In the midst of a very elaborate and luxurious room filled with various alchemical apparatus, a man stood with his head bowed, waiting for another who seemed lost in his own world.
Both men had vivid red hair, and although the bowing man appeared to be someone of great strength, his every attempt at dominating the air around him was futile.
The man he was bowing to moved slowly, mixing different ingredients together effortlessly. His every move was precise and deliberate, each action seemingly ordained from the heavens.
The bowing man didn't dare make a single sound, as he had long since become entranced by the other's actions. Despite the fact that he was simply mixing different ingredients, there was an artistic element to it—a beauty and deadliness regardless of how absurd it sounded.
The man continued his actions for hours, the only sound being the clanging of apparatus. Eventually, he finished, and the form of a glowing green liquid inside a glass tube floated in front of him.
Two sapphire like eyes stared at the mixture closely, a sense of anticipation filling the air.
A second passed, and a frown appeared on the man's face as the initial deep green liquid suddenly started turning pitch black.
With a click of his tongue, the man waved his hand, and the concoction turned to dust. Releasing a deep sigh, he turned his gaze and finally noted the presence of the bowing man. This man was none other than Thorne, the paragon of the Alverian family, and the bowing man was Eleanor, the father of Lila and Dell, and the family head of the Alverian family.
Thorne raised an eyebrow. "Eleanor."
Eleanor bowed deeper. "Yes, Father—"
"Do you know what I've been doing, what I've been working on?"
Eleanor paused at his father's interruption and question, not understanding where it was leading.
"A potion?"
The room went silent, two sapphire eyes staring down at Eleanor as if it had never seen someone so foolish in its existence.
"Tell me, do you know why the human domain as a whole is weak compared to the other races?"
Eleanor took a moment to think, not wanting to disappoint again. "Because only a few elites have above-average potential and power."
"Good, and why is that?"
"Their talents are terrible."
Thorne paused, nodding in agreement. "Very correct. Moving on, if we want to improve and increase our overall power, what do you think we need the most?"
This time, Eleanor took a few moments to think. Regardless, it was still less than a second. The speed at which a grandmaster could think was mind-numbingly fast.
Eleanor thought about everything from the beginning, from his father's first question to the current one, and immediately drew relations.
"What we need the most is something to increase the talent of the masses." Eleanor's gaze couldn't help but widen. Was that what his father had been doing?
Thorne nodded. "Another correct answer. Very good, Eleanor."
Eleanor came out of his reverie and bowed before responding, "Yes, Father—"
"I've made it my life's work to create a potion that has the power to increase the talent of people. I've been searching for a way long before you were born and feel like I'm very close to achieving this."
Thorne started walking towards Eleanor, his tone shifting. "Do you know the significance if I succeed? Do you know the amount of power the Alverian family would gain? The status, the respect?"
"Do you have any idea?"
Seeing Eleanor nod, Thorne continued.
"So let me ask you a question. Is the world ending? Are we under imminent danger? Otherwise, I'm finding it hard to understand, Eleanor. Why the hell are you interrupting me while I'm doing such important work?"
Eleanor became visibly tense. His father wasn't the type to easily get angry about anything, but there was one thing he never played with: Alchemy.
Eleanor clenched his hands. "You still haven't given your input, Father."
"In what?"
Eleanor lifted his head and faced his father. "In what those bastards did to one of our own!" he exclaimed, his anger palpable.
"This nonsense again?"
"What do you mean, this nonsense, Father? It was you yourself who told us what that stupid cub did to Dell! How the hell is he supposed to lead in that condition?"
The frown on Alverian's face became more definite as he tilted his head slightly to the side.
"You have an army of children. Simply choose anothe—"
"Father!" Eleanor immediately exclaimed, but before he could say anything else, an overwhelming aura descended on him, his whole figure unable to bear the weight, hitting the ground with a brutal thud.
"Do not interrupt me," Thorne declared, looking down at the struggling Eleanor coldly. "Know your place."
A few seconds passed before the aura lifted, and Eleanor struggled to stand, wiping away the blood that appeared on the side of his mouth.
"I'm sorry, Father."
Thorne sighed, looking at his son kneeling in front of him.
"Eleanor, I'm very sure that I did not raise a fool. You blacklisted the Ravensteins from buying our potions, attacked each of their bases in our sector, slaughtered them brutally, and closed off the border between our sectors. What more do you want?"
Eleanor gritted his teeth. "I want that bastard to pay for what he did. I know well enough that the Ravensteins wouldn't allow us to take one of their own, which is why we must force their hand. Many of the family heads already agree with me. Just like us, he had also tortured their heirs."
"How would you force their hand?"
Eleanor answered with a firm gaze. "War. We would threaten them with war. Regardless of how mad they are or appear to be, even they aren't stupid enough to think they could face all of us at once. This is how we would force their hand."
"And should they still persist, then I think we end those white haired bastards once and for all."