius said as he made his way to his closet to get a change of clothes.

Kiana stepped inside, bringing Asher the basin of water that he used to wash the sleep from his eyes. Neta was the one who usually did this in recent times, due to the tasks that Kiana often found herself with, but today it was her.

It seemed like Kiana wanted to say something to him. Which was most likely the result of the spar yesterday.

However, Lucius was too exhausted to even bother pretending to be polite and attentive to his older cousin and head servant.

Instead, Lucius merely tugged off his shirt and looked for the one he would change to. Kiana already took care of him before and there was no hint of shame considering how she took care of "Asher" even during his complete paralysis prior.

Kiana cleared her throat lightly, waiting to speak to Asher, but then blinked when she looked at his back.

It was covered with multiple black dots.

"Asher…?" Kiana called.

"What is it, Kiana? I presume it is about the results of the spar with Viscountess yesterday? How did it go?" Lucius asked.

"No, I—huh." Kiana rubbed her eyes and the black spots that covered Asher's back were completely gone. Almost as if it was never there before.

'Am I overfatigued that I am now seeing things such as those? They looked incredibly unnatural. It is not like the spots that are prevalent in one's body like moles and other things.' Kiana stared at the ceiling and tried to see if she was dizzy or fatigued.

After a moment, Lucius turned to her impatiently. He took a long and inwardly, breath before he addressed her.

"Yes, Kiana?"

"It's nothing. My apologies, Asher. I thought I saw something but maybe it's my exhaustion. I was completely outmatched by Viscountess Blackshield yesterday, and while it was a loss, she offered to give some advice and tips. We will spar again today in fact." Kiana relayed with a somewhat eager smile. "I also plan to continue practicing my aim during my spare time, but is there anything else that you will need my assistance with, Asher?"

"No. You are free to do as you wish, Kiana. My schedule for the following days will be lessons with Bishop Reynald. I will try to drop from time to time to check on things at the barracks, but most of my attention will be on learning about artifacts."

"You really wish to make artifacts, Asher?" Kiana asked. "With how things are currently, the profits from Dionysia Brewery and the upcoming Masked Legion will be quite plentiful. I can imagine that we will be making a great amount of wealth even surpassing that of our current treasury."

"The Dionysia Brewery is self sustaintable already and needs little to no guidance, especially with Lady Alessa learning the ropes and acting as its owner. In fact, there are plans for expansion already when we visited there with Viscountess Blackshield. One only needs to see to it that it is going smoothly, but even without much monitoring, it shall be fine. Meanwhile, I am creating more members of the Masked Legion when there are people available. Which does remind me, have you gotten the chance to commission the equipment set for Bordeaux?"

"Yes, Asher." Kiana nodded firmly. "It will take a bit of time as there is discretion, but it should not be a long job. We have already worked with them before."

"Good." Lucius nodded. He turned towards the window. The sun was seeping in and allowed warm sunlight to shine through. It was supposed to be a welcome and warm sight, but instead, Lucius only looked at it with a lukewarm gaze.

"Are you alright, Asher?" Kiana asked, sensing the mood. She didn't make any comment about it, but now she was a little worried.

"I'm fine. It seems like the next few days will be clear skies and sunny weather. A good chance for training for you and the other people in the barracks." Lucius commented. "If you wish to, or perhaps I'll do it myself, I will ask if Viscountess Blackshield is interested in sparring with Gellor's team."

"I do think she will just enjoy it."

"And it will be good training."