Hadrian stood before a map carved out of stone with artistic precision, spanning five meters in width and four in height.

Once they had entered the city, the woman had brought them to a specific building, received her payment, and left.

Hadrian learned they had been teleported to Twain, a city in the Tahalyn Empire, which occupied the southwestern part of the Human Empire.

He realized the sheer magnitude of the rift's power to have catapulted them to the other side of the continent.

The building they were in was an embassy of the Aurna Empire, which bordered the Tahalyn Empire to the east.

Twain wasn't a capital city; usually, embassies would be located in capitals, but this one was established here for access to the sea.

His black pupils dilated as he shifted focus to his vessels. He couldn't reach Baruch unless he entered that space, due to the vast distance between them.

Haldon had also made it to the city, assessing his new environment using his own unconventional methods.

Hadrian wasn't worried about him contacting Jasmine. Even if Haldon had a method to cover such a great distance, the fog layer wrapping around him meant Hadrian could stop him.

Even when outside of range, that fog layer allowed Hadrian to descend upon Haldon.

He hadn't yet. He would focus on him later.

Alia was currently being questioned by officials who carried themselves like lords.

They had discovered she was a mage and were speaking to her without Hadrian present.

When the officials tested them, Hadrian had substituted the force path cores inside him to his sea bird vessels and cut the essence channeling to his main vessel, essentially making him appear as a regular human.

While the officials spoke with an accent and some inconsistency, they still spoke Lynese.

Apparently, aside from Aurnaian, it was one of the three major languages of the Aurna Empire, spoken more frequently the further east one went.

With Twain being a port city, there were many people of different descent, so Alia's prospects of assimilation looked

promising.

And as a mage, her recruitment was all but guaranteed, especially with a school nearby.

Hadrian's pupils constricted, focusing back on the carved map, imagining himself stealing it and storing it in that space.

The maps he'd obtained from the Gritjor schools weren't as comprehensive and were essentially useless all the way out there.

The adjacent water was the Tanaran Sea, and on its other side lay the Angel Continent.

Hadrian noted that despite Twain being a port city filled with diverse people, there were no Angels from the neighboring continent.

Seeing Alia being dismissed and led out of the main hall through tall double doors, Hadrian let out a sigh, his heart calmed by the serene atmosphere of the embassy.

Its walls were white and clean, and decorative vases of unique shapes lined the perimeter.

As he turned around, the sun shone on his face. It was evening, hours away from sunset.

Hadrian closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. Even without enhancing his senses with essence, he could hear the faint sounds of the city in the distance, a background to the gently whistling breeze.

Dressed in a black dress, a woman with alabaster skin and auburn hair walked down the outside hallway with Alia towards Hadrian.

He had already peered into her essence sea; she was a rank one mage, though he wasn't sure of her path.

"You can stay the night," she said to Hadrian, speaking Lynese in that same accent as the officials.

Hadrian's lips pressed tightly before speaking.

"Actually, I'll be leaving," he said, glad to see the embassy offer, as it gave him hope Alia's situation wouldn't be bad.

After they had found out she was a mage, Hadrian had told her to be truthful about their relationship, specifically, that it was non-existent and they didn't know each other.

Her memory loss wasn't something that needed to be hidden. People experienced all sorts of mental problems, as he'd seen back in Gritjor.

She was sane, which was what mattered most, and her lack of a past made her assimilation easier without any previous ties to complicate things.

It was all he was willing to do, after all, while he felt he owed her some gratitude, he wouldn't go out his way.

"They've offered me a role and an opportunity to learn," she said as they walked to the arcade, a long hallway of parted, arched pillars.

"You're a rank two mage. You have value, don't forget," Hadrian said to her.

"Where will you go?"

"I have family up north," Hadrian lied. He had implied he hadn't lost his memories like her, though he hadn't divulged too much information.

Alia didn't look convinced, but apart from being a fortunately helpful person, to her, he was a stranger, not owing her any explanations. This goodbye was anything but emotional for her.

Hadrian took most of the fog he'd carried from that space through the metal box, and it surrounded Alia like her own personal cloud.

That should last a month at least, Hadrian thought, going off of the depletion rate of the thin layer of fog he used to have.

In that time, even if they managed to find her on the other side of the continent, her connection to him would long be severed.

They remained silent for a moment, and Hadrian looked onto her visage, memories of the last two months flashing through his mind.

It's for the best, he thought.

The witches wanted him, Jasmine wanted him, which meant the Princeps wanted him, and who knew what or who else his specialness might attract.

His journey wasn't going to be an easy one, and having freed her, he didn't see a reason for her to fight his battles for him.

They shared a few more pleasantries with slight awkwardness, and then Hadrian made his way out of the property.

Bells rang and metal clanked; the air was filled with chatter and distant music. It was slightly humid as he looked up at the clouds in the evening sky.

The first time he saw the schools' maps, he'd pictured traveling the lands once he was done with his revenge.

However, with multiple powerful factions taking an interest in him, he could not afford to stagnate.

To stay at his current level would be a betrayal of the resolve he had made to himself so long ago.

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