The corridor sloped downward, leading deeper into the building.

"I was impressed," Fors said conversationally, "when you negotiated with Knight-Captain Aldric. Leveraging your near-death experience for concrete benefits. That took nerve and intelligence."

He glanced at Finn.

"But I never would have thought you'd squander such an opportunity by asking for benefits solely for the girl."

Finn shrugged, making the chains on his wrists clink softly.

"There's nothing House Flumen can give me."

Fors actually scoffed at that.

"Nothing? House Flumen's roots run deeper than any family in Astoria. Their libraries alone contain centuries of accumulated magical knowledge. Their wealth could fund entire expeditions. Their influence—" He shook his head. "You just lack imagination, boy."

"They can't satisfy my imagination," Finn countered flatly.

Fors's eyebrow rose.

"I don't need their wealth," Finn said. "Or their power. Or their influence. Or even their knowledge. My new status as a Transcendent provides all of that."

He emphasized the word carefully.

"My new status. Me alone…"

Fors's expression hardened slightly.

"You think the Crown won't treat the girl well? Is that why you went to such lengths to secure benefits from House Flumen?"

"I prefer not to owe favors," Finn replied simply.

"Favors," Fors repeated, tone skeptical.

Finn stopped walking and met the Agent's eyes directly.

"We both know that even if the Crown doesn't explicitly say it, the fact that you allowed me to bring Elara here, despite it not being standard protocol, means something. Her continued stay, her education, her training, every resource she receives..." He paused. "It would all feel like added benefits. In other words, favors."

"And?" Fors prompted.

"I much rather prefer when both parties know exactly what they want in a transaction. Clear terms. No hidden debts."

Finn emphasized the last word and resumed walking.

"With House Flumen, we both had bad blood and a score to settle. So the exchange was transactional, without any ambiguity. No future obligations. They harmed me through their negligence and ambition, and I extracted compensation. The matter is closed."

He glanced at Fors.

"Besides, in my two years at House Valeris, many Arcanists looked up to the Flumen Arcane Knights. Their expertise in training and producing well-developed talents is nearly second to none. Not just in Astoria, but probably across all seven continents. Elara will thrive there."

Fors didn't refute it. House Flumen provided the majority of Astoria's top-tier Arcanists. Only the elite squads that protected the Crown directly, and the secret Arcane methods passed down through the royal bloodline itself, produced more powerful individuals.

The Agent switched tactics.

"You realize what you've done, don't you? By securing such visible benefits for the girl, by making it clear she matters to you..." He shook his head. "You've revealed your weakness to everyone who might want leverage against you."

Finn's laugh was dark and humorless.

"Stop treating me like a child, Agent Fors."

The man's eyes narrowed.

"Didn't you hear what I said earlier? With the Crown's resources, with House Flumen's intelligence network, with even a medium-sized house like Valeris, any of them could dig up whatever information they wanted about Elara and me. Background, history, relationships, everything."

He met Fors's gaze steadily.

"In fact, I know for certain the Crown already has that information. Same for House Flumen. They're just pretending they don't, putting up a facade that they haven't thoroughly investigated me."

The corridor continued sloping downward, deeper into the building's sublevels.

"So why should I bother trying to hide Elara," Finn asked, "when I can instead gain more benefits by openly declaring my position? By making it clear to both the Crown and House Flumen exactly what she means to me?"

He smiled thinly.

"Something they already knew anyway."

Fors was silent for several paces. Then he spoke:

"That still doesn't guarantee her safety. Nor does it change the fact that she's a vulnerability. What's stopping anyone from using the girl against you?"

Finn didn't answer immediately.

When he finally spoke, his voice had gone cold — cold enough that Fors's eyebrows rose fractionally.

"First," Finn said, "Elara is no damsel in distress. House Flumen will soon realize they genuinely want her in their ranks. Do you think my earlier words to her were empty?"

He shook his head.

"She'll become a powerhouse in her own right."

His voice dropped lower, taking on an edge that made the temperature seem to plummet.

"But even if that isn't enough... even if something did happen to her..." Finn's eyes went distant and terrifyingly focused at the same time. "I wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone who harmed her."

The certainty in those words made Fors actually pause mid-step.

Finn's eyes looked decades older than his seventeen years. The weight of experience, of determination, of absolute conviction made the threat feel real despite the boy's youth and current restraints.

For a moment, even with all the Crown's backing, Fors felt a flicker of something that might have been wariness.

Then he caught himself and frowned.

"What if it's House Flumen?" he challenged. "What if the Great House decides she's more useful as a bargaining chip than as a knight?"

"The same," Finn said simply. "The name of the attacker means nothing."

Fors's expression hardened.

"And what if it's the Crown?"

The question hung in the air like a blade.

The temperature in the corridor seemed to drop. Finn could feel the other agents in the shadows around them going alert, ready to act on a moment's notice.

This was a test. He knew it was a test. The question was designed to gauge his loyalty, his willingness to submit to Crown authority.

If he conceded here, the Crown would insert themselves above him always. They'd know they could pressure him through Elara, could control him through that vulnerability.

But if he didn't concede...

Finn stopped walking and turned to face Fors directly, looking the Agent straight in the eyes.

"If it's the Crown?" he said with a voice dripping with frigid mania. "Then they'd succeed. House Flumen might succeed too, if they truly wanted her dead."

Fors's eyes narrowed, but Finn wasn't finished.

"But one thing would be certain." His voice went quieter, more deadly. "I would escape without a doubt, that much I am sure of. And then I would gain strength. Real strength. And then I would come back..."

He leaned forward slightly, chains clinking.

"And I would kill every single one of them. Down to the last chickens in their households. Down to the last stone in their foundations. I would erase them so thoroughly that future historians would wonder if they ever existed at all."

The hatred and cold certainty in his voice made even Fors take a half-step back.

One would think Elara had already been killed and Finn was describing his actual revenge plans rather than a hypothetical scenario. The manic edge, the absolute conviction, the terrifying focus… it was the voice of someone who meant every word.

The agents around them went rigid.

Fors's expression turned to stone.

"You just threatened the Crown," he said softly, dangerously. "Directly. In the heart of Crown territory, surrounded by Crown agents. You promised certain death to the royal bloodline."

"Hypothetically," Finn pointed out, though his eyes said he didn't care about the distinction.

"Even hypothetically," Fors continued, "we cannot allow such words to stand. Especially considering we're about to bring you into our organization. Give you knowledge and training in Transcendent abilities. Power that would let you actually attempt what you just described."

The silence stretched tensely.

Finn could feel the agents in the shadows preparing to move. His suppression chains suddenly felt heavier, more restrictive.

He began gathering what little he could feel of his Error magic, preparing [Frame Skip] even if just to escape and find Elara before—

"Stand down."

A voice came from the darkness ahead, down the corridor where the slope continued into shadow.

Immediately, every agent relaxed. The tension in the air dissolved instantly.

Fors turned toward the voice with his posture shifting into one of utter respect and deference.

Footsteps echoed in the corridor, drawing closer softly, measuredly, confidently...

A figure emerged from the shadows.

A young woman, perhaps in her early twenties. She had purple hair that cascaded past her shoulders in waves that seemed to catch and reflect the dim light in the corridor. Her face was striking. Beautiful in a sharp, aristocratic way that spoke of noble breeding.

She wore black leather armor tailored perfectly to her frame, reinforced with ridged plates that looked like black carapace from some exotic magical beast. The armor was functional but elegant, designed for someone who expected combat but refused to sacrifice aesthetics.

Finn had gone rigid.

Even her eyes…

Gray. Cool and assessing. Looking at him with the kind of penetrating gaze that seemed to see through flesh and bone directly into his soul.

No… Impossible…

But he couldn't deny what his senses were literally screaming to him.

Order.

He knew it with certainty.

This was the holder of Order magic.

And not just that alone.

This woman looked almost identical to Althea Seneschal from his future timeline.

The same bone structure. The same aristocratic features. The same presence that commanded attention without trying.

Shock flickered through Finn's mind as he fought desperately to keep his expression neutral.

How? How is she here? How does she look so similar?

But even as the questions and doubts raced through his thoughts, he was still able to analyze to an extent and come to a quick realization.

This wasn't Althea. She couldn't be. This was someone else… someone from this ancient era, centuries or millennia before Finn's time.

An ancestor, perhaps. Or...

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