Whoosh!

Unsurprisingly, once Nadir confirmed that its goal in bringing Arcane to this place had something to do with Valyr, the latter immediately let out her aura in its entirety, drowning the entire void in her Primordial-level might.

Yet, just like before, the being in front of her was unaffected by it.

At most, the being looked back at her in amusement after the action, its expression seemingly asking her what her goal was in letting it bask within her aura.

Fwoosh!

Seeing that her aura was truly ineffective against the being in front of her, Arcane looked at Nadir with narrowed eyes before restraining her aura.

Then, with an unkind tone, she said, "You better tell me that your goal doesn't involve harming him."

"If not, I wouldn't hesitate to send you to where Veradine is right now."

"Relax, Lynnett," said Nadir as it let out a soft sigh. "You know, I'm kind of regretting the fact that you were the first to stumble across this place."

"If it were any of the other people that would have been more likely to stumble across this place, they would have at least heard out what my goal was first before deciding whether or not to look at me unkindly."

"You don't have the right to call me that," said Arcane in return, spending a bit of time reining her anger in the meantime. "If it were Veradine, then sure. I'd allow it. But you're only a wisp that used to be a part of her."

"Yet, I'm the only proof of her that remains within this universe." Nadir smiled back at her, its form of Veradine giving off a slightly unnatural vibe. "I'm probably the closest thing you could get to Veradine nowadays."

At this point, the anger she felt towards Nadir had turned into annoyance.

Deciding to ignore the being's mention of her previous name in the meantime, Arcane focused her attention on what was more important.

"So? What is your goal with him?" she asked.

"I'll tell you right now that it won't harm the being you're thinking of," replied Nadir, its expression now that of sincerity. "If anything, them being involved would most likely benefit them in the long run."

"Why does it feel more like it's a benefit now, but a detriment later?" Arcane gave off a feeling of suspicion at its words.

"I won't deny that having them take part in it would force them with a burden later on," the former said in return. "But I also mean it when I say that it would benefit them in the long run."

"After all, it would give them an opportunity at achieving Extreme Unfettering."

Hearing those words, most of the hostility Arcane had towards Nadir disappeared.

However, that still did not remove the doubt she felt towards its claim.

With that, she pulled out what she thought was the quickest way to prove the truth in Nadir's words.

"Are you willing to swear an Oath of Primordial Origins on it?"

"No way…" said Nadir at first, only to then laugh out loud after feeling Arcane's hostility towards it return. "…is what you thought I would say, right?"

"All jokes aside, I was planning to do so anyway," it said soon after, swiftly returning to its calm expression. "Though, I would need you to infuse me with more of your energy to make sure I don't dissipate midway."

"…Alright." Thinking about its words for a bit, Arcane eventually agreed.

Of course, there were a couple of reasons as to why she did.

For one, she had already infused a great amount of her energy into the spark in the first place. With that in mind, as well as the fact that she had control over a nigh-infinite amount of it, there was no problem with giving Nadir more energy if it meant it could continue existing.

As for the other reason why she agreed…

It was because she had an inkling that Nadir… might not just be a normal wisp that Veradine left behind.

…

"It's an honor to have you at our humble abode, Upper Sage Celsus."

After obtaining news from their friend Kelvin that his superior was coming to their manor, Sera and Zakard immediately tidied up the place in preparation.

Of course, thoughts about the Lightless Sage Protocol were still lingering in their minds after that, especially since Kelvin told him that they would have to wait a day or two before the Grand Sage would give his verdict.

Though, with Celsus making an appearance at their manor, they immediately understood that the Sage had come with the news that they've been waiting to hear for the past couple of days.

"Zakard and Sera Avantis, correct?" asked Celsus as he gave the two a kind smile.

"That would indeed be us." The two both nodded.

"Could you bring young Veradine here?" the former asked in return, his expression gradually turned solemn. "I've come with the Grand Sage's verdict."

At those words, the two became solemn as well, asking the Upper Sage soon after if there was anything else they needed to do aside from that.

After receiving a shake of the head from the latter, it did not take long for Zakard and Sera to bring Veradine in front of Celsus, whose expression was currently a mix of nervousness and anticipation.

"Young Veradine." The moment Veradine appeared in front of him, Celsus went down on one knee as he gave her a kind smile. "I am Celsus. Upper Mage Celsus."

"Greetings, Upper Mage Celsus." With both her parents having educated her on the difference between Sages, Veradine gave the Upper Sage a curtsy as she greeted him.

Smiling even wider at her politeness, Celsus then told her, "I've come here today to inform you of the Grand Sage's verdict. Your parents have already explained you what this means, right?"

Veradine softly nodded.

"Do you perhaps already have an idea of what verdict the Grand Sage gave you?"

"…Bad?" asked Veradine after a bit of thought, immediately thinking about the worst-case scenario.

"Well…" Scratching his head at how blunt her reply was, Celsus wracked his brain to come up with a good response. "It's not bad, but it's not good either."

At those words, the Upper Sage wrapped the four of them in a soundproof barrier before proceeding to tell the trio about the decision the Grand Sage made.

Hearing that their daughter had an aptitude for the path of a Sage, it went without saying that both Zakard and Sera were ecstatic.

However, when they heard how long it would probably take for Veradine to reach the Lower Boundary, that excitement swiftly died down, instead being replaced with a feeling of solemnness.

Naturally, the one most affected by the news was Veradine. After all, with everyone in her family becoming a Sage, she hoped that she would have the aptitude to become a Sage as well.

Yet, even though she did, the Grand Sage told her that it was better for her to stay as a mortal.

For a second, she wondered if the Grand Sage had made a mistake in the verdict he gave her.

Though, not even a second later, that thought quickly disappeared from her mind.

After all, in her eyes, the Grand Sage was a powerful and heavenly being.

How would a being like that even make such a mistake?