"I’m going to miss you so much!"
Jason tightened his hold on Kai and pressed a kiss to Kai’s cheek.
"I’ll miss you too, little brother."
"Promise me you’ll come back soon. It’s boring here without you."
"Of course I’ll come back. I already promised your mum, so you can expect to see me soon. And next time, I’ll bring my mum and sisters along so we can all hang out together. I have a little sister called Maya, and she’s around your age. I bet you two will get along great."
Kai grinned at Jason’s promise, and he eventually let go of Jason’s neck and stood back on his own feet. Kai presented the box in his hand to Jason, and Jason raised a brow in surprise as he asked Kai what the box was.
"It’s a magic artefact that’ll allow us to communicate over long distances. I wanted you to have it."
Jason hummed as he crouched and took the box from Kai. Jason opened the present, and he saw a ring lying on a velvet cushion. The ring was very well made with intricate patterns around a small emerald gem in the center of the ring. Jason could feel some magic power moving away from the ring and flowing towards another ring that Kai had hidden in his shirt, and Jason read the tab that came up once he touched the ring.
[Appraisal] has been activated
——
Maharg Communication Ring
Rank: S
Durability: 100%
Boosts: nil
Description: An artificial artefact crafted by Kai Marc. The communication ring does not possess any stat boosting characteristics, but it comes in a pair, and allows the wearers to form a unique mental link that permits communication between the two of them for up to a distance of Five Dimensional Leaps. This artefact will lose durability with constant use.
——
Jason felt his eyes widen slightly when he read that first line. The artefact was made by his brother? Jason looked over at Kai in shock, and he saw the boy smiling innocently at him like he hadn’t just given him something extraordinary! A ring this well-made would cost a lot of money anywhere in the Primordial Expanse!
"Kai, did you make this yourself?"
Kai nodded with a big smile on his face! Unlike most of Jason’s other half-siblings, Kai didn’t want to be a warrior who travelled around the Primordial Expanse like their father to grow stronger. Instead, Kai preferred to work in the lab and create artefacts using the tools his mother bought for him. That was one of the reasons why Betsha had been so afraid when she heard that Kai ran away from home. Betsha knew that when it came down to a fight, Kai would likely lose against nearly any other beast out there. Kai was simply not built for combat!
Jason looked the ring over with a more critical eye, and he smiled with so much pride that it nearly split his face! The ring was only an S Rank, and it could only work for a distance of five worlds, but that alone was something worth celebrating! The system had told Jason once that there weren’t a lot of Artefact Crafters out there in the world, so the fact that Kai was this good at his age meant that he had a bright future ahead of him!
Jason pulled Kai in once again, and he hugged him to his chest! Kai was a little shocked by the sudden action, and Kai was even more surprised when Jason spoke.
"You might not be able to reach me after a while since I’m going very far away. But I promise to keep talking to you until I can no longer reach you, okay. You’ve done a great job with this ring, Kai. I’m very proud of you."
It was such a simple sentence that had been repeated to Kai many times before. Kai had heard the same thing from his mother, Fritz, and many of his extended family members many times, since they were always awed by his artefacts. But for some reason, hearing those same words from Jason held a different weight to it! As Kai stared up at Jason, he couldn’t help but feel like he was receiving praise straight from their father, and Kai felt his heart squeeze with intense pain and sadness before he suddenly wrapped Jason in a tight hug, and he began to bawl!
"Please don’t go, Jason! I don’t want you to go!"
Jason smiled as Kai’s tears wet his shirt, and Jason pat Kai gently as he spoke.
"I know, Kai. But I’ll be back to visit again, I promise."
Kai was inconsolable for a few long minutes, but in time he eventually let go of Jason and stood beside his mother as they watched Jason and Gina walking to the center of the room. Jason released a large amount of mana, and a Dimensional Circle burst into life behind him.
"Make sure you take care of yourself, Gina. Remember that you have a greater responsibility now."
Betsha spoke up seriously, and Gina smiled and promised to remember that before she bowed her head in thanks. Jason took Gina by the hand gently, and he said some final words to his family.
"This isn’t the last time we’ll see each other, so saying goodbye won’t feel right. We’ll see you later."
Betsha smiled, and Kai waved his hand as Jason and Gina finally stepped through the Dimensional Circle and vanished from Vanta. Once they were gone, Kai pressed his face against his mother’s leg and sniffled as he felt tears coming to his eyes again, and Betsha just rubbed her son’s head gently while praying that the water gods would look over the couple on their journey.
....
[The World of Minori]
[Castle of Queen Hesabeth]
It is a common saying in the Primordial Expanse that the most foolish thing any mage could attempt was to try to conquer any world within the Seventh Domain. The reason for this saying was not because the Seventh Domain was guarded by any world-ending Phantasmal Beast or undefeatable phenomenon. In fact, the seventh domain was known to have the least amount of TITAN Rank beings, and there were no known records of any Phantasmal Beasts existing in that part of the Primordial Expanse. There was literally nothing stopping a strong mage from coming in and taking the entire domain for themselves whenever they wished.
And yet, no one in their right mind would dare to try such a thing, simply because of the existence of one woman. The Queen of Minori and the Seventh Seat of the Council that oversaw the Seventh Domain. Queen Hesabeth.
Queen Hesabeth’s special power, Primordial Bias, was something that baffled people even to this day. No one understood how it worked, and anyone who tried getting too close to Queen Hesabeth to try and find out the secret behind her power usually ended up dead before they could discover anything. It was a power that should not exist according to the laws of the world, since it created such a great imbalance in the natural order of the Primordial Expanse! Even without any significant amount of magical power, Queen Hesabeth had become the single most dangerous being in this part of the Primordial Expanse!
The scholars and researchers who dedicated any amount of time to studying Queen Hesabeth’s power all came to the same conclusion after years of analysis. Queen Hesabeth’s power was absolute and all-encompassing in a way that broke all the laws of magic and nature. The world itself worked in her favour and did everything in its power to ensure her survival. Anyone who tried to harm Queen Hesabeth would receive punishment from the world, and anyone who tried to kill Queen Hesabeth would be killed by the world.